Seventy-two years after Charles Kenneth Farley bade farewell to LST 74, the landing ship on which he served during World War II, Gov. John Hickenlooper on Tuesday presented him with three medals he had earned but never received. The 90-year-old Arvada resident worked in the engine room of the ship, which hauled tanks and other weaponry during the war. Much of his time was spent in a cramped, noisy, hot engine room. But when the ship engaged in battle, he manned a deck gun. Farley’s memory isn’t as sharp as it once was, but he remembers the friends he made in the Navy, some of whom didn’t return. And he remembers the ship he called home. “An LST is not a real nice place to work, (but) it was quite a place,” he said. In his office at the state Capitol, Hickenlooper presented the veteran with a shadow box that included an American flag, other memorabilia and the medals — the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, American Campaign Medal … [Read more...] about World War II Navy vet from Arvada receives long-overdue medals
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Relics in Colorado that helped close World War I were just donated to the U.S. government — but how did they get here?
A treasure hunt that stretched from the Jersey shore to the Rocky Mountains came to fruition Wednesday with the unveiling in Colorado of a cache of long-forgotten World War I-era antiquities. The search began six years ago, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, when New Jersey native Shane Morris Sparks was sifting through old boxes and stumbled across song lyrics written decades ago by a globe-trotting envoy of the U.S. government. Intrigued, Sparks tucked away the work of Amos Peaslee but pretty much forgot about it until last Thanksgiving, when Sparks recalled that a cousin of hers had grown up with some of Peaslee’s descendants. The connection ultimately led Sparks to Colorado Springs resident Robin Peaslee Dougall, a Peaslee grandson who then went through his own long-forgotten boxes of family possessions. What emerged was a wellspring of history — papers, photos and other artifacts recounting the end of World War I, the signing of the Treaty of … [Read more...] about Relics in Colorado that helped close World War I were just donated to the U.S. government — but how did they get here?
Puerto Rico’s Hurricane Maria Power Outage Is Now The World’s Second Largest Blackout
U.S. Puerto Rico Power Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico in late September of last year, seriously damaging much of the island’s infrastructure and its electrical grid. Today, nearly seven months later, more than 100,000 Puerto Ricans remain without power in what is now likely the second largest blackout in world history. A new analysis by the Rhodium Group, an independent data analytics and policy organization, found that Puerto Rico has lost 3.4 billion customer-hours of electricity service because of Hurricane Maria, making it the largest blackout in U.S. history and the second largest in the world, behind only that caused when Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines in 2013, killing at least 6,300 people. Hurricane Maria knocked out 80 percent of Puerto Rico’s power lines and destructed its generators. While much of the island has restored electricity, a number of Puerto Ricans still suffer in the dark. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers … [Read more...] about Puerto Rico’s Hurricane Maria Power Outage Is Now The World’s Second Largest Blackout
World trade body warns US-China tensions may dent business
GENEVA – The World Trade Organization predicts continued trade growth this year, though it warns that tensions and "tit-for-tat" retaliatory measures, notably between the U.S. and China, could compromise those projections. WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo laid out the trade body's predictions at a news conference Thursday amid concerns about a trade war over U.S. President Donald Trump's planned tariffs on Chinese and other goods and Beijing's retaliation. As it stands, the forecast is for 4.4 percent growth in merchandise trade volumes in 2018, easing to 4 percent next year. That's down from 4.7 percent in 2017. The WTO is pointing to "broadly positive signs" in world trade but says they face headwinds from "a rising tide of anti-trade sentiment and the increased willingness of governments to employ restrictive trade measures." … [Read more...] about World trade body warns US-China tensions may dent business
It’s close to ‘World Series’ time for poker players
The grandest spectacle in the world of professional poker is just weeks away and already players from around the globe are making plans to be in attendance at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas for what promises to be another wild ride on the green felt.The 49th annual World Series of Poker will kick off on May 29 and run for nearly eight weeks through July 17, during which time 78 official gold bracelet events will take place and multi-millions of dollars in prize money will be distributed.There is no greater event on tap than the No Limit Hold’em Main Event, widely recognized as the world championship of poker. It is scheduled to be held July 2 through 14.Last year 7,221 entrants paid the $10,000 buy-in to participate in the Main Event, generating a total prize pool of $68-million. The winner, Scott Blumstein, took home a check for $8.15-million.In the spotlight on opening weekend of the competition is a tournament that in just three years has become one of the … [Read more...] about It’s close to ‘World Series’ time for poker players