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5 things we learned about Mayor Johnston’s progress on fixing Denver’s homelessness problem

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:22:04 GMT

Making a dent in Denver’s homelessness challenges requires some math.Five hundred existing rental units that can be better leveraged by the city and its housing partners to make them available to people living on the streets; 500 hotel rooms in properties converted into shelters; and 500 tiny homes, ice fishing tents or other small-scale temporary shelters. That’s the formula Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration has in mind to achieve its ambitious goal of offering shelter to 1,000 people living on the city’s streets by the end of this year.“We’re running at all three of those options as quickly as we can and with as much effort as we can in hopes that we deliver on a percentage of those targets on all of those parallel lines of effort get us over that 1,000-person goal,”  Cole Chandler, Johnston’s senior advisor for homelessness resolution, said.Chandler outlined the plan in a presentation before the City Council safety, housing, education ...

Will it spin, or won’t it? The mystery behind Mission Ballroom’s disco ball

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:22:04 GMT

Mission Ballroom has secured its place in the Denver music scene since its establishment in 2019 not just because of the artists who perform there, but in part because of its unique “Mission Ball” – an LED art installation that spins above the heads of concert-goers and lights up the dark.But on some evenings, the ball instead sits unused within the venue at 4242 Wynkoop St., in the River North Art District, leaving attendees puzzled, even disappointed.Don Strasburg, co-president of AEG Presents Rocky Mountains, which owns the concert venue, said the truth behind the mystery is actually fairly straight-forward.Each performer is briefed on the technical capabilities of the room, including the Mission Ball, in advance, and their teams “determine what level of use they want with it,” he said.For instance, the ball shone brightly over the crowd at DJ Fred Again’s show last October. Other musicians, including DJ John Summit, electronic music group M83 and ho...

Fire crews respond as Gardena residence erupts in flames

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:22:04 GMT

Crews responded to a mobile home that was fully engulfed in flames in Gardena Thursday morning. Firefighters were on the scene at South Vermont Avenue near West 135th Street shortly before 5:30 a.m.Firefighters respond to a blaze in Gardena on Aug. 10, 2023. (KTLA)Sky5 was in the area covering a car crash when the crew spotted flames shooting into the air from the burning mobile home.Firefighters were attacking the fire, hoping to stop it from spreading through the mobile home park and to a nearby apartment complex. Protesters shut down 134 Freeway in Glendale It was unclear if anyone was inside the structure when it caught fire.

Investing In The CBD Industry — How Can Average People Profit From The Booming Hemp Sector?

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:22:04 GMT

It’s no secret that the hemp CBD market has skyrocketed since 2018. Shortly after the US federal government gave states the “green light” to produce, sell, and manufacture hemp, there was a massive spike in demand for CBD. Recent estimates suggest the global CBD oil market cap grew to $5.18 billion in 2021, and it’s expected to continue experiencing ~ 16 percent growth each year.Considering the prominence of the CBD market, it makes sense that many people are interested in investing in this industry. Indeed, after people experience CBD oil’s benefits for themselves, they often seek out ways to support this growing sector.Even if you’re not involved in the CBD industry, there are ways you could gain exposure to this market. Remember that the info below is for entertainment purposes and isn’t intended as financial advice. Please speak with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.Potential Ways To Invest In The Booming CBD IndustryConsider Cannabis-Related ...

Are they students or employees? Stanford joins surge in graduate student unions across the country

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:22:04 GMT

When fifth-year PhD student Jason Anderson volunteered for a pop-up food pantry on Stanford University’s campus, he would see hundreds of grad students standing in long lines in the middle of their work day, sometimes with a wagon in one hand and a child in the other.“The admin would come to the (graduate student government) meetings once a month and say, ‘We really need extra volunteers. People aren’t showing up,’” said Anderson, a former student government member. “And then all I’m thinking of in the back of my head here is, ‘You know, you’re asking for volunteers from the same population that the food pantry is supposed to serve.’”That affordability crisis is one of many reasons why Anderson, along with other Stanford grad student workers, overwhelmingly voted to unionize in July.They are part of a growing movement at university campuses across the country, following in the footsteps of institutions like the University of Southern California, Johns Hopkins Unive...

‘This is hell’: Repeat outages mar PG&E’s wildfire safety shift from tree trimming to circuit breakers

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:22:04 GMT

Laurel Adams Ferns awoke Monday to no electricity at her Walnut Creek home, forcing a trip to a nearby cafe for an internet connection to get through her fourth outage in a little over a month, each stretching more than 10 hours.Pacific Gas & Electric Co., blamed for devastating wildfires sparked by power lines in recent years and under pressure to improve safety, has embarked on a new strategy this year that shifts focus from stepped-up tree trimming near its equipment to advanced circuit-breaker technology. The utility insists the change reduced fire risk with little additional impact on most customers. But customers complain the rollout has been bedeviled by repeated outages — and one of PG&E’s own reports to California regulators shows a spike in customer outages last year as it initiated the program.“For those of us who work remotely,” said Ferns, a lawyer, “this is hell, let alone factoring how many times since this new ‘strategyR...

Lawsuit alleges wrongdoing in Bay Area police shooting — will Alameda County DA Pamela Price charge the officers?

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:22:04 GMT

A federal lawsuit alleges Pleasanton police officers botched an incident with a domestic violence suspect last year, fatally shooting him in the head after he walked out of an apartment building carrying a kitchen knife.The man, 33-year-old Cody Chavez of San Jose, dropped the knife after police hit him with bean bags and less-lethal peller rounds, but was then immediately struck multiple times by deadly gunfire, said Ben Nisenbaum, a civil rights attorney and partner at the Oakland firm Burris Nisenbaum Curry & Lacy.“It’s almost simultaneous, but the less lethal is first,” said Nisenbaum, who is representing Chavez’s family. “Then people start shooting their lethal guns, so they don’t give any chance for the less lethal to work. So why even have this plan? Why even bother?”The officers who shot him were cleared last year of any criminal wrongdoing in the Feb. 17, 2002, confrontation by former Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley. But aft...

Five position battles to watch in 49ers’ scrimmages vs. Raiders

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:22:04 GMT

After 11 training camp practices, familiarity hasn’t bred contempt among the 49ers.They’re all in it together, secure in the belief that coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have assembled one of the top rosters in the NFL.But it sure will be nice to break up the monotony with a couple of practice sessions Thursday and Friday in Las Vegas against the Raiders before the two teams square off Sunday in an exhibition game at Allegiant Stadium.How good are the 49ers right now? They sure didn’t look like much passing the ball Tuesday before boarding a plane for Las Vegas. Then again, it’s early August, and training camp is mostly designed to keep players healthy leading up to Week 1 while reinforcing systems of football to veterans and teaching them to newcomers and rookies.When the NFL Network completed its list of the top 100 players in the sport as voted on by players, the 49ers ended up with eight — the most of any team. One of them, defensi...

San Jose office and retail building hits sales block after foreclosure

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:22:04 GMT

SAN JOSE — A San Jose building seized through foreclosure has landed on the sales block, a potential deal that may provide clues about the strength — or weakness — of the office market.The development, located just south of downtown San Jose, was never completed and toppled into a loan default and eventual foreclosure, raising questions about the prominent property’s future.Now, Meacham Oppenheimer, a commercial real estate firm, is attempting to sell the office and retail complex on behalf of its current owner, the lender for the property.“We are showing the property regularly now,” said David Taxin, a principal executive and partner with Meacham Oppenheimer. “We have gotten fairly good interest from buyers.”The two-building complex totals about 15,500 square feet and occupies a very visible site next to a busy stretch of Monterey Highway between Umbarger Road and Lewis Road.The developer and prior owner of the complex had obtained $6...

Borenstein: Even Bay Area congressional reps question BART’s fiscal folly

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:22:04 GMT

As BART hurls toward what it calls a fiscal cliff, one would expect the transit system to tap the brakes. Instead, its leaders are pressing the accelerator while insisting that Bay Area residents pay for a bridge over the rapidly approaching abyss.It’s fiscal recklessness that, if not stopped, could cost residents billions in higher taxes and bridge tolls. The good news is that six Bay Area members of Congress last week started questioning this insanity.In a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom and the leaders of the state Senate and Assembly, Reps. Mark DeSaulnier, Anna Eshoo, Barbara Lee, Eric Swalwell, Mike Thompson and John Garamendi voiced “strong concerns” about a proposed $1.50 Bay Area bridge toll hike to bail out BART and other transit agencies.The letter from the six, all labor-friendly Democrats, indicates that the union-driven BART board majority is pushing the envelope beyond even what some of its allies can stomach.Congressional ethics rules prevent House members from explicitl...