暗黑爆料

Local businesses are preparing for Small Business Saturday, an event to encourage holiday shopping at brick-and-mortar stores during one of the busiest times of the year.

Back in June, Tattered Cover opened up a new location across the street from Coors Field in Denver, complete with a new collection of baseball books to boot. Thus, reminding fans to engage with what is often considered the most written-about sport there is.

As Colorado emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, economic experts are bullish about the state鈥檚 recovery in the coming year. But long before vaccination drives were rolled out, a lot of Coloradans began launching new businesses on their own.

Marijuana is one of the fastest growing industries in Colorado. Since the state鈥檚 legal market started in January of 2014, medical and retail sales have topped $10 billion. Despite this huge revenue, many people of color have been unable to stake their claim within the industry and start a business. But recent state and local legislation aim to change that.

In 2019, 3.3% of households in Colorado did not have a checking or savings account or use other financial services. The reasons vary from not having enough money to distrust of financial institutions and inconvenient locations. But what about religious beliefs? A team of MBA graduates is trying to change attitudes around banking.

Last week, Gov. Jared Polis downgraded the 33 Colorado counties that were classified as Level Red on the state鈥檚 COVID-19 status dial to Level Orange. On social media, Polis said he was trying to walk the difficult line between the public health crisis and the economic crisis. But the limited loosening of restrictions will not be enough to provide meaningful relief to many restaurant owners in Northern Colorado.

As the spike in COVID-19 cases continues and businesses close, people are finding themselves out of work again. To survive, many are turning to the state's unemployment system for support. It鈥檚 a complex, messy system, not built for these unprecedented times and the unprecedented surge in demand. Tamara Chuang of the Colorado Sun tries to help readers navigate these hurdles each week through her 鈥淲hat's Working鈥� column. She spoke with KUNC鈥檚 Colorado Edition about what's going on with the State Extended Benefits program.

The idea has garnered broad support from Northern Colorado state representatives, local chambers of commerce and Larimer County commissioners, who all say small businesses are being unfairly targeted in the state鈥檚 attempt to flatten a spike in new COVID-19 cases.

The new Level Red restrictions ban indoor dining at restaurants, limit capacity at gyms and offices to 10% and prohibit personal gatherings of any size between separate households. They apply to at least 15 counties, from Boulder and metro Denver to various mountain communities.

The deadline for the census count was supposed to be Sept. 30, but a lawsuit may change that. Meanwhile, concerns from public officials, government watchdogs and researchers remain about how accurate this count will be. The count directs billions of federal dollars and determines how representation is apportioned. But it also matters a lot to businesses, nonprofits, local governments and researchers.