FREE
Week of July 7, 2022
DENVER, COLORADO
A publication of
VOLUME 95 | ISSUE 33
Hundreds rally for reproductive rights in Denver Supreme Court reversal of federal abortion protections draws protesters in droves BY BOB WOOLEY BWOOLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Decline is driven by COVID, deaths from drug overdoses
Horns honked and drivers waved in solidarity as hundreds gathered at the State Capitol in Denver on June 27. The crowd was there to rally in support of reproductive rights after a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The Dobbs decision upheld a Mississippi state law banning abortion after 15 weeks. In doing so, it opened the door to the reversal of both Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case establishing a constitutional right to abortion, and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a 1992 decision reaffirming that right. SEE RIGHTS, P4
BY JOHN DALEY COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO
price of a diesel school bus. “Now the question is, ‘how do we get the funding?’” Samora said. State legislators are answering that question with a new grant program aimed at helping districts and charter schools with the burdensome upfront costs of acquiring a new electric school bus. Lawmakers have set aside $65 million in grants so that districts can purchase and maintain electric buses, convert fossil-fuel buses to electric, invest
Life expectancy dropped in Colorado for the second straight year in 2021. It’s the kind of decline, driven by the pandemic, not seen in decades, data from the state health department show. The average life expectancy for Colorado residents fell to 78 years in 2021. That’s slightly lower than 2020, the first year of the pandemic when it was 78.4 years, but the slide represents a persistent and significant drop of nearly three years compared to 2019. “The last time life expectancy dropped like this was in 1943, which was the most fatal year of World War II, for the nation,” said Dr. Eric France, the state’s chief medical officer. “It is tragic that we see life expectancy drop. Death rates increased by 20 percent.” Key drivers for the decline were COVID-19 and overdose deaths. The data vary by demographic group. COVID-19 was the leading cause of death among Hispanics, as well as non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islanders and American Indian/Native Alaskans, the data show.
SEE ELECTRIC, P2
SEE EXPECTANCY, P5
A young woman rallies for reproductive rights in Denver on June 27.
PHOTO BY BOB WOOLEY
Electric school buses are in Colorado’s future But districts need help paying for them BY ERICA BREUNLIN THE COLORADO SUN
One by one, the big yellow dieselpowered school buses shuttling kids back and forth in Colorado districts are rumbling along on their final routes and, after many thousands of miles, belching their last plumes of exhaust.
State sees drop in life expectancy for second year
With increasing concerns about the harmful effects of school bus tailpipe emissions on both children’s health and the environment, state leaders and community advocates are pushing school districts to retire their old, pollutant-emitting school buses and replace them with electric ones. It’s hardly a simple request for administrators like Albert Samora, executive director of transportation for Denver Public Schools. A new electric school bus can cost about $400,000 — at least three times the
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 8 | LIFE: PAGE 10 | CALENDAR: PAGE 7
Evergreen Jazz Festival Big Talent! Small Venues! Great Setting!
Dancers Welcome!
Free Parking!
EvergreenJazz.org 303-697-5467
July 29, 30 & 31