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Racial Discrimination Allegations At CU Boulder
A doctoral student at CU Boulder is alleging he was targeted by racist remarks from university staff members.
Adi Prakash said that reporting the incident only made things worse.
Prakash said it all began on Sep. 5 when he heated up Indian food in a shared anthropology department microwave.
The Daily Camera reports that two CU staff members walked into the shared space and told Prakash they didn’t like the smell, and said he should heat up his food somewhere else.
Prakash told the Camera that he spoke with the staff members, expecting a resolution. Instead, he wound up banned from heating food in the microwave and his partner lost her paid teaching assistant position at the university.
Prakash said this is nothing new and that South Asian cultures have been battling food racism for a long time. He thought the anthropology department would have an understanding of his culture.
CU Boulder has not commented publicly on the situation, telling the Camera that they cannot share details due to privacy concerns. They added that the Department of Anthropology is working to rebuild trust between the staff and affected individuals.
Fake Ashes From Funeral Home
A Colorado funeral home where 189 decaying bodies were found earlier in the month may have given families fake ashes, according to an investigation by the Associated Press.
The AP spoke with families who had cremated their family members at the Return to Nature Funeral Home and found that most were not given an authenticity tag or certificate that is usually indicative of a legitimate cremation.
They found that the ashes were not the correct texture. Families described the ashes as having a dry concrete-like feel. Some said they mixed the ashes with water and they dissolved but ashes aren’t supposed to be soluble.
Fremont County Coroner Randy Keller said some body remains have been identified and families will be contacted soon. No arrests have been made in the case.
Douglas County Against Migration
Douglas County commissioners are telling the city of Denver not to send any immigrants their way.
The Commissioners passed a resolution last week affirming that Douglas is not a sanctuary county. The resolution further called on neighboring jurisdictions to follow their lead.
The Douglas County resolution comes after Denver set up a migrant shelter in Adams county in late September without proper communication, according to the Adams County Board of Health. Adams County received a three day notice before the shelter was operational.
CBS News said that it does not appear that Denver is currently trying to send any immigrants to Douglas County.
Denver has had an increase in migrants coming to the city, and the situation is becoming serious, especially as the weather is getting colder.
Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas was against the resolution, saying that the Douglas County Commissioners don’t have the right to declare that Denver is not a sanctuary city. She did agree with the other commissioners, however, that there’s a lack of resources in the county and not enough shelters for the increase in migrants.
Invasive Mussel Found In Colorado Lake
Colorado Parks and Wildlife, or CPW, found an invasive mussel species in Highline Lake State Park at the beginning of October. Last week, CPW announced that the first step in their plan to get rid of the zebra mussel species is to drain the lake.
Zebra mussels cause water infrastructure clogging and have negative ecological impacts. To prevent this from happening, CPW will release EarthTec QZ, copper based pesticides, into the lake to reduce the mussel population. The lake will then be drained to ensure the entire invasive mussel population is eradicated.
Highline lake will be closed for motorized boating during the 2024 boating season. Invasive Species Program Manager Robert Walters said the decision to drain the lake was not taken lightly, but no other solutions were feasible.
Proposition HH Debate
9News, the Denver Gazette and Colorado Politics will host a debate on Proposition HH today at 7 p.m.
Gov. Jared Polis and economist Arthur Laffer will argue for the supporting side of the proposition while Rep. Rose Pugliese and Michael Fields will argue against it.
Proposition HH was introduced by legislators as part of a property tax relief plan. It would limit the increase in property taxes and reduce the assessment rate used to determine how much you owe in taxes.
The proposition increases the Referendum C cap tax by 1% and allocates the extra funds to educational institutions and local governments to alleviate the impact of lower property tax revenue.
The proposition also calls for taxpayers to receive a one-time equalized TABOR check. This means that regardless of your income, all single filers will receive $833 and joint filers will receive $1,666.
9News and the Denver Gazette will livestream the debate on their websites.
