It’s always around this time of year that I start itching for a road trip farther west. Utah and Arizona are my havens in the winter months, their deserts offering respite from Colorado’s long stretches of cold.
And then I remind myself how much that will cost in gas money.
One day, I hope to own an electric vehicle, making road trips far more friendly to my wallet and much more kind to our planet. How soon can owning an EV become my reality? That’s what I’m hoping to find out tomorrow night during our free event, where reporter Michael Booth and a panel of transportation experts will talk all about electric vehicles and how they fit into Colorado’s transportation future.
The event starts at 6 p.m. and you can sign up and submit a question of your own here.
While we’re waiting, let’s get to today’s news.
Reporter
THE NEWS
HIGH COST OF COLORADO
Young Colorado renters need to choose if they’ll pay the landlord, the hospital or grandma
77
Hours a person who earns minimum wage would have to work per week to afford a one-bedroom apartment at fair market rent
Daniel Rogers and Shaylan Wilson’s bank accounts never stay replenished for long and paying their $1,200 rent for their one-bedroom apartment in Pueblo involves a precarious, penny-by-penny balancing act, Erica Breunlin reports in the latest installment of The Colorado Sun’s High Cost of Colorado series. The struggle for renters reverberates across Colorado where increasing rents have burdened tenants, stretching them beyond their means and even forcing them to give up health care or cut way back on groceries.
BUSINESS
Gig workers are employees, Denver auditor says as city seeks more than $1 million in penalties
More than 3,000 temporary workers serving food or cleaning hotel rooms are employees — not gig workers — and should be treated as such, the Denver Auditor said. Now, the city is seeking more than $1 million in penalties against staffing agencies Instawork and Gigpro, which specialize in hourly workers for the restaurant and hospitality industry and calls the workers “independent contractors.” Tamara Chuang has more.
ENVIRONMENT
BLM plan for eastern Colorado sets aside land, but leaves oil and gas drilling in play
The Bureau of Land Management’s final plan for managing surface and mineral rights on millions of acres of eastern Colorado land protects key wild spaces and scenic river miles, Michael Booth reports, but it also gives the green light to oil and gas drilling, which would contribute to climate change. Environmental advocates say the 500-page blueprint doesn’t do enough to address the clean air crisis affecting the Denver metro area and northern Front Range.
EQUITY
Denver mayor says goal to shelter 1,000 people was achieved, plans to provide shelter for 1,000 more in 2024
Mayor Mike Johnston says he achieved his goal of sheltering more than 1,150 people experiencing homelessness, but now he faces an even bigger task: finding permanent housing for them. Freelance reporter Robert Davis looks at the city’s strategy for its House1000 program, what’s needed to boost the number of people in permanent housing and the possible hurdles to come.
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
Top Republican in Colorado House narrowly survives vote to remove him following revelation about his 2022 DUI arrest
House Minority Leader Mike Lynch kept his post — just barely — after a vote of no confidence was split 9-9, with one lawmaker absent and Lynch voting to keep his post. In ties, the vote fails. Some members of his caucus called for him to resign after it was made public last week that he was arrested in 2022 on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and possessing a gun while intoxicated. Brian Eason and Jesse Paul have more on the tense caucus meeting.
Section by Olivia Prentzel | Reporter
THE COLORADO REPORT
🔑 = source has article meter or paywall
Section by Kevin Jeffers | Product Team
SunLit
Iambic intro to “Journey to St. Thomas” launches tales for our time
Chaucer’s 14th-century “The Canterbury Tales” sets forth 24 stories, mostly told in verse, of people from diverse walks of life en route to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket. For author Josiah Hatch, that inspired the template for an updated version, with the storytellers’ pilgrimage echoing themes in contemporary society while taking the form of a Caribbean cruise.
Section by Kevin Simpson | Writer
Please remember to RSVP to tomorrow’s EV event! Hope to see you there.
— Olivia & the whole staff of The Sun
Corrections & Clarifications
Notice something wrong? The Colorado Sun has an ethical responsibility to fix all factual errors. Request a correction by emailing corrections@coloradosun.com.
