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What’s driving Colorado’s obsession with the new retro black license plates?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

Joe Duran first saw the strange new license plate on his Arvada neighbor’s car and thought it was fake.Though Colorado has a sizable collection of specialty license plates — as alternatives to its standard green-sky, white-mountains design — Duran had never seen this one before: black plate, white letters.His first sighting was in early 2023, shortly after a series of previously retired plates were released to the public as retro options. Now, a year after their triumphant return, the “blackout” plates are seemingly everywhere, catching on at a pace that surprised state officials and left records in their dust — while the extra $25 annual fee charged for them has raised millions of dollars to help Coloradans with disabilities.Just shy of 170,000 vehicle owners have snapped up the black plates, according to state figures.That has far outpaced the two designs for Colorado’s 150th anniversary plates, which went on sale in August and had been sn...

10th Mountain Division: “To be selected as one of them was really an honor”

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

Because of its unique mission, recruiting for the 10th Mountain Division during World War II focused on experienced skiers and mountaineers, but soon the demand for them exceeded the supply. The Army began assigning soldiers to the 10th without any background in the mountains, and Cruz Rios became one of them. A native of Colton, Calif., a small town near San Bernardino, he enlisted in 1943 and was sent to Camp Hale randomly after basic training.“Being a Hispanic man, there weren’t that many in the 10th,” his son Val told The Denver Post while he was in Denver for the opening of the new History Colorado exhibit about the 10th, “Winter Warriors.” “It made it really special. To be selected as one of them was really an honor. He absolutely loved it. And the prejudice that existed at the time, he didn’t experience any of that with the 10th guys. They just welcomed him as a brother, as he would say.”Related ArticlesOutdoors | New docum...

Call Your Mother Deli opens third location in Denver

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

There’s another bagel shop in town worth calling your mother about. Washington, D.C.-based Call Your Mother Deli opened its third Denver location last week.The restaurant: Call Your Mother Deli, 217 S. Holly St., DenverAbout: This trendy bagel shop made its Denver debut in May at 3870 Tennyson St., which garners lines so long on the weekend that employees provide fresh-poured cups of coffee while you wait. Known for its bagel sandwiches, the brand opened a second store in October at 1291 Pearl St. in Capitol Hill. The third location, located next to High Point Creamery and Park Burger, was previously home to The Rotary, which closed in May. Call Your Mother has trademarked the space with its playful bright blue, pink and yellow exterior finishes, a flower wall in the dining room surrounding its logo, and a flamingo that greets you on the way to the bathroom.Related ArticlesRestaurants, Food and Drink | There are no more TGI Fridays in Colorado Restaurants, Food...

Is your New Year’s resolution to hit the gym? Here are 4 of the most Colorado workouts you can do

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

Every January brings a wave of New Year’s resolutions — promises made at the stroke of midnight to do better over the next 12 months. And often, as you clean up confetti in a prosecco-induced haze on Jan. 1, you realize those vows included hitting the gym.It’s 2024. Leave behind the old-fashioned notions of creating a fitness routine aimed at dropping 10 pounds or fitting into that old pair of jeans — in fact, throw that tired denim away entirely. Instead, find a workout regimen that inspires you to get stronger, feel healthier and, most importantly, keep coming back.In Colorado, that’s an easier task to accomplish, with the state ranking as the most physically active in the U.S. The land of the Rocky Mountains lends itself to plenty of activities that get the blood pumping while — could it be? — having fun.As one of The Denver Post’s fitness junkies, you can often find me sweating over high-intensity interval training at my locally-ow...

There are no more TGI Fridays in Colorado

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

TGI Fridays is no longer a Colorado resident.The Dallas-based casual-dining bar-and-grill chain said Wednesday that it is closing 36 “underperforming locations” as “part of the brand’s ongoing growth strategy,” including its two remaining Colorado restaurants. TGI Fridays also sold eight previously corporate-owned restaurants in the northeast to its former CEO Ray Blanchette.Related ArticlesRestaurants, Food and Drink | Call Your Mother Deli opens third location in Denver Restaurants, Food and Drink | New brewery will take Ursula’s space at UC Health campus Restaurants, Food and Drink | Blackbelly Market opening first Denver location next month Restaurants, Food and Drink | 12 hottest Denver restaurant openings of 2023 Restaurants, Food and Drink | With Alma Fonda Fina, Denver chef elevates Guadalajara specialties he grew up eating “By strengthening our franchise...

Colorado business leaders more confident heading into 2024

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

Colorado business leaders aren’t ready to sing Happy Days just yet, but they are in a much better mood heading into this year than they were last, according to the latest Leeds Business Confidence Index from the University of Colorado Boulder.“Entering 2024, business confidence remains suppressed but is on the rise,” according to the report, which is published quarterly.The LCBI looks at six different categories and asks respondents what they expect over the next two quarters. An index score of 50 indicates an expansionary or positive outlook, while one below 50 is negative, indicating expectations for a contraction.The overall index came in at 45.3 for the first quarter of this year, which is up 43.6 in the fourth quarter of 2023. The outlook for the state economy was 47.2, up from 45.5 in the last report, while the outlook for the U.S. economy came in at 45.2, up from 40.2.That two-point gap between the U.S. and Colorado outlook is the smallest measured in the pa...

Ban on new oil and gas wells in “cherished” Colorado landscape is close after years of grassroots efforts

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

For nearly two decades, a unique coalition of conservationists, ranchers and recreationists have fought to block oil and gas development on a rugged section of land on the Western Slope.The Thompson Divide is “quintessential, old-school Colorado,” as one advocate put it. It encompasses rugged canyons, dramatic mountains, scraggly foothills and broad valleys. Few roads cut through it, and cell phone service is sparse.Temporary protections for the land are now on the horizon after years of lobbying and organizing. The U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management requested that the U.S. secretary of the interior block future mining and energy development on more than 350 square miles of the Thompson Divide for the next 20 years.The final public comment period is set to end Monday for the proposal to withdraw the land from eligibility for oil and gas leasing under federal law.“The 20-year withdrawal would be a big win for everyone who values the Thompson Divid...

Contentious custody battle preceded Colorado Springs mom’s alleged slaying of two children

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

The Colorado Springs woman accused of killing her 9-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son was involved in a contentious, yearslong custody battle with her ex-husband, according to court records.Kimberlee Singler, 35, is suspected of first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder, child abuse and assault in the deaths of her daughter and son and injury of her 11-year-old daughter.Officers responded to a report of a burglary at Singler’s apartment at 12:29 a.m. on Dec. 19 and found Singler and her oldest daughter with injuries and the bodies of her 9-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department.The children were identified as Elianna “Ellie” and Aden Wentz by their father and Singler’s ex-husband, Kevin Wentz, in a statement released to KDVR this week, according to the Associated Press. Wentz’s attorney could not be reached for comment.Investigators later determined there was no burglary and obtained an arrest warrant f...

Three years after “Shark Tank,” office product startup files for bankruptcy

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

A local company has gone from “Shark Tank” to bankruptcy court.Thornton-based M.C. Squares, which makes whiteboard sticky notes, planners and to-do lists, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 22. The company said in the filing that it owes $3.3 million to 43 creditors and has assets of $900,000.Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a business to restructure and keep operating while paying creditors over time.Founder and CEO Anthony Franco signed the filings. He declined to comment.Franco founded M.C. Squares nearly 10 years ago to replace disposable office and school supplies such as sticky notes. Its products sell for about $25, according to its website. In 2020, the company appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank and landed what later became a $50,000 investment for 11 percent stake in the company from Kevin O’Leary.M.C. Squares also received investments from local venture capital firms such aske Kokopelli Capital, Rockies Venture Club and Denver Angels.In the bankruptcy filing, O’Leary Production...

Nearly 300,000 lives could be saved in the next decade if states followed California’s example on gun laws, study says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

By Emma Tucker and Omar Jimenez | CNNNearly 300,000 lives could be saved from the nation’s wave of gun violence over the next decade if every US state enacted gun control laws like those held by states such as California and New York, according to a new study announced Friday by a gun violence prevention non-profit group.It’s the first estimate that offers a glimpse of the potential life-saving impact of stronger gun laws throughout a nation with significant variation in firearm laws from state-to-state, experts tell CNN.The study by Everytown for Gun Safety revealed new rankings for the 50 states based on the strength of their gun laws in 2023 compared to their gun death rates, putting California and New York at the top of the list for gun safety. Arkansas is ranked last in the nation due to the weakness of its gun laws and high rate of gun deaths, the analysis shows.New York and California are considered “national leaders” in the report, holding some of the lowest gun death rates ...