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Two Denver-area billboards lead to years of litigation and legislation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

Two digital billboards at the intersection of I-25 and U.S. 36 have spurred a change to state laws and been the subject of four legal cases, the latest of which was filed two weeks ago.The litigious saga, which dates back several years, pits the Loveland-based billboard company StreetMediaGroup against the Colorado Department of Transportation. The state agency has fared far better than the company in their courtroom skirmishes.The patch of pavement northwest of where I-25 meets U.S. 36 has a street address of 7300 Broadway and plays home to Podium Karting and a Mastercraft boat dealer. In 2015, the property’s owner built two billboards, one facing I-25 and one facing U.S. 36.The following January, CDOT determined permits would be needed if the billboards were going to include ads for products that are not sold at 7300 Broadway. So, a subsidiary of StreetMedia applied. CDOT then denied that application, finding the two billboards would be distractingly close to on-ramps. From that o...

Bill would let Colorado enforce federal hospital price transparency rules

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

A bill in the Colorado legislature would let the state enforce federal price transparency laws, with the goal of getting enough data to create a cost comparison tool that more people are likely to use.Federal law already requires hospitals to publish lists of the prices they charge to insurance plans and people paying out of pocket, as well as minimum and maximum prices. They also have to post a list of 300 “shoppable” services and their prices for easier comparisons.SB23-252 would duplicate that requirement in state law, and direct the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to assess if hospitals are complying. If they aren’t, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office would have the option to investigate them for deceptive trade practices.“Transparency and sunshine will hopefully in the long run lead to lower prices,” said Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat and one of the bill’s co-sponsors.The posted price files aren̵...

How to brainstorm and plan events with friends and family

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

Have you ever tried planning a big event with friends or family — like a vacation, a home renovation or a reunion — and wished you could get everyone on the metaphorical same page?Thanks to apps that support collaboration, you can get all parties together in the same online whiteboard, calendar, document or other file. And you can get started with free software that may already be on your phone, tablet and computer. Here’s an overview.Getting StartedApple’s iOS and Google’s Android systems include free apps that support group participation. These typically work best if you and your cohorts are all on the most recent version of the same platform, using a free Apple ID or Google Account. But beyond apps, you can collaborate on projects in a web browser with the files stored and synchronized on Apple’s iCloud servers or Google Drive.Starting a collaboration is easy. Just pick your app, create a file and choose the people to share it with.WhiteboardsSome projects benefit from havi...

In AI race, Microsoft and Google choose speed over caution

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — In March, two Google employees, whose jobs are to review the company’s artificial intelligence products, tried to stop Google from launching an AI chatbot. They believed it generated inaccurate and dangerous statements.Ten months earlier, similar concerns were raised at Microsoft by ethicists and other employees. They wrote in several documents that the AI technology behind a planned chatbot could flood Facebook groups with disinformation, degrade critical thinking and erode the factual foundation of modern society.The companies released their chatbots anyway. Microsoft was first, with a splashy event in February to reveal an AI chatbot woven into its Bing search engine. Google followed about six weeks later with its own chatbot, Bard.The aggressive moves by the normally risk-averse companies were driven by a race to control what could be the tech industry’s next big thing: generative AI, the powerful new technology that fuels those chatbots.That competition to...

Klay Thompson’s revival: Fiery competitive nature ignited by doubters

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — A stoic Klay Thompson sat in the tiny visitors’ locker room in Portland after the Warriors clinched a postseason berth by winning their regular-season finale, seemingly unfazed by the joyful noise surrounding him.“Smile, dammit!” teammate Donte DiVincenzo exclaimed after coach Steve Kerr singled Thompson out for eclipsing 300 3-pointers this season, something that has only been done by two other players in NBA history.Thompson didn’t – at least not until after Kerr tossed him the game ball and he felt the leather rock in his hands.First came the feeling of relief for Thompson, who was healthy after completing his first full season after two major injuries; then there was the feeling of joy for his accomplishments.But those emotions were quickly numbed by Thompson’s never-ending desire for more. The iconic words of his idol Kobe Bryant rang loud in his head: “Job’s not finished.”He’s talking about his return to All-Star form, but he’s also talking ab...

Editorial: California lacks enforceable water rights system

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

California’s inability to prevent illegal and wasteful use of its water supply is more annoying than a leaky faucet. And far more costly.When water is illegally diverted, it severely reduces the amount available to urban and agricultural users throughout the state. But the state Water Resources Control Board lacks the tools needed to enforce water rights and protect the limited supply.The process for stopping illegal diversions can take weeks. And when the state does finally step in, the fines it levies are insufficient to act as a deterrent. It’s the equivalent of a police officer catching someone speeding and sending a letter to the speeder saying, if you don’t slow down in the next 20 days, we’ll hit you with a fine for the cost of a gallon of gas.Two bills introduced into the Legislature would help solve the problem. Assembly Bill 460, introduced by Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-Orinda, and Assembly Bill 1337, introduced by Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, would empower ...

Walters: California’s state budget outlook keeps getting worse

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

When Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a 2023-24 budget in January, he acknowledged that the revenue estimates made six months earlier were way too optimistic and that the state had evolved from a nearly $100 billion surplus to a $22.5 billion deficit.Never mind. Nine months into the current fiscal year, it’s evident that revenue, principally from personal income taxes, will fall well short of that downward revision. The deficit could hit $30 billion as he and legislative leaders begin to focus on a final version for adoption in June.Through February, the administration reported, revenues were running nearly $5 billion below expectations and they fell short by nearly $1 billion more in March.The numbers bolster contentions by the Legislature’s budget analyst, Gabe Petek, that the state’s fiscal situation was unhealthier than Newsom was admitting. In his initial response to the January budget, Petek said, “Our estimates suggest that there is a good chance that revenues will be lower than th...

Mathews: California’s long history of putting the world economy at risk

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

Don’t bank on California, especially when banks are involved.Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse is widely discussed as a harbinger of the future, a sign of problems in technology businesses that were its best customers. But this bank failure actually fits a very old pattern — of California putting the world economy at risk.Our state’s history of precipitating economic crisis is rooted in our need to get rich quick, a characteristic of our state since the Gold Rush.California’s 1849 state constitution barred banking. But with the discovery of gold, banks proliferated quickly — and failed faster.  The history of San Francisco of the 1850s is one of financial panics, followed by attempts to climb out of them. The Bank of California, the first commercial bank in the West, launched in 1864 and failed by 1875. (It later reopened.)Catastrophe only spawned new banks. After San Francisco’s 1906 earthquake, A.P. Giannini set up a makeshift bank in North Beach. Eventually, he would establish Bank ...

Opinion: Protecting our neighbors’ homes will keep Bay Area diverse

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

The Bay Area is at an enormous risk of losing our neighbors who make it such a diverse and vibrant region. Currently, 51% of Black households and 42% of Latino households are in danger of being priced out of their communities. Additionally, 60% of Black households and 55% of Latino households face rent burdens, meaning their housing costs exceed 30% of their income.One solution to this crisis is being developed in cities such as San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley and East Palo Alto that can help save the homes that are already affordable. The Tenant or Community Opportunity to Purchase Acts (TOPA/COPA) empowers tenants with options and opportunities when their rental property owner decides to sell. These policies give either tenants or nonprofit housing developers the first chance to purchase the rental property and keep homes affordable.Some worry that TOPA/COPA is unrealistic because low-income residents often can’t afford to buy their homes. But these policies can connect tenants with m...

Efforts to legalize new burial practices in Maryland stall

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:09:59 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — As the new president of the National Funeral Directors Association, John O. “Jack” Mitchell IV has been keeping an eye on trends in the industry of death.The sixth-generation owner of the Mitchell-Wiedefeld Funeral Home in Towson and president of Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens, Mitchell sees the funeral industry adapting to changing desires for death rites as customers move away from the melancholy of traditional burials.Many of the changes in funeral services are years in the making, Mitchell said.Cremation has been on the rise for decades, surpassing traditional burial in Maryland for the first time in 2020. The coronavirus pandemic massively boosted the already growing practice of livestreaming funeral services. And more women are entering the once male-dominated industry; in fact, more than 78% of mortuary sciences students are female, according to the funeral directors association.Supply chain issues exacerbated by the pandemic have caused price changes; for e...