Compiled by Eric Lubbers, eric@coloradosun.com
CTO/Newsletter Wrangler, @brofax
Good morning and happy last-Monday-of-August, everyone! This is an exciting time of year, not just for those of us who prefer jeans and warm coffee to flip-flops and popsicles. School is back in session pretty much everywhere, and tomorrow morning The Colorado Sun is launching a project focused on a major issue in Colorado’s education system that we’ve been working at all summer. So stay tuned to our Instagram, Twitter and Facebook accounts (or make sure you’re signed up for our 6 a.m. headlines email the Daily Sun-Up) so you don’t miss it!
Let’s sharpen this pencil, shall we?
UNDERWRITTEN BY
AARP is urging Colorado lawmakers to cut prescription drug prices. Coloradans shouldn’t have to choose between buying medication and buying food for our families. Learn more at aarp.org/rx.
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The Latest from The Sun
At Colorado College, where tuition runs $71,000, many new in-state students will pay just a fraction — or nothing at all
No. 2
— Colorado College’s ranking on a Harvard study’s list of schools with the highest share of students coming from the wealthiest 1% of families compared to those from the bottom 60%.
Colorado College, the selective (and pricey) private liberal arts school in Colorado Springs, boasted that a third of its students came from Colorado in 2001. Fast forward less than two decades, and that number has been cut in half.
>> Read CC alum Jesse Paul’s story on the program that seeks to provide free or drastically reduced tuition rates for Colorado students who are admitted to the school. This is a story all Coloradans with a college-aged student will want to read.
Neil Young and Crazy Horse spent 11 magical days in Telluride — and the album they made there is coming out soon
The label for Neil Young’s “Colorado.” (Via Neil Young Archives)
“I used oxygen every day. When you’re playing and singing like that, if you’re not used to oxygen deprivation, focusing for 10 hours at a clip, it keeps you from getting spacey in that altitude.”
— Nils Lofgren, on his 11-day session with Neil Young in Telluride.
Whether you’re a Neil Young fan or not, you’re going to appreciate this incredible story from Carol McKinley on Young’s effort to summon the members of Crazy Horse from semiretirement into an 11-day, high-altitude recording session under a full moon to create a new double album called “Colorado”.
A couple of interesting facts to whet your interest:
- The band hauled a bunch of their equipment from the ’70s to the mesa to record.
- Young is practically a local now, with his wife, Darryl Hannah, residing just outside of Telluride.
- There will be a documentary released to coincide with the album.
>> There is so much more in Carol’s story. Just click here already.
Colorado companies struggle in search for exclusions to Trump’s tit-for-tat tariff war with China
Senior marketing manager Candyce Hedlund organizes some of the Kelty 2019 backpacks. Boulder-based Kelty sells millions of sleeping bags each year that are largely manufactured in China. (Kathryn Scott, Special to The Colorado Sun)
“There is no clear pattern, no rhyme or reason.”
— Luke Duvall, a licensed customs broker working to help companies navigate tariff exclusions.
The trade war between the Trump administration and China continues to ebb and flow (with new announcements seemingly every week) and Colorado companies that make everything from toys to kayaks are caught in the middle.
More from The Sun
- The deep-pocketed Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee formally threw its support behind John Hickenlooper for the party’s nomination to take on Sen. Cory Gardner next year, irking the 11 other Democrats vying for the spot.
- Gov. Polis has ordered an investigation into Eastern Plains district attorney Brittny Lewton. The official order doesn’t specify the nature of the investigation, but Colorado Public Radio is reporting that it is connected to improperly obtaining prescription opioids.
- Chris Jarnot, who went from a Vail Valley kid to the vice president of mountain operations for Vail Resorts, announced he was leaving the skiing juggernaut after more than 30 years. Jason Blevins has a look at his career.
- Attorneys from a dozen Western states — including Colorado — are asking the Trump administration to stop a plan by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that they say usurps states’ authority over their own water.
From the Opinion Page
- John Hickenlooper’s fracking legacy dogs his U.S. Senate candidacy among progressives, writes Dave Krieger
- Don’t be shocked by a drawn-out Democratic primary in the Colorado Senate race, Mario Nicolais writes in his latest opinion column for The Sun
- Hey parents, here’s why you should let your children fail, writes Lakewood resident Brendan Ryan.
- Let’s help struggling families before bad situations spiral into abuse and neglect, writes Tennyson Center CEO Ned Breslin.
- Colorado reproductive health services are being compromised by the Trump administration’s “gag order”, argues the head of community health services for JeffCo’s public health system.
- Angie Fyfe, formerly of the Colorado Governor’s Energy Office, says Denver should declare a binding climate emergency.
- Frustrated about the state of our politics? Here’s how to move from angst to action, writes Shepherd Nevel, fresh off John Hickenlooper’s presidential campaign.
We want to hear from you! Come to our one-year anniversary party next week at Wynkoop Brewing and you’ll have a chance to share what you think of The Sun. Details are here and tickets are free for members (check your email for an invitation) or $10 for non-members. We hope to see you there!
“A homebuilder and philanthropist who splits her time between Denver and Vail has sued her former bridesmaid, alleging that the woman used $620,000 loaned to help finance a socially conscious flip-flop brand to instead finance a ‘lavish life-style and extravagant vacations.’ ”
// I can’t do better than that lede. It’s like a modern-day F. Scott Fitzgerald short story of wealth and excess. Just click here. // BusinessDen
// It wasn’t that long ago that Denver-based Zen Magnets had to destroy 400,000 of its little spherical magnets because of a court order over safety concerns if swallowed by children. But a quick search on Amazon for “zen magnets” turns up 693 results for nearly identical products, part of a phenomenon reported by the Wall Street Journal, which says Amazon has “ceded control of its site” to third-party (often foreign) companies selling banned, unsafe or mislabeled products. (Here’s a story from The Verge if you don’t have a WSJ subscription). // Zen Magnets, Wall Street Journal ?, The Verge
// The recall efforts for state legislators are getting a lot of attention, but last week Estes Park Mayor Pro-tem Cody Walker was actually recalled from office over a controversial plan to build a mountain roller coaster. // Coloradoan ?
// Denver City Council’s vote to end contracts with private prison companies to operate halfway houses in the city has put a spotlight on how those facilities and programs actually work. Kevin Beaty looks at the stats behind the programs. // Denverite
// CPW has already euthanized more than 70 bears this year, despite efforts in places like Aspen, where a record number of tickets for unsecured trash have been issued. // Denver7, Aspen Times
// Parents fighting mandatory vaccines (reminder, Colorado is well below the potential outbreak threshold with its worst-in-the-nation rate of kindergarten vaccinations) are claiming that state data is a “big phishing scam.” // The Denver Post ?
Today’s Thing
Share your favorite thing! Hit us up at things@coloradosun.com and you could be published in a future Sunriser!
My whole apartment smells like roasted chiles and I’ve never been happier. (Eric Lubbers, The Colorado Sun)
The Thing: “Mexican Everyday,” a truly great cookbook
Why You Might Like It: I’ve been working to become a better cook for a little over a decade now, and I can say with zero hesitation that the meal I made last night is the tastiest I’ve ever cooked. Part of it was delicious in-season Colorado produce (like Olathe sweet corn and Pueblo chiles), but the bulk of the credit goes to a cookbook. “Mexican Everyday,” by Rick Bayless of PBS fame, includes dozens of dishes, but each one takes less than 30 minutes of prep. Bayless understands that not every home cook has the time or budget or access to farmers’ markets to get fancy. It’s aimed squarely at the busy and the thrifty and just about every recipe includes his suggestions on ways to make it your own. His approach to organizing your kitchen, pantry and shopping makes the book as much a lifestyle manual as a collection of recipes.
If you need a sample, here are the two dishes I made last night:
- Slow-cooker pollo pulquero (Chicken thighs, potatoes, tomatillos and pickled jalapeños)
- Mushroom Potato Crema With Roasted Poblano (Make sure to swap the poblanos for local roasted Pueblo chiles. I added a handful of crispy bacon and a bit of the bacon grease to really make it smooth)
Because it’s a 15-year-old cookbook, you can get it used for a song online (there are a couple dozen copies under $5 here). My used copy, purchased from a random online bookseller, turns out to have been a Longmont Public Library copy! But if you need a fresh copy to mark up with your own notes, it’s available at Tattered Cover and BookBar.
I know we keep reminding you about our one-year anniversary party next week at Wynkoop Brewing in downtown Denver, but we really, really want to meet you and hear your thoughts about our work and Colorado issues.
Get your tickets here if you’re not a Colorado Sun member. (Join us today to get free admission!)
If you are already supporting us, check your email inbox for the invite and access to no-charge access to our event.
There will be policymakers and journalists, limited-edition Sun beer and billiards.
See you back here on Wednesday.
– Eric
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