STANDARD BLADE B R I G H T O N
SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1903
75cI
VOLUME 117
Issue 23
WEEK OF JUNE 2, 2022
CLASS OF ‘22
Oil and gas company reducing greenhouse gases with geothermal energy Transitional Energy will work next with utility company serving Adams, Weld counties BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Brighton High School senior Giana Rocha delivers the benediction at commencement exercises May 25 at 1stBank Center in PHOTO BY STEVE SMITH Broomfield. See more on pages 3 and 5.
Colorado gasoline prices among nation’s lowest Drivers in other states take more of a beating at the pump BY TAMARA CHUANG THE COLORADO SUN
The third week of May was a brutal one for the U.S. economy, especially for those with money to invest. In Colorado, the economic news seemed a little more upbeat. The state’s unemployment rate fell to 3.6% in April, the lowest since before the pandemic. More Coloradans are back to work, with 15,400 returning to jobs in April. Average hourly earnings grew
10% in the past year to $34.34 while the work week shrunk 12 minutes from last year to 33.3 hours. This and other Colorado job data was released May 20, but more on that below. It’s rising gasoline prices that everyone is talking about. But even as everywhere in the state went above $4 per gallon, the increase had less impact on Colorado than anywhere else in America, according to an analysis of the 200 largest cities by LawnStarter, a lawn service with its own data and editorial team who put together reports on impacts to the lawn care industry. “Interestingly, five of the six Colorado cities we ranked also had the five lowest percentage increases over the past year leading up to May 17 — Fort Collins wasn’t far behind
OBITUARIES LOCAL SPORTS CALENDAR LEGALS CLASSIFIEDS
SEE PRICES, P4
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at No. 9,” Jason Medina, LawnStarter’s managing editor, said in an email. “That tells us that Coloradans have either been staying home more, not driving as much, or both during this time period.” Coloradans also pay less taxes on gas than most Americans, he added. The state had the 10th lowest motorfuel tax per gallon, of about 22 cents. A new 2-cent gas tax to help pay for transportation projects in the state was just delayed by lawmakers by nine months and now starts in April. “That, of course, doesn’t include other taxes like local taxes and a new gas fee that’s being delayed, though it would add only 2 more cents per gallon. The delay isn’t providing much relief — at least not
LOCAL
2 •Celebrating the Class 3 of ‘22 7 9 • Pages 3 and 5 16 18
SPORTS •Brighton’s baseball season ends
• Page 7
Transitional Energy officials report successfully using geothermal energy to generate electricity at an oil and gas field site in Nevada on May 19. “It’s exciting to see the success of this pilot project, as it opens up a world of untapped possibility for geothermal energy development in the United States,” said CEO Salina Derichsweiler. According to the company, Transitional Energy is the first to raise private funding to provide 100% of the cost to produce geothermal energy on the Nevada oil site. The Nevada oil field pilot is part of a larger project using Transitional Energy technology with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies’ Office Wells of Opportunity grants. According to company officials, Transitional Energy’s plans for its next pilot program are in Colorado. They will work with major oil and gas companies and on the utility side with United Power, which serves Weld and Adams counties. Transitional Energy is a majority women-owned geothermal energy and development company that converts oil and gas waste streams into renewable energy.
Derichsweiler and Ben Burke, chief SEE ENERGY, P3
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