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What’s 12 feet tall, dead and taking Colorado and the country by storm? A coveted skeleton, of corpse.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:34:54 GMT

Despite his name, Fred the Dead doesn’t have the guts to scare neighborhood kids. He doesn’t have the heart, either. He doesn’t have any internal organs at all.Fred is a 12-foot-tall Home Depot skeleton — and he’s a hot commodity. The metal-framed monsters can be spotted this time of year towering over Colorado neighborhoods, from cityscapes to rural farmland.Halloween fiends lucky enough to get their hands on the coveted décor can consider themselves members of an exclusive club; Home Depot won’t say how many of the skeletons it has sold, but Tyler Pelfrey, brand communications manager for the home-improvement giant, confirmed the behemoth box of bones has sold out every year since its 2020 debut.Calls to Home Depot stores in Glendale, Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Fort Collins this week confirmed — occasionally with a harumph of incredulous laughter from a sales associate for even deigning to hope — that the 12-foot-tall skeleton was ...

A chilling Colorado tale of buffalo slaughter jumps from page to screen in Nicholas Cage’s latest movie

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:34:54 GMT

When John Williams penned the gritty, Colorado-set novel “Butcher’s Crossing” in 1960, he faced a herd of Western writers stampeding in the other direction.Seminal novelists of the genre such as Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour had already idealized the American Frontier in hundreds of best-selling books and stories. But Williams, a University of Denver professor for 30 years, took a darker view of U.S. expansion, one that dissected the heroic myths of archetypal cowboys, ranch hands and outlaws.(New York Review of Books Classics)Director Gabe Polsky, who fought for more than a decade to turn “Butcher’s Crossing” into a movie, said he “never really connected with the genre.”“Never. I tried to watch (Westerns) a little bit and just kind of disconnected because it was about searching for the Indians and bank robberies and revenge and all of that.”In 2022, Polsky’s cinematic version, which stars Nicholas Cage, debuted o...

Colorado Republicans unveil Proposition HH alternatives — some of which overlap with ballot measure

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:34:54 GMT

Colorado’s Republicans lawmakers said Wednesday that they were “pushing their way into the conversation” on property taxes — just as voters are weighing in on Proposition HH — by demanding a special session to pass several relief measures.Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen of Monument made the declaration at a news conference as Republicans, whose political power is at a historic ebb in state government, argued against the multi-faceted ballot measure spearheaded by state Democrats. If voters reject Prop. HH in the Nov. 7 election, as the Republican lawmakers hope, Democratic leaders, including Gov. Jared Polis, have no clear backup plan.That would leave little time before homeowners are hit in the spring by major property tax increases caused by rising property valuations, averaging 40% at the median.“We have to have relief this year — this calendar year — so they can get the property tax relief next year,” said Sen. Barbara Ki...

Disaster averted on Colorado River — for now — thanks to wet winter and states’ plan to conserve water, feds say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:34:54 GMT

Enough water likely will fill the Colorado River’s two major reservoirs for the next three years to stave off a hydroelectric power failure and other worst-case scenarios, federal officials said Wednesday.The declaration is based on unexpectedly heavy snowfall in the Rocky Mountains last winter and states’ commitments to reduce water use. Analysts with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation relied on promised cuts by water users and data collected in June to redo forecasts for Lake Mead and Lake Powell, finding slim chances that water levels in the two reservoirs would fall beneath critical elevations before the end of 2026.Water levels at such low levels would threaten the dams’ abilities to generate power and move water downstream.The chances that water levels will fall below critical elevations before 2027 are now 8% at Lake Powell and 4% at Lake Mead, according to the new analysis. Previous estimates, based on September 2022 data and an assumption that nothing would ch...

Things to do this weekend: Lil Yachty at the Fillmore, sea monsters at the Denver Zoo

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:34:54 GMT

The Ice Age has cometh!Through Jan 21, 2024. Step into a world where “hundreds of artifacts and fossils, immersive models and state-of-the-art interactive experiences” come to life, according to Denver Museum of Nature & Science. The City Park institution is now hosting the frosty “Mysteries of The Ice Ages” temporary exhibit, which features actual tools and artifacts from Neanderthals, early humans and Arctic civilizations. “Many of these items, which give a firsthand look at life during the ice ages, have never been showcased before,” officials wrote.The wide-ranging and colorful exhibit, which opened Oct. 20 and runs through Jan. 21, 2024, is included with general admission. 9-5 p.m. daily at 2001 Colorado Blvd. Tickets: $25 for adults, $20 for kids 3-18 and free for 2 and under. Call 303-370-6000 or visit dmns.org.Rapper and songwriter Lil Yachty’s new psych-rock album “Let’s Start Here.” is a detour from his usual ...

Prep roundup: Campolindo, St. Ignatius volleyball, Miramonte water polo, Aragon, Pioneer flag football among winners

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:34:54 GMT

Girls volleyballCampolindo 3, Freedom 0Campolindo, seeded fourth, opened the North Coast Section Division II playoffs on Wednesday with a 25-18, 25-12, 25-20 victory at home over 13th-seeded Freedom.Setter Rachel Andre handed out 41 assists to lead an attack that got 13 kills from Hanna Bjornson and 10 from Aveya Stone.Ava Rogers finished with seven kills and Mia Wallach added six.Lexie Tucker contributed four aces on 14 serve attempts and Gia Okulicz had a big match giving and receiving serves.Campo will play host to fifth-seeded Carondelet on Saturday.Carondelet advanced with a 25-11, 25-20, 25-15 victory over 12th-seeded Washington-Fremont.In other NCS D-II matches, No. 8 seed American swept No. 9 Northgate 25-23, 25-16. 25-19 to set up a second-round match on Saturday at top-seeded Branson.No. 11 seed Las Lomas pulled off the upset of the night, beating No. 6 seed Ukiah 15-25, 26-24, 25-19, 25-23. The Knights will visit No. 3 seed Windsor on Saturday.In Division IV, No. 4 seed H...

49ers’ Bosa unfazed by lack of sack success so far, with Bengals looming

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:34:54 GMT

SANTA CLARA — It takes a while to find 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa among the NFL sack leaders.With 2 1/2 sacks in seven games, Bosa is on pace for roughly six sacks over a 17-game season, nowhere near what the 49ers or anyone else expected. Not after cashing in on an 18 1/2-sack season and NFL Defensive Player of the Year award for a five-year contract extension worth as much as $170 million.The highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL is tied for 64th in sacks. A half-sack behind his brother Joey, an edge rusher for the Los Angeles Chargers. A half-sack behind second-year teammate Drake Jackson, who had a hat trick in the opener and but has fallen off the map in terms of playing time since the trade for defensive end Randy Gregory.On the opposite sideline Sunday will be Cincinnati defensive Trey Hendrickson, who dropped from 14 sacks in 2021 to eight a year ago but already has seven this season.When questioned about Hendrickson’s rebound this season, Bengals coach Zac Ta...

Exclusive: Santa Clara County to review its own role leading up to baby’s fentanyl death, acknowledges “significant involvement” with troubled family

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:34:54 GMT

Less than a week after a father was charged in the fentanyl overdose death of his 3-month old daughter, Santa Clara County officials on Wednesday called for the state to investigate how the county’s own child protective services agency may also have failed the baby named Phoenix.“No stone will be left unturned as we seek to understand everything that could have been done to prevent Phoenix’s tragic death,” the county said in a statement late Wednesday.The announcement comes after inquiries by the Bay Area News Group, which found that the County’s Department of Family and Children’s Services had numerous encounters with the infant’s family, including concerns for the couple’s two older children, ages 3 and 4, who are now in the custody of a grandmother.Three-month-old Phoenix Castro died from fentanyl poisoning on May 13, 2023, after being rushed to a San Jose hospital. In October, her father David Anthony Castro, was charged with felony child endangerment in connection with her deat...

Bear attacks Colorado resort security guard in hotel kitchen

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:34:54 GMT

A bear attacked a security guard Monday night in the kitchen of the St. Regis Aspen Resort.The guard was treated for scratches on his back and later released from the hospital, but Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers were unable to safely capture the bear, according to a Tuesday news release.About 11 p.m., the security guard had been investigating reports of a bear in the hotel when he suddenly came upon the bear in the kitchen.He was rounding the corner to another part of the kitchen and surprised the bear, and the bear attacked the guard, swiping at him and knocking him to the ground, the news release stated.CPW officers arrived just after midnight to investigate and search for the bear. They learned the bear entered the hotel through a series of doors near the courtyard.Related ArticlesNational News | Surfboard-stealing otter of Santa Cruz appears with tiny pup National News | Meet the Bay Area sushi chef who’s become a YouTube star National...

Four busted for organized retail theft at Walnut Creek’s Broadway Plaza

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:34:54 GMT

A 38-year-old Fairfield man and three others were arrested and jailed last week in Walnut Creek on suspicion of retail theft.Charles Allen Jr. and the others were arrested on a variety of charges, then booked into Contra Costa County Jail in Martinez, according to Walnut Creek Police Lt. Holley Connors, who posted the information on Facebook.The others were Deoni Johnson Jr., 27, of Sacramento; Darijanna Roberson, 24, of Reno, Nevada; and Anthony Bradley II, 32, of Oakland.According to Connors, police dispatchers on Oct. 18 received information of two organized retail thefts that occurred at the Santa Rosa and Napa Lululemon stores.The information was obtained by the department’s officer stationed in Broadway Plaza, an upscale shopping center at 1275 Broadway Plaza, in partnership with retail loss-prevention employees. The information included photographs of the suspects and their vehicles.Additional information gathered by the Broadway Plaza officer indicated a likelihood the suspe...