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MorningMagazine_2024-10-16 Jack Dawson
Kroger executives say Albertsons isn’t even their real competition so it has no motive to try to create a monopoly by merging. Weiser says that’s not true
Kroger executives defended their proposed $24.6 billion merger with Albertsons in Denver District Court this week, claiming the deal is essential to compete with Walmart, which they describe as their main rival.
Stuart Aitkin, Kroger’s Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer, argued that Walmart controls 3.5 times the grocery sales of Kroger, making it the primary competitor—not Albertsons.
He insisted that the merger would allow Kroger to better compete with Walmart by closing the price gap and ultimately saving customers $1 billion annually within four years.
Kroger also dismissed concerns about reduced competition, stating that the merger isn’t about eliminating Albertsons as a competitor, but about matching Walmart’s prices, which they have built their entire strategy around.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser countered this narrative, calling it misleading. He pointed to internal Kroger emails showing the company closely monitors Albertsons’ pricing, promotions, and e-commerce strategies—proving that Albertsons is, in fact, a key competitor.
Weiser argued that if Kroger absorbs Albertsons, it will significantly reduce competition in Colorado and allow Kroger to increase prices, especially in areas where Walmart isn’t as strong.
He cited Kroger’s history of raising prices in regions with limited competition, such as Colorado’s mountain towns, where gross margins doubled after price hikes.
Aurora Councilperson Danielle Jurinsky threatens Polis that she has haunting video of Venezuelan immigrants in Aurora. Polis says it sounds like a problem for police
Governor Jared Polis alerted law enforcement on Tuesday after Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky claimed to have “haunting” video evidence of Venezuelan gang activity. During a City Council meeting on Monday, Jurinsky told Polis to contact her or she would “release the footage.”
Polis’ office, through a spokesperson, confirmed they had informed state law enforcement and the Aurora Police Department, urging Jurinsky to hand over the video immediately.
According to Denverite, Jurinsky made her claims during the same meeting where she pushed for an investigation into whether Polis and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston had secretly moved immigrants into Aurora. She accused them of working with nonprofits to relocate migrants without notifying city officials, which she said endangered residents.
This all follows heightened national attention on Aurora, especially after former President Donald Trump raised concerns about crime and immigration in the city during a recent rally. Aurora’s Mayor Mike Coffman and Police Chief Todd Chamberlain have rejected these claims, insisting the city is safe. Despite their reassurances, Jurinsky continues to argue that there is a larger issue and aligns herself with Trump’s rhetoric.
So far, no further details about the video or any investigation have been made public. Jurinsky has not shared more about the content of the footage.
Aurora PD recruiting officers at Trump Rally
Meanwhile, Aurora’s newly minted Police Chief Todd Chamberlain defended his department’s decision to recruit potential officers at the rally for former President Donald Trump on Friday, following criticism from some local officials.
In a statement on social media, Chamberlain responded to concerns, saying that political affiliation does not disqualify someone from being a police officer. He added that the department recruits at various events, and sees large gatherings as an opportunity to attract diverse candidates amid a national shortage of officers.
According to Denverite, Chamberlain’s comments came after some council members labeled the department’s presence at the rally as inappropriate, citing Trump’s controversial remarks on immigration.
Trump’s comments about the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, drew particular backlash, including from Republican Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, who disputed Trump’s claims about crime in the city. Despite the criticism, Chamberlain emphasized that the Aurora Police Department remains “apolitical” and committed to serving the community.
Aurora has struggled to fill police positions in recent years, facing challenges tied to its reputation and issues with excessive force, including the deaths of Elijah McClain and Kilyn Lewis this year.
Denver drops charges against Pro-Palestine demonstrators
Denver prosecutors have dropped charges against several protesters after police arrested them during a pro-Palestine demonstration at Auraria Campus in April. The protest camp, which opposed Israel’s genocide in Gaza, lasted for three weeks before law enforcement dispersed it. It resulted in 80 arrests or summonses, mostly for trespassing. The city has not clarified how many cases it dismissed, but according to Denverite, some protesters, including professors, had their charges dropped due to factors like a lack of evidence or successful completion of sentencing terms.
Denverite reports that not all protesters have had their charges dropped . Paul Nelson, one of the camp’s organizers, still faces trial in November.
Since the summer, Denver police say they will no longer make similar arrests at future protests, as department leaders question the legal grounds for those actions.
Highliners Cross Boulder’s Flatirons After Years of Planning
A group of 11 highliners finally realized their dream of walking a slackline between Boulder’s First and Third Flatirons on Saturday, after years of planning and working to get city approval.
Highliners, who walk on narrow slacklines at extreme heights, balanced 450 feet above the ground, with six successfully completing the 1,100-foot-long line.
The event was delayed for years due to concerns from Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks Department over safety and trail disruption. However, after highliner Logan Henning presented a detailed safety plan, the city granted the group a permit in August.
Eli Ellis, a Boulder native and one of the highliners, called it a childhood dream come true, managing to walk part of the line the day before his wedding.
Three highliners completed the crossing without falling, including Henning, who was the first to “send” the line, meaning he made it across without a slip.
A Haitian worker at the JBS meatpacking plant filed charges about conditions that Haitian workers are forced to work under
Haitian workers at the JBS meatpacking plant are being forced to work at dangerous speeds and can only take limited bathroom breaks. That’s according to an employee who filed a report with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging JBS intentionally discriminates against Haitian workers by subjecting them to specifically poor working conditions.
Current workers at the facility in Greely – many of them from Haiti – are responsible for removing fat from beef as it moves down a production line at JBS, hooking the beef with one hand and removing the fat with a knife. The worker who filed the report said that he was forced to work at such speeds that on any given shift he couldn’t take his hand off the hook. Because of these conditions, his hand is in such pain that he can’t close his fingers.
The report also said that workers were not permitted to use the bathroom during shifts, forcing Haitian workers to hold their urine for hours at a time.
A typical hour on the production line would produce 250-300 cattle heads per hour, but JBS has sped up production times to 430 cattle head per hour – a substantial uptick from other production lines. That’s according to The Denver Post.
Employees have long complained about the working conditions at Greeley’s JBS facility, citing concerns around risks of cutting themselves or being disciplined for not keeping up. In 2021, a worker died after an on-the-job fall. The fatality occurred after others experienced amputations, lacerations, and thermal burns as a result of incidents at the facility.
JBS has also been recently accused of human trafficking, The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 urged federal, state, and local authorities last month to investigate JBS over potential human trafficking and labor violations at the Greeley plant.
