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Colorado should finally license funeral home workers, state regulators recommend

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:33:32 GMT

Colorado regulators recommended the state once again license funeral home workers in light of recent egregious abuses in the industry.In a 51-page report sent to the state legislature last week, the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies said, “It is clear that the public is harmed by the general lack of regulation of funeral service professionals in Colorado.”Colorado has long boasted the laxest mortuary regulations in the nation. The state is the only one in the country to license funeral home businesses, not those running them.Under a recommendation proposed by the Colorado Funeral Directors Association, new funeral home and crematory workers would need to graduate from an accredited mortuary sciences school, pass a national exam, serve a one-year apprenticeship and pass a background check.The industry group requested current workers be grandfathered in, only mandating they submit an application and fee to the state and pass a background check.“People in oth...

Is there a future for this Jefferson County golf course that is overrun with weeds?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:33:32 GMT

Deer Creek Golf Course is dying.Where once lay verdant fairways, the 18-hole course near Jefferson County’s Ken Caryl Ranch community is now largely weeds, cattails and long grasses. Nature, inexorably, reclaims its own.No one has played a legitimate round of golf here in three years. The clubhouse sits empty and forlorn, with a four-tiered fountain at its entry now dry and defunct. And though Deer Creek Golf Course claims on its website that it is merely “closed for renovation” and looks forward “to serving you in the spring,” nobody believes it.“If you’re rational, you can tell it’s not going to be a golf course again,” said John Walker, president of the Meadow Ranch homeowner’s association, which oversees 333 homes that line portions of the course along a stretch of C-470 near Kipling Street.Deer Creek’s future is anyone’s guess. It’s a mystery the course’s owner hasn’t unraveled publicly, a...

“Harlem After Midnight,” “Fall” and more mystery books to kick off the year

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:33:32 GMT

“Harlem After Midnight,” by Louise Hare (Berkley)“Harlem After Midnight,” by Louise Hare (Berkley)In the first Canary Club mystery, English singer Lena Aldridge was lured to New York for a Broadway career. The job turned out to be a sham. Now Lena is booked for a return trip, but she’s intent on spending her few days in the big city hunting for information about her father. He was a black musician who suddenly left Harlem for England in the early 20th century. With the help of bandleader Will Goodman, the object of her shipboard romance that Lena believes might become a more permanent relationship, she is ensconced in Harlem with his friends. Lena spends days searching for signs of her father and her evenings swept up in prohibition-era Harlem nightlife. She begins to see a future in New York with Will until a murder makes her wonder if she really belongs back home in England.“The Beautiful and the Wild,” by Peggy Townsend (Berkley)“Robert B...

Lauren Boebert’s switch-up throws massive political wrench into Colorado’s two largest congressional districts

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:33:32 GMT

Lauren Boebert’s current congressional district shares a border with the one she wants to represent next year. But she’d have to drive nearly 300 miles from her home to reach it.That distance underscores the surprised reactions prompted by her decision last week to abandon the 3rd Congressional District, where she narrowly avoided a reelection defeat in 2022. The controversial right-wing Western Slope firebrand’s announcement of a switch for the November election to the 4th Congressional District, on the state’s Eastern Plains — seeking to represent an even more politically conservative district than the one she sits in today — is not getting the kind of welcome she might have hoped for.“It looks like she’s so in love with the D.C. swamp that she will do whatever it takes to stay there,” her old friend Greg Brophy, a farmer and former Republican state lawmaker from Wray in northeastern Colorado, told The Denver Post. “Sometimes y...

This Colorado company wants to revolutionize the casino gaming world as you know it

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:33:32 GMT

BLACK HAWK — Angel Espino knows his way around a deck of cards.On a recent Friday afternoon, the veteran dealer stood behind a buffalo blackjack table inside the Ameristar casino off Black Hawk’s main drag, swiftly doling out cards to a lone player.Deal, hit, bust, repeat.The hands — some involving hundreds of dollars — take less than 30 seconds. After all, the house makes more money if dealers keep things moving.This is Espino’s job, but all the hours at the table also serve as critical research and development for his true love: inventing the next generation of casino games.“The gaming industry has been asleep at the wheel,” Espino said. “The industry needs something fresh.”Seven years ago, Espino joined forces with four other Black Hawk dealers to form Casino Gaming Development, a company that builds new table games for gambling establishments. They add twists to old staples: poker, blackjack and baccarat — pumping in mo...

A guide to backcountry Colorado yurts for people who don’t plan a year in advance

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:33:32 GMT

When you get away from the chair lifts, resort towns and highways, the Rocky Mountains in winter are quiet and stunning.And cold. Very, very cold. Only the hardiest skiers, snowboarders and snowshoers dare tent camp in this frigid landscape. But what’s a skier to do if they’ve spent all day riding untracked powder and want to get right back at it the next day?The 10th Mountain Division hut system is a popular option for powder hounds looking to stay close to untracked stashes in the backcountry. Its “huts” range in opulence from restored historic cabins to modern chalets. Some even have saunas. However, reservations for this winter opened a year ago, so nearly all of the weekend stays are booked, although some weekdays remain open. (For weekday stays and more information, see huts.org.)Fortunately, Colorado also has a plethora of backcountry yurts, which generally are a bit more rustic than the hut system’s cabins, but are often cheaper and much easier to reserve. They are als...

All-female ski festival, complete with a naked lap, finds new home in Colorado

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:33:32 GMT

A female-focused ski festival that features a signature buns-out lap returns in 2024, this time to a new home resort.Boot Tan Fest, as it’s coyly called, comes to Sunlight Mountain Ski Resort in Glenwood Springs on March 29-30 inviting women, female-identifying and nonbinary individuals to enjoy a weekend of skiing, special events and the camaraderie of a supportive community.Jenny Verrochi started Boot Tan Fest somewhat inadvertently in 2021 after organizing a casual, ladies-only naked lap at Bluebird Backcountry near Kremmling. In 2022, it became a ticketed event welcoming 200 people for a ski day that concluded with a run in the buff. In 2023, the event grew to 450 people.What’s the allure of shredding nude?“It is the best feeling,” Verrochi previously told The Denver Post.But in July, Bluebird Backcountry closed leaving the fate of the unique event in limbo. Verrochi solicited resorts from West Coast to East Coast and was pleasantly surprised by how many offered to host. S...

New mocktail tour offers RiNo brewery/bar crawl for the sober-curious

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:33:32 GMT

Dry January is a time when many drinkers choose to rest their livers and focus on their health. But that doesn’t mean sacrificing fun, according to local Steve Schneiter.Schneiter is the founder of the Denver Microbrew Tour, which has taken drinkers on walking tours of some of the city’s hottest brewery districts – samples included – since 2009. This month, he’s adding a sober-friendly twist with his first Dry January Mocktail Tour.The excursions (which are only scheduled through January) take attendees to bars in Denver’s River North Art District that offer non-alcoholic libations year-round. The goal is to support sober and sober curious individuals while also helping sustain bars, which typically see a drop off in business around the turn of the year.“What we’re trying to do is show people that you don’t need alcohol to have a good time,” Schneiter said. “We’re trying to be more inclusive of people not drinking and non-alcoholic drinks have come a long way. (The scene) is d...

How Taylor Swift helped skier Mikaela Shiffrin handle fame and her father’s death

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:33:32 GMT

Folks who have followed Mikaela Shiffrin’s career know she’s one of the most decorated skiers in the sport’s history and a trailblazer for women on the slopes, having notched her 93rd career win in December.But did you know that Shiffrin is also a Swiftie?In a recent profile in The New York Times, the Colorado-raised alpine racer details how she looks to Taylor Swift for guidance on her professional journey as a record-setting female and during times of personal strife. And because the two are so close in age – Shiffrin is 28 and Swift just turned 34 – their trajectories to stardom often mirrored one another.“I’ve spent 15 years studying Taylor Swift and she has been guiding me a little bit every step of the way,” Shiffrin told the Times. “It’s why most Swifties become Swifties. It feels like her music is speaking directly to you. Her experiences resonate; I’ve always tried to learn from them.”Here are four fun facts we learned about Shiffrin and her Swiftiedom from the NYT intervie...

IHOP's West Hollywood location has closed

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:33:32 GMT

An empty parking lot told the story Wednesday morning outside the West Hollywood IHOP, which usually serves hungry customers 24 hours a day. Although a Christmas wreath could still be seen on the wall above the empty counter and kitchen area inside the restaurant, a note on the door told customers the holidays are over."Closing at 1 pm on New Year's Day. Thank you,” the message told potential customers arriving at 8461 Santa Monica Blvd.I sign is seen on the door of the West Hollywood IHOP on Jan. 3, 2024. (KTLA)A voicemail message also confirmed the bad news, directing customers to the Hollywood location at 7006 Sunset Blvd. “Dear valued customer. Apologies for any inconvenience. Our West Hollywood IHOP is closed,” the message states. An employee told the WeHo Times that the closure was permanent. "He said he could not get into why the location closed, and simply summed it up to business issues," the Times reported.Another source told the online news service that the franchise fees...