Photo: Patrick Kramer

2021 ended with the start of the horrific Marshall Fire that destroyed 1084 homes and damaged 149.  •  Biden unveiled his new COVID-19 plan to protect more Americans in early December – Boosters, At-Home Testing, and Treatment Pills are some steps to take on Omicron; the first case in Colorado was found around the same time. An increase in children 0-9 and those 10-19 was seen in late December and the flu is making a comeback nationally.  •  The city of Denver extended their mask mandate through February 3. Fauci suggested that mandating vaccines for domestic travel would encourage inoculations, and according to Governor Polis and State Epidemiologist Dr. Herlihy, boosted Coloradans are 9.7 times less likely to get COVID-19 and 47.5 times less likely to be hospitalized.  •  A 60-year-old died in a crash at Eldora Ski Resort. •  One person died in an avalanche near Cameron Pass on the 24th.  •  A rare wolf kill of a cow calf occurred in Colorado. It’s suspected to be the first in over 70 years. The farmer will be reimbursed.  •  Colorado continues to provide support as Afghan refugees resettle, planning to support up to 2,000.  •  In other news, Melania Trump has entered the crypto and blockchain realms and launched her very own Non-Fungible Token (NFT), Melania’s Vision, of which shares were available for purchase for 1 Solana (about $171).  •  Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, a truck driver, was sentenced to 110 years due to a crash that killed four on I-70 in early December. Governor Polis reduced his sentence to 10 years later in the month.  •  Denver parking meters received a price increase doubling them to $2 an hour.  •  The Patterson Inn Hotel in Denver will soon open a lounge for smoking marijuana.  •  Rain Hanuman faces charges in connection to a fire on CU Boulder’s East Campus.  •  Lyndon James McLeod, the suspected shooter that killed five people in Denver was also killed in a gunfight with police  •  The alleged shooter of the mass shooting at King Soopers in Boulder was determined mentally incompetent to stand trial.  •   Boulder County adopted a $549.8 million budget and proposed ending a moratorium on lethal control of prairie dog populations that extends from March 1 – May 31, which is the breeding season.  •  CU Boulder switched to a remote start for the spring semester due to the Marshall Fire and COVID-19. The campus also faced a power outage which impacted final exams.  •  The 140 year-old Old Main Cottonwood tree will be removed due to safety reasons.

Small Talk

“As we learn more about Omicron’s ability to spread and the severity of disease it causes, the highly transmissible and potentially more deadly Delta variant continues to be the dominant form of COVID-19 in Colorado,” “We are seeing the clear impact of getting a booster dose. If boosted, you are 9.7 times less likely to become a COVID case and 47.5 times less likely to be hospitalized than if you have no protection at all. We must continue leveraging the effective tools we have at our disposal and move forward with getting eligible people in Colorado their booster doses.”
– Dr. Rachel Herlihy, state epidemiologist, Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment

“Our administration has built up robust testing capacity and we’re grateful to all of the team members at our state lab and local partners for discovering variants of concern quickly. As we approach the holiday season and New Year, it’s still the Delta variant that is taking Coloradans from us before their time so we urge Coloradans to get vaccinated,” “Get vaccinated and boosted at one of the many community vaccination sites across our state because no one wants to bring COVID-19 with them into 2022.”
– Colorado Governor Jared Polis

“From a staff perspective: one of the things that we feel would… the removal of the moratorium would do would be that in the end it would result in fewer deaths of prairie dogs and provide better overall control.”
– Jeff Moline, Resource Planning Manager, Boulder County Parks & Open Space

“The investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing. It’s being supported by experts from the forest service who are experienced and highly talented in investigating major fires in other states.”
– Joe Pelle, Boulder County Sheriff

COVID (by the numbers) – as of Jan. 04, 2022