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Xcel, Black Hills answer questions about high bills and record profits

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:20 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — In the second meeting of Colorado’s Joint Select Committee on Rising Utility Rates, lawmakers pressed utility companies for answers about rates, profits and expenses. Representatives from Xcel Energy and Black Hills Energy agreed with previous reports from the Public Utilities Commission that their customers have experienced higher-than-usual bills due to high natural gas prices during an unusually cold winter.  Denver housing costs 37% more than the national average “To heat a house when it is 30 degrees takes less energy than it does when it’s 10 degrees, so just the difference in cold weather has had a major impact on usage,” said Nick Wagner, Black Hills Energy vice president of Colorado regulatory affairs. Despite lawmakers, the PUC and Colorado’s Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate reporting unprecedented complaints from constituents saying their bills are double or triple, Xcel said its customers are paying the lowest electricity bills among the country’...

Kendrick Castillo's parents refuse settlement, push to release STEM shooting records

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:20 GMT

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — On any given day, you can find John and Maria Castillo at the Seven Stones Cemetery in Douglas County. Every day after work, they meet at their son's memorial to speak with him about their day. But Tuesday wasn't just any day. Tuesday would have been Kendrick's 22nd birthday."Me and your mom wish you were here with us today," John said, addressing his son at the memorial site. "Not here, but somewhere else."Castillos refuse settlement, push for public recordsNearly four years after their son was killed inside STEM School Highlands Ranch, they say certain details of what happened are not public.  Retired teacher and daughter lose almost $200,000 in wire fraud A Douglas County judge has ordered STEM to pay the Castillos $387,000 as part of a lawsuit settlement. According to attorney Dan Caplis, STEM is asking the court to prevent the public from seeing certain evidence in that testimony."The Castillos believe that what they have unc...

Colorado teachers could be reimbursed for supplies bought on their dime

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:20 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A bill is being discussed at the state Capitol that would put money back into the pockets of teachers during tax season. This is in an effort to offset some of the unexpected costs educators face during the school year, which has teachers talking. Bullet goes through home of Colorado senator Some educators across the state, out of the kindness of their own hearts and love for their students, dip into their own pockets to buy school supplies, educational materials and more for the classroom. If the bill passes, teachers could get their money back.Teachers pay for supplies out of their own pocketsWhile class is in session, so is the state legislature, where lawmakers are hammering out numerous proposed bills. One of those would give licensed teachers a state income tax credit to offset the financial burden often placed upon them.Kate Roome teaches sixth-grade literacy at Harmony Ridge P8 in Aurora."Any support that you can give to a teacher is wonderful," Roome said....

Chicago Bears free-agency news: RB Travis Homer agrees to a 2-year deal as David Montgomery joins the Detroit Lions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:20 GMT

In his second offseason with the Chicago Bears, general manager Ryan Poles has plenty of salary-cap space to rework a roster that finished 3-14 in 2022.As the NFL’s new league year approaches, allowing free agents to begin signing with new teams, the Tribune will track all of the Bears’ arrivals and departures and provide insight into what they mean.The free-agency negotiation window opened across the league at 11 a.m. Monday. Unrestricted free agents can finalize deals when the new league year begins at 3 p.m. Wednesday.Column: Bears’ aggressive start to free agency has one common thread — young players entering their prime yearsWhat headline-grabbing move is next? 5 Bears questions before free agency.Column: Ryan Poles checked a big box on the Bears’ offseason list with his bold trade. Now comes the hard part.Bears trade the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL draft to the Panthers. Here’s what they got in return.Sign up for our free Bears alerts so you ...

Here's the next Dump Day event in the San Diego area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:20 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A new season is upon us, and so is Dump day for those looking to get ahead of their spring cleaning. Locals needing to remove non-hazardous, unwanted items from their household can now do so for free Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at multiple locations in San Diego and Imperial Counties, according to the California Department of Transportation. San Diego CountyKearny Mesa Maintenance Yard (7181 Opportunity Rd, San Diego, CA 92111)Santee Maintenance Yard (8502 Railroad Ave, Santee, CA 92071)Imperial CountyEl Centro Maintenance Yard (1102 Montenegro Way, El Centro, CA 92243)Brawley Maintenance Yard (200 S Palm Ave, Brawley, CA 92227)The Clean California initiative, which launched last July, is part of Gov. Gavin Newsom's $1.2 billion effort to keep roads and waterways free of litter, create thousands of jobs and transform state and local public spaces through beautification efforts, officials said. It has held more than 30 Dump Day events in the area since the start of t...

‘Nazi’ references: BBC sportscaster’s tweet revives debate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:20 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The references seem endless, and they can come from anywhere. In recent days, Pope Francis compared Nicaragua’s repression of Catholics to Hitler’s rule in Germany. In Britain, a BBC sportscaster likened the nation’s asylum policy to 1930s Germany, resulting in his brief suspension and a national uproar. For Holocaust and anti-Nazi scholars and organizations, the two sentiments were understandable — but concerning. Invoking Hitler and Nazi Germany, they warn, often serves to revive a familiar and unwelcome line of argument.“We have to be aware of, and confront, contemporary instances of discrimination, hate speech and human rights abuses across the world,” says Rafal Pankowski, a Polish sociologist who heads the anti-Nazi NEVER AGAIN Association. But he added: “Of course, the historical analogies must not be overused and devalued. The label `Nazi’ should not be trivialized and reduced to a term of abuse against anybody we don’t like.”Last week...

Former Australian PM says subs ‘worst deal in all history’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:20 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on his nation’s plan to buy nuclear-powered submarines from the United States to modernize its fleet, saying “it must be the worst deal in all history.”Speaking at a National Press Club event, Keating said the submarines wouldn’t serve a useful military purpose.“The only way the Chinese could threaten Australia or attack it is on land. That is, they bring an armada of troop ships with a massive army to occupy us,” Keating said. “This is not possible for the Chinese to do.”He added that Australia would sink any such Chinese armada with planes and missiles. “The idea that we need American submarines to protect us,” Keating said. “If we buy eight, three are at sea. Three are going to protect us from the might of China. Really? I mean, the rubbish of it. The rubbish.”Australia’s deal — announced Monday in San Diego by U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Antho...

Abortion pill challenge goes before judge in Texas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:20 GMT

AMARILLO, Texas (AP) — A federal judge will hear arguments Wednesday in a high-stakes court case that could threaten access to medication abortion and blunt the authority of U.S. drug regulators. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of Texas is weighing a lawsuit from Christian conservatives aimed at overturning the Food and Drug Administration’s more than 2-decade-old approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. The drug, when used with a second pill, has become the most common method of abortion in the U.S.There is essentially no precedent for a lone judge overruling the scientific decisions of the FDA. And legal experts have warned of far-reaching consequences if judges begin second-guessing FDA decisions on drug safety and effectiveness.Wednesday’s hearing is the first in the case, which is being intensely tracked by groups on both sides of the abortion issue after last year’s reversal of Roe v. Wade. However, there was little advance notice of the high-profile session, which only...

Biden’s Executive Order On Gun Proliferation Is Well Intended, But Falls Short On Grit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:20 GMT

Amid onslaught of winter storms, Orange County declares local state of emergency

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:20 GMT

Amid an onslaught of winter storms that have battered Southern California, the Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday declared a local state of emergency.  The declaration comes as officials are particularly concerned about the neighborhood of Dover Shores in Newport Beach where at least one home is dangerously close to sliding into the Back Bay and endangering the stability of the entire block.  “We have homes that are teetering on falling down into the Back Bay off of the hillside,” Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley told KTLA.  Supervisor Foley added that the two adjacent homes on Galaxy Drive are also in danger of sliding down the hill.  “We have one family that has senior citizens, elderly people almost 90 years old, who had to be removed from the house because it was red tagged,” Foley explained. “I mean, literally the corner of the house has air under it, no more land, and the other families on each side have little, elementary age kids. So, you know...