Friday's Forecast: Hot, Soggy South, Scorching Northwest

A private jet charter firm that was bailed out by Delta Airlines last year is laying off 65 employees as it ceases operations at a Jefferson County airport. New York-based Wheels Up informed the state of the cuts at the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in a Wednesday letter. The layoffs will occur by June 16, Chief People Officer Brian Kedzior wrote, and affect all Wheels Up employees based at the airport except for “selected administrative and office employees that will be maintained due to their role supporting other Wheels Up’s locations.” Those affected are generally mechanics and technicians, according to the letter. Wheels Up said in a press release issued after this story was initially published that the cuts in Jefferson County were part of a larger corporate restructuring.

Adams County may soon land its third large-scale battery manufacturing plant, one producing more affordable and environmentally safer batteries. The Colorado Economic Development Commission approved $1,053,000 in state Strategic Fund incentives on Thursday morning to Project Eleven, the code name for a startup developing sodium-ion battery technologies. “The main drivers for the location decision are incentives, a business-friendly tax environment, access to talent and renewable energy policies,” Michelle Hadwiger, director of global business development at the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade told commissioners. State support, which will come in the form of cash rather than the usual tax credit, is tied to the creation of 162 jobs over five years at a research and development campus and a battery foundry in Commerce City.

Police are still searching for suspects and information in the fatal drive-by shooting of 19-year-old Dacien Salazar outside the Downtown Denver Aquarium in February. Related Articles Crime and Public Safety | Man suspected in fatal Ruby Hill shooting arrested in Arizona Crime and Public Safety | Woman charged with murder, tampering with body in Westminster apartment homicide Crime and Public Safety | Suspect in fatal Glendale shooting turns himself in; one still at-large Crime and Public Safety | Denver police and first responders have visited hotel shelters hundreds of times.

The last thing an NFL decision-maker is going to do one week before the draft is tip their team’s hand. Broncos head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton certainly didn’t Thursday. But they did make one thing clear seven days before Denver enters the first round of the draft needing a quarterback and holding the No.

The Ride the Rockies Bicycle Tour, a cherished institution in Colorado’s cycling community for more than three decades, has been canceled for 2024 due to lack of interest, according to the event’s website. Founded by The Denver Post in 1986, Ride the Rockies was a fully supported tour that took cycling enthusiasts to dozens of locations around the state and over many high mountain passes over the years.

As the Denver Nuggets enter the Western Conference playoffs for the sixth consecutive season, a breakdown of their first-round rematch against the Los Angeles Lakers: Who has the edge? Guards: D’Angelo Russell was a defensive liability in the Western Conference Finals last season, and his offense seemed to suffer from it. The Nuggets, namely Bruce Brown, played him off the floor.