Resource efficiency

Colorado’s higher education department is pushing the state’s colleges and universities to prioritize better supporting students who are experiencing hunger and in need of mental health care by launching a pair of checklists to guide those campuses. The state’s Healthy Minds and Hunger Free Campus checklists were born out of a collaboration with higher education administrators, students, local government leaders and nonprofit organizations intended to improve the health and academic success of students by ensuring colleges and universities have the resources they need. “It is startlingly clear postsecondary students experience extremely high levels of hunger and food insecurity,” said Anya Rose, public policy manager for Hunger Free Colorado, during a Wednesday news conference. “Students struggling with hunger are more likely to miss class… and lack funds to purchase required textbooks. Students facing hunger also deal with higher rates of depression symptoms and are more likely … [Read more...] about Colorado pushes colleges to better support food-insecure students, improve mental health resources

President Biden Joe Biden House Democrats pass sweeping .9T COVID-19 relief bill with minimum wage hike Biden to hold virtual bilateral meeting with Mexican president More than 300 charged in connection to Capitol riot MORE is set to travel to Houston Friday to meet with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and local leaders after a rare bout of severe winter weather left dozens dead and millions without power for multiple days. The visit will mark Biden’s third official trip as president and his first to a disaster-stricken area. In addition to addressing the storm response, he’s also expected to visit a facility distributing COVID-19 vaccines. The White House says Biden will spend much of the day with Abbott, who has faced significant criticism for how the state handled the storm. More than 4 million people were without power for days as temperatures plunged below freezing and many were eventually left without water as well. Louisiana and Oklahoma suffered significant … [Read more...] about Biden turns focus to winter storm with Texas trip

President Biden Joe Biden House Democrats pass sweeping .9T COVID-19 relief bill with minimum wage hike Biden to hold virtual bilateral meeting with Mexican president More than 300 charged in connection to Capitol riot MORE spent Friday in Texas receiving a briefing on the recent winter storm and surveying a local food bank, pledging to help the state recover from the effects of harsh weather and power outages. "Our prayers are with you in the aftermath of this winter storm," Biden said in remarks at NRG Stadium in Houston. "We will be true partners to help you recovery and rebuild from these storms and this pandemic and this economic crisis. We are in for the long haul." Biden spent most of the day with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and was briefed on ongoing recovery efforts at the Harris County Emergency Operations Center. Biden was told of ongoing efforts to repair water systems in Harris County, where 57,000 residents remain under boil water notices. … [Read more...] about Biden pledges support for Texas amid recovery from winter storm

Marvel Comics has canceled its Black Lives Matter-inspired comic book Black Panther & The Crew due to poor sales , according to reports. The comic book — written by activist author Ta-Nehisi Coates — was canceled after only two issues but is expected to finish out the remainder of its six-issue run, The Verge reported . The comic features a group of majority-black superheroes including Black Panther, Misty Knight, Luke Cage and Storm — the only white person in the “crew” is Kung Fu hero Iron Fist — and their investigation into the case of a black civil rights activist who died in police custody in New York City’s famed Harlem neighborhood. The story is set in a New York City patrolled by robot police officers instead of human officials, but much of the plot appears to derive thematically from the Black Lives Matter playbook, with cops beating up minorities for little to no reason and groups of local citizens on the verge of riots over it all. Coates assured fans … [Read more...] about Marvel Comics Cancels Black Lives Matter-Themed ‘Black Panther’ Due to Poor Sales

After turning the heads of countless drivers on Interstate 25 while its massive walls went up, Amazon’s four-story, 855,000-square-foot Thornton fulfillment center finally opened last summer, shipping its first order in August. While it surely delighted Thornton officials, Amazon’s call for more than 1,500 workers to staff the robot-aided distribution warehouse likely also raised a few skeptical eyebrows around the Denver area. After all, Colorado’s unemployment rate hasn’t been above 4 percent since 2015 and with entry-level jobs at the Thornton center offering starting pay of $12.50 last summer , Amazon wasn’t exactly blowing the market away on wages. Eight months on, the big fulfillment center at East 144th Avenue and I-25 known among Amazon workers as DEN3 is humming along, sorting, packing and shipping hundreds of thousands of orders daily. The company reached full staffing there during its “peak season” of November and December (a timeline that coincided with the … [Read more...] about Amazon’s gamble on finding 1,500 workers for robotic warehouse in Thornton may not have been a gamble after all