Hi Colorado Springs! We have the latest buzz right here. Let's keep you in the loop and get this morning started right! ☕️️
In today's newsletter:
Also on today's calendar: Buying Your First Home and 9 more events.
Today's riddle: What did one strawberry say to the other strawberry? 🤔 (Answer below!)
1. 'Residents… deserve better than silence': Petitions target Colorado Springs Utilities CEO, call for independent audit (kktv.com) — Colorado Springs residents upset over rising Colorado Springs Utilities bills are backing petitions that seek an independent audit of the utility's budget and, separately, the CEO's resignation. Organizers say many customers report bills jumping by at least $100. Utilities leaders cite a five-year infrastructure plan and hotter weather, noting their rates remain below many Front Range providers.
2. A second permanent year-round emergency shelter planned for Colorado Springs (gazette.com) — A local nonprofit, Hope COS, is working to open a permanent year-round homeless shelter in southeast Colorado Springs, aiming for about 120 beds plus detox and respite space. The project responds to bed shortages, neighborhood complaints near The Sanctuary church on the west side, and growing demand for winter shelter, with a $4.5 million fundraising campaign and a possible opening in late 2027.
3. WATCH: Bear steals gear bag from fire station (fox21news.com) — Firefighters at Station 16 on Colorado Springs' west side recently discovered a bear had slipped into their bay, grabbed a gear bag, and raided it for food before leaving it in the yard. No one was hurt, but crews are using the incident to remind residents to secure food, trash, pet food, and bird feeders so bears are less likely to wander into neighborhoods or garages.
4. Little was really known about China Jim, whose elegant decor items decorated early North End mansions. (gazette.com) — A long-forgotten Chinese merchant known as "China Jim" once supplied the elegant Asian decor that filled early Colorado Springs North End mansions and downtown homes. New research from the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum traces his journey from Guangzhou to Pikes Peak Avenue, his family ties, and the mystery surrounding his death and lost coffin, while highlighting anti-Chinese prejudice of the era.
5. Pueblo City Council passes resolution, requires stores to pay for abandoned shopping carts (koaa.com) — Pueblo has just started charging retailers up to about $95 per abandoned shopping cart, unless they install cart-control systems, in a move aimed at cleaning up city streets. For Colorado Springs residents, the Rock Island Trail on the east side of town is getting construction upgrades to close gaps and improve safety for walkers, runners, and cyclists.
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Ok Colorado Springs! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!
-- The Patch AM Team
P.S. The answer to today's riddle: If you weren't so sweet, we wouldn't be in this jam! (Thank you Patti F. for sending it in!)
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