WILL XCEL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE ENOUGH POWER NEXT SUMMER? As Xcel rushes to convert us to unreliable energy, they are planning on closing reliable power plants BEFORE the new sources of unreliable energy are ready to meet demand. What's the issue? Slowdowns on new solar projects that were supposed to be done already but aren't. Xcel says they are barreling ahead with the shutdown of the Commanche power plant at the end of this year anyway, because they don't care if you sit in a hot house because they can't meet demand. That's not the quote, but it kind of is. The company says that because the “The entire nation is going through a transition,” they have no intention of NOT shutting down our reliable power sources. So if you've signed up for the Xcel Smart AC program expect them to turn up your ac when summer demand spikes. Just letting you know.
A TALE OF TWO CITIES ON HOMELESSNESS The City of Aurora is working on homelessness and they are being pretty aggressive in seeking solutions. Several members of the City Council have already made a trip to check out Houston, Texas's homeless programming and are headed today to San Antonio where they have adopted a different model with similar success in helping people get off the street. Houston uses a "housing first" model, which insures people have stable housing before they make sure they are getting services. They have had good success in getting people off the streets, but numbers about how many people get drug, alcohol and consistent mental health treatments long term are lacking. San Antonio uses a campus model which requires sobriety for long term housing but offers overnight shelter to those with addiction issues. I am interested in speaking with these city council members about what they learned from both trips. Here's hoping they learn enough to get the ball rolling.
DENVER HAS A SERIOUS CRIME PROBLEM And I spoke with former DA Mitch Morrisey yesterday about the new crime report from the Common Sense Institute, and before you let someone tell you it's wrong, they used only government provided statistics to create this report. Denver is failing in many, many ways, from fentanyl deaths, car thefts and so much more. This article does a deep dive on the report and you need to read it.
DO DENVER COPS SHOOT UNARMED PEOPLE A LOT? The answer is a firm NO, although it has happened three times since 2017. You can argue that there should be zero, but in a split second decision situation where cops have decide if they or the suspect gets shot, I'll concede that zero may never be achievable, although it should remain the goal. Read the data here.
APARTMENT VACANCIES ARE SUPER LOW RIGHT NOW And that is going to keep rent high for many. Rising mortgage rates are to blame according to this article, but at what point do you keep building wealth for someone else instead of yourself? There are townhomes and condos out there right now that would have payments lower than the average rents I'm seeing.
ABORTION IS NOT "SAFER" THAN CHILDBIRTH This old canard has made me cranky since it first started being spread. After the government decided to start marking on birth certificates whether or a not a woman had been pregnant in the prior year the stats APPEARED to show a correlation between giving birth and dying. Only in typical government form, the statistics were completely wrong, as they had shown 187 women OVER 85 years old to have been pregnant in the past year, when obviously they had not been. Now we have new data that uses single payer healthcare records to get the facts on how women do after childbirth and lo and behold, they clearly show that woman are MORE likely to die in the year after an abortion than childbirth. Read it here.
THE DENVER REGIONAL COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS IS USING ROAD MONEY ON EVERYTHING BUT ROADS Because they are trying to make us stop driving. That is the ONLY way they will meet the standards on greenhouse gas emissions that California and John Hickenlooper have saddled us with. Here is how they are spending $270 million of our road dollars:
Projects include 60 miles of bicycle and pedestrian facilities, enhancing connections to transit; street improvements for pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders and other multimodal travelers; updates to intersections for vehicle and transit services operation; and safety projects to help prevent accidents.
They say it's NOT designed to get us out of our cars, but it is totally designed to make driving so miserable you won't want to do it. This is why we need a change in governance in Colorado.
CNN NEEDS TO DO MORE TO MOVE TO THE MIDDLE I told you I've been dipping into their actual news programs to see what's changing at CNN, and there have been small signs they are trying to right the ship, but they still have a LONG way to go. This column by David Strom shows just how much further they need to move their news product before they are truly fair and balanced. I hope they can pull it off, but if the entire newsroom is a hive mind of left wing thought, it's going to be a lot harder than initially thought.
UKRAINE IS MAKING SOME SERIOUS PROGRESS AGAINST RUSSIA And one must wonder how long Putin can keep this charade up. Ukraine forces have made big progress, pushing Russian forces into retreat in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to the east and Kherson region to the south. This as Putin held a big "rally" in Moscow to show how much his people "support" him and his war. This tweet shows they added the cheering AFTER they took the video.
RON DESANTIS HAS LYNYRD SKYNRD ON HIS SIDE NOW So he can't be beat in Florida.
THE TOP TEN COOL PRODUCTS MADE IN COLORADO And I have to say hats off the Chamber for coming up with this really great idea to focus on super cool Colorado made products. Here are the ten finalists for the prize and they are all really neat.
SILVERTON HAS HAD ITS FIRST SKIERS OF THE SEASON As they got a health dumping of snow and two guys who work on skis took to the slopes to check it out.
RIP LORETTA LYNN The coal miner's daughter has passed away at the age of 90. What a career this woman had and what a voice. Read about here here.
THE DAILY SHOW ROASTED KAMALA HARRIS AND HER WORD SALADS And I'm not sure what kind of racist writers they have over there but this is kind of funny, so too bad they're racists.
HOW MUCH IS IT TO REPLACE A BATTERY IN A TESLA? I am sharing this because if you can't afford a seventy thousand dollar new Tesla but are thinking of buying one used, be aware that you will likely be on the hook in the near future to replace them. In the USA, a Tesla battery installed costs anywhere between $13,000 to $20,000. Does that make any sense to buy a used Tesla? No, it does not. We're going to have a bunch of Tesla's in junkyards if this doesn't get sorted somehow.
HOW TO END MASS INCARCERATION this story does a nice job of demonstrating two things. One, when someone's DNA is "in the system" it seems to have a somewhat dampening effect on the likelihood that they re offend, as they will be easier to catch. Two, more police is a deterrent to crime. It's an interesting thought experiment but I'm not sure just adding people to the DNA registry willy nilly is something I'm comfortable with. This is paywalled, but you can click the button to "let me read it first" and read this one.
HE WAS EXPELLING THE GHOSTS OF RELATIONSHIPS PAST A dude proposed to his soon-to-be wife in a haunted house this past weekend. She said yes, and he chose the location because they both love scary stuff. This is the perfect kind of proposal in my mind, one that shows he really knows his woman.
IDIOT DUDE ON MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL GETS TACKLED As well he should be. And if you're gonna do the streaker thing aren't you supposed to be nekkid?
PLAY WITH MEEEEEE So says this adorable little corgi just trying to make friends. Click here if it doesn't load.
BEST POST GAME INTERVIEW EVER This guy is magic and he clearly likes this reporter a lot.
THE NUGGETS MASCOT MAKES INSANE MONEY And more power to Rocky, but DANG $625,000 for dunking off a mini tramp? Some PLAYERS make less than he does.
HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU NEED TO SOCK AWAY IN AN EMERGENCY FUND? That depends on who you ask. Financial gurus Suzie Ormond and Dave Ramsey have competing advice, but they both explain why. You can pick whose advice you follow, just pick one!
THE MOST ANNOYING THINGS YOU DO ON AIRPLANES And it amazes me that some of this are even a thing but here we are. Can I have a moment on taking off your shoes on the plane? Do you want to walk around on ground up puke, cheerios, poop and dirt? That's what plane carpets, WHICH ARE LITERALLY NEVER CLEANED BEYOND VACUUMING, are full of, and yet some of you walk INTO THE BATHROOMS BAREFOOT. Do you live in a barn??? Read the rest of the annoying behaviors here and then don't do them.