Headlines — June 15, 2022

June 15, 2022

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Starbucks Employees At Cherry Creek Location Vote To Unionize

Workers at the Starbucks location in Cherry Creek are the latest to win a vote to unionize. The National Labor Relations Board formally recognized the results of the unionization election Tuesday. Members of Starbucks Workers United voted for unionization in order to receive higher wages and better working conditions.

This particular location is the fourth location in Denver and the seventh Starbucks in Colorado to vote for unionization. It is also one of the most recent among over 200 other locations that have advocated for the unionization of workers. 

Colorado Blood Donation Shortage

Reports show that nationwide, blood donations have decreased 12 percent over the past year. Vitalant, [vi-talent] one of the largest blood service providers in the country, reported three thousand fewer blood donations between April and May compared to the same time last year in Colorado.

According to Tufts.EDU, blood donations have slowed due to COVID, staffing shortages, not enough younger donors, and shrinking profit margins. Reserves of Type O, or the universal blood donor type, are down to only about half of the recommended amount for a four-day supply. 

In addition to blood, Colorado is lacking platelet donors–medical professionals use these donations for transfusions and emergencies within a week of collecting them. 

Many organizations, like Vitalant, UC Health, and others have donation appointment information on their websites.

Aurora’s Fire Chief Announces His Retirement

Aurora Fire Chief Fernando Gray has announced he has accepted a top fire department position in the city of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Gray has been the Chief of Aurora’s Fire-Rescue Department for the past five years. According to a press release from the city of Aurora, his last day with the department will be July 15. 

Aurora City Manager Jim Twombly says his office “plans to name an Interim Fire Chief in the near future as well as announcing the next steps in a search for Aurora’s next Fire Chief.”

CU Anschutz Study Aims To Help Doctors Prescribe Exercise

Researchers at CU Anschutz in Aurora will participate in a nationwide study looking at how exercise affects people’s bodies. Dr. Wendy Kohrt, a professor of Medicine will lead CU Anschutz’s portion of the program which prescribes various exercise regimens to patients and then will collect blood data, muscle tissue, and fat samples.  

Kohrt told 9News that when it comes to exercise, doctors have a general understanding but lack the research to understand exactly how it works. Kort said,  “We don’t have enough knowledge to know what type of exercise, what dose, how intense, how frequent,” Kohrt said. “We really need to be able to tell somebody to exercise to have the health benefit. We have a broad understanding of that, but we need a much more precise understanding for that to be used clinically.” 

The program will study participants from across the country and, according to Kohrt, hopefully, help doctors prescribe specific exercise routines for patients to improve their health and prevent disease.

Latest COVID-19 Numbers

As of Tuesday, 80% of Coloradans over 5 years old have at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. 70% of Coloradans are fully vaccinated, and about 40% have gotten booster doses.

Testing done this last week showed the original omicron variant made up less than one percent of cases. According to 9News, the “stealth” variant of Omicron is responsible for more than a quarter of the cases now. The rest are other variants of Omicron. 

9news also reports that there are currently 270 people hospitalized in Colorado. The average number of new cases is around 2,300.

Colorado Plans To Spend 12 Million On Funding A New E-Bike Program

The success of the Denver e-bike rebate program has prompted Colorado officials to expand the program across the state. State officials will spend $12 million on e-bike rebates.

Denver’s e-bike rebate program received overwhelming support and maxed out its first round of applicants within weeks of opening. 

According to a report by The Colorado Sun, Denver will announce a new round of e-bike assistance sometime after July 4th.

Officials are currently working in unison with local bike shops in the Denver area to possibly establish storage space for these e-bikes due to high demand and the popularity of the assistance plan. Throughout the plan, Colorado legislation hopes to help up to 12,000 people with e-bike purchase, distribution, and training so that they can lower vehicle emissions in the state. 

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