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09_04_25amheadlines Juanita Hurtado
Headlines Friday Sept. 5
East High School Student Arrested After Gun Found in Bag
A student at Denver’s East Highschool was arrested yesterday morning after a gun was found in his bag. CBS Colorado reported that staff had received a tip that the student had a gun on school property.
The Denver Public Schools Department of Safety tried to escort the student out of the classroom and the student resisted, before being put in handcuffs. The two most recent shootings at East Highschool were in 2023
This comes as students across Colorado and across the country plan an organized walkout for later today – standing with a catholic high school in Minneapolis after two children were shot and killed. For more on the walkouts, listen to yesterday’s morning magazine archived on our website at KGNU.org
CU Providing Open-to-the-public AI Class
The University of Colorado Boulder is offering a free, open-to-the-public course on how to use generative artificial intelligence tools, like ChatGPT. The Course will take place Monday September 8 to Friday September 12 and will feature five, one-hour-per-day lessons.
Each day has plans to teach a different skill, including how to generate text, images, and video with AI. The course also includes lessons on so-called, “vibe-coding” – vibe-coding is a process where large language models construct mobile applications and software using text prompts and minimal code.
More than 700 people have registered for the class so far, the class is sponsored by the College of Engineering and Applied Science and the online learning platform, GenAI works.
New Energy Codes for Colorado Homes, as Apartment Owners and Lenders Feel Burden From Over Supply
Colorado Cities will have to meet new specified building energy-use codes starting next year. The state energy office told The Colorado Sun that the state board is pushing to severely lower greenhouse emissions from city buildings and homes. Buildings are the fifth largest contributor to emissions in the state of Colorado.
The changes will not outright outlaw natural gas and polluted energy hookups. Instead, the new regulations push for electrification of energy-use appliances in buildings through a credit-based scoring system. State officials are confident this system will satisfy any opposition, who fear energy efficiency could affect the affordability of homes.
This comes as the Denver Post reports developers, building owners, and lenders are feeling increased pressure from fewer apartments being rented than the amount that has been built. In the Denver metro area, the Post reports apartment rents are down 5-10%.
In the Denver Metro, apartment construction is up from a historical average of 10,000 units – units built exceeded 20,000 units in both 2023 and 2024. Now, lenders are being cautious when financing multi-family home projects, and developers are taking out more short-term higher interest loans to fund them. That, again, comes from the Denver Post.
Jury Awards Woman Millions in Landmark Ski Lawsuit
This week a jury awarded $12.4 million to Annie Miller, a woman who had become paralyzed after she fell from a Crested Butte Mountain Resort chairlift in 2022.
Miller had sued Veil resorts for negligence, but the company argued their liability waivers provided blanket immunity to these lawsuits. In 2023, a Broomfield County district judge in dismissed the claims.
The Miller family appealed to the Supreme Court and in 2024, the court ruled that liability waivers did not shield ski areas from all negligence claims. In this case, the allegations that the lift operators at Crested Butte Mountain Resort violated the safety standards created by the American National Standards Institute.
It was a landmark ruling that sent the case back to the Broomfield County District Court. The negligence claim was dismissed but the court awarded Miller economic compensation for physical impairment and future economic losses.
Colorado Democratic Senator Grills RFK Jr. Over Vaccine Committee Appointments
Democratic Senator Michael Bennet grilled Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kenney Thursday over his decision to place vaccine skeptics on a vaccine advisory committee.
Some Republicans on the committee also defended the safety of vaccines to Kennedy. The vaccine advisory committee is expected to meet in a couple of weeks to vote on recommendations for some standard childhood vaccines, including measles and hepatitis B.
EPA Eliminates Solar Program
The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to terminate its Solar for All program and claw back federal funds it had already allocated.
In 2024, Colorado received 156 million dollars for its state-level Solar for All program. It was meant primarily for low and middle income residents to access residential solar.
Will Toor, the executive director of the Colorado Energy Office, says Colorado is exploring all of its avenues to fight the termination of funding. The same Solar for All funds were previously frozen this past winter, but Colorado joined 22 other states in suing the federal government, and the money was released in February.
