Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager Paulson Leads Funds To Bermuda Tax Dodge Aiding Billionaires

Federal and military officials are preparing to convert commercial real estate and other properties into makeshift hospitals across the country. Here's what they say they're looking for.

"But the overriding perspective we (have) is one of patience and discipline in the face of some of these unknowns."

The usually congested streets in the Denver area are nearly empty for stretches, but they’re not silent. The beeping of big trucks backing up and heavy equipment can be heard as construction workers, whose jobs are classified as essential during the coronavirus outbreak, continue work on new residential and commercial buildings, renovations and public works projects. In downtown Denver, construction workers in hard hats and fluorescent yellow and orange vests far outnumber people in suits or business casual dress. “We don’t take that lightly, that we’re able to keep working,” said Justin Cooper, president of Denver-based Saunders Construction Inc.  So far, there have been few layoffs, said Jason Wardrip, business manager for the Colorado Building and Construction Trades Council.

When the higher-ups at the Denver Mattress Co. heard about the mass shortages in face masks for medical professionals fighting the novel coronavirus, they looked inward. Turns out, the same material used in face masks already was being used in the mattress industry. As Colorado and states around the country grapple with a severe shortage in personal protection equipment during the COVID-19 crisis, the Denver mattress giant is shifting production from personal comfort to personal safety.

Grocery store employees are among the workers on the front lines as Colorado battles a coronavirus outbreak — playing a sort of Russian roulette with their health for modest pay while dealing with masses of sometimes-frantic customers. “You are scared of everything — it’s normal, even if you wash your hands 100 times a day, even if you use sanitizer,” said Giuseppina Petty, who works in the cheese department at a King Soopers in Boulder.

The state agency that is writing and approving rules to carry out an overhaul of how oil and gas are regulated in Colorado is pausing the work while in-person hearings are off the table because of the coronavirus outbreak. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission said for now it will postpone hearings on proposed rules to implement Senate Bill 181, signed into law last year.