With less humans moving around cities, wild animals are slowly moving into human territory. In Japan, deer are wandering the streets and getting into Dumpsters as less tourists have meant less freebies from humans feeding them. Deer have also been spotted near the airports in London as there have been less flights. Monkeys have been spotted in India and Thailand near once-popular shops as they are hunting for food. In California, wild turkeys have been spotted on shuttered school grounds. In Italy, the lack of boat traffic has led to crystal clear waters and wildlife, including swans, fish, and... Read More

There’s no evidence that COVID-19 is transmitted through food or food packaging, as is stated by the Food and Drug Administration: “Unlike foodborne gastrointestinal (GI) viruses like norovirus and hepatitis A that often make people ill through contaminated food, SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, is a virus that causes respiratory illness,” the agency’s website reads. “Foodborne exposure to this virus is not known to be a route of transmission.”‘ The overwhelming evidence shows that COVID-19 is transmitted from being in close contact with an infectious person,... Read More

The Marijuana Licensing Authority was named in August of last year and was meant to handle licensing of marijuana products. However, the licensing is currently still being handled by Boulder city officials and the Licensing Authority is really only providing advisory recommendations, with the hopes to begin licensing later this year. This mixup in naming has caused the city, city council, and businesses a headache as it causes confusion over what the Authority can legally do, and Boulder City Council proposed a name change to the Cannabis Licensing and Advisory Board. This name helps clear up some... Read More

Entrepreneur recently released their list of the top 500 franchises in North America, and Colorado represented with a whopping 23 of the top 500 with franchise headquarters located throughout the state. Dunkin’ ranked number one on the list, with Taco Bell and McDonald’s following close behind.  Read More

Just like your car or your bike, your snow gear could use a little bit of a tune up from time to time. Sure, it’s easy to just ride your skis or snowboard every day all winter with little regard to how they’re holding up, but just a little bit of attention and tuning goes a long way towards keeping your gear performing well. Proper tuning will actually extend the life of your favorite skis or board so that you can keep enjoying them on the slopes. But how do you know if your skis or snowboard need a tune up? Here are some tips and tricks to help you keep an eye on how your equipment is doing... Read More

Sometimes, writing about art and theater feels a lot like falling down the proverbial rabbit hole as I try to find the angle to write about wandering through a haunted-theater immersive experience, getting splashed in a Halloween horror show in the basement of a spaghetti emporium, sweating through a DIY D&D in a comic shop, savoring (har har!) Sweeney Todd’s enraged high notes, and trying to quiet my howling dog in a public house. I’ve found myself in some odd and awkward scenarios. To update the metaphor, writing this column is a lot like drunk-clicking through an endless algorithm of... Read More

One of my favorite things to do around Christmas is to see all the different light displays! I’m too lazy to ever put lights up myself, but boy is it magical to see a bunch of Christmas lights brighten up a street or scene that looks quite normal in the daylight. These are some cool Christmas light attractions that are sure to dazzle you!   Mile High Tree This is a new attraction to Denver this year: a massive electronic tree on the side of Speer Boulevard! It’s a nice take on a big tree attraction for Denver, resembling something like a sister to the Rockefeller Christmas Tree in... Read More

‘Zombie Deer’ is surprisingly similar to what it sounds like; the phrase is referring to chronic wasting disease, a highly contagious disease that affects deer and elk populations and causes lack of fear of humans, lethargy, and emaciation. The disease is not bacterial or viral; instead, it is transmitted by prions similarly to how mad cow disease or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is spread. These diseases attack brain tissue and are incurable, hence the zombie name. Currently, Colorado, Wyoming, and Kansas have all shows animals with the disease, and surrounding states fear that it will... Read More

A new federal law proposition entitled “Next Generation Votes” hopes to follow in Colorado’s footsteps to increase voter turnout of young people, a notoriously underrepresented group in elections. The law would allow 16-year-olds to pre-register to vote while getting their license. A law for this had been passed in 2013 in Colorado. The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office says nearly 156,000 16-and-17-year-olds in Colorado have pre-registered to vote since the law took effect. This in turn has made it so 60% of young people in Colorado voted in last year’s election compared to... Read More

A wave of vaping related illnesses has swept across the country, showing more than 500 cases and 11 deaths. In Colorado alone, there have been 8 cases of this illness, and 6 have been hospitalized. There have been several proposals for what to do about the situation, including calls to raise the nicotine age to 18 or sweeping bans on all electronic cigarettes or flavored electronic cigarettes. 10 local governments in Colorado have already raised the age to 21. Colorado topped the nation for teen vaping in a survey of more than three dozen states last year. Of the cases of vaping related illnesses... Read More