There’s good news for the snow pack and water supplies in the metro area.
The South Platte River Basin, which includes Boulder County, received 247% of median snow-pack in May.
This increase reflected a statewide trend of heavy precipitation for the month of May as a result of the snowstorm that occurred between May 18 and 19 which dumped 42 inches of snow in some mountain west of Boulder.
There was more precipitation in the month of May than in the previous two months combined and also more than in May 2016 and May 2014.
A report released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition reveals that the average Denver renter cannot afford a one bedroom apartment in the metro area. The federal government defines “affordable” as spending less than ⅓ of one’s income on housing. Assuming fair market rent, Denver renters need to earn $19.83 per hour to pay for a one bedroom apartment while their actual wages average to $19.41 per hour. At minimum wage, renting in Denver is even less affordable, requiring 2.1 jobs to live in a one bedroom apartment. The study concludes that renting in Denver is more expensive than in Boulder and shows that Colorado is becoming a more expensive place to rent overall.
The University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, has received a $1 million grant to help increase the graduation rates of students from under-served populations. The grant comes from Howard Hughes Medical Center as part of their Inclusive Excellence initiative, which aims to support college students of underrepresented groups pursuing degrees in science. Susan Keenan, a professor and director of the School of Biological Sciences at UNC, told the Greeley Tribune that the money will be used in to develop a more inclusive culture in the university’s STEM departments. The school plans to restructure curriculum and change current policies. By also training faculty on inclusivity, it aims to create a new classroom model that is more welcoming to students from under-served backgrounds. The long term goal is to increase the retention and graduation rates of STEM students from underrepresented populations at UNC.
