Hi. It's Andy. This morning's news roundup includes some deeper reads on Cherry Creek history and Colorado's workforce woes. We've also got a TMZ item out of Aspen, the city's new parks priorities and a huge illegal marijuana grow.
Colorado's workforce challenge:
Apparently the coasts still think the workforce is a little pokey in the giant cowtown of Denver. Over the last five years, the state government has spent some serious money to alleviate large companies' worries about marijuana, taxes and general effort by employees, as Adrian reports. (Denverite)
The administration in Aspen?
Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump's families skied Aspen over the weekend. Unfortunately, Donald Jr.'s 5-year-old Tristan broke his leg sometime during the trip, TMZ reports. (TMZ)
Parks priority:
A city survey finds that people want dog parks, outdoor cafes/concessions and indoor swimming pools, as Jon Murray reports. (DP)
Cherry Creek was a black colony:
Long before it was a pricy shopping district, Cherry Creek was a predominantly black neighborhood. When the dump was turned into a mall and the flooding was solved, new money poured in. Kevin has an interview with a woman who saw it all. (Denverite)
Texting penalties likely getting higher:
The bill to increase penalties for texting while driving (from $50 and one point to $300 and four points) has cleared the Colorado Senate. It now goes to the House, as Bente Birkland reports. The new bill also specifies that it only punishes texting connected to careless driving, leaving a loophole for texting while standing still. (KUNC)
Cocktail bar for Tennyson:
The folks behind Union Lodge No. 1 and the Arvada Tavern are opening a joint at 4024 N. Tennyson St., as Amy DiPierro reports. Tatarian, as it's called, might open by the end of the summer. (BusinessDen)
Most travelers break laws:
Almost 100 percent of drivers said in a new study that they speed, text and break other laws. About 98 percent of pedestrians said they disregard pedestrian signals. And about 96 percent of cyclists disregard stop signs and traffic lights. Among cyclists, the most common reason to break a rule was personal safety, as Angie Schmitt astutely reports. (Streetsblog)
Our growing suburbs:
The suburb with the fastest relative population growth from 2010 to 2015 was Lone Tree, to our south, posting a 19 percent gain, according to a lawn company's study. On the slow side were Golden, Lakewood and Arvada – because, if I had to guess, they have less open land for suburbs but haven't seen the same magnitude of apartment construction in Denver. (LawnStarter)
300 pounds per month:
That's how much marijuana may have been leaving the state every month through an alleged illegal grow operation, according to investigators. (Denverite)
