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The I-70 Scout & Eastern Colorado News

Author: I-70 Scout

  • VIDEO: Hickenlooper Introduces Colorado’s Shailen Bhatt as Nominee for Federal Highway Administration

    Bhatt ran CDOT under Hickenlooper’s administration

      

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper today introduced Shailen Bhatt at his Senate Environment and Public Works Committee confirmation hearing to be Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), a critical position responsible for implementing many parts of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. President Joe Biden nominated Bhatt in July.

    —

    For full video of Hickenlooper’s remarks, click HERE.

    “As we implement this massive investment in our infrastructure, I cannot think of anyone better suited to lead the Federal Highway Administration,”said Hickenlooper at the hearing. “[Shailen Bhatt] is focused on results. He is able to bring people from all different backgrounds to the same point of compromise. He really will ensure safety and reliability on our highways at the same time he is creating efficiency and getting things built.” 

    The FHWA supports state and local governments in the design, construction, and maintenance of the nation’s interstate highway system. As FHWA Administrator, Bhatt will help implement the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s historic investments in roads and bridges nationwide.

    Bhatt served as the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) during Hickenlooper’s second term as Governor. He also has held senior roles at the Delaware Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Transportation. He is currently Senior Vice President of Global Transportation Innovation and Alternative Delivery at AECOM, a multinational infrastructure consulting firm. Bhatt chairs an external advisory board for the United States Department of Energy, is a member of the Aurora Safety Advisory Board for autonomous driving, and is the Chair of the ITS World Congress Board of Directors.

  • Welby Days Celebrates Historic Fall Festival at Rotella Park

    Largest Harvest Festival in Adams County
     

    What:             Welby Days—a historic fall festival with more than 70 vendors, car and tractor shows, interactive art, artisans, live performances, local produce, fall flowers, and food trucks.    

     

    Where:           Rotella Park, 1824 Coronado Pkwy., Denver

     
    When:            Saturday, Sept. 17, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
     

    Who:               The Welby Heritage Foundation, Adams County Parks, Open Space & Cultural Arts

     

    Why:              Welby Days is an historic community event and fundraiser dating back to the 1940s when local farmers would celebrate the annual harvest. Welby Days was brought back to life in 2009 and is now held annually in the fall to honor the history of the area and gather the community together. Free and open to all!

  • 2022’s Best Cities for Country Music Fans

    If bluesy, downhome lyrics sound like your life’s story, then you probably love you some good ol’ country.

    So, where are the best U.S. cities to live like you were dying?

    Marking International Country Music Day this Sept. 17 — and the re-release of Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” with Kelly Clarkson just last week — LawnStarter ranked 2022’s Best Cities for Country Music Fans.

    We compared over 180 of the biggest cities based on eight key factors, such as the number of country music concerts, access to performance venues, and the affordability of concert tickets.

    We also gauged local interest in the genre based on Google search data, the number of country music stations, and even the existence of country music museums.

    Check out the 10 best (and the 10 worst) country music scenes below, followed by some highlights and lowlights. (Click here to see where your city ranks and for surprising findings.)

    Best Cities for Country Music Fans
    Rank City
    1 Nashville, TN
    2 New York, NY
    3 Salt Lake City, UT
    4 Atlanta, GA
    5 Charleston, SC
    6 Chicago, IL
    7 Austin, TX
    8 Richmond, VA
    9 Eugene, OR
    10 Denver, CO

     

     

     

    Worst Cities for Country Music Fans
    Rank City
    1 Brownsville, TX
    2 Killeen, TX
    3 Newark, NJ
    4 Paterson, NJ
    5 Laredo, TX
    6 Palmdale, CA
    7 Hollywood, FL
    8 Lancaster, CA
    9 Mesquite, TX
    10 Garden Grove, CA

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Highlights and Lowlights:

    • Undefeated Nashville: For the second year in a row, Nashville, Tennessee, topped our ranking charts as 2022’s unofficial Country Music Capital. 

      Music City naturally dominated the Access and Genre Interest categories (No. 1 in both). Where Nashville could use a tune-up: Concert Venue Quality (No. 68) and Affordability (No. 116), though neither seems to have deterred fans.

    • Cowpoke Country: Our top 10 wouldn’t be right without at least one city from Texas, the Cowboy Capital of the World. After all, country music traces some of its roots to the Lone Star State’s cowboy and cowgirl culture.

      And what better city to fill that spot than the Live Music Capital of the World? At lucky No. 7, Austin boasts a strong country music scene. The city’s biggest strength is Genre Interest (No. 5). Austin offers plenty of upcoming country concerts, too, placing 14th in this ranking factor.

    • Country Hubs vs. Country Snubs: The biggest of the big cities boot-scooted their way to the top of our ranking (or near it). Fringe cities, on the other hand, broke our hearts with their poor performances overall.

      Newark and Paterson, New Jersey, for example, occupy two of the five worst spots, but local country fans need only visit silver medalist New York to get their country fix. It’s a similar story for Lancaster, California (eighth worst), sandwiched between two heavy hitters: Bakersfield (No. 81) — dubbed “The Country Music Capital of the West Coast” — and Los Angeles (No. 18).

    Our full ranking and analysis are available here:https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/best-cities-country-music-fans/

  • Where CO ranks among best-paying states for woodworkers

    Where CO ranks among best-paying states for woodworkers

    The last few years have brought rising demand for housing construction, home improvement projects, and durable goods. But amid supply chain challenges and an unusual labor market since the COVID-19 pandemic began, construction and related businesses have had a hard time keeping up with demand. Consumers have endured rising prices and delays on projects and big purchases as a result.

    Unfilled jobs in construction and production occupations are a primary cause of the challenges the field currently faces. Construction industry experts have estimated a workforce shortage in the industry of 650,000 in 2022, the product of both today’s high demand and years of inadequate training and hiring in the field. On top of this, production occupations—many of which are vital for manufacturing the materials and fixtures needed to complete construction projects—have also experienced a sustained decline in employment over time.


    Over the last two decades, the number of production workers in the U.S. has fallen off substantially as economic forces like globalization and especially automation have eliminated jobs. U.S. employment in production occupations reached a peak of 11.6 million early in the year 2000 and has declined by 27% since. Today, just 8.4 million people hold production jobs in the U.S. While advances in automation have helped keep productivity up, these job losses are a challenge given recent demand.

    Prospects among production occupations vary, as some fields have experienced greater decline than others. Production jobs like metal and plastic machine workers or assemblers and fabricators are projected to see continued employment declines in future years, while a number of others are expected to keep pace or even exceed growth in other fields. Production jobs that are expected to fare better include positions like machinists, which have new opportunities from advanced manufacturing, and certain skilled trades, like welders, which are harder to replace through automation.

    Woodworkers are one example of the latter category. These professionals manufacture products like cabinets and furniture using wood, veneers, and laminates. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the field is expected to grow by 8% by 2030, which is in line with the growth expected across all occupations.


    But one ongoing challenge for production occupations, including woodworking, is compensation. While jobs are available, typical rates of pay are not high enough to attract workers to the field. The average annual wage for a U.S. woodworker is $37,520, just over half the wage for higher-paying production occupations like supervisors of production ($67,330) or plant and system operators ($66,210). And wages for woodworking and many other production jobs are low relative to the rest of the economy, as the overall mean wage in the U.S. is $58,260 per year.


    Woodworkers’ compensation varies across the country, however. Many states in the South have lower wages for woodworkers. Texas offers the least favorable wages for woodworkers, with an average cost-of-living-adjusted wage of $33,820, and four other Southern states follow as the lowest-paying states. But some other locations offer solid wages for professionals in the field. National leaders Massachusetts, Iowa, and Delaware each offer average adjusted wages above $45,000 per year.

    The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. To determine the best-paying states for woodworkers, researchers at Construction Coverage calculated the mean annual wage for woodworkers, adjusted for cost of living.

    The analysis found that woodworkers in Colorado earn a mean annual wage of $41,076 after adjusting for the cost of living, compared to $37,520 nationally. Here is a summary of the data for Colorado:

    • Mean annual wage for woodworkers (adjusted): $41,076
    • Mean annual wage for woodworkers (unadjusted): $42,253
    • Mean annual wage for all production occupations: $45,400
    • Mean annual wage for all occupations: $62,900

    For reference, here are the statistics for the entire United States:

    • Mean annual wage for woodworkers (adjusted): $37,520
    • Mean annual wage for woodworkers (unadjusted): $37,520
    • Mean annual wage for all production occupations: $43,070
    • Mean annual wage for all occupations: $58,260

    For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, you can find the original report on Construction Coverage’s website: https://constructioncoverage.com/research/best-paying-states-for-woodworkers-in-2022

  • Kay unleashes nearly year’s worth of rain, flash flooding in SoCal

    Kay unleashes nearly year’s worth of rain, flash flooding in SoCal

    After bringing deadly impacts to Mexico as a hurricane, the storm lost wind intensity while pounding the Golden State — and it came close enough as a Pacific tropical storm to make the history books.

    AccuWeather Hurricane Center – September 12, 2022 – Tropical Storm Kay unleashed intense winds, flooding rains and even scorching temperatures to drought-stricken California on Friday after bringing deadly impacts to Mexico. As the storm was downgraded to a tropical rainstorm on Saturday, thousands were still without power in California and scenes of havoc were left behind following the storm’s record rainfall.

    It wasn’t just the precipitation from the storm that was notable as it took a historically close track nearing the Golden State. Kay marked the closest approach to Southern California from the Pacific in the last 50 years. The next to last point tracked by the National Hurricane Center on Sept. 10 was 130 miles offshore from San Diego, making it the closest pass to the city from the ocean side since records began in 1949, according to Jesse Ferrell, AccuWeather senior weather editor and meteorologist. The runner-up was Tropical Storm Hyacinth in 1972, which was a little farther out to sea but slightly farther north.

    At least two tropical storms made a closer approach to San Diego over land. An unnamed tropical storm in 1959 came as close as 100 miles southeast of San Diego near Agua Caliente, Mexico. Tropical Storm Kathleen was tracked to near Rancho San Isidro, Mexico, 120 miles southeast of San Diego.

    While the impacts of tropical storms typically don’t reach California, San Diego State University Professor Dr. Pat Abbott told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell that the extended heat wave in Southern California allowed Kay to move closer than usual.

    Kay unleashes nearly year’s worth of rain, flash flooding in SoCal (Full Story) >>

  • Western rainfall to bring drought relief, increase flood risk

    Western rainfall to bring drought relief, increase flood risk

    Flooding and mudslides have been common in the Southwest since Tropical Storm Kay brought an increase in moisture to the region last week. AccuWeather forecasters say more drenching rain is on the way.

    AccuWeather Global Weather Center – September 14, 2022 – After days of scorching, record-shattering heat in the western United States, cooler air has filtered in along with daily showers and thunderstorms across the region. AccuWeather forecasters say that more of the same is expected through the rest of this week, even as the exact location of these storms may shift around from day to day.

    This stretch of wet weather began late last week, with rain from Tropical Storm Kay dousing much of Southern California, and leading to issues with flooding and mudslides. Meanwhile, a surge of tropical moisture associated with the North American monsoon overspread much of the Intermountain West, bringing daily showers and thunderstorms across the region.

    Not every location across the West has had storms on a given day, but storms that have formed have often been intense, bringing heavy rainfall and strong wind gusts to some locations.

    In Phoenix, storms arrived late Sunday evening. Along with a quick 0.62 of an inch of rain in the city, damaging wind gusts reached as high as 86 mph at Sky Harbor International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the country, prompting a ground stop that caused flights to be delayed and rerouted.

    Las Vegas set a daily rainfall record on Monday when a total of 0.17 of an inch fell. The previous daily rainfall record for Sept. 12 there was 0.05 of an inch, which was set back in 1969.

    Western rainfall to bring drought relief, increase flood risk (Full Story) >>

  • Constituting America

    Colleyville, TX: Constituting America is pleased to announce our program celebrating Constitution Day/Week will take place on Friday, September 16, from 10:00 am ET to 3:30 pm ET.

    A federal law, enacted in 2004, requires schools receiving federal funds to provide educational programming about the U.S. Constitution on or around Constitution Day, September 17, the day the U.S. Constitution was signed, in 1787.  Additional information can be found in the Federal Register. This year, because Constitution Day falls on a Saturday, many schools are observing Constitution Day on Friday, September 16, and throughout the week before and after Saturday, September 17. Constituting America’s program fulfills Constitution Day requirements for schools

    Constituting America will hold online workshops for students across the country on Friday, September 16, from 10:00 am to 3:30 pm ET. In these workshops, “We The Future”scholarship contest winners will read the Constitution aloud, in its entirety.  This will be followed by 30-minute workshops with scholars and students on various aspects of the freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.  These workshops are offered free of chargeto public, private, charter, and home-school groups, as well as individuals.

    The day will begin with “We The Future” Contest winners reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and performing the National Anthem.  This will be followed by a live reading of the U.S. Constitution.

    Workshops include:

    The Constitution & Poetry, Artwork – Featuring former Texas Poet Laureate Karla Morton

    The Constitution & Communication – Featuring Harvard Institute of Politics Resident Fellow and CNN’s Alice Stewart

    The Constitution & Film – Featuring Film Producer Micheal Flaherty

    How To Have A Civil Civic Conversation – Featuring America 250 Chair and former Treasurer of the United States, Rosie Rios

    The Constitution & Song – Featuring Nashville Songwriter, Steve Dean

    Click here for more information and segment times. Sign up here: https://us.constitutingamerica.org/SignUpSeptember16

    Constituting America is a nonpartisan, educational 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to educating Americans about the U.S. Constitution, including the rights and liberties it provides and protects for all of us. 

    ConstitutingAmerica.org

  • Western rainfall to bring drought relief, increase flood risk

    Western rainfall to bring drought relief, increase flood risk

    Flooding and mudslides have been common in the Southwest since Tropical Storm Kay brought an increase in moisture to the region last week. AccuWeather forecasters say more drenching rain is on the way.

    AccuWeather Global Weather Center – September 13, 2022 – After days of scorching, record-shattering heat in the western United States, cooler air has filtered in along with daily showers and thunderstorms across the region. AccuWeather forecasters say that more of the same is expected through the rest of this week, even as the exact location of these storms may shift around from day to day.

    This stretch of wet weather began late last week, with rain from Tropical Storm Kay dousing much of Southern California, and leading to issues with flooding and mudslides. Meanwhile, a surge of tropical moisture associated with the North American monsoon overspread much of the Intermountain West, bringing daily showers and thunderstorms across the region.

    Not every location across the West has had storms on a given day, but storms that have formed have often been intense, bringing heavy rainfall and strong wind gusts to some locations.

    Western rainfall to bring drought relief, increase flood risk (Full Story) >>

  • Colorado Is One of Just 10 States With No Oscars or Primetime Emmys

    Colorado Is One of Just 10 States With No Oscars or Primetime Emmys

    With the commencement of the fall television season every September, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences recognizes achievement in television production at the annual Emmy Awards. The 2022 Emmys will be awarded on September 12. This year, series like Succession, The White Lotus, and Ted Lasso are among the primetime drama and comedy series with the most award nominations and poised for big nights at the Emmy ceremony.

    The Emmys and their film-oriented awards counterpart, the Oscars, today have more content than ever to assess when identifying excellence in the field. With major investments over the last decade from streaming giants like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and Apple, in addition to more traditional production and distribution companies, TV and film creators have abundant opportunities to showcase their talent. These creators include the actors and actresses who power TV and film productions.


    The Emmys and Oscars tend to focus on productions from the U.S., and as such, performers from the U.S. have won a significant majority of acting awards over time. More than four in five Oscar and Primetime Emmy acting awards (81.7%) have been won by actors and actresses from the U.S., compared to around one in five (18.3%) for international performers. In recent years, however, international actors and actresses have increased their share of awards: 59 of the 154 Emmys and Oscars awarded to international performers have been earned since 2000.


    Domestically, New York and California are the leading states for the entertainment industry in the U.S., so it is unsurprising that the two states together account for more than one-third of Oscar and Emmy acting awards. New York’s dominance in television is especially notable: the state’s actors and actresses have earned a total of 137 Emmys, more than double the 56 earned by second place California. New York and California also far surpass other states when it comes to Oscars, with 50 and 40, respectively. The state with the next highest number of Oscars, Illinois, has just 16 awards in comparison.


    Beyond New York and California, most of the locations that have produced acting awards at the Emmys and Oscars are high-population states where actors and actresses have ample opportunity to hone their craft. Illinois, which has strong theater and comedy scenes in Chicago, has produced a total of 44 Emmy and Oscar winners for acting. And performers in neighboring states take advantage of these opportunities too: New Jersey has produced 36 winners, likely due in part to its proximity to New York, while Illinois neighbors Wisconsin and Missouri have together accounted for another 53 winners. But a total of 10 states—mostly smaller or more remote locations—have produced no winners.

    To identify the states that have born the best actors and actresses, researchers at HotDog.com ranked U.S. states and territories according to the total number of eligible Oscar and Primetime Emmy Awards won by actors and actresses born in each location. The data was sourced from the Official Academy Awards Database and the Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners database.

    Here are the U.S. states and territories that have born the best actors and actresses.


    State Rank Total awards Total Oscars Total Primetime Emmys Winningest actor/actress Year of most recent award
    New York 1 187 50 137 Julia Louis-Dreyfus (8 Emmys) 2020 (Billy Crudup, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series & Julia Garner, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series)
    California 2 96 40 56 Helen Hunt (1 Oscar & 4 Emmys) & Candice Bergen (5 Emmys) 2021 (Jessica Chastain, Best Actress)
    Illinois 3 44 16 28 Dennis Franz (4 Emmys) 2021 (Gillian Anderson, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series)
    New Jersey 4 36 14 22 Peter Dinklage (4 Emmys) 2019 (Peter Dinklage, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series)
    Massachusetts 5 34 14 20 Allison Janney (6 Emmys) 2020 (Jeremy Strong, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series)
    Missouri 6 29 10 19 Doris Roberts (5 Emmys) & Ed Asner (5 Emmys) 2017 (Sterling K. Brown, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series)
    Wisconsin 7 24 4 20 Tyne Daly (6 Emmys) 2019 (Tony Shalhoub, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series)
    Pennsylvania 8 23 8 15 Bill Cosby (3 Emmys) 2021 (Will Smith, Best Actor)
    Ohio 9 21 6 15 Patricia Wettig (3 Emmys) 2014 (Anna Gunn, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series)
    Texas 10 20 8 12 Jim Parsons (4 Emmys) 2019 (Renee Zellweger, Best Actress)
    Connecticut 11 17 5 12 Katharine Hepburn (3 Oscars) & Christopher Lloyd (3 Emmys) 2009 (Glenn Close, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series)
    Oklahoma 12 15 4 11 Bill Hader (2 Emmys) & Larry Drake (2 Emmys) 2019 (Brad Pitt, Best Supporting Actor & Bill Hader, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series)
    Michigan 13 12 3 9 12 different people with 1 award each 2014 (J. K. Simmons, Best Supporting Actor)
    District of Columbia 14 11 3 8 Michael Learned (4 Emmys) 2007 (Katherine Heigl, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series)
    Minnesota 15 8 4 4 Jessica Lange (2 Oscars) & E.G. Marshall (2 Emmys) 2016 (Louie Anderson, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series)

    For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, you can find the original report on HotDog.com’s website: https://hotdog.com/blog/states-best-actors/

  • 2022’s Best Cities for Chocolate Lovers

    Chocolate is wonderful on its own, but this luxurious treat also has the superpower to enhance the flavor of other foods like strawberries, bacon, pretzels, and coffee.

    To mark International Chocolate Day on Sept. 13, Lawn Love ranked 2022’s Best Cities for Chocolate Lovers.

    We looked among the 190 biggest U.S. cities for abundant chocolate factories and high-quality shops selling chocolate, including chocolatiers, dessert shops, and patisseries. We also considered chocolate-themed entertainment like museums, tours, theme parks, and events.

    Check out the 10 sweetest (and 10 bitterest) cities for chocolate lovers below, followed by key insights from our report. (See where your city ranks.)

        Best Cities for Chocolate Lovers
    Rank City
    1 New York, NY
    2 San Francisco, CA
    3 Las Vegas, NV
    4 Hershey, PA
    5 Los Angeles, CA
    6 Seattle, WA
    7 Chicago, IL
    8 Orlando, FL
    9 San Diego, CA
    10 Dallas, TX

     

    Worst Cities for Chocolate Lovers
    Rank City
    1 Sioux Falls, SD
    2 Columbus, GA
    3 Mesquite, TX
    4 Garland, TX
    5 Fayetteville, NC
    6 Clarksville, TN
    7 Surprise, AZ
    8 Hayward, CA
    9 Hampton, VA
    10 Newport News, VA

    Key insights:

    • Big-city bonbons: New York takes the crown of the chocolate empire at No. 1 overall and in the Access category. The city is home to over 100 chocolate shops and the most chocolate manufacturers in the country.

      Las Vegas, at No. 3, is its own Chocolate Sin City, far outnumbering the competition in dessert shops, candy shops, and ice cream shops. Chicago (No. 7) follows closely behind, with the second-highest number of chocolate stores and bakeries.

    • Willy Wonka’s West: Indulgent San Francisco (No. 2) is home to industry icon Ghirardelli in addition to a number of smaller artisans and manufacturers. Head to Los Angeles (No. 5) and San Diego (No. 9), boasting plenty of patisseries, candy stores, and dessert shops to satisfy your cocoa-flavored cravings. 

      Up north, cities like Seattle (No. 6) and Portland (No. 14) also impress with many high-quality chocolate shops and bakeries, coffee shops, and dessert shops.

    • Charming confections: The Sweetest Place on Earth — Hershey, Pennsylvania (No. 4) — might not have a variety of tasty chocolate shops to choose from, but it’s the perfect place to go if you’re looking for the ultimate chocolate-based entertainment: a chocolate theme park. 

      If you’re just searching for a good bite of chocolate, you might unexpectedly find it in small cities, such as Des Moines, Iowa (No. 19), Pomona, California (No. 26), and Garden Grove, California (No. 16).

    • Desolate desserts: You won’t have many choices for combatting your chocolate cravings in small cities like Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Columbus, Georgia, and Mesquite, Texas, our three worst cities overall.

      These cities gave a bittersweet performance across the board, with scarce options for their small-town chocolate lovers.

    Our full ranking and analysis are available here: https://lawnlove.com/blog/best-cities-chocolate-lovers/