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Some Colorado communities don’t want psychedelic healing centers — but can they stop them?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:11 GMT

COKEDALE — Jack Van Heesch experimented hard with all sorts of psychedelics back in the day.“It was a party,” said the full-bearded, 66-year-old resident of this former Colorado mining town perched in the shadows of the Spanish Peaks in Las Animas County.Van Heesch was one of nearly 1.3 million Coloradans last November to vote for Proposition 122, which decriminalized the growing, use and sharing of psilocybin and psilocin — key compounds found in “magic mushrooms” — along with ibogaine, mescaline and dimethyltryptamine, or DMT.But his was a rare yes vote in Cokedale, a tiny hamlet of 150 hardscrabble residents seven miles west of Trinidad. The town, with its 350 defunct coke ovens signifying its legacy as a one-time coal mining hub, isn’t jazzed about psilocybin healing centers coming in.Cokedale, a former coal mining camp seven miles west of Trinidad in Las Animas County, is pictured on March 20, 2023. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denve...

Denver luxury apartment complexes make rare move of allowing tenants to rent units as Airbnbs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:11 GMT

Tenants at 20 apartment complexes across Denver are now sharing their amenities with out-of-town guests, as building management is allowing residents to rent out their units as Airbnbs.Vacation rental company Airbnb has partnered with building owners in almost 40 cities “to make it easier for renters to find apartments that let them host part-time,” according to its website. Renters can earn money by hosting Airbnb guests in their units, with the frequency and guest rules varying by building and locality.At a time when apartment rent in Denver averages $1,997, Airbnb estimates that a host can earn an average of $786 for a weeklong rental in the city. Out of the metro area’s current options available on Airbnb, the starting monthly rent ranks as low as $1,209 in Glendale, with average weekly earnings of $568, and as high as $2,993 in Denver, with that profit jumping to $749.The following apartment complexes in the Denver area are listed as Airbnb-friendly apartments...

These are the healthiest — and least healthy — counties in Colorado

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:11 GMT

Douglas and Pitkin counties are the healthiest in Colorado for the fifth year in a row, while people living in Otero and Bent counties had the shortest and sickest lives.The annual health rankings compiled by the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute attempt to grade counties across the country on two areas: health outcomes and the factors that influence health.The ranking of counties’ health outcomes combines years of potential life lost from residents dying before age 75; the percentage of people reporting poor health; and the percentage of babies born too small. It correlates strongly with how prosperous a community is.Douglas County has been in first place on that list and Pitkin County has been in second since 2019.The health factors ranking includes measures of education and wealth; exposure to pollution; availability of health care; and behaviors like smoking and excessive drinking. While there are exceptions, communities that do well in one area t...

Opinion: My mom asked me to write about her death so others could make choices too

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:11 GMT

My mom, Jan Brackney, had a lovely common life with glimpses of the extraordinary. On Feb. 22, she died like she lived, with full intention and resolution.In life, she desired a large family. So she had five kids with her husband, Milt, of 62 years. Other than that, she wanted travel, bridge games with friends, and time to read. Fairly common goals, yet she accomplished each with vigor: 48 states and 62 countries spanning nine decades; she started dozens of bridge groups and read an average of over 300 books a year for the last decade of her life.I always thought Mom was terrific, but perhaps not too unlike other great moms. I never thought of her as courageous. I was wrong.On the morning of her death, I re-read a note sent to her with love, “Jan, you’re one of the most courageous people I’ve ever met.” Until later that day, I had no idea how true that statement could be.Even in death, at age 91, with her health deteriorating, she was intentional. Mom had very clear goals for her de...

Denver’s best spicy chicken sandwich: Vote in the finals to see if Dave’s Hot Chicken or 300 Suns Brewing will win our March Madness bracket

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:11 GMT

Our March Madness spicy chicken sandwich bracket all comes down to this: national vs. local.Last week, The Denver Post readers voted on the Final Four in our search for the best spicy chicken sandwich in the Mile High City, and in both matchups, it was an upset.Dave’s Hot Chicken, an L.A.-based franchise that started in 2017 and has since expanded to more than 100 locations, pushed out its local competitor Denver Biscuit Co. with 57% of the votes.Meanwhile 300 Suns Brewing, a Longmont brewery that joined forces with Scratch food truck owner Nate Say in 2019, just edged out local chain Blazing Bird with 50.7% of the total.Say started his food truck Scratch, focusing on smashburgers. He eventually wanted to open a Nashville hot chicken food truck, but ended up partnering with Dan and Jean Ditslear, owners of 300 Suns Brewing to open the brewpub kitchen in 2019. Say said he sells more Nashville hot chicken, which is hand battered, soaked in buttermilk overnight, seasoned with a flour m...

Colorado’s top election official wants to limit who can get a recount. A top Democrat thinks it’ll backfire.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:11 GMT

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold has called on lawmakers to limit the use of discretionary recounts in state elections to only close races, arguing that the current system allows for “bad actors” to inject doubts into often settled races.“It’s an important check on democracy that candidates in close races can have that recount,” Griswold, a Democrat in her second term, said in an interview Monday. The recount provision would be part of a broader bill she’s working on with Senate Democrats to tweak the state’s elections laws. “But when you have double-digit margins, it’s implausible — so unlikely — that a recount will actually lead to a change in the actual results.”But the president of the Senate — the man who’s drafting the bill Griswold is pitching — isn’t sold on the recount adjustment. In fact, he told reporters last week, he thinks it would do the very thing Griswold says it would help ...

For risking his life for Lebanon, Omar Harfouch won the Olive Tree Peace Prize in France.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:11 GMT

During the annual French Iftar event attended by top-level political figures, the "Olive Tree of Peace" award was won this year by Omar Harfouch and the editor-in-chief of Charlie Hebdo."The olive tree of peace" was presented to Omar Harfouch by French MP Caroline Yadan, close to French President Emmanuel Macron, who praised him for his courage in the fight against corruption and for peace in Lebanon. For his part, Harfouch confirmed to the public and to political and spiritual personalities that he had sworn to carry out his project. Harfouch's name for the award was suggested by Jean-Christophe Lagarde, leader of the French centre party UDI, who visited Lebanon a few weeks ago and met with all the political leaders. As for the second prize, it went to the editor-in-chief of the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo, Gérard Pierre. The ceremony took place in the presence of high French personalities.

1 dead, 8 injured after police chase ends in a crash in Long Beach

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:11 GMT

A woman is dead and eight other people were hospitalized in a nine-vehicle crash following a pursuit in Long Beach on Tuesday night.The incident began after an officer tried pulling over a suspect driver in Seal Beach near 5th and Marina, according to Seal Beach police. The suspect did not yield and sped away on Pacific Coast Highway, leading officers on a pursuit.The suspect later crashed near the intersection of East Pacific Coast Highway and 2nd Street around 8:15 p.m., officials said.The collision involved eight other vehicles, leaving one person, a woman in her 60s, dead and eight others injured, authorities confirm.One person is dead and at least eight others were hospitalized after a multi-vehicle crash in Long Beach on Tuesday night. (KTLA)One person is dead and at least eight others were hospitalized after a multi-vehicle crash in Long Beach on Tuesday night. (KTLA)One person is dead and at least eight others were hospitalized after a multi-vehicle crash in Long Beach on Tu...

Kamala Harris faces painful Black history in emotional slave outpost visit

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:11 GMT

By Jasmine Wright | CNNVice President Kamala Harris emerged from the female slave dungeon at Cape Coast Castle visibly shaken. Inside the famous slave trading outpost’s dungeon, Harris set a bouquet of flowers down and placed her hand on the centuries-old wall, connecting herself physically to the sorrow of the Africans it once imprisoned.It was a rare show of emotion for the typically stoic barrier-breaking leader, often reticent to talk about her own plight as a Black woman in America. But at a makeshift podium in front of the cannons that stretch along the ocean, Harris’ voice broke as she talked, delivering at times off-the-cuff remarks to describe what she saw.“Being here was immensely powerful,” Harris said at the castle, a relic of transatlantic cruelty. “The crimes that were done here. The blood that was shed here.”“The horror of what happened here must always be remembered. It cannot be denied. It must be taught; history must be lea...

Sharks’ Reimer makes incredible save, hears cheers in San Jose, but faces uncertain future

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:11 GMT

SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer saw the puck slide over to Mason Appleton, who had most of the yawning 4’ x 6’ net to shoot at from his position a few feet away from the crease.The only thing Reimer could do, as his body was pointed in another direction, was to extend his goalie stick back to try and cover some small portion of the net.“I just heard the Homer (Simpson) scream in my head,” Reimer said. “That was pretty much all that was going on.”Somehow, Reimer stopped the shot, keeping the Winnipeg Jets from tying the game, and providing the Sharks with a rare highlight in what’s been an all-too-dreary season on home ice.“Unbelievable. I stood up right away,” said Sharks winger Noah Gregor, who had a goal and an assist against the Jets. “Crazy save. I thought it was a for sure a goal for (Appleton). (Reimer) made a bunch of great saves tonight. That one’s going to stick out.”REIM TIME. #SJSharks pic.twitter.com/uw8I9F5mFs— TEAL TOWN USA – A San Jose...