🌱 NCAR Fire Contained + Lakewood Teen Dies From Fentanyl Overdose

Hello, neighbors! Brad K. Evans here with today's issue of the Lakewood Daily.

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Thursday's weather: Turning cloudy and milder. High: 60 Low: 35.

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Here are the top stories in Lakewood today:

1. Lakewood teen dies from fentanyl overdose. Kimberly Jimenez Figueroa, a 16 year-old student at Alameda International Jr. Sr. High School in Lakewood, died from an accidental fentanyl drug overdose. (FOX31)
2. Colorado's $3.6 billion budget, currently being debated, is filled with all sorts of goodies. The state's 2022-23 spending plan is almost $2 billion larger than last year's budget due to the drastic financial cuts made in 2020 as the state braced for the effects of the pandemic. (COSun)
3. Boulder's NCAR Fire is 90 percent contained. There will still be small amounts of smoke coming from the burn scar over the next week, but Boulder Fire and Rescue says that they have contained most of the wildfire that forced almost 20,000 to evacuate last week. (Patch)
4. The state's youth is in a mental crisis. Children's Hospital declared a state of emergency a year ago in Colorado, and local emergency rooms continue to see visits by young people suffering from mental illness. (5280)
5. Metro Denver home prices continue to grow at a fast pace. According to the CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index, home prices in the Denver metro area have gone up a whopping 21 percent in the past year. (CPR)

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Today in Lakewood:

• Survive & Thrive: Securing Employment in 2022. (12:00 AM)
• AARP Tax Help: 2021 Tax Year - Belmar Library. (1 p.m.)

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From my notebook:

• City Council April Ward 5 Meeting. Visit with Ward 5 City Council members Mary Janssen and Wendi Strom in an informal setting, share ideas and learn more about your community. April's in-person meeting will cover the proposed Bear Creek Lake Park changes. April 2, 9 - 10:30 a.m at the Westwoods Community Church, 7700 West Woodard Drive. (Lakewood)
• Stopping collisions between wildlife and vehicles is no easy task and finding the funding for it is even more challenging. (5280)

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More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Women's Real Estate Investment Hour (April 1)
• Add your event

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Loving the Lakewood Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved:

• Send a friend or neighbor this link so they can subscribe
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• Send me a news tip or suggestion at Lakewoodpatch@gmail.com

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Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Thursday! I'll catch up with you bright and early tomorrow morning with another update. — Brad K. Evans

Correction: Tuesday's newsletter included a news item that indicated that some of the Denver Zoo's birds had influenza, which they don't. The post should have read: The Denver Zoo has released a statement on the avian influenza. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the type of avian influenza virus that's been detected usually does not infect people. (Patch)