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01_24_24_headlines Franziska Stangl
New housing facility for people experiencing homelessness
Boulder has unveiled a new housing facility for people experiencing chronic homelessness.
Located at 2445 30th St., Bluebird adds 40 permanent supportive housing units and brings the city’s total number of permanent supportive housing units to 150.
The Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, which provides support for the Bluebird facility, also plans to bring in clinical mental health services as well as peer support services.
Extension of the Denver Basic Income Project
The Denver Basic Income Project announced this week that it will extend its pilot program to provide no-strings-attached payments to around 850 currently or formerly unhoused individuals for another 6 months.
According to The Denver Post, the city is using unspent pandemic funds and money from a private trust to fund the largest-of-its kind program, focusing on providing cash to unhoused individuals.
The results of a mid-point survey about the initiative found that 35% of project participants were housed after half a year, compared to only 8% at the beginning of the year.
Colorado Rep. to introduce bill for increased access to abortions
U.S. Representative Yadira Caraveo said Monday she plans to introduce a bill in Congress that would increase access to abortions.
The Abortion Care Enhancement and Support Services Act of 2024 would be a grant program to financially support health care access to reproductive care and abortions in states where the procedure is legal, like in Colorado.
Caraveo’s bill would not only facilitate reproductive health care access but also take the strain off of states where abortion is still legal.
Impacts of the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act
Eco-Cycle estimates that Colorado’s plastic bag law is resulting in about 1.5 billion fewer plastic bags.
The Plastic Pollution Reduction Act, which came into effect January 1st, encourages shoppers to reuse shopping bags. If a retailer wants to continue providing plastic bags, they will now charge customers ten cents per bag. By this coming June, stores will no longer provide single-use plastic bags.
Randy Moorman, the director of policy and community campaigns at Eco-Cycle, said to 9News that the bags presented risks not only to wildlife but to humans by breaking down into microplastics that can pollute our water, air, and food.
Denver pastor charged in alleged crypto scam
A Denver pastor and his wife are facing civil fraud charges for alleged violations of the Colorado Securities Act.
Pastor Eli Regalado and his wife Kaitlyn created and marketed a cryptocurrency to members of the Christian community, according to The Denver Gazette.
The complaint against them says the cryptocurrency, known as INDXcoin, is practically worthless. It alleges that investors lost millions of dollars, which the defendants used to support what The Gazette called a “lavish” lifestyle.
The Colorado Securities Commission says the Regalados marketed their crypto as a low risk, high profit investment, even after an auditor’s report described it as unsafe and unsecure. Commissioner Tung Chan said the pastor exploited the trust and faith of the Christian community.
The Gazette also says that in a YouTube podcast, Pastor Regalado admitted to having spent time in prison for auto theft when he was twenty-two.
