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Austin City Council: Homeless shelter capacity, building height changes

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin City Council has a stacked agenda before taking a break for the summer. With nearly 100 items on this week's agenda, here's some of what we're watching. Salvation Army downtown shelterAfter the Salvation Army announced it was permanently closing its homeless shelter downtown, which dedicated beds to women and children, the City of Austin is working to lease the space from the nonprofit and make the beds available again.This week, Austin City Council will vote on a one-year agreement with the Salvation Army to lease the space starting July 1. It would cost the city roughly $1.2 million, a large chunk of which will come from the Austin Public Health budget, according to council documents. City of Austin could reopen downtown Salvation Army homeless shelter Another resolution could expand the city’s contract with Urban Alchemy, the group that runs the ARCH shelter nearby, to include operating and providing social services at the Salvation Army shelter.The...

Family of man shot, killed by APD officer holds press conference at City Hall

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The family of Raj Moonesinghe will hold a press conference Tuesday morning at Austin City Hall.Moonesinghe, 33, was shot and killed by Austin police officers outside of his south Austin home Nov. 15, 2022.  KXAN will live stream the press conference at 9 a.m. You can also watch it on Facebook.Ring camera footage released by APD in December 2022 showed Moonesinghe outside his home pointing a rifle at something off-camera and saying, "Are you sure you want this?" The person who called 911 told dispatchers that Moonesinghe seemed to be scared of something inside his home. Moonesinghe fired into his home twice before police arrived.Police arrived without sirens, the video showed, and one officer opened fire on Moonesinghe almost immediately after getting out of their patrol vehicle. The officer gave a command for Moonesinghe to put the gun down, but as the video showed, fired a split-second after he gave the command. The officer, later identified as Daniel San...

Crews responding to possible fire at Jamestown Mall

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Emergency crews are at the scene of a possible fire at the old Jamestown mall Tuesday morning. Video from Bommarito Automotive Group SkyFOX helicopter shows smoke rising from the building, so far no injuries have been reported. The mall closed its doors in July 2014 and has been vacant for nearly a decade.Several firefighters are inside the building Tuesday morning. Some of the plywood blocking windows and doors to the building have been removed. Light grey smoke can be seen coming from the roof of the building. Person dragged onto front lawn, killed during home invasion on Sunday morning The building was previously damaged after a fire broke out in April. Two firefighters were injured in that incident and taken to a hospital. Community leaders said $12 million in COVID relief funds is being used to demolish the old mall. Demolition is expected to be happening now.FOX 2 will update this story with more information as it becomes available.

Denver weed lounge could reopen next month, inviting locals for a toke in the consumption garden

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

Tetra Lounge, one of Denver’s first cannabis-friendly smoking lounges, is preparing to reopen this summer after closing temporarily more than a year ago.Owner Dewayne Benjamin retooled the concept slightly, transforming an outdoor patio into the primary marijuana smoking area as he works to upgrade the business’ indoor ventilation system. Think of it like a beer garden, but instead of drinking alcohol, guests smoke weed.Benjamin expects to begin welcoming tokers back to his spot at 3039 Walnut St. in early July.When it first opened in 2018, Tetra Lounge allowed patrons to smoke cannabis indoors because it operated as a private club, charging membership fees. That designation enabled it to sidestep the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, which bans smoking in most public, indoor spaces. However, when the city of Denver opted to create and allow for a new category of “marijuana hospitality” establishments, the business was required to apply for a new license — and meet th...

Denver book club: “The Chinese Groove” and other quick reviews from readers, staff | Opinion

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. Sure, you could read advertising blurbs on Amazon, but wouldn’t you be more likely to believe a neighbor with no skin in the game over a corporation being fed words by publishers? In this new series, we are sharing some mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email [email protected] (Mariner Books)“Stealing,” by Margaret Vreble (Mariner Books)A Native American girl’s life is seemingly idyllic — until she is suddenly sent to a Christian boarding school in the 1950s due to some event that she doesn’t consciously remember. Her experience at the school is horrific on many levels. She starts a journal, which she uses to bring her comfort through remembering her life prior to landing at this school and which she also uses to slowly remember what happened to land her th...

16 Colorado lakes and reservoirs for a dreamy summer day

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

What could be more idyllic, more Colorado, than spending a day or weekend at a lake? Smooth glassy water reflecting the peaks, fish jumping, birds chirping; you’ll understand why John Denver sang about “the serenity of a clear blue mountain lake.”From natural, frigid alpine lakes to slightly-less-frigid valley reservoirs to a couple of places where you can even swim comfortably, Colorado has some 4,000 bodies of water to choose from. With that in mind, we’ve put together some great destinations to add to your summer travel itinerary.Lakes for motor boatingBlue Mesa, in the center of the state between Gunnison and Montrose, is a boater’s paradise. It’s also the largest lake in Colorado, at 14 square miles. As the name implies, the waters are crystal blue and deep enough for large boats. Secluded canyons abound where you can drop anchor and enjoy a cold dip or just the peace and quiet. And the fishing is spectacular – the reservoir is home to ...

Aspen is bursting with festivals this summer

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

Aspen’s modern-day founders believed in a community that included arts and culture, kind of a “whole person” town where nature and community could be restorative.A shot from the JAS Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Festival in 2012 shows the outdoor crowd enjoying the music.Their efforts to create this began in the 1940s and resulted in the founding of the Aspen Music Festival and the Aspen Institute, and laid the fertile ground for other organizations to start up and thrive in the mountain town of about 7,000 people.This summer, Aspen is bursting with festivals and annual events that could keep even locals’ heads spinning from the possibilities of how to choose between great thinkers, delicious food, music and more.Many of the city’s festivals and other events happen each year, but some are new on the scene.The Aspen Food & Wine ClassicThe classic, from June 16 to 18, celebrates its 40th year in 2023. However, it’s sold out already so unless you have a ticket, this is your hint to plan...

Startup Oso Meals looks to add more flavor to backcountry dining

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

Oso Meals is bringing “abuelita-approved” food to the mountains.A couple years ago, friends Dominque Barrera and Felipe Vieyra took a backpacking trip in the area of Lost Lake near Nederland. They ate packaged freeze-dried beef stroganoff and mac and cheese, and dreamed of something better.“We were reminiscing and thinking, wouldn’t it be cool to have our grandmas cooking in the backcountry,” Barrera said. “With new technology and good science, there’s no reason you can’t have good food.”The result is Oso Meals, a line of freeze-dried meals with options like posole and huevos rancheros. Since launching on Kickstarter in spring 2021, the company has sold roughly 2,000 meals, according to its founders, and landed in local REI stores.Vieyra, who was born in Michoacan, Mexico, and moved to Colorado at age 2, and Barrera, born and raised in Five Points, grew up eating authentic homemade food like huevos migas and spicy enchiladas.When they got back from the trip, the duo brought their fr...

Family of Jor’Dell Richardson demands video footage of 14-year-old’s fatal shooting by Aurora police

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

The family of a 14-year-old boy shot and killed by an Aurora police officer last week is demanding the department release video footage of the shooting and the name of the officer who fired the shot, saying they want to understand exactly what occurred in the fatal encounter.“We need to know what happened to him,” said Jaleesa Smith, the boy’s aunt. “His mother is grieving. He is a 14-year-old child.”The boy, Jor’Dell Richardson, was killed by an Aurora police officer on Thursday afternoon after he and other teens robbed a convenience store near Eighth Street and Dayton Avenue of vape cartridges, according to the Aurora Police Department’s news release. The news release said at least one teen threatened the store’s clerk with a gun.The incident began about 4:20 p.m. when an Aurora police gang sergeant, who was on routine patrol, noticed several teenagers wearing medical masks and hooded sweatshirts walking toward the store. The sergean...

Colorado launches new codes aimed at making buildings electric ready

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:00 GMT

Colorado is rolling out model building codes that will make new construction ready for solar panels and electric vehicles and appliances, all intended to help the state cut greenhouse gas emissions and make the transition to renewable energy.The codes will apply to new buildings and ones that undergo substantial renovation. Starting July 1, municipalities that update their building codes or adopt new ones must approve codes that meet or exceed both the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code and the new state requirements.A 2022 law directed that a board made up of members from different interest groups and appointed by the energy office and the Department of Local Affairs develop the building codes.“The legislature saw the importance of buildings to meeting our state’s pollution reduction targets. Buildings are one of the top five sources of greenhouse-gas pollution,” said Will Toor, executive director of the Colorado Energy Office. “We can’t achieve our...