Consumer Spending Bounces Back In October; Income Growth Holds Steady

It’s been more than five years since the Larimer County commissioners said no to Thornton burying miles of pipe in the county to transport water from the Cache la Poudre River. Now the northern Denver suburb is back in the same hearing room. And it has the same basic request: Let us move the water we own to our fast-growing and thirsty community. Larimer County’s board of commissioners will decide the fate of the 70-mile, half-billion-dollar infrastructure project as soon as Monday.

Student protests against the Israel-Hamas war spread to college campuses throughout Colorado this week as a solidarity encampment at Denver’s Auraria Higher Education Campus entered its seventh day. Demonstrations at the University of Colorado Boulder, University of Denver, Colorado State University, University of Northern Colorado and Colorado College called for a cease-fire and for campus leaders to divest from activities and funding related to Israel. Metropolitan State University and CU Denver student organizers met with Auraria officials Tuesday “to try to achieve an amicable path forward,” the campus said in a news release. “(Students for a Democratic Society) leaders indicated that they are engaging in ‘civil disobedience;’ they recognize that they are in violation of the campus no-camping policy; and they have no intention of removing the tents until their demands are met,” Auraria officials said in a statement. Auraria and Denver police arrested 44 demonstrators Friday for violating the campus camping policy after an hours-long clash between riot-gear-clad officers and student, faculty and community protesters. Campus leaders are trying to portray students as unreasonable and uncompromising, said student organizer Harriet Falconetti. “We are being uncompromising, but that’s because we don’t want to compromise on genocide,” Falconetti said.

Several thousand romance readers from across the country descended on the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center two weeks ago for Readers Take Denver, billed as a four-day conference where bibliophiles would have the chance to mingle with their favorite authors, get books signed, and attend panels and other events. But attendees say the April 18-21 conference was so disorganized and chaotic — self-described “RTD survivor” Kelli Meyer referred to it as “the Fyre Festival of books” — that authors soon began pulling out of next year’s event at the Aurora hotel, which already was on sale. This week, Readers Take Denver announced its 2025 edition was canceled. “I’ve been to many conferences and this, by far, was the worst one I’ve ever been to,” said Sarah Slusarczyk, a 32-year-old who traveled from Michigan.

The Northglenn City Council on Wednesday unanimously voted to file an ethics complaint against Democratic state Sen. Faith Winter after she appeared at an April 3 community meeting in that city while apparently intoxicated. As outlined in a letter drafted by City Attorney Corey Hoffmann, the city alleges that Winter’s conduct at the meeting violated the Senate’s ethical standards.

Is it safe to Buy a Bo Nix jersey, fans wanna know because of the revolving QB door we seem to have. — Maria England, Phoenix Thanks for getting us going this week, Maria. Do you have the shirt Sean Payton referenced with all the Broncos quarterbacks and their names crossed off? There’s risk in buying almost anybody’s jersey these days.

Dear Amy: I grew up in the same town as “Carly,” the woman I later married. Her older sister “Susan” and I were in the same class in high school. Susan and I were friendly in high school, but I wouldn’t say we were exactly friends. It was a small school. After college I returned to my hometown when my father got sick and needed help in his business.