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Restoration Ranch offers respite for first responders and their families

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

When Kathryn Severns Avery’s husband, Chris, was killed in a car accident by a group of suspects fleeing a robbery on December 4, 2020, she didn’t know what had happened until officers arrived at her house that evening.Chris, who had been on his way to get groceries, was pronounced dead at the scene; Lakewood Police, bystanders and other first responders were the only ones around him when he died.Avery says the gratitude she felt for those first responders sparked her relationship with what she calls the “traumatic event life cycle” – encompassing every person, from 911 dispatchers to medical personnel to police officers, who are responsible for responding to traumatic events.“After Chris was killed, I made a conscious choice,” Avery said. “I can’t tackle the judicial system, that will only make me old and bitter. But what can I do?”For her, the answer was getting to know the people who were with Chris that day, and as she learned more about first responders and the grim reali...

6 new Colorado beers to look forward to this year

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

Colorado’s craft breweries are always trying something new, partly because its fun to experiment and innovate, and partly because that’s what consumers have come to expect. This year has already seen plenty of twists and turns when it comes to beer recipes, but there are more on the way.Related ArticlesRestaurants, Food and Drink | A perfect weekend in Telluride Restaurants, Food and Drink | RiNo will say goodbye to another brewery Restaurants, Food and Drink | Casa Bonita taps Denver brewery to create an original “casa beer” Restaurants, Food and Drink | What to do this weekend in Denver: New comic book store, brewery block parties, lavender festival Restaurants, Food and Drink | Pioneering Anchor Brewing Co. to halt operations after 127 years with beer sales in decline One of those is Left Hand Brewing’s Belgian White Nitro, which debuted on tap at the brewery’s two ...

Metro Denver apartment market holds steady even with construction surge

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

Metro Denver’s apartment market remained stable despite adding substantially more new units than it typically does in a quarter, according to an update Tuesday from the Apartment Association of Metro Denver. The average rent in metro Denver rose from $1,846 in the first quarter to $1,878 in the second, an increase of $32. Over the past year, average rents are up 2%, which is below the 3% annual consumer inflation rate measured nationally in June.Average rents were $1,717 a month in Adams County, $1,786 in Arapahoe; $1,980 in Boulder and Broomfield; $1,925 in Denver; $2,023 in Douglas and $1,886 in Jefferson County.“The market has been stable over the past nine months, with fairly flat rental rates and a steady rate of vacancy,” Mark Williams, executive vice president for the AAMD, said in a release. “When the vast majority of costs are increasing all around us, to have rental housing be so stable is good news for renters and housing providers.”The vacancy rate, a measure of th...

Don’t know how big of a pay increase to ask for? Try 7.4% in Colorado

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

Colorado workers who were at the same job for the past year saw median annual pay increases of 7.4% in June, outpacing the 6.4% annual increase measured nationally, according to the latest ADP Pay Insights.The median annual salary for Colorado workers is $62,500, which is above the U.S. median in June of $57,400, according to ADP, which samples 10 million paystubs each month for its Pay Insights report.Colorado ranks ninth among U.S. states and the District of Columbia for the percentage gain in pay that its workers are receiving.“Colorado has outperformed in the last two years. It really shows that employers are making an effort to increase their talent retention,” said Liv Wang, a senior data scientist at the ADP Research Institute.Employers are also trying to keep pace with inflation, which topped 8% a year ago in metro Denver and was running closer to 3% nationally in June. But Wang argues the biggest wage gains are coming in the sectors with the most severe worker s...

Opinion: Denver needs Mayor Mike Johnston’s fresh perspective on homelessness and so much more

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

For the first time since 2003 when then-Mayor John Hickenlooper was inaugurated, Denver has a fresh set of eyes looking at the Mile High City.Fresh, in the sense that Mayor Mike Johnston and Hickenlooper were both outsiders, not part of city government when they were sworn in as Denver mayor, arguably the most powerful political job in Colorado.Johnston delivered an inspirational inaugural speech about creating a new dream for Denver’s future with a call for each of us to also take an oath “to dream, to serve, and to deliver”. As he aptly noted, “Today, we dedicate ourselves to two essential American ideas: That every problem we face is solvable and we are the ones to solve them.”Fresh eyes can introduce powerful ideas. We have all experienced the opportunity that comes with bringing a unique perspective to a new job or responsibility. Mayor Johnston is stepping into his new role with this in mind, and I applaud him for it.Following his inauguration, Johnston wasted no time in decla...

LoHi’s Method Coffee opens second location along Santa Fe Drive

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

The Art District on Santa Fe has a new coffee shop, while another has canceled plans to reopen.Method Coffee Roasters, which has operated in LoHi since 2018, opened its second location this week at 1201 Santa Fe Drive in Lincoln Park. The 1,200-square-foot space was previously home to The Molecule Effect, which also sold coffee.“It’s better if it’s already been a coffee shop. We don’t have to do the whole process,” Method owner Sarah Zapien said.Alex Rawal founded Method at 2011 W. 32nd Ave. Zapien said she bought the business in 2021. Prior to the acquisition, Zapien was importing green coffee and selling it to roasters around Denver, while dreaming of her own shop.“Coffee has always been on my mind,” she said.The Molecule Effect moved out of the space earlier this year after butting heads with the building’s owner. Signs were posted immediately next door at 1225 Santa Fe Drive, in the retail space within a new apartment building, indicating that The Molecule Effect would be reopen...

A perfect weekend in Telluride

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

“This view is, like, killer,” I overheard a 20-something say to his companions during a recent visit to Telluride. We had just walked by each other on the main street of this southwestern Colorado mountain town, wedged into a box canyon. The group was looking toward the vertiginous cliffs high above, where Ingram Falls plunged over a notch in the rock; below the falls, a thread of water followed a steep, diagonal runnel, glinting silver, like the precious metal miners once sought here.The comment was an understatement. Surrounded by soaring peaks in the craggy San Juan Mountains, Telluride sits in an almost impossibly beautiful setting. I’ve been visiting regularly from my home near Aspen, Colorado, for almost 30 years, and every time I drive the final stretch into town, my breath catches when the lofty panorama bursts into view.Well known for its ski resort, Telluride attracts plenty of summer and fall visitors, too. A season-long slate of weekend festivals ranges from bluegrass to...

Colorado victims of childhood sex abuse, blocked by state Supreme Court, hold out hope for future chance at justice

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

One afternoon last month, Miranda and Jennifer Wetzler answered a call from their attorney in shock: The Colorado Supreme Court had blocked the sisters’ chance to right a decades-old wrong after their alleged abuser had walked free more than 30 years earlier.“When I heard the news, I started crying and I just thought, ‘Not again,’” Miranda Wetzler said. “I thought maybe this time we could get the justice we deserved.”Colorado’s Child Sexual Abuse Accountability Act, which took effect Jan.1, 2022, provided a three-year window for adults who were sexually assaulted as children to bring forward lawsuits over abuse they allege happened between 1960 and 2022, even if the statute of limitations for criminal charges had long since expired.The Wetzler sisters were preparing to file a lawsuit under the act when a unanimous decision by the state’s high court on June 20 struck down the law as a violation of the Colorado Constitution’s prohibition on retrospective legislation....

The Big Eat, Mexican mole heaven, Cheesman Park calling, and more things to do in Denver this week

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

All aboard for The Big EatThursday. Foodies from across metro Denver will convene on Thursday, July 20, for The Big Eat, an annual party that raises awareness and funding for independent restaurants and bars. Guests can sample “signature bites and sips” from more than 60 establishments,” according to organizers at the nonprofit EatDenver, including Acreage Restaurant, Blackbelly Market, Coperta, Little Man Ice Cream, Pho King Rapidos, Restaurant Olivia, Sunday Vinyl and many more.There will also be live performances from David Lawrence & The Spoonful and Izbo. The Big Eat takes place in the open-air Galleria at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, at 1400 Curtis St. in Denver. Tickets, $85, can be found at eatdenver.com. — Jonathan ShikesChicken en Mole with chicken strips cooked in a spicy sweat sauce, a traditional Mexican dish, at Casa Cortes on Aug. 10, 2022 in Dacono, Colorado. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)Mole is on the waySaturday. ...

Search underway for man linked to multiple assaults in Los Angeles area 

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:51:09 GMT

Authorities are searching for a man who is considered “a threat to the public” after he was linked to several separate assaults in Los Angeles. According to the LASD, 21-year-old Sergio Andrew Garcia is wanted in connection with six assaults across the L.A. area, including a 67-year-old woman who was brutally beaten in her garden in East Los Angeles on Saturday. The woman, identified as Rosalina Martinez, was working in her yard at 6:15 a.m. Saturday morning when Garcia punched her in the face several times and pulled down her pants and underwear. In an interview with KTLA, Martinez said that she believes Garcia tried to rape her. Sergio Andrew Garcia is seen in photos released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on July 18, 2023. New video ‘justifies’ L.A. deputy slamming woman on ground in Lancaster arrest, attorney says Garcia is listed at 5 feet, 5 inches tall and 180 pounds. He was seen wearing a brown sweatshirt, grey shorts, white shoes with red l...