Distraction or safety? Schools fight over phones

Good morning and happy Tuesday!

With all the back-to-school energy in the air, I was trying to remember what school was like for me — a 2002 graduate of Yuma High School — right on the cusp between dial-up internet and the omnipresence of smartphones. The very few people in my school who had cellphones had StarTac flips with extendable antennas or candy-bar-shaped Nokia bricks that only made appearances to play Snake in the hallways.

In other words, I can’t imagine what class is like when everyone has a phone and several social media accounts on top of the normal pressures of high school. And the complex path of figuring out how to deal with the sea change of the past 20 years is exactly what Erica Breunlin’s story below is tackling.

So let’s sit up straight, spit out our gum and get today’s lesson in Colorado news already, shall we?

Eric Lubbers

CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE NEWS

EDUCATION

Colorado students and educators spar over cellphone bans in schools

A growing number of Colorado school districts are cracking down on students using phones. Many schools view the devices as distractions filled with social media and rapid-fire texting. But others counter that they are crucial for a students’ sense of safety after repeated security threats, school shootings and hoaxes. Erica Breunlin digs in.

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CRIME & COURTS

Colorado is automatically sealing more than 100,000 criminal records

Colorado is sealing more than 100,000 court records under a new law that aims to help people with criminal pasts of nonviolent offenses pass background checks for jobs and housing. Crimes cannot involve domestic violence, child abuse, sexual violence or sexual exploitation. Jennifer Brown has more.

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OUTDOORS

3 Colorado wolf pups caught on video confirmed to be part of Grand County pack

Colorado’s first introduced wolf pack has three confirmed puppies, which were caught on video playing in a rain puddle and wrestling on a dirt road. As Colorado Parks and Wildlife reminds us, if you live or recreate in the foothills or mountains, you are in wolf country, Tracy Ross reports.

READ MORE

Section by Danika Worthington | Presentation Editor

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Grand Junction just got its first protected bike lanes, and people have feelings about them. Part of a push to make downtown GJ a more desirable place to be (and not just pass through), the lanes are getting pushback from some residents, while others are embracing the multimodal change.
  — CPR News
• Mushroom forager finds human bones in Winter Park forest. On Aug. 17, the forager found what was later confirmed by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to be a human skull while walking through a heavily forested area between U.S. 40 and Mary Jane Road.
  — Sky-Hi News
• Is the high school sports officials shortage hitting a breaking point on the Western Slope? “If you want to have stars, you have to have stripes,” the old saying goes. But between the sometimes shocking lack of sportsmanship from parents and players to the cost of paying for travel, it’s getting harder to find refs — especially for smaller communities.
  — Vail Daily
• REI has hemorrhaged money for two years in a row. Now employees fear its famed outdoor-nerd culture is at risk. The beloved outdoor co-op lost $311 million last year, and in the process of becoming more efficient to match increased competition and deal with consumers with less spending money than in the past, tension is ratcheting up between the executive suite and the “Green Vest” employees who make the business function.
  — Fortune

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

COMMUNITY

• After Colorado legislature’s latest special session is finished, we must restore local control over property taxes.  State-driven tax cuts have wildly different impacts on Colorado communities, so let’s leave it to local governments to make adjustments
  — Chris deGruy Kennedy, outgoing Colorado House Speaker Pro Tem 

The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy and submit columns, suggest writers or provide feedback at opinion@coloradosun.com.

SunLit

REVIEW

In “Burn,” a surreal landscape greets two men with the remains of seemingly indiscriminate violence

Two men emerge from a hunting trip in the Maine wilderness to find a staggering swath of death and destruction. Bestselling author Peter Heller taps into today’s disturbing political dysfunction as these lifelong best friends, Jess and Storey, navigate their way toward an understanding of what’s happened to society. Secession?

READ AN EXCERPT, LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST

• Interview with the author. Heller offers a glimpse inside the writing process that has made him a bestselling author, but also into his thoughts on the divisive politics of our time and the danger that presents.  

Section by Kevin Simpson | Writer

Thanks for sticking with us! Have a great day — and make sure to get a little time away from your screen today. You’ve earned it.

— Eric & the whole staff of The Sun

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Corrections & Clarifications

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