Opinion: Could ecological restoration work become the new outdoor recreation fad?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:42:11 GMT

Opinion: Could ecological restoration work become the new outdoor recreation fad? Driving back to Colorado State University with a van full of students after a day of working to heal some beat-up land north of Fort Collins, I wondered: Could ecological restoration be a new form of outdoor recreation?We’d spent the day building a sawbuck fence around a spring. From the spring, gravity would carry the water through a pipe to a stock tank in the middle of the pasture.On this land protected by a conservation easement, cows would no longer drink, pee and poop while trampling the spring’s vegetation. The spring could recover while the cattle drank clean water elsewhere.My students had spent the day outdoors in the company of their classmates doing challenging physical work. At the moment, though, the young people were trying not to fall asleep as we neared town.Yet all day I’d seen the light in their eyes, and I could tell they felt pride in learning and exercising skills they hadn’t had before. They also clearly liked the idea of giving something back to the land that...

Almost a dozen new businesses moving to downtown Denver, its suburbs and Colorado Springs

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:42:11 GMT

Almost a dozen new businesses moving to downtown Denver, its suburbs and Colorado Springs Almost a dozen new businesses recently announced moves or relocations into downtown Denver, its surrounding areas and Colorado Springs.• Law firm Clark Hill moved its new office to Lower Downtown this month from its former location in the Central Business District, expanding its square footage from 6,000 square feet to 12,000. “Our Denver location will still be a hub for cannabis work at the firm, but we’re looking to attract talented attorneys with practices in other industries to serve a broader audience,” said Robert Hoban, Denver member-in-charge. “This area is well-known in Denver as a dynamic, hip, everchanging, and sophisticated area.”• Cosmetics store Credo Beauty recently opened at Dairy Block at 1801 Blake St. in Suite 100 as the company’s 13th store.• Veterinarian Thrive Pet Healthcare opened a new urgent care clinic at 757 E. 20th Ave. last month. The network includes around 400 locations nationwide.• A new bar, Emerald Eye, is set to open in Larimer Square a...

One of Denver’s most anticipated new restaurants of 2023 opens today on East Colfax

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:42:11 GMT

One of Denver’s most anticipated new restaurants of 2023 opens today on East Colfax Anna and Anthony Nguyen were beaming from ear to ear on the weekend of Sap Sua’s soft opening.The couple has been dreaming up their first restaurant for the last three years since they moved from Los Angeles, where they worked at award-winning restaurants Animal and Osteria Mozza, to Anna’s hometown of Longmont in early 2020. And after a few trial runs over the weekend, they are finally ready to see the dining room come to life.“It’s easy to feel like we’re at the finish line because we’re open and have gotten through constructions and inspections, but it really is just another starting line,” Anna said.Sap Sua, located at 2550 E. Colfax Ave., officially opens to the public today, June 28, at 4:30 p.m. Reservation slots will be available starting at 10 a.m. on the restaurant’s website. And the anticipation is real.Bon Appetit named Sap Sua one of its eight most-anticipated restaurant openings across the country this summer, and it’s also one of The Denver Post’s most-anticipated res...

Officers fatally shoot man who allegedly opened fire in their direction

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:42:11 GMT

Officers fatally shoot man who allegedly opened fire in their direction A man who allegedly shot in the direction of officers was killed when police returned fire in the Manchester-Square area of Los Angeles early Wednesday morning, authorities said.The incident was reported just before 1 a.m. near the intersection of Western and Florence avenues. Video showed a heavy police presence following the shooting that left an unidentified 25-year-old man dead. Investigators say that officers were conducting a traffic stop when a man on foot approached and opened fire in their direction. A man who allegedly shot in the direction of officers was killed when police returned fire on June 28, 2023. (OnScene.TV)At least one officer returned fire, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed.Paramedics responded but the man was pronounced dead at the scene. It was unclear why the man started shooting at officers. No details were released on the nature of the traffic stop. Several people were detained following the incident but it was unknown if they were witnesses or ...

Electric car makers threatened by shortage of lithium batteries

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:42:11 GMT

Electric car makers threatened by shortage of lithium batteries BEIJING (AP) — Threatened by possible shortages of lithium for electric car batteries, automakers are racing to lock in supplies of the once-obscure “white gold” in a politically and environmentally fraught competition from China to Nevada to Chile.General Motors Co. and the parent company of China’s BYD Auto Ltd. went straight to the source and bought stakes in lithium miners, a rare step in an industry that relies on outside vendors for copper and other raw materials. Others are investing in lithium refining or ventures to recycle the silvery-white metal from used batteries.A shortfall in lithium supplies would be an obstacle for plans to ramp up sales to tens of millions of electric vehicles a year. It is fueling political conflict over resources and complaints about the environmental cost of extracting them.“We already have that risk” of not being able to get enough, GM’s chief financial officer, Paul A. Jacobson, said at a Deutsche Bank conference in mid-June.“We’ve got to have...

Grabbitz is a Hero

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:42:11 GMT

Grabbitz is a Hero Grabbitz is a Hero: Singer, songwriter, DJ and producer Grabbitz got interested in electronic music through his XBOX.“Oddly enough, I learned the early ideas of producing from an XBOX game called MTV Music Generator,” he says. “I was producing beats and songs for years before falling in love with dance/bass music, that’s when DJing came in. I was able to make it a career when I was around 20 and released my debut on Monstercat. Full circle moment.”He says that his sound today is hard to describe.“Lately I have been saying it’s like a new electronic alternative bass rock,” he says. “I’m all over the genre spectrum so it’s tough to pinpoint and usually varies by song.”Grabbitz believes that this is a great time for electronic music.“Electronic music has effectively seeped into almost every other genre, influencing it from one way or another,” he says. “And the scene itself seems healthy. There is a lot of cool stuff hap...

Bay Area Tonga Twins are slamming their way into history

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:42:11 GMT

Bay Area Tonga Twins are slamming their way into history Before tag team wrestling, throwing girls across the ring, and backslide slams in the ring, the Tonga Twins —Kaoz, born Steffanie and Kona, born Ashley — were born Ashley and Steffanie Manukainiu in Vallejo.The twins’ parents, Finau and Katiola Manukainiu, migrated from Tonga to the Bay Area, settling in Vallejo for better opportunities. The twins recall being raised “the island way” with a strict upbringing.Growing up, the Manikainiu family was one of the first Tongan families in Vallejo.“I just remember all those people who would ask, ‘What nationality are you?’ I would have to explain what a Tongan is,” said Kaoz.At 4, the twins were significantly taller than most of their classmates. One day their older siblings (Aiona and Christopher) were playing basketball and in the middle of a break, the twins jumped on the court striving to make a basket. The coaches around assumed the twins were old enough to play. Shortly after, the twins’ parents enrolled them in Vallejo Little League.T...

Three frontcourt players the Warriors could sign in free agency

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:42:11 GMT

Three frontcourt players the Warriors could sign in free agency General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr.’s offseason free agency check list is short, but challenging.First, re-sign Draymond Green. Second, sign frontcourt players who can shoot and play within the Warriors’ scheme.Finding such a frontcourt player could challenging given the Warriors’ free-agency restrictions enforced by the new collective bargaining agreement. As “second apron” violators this season, they are only allowed to re-sign their own players and sign free agents to veteran minimum contracts.Adding more to that challenge are the skills a player should possess to get minutes within the Warriors’ system. Head coach Steve Kerr prioritizes players who can rebound and defend their position, be a quick decision-maker within their motion offense and, to fill a frontcourt need, shoot the ball.“All we’re going to be able to have is minimums, so we have to work with that,” Dunleavy said on draft night. “We’re looking at vete...

Big north San Jose tech site may become affordable housing development

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:42:11 GMT

Big north San Jose tech site may become affordable housing development SAN JOSE — A tech site in north San Jose could become a big housing development under a new “builder’s remedy” proposal that’s being crafted to fast-track the project through the city’s planning process.SummerHill Housing Group has filed the development plans for a site that currently is occupied by an office and research building next to the Intel Innovation Campus in north San Jose, city documents show.The potential development is being proposed at 150 River Oaks Parkway in San Jose. The 5.7-acre property is between North First Street and Zanker Road, according to files at the Santa Clara County Assessor’s Office.The site of an office and research building located at 150 River Oaks Parkway between North First Street and Zanker Road, shown within the outline. Boundaries are approximate. (Google Maps)If built, the housing project would emerge within the footprint of the vast tech hubs that have sprouted over the decades in north San Jos...

Editorial: Bridge toll hike would feed BART’s insatiable appetite for money

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:42:11 GMT

Editorial: Bridge toll hike would feed BART’s insatiable appetite for money BART’s insatiable appetite for public money knows no bounds.Refusing to make budget cuts to adjust for plummeting ridership, BART is joining other Bay Area transit agencies in seeking a major bridge toll hike to subsidize service.On the same day that the state Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a budget deal that includes a $5.1 billion California transit bailout, leaders of BART and other Bay Area transit systems said it won’t be enough.Worse, rather than respect the traditional process of seeking voter approval for Bay Area bridge toll hikes that subsidize transit, the transportation officials and Democratic legislators led by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, on Monday announced they are trying to ram the latest one through the Legislature.The toll for cars on the seven state-owned Bay Area bridges, currently $7, would increase $1.50, or 21%, to $8.50 on Jan. 1. That’s in addition to a $1 increase previously approved by voters that would then raise the total to $9.50 o...