Latest news with #Coloradan
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Brighton man loses wife of 68 years, 4 pets, home in fire
DENVER (KDVR) — On Thursday night, FOX31 learned new information about a fatal fire in Brighton that burned a home on Mother's Day, killing an 88-year-old grandmother and four animals. Measles case confirmed in vaccinated Coloradan who flew into DIA FOX31's Talya Cunningham found out the fire was caused by a piece of furniture that could be in your house right now. The cause of this fatal fire may be surprising: an electric recliner chair. Family members are truly devastated and not ready to speak on-camera, but they were spoken with on the phone, and they hope to prevent another tragedy by sharing their story. It's a device common to many households, and investigators said it's the cause of the fire that sparked on May 11. The fire started around 12:30 p.m. on 132nd Avenue, and when firefighters arrived on the scene, the home was fully engulfed in smoke, with one person trapped inside. Crews rushed in, rescued her and began CPR, but it was unsuccessful. 88-year-old Kim Okada died from smoke inhalation. The family said their three dogs and cat all died of smoke inhalation as well. Kim's husband, Paul, was outside the home when the fire started, but was unable to save her. The couple were high school sweethearts who met when they were 16 and 17 years old, and were married for 68 years. 'My mom was a kind woman who brought smiles to those around her. She was a loving wife, mom, grandmother and great-grandmother who is sorely missed. She was a light in our lives,' said daughter Teiko Richy. Brighton fire investigators concluded the home had no smoke detectors and the fire started underneath an electric recliner. They determined a cord was pinched due to wear over time. The Brighton Fire Chief of Prevention, Elizabeth Bednracik, is warning everyone with this piece of furniture to always check the integrity of the appliance cord because it can lead to fires. The Brighton Fire Department said there are several steps to take to prevent fires: Always have working smoke alarms Check electrical cords frequently Have an escape plan Use power strips over extension cords Evans, Boebert tout 'Big, Beautiful, Bill' amid boos from Coloradans 'It's a difficult time right now. We're doing everything we can to help support the family and community. This is a big loss for us, and we're going to be there for them during this time,' said Bednracik. 'They're very grateful. They've reached out to me to express thanks to the crews who came out, as you can imagine, it's very difficult for our responding crews who knew there was a party trapped inside. They were able to get her out and do CPR. It's a tragedy to the entire community, including our fire department.' The family has set up a GoFundMe to help Paul after the incident. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Coloradans weigh in on what police should do about street racing
BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — A social media post from Colorado State Patrol Boulder has people weighing in about street racing, reckless driving and what should be done to enforce it. Measles case confirmed in vaccinated Coloradan who flew into DIA The need for speed in the metro area is a sound haunting a number of residents in the Lowry and Aurora area. 'It's troublesome, it's dangerous, I wish they would do it somewhere else,' Bill, a Lowry resident, said. 'You hear the noise every night,' Aurora resident Ed told FOX31. 'We've got a school right down the street from where we live. And I've had people going by my house at 72 miles an hour and probably a 25 or 30 mile an hour zone.' In total, throughout 2024, the Colorado State Patrol said citizens made 2,000 street racing complaints on the Street Racing Working Group's website, while many more complaints were made to local police. 'Street racing — it is a big problem in Boulder,' CSP trooper Sherri Mendez said. Mendez told FOX31 street racing reports to CSP doubled so far this year, compared to the same time frame last year. FOX31 asked about how impounding enforcement works currently. 'If the officer sees the crime, they can tow the vehicle or impound the vehicle and hold it, hold it as evidence,' Mendez said. 'But it's all on whatever is happening or what's going on. The totality of the circumstances, meaning everything that's going on with the investigation. We can't just take a vehicle because someone complained about it, because they have to identify a driver.' CSP Boulder posted this public survey poll on X. As of Thursday afternoon, more than 500 people voted: 70% voted yes 16% voted no 13% voted 'depends on the safeguards.' 'These vehicles ought to be impounded immediately,' Ed said. 'And if it were up to me, they'd be impounded for a damn long time.' Is your name Ryan? Denver meetup seeks to set world record at Rockies game Joey Williams is a part of the car enthusiast community in Colorado. He works to organize events called 'chill-ins' where people can show off their cars on the infield of the speedway instead of out on the street. FOX31 asked for his take on the survey. 'Them impounding the car and taking it from someone, I do not have a problem with that at all,' Williams said. 'Same thing where we tell people if you obey the law, the police, in theory, shouldn't do anything. If you're going to a car meet-up and you're going from one spot to the next, you're just cruising. You should have no problem getting from point A to point B without getting in trouble.' You can report street racing on the Report Street Racing website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Measles case confirmed in vaccinated Coloradan who flew into DIA
DENVER (KDVR) — A Coloradan has been confirmed to be the third person to have measles in connection with an international flight that saw two other passengers contract the virus, one an infectious out-of-state adult and the other a child under five years of age, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health. The person in the newly confirmed case and the child under five are both residents of Arapahoe County, although the department did not disclose if there is a relationship between the two. Cattle rancher being compensated for damage caused by elk The most recent case involves a vaccinated adult who traveled on Turkish Airlines flight 201, which arrived at Denver International Airport on Tuesday, May 13. Arapahoe County health officials are contacting any crew or passengers on the flight who were seated or working in close proximity to the people with measles. A list of locations where someone may have been exposed to measles includes: Casa Vallarta 4002 S. Parker Road, Aurora May 22: 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Colorado Athletic Club Denver Tech Center 5555 DTC Parkway, Greenwood Village May 23: 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Country Fair Garden Center 7150 Leetsdale Drive #414, Denver May 23: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Golden Saigon Restaurant 2648 S. Parker Road, Unit 2, Aurora May 24: 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Comfort Suites Golden West 29300 U.S. Highway 40, Evergreen May 25, 26: 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., and 10:30 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. Evergreen Wine and Liquor 29017 Hotel Way #105C, Evergreen May 25: 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said that measles is highly contagious and can lead to serious health problems, but it is preventable. The agency said that the MMR vaccine provides strong protection. In rare cases, about three in 100 vaccinated people will be infected by measles, but the vaccine helps to lower the risk of spread and severity of symptoms. Free on Your TV • New FOX31+ App for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and rash that usually starts several days later on the face before spreading. More information can be found on the CDPHE website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Post
5 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
Activist sportswear brand sues Colorado, accuses state of censoring its message
The women's activist sportswear brand XX-XY Athletics is suing the state of Colorado over a recent state law that the company claims would interfere with its ability to market its message. The lawsuit takes aim at the state for passing a law called HB25-1312 and amending the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, which defines 'gender expression' to include 'chosen name' and 'how an individual chooses to be addressed.' The laws state Coloradans have a right to access 'public accommodations and advertising' that are free of discrimination on that basis. Advertisement The company's lawsuit claims that the state's new legislation would make it illegal for the brand to carry out certain viral marketing campaign techniques it has used since launching last year. 'XX-XY Athletics, in their advertising, customer interactions, and elsewhere, to refer to transgender-identifying individuals with their given names or with biologically accurate language. XX-XY Athletics can no longer speak the truth in pursuit of its mission. XX-XY Athletics can no longer call men, men,' the lawsuit states. 'Even worse, the Act coerces the company to speak against its principles and alter the meaning of its core message. If XX-XY Athletics refuses, the company faces cease-and-desist orders, expensive investigations, hearings, and civil and criminal penalties.' Colorado Attorney General Philip J. Weiser's office has declined to comment on the lawsuit to Fox News Digital. Advertisement 4 Jennifer Sey is the founder of XX-XY Athletics. XX/XY Athletics XX-XY founder Jennifer Sey provided a statement to Fox News Digital insisting that the law would hinder her company's marketing strategies and the overall movement to oppose trans athletes in girls and women's sports. 'What is happening in Colorado is a threat to anyone who speaks the truth about biological reality and who stands up for the rights of women and girls. XX-XY Athletics communicates often and broadly on the reality that men and women are different and our mission as a brand is to empower female athletes to also speak up and protect women's sports,' Sey wrote. 'Laws like this in Colorado force Coloradans to adhere to an ideology that is in violation of actual truth. They want to silence anyone who disagrees. We are filing this lawsuit to fight for our — and every Coloradan's – right to free speech.' Advertisement 4 The state recently passed laws allowing Coloradans to have a right to access 'public accommodations and advertising' that are free of discrimination. AFP via Getty Images Sey's brand has regularly used its social media platforms to bring attention to instances of biological males competing in girls and women's sports around the country, while promoting XX-XY merchandise. The company also produces original commercials that feature its brand ambassadors, and some of those include references to trans athletes being 'men' or 'boys.' Colorado is already facing a lawsuit from one of its own school districts over the state's laws requiring schools to allow biologically male transgender athletes to compete in girls sports. School District 49 (D49) in El Paso County, Colorado, filed its lawsuit against the state after passing a localized rule that banned trans athletes from girls sports at its schools earlier in May. That lawsuit cites 'increasing tension between Title IX obligations and the state system that requires discrimination against female student-athletes,' according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital. Advertisement 4 Sey's sportswear company claimed Colorado's new law would interfere with the brand's marketing techniques. Penske Media via Getty Images 'Knowing that the approved policy would generate opposition and potentially trigger legal challenges, D49 filed a pre-enforcement action in the Colorado District of the federal court system seeking declaratory and injunctive relief,' the school district said. The lawsuit does not come in response to a specific incident of a trans athlete competing in the district. Instead, it's a response to the state's sweeping policies conflicting with the school's obligation to abide by federal law, specifically Title IX. 'Political culture is far out of balance on gender issues. Our lawsuit seeks a rational correction to excessive accommodations,' D49 Superinterdent Peter Hilts told Fox News Digital. 'Our state athletic association simultaneously advocates equity and discrimination. We asked them to resolve that discrepancy, and they declined, so we were compelled to pursue a legal ruling.' 4 Natalie Daniels was booted from her running club in the DC metro area after she shared her views about trans athletes on XX-XY's YouTube page. Courtesy of Natalie Daniels Students in the state can compete in either gender category if they inform their school in writing that their gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth. CHSAA requires schools to do a confidential evaluation, and all forms of documentation are voluntary. There are also no medical or legal requirements stated. Weiser's office responded to that lawsuit in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. 'The attorney general is committed to defending Colorado's anti-discrimination laws. The attorney general's office has no further comment on this ongoing litigation,' the statement said.
Boston Globe
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Eliminating the Department of Education won't harm children
Done right, the department's elimination wouldn't harm our children. Some progressives who were present at its creation in 1979 Advertisement I glimpsed this forgotten history while covering the late representative Pat Schroeder, when the Coloradan made a 1990s swing through my New Hampshire newspaper's region. She surprised me by saying that, while fully supporting federal aid to local schools, she'd considered a centralized bureaucracy with say in how it was spent to be a mistake. Representative Advertisement Unsurprisingly, the rival to that teachers union, the National Federation of Teachers, opposed the department, as did, perhaps more surprisingly, the editorial board of 'No matter what anyone says, the Department of Education will not just write checks to local school boards,' Schroeder Rather, the legitimate concerns about the current plans for the department are two: First, the agencies onto which Trump The administration's school funding commitment hides in the will-he-or-won't-he miasma darkening so many Trump policies. Education Secretary Linda McMahon Advertisement Progressives should stress adequate funding, smartly spent, not reflexive support for a bureaucracy and department that some of their ideological forebears opposed. Certainly, the savings from eliminating DOE jobs, like other elements in the so-called Department of Government Efficiency's phantom that big a waste is not a hill anti-Trumpers should die on. If education advocates work to ensure such necessary funding, Schroeder, Chisholm, et al. will rest easy in their graves.
