Good day. My browser has once again survived the 50-something tabs that I open every morning to bring you this news roundup. We have some important reporting on Denver's jails, an update on the federal land sale proposal and much more, all worth reading.
Now you can bid on Denver foreclosures online:
The sales start at 10 a.m. on Thursdays. Here's the new site, and here's Aldo Svaldi's explanation of how it came to be. (DP)
Rising violence at Denver jails:
Susan Greene's excellent reporting shows major increases in assaults in Denver's jails since 2011, with inmate-on-inmate assaults climbing about 784 percent, to about 33 per month. Assaults on staff also climbed, leading a councilwoman and the sheriff's union local to question the Hancock administration's reform efforts. The city cites overcrowding and mental health challenges as potential causes. (Colorado Independent)
What we know about the RTD suspect's life in Pampa:
People in the murder suspect's Texas hometown described a year in which Joshua Cummings successfully launched a business, then slowly seemed to become more ostracized and radical before suddenly leaving. (Denverite)
Hick will pay for his own Cuba trip:
The governor is heading to Havana today. Following questions from the blogosphere, his spokeswoman says that Hickenlooper and his wife will personally pay for their entire trip, as Dan Njegomir reports. Hick's chief of staff's costs will be covered by Biennial of the Americas, a nonprofit that connects "business, cultural and civic interests" across the Americas. (Colorado Politics)
Unions growing in Colorado:
Labor union members made up 9.8 percent of Colorado's workforce last year, compared to 8.4 percent in 2015, as Joey Bunch reported from Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Growth areas include electricians, plumbers, food-service workers and others. (Colorado Politics)
Congressman cans federal land sale plan:
Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah is rolling back a proposal that would sell federal acreage in Colorado and across the West, as Erica reports. (Denverite)
WHAT IS MILK ANYMORE?
I love this Luke Runyon story about the running argument between dairy farmers and the makers of plant-based milk-style liquids. “It upsets me that somebody’s trying to steal our halo and act like us when plainly you try the beverage it doesn’t taste like us,” says one Colorado dairy farmer. “I can’t find a teat on a soybean. It’s just not there.”
I personally think anything can be milk. Is it milky? Is it nutritious? Then it's milk. Milk, milked, milky milks. (KUNC)
Another extension for RTD:
The feds have extended RTD's deadline to fix the A, B and G lines once more. The new waiver runs through April 30, which will be a full year after the A Line opened. Still no word on when it will actually be fixed, as Cathy Proctor reports. (DBJ)
Why Josephine and Third was shut down:
An hours-long standoff ended peacefully with the arrest of a suspect in a carjacking. Looks like a SWAT team got involved. (Denverite)
More:
It's male elephant bonding time at the zoo. (Denverite)
Only Boston has a lower unemployment rate than Denver. (Denverite)
How does your neighborhood compare in our great bike lanes count? (Denverite)
