Headlines – May 11, 2023

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Storms Cause Airport Delays, Power Outages 

Severe storms over the last two days have led to hail damage, power outages and flight delays in the state.

Colorado’s first tornado of 2023 was spotted in Washington County, and several others were sighted throughout the Eastern Plains on Wednesday. A tornado watch was in effect for much of the Denver metro area as well, which saw hail and thunderstorms. Hail as big as 4-inches wide was reported in Morgan County.

Almost 4,000 Xcel Energy customers in Lafayette lost power temporarily in the afternoon. By 5 pm Wednesday, over 600 flights had been delayed to and from Denver International Airport and over 100 were canceled.

The storm system is expected to linger today and tomorrow, with a flood watch in effect until 6 a.m. Friday.

Colorado Health Service Improvement Bills Signed Into Law 

Gov. Jared Polis signed two bills into law Wednesday that improve how healthcare organizations inform and involve Coloradans.

House Bill 1218 will require certain health care facilities to report all services, including those that they deny for non-medical reasons, such as abortion or gender-affirming care. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will publish the information on their website twice a year.

House Bill 1243 addresses how hospitals use their “community benefit” spending. The law will require hospitals to seek feedback from under-privileged communities such as low-income residents, people of color and people with disabilities. The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing will organize public feedback sessions and produce an annual report that tracks benefit spending and its impacts on the community.

Colorado Gun Safety Groups Laud Passage Of Multiple Bills 

Gun safety organizations are praising Colorado lawmakers for passing an historic number of gun bills.

Colorado chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action released a statement Wednesday saying politicians’ actions during the 2023 legislative session showed they care about saving lives by prioritizing gun violence prevention measures. According to EveryStat, gunfire kills more than 900 people and wounds over 450 people in Colorado every year.

Bills signed into law in April, such as House Bill 1219, and Senate Bills 169 and 170, were designed to prevent suicides and homicides. HB-1219 requires a three day wait period between purchasing and taking possession of a weapon. SB-169 raises the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21.

SB-170 expanded the state’s red flag law so that health care providers, mental health providers, district attorneys and teachers can petition a judge to order the temporary seizure of firearms from those deemed to pose a significant risk to their own safety or to the safety of others.

Other legislation included Senate Bill 279, which prohibits the making, owning or selling of 3D printed guns, also called ghost guns. Senate Bill 168 made it easier for the families of shooting victims to sue gunmakers.

Colorado Company To Pay For Violating Consumer Privacy

A Denver-based marketing company will pay the state over $20,000 for selling the personal information of thousands of Coloradans without their consent.

Attorney General Phil Weiser announced Wednesday that Ifficient, which uses digital ads to find customers for its clients, had launched a fake campaign to influence the Federal Communications Commission in 2017 when it was considering repealing net neutrality rules.

Ifficient used online incentives to gather names, addresses and opinions on net neutrality. The company then sold the information to its broadband industry clients, falsely claiming that the consumers had consented to the use of their comments for the campaign.

Weiser also recently finalized the Colorado Privacy Act Rules, which grant Coloradans the right to access, correct and delete personal data collected from them by businesses and nonprofits.

BVSD Board Discusses New Angevine Bilingual Program

The Boulder Valley School District is making progress on a bilingual program that will start in the fall at Angevine Middle School in Lafayette. The Daily Camera reports school leaders discussed the latest updates during Tuesday’s board meeting.

Over 50 students have enrolled in the Angevine program, which will include a few core and elective classes in Spanish for sixth graders and Spanish language arts for seventh graders.

Previously, students who wanted to continue bilingual courses after 5th grade had only two middle school options located in Boulder – Casey or Manhattan. The Angevine program will give students in the eastern part of the county a closer option.

Dual-language elementary programs are already in place at Columbine and University Hill in Boulder and Lafayette’s Escuela Bilingüe Pioneer.

Louisville Police Offering Bike Registration

As part of May’s National Bike Month, the Louisville Police Department is starting a new registration program to help people recover lost or stolen bicycles. The effort is a partnership between Louisville Police and Bike Index, the largest recovery database in the country.

Residents can fill out a simple online form to register their bicycle on Louisville’s government website at louisvilleco.gov/bikeregistration.

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