3A Boys Playoffs First Round
No. 22 Strasburg at No. 11 Faith Christian, 7 p.m.
https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/faith-christian-academy-arvada-co/gam8d49b8307b
Six-Mile Bike, Pedestrian Trail Extension Important Part of Road Widening Project
Aurora, CO: Bikers, walkers and rollers can rejoice in E-470’s announcement of the completion of the extension of the High Plains Trail. Running along the west side of the highway from Quincy Avenue to Stephen D. Hogan Pkwy., the six-mile extension of the High Plains Trail is the continuation of a multi-year phased approach to build an east metro regional trail network. This announcement comes just weeks after E-470 completed a road widening project that expanded the highway adding a third lane in both directions from Quincy Avenue to I-70.
The expanded trail provides a connection to five neighborhoods in the region and features a 10-foot-wide concrete path in addition to two-foot-wide shoulders, providing ample paved space for pedestrians and bikers.
“The expansion of the High Plains Trail represents E-470’s commitment to supporting our member jurisdictions and local communities through access to multi-modal transportation options,” said E-470 Executive Director Tim Stewart. “We value the many partners that support the expansion of this regional trail network, and look forward to seeing future expansion of the trail continue to connect communities in the region.”
Safety was a top priority for the expansion of the trail. Features include three grade-separated crossings at Hampden Avenue, Jewell Avenue and CO 30, along with one at-grade crossing at Quincy Ave. Environmental and floodplain considerations were also incorporated into the final selection of the trail alignment.
The Authority partnered with Arapahoe Parks and Recreation District to route the trail through the future Country Park just north of Quincy Avenue to improve the trail user experience. The City of Aurora will maintain the trail.
Additional tie-in and connectivity for the trail is being explored by local jurisdictions and stakeholders including the Town of Parker, Aurora and Arapahoe County, with the ultimate goal of connecting to the existing Cherry Creek Trail west of Parker Rd. Future E-470 road widening activities north of I-70 will incorporate additional extension of this east metro regional trail network.
Washington, D.C. – Today, Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D), a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and John Hickenlooper (D), a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, called on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack to support wildfire recovery efforts in Colorado after the state faced the three largest wildfires in Colorado history in 2020.
In the letter, Bennet and Hickenlooper highlighted the importance of USDA programs like the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) program to ongoing wildfire recovery efforts. While effective, these programs are often hamstrung by administrative hurdles and inconsistent funding.
“Last summer, wildfires consumed over 10 million acres across the country, with almost 50 percent burning on National Forest Service land. In Colorado, we saw the three largest fires in state history and over 350,000 acres burned on federal land,” wrote Bennet and Hickenlooper in a letter to Secretary Vilsack. “[W]e encourage you to use USDA’s broad discretion to maximize flexibilities as needed, and we stand ready to work with you in Congress to ensure that wildfire recovery programs have the funding and flexibility they need.”
“We appreciate your demonstrated commitment to our forests and watersheds and look forward to working with you in the months ahead to ensure that Colorado communities have a partner in the USDA as they recover from these devastating wildfires,” the senators concluded.
As a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Bennet has consistently worked in Congress to improve EWP project delivery—urging the Government Accountability Office to review the program and introducing the Making Access to Cleanup Happen (MATCH) Act with U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah) to expedite cleanup and increase flexibility for local matching requirements.
In September, Bennet led U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and U.S. Representatives Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) in urging the USDA to quickly approve EWP funding to mitigate and recover from wildfire damage. Days later, Bennet announced USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) approved the first tranche of EWP funds for $5 million worth of projects in Colorado to mitigate and recover from wildfires. Later that month, Bennet and a group of Western Democratic senators sent a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to provide additional federal assistance to improve the response to wildfires and assist the states, Tribes, and communities grappling with fires and their aftermath.
In October, Bennet joined his colleagues in asking the National Guard for a report on its readiness to help states prepare, fight, and recover from wildfires. Later that month, Bennet, Neguse, and Gardner sent a letter to the USFS and USDA NRCS to request that they work with the State of Colorado and local governments to address the threat posed by recent fires to the region’s watersheds and water supply. Bennet also urged Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to improve pay, job stability, and benefits for federal wildfire personnel. At the end of the month, Bennet visited Grand and Larimer counties to meet with local officials and first responders to assess the damage from the East Troublesome fire and the Cameron Peak fire.
In November, Bennet led Wyden, Gardner, and U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) in two letters requesting that the Senate Committee on Appropriations include funding for wildfire recovery efforts in the West in the end-of-year appropriations.
In December, Bennet and the entire Colorado Congressional Delegation sent a letter to Trump urging swift approval of Colorado Governor Jared Polis’s request to designate Colorado’s wildfires as a Major Disaster to bring in needed recovery funds for the state. In January, the administration granted the disaster declaration.
The text of today’s letter is available HERE and below.
Interactive drive-in sessions will explore folktales through light and sound
THORNTON, Colo. — March 3, 2021 – On Saturday, March 13, the community and media partners are invited to hear and see folktales like never before at Anythink Brighton. Anythink Drive-In: A Wildly Wonderful, Curiously Celestial Adventure in Storytellingwill provide two opportunities for families to experience an immersive storytelling session from the comfort of their vehicles. Created in conjunction with Alt Ethos, a Denver-based experiential design studio, the Anythink Drive-In will feature a variety of folktales – from Rumpelstiltskin to Anansi the Spider – told using light and sound. Using an FM transmitter, participants will be able to tune in to a broadcast from their car while lights and other visual elements accompany the tales.
“At Anythink, creativity knows no bounds, and this is especially true when our staff and partners combine forces,” says Anythink Director of Strategic Partnerships Stacie Ledden. “Between the passion for storytelling from our Anythink Brighton staff and Alt Ethos’ ability to bring tales to life through light and sound, the Anythink Drive-In will be an interactive experience that families will never forget.”
“We are thrilled to continue our creative partnership with Anythink and deliver to the community an imaginative event to create inspiration and delight,” says Alt Ethos CEO Ethan Bach.
At the events, attendees will receive special materials and instructions to participate from their vehicles. Stories are appropriate for all ages, and fantastic costumes of all kinds are encouraged. Anythink Drive-In: A Wildly Wonderful, Curiously Celestial Adventure in Storytelling will have two sessions at 6:30 pm and 8:30 pm. Both events are free and open to the public, but advance registration is required online. Participants should register once per vehicle.
Reservations for both showings are quickly filling, but special accommodations and additional opportunities are available for media.
This immersive storytelling experience is one example of how the library continues to engage with community partners and thought-leaders to provide unique and creative opportunities for the residents of Adams County. Anythink previously partnered with Alt Ethos in 2019 to create The Singing Tree, an interactive public art piece permanently on display at Anythink Perl Mack.
-Event Details-
Anythink Drive-In: A Wildly Wonderful, Curiously Celestial Adventure in Storytelling
Saturday, March 13, 2021
6:30 pm & 8:30 pm
Anythink Brighton, 327 E. Bridge St., Brighton, CO 80601
Take a drive to Anythink Brighton for an immersive storytelling experience, where you’ll be guided through a world of light, color and sound. During this multi-sensory adventure, hear and see folktales in a whole new way, all from the comfort of your vehicle. Invite the whole family to participate in this wildly wonderful interactive adventure in storytelling. All special materials will be provided on-site. All you need is an FM radio and your imagination! Fantastic costumes of all kinds encouraged. This magical journey is appropriate for all ages. Space is limited; advance registration required at anythinklibraries.org. Please register once per vehicle. This experience is brought to you by Anythink Libraries and Alt Ethos.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – A Colorado Springs man who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor poaching charges in three counties likely will never legally hunt again in Colorado or 47 other states after a Colorado Parks and Wildlife hearing examiner permanently suspended his hunting privileges.
Iniki Vike Kapu, 28, had been accused by Colorado Parks and Wildlife of illegally killing 12 deer, 2 turkeys and a bighorn sheep ram across the region.
Kapu entered one guilty plea in December 2019 in 4th Judicial District Court in Teller County.
Then in February 2020, Kapu appeared in the 11th Judicial District Court in Fremont County and pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a bighorn sheep. He also pleaded guilty to illegal possession of three or more big game animals.
A few days later, as part of the plea agreement, Kapu was fined $4,600 and sentenced to six months in jail and three years supervised probation in Fremont County.
Kapu forfeited all the weapons he used in the poaching incidents.
But that didn’t end his punishment. Last week, CPW hearing examiner Steven Cooley issued his decision permanently suspending Kapu’s hunting privileges.
“Mr. Kapu’s crimes against wildlife are the essence of what defines a poacher by taking wildlife without regard for the laws protecting them,” Cooley wrote in his decision.
“Iniki Kapu is viewed as a serious threat to Colorado’s wildlife and his violations are among the worst. The severity and level of indifference for wildlife in this case are rarely seen and cannot be tolerated.”
And because Colorado is a member of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, Kapu’s lifetime hunting ban extends to the other 47 states that are members of the compact. Only Hawaii and Massachusetts are not yet members of the compact.
“Let this be a warning to anyone out there who is contemplating poaching wildlife in Colorado,” said Frank McGee, CPW area wildlife manager in Colorado Springs. “Colorado Parks and Wildlife aggressively pursues anyone who illegally takes wildlife. When you poach, you are stealing from all residents of Colorado.
“And your acts are an insult to all the hunters who follow the rules, who buy the licenses that pay for wildlife management, who respect the hunting seasons and abide by principles of fair chase.”
Kapu, who declined to participate in the hearing on his hunting privileges, has 35 days to appeal the lifetime suspension to the CPW Commission.
CPW had accused Kapu of illegally killing big game animals in Teller, Fremont and Chaffee counties. The Chaffee County case, also in the 11th Judicial District, wrapped up May 22, 2019, when Kapu pleaded guilty to illegal possession of wildlife and was fined $900.
Kapu’s plea agreements cap an investigation by CPW officers started by a citizen tip about illegal killing of wildlife in October 2018 linked to a red truck, stuck and abandoned on a remote road in the Pike National Forest.
It had a dead deer in the back and the meat was spoiled. In Colorado, hunters are required by law to prepare all harvested big game for human consumption. The removal of hides, antlers, heads and abandoning the animal’s meat can bring up to class-five felony charges against anyone suspected of the crime.
The guilty pleas capped months of investigative work by CPW officers Tim Kroening, Philip Gurule and Kim Woodruff as well as partner agencies including the Teller County Sheriff’s Office, Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office, Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Forest Service, the Colorado Springs Police Department, the Wyoming Game and Fish Forensic Laboratory and 11th and 4th Judicial District Attorneys’ Offices.
Anyone with information of a possible crime against wildlife is asked to call CPW, or report it anonymously to Operation Game Thief, or OGT. Reach OGT by calling, toll-free, 1-877-COLO-OGT (or 877-265-6648). Verizon users can dial #OGT. Or email CPW at .
A $500 reward is offered for information on cases involving big game or endangered species, while $250 is offered for information on turkey and $100 for fishing and small game cases.
A Citizens Committee administers the reward fund, which is maintained by private contributions. The board may approve rewards of up to $1,000 for flagrant cases. Rewards are paid for information that leads to an arrest or a citation being issued.
To learn more about Operation Game Thief, visit the CPW website
Colorado expects to receive its first allotment of Janssen’s COVID-19 vaccine this week. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Janssen vaccine on Feb. 27. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) anticipates receiving an order of 45,500 Janssen vaccines by Friday, March 5. The state treats all orders as estimates until it receives the doses. The Janssen vaccine will be available to eligible Coloradans as soon as Friday at a number of community vaccination sites across the state.
“We are thrilled to be able to distribute a third safe and effective vaccine in the state of Colorado,” said Dr. Eric France, chief medical officer, Colorado Department Public Health Environment. “The authorization of the Janssen vaccine will make it easier for the state to reach its vaccination goals as more people become eligible in the weeks to come. When it’s your turn to get a vaccine — whether it’s Moderna, Pfizer, or Janssen — I hope you choose to get it. With every dose administered, we are all safer and closer to ending this crisis.”
The FDA’s authorization comes after a series of clinical trials showing that the Janssen vaccine is safe and effective. Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which each require two doses, the Janssen vaccine requires only one dose. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are both mRNA vaccines, while the Janssen vaccine is a modified adenovirus vaccine, which means it uses a different delivery system to train the immune system to fight COVID-19. Modified adenovirus DNA vaccines, like the Janssen vaccine, use a piece of double-stranded DNA to teach your body how to fight COVID-19. mRNA vaccines, like the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, use single-stranded mRNA. The goal of every vaccine is the same — they just use a different strategy to achieve that goal.
None of the currently authorized vaccines is currently recommended over any other. All three vaccines are safe and work well to prevent moderate to severe COVID-19 disease.
For more information about COVID-19 vaccines, please visit CDPHE’s vaccine webpage.
Continue to stay up to date by visiting covid19.colorado.gov.
PINE, Colo. – The Friends of Staunton State Park group along with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and numerous community supporters will begin Phase 1 of the restoration project of the Staunton Homestead Cabin. This project is paid for in part by a History Colorado – State Historical Fund grant.
Staunton State Park is looking for volunteers to participate in the restoration work.
Some basics:
In 1918, the Staunton’s homesteaded 80 acres in the beautiful Elk Creek Valley in western Jefferson County. By 1930 the ranch had expanded to 1,720 acres and included a logging operation and children’s summer camps. The Staunton Homestead Cabin, completed in 1918, is historically significant due to the activities of the Staunton family. Both Dr. Archibald and Dr. Rachael Staunton were prominent Denverite physicians and philanthropists. The rustic style of the Staunton Cabin and the Staunton’s medicinal work in the mountain community offers the potential to yield important historical teaching opportunities as it provides a window into Rocky Mountain living in the 1900’s.
Frances Staunton, the only child of Archibald and Rachael, lived most of her life on the ranch. In 1986, three years before Frances died, she willed the entire ranch, including the family cabin to the State of Colorado, with specification that the ranch become a state park so that all people could enjoy this beautiful place. Staunton State Park opened to the public in 2013.
Phase 1 of the restoration work will begin in early April 2021 and will continue through to the end of June 2021.
People interesting in helping but unable to participate physically can support the restoration project through financial donations by contacting for more information.
By MARK KENNEDY — AP Entertainment Writer
Billie Holiday has always been a monster of a role. Diana Ross tackled her on film and Audra McDonald did it on stage. Now it’s time for Andra Day — a singer and actress perfectly named to play Lady Day — and she shines. It’s a pity the film she’s in is so messy.
In the frustrating “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” Day gives it her all as Holiday but she can’t save a film that is overstuffed and also thin. Director Lee Daniels and screenwriter Suzan-Lori Parks offer an unfocused, meandering work for much of the time, interrupted by devastating scenes that feel like a punch to the gut.
Day plays Holiday in the last years of her life as a haunted and crushed icon, an addict with terrible choices in men but the voice of an angel. Day’s body is angular and lean and seemingly always prepared for blows to rain down, a piece of gum and a cigarette ever-present in her mouth. But she is also liable to punch back and rip into anyone crossing her. It is a remarkable performance, not least because it is Day’s first acting role.
Daniels and Park have chosen as their skeleton an unlikely love affair between Holiday and Jimmy Fletcher, a Black federal agent ordered to infiltrate her group and get her arrested for using heroin. Why? Because whites cannot stand her singing the anti-lynching song “Strange Fruit.”
The material is adapted from Johann Hari’s “Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs.” It’s now the third recent movie project to show government infiltration of Black leaders, following the “MLK/FBI” documentary and the film “Judas and the Black Messiah.”
The film suffers a stuttering start — and the introduction of a poor framing device with a sit-down Holiday interview — before going back in time 10 years and tracing the toll drugs and abuse slowly take on an increasingly haggard Holiday, leading to her death in 1959.
The natural villain in this piece would be the agent who rats out Holiday several times before falling in love with her. The filmmakers haven’t quite figured him out. Why would Holiday allow a federal agent who has helped arrest her twice back into her life? “It’s complicated,” she says.
Trevante Rhodes, who was super in “Moonlight,” plays the infiltrator, a man torn between his job and his race. He and fellow Black agents toil in the basement in segregated areas, tasked with planting evidence to bring down Black icons for white America. “You ever feel strange about what we’re doing?” an agent askes Fletcher.
The real bad guy is Federal Bureau of Narcotics leader Harry J. Anslinger (a mustache-twirling Garrett Hedlund), who is a virulent racist and cartoonishly unsubtle about it. “This jazz music is the devil’s work. That’s why this Holiday woman has got to be stopped,” he says.
But a film that desperately needs to be taut is anything but, making space for over-the-top dog funerals, distractions like Roy Cohn and Holiday’s friendship with Tallulah Bankhead. And yet there are moments of brilliance, as when Jimmy takes heroin and Lady Day appears in the haze of his high as a child to take him for a flashback to the whorehouse she spent time in as a youth. It is a fascinating technique but quickly abandoned.
The best parts are listening to Day as her Holiday sings onstage — perfectly put together with a red lip and a big blossom over her right ear — and watches the men in her life sit at lounge tables and determine her fate. Sometimes her gowns hid cracked ribs. “She look like a million bucks but she feels like nothing,” we are told.
The film’s clear climax is a scene in which Holiday stumbles on a rural family after a lynching and it is searing, anguishing and horrific, images that will stay with the viewer as much as they fueled Holiday’s need to sing “Strange Fruit” despite the risks to her career. The scene is filmed like a kaleidoscope as Holiday goes from outside to inside and then seamlessly onstage to sing her signature song.
The film is bookended by reminders of America’s history of lynching. It opens with an image of a Black man murdered by a mob and, heartbreakingly, closes with a note that a bill to designate lynching as a federal hate crime has stalled in the Senate.
“The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” a Hulu release, is rated R for drug use, domestic violence, language, nudity and mature themes. Running time: 130 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
DENVER – Governor Polis released a statement following reports that the FDA has said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine protects against COVID-19.
“I’m thrilled that a third safe and highly effective vaccine will soon arrive in Colorado. Having a vaccine that only requires one dose will help us move more quickly to end the pandemic, and I encourage the federal government to not only approve, but ramp up supply as quickly as possible. We are ready to use many more vaccine doses than we are currently receiving each week.”