Comment on US economy perks up but risks abound

If you’ve driven past Denver’s Civic Center in the last few months, it would have been hard to miss the newly erected Populus hotel with its funky, eye-shaped windows from top to bottom. Designed to evoke Colorado’s aspen trees, the 265-room hotel, at 240 14th St., was developed by Urban Villages, which calls it the nation’s first “carbon-positive” hotel.

Hours before he was fatally shot by Thornton police officers in Lakewood, Joby Vigil was pulling dandelions in his aunt’s yard in west Denver. Vigil, 31, worked at Denver day shelter Haven of Hope and often helped out family, neighbors and even acquaintances who were down on their luck, his parents Frank and Deanine Vigil told The Denver Post. Joby Vigil had been helping out his new friend Jasmine Castro with the occasional meal and letting her do laundry at the Vigil family’s home in Barnum West.

One of the many pleasures and essences of the outdoor growing season is basil. What other edible herb breathes so much flavor and summer sunshine into a dish? If basil conjures romantic dreams of dining on a hilly Tuscan terrace, then join the throngs of others who find basil to be, if not No.

No matter where you find yourself in Colorado, there’s a state park ready to embrace your arrival. Colorado’s parks reflect the state’s ecological diversity, whether nestled in the mountains or sprawled across the prairies, alongside flowing rivers, or in dense forests. Embark on an adrenaline-pumping whitewater rafting adventure or gather for a family picnic.

By KEN MORITSUGU and DIDI TANG (Associated Press) BEIJING — Chinese police have detained a suspect in a stabbing attack on four instructors from Iowa’s Cornell College who were teaching at a Chinese university in the northeast city of Jilin, officials said Tuesday. Jilin city police said a 55-year-old man surnamed Cui was walking in a public park on Monday when he bumped into a foreigner.

By BILL BARROW (Associated Press) ATLANTA — Groups pushing tighter gun laws have been building political muscle through multiple elections, boosted by the outcry following mass shootings at schools and other public places, to say nothing of the nation’s daily gun violence. Now, gun control advocates and many Democrats see additional openings created by hard-line positions of the gun lobby and their most influential champion, former President Donald Trump.