Headlines — August 24, 2022

August 24, 2022

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Douglas County School Board Adds Tax Hike Question To November Ballot

Douglas County School Board voted to add a property tax to November’s ballot Tuesday. The tax would fund teacher salaries, new schools, and better security. The decision comes after the consistent decline of educational assistants in the district.

The Douglas County School District agreed on two measures to add to the ballot. These two measures would add a $60 million mill levy override that would help with the funds to provide these services to the schools in the area.

The second measure is a $450 million bond that school board members added to the ballot to help build schools and upgrade school security. According to 9News, “Several board members also said they’ve heard from families who worry some of the $60 million will be used for something other than teacher pay, such as arming teachers or school vouchers.”

9News adds, “Multiple times school officials said they have no intentions of doing that, and they are not allowed to allocate the money to anything other than district-wide compensation to retain staff.”

If residents decide to approve the override, teachers in the district could see a 9% increase in their salary and positive changes to their schools for the upcoming school year.

Fort Collins To Spray For Mosquitoes To Curb West Nile Virus

The City of Fort Collins will start spraying mosquitoes on the northeast side of town this week. Starting Thursday, Aug. 25, and Sunday, Aug. 28 Vector Disease Control International will assist the city between 8:00 PM to 2:00 AM. 

The decision comes after reports of an increased West Nile Virus infected Culex mosquitoes. The spraying will happen in areas near College Avenue, Country Club Road, Turnberry Road, Timberline Road, Mulberry Street, I-25, and Drake Road.

The city advises that residents in these areas make sure all pets are inside, cover gardens with tarps and close doors and windows for 30 minutes to an hour after the city completes spraying.

Boulder Teen Hikes To Raise Money To Support Medical Research

A Boulder teen and his mother spent the summer hiking Colorado’s 14’ers to raise money for a rare syndrome. Multicentric Carpotarsal Osteolysis Syndrome or MCTO is a rare condition that can cause chronic kidney failure and progressive loss of bones in the hands and feet. 

Owen Verner and his mom Liza Getches decided to raise money to support medical research into MCTO through a non-profit called Sophie’s Neighborhood – named after a 5-year-old Sophie Federburg who was diagnosed at 18 months after undergoing thousands of dollars of testing. 

Getches told The Daily Camera, less than 50 people worldwide have been diagnosed with MCTO. 

So far, Verner and his mom have raised over $8,000. Sophie’s parents; Lauren Feder Rosenberg and Hosea Rosenberg, started Sophie’s Neighborhood to help further MCTO research five years ago. The Rosenbergs own Boulder restaurants, Blackbelly and Santo.

Rosenberg told The Daily Camera, she hopes that the Precision Medicine Answers for Kids Today Act gets passed, which allows for more funding and research into rare diseases in children. 

Airline Delays Strand Passengers At Denver International Airport

Severe weather, flight delays, and staffing shortages are causing traffic jams and stranding passengers at airports across the country – including at Denver International Airport. 

Passengers have had to sleep on cots at the airport or shell out hefty sums to snag seats on different carriers. The Department of Transportation and other government agencies are considering measures to prevent future delays or out-of-pocket expenses for consumers. Demand for air travel has largely rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, though staffing at multiple levels – from baggage handlers to air traffic controllers – has not.

Bank Robbery Leads To Lockout At Casey Middle School

The Boulder Police Department is seeking information to identify a man that robbed a bank Tuesday afternoon. The incident occurred just before 1:30 PM at the Vectra Bank at 2696 Broadway. 

Surveillance footage shows a heavyset white male wearing a long-sleeved shirt, shorts, and a black fisherman’s hat. Police say the man presented a note demanding money but did not display a weapon. He reportedly left the scene on foot. 

The incident led to a lockout at nearby Casey Middle School. 

Rep. Lauren Boebert Did Not Report Stock And Cryptocurrency Transactions 

According to the Colorado Sun, Lauren Boebert, the outspoken conservative Republican from Garfield, Colorado has revealed that she did not report significant cryptocurrency and other stock investments from 2021. Boebert is running for re-election to Colorado’s 3rd district. 

The U.S. House of Representatives requires purchases, sales or trades to be reported within 45 days under the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012. The report revealed that Boebert and her husband didn’t file eight crypto transactions on the Robinhood app that range from $4,000 to $60,000. 

Boebert is a pro-gun conservative and outspoken election denier. 

Her husband’s gun-themed restaurant, Shooter’s Grill, recently shut down in Rifle, Colorado. Boebert and her husband claim the decision was not politically motivated but “purely a business decision.” In a statement attributed to Boebert and her husband, Jayson, “The Shooters brand isn’t going away. There are exciting things in the works.”

This is not the first time Boebert has gotten into trouble for not disclosing stock and crypto assets. According to the Colorado Sun, In 2020 she failed to report that an oil and gas company, Western Slope paid her husband nearly $1 million over two years in consulting fees. 

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