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07_02_24_am_headlines Greta Kerkhoff
Fire restrictions
The Boulder County Sheriff has enacted Stage 1 Fire Restrictions for unincorporated areas of western Boulder County.
The restrictions are effective immediately, and are due to increasing fire danger, brought on by a lack of moisture, and ongoing high temperatures. The fire restrictions will remain in effect until further notice, according to a sheriff’s office press release.
A Stage 1 Fire Restriction is also in effect in Gilpin County, according to Denver 7, and a more rigorous Stage 2 Fire Restriction is in effect in Elbert County.
The City of Boulder already has stricter regulations than the county does. But for western Boulder County, the immediate effect of the Stage 1 Fire Restrictions is a ban on the use of fireworks within the restriction area. First-time violators can be fined up to five hundred dollars, in addition to possible civil penalties. Additional violations can result in higher fines.
The Stage 1 Fire Restrictions issued by the Boulder County Sheriff prohibit selling, using, and possessing all fireworks. There’s also a prohibition on open fires, including campfires, barbecues, and grills.
The restriction in unincorporated Boulder County includes the area west of Highway 93, from the southern boundary of Boulder County to its intersection with Highway 119.
Also included is the area west of Broadway Avenue in the City of Boulder, from its intersection with Highway 119 to its intersection with Highway 36.
The restriction also encompasses the area west of 36, from its intersection with Broadway Avenue to its intersection with the northern boundary of Boulder County;
Also within the restricted area is the western boundary of the Rabbit Mountain Open Space to Highway 36 is; as well as all of Rabbit Mountain Open Space.
For a complete list of fire restrictions, visit the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office website.
Undeveloped land evaluated for housing
City officials in Boulder are looking at a nearly five hundred-acre parcel of land as a possible site for a new housing development.
Boulder Reporting Lab says that the city’s evaluation of the Area III Planning Reserve is in its early stages. It involves weighing the cost and feasibility of making the area north of Boulder livable by connecting it to water and sewer lines, among other city services.
The Area III Planning Reserve consists of mostly undeveloped city and private land. According to preliminary estimates presented to the City Council last week, the land could accommodate as many as 6,700 housing units.
Boulder Reporting Lab further says that even if the city goes ahead with developing the land, construction would probably not begin before 2030.
Colorado COVID cases rising
The number of COVID-19 cases in Colorado is on the rise, according to the state Department of Public Health and Environment.
There were 1,115 cases of COVID-19 in Colorado as of June 22nd. That’s up eighteen percent from the week before that, and up 127 percent from April 20th.
At the same time, there have been fewer COVID deaths reported statewide. Nineteen people died from COVID and its variants in May, down from fifty-six deaths in May of 2023.
The Centers for Disease Control is recommending that everyone over the age of six months get an updated, 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccine, whether they’ve previously been vaccinated or not. They say that’s the best way to protect yourself against getting COVID.
COVID funding ends, impacting education
COVID-era federal funding that brought nearly two billion dollars into Colorado public schools is coming to an end, leading to budget shortfalls in some districts.
The 1.8 billion dollars in federal pandemic funding was used to expand educational services like the transition to remote learning.
This relief aid also funded more tutoring, after-school and summer programs, increased mental health assistance, and improving and tracking air quality.
The money came through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund, or ESSER for short. The last ESSER payment was three years ago, and was the largest, totaling nearly 1.2 billion dollars, according to the Denver Post and state education officials.
School districts have until September 30th to spend what’s left of this money.
The Post says after that deadline, programs paid for using ESSER funds will come to an end, unless new funding can be found.
At the same time these funds will no longer be available, enrollment in Colorado public schools is down across the state. That decline, and its economic impact, has led some districts, including Denver and Jefferson County, to close schools. The districts will be reevaluating which programs and services they can offer.
Second-hottest June
This past June was the second-hottest ever in the Denver area, and we’re on track for an even hotter July.
The National Weather Service is reporting that the average temperature for June was 73.8 degrees. That’s more than five-and-a-half degrees higher than the average.
While 73.8 degrees may not sound that hot, the average factors in overnight lows, which averaged 57.5 degrees in June, according to Fox-31.
The highest average June on record in Denver was 75 degrees, back in 2012.
July is usually the hottest month of the year, with an average of 75.1 degrees.
