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October 7, 2021
DENVER, COLORADO
A publication of
VOLUME 94 | ISSUE 46
LOTSA ’BOTS AT EAST HIGH
Colorado’s hospitals keep going despite COVID surge The state’s relatively high vaccination rate is one reason for perseverance BY JOHN INGOLD THE COLORADO SUN
Schools board. Marla Benavides, 48, said she is running for the school board because she is concerned about literacy rates. In 2019, the last school
Nearly 19 months in, these are some of the toughest days for Colorado hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic. Even as the latest surge in coronavirus hospitalizations appears to have plateaued — what state epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy recently called an “unstable equilibrium” — hospitals across Colorado have still been scrambling to add criticalcare beds and some have been postponing non-emergent surgeries in order to free up space. As of Sept. 23, Colorado had a scant 148 ICU beds available statewide and 28% of hospitals were expecting to experience a staff shortage within the next week. Hospital leaders speak of staff burnout, of trouble keeping employees when lucrative gigs as traveling nurses to COVID hotspots abound. Despite the renewed — and exhausting — strain on the system, things in Colorado are nowhere near as bad as they are in other parts of the country. Amid crushing waves of delta
SEE BOARD, P11
SEE HOSPITALS, P4
Students compete in a competition named for STEM School hero Kendrick Castillo. More on Page 8.
PHOTO BY CHRISTY STEADMAN
Why a home-school mom is running for school board She sees herself as ‘the last hope for education reform’ BY MELANIE ASMAR CHALKBEAT COLORADO
A Denver mother who home-
schools her son and once worked as a bilingual paraprofessional in public schools is running for an at-large seat on the Denver Public
INSIDE: CALENDAR: PAGE 9 | VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12
BRIDGES TO THE ARTS
Communities are creating centers to boost local culture
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