Newsday Letters To The Editor For Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017

Anecdotally, the Denver Basic Income Project has saved lives. According to new research on the program that provided no-strings-attached cash to 807 homeless adults in Denver, it also saved taxpayers significant money throughout its first-year pilot program. The savings manifested in program participants staying in homeless shelters less frequently, requiring fewer ambulance rides, emergency room visits and hospital stays, and spending fewer nights in jail or drug and alcohol treatment centers, a report released Tuesday morning shows. Decreases in those categories added up to more than $589,000 saved, according to estimates from researchers with the Center for Housing and Homelessness Research at the University of Denver. Denver Basic Income Project founder Mark Donovan knows that while improvements in participants’ well-being and quality of life are the core goals of the effort, demonstrating the efficacy of basic income payments on reducing strain on public services is part of what will convince more governments, charities and individuals to support the concept in the future. “As demonstrated in the Year One report, the program not only significantly increases housing stability for participants, but also reduces reliance on public services, like emergency room visits and public shelters,” Donovan said in a statement released alongside the report on Tuesday morning. The pilot program was the largest of its kind studying the impact of direct cash on people who are homeless, according to program runners. Utilizing $9 million cobbled together from contributors including $2 million in federal funds dedicated by the city of Denver, the program split enrollees into three cohorts.

The Colorado Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in a lawsuit against a Christian baker who refused to make a cake celebrating a gender transition, one of three such cases from the state that have pitted LGBTQ+ civil rights against First Amendment rights. Two cases have centered on baker Jack Phillips, who in 2012 refused to bake a cake for a gay couple’s wedding.

A cold front moving through Colorado is set to give the Denver area a break from the near-record June heat, dropping temperatures down into the 70s, according to the National Weather Service. Denver will see mostly sunny weather and temperature highs around 77 degrees Tuesday, according to NWS forecasters. The city hasn’t seen temperature highs below 80 degrees since May, forecasters said. Denver saw a high of 99 degrees Monday — the hottest weather the city has seen so far this year and only one degree off from breaking the area’s all-time record of 100 degrees for June 17, according to NWS records. The June 17 record was set in 2021. The metro area has a small chance of afternoon thunderstorms and scattered rain showers Tuesday, but more storms are expected Wednesday after noon, forecasters said. Related Articles Weather | Colorado weather: Near-record highs on Eastern Plains, red flag warnings across state Weather | Colorado Weather: Red flag warnings, heat advisories on Father’s Day Weather | Colorado weather: Thunderstorm watch warns of potential for large hail, 80 mph winds in Denver, eastern Colorado Weather | Denver weather: Near-record temperatures before weekend storms bring flooding, hail Weather | Denver ties record high Wednesday, with more scorching temps ahead Temperatures are expected to remain cool for the Juneteenth holiday with a high near 74 degrees in Denver Wednesday, according to NWS forecasters.

By LEANNE ITALIE (AP Lifestyles Writer) NEW YORK — When Team USA walks with the world’s athletes at the Paris Olympics’opening ceremony, they’ll be doing so in snappy tailored navy blazers from Ralph Lauren — and blue jeans. Just regular, everyday denim blue jeans. Ralph Lauren, which unveiled Tuesday its ninth turn creating Olympic parade looks for the Americans, is billing the pairing as “unexpected” yet classic. David Lauren, the company’s chief branding and innovation officer and its founder’s son, was unbothered by the casualness of blue denim. “We work very closely with Team USA to make the athletes feel at once dressed up, feel like a team, but at the same time comfortable and very distinctively American,” he told The Associated Press on Monday during a media preview at the company’s posh New York headquarters. “Nothing says America like blue jeans, especially when we’re in Paris,” Lauren added.

The outrageously fun Denver PrideFest returns this weekend with citywide parties at bars and clubs, a 5k race, a 100,000-strong parade, and dozens more things to do at Civic Center’s main event. Here’s what to know for 2024. Visit denverpride.org and denverpost.com/things-to-do for more Pride Month activities through June 30. More than 500,000 total attendees are expected to visit Civic Center park for the annual Denver PrideFest, which runs 11 a.m.

Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. So we asked them, and all Denver Post readers, to share their mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer?