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Prime Leaves Behind $113.2 Million In Revenue
A new study by Visit Boulder finds that the popularity of CU football Coach Deion Sanders brought the city $113.2 million during the 2023 football season.
Visit Boulder says the money comes from retail, food and beverage, transportation, lodging and events.
According to 9NEWS, the football games with the largest economic impact were the Buff’s games against USC and Nebraska, with both games leaving behind $21.6 million in revenue.
Apart from the Boulder-wide profit, CU has also seen an increase in prospective student interest, with a 26% increase in new student applications.
New Gas Station Credit Card Skimmers
Aurora Police are warning the public about consumer fraud devices turning up in gas pumps and ATMs in the Denver metro area.
The devices are virtually undetectable skimmers inside credit card readers, according to Aurora PD. The skimmers read unprotected data on the cards during transactions.
Police say that some of the skimmers even have tiny “pinhole” cameras that can capture PIN numbers as they’re entered.
To protect from skimmers, Aurora PD recommends users cover the keypad with their hand when entering a card pin, opt for a credit card instead of a debit card and link their card to an Apple or Google payment app.
$240,000 Medication Isn’t Unaffordable, According To Colorado Board
The Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability Board has voted that a medication costing over $240,000 dollars a year does not qualify as “unaffordable,” according to The Denver Post.
In a first-in-the-nation vote Friday, Colorado’s board voted unanimously that Trifakta – a drug used to treat cystic fibrosis, a disease in which a person is susceptible to mucus build up in their lungs – should not be labeled as unaffordable because of the availability of coupons to cover the cost. In an investigation, during which Trifakta threatened to pull its drug from shelves, Colorado’s drug affordability board found that the drug costs $6,000 to produce.
If the board had determined that Trifakta was unaffordable, they would have the power to place a cap on the drug’s retail price.
Boulder Reporting Lab Uncovers New Information
A new investigation from Boulder Reporting Lab and the CU Boulder Center for Environmental Journalism has uncovered environmental and health effects from a nonoperational power plant located just east of Boulder city limits.
Valmont Power Station was operational for more than 90 years and dumped the coal ash in a landfill that spans 15 acres between Valmont Butte and Leggett Reservoir.
According to the Boulder Reporting Lab, contaminants from the landfill have leaked into Boulder water wells at unsafe levels. The contaminants can lead to liver and kidney damage.
Xcel began testing underground water at the power plant in 2017. The Environmental Protection Agency requires Xcel to make their findings public, but the Boulder Reporting Lab found that much of the data was missing. Xcel hasn’t comment on the situation.
Xcel has voiced concerns about the contamination of Boulder water but has not formed concrete plans on tackling the issue.
Affordable Housing Welcomes Its First Tenants
A new affordable housing building welcomed its first permanent residents Friday.
The building, located south of downtown Denver, served as a Denver Health medical office building before the conversion.
Denver Housing Authority purchased the building from Denver Health in 2020 for $5 million. The housing authority then received $18 million for the affordable housing project from Enterprise Housing Credit Investments, a nonprofit.
The building is nine stories, with 110 units in total. According to Axios Denver, 96 of those units are restricted to adults of age 55 or older and adults with disabilities.
The second floor is reserved for unhoused patients discharged from Denver Health.
Rent ranged from $950 to $1,250 a month, dependent on income.
