Can Colorado’s power grid keep the lights on?

Welcome back to Monday!

It’s just so green, like greener than ever, right? I was hiking the trails in Roxborough State Park over the weekend, awed by the well-fed deer, lush hillsides and abundance of silvery lupine and red paintbrush. We all know that by July the tall grasses will look more like dried yellow stalks, and the thistle will just have prickles and no pink blooms, so enjoy it while it lasts.

But first, kick off your week by learning about Colorado’s electric grid and what’s next for sharing the water in the Colorado River.

Jennifer Brown

Reporter

THE NEWS

ENERGY

Electric gridlock: Can the growing West’s infrastructure evolve fast enough to keep the lights on?

We’re in the largest region in the country without a wholesale electricity market or a regional grid operator to oversee it, but that’s about to change. Two regional operators are racing across the West signing up utilities to create new markets, which could change the electricity landscape. Mark Jaffe has the details.

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• Why two regional grid operators are racing to pool the power of Western states like Colorado. Wholesale markets can help balance demand for electricity and also develop creative financing strategies for transmission projects.

ECONOMY

Finding a fit: Social skills are key for college grads entering a challenging job market

College graduates are facing one of the most competitive job markets in recent years, with 1.1 available jobs for every unemployed worker. Two years ago, there was one unemployed worker for every three openings, Tamara Chuang reports.

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• What’s Working: Techstars teams with startup community to bring back Boulder accelerator. The technology accelerator also had its latest Demo Day in Denver for startups with new tech for workforce development.

OUTDOORS

Colorado outdoor businesses are struggling under tariff uncertainty

The outdoor gear company Eagle Creek, one of many Colorado businesses suffering under the Trump administration’s new tariffs, estimated it will have to pay $580,000 instead of the $226,000 it had planned to get a shipment of backpacks and duffels manufactured in Indonesia. Jason Blevins has more from Eagle Creek and other companies in the same boat.

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WATER

“The time for action is now”: Pressure mounts for negotiations over the Colorado River’s future

Our water reporter Shannon Mullane was in Boulder to cover the Conference on the Colorado River, a gathering of 300 water policy experts providing input on how to best share the water that flows from Colorado to California. The final plan adopted by the Interior Department could determine everything from how key reservoirs store and release water to how environments, like the Grand Canyon, will be impacted for years to come.

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MORE NEWS

• Israeli hostages highlighted at Boulder Jewish Festival after attack on group urging their release. The Jewish cultural festival was reimagined this year to highlight the stories of Israeli hostages after police said a man who yelled “Free Palestine” threw Molotov cocktails last Sunday at Boulder demonstrators calling for their release.
• Boulder firebombing suspect, his face burned, makes first appearance in federal court. Mohamed Soliman seemed relaxed Friday as a federal magistrate and attorneys discussed the case against him, which could result in life in prison.
• CPW denies permit for elephants at Larkspur’s Renaissance Festival. State officials denied the permit for the elephant exhibitor, Trunks and Humps, because its application did not meet the requirements for the state agency’s commercial wildlife program, which allows the use of captive wildlife for educational, commercial or promotional purposes, a spokesperson for CPW said Friday.
• Fact Brief ☀️ Can parents who deadname their transgender children lose custody under a new Colorado law? No. Lawmakers removed part of House Bill 1312 that could have penalized parents involved in custody disputes for deadnaming their children.

Section by Jennifer Brown | Reporter

THE COLORADO REPORT

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

• Angel bicyclist saves drowning man at Hot Sulphur Springs pool. A man drowning in a resort pool west of Granby was saved by a visitor from Pittsburgh who is an amputee and got to the hot springs after taking Amtrak, then using his mountain bike, wheelchair and skateboard.
  — Sky-Hi News
• Colorado parking enforcement company “tricks and intimidates” drivers into paying fees, lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit comes less than two years after the company Parking Revenue Recovery Services reached a settlement with Colorado’s attorney general over the collection of illegal fines.
  — The Denver Post 🔑
• Aurora poised to gain authority to step in against neglectful property owners. Amid local and national furor over three ramshackle Aurora apartment buildings, city lawmakers are in-line to give final approval Monday to a measure that would allow the city to step in and manage derelict buildings.
  — Sentinel Colorado
• Local attorneys spread awareness about increase in scams targeting immigrants. Scams in the region range from demanding blackmail payment from someone who does not have secure immigration status, to false promises of expediting immigration documents such as visas or green cards for a hefty fee.
  — Aspen Journalism
• New York to Paris in under 4 hours? Denver-based company works to build next Concorde.
  Boom Supersonic CEO wants to bring back flights that break the sound barrier. His team is working on the worldwide mission from a hangar at Centennial Airport.
  — The Wall Street Journal 🔑

Section by David Krause | Editor

THE OPINION PAGE

COLUMNS

• Let’s enjoy the Trump-Elon breakup while we can. In these times, we definitely need the laugh. My prediction is that the Trump-Elon bromance isn’t quite over. They need each other too much to pretend they’re not still besties.
  — Mike Littwin
  
• Pass the popcorn! Trump-Musk meltdown made for must-watch social media. If we’re lucky, we’ll get a Trump-Musk sequel. The spat between the world’s most powerful man and the world’s richest man is one for the ages.
  — Mario Nicolais
  

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.

Have a great week!

— Jennifer and the whole staff of The Sun

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Corrections & Clarifications

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