Utility argues natural gas is a bridge to clean energy ...Middle East

Good morning, Colorado!

Exactly five years ago, COVID started getting real in Colorado. It’s not a memory lane any of us really want to walk down, but it’s been on my mind because the coronavirus finally came for me.

I was one of the lucky ones who somehow managed to dodge the virus during the worst of the pandemic — or at least get away with no symptoms if I did happen to contract it at some point. That changed Sunday when I woke up feeling excessively sore with a scratchy throat and a mild headache.

After two positive COVID tests Monday, I dug out one of my pandemic-era masks — a real blast from the past — to wear in the hallways of my apartment and while quickly popping over to the grocery store for more soup. Otherwise I’ve been quarantined in my apartment all week, my reporting confined to phone interviews from my couch while sipping 7UP (and yes, water).

A hazy sort of déjà vu has settled over this week of isolation, pulling me back to the early days of the pandemic when I barely knew what Zoom was and was just trying to keep calm. For me, it’s one of those weird time warps. It feels like the pandemic somehow began forever ago and also just a few weeks back. And now that I’m among the newest members of the COVID club, I’m all the more grateful for the countless health care workers, scientists and essential workers (haven’t used that term in a minute) who have taken care of us and vaccinated us so that we’re living in a back-to-normal-ish world. Just with a fresh slate of challenges.

But don’t let me drone on about my own woes when we have much bigger woes — and wins — to unpack. Let’s get a running start on today’s news, shall we?

Erica Breunlin

Education Reporter

THE NEWS

ENERGY

Is natural gas a bridge to clean energy or a climate backslide? That is a Colorado power company’s dilemma.

Platte River Power Authority’s Rawhide Energy Station north of Wellington generates electricity using coal, natural gas and solar. The company has pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. (Ed Kosmicki, Special to The Colorado Sun)

“We know the assumptions that go into an analysis will play a big role in the results that you get. In this case, Platte River used assumptions that were virtually guaranteed to get them to the spot of recommending a big new gas plant, and guess what, that’s what they’re doing.”

— Barbara Krupnik-Goldman, from the environmental advocacy group 350 Colorado, to Larimer County commissioners

The Platte River Power Authority has a plan to reduce emissions by 80% from its power generation by 2030, but when the plan turned out to include building of five new natural gas turbines as a “bridge technology,” residents and environmental groups began to push back. Parker Yamasaki has more from northern Colorado.

Nearly 500 behavioral health workers in Colorado have been laid off in the past 3 months

West Springs Hospital in Grand Junction, on March 11, 2024, had 48 beds. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)

Since the beginning of the year, two Colorado psychiatric hospitals have closed and another has moved to a new town, amounting to a dramatic drop in the communities’ capacity to treat mental health issues. Jennifer Brown breaks down what happened and what it means for patients.

Colorado lawmakers funded an office to handle complaints against judges. No one set it up.

The Colorado Supreme Court chamber on Dec. 6, 2023, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

In the wake of an alleged blackmail and harassment scandal that roiled Colorado’s judicial branch, lawmakers in 2023 created an independent office to help ensure it didn’t happen again. But as Brian Eason reports, the ombudsman office still doesn’t exist two years later — and it’s not clear why.

Colorado lawmakers opt to keep program getting teens involved at Capitol, but cut panel’s bill-drafting power. The legislature planned to axe the Colorado Youth Advisory Council to save $50,000 annually amid a tight state budget.

EDUCATION

Colorado, 20 other states, sue Trump administration over “illegal dismantling” of Department of Education

Joann Moody provides instruction to students at Alice Terry Elementary School on Feb. 20 in Sheridan. (Jeremy Sparig, Special to The Colorado Sun)

“This evisceration of the agency will harm Coloradans, undermine our education system, and create chaos. And it is plainly unconstitutional, as only Congress can lawfully dismantle the department that it created or shut down services it has required the federal government to fund.”

— Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, in a written statement

Two days after federal officials terminated nearly half of the Department of Education’s staff, a lawsuit involving 21 states was filed this morning in Massachusetts, Erica Breunlin reports.

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

COLORADO REPORT

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The story behind Mayor Lauren Simpson’s Arvada Press-inspired frock. Arvada’s mayor gave a whole new meaning to “press coverage” at the Greater Arvada Chamber of Commerce’s 100th Anniversary Dinner by donning a skirt made from different eras of Arvada Press newspapers.— Arvada Press Suncor plans to take down a 100-foot flare stack in project to upgrade Commerce City refinery. The $16 million project to remove the flare stack (where excess gases are burned to prevent their direct release into the atmosphere) that was built in 1950 will reroute the excess to a newer, more efficient stack.— The Denver Post ? Suncor refinery spilled excess cyanide into Sand Creek last month. Oh, by the way, Suncor wasn’t just making plans for their flare stacks. They also managed to spill too much cyanide into Sand Creek last month, according to an emergency notification from the company.— The Denver Post ? Ski boot pioneer and hall of famer Sven Coomer dies at 84. The Australian Olympian-turned-innovator’s lasting legacy is the ski boot you likely use to this day, as he designed some of the first functional plastic ski boots that took international downhill competitions by storm in 1969.— The Aspen Times Personal information of more than 1,100 Colorado veterans leaked in email mistake. The Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado Health Care System accidentally sent an email containing a spreadsheet with the veterans’ personal information to 75 recipients. The VA had intended to attach a flyer for an upcoming event.— KOAA News 5 Punch Bowl Social founder’s planned Centennial pickleball complex scrapped. If you watched last season of “Top Chef” and wondered when you were going to see Denver’s Manny Barella debut his menu for “Camp Pickle” — one of the restaurants listed on his namecard throughout the season — I’m sorry to inform you that the eatery/pickleball complex is dead in the water.— BusinessDen ?

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

What’s Happening

March 13-19

The old school building in Georgetown fell into disrepair after its closing in the 1930s. In 2007 the Georgetown Trust purchased the building and gave it a second chance. (Screenshot from Google Maps)

Devil Moon Concert Series. Well before Georgetown was the gateway to Guanella Pass leaf peeping, or an I-70 winter pitstop, the 2-mile-long strip was a rough and tumble mining town established almost 20 years before Colorado became a state. The town is strewn with old brick buildings and studded with plaques that keep its history at the forefront. One of the most stunning examples is a couple of blocks from the main drag, on Taos Street, where the local public school building has stood for 151 years.

In 2007 the building, then established as one of Colorado’s “endangered places,” was adopted by the Georgetown Trust. The walls were sanded and heating was installed, and the building has since come to house Georgetown’s arts and cultural programming, including the annual Devil Moon Concert Series happening this weekend.

Tickets to the three-part series include light hors d’oeuvres, a beverage and a lounge style concert in the historic venue. On Saturday, you can catch the second of three concerts, with Latin jazz ensemble Ritmo Jazz Latino.

If you want to make a weekend of it, Bread Bar, just up the road in Silver Plume (and also housed in a historic gold rush-era building) is hosting a whiskey tasting from 2-5 p.m. Sunday.

$75; 7-10 p.m., March 15; The Old School, 809 Taos St., Georgetown

Frozen Dead Guy Days. A long-held celebration equal parts merry and macabre that was relocated to Estes Park from Nederland. Live music, a frosty fashion show, “bloody Sunday brunch” and the marquee coffin races will all be a part of the reborn festival. And yes, there is a frozen dead guy. His name is Grandpa Bredo and he lives in the Stanley Hotel. $49; March 14-16; Estes Park North Park Snow Dog Races. Two days of dogsled and skijor racing in State Forest State Park, east of Walden. Admission is free with a state parks pass, $12 day fee without. Free-$12; March 15-16; Gould Community Center, 58998 Highway 14, Walden Dragon Boat Film Festival. Denver Film’s annual spotlight on Asian films and filmmakers, accompanied by a makers market Saturday and a culinary tasting event Sunday, all at the Sie Film Center on Colfax. $85; March 14-16; Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax Ave., Denver

Section by Parker Yamasaki | Reporter

Thanks, as always, for taking minutes out of your morning to stay informed and support our work here at The Sun. We’ll see you back here tomorrow — when we are officially less than a week away from spring!

— Erica & the whole staff of The Sun

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