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TEA no longer monitoring Round Rock ISD board

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Education Agency is no longer monitoring Round Rock ISD's board of trustees, the district said Friday. Round Rock ISD said the end of monitoring was effective immediately. PREVIOUS: Retired Texas superintendent to monitor Round Rock ISD board after 2019 report TEA began monitoring the RRISD board in September 2021 after concerns and misconduct allegations from former board members. The district said the monitoring decision "indicates that the TEA is satisfied with the progress that has been made."“Their decision is a reflection of the collective work of the Board of Trustees to improve their practices and how they serve our community," Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez said in a release. A monitor was assigned to the district after the TEA says it received a complaint in early 2020 “alleging that a district trustee engaged in behavior detrimental and counter-productive to the welfare of the district and its students.”The TEA monitor, former Carroll ISD superi...

Buddy Holly: Lubbock’s native son changed the world, still offers something to visitors today

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:00 GMT

LUBBOCK, Texas (KLBK) – In the land of cotton and oil, a music legend was proud to call West Texas home.Rock 'n' roll icon Buddy Holly was born and raised in Lubbock. After graduating from Lubbock High School, Holly rose to prominence with his band “The Crickets” and quickly became a household name in the music industry with hits like “That’ll Be the Day” and “Peggy Sue.”“He really rewrote what music was,” said Sebastian Forbush, curator at The Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock. “The Crickets were the very first of the traditional four-piece band with a guitar, bass, drums and vocals.”Holly’s life and career were cut short on Feb. 3, 1959, when he was killed alongside singers Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson in a plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa.Explore Buddy Holly's worldwide legacyThe Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock is a popular tourist destination visited by thousands every year. The interactive museum chronicles Holly’s childhood and documents his short but impactful music career tha...

St. Louis Juneteenth celebrations and third annual Caribbean Heritage Festival

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- This weekend, the St. Louis Metro is abuzz with multiple Juneteenth celebrations. One of the notable events is the third annual Caribbean Heritage Festival, held in Missouri, known as the gateway to freedom and justice. The festivities kick off bright and early at 7 a.m., as the lawn fills up with enthusiastic attendees, gathering to honor Juneteenth, a day that marks the emancipation of slaves. The celebration is part of Africans Rising Together 2063, a movement supporting Africans in their quest for freedom and justice. Teen drowns in Meramec River in Crawford County The day's activities include a walk, flag raising, inspiring speeches, delectable food, lively music, and engaging kids' activities, ensuring a vibrant atmosphere throughout the day. At 8:00 a.m., the walk commences, allowing participants to traverse the space while symbolizing the journey towards liberation for African Missourians and Caribbean Americans throughout history. Live music serves as the me...

New renderings of Cherry Creek West show plans for interior ‘shared street’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:00 GMT

The firm that will redevelop the west side of the Cherry Creek Shopping Center has released new renderings for the first time in 18 months.The broad elements of “Cherry Creek West,” which is still more than a year out from breaking ground, remain relatively the same. Developer East West Partners intends to build seven structures ranging from eight to 13 stories, with a mix of office, residential and retail space. There will be open space between them, and an underground parking garage.All that will replace what is currently a sea of parking and a handful of largely vacant big-box stores.A new rendering of the Cherry Creek West project. (Courtesy East West Partners)The new renderings do, however, reflect a couple of ways plans have shifted since late 2021, when Denver-based East West announced it had reached a deal with the owners of the mall and property to embark on the project.Originally, the plan was for the interior of the 13-acre site to be pedestrian-only. Now, however, there ...

Colorado logs a second straight month of employment gains on strong government hiring

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:00 GMT

Since last fall, Colorado employers have gone from adding jobs one month to shedding them the next, resulting in an economy that has behaved more like a sputtering lawn mower than a finely tuned engine that fires up on the first pull of the cord.But that changed in May, when the state finally strung together two consecutive months of respectable job gains, according to an update Friday from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. Despite that, 2023 still appears to be lagging.“After five months it seems the Colorado labor market is underperforming the U.S., assuming there will be no major revisions in the future. It is easy to look at the data and see where changes are occurring. It is more difficult to understand the structural changes in the economy that are causing these changes,” said Broomfield economist Gary Horvath in an email.“In other words, why is the Colorado economy struggling more than other states?” he asked.Colorado employers added 3,9...

A Colorado man saved a dog’s life. When the story went viral, it changed his life.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:00 GMT

When Breckenridge resident Zach Hackett first rescued Riley — a 9-year-old sheltie dog who had run away five weeks earlier — in May, nothing happened for about 10 days.Then the story swept across the country. After Summit Daily News and KDVR reported the story, Hackett received congratulations from Congressman Joe Neguse’s office, and the national nonprofit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) honored him with a compassion award. Soon, The Washington Post, The Dodo, Fox Weather and other major news outlets were reaching out to interview Hackett.But before all that attention, Hackett said he had been struggling. The days between when Hackett first heard Riley’s faint “yip” while exploring the trails near Peak 4 behind his new apartment and when the media caught wind of the story had been difficult ones, he said.The uplifting story of the rescue, though, has helped Hackett connect with a wider community and find happiness and hope for the future. It also inspired him to ...

Electronic dance music has become one of Colorado’s defining genres, and it’s only getting bigger

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:00 GMT

When Denver-based artist Illenium climbs on stage at Empower Field at Mile High on June 17, it will be not only the single biggest electronic-dance music concert in Colorado history, but one of the biggest-ever headlining events by a Colorado artist.“The next largest venue on my (fall) tour is probably 25,000 capacity,” said Illenium, a.k.a. platinum-selling DJ, producer and songwriter Nick Miller. “Most of the venues are like 8,000 to 15,000, and I think in Chicago I’m playing a soccer stadium.”The show tops a week that saw Colorado EDM artists GRiZ (based out of Denver) and Big Gigantic (Boulder) perform at June 15’s Denver Nuggets victory parade, adding a sheen of city approval for the roughly 1 million Denverites in attendance.Denver mega-DJ and producer Illenium credited Colorado’s EDM scene for allowing him to rise to a headliner at Empower Field at Mile High, where he plays his Trilogy show on June 17. (Lindsey Byrnes, Warner Records)...

Law firm Springer & Steinberg departs downtown after 40 years

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:00 GMT

This building at 1400 S. Colorado was the headquarters of Lewan Technology until it moved to the Denver Tech Center in 2021. (Courtesy Avison Young)After four decades along Broadway in downtown Denver, the law firm Springer & Steinberg is moving south.The firm, known for its high-profile criminal defense and personal injury work, will pick up and relocate to 1400 S. Colorado Blvd. at the end of the month, Jeff Springer said.“We are going to be real close to Glendale and I am the Glendale city attorney, so it makes some sense for us to do that,” the firm’s co-founder explained.Jeff Springer“We’re excited to be close to Glendale and everything that’s going on there, and give our firm what we think is going to be a beautiful space. We’re going to have our name on the north and south sides of the building. We think it’s a great opportunity for us,” he said.The firm is currently at 1600 N. Broadway, a 26-story high-rise that was called the Colorado State Bank Building when Springer &...

Colorado electric utilities gird for impact on grid if weather turns hot

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:00 GMT

With Colorado’s current wet, cool weather, the prospect of rolling blackouts because of power plants straining under hot, dry weather seems as unreal as a desert mirage. But a national watchdog agency says the risk of electric outages is high in case of extreme weather this summer and Colorado utilities say they are preparing.While power supplies are sufficient in all regions, the West and much of the rest of the country will face an elevated risk of power shortfalls in the face of heat waves and wildfires, said the North American Electric Reliability Corp. The regulatory authority, which oversees the national electric grid’s reliability, noted in its 2023 Summer Reliability Assessment that there’s a 50% to 70% likelihood of higher-than-average temperatures through September in most parts of the country.The report also notes that heavy snows and rain have alleviated drought in big parts of the West, including Colorado, which could boost hydropower generation. And N...

Englewood officers cleared in fatal police shooting according to DA’s review

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:00 GMT

Two Englewood police officers who fired rifle shots, one of which killed a man inside a home from where a gun was fired at police outside, were justified under Colorado law in their use of lethal force, according to an investigative review of the police shooting that was released Friday.On the night of July 24, 2022, police responded to a home in the 5000 block of South Grove Street on a report of a man who was intoxicated and firing a gun inside the residence, according to the review. Multiple officers arrived, including Dirk Smith and Aaron Jarrett, who fired at Matthew Mitchell and Phillip Blankenship, brothers who were inside the home. Mitchell, 22 at the time, was hit in the chest by gunfire and died at the scene.Blankenship, who allegedly was intoxicated and had fired a gun inside his home prompting a 911 call to police, was arrested on investigation of attempted first-degree murder after he eventually walked out of the home and surrendered to police.Blankenship, according to ...