I don't even know how to greet you this morning because I can't stop thinking about how everything we think we know ends up being wrong. (Shout-out Chuck Klosterman.)
Keep reading, you'll see what I mean.
Politics:
A Republican governor might not be a big threat to Colorado's marijuana industry. One candidate is promising a harder line against cannabis producers and drugged drivers, but the candidates aren't suggesting we abandon our legal marijuana industry. (Denverite)
Opioid crisis:
Doctors in southwest Colorado are cutting back on prescriptions for drugs like codeine and oxycodone in an effort to reduce the number of people getting addicted to opioids. In 2016, there were 300 opioid-related deaths and 228 deaths due to heroin in Colorado. (Durango Herald)
Dining & entertainment
We have a winner for our Denver coffee shop bracket. One voter called it the "gold standard for what a coffee shop should be." (Denverite)
We now have dates for Bruno and Cardi B's visit. They'll come through the Pepsi Center Sept. 7 and 8. (7)
Outdoors:
Are you sitting down? OK, good. So. Everything we think we know about our elevation could be wrong, slightly.
Geodesist Derek van Westrum at the National Geodetic Survey says they're creating a new system for measuring height above sea level. Previously, we'd been using a lighthouse in Quebec as the official 0 level for the continent "and then everybody took their rulers back and forth from that lighthouse." (!!!) The feds asked van Westrum and his team to spend a decade checking elevations using a new, gravity-based system, and early results suggest Colorado is about two feet lower than we think. (9)
Olympics:
All four U.S. women snowboarders advanced to the halfpipe finals, including Colorado's Arielle Gold. (DP)
Happening tonight:
Buildings could reach 16 floors around 38th and Blake — and potentially other sites down the line — if a plan is approved tonight. Some developers have shown interest, and the city has been working on the plan for a year. There will be a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. in Room 451 of the City & County Building. (Denverite)
