Denver International Airport (DEN) is celebrating the opening of its latest gate expansion area. Earlier this month, DEN, along with Denver-based Frontier Airlines, fully opened a 120,000-square-foot remodeled and expanded area of Concourse A. The new $220 million ground boarding facility, located on the eastern edge of the concourse, was completed on time and within budget.
Photo courtesy: DEN
Construction of the new facility began in the summer of 2022. It includes 83,000 square feet of remodeled space and 37,000 square feet of concourse expansion. The area is divided into two parallel corridors (north and south) that provide access to six new gate waiting areas, nine remodeled gates and five new gates (a total of 14 gates). The airline started limited operations in the north corridor in February of 2024. The entire area fully opened on Oct. 1, 2024. The expansion also includes office space and an adjacent 8,000-square-foot airline maintenance facility.
“Completing the Concourse A-East expansion project marks a major milestone in our effort to serve 100 million annual passengers within the next several years,” said DEN CEO Phil Washington. “I’m proud of everyone at DEN who ensured this project was completed on time and within budget while maintaining a clear commitment to airport growth to meet our tremendous demand.”
The expansion area includes a variety of features and conveniences for customers including DEN-provided charging stations, a nursing room, pet relief area, family restroom and companion care room. Dining and shopping options are also available. The facility is currently home to Snarf’s Sandwiches, Brothers BBQ, Breckenridge Brewery and a CNBC shop. An additional food and beverage concept is expected to open by mid-2025.
“We are very excited about the expansion on Concourse A and look forward to providing a great experience for our customers, along with increased operational efficiencies, in conjunction with the new facility,” said Alex Clerc, senior vice president, customers for Frontier Airlines.
Travelers can access Concourse A-East expansion by going down escalators near Gate A53. From there, travelers can access Gates A54 – A84 from either the north or south corridor.
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that an emergency exists in the State of Florida and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Milton beginning on October 5, 2024, and continuing.
Colorado Governor
Governor Jared Polis and Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) celebrated a new $15.7 million investment to support La Alma-Lincoln Park in Denver and Gold Strike Park in Arvada, increasing access to outdoor recreation in Colorado.
Denver Mayor
Mike Johnston and Governor Jared Polis celebrated the completion of Denver’s latest community solar project at Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms. This community solar project is one of 12 solar garden sites now operating that were funded by Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency (CASR) across the city.
A judge in South Africa sentenced a serial rapist to 42 life sentences. Nkosinathi Phakathi, a South African resident, was convicted of 90 counts of rape. The attacks occurred between 2012 and 2021, and the judge said he showed no remorse and was beyond rehabilitation.
Mpox test approved
The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved a diagnostic test for mpox, previously known as monkeypox. The test could help Africa as it continues to struggle with limited testing capacity and delays in confirmed cases. This year, there have been 30,000 suspected mpox cases reported in Africa.
Asia
India minister prepares for Pakistan visit
For the first time in nearly 10 years, a high-ranking Indian minister will visit Pakistan. India Foreign Minister. S Jaishankar is set to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in Pakistan this month. Relations between India and Pakistan have been tense for years. The countries have fought three wars against each other since 1947.
Taiwan fire kills nine
A fire at a hospital in Taiwan killed nine people. Wet and windy weather complicated efforts to combat the fire, and it is unknown what caused the incident, although some reports suggested the building had electrical issues. Some 300 patients were evacuated.
Europe
Italian tennis star passes
Lea Pericoli, who was regarded as one of Italy’s top tennis players, passed away at the age of 89. She reached the last 16 of the French Open twice and the Wimbledon championships three times. Pericoli was also known as a style icon and often wore outfits with feather and fur. She also worked as a television presenter and journalist.
Russia claims key Ukraine city
Russian forces have taken control over the Ukrainian city of Vuhledar. The country has tried to capture the city since 2022 in order to advance north and reach regional transportation hubs. Images surfaced of Russian soldiers with flags on rooftops of different buildings throughout Vuhledar.
Latin America
Dozens killed by Haitian gang
At least 70 people were killed in Haiti by the Gran Grif gang. Among the victims included children and 16 others who are seriously injured. The gang also set fire to at least 45 houses and 24 vehicles. Last year, the Gran Grif gang was accused of killing six police officers and was blamed for forcing a hospital to close that served more than 700,000 people.
Thousands of migrants to be deported
The Dominican Republic is planning to deport up to 10,000 undocumented migrants a week. Many of the migrants are Haitians who fled across the border into the Dominican Republic. Last year, the Dominican Republic forcibly returned more than 200,000 people to Haiti.
North America
Child dies from rabies in Canada
In Canada, a child died from rabies after being exposed to a bat in their bedroom. It is the first domestically-acquired human rabies case in Ontario since 1967. Officials said the percentage of bats with rabies in the southern Ontario region has increased to 16 percent in recent years.
Garth Brooks accused of rape
Country singer Garth Brooks was accused of rape, sexual assault and battery in a lawsuit. The woman who filed the lawsuit worked as a hairstylist and makeup artist for Brooks when he raped her, the lawsuit alleges. Brooks denied the allegations, calling them repulsive and untrue.
As the black drape covering the portrait was tugged, there arose an audible ripple, a fear that pulling too hard could bring down what it was concealing and what several hundred people had come to witness. But with a tender touch by the subject herself, it fell like gossamer, displaying the almost perfect likeness of Federal Judge Christine Arguello.
Photo courtesy: Christine Arguello
The portrait which will hang alongside Arguello’s distinguished predecessors at Denver’s Federal Courthouse, shows the placid expression of a woman who has done her job. But the softness in her eyes belies the story, the pioneering path that began so unassumingly so many years before.
Always inquisitive, curious and precocious, Arguello somehow knew Buena Vista was her home but could never be her world. She also knew that despite her family’s modest reality, especially in a town where the term minority was not yet part of the lexicon, but a regular part of its fabric, she would have to forge her own path.
Luckily, she had teachers who could recognize not just her talent but mine it for all of its amazing possibilities.
“A magazine,” said Arguello, “changed my life.” The magazine was in a library visit she had taken with a friend. In it was an article about a lawyer. As she read it, she discerned that attorneys were skilled with the same traits that came so naturally to her, arguing, questioning and winning. “That day I decided I was going to be a lawyer. I could change the world.”
In school, Arguello recalled being ‘a joiner.’ “I joined everything,” she said. She was in all the school’s clubs, first clarinet in the band, she was as involved with school as anyone could be. Of course, her involvement was as much subterfuge as it was school spirit.
“My dad was so strict,” she chuckled, that being involved with school activities was a ready excuse to get out of the house. His rules also precluded any dating, an issue quickly solved once she got to the University of Colorado, where she went on full scholarship.
“I met Ron the first week of college,” she said, a slight but audible pause in her voice. “We got married four months later,” perhaps not the plan her father had envisioned for his daughter. But Ron, whose name—Arguello—she still carries, was as right for her as she was right for him.
Arguello said her then teenaged husband and soulmate was unlike anyone she’d ever known. “He cooked for himself, washed and ironed his own clothes,” and was as domestic as he was supportive, she said. He was, to her, both a cheerleader and “my shrink.” Arguello said when things got dark, “he would let me mope for one day,” and then say ‘Stop!’ “Go back out there and fight.”
Law school for Arguello was not an immediate option. Her degree was in Elementary Education, and she had a job offer to teach in Lafayette but then Harvard, the only law school she had ever dreamed of or applied to, came calling and she and Ron packed up and headed for Cambridge. Her selection—one among many firsts—marked her as the first Colorado Latina to go to Harvard Law School.
Being a ‘first,’ has become part of the tapestry woven into Arguello’s professional life. Among the many firsts include, of course, Harvard; First Latina elected to the Colorado Springs District 11 School Board (1987); First Latina to make partner in one of Denver’s ‘Big Four’ law firms (1988); First Latina to serve as Chief Deputy Attorney General in Colorado (2000); First Latina Federal Judge in Colorado (2008). Arguello is quick to acknowledge that her appointment to the federal bench was ushered in by then U.S. Senator now U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar.
While these achievements would serve as elevation to any judicial pantheon, there are more. A few include her selection to the Colorado Latino Hall of Fame; the George Norlin Outstanding Alumni Award CU-Boulder; the Judge Wiley Daniel Lifetime Achievement Award; Latina Judge of the Year from the Hispanic National Bar Association.
Knowing the realities and challenges young Latinas face, Arguello has also started an organization she named ‘Yes We Can,’ a law school pipeline that offers mentoring for college students interested in careers in law. She calls it a program “to level the playing field and assist the students in gaining acceptance into the law school of their choice.”
At the unveiling of her official portrait, Arguello was both modest and inspirational. She acknowledged friends and family, noting that despite neither of her parents finishing high school, both always reinforced their belief in her and the dreams and goals she had. She also told of the two teachers, one elementary, the other high school, who saw special qualities in her, believed in her and nurtured her.
Arguello’s drive was waylaid in 2018 when her ‘forever,’ Ron, died suddenly on Christmas Day. The shock, the loss left her unmoored for the first time in the 45 years they shared together.
While she dutifully returned to work two weeks later, plunging herself into the many cases that awaited, she was wounded. While work, in itself was cathartic, it did not fill the hole in her heart. Therapy helped. So, too, did COVID, in its own unexpected way.
“It was the first time I didn’t have to worry about this huge docket.” It also gave her time to reassemble her life. “I decided I would live as long as I could and make sure my children and grandchildren” would be alright. She also started meditating and working out. “I needed to make sure we could all move through it.”
Arguello’s portrait now hangs alongside legends of the Colorado federal bench. There, she said, young girls, especially Latinas, can look into the eyes of a woman who, as a young girl, achieved a dream once thought to be a light year beyond her reach.
The artist commissioned for the piece is Colorado resident Monique Crine. Ms. Crine is known nationally for her amazing work including her portrait of the late Colorado federal Judge Wiley Daniel that also hangs in the Denver courthouse.
Timi Aguilar is a proud Coloradan who has lived in the state for several years. But she can never forget her roots and connection to Texas.
Growing up in west Texas, Aguilar recalled seeing wide open skies that made her feel like her opportunities were endless. She credits the area for teaching her grit and speaks glowingly about her parents who always encouraged her to participate in extra curricular activities like band.
“I’ve had a really good life and great opportunities because of my family and my community around me,” said Aguilar in a phone interview with LaVozColorado.
Those opportunities Aguilar mentioned have led her to a successful career in public relations. In early 2025, Aguilar will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her company, Aguilar Public Relations — a firm that creates and executes public affairs strategies with the goals of building brands and grassroots campaigns for companies of all sizes.
Aguilar first became motivated to enter the media arena when she worked as a reporter and anchor in high school. Her high school became one of the first schools in the country to offer a TV station. From there, she had a huge interest in video.
Aguilar attended the University of Notre Dame where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in government and film and television. When asked about a memorable project or campaign she’s worked on, Aguilar recalled a documentary she helped produce for ESPN 2. The documentary focused on the World Games for the Deaf that Aguilar worked on in Bulgaria. “That was the most memorable (project), because it utilized every part of my talent and pushed me out of every part of my comfort zone,” said Aguilar.
Outside of the World Games for the Deaf, Aguilar has worked with clients from nonprofits, government officials, small businesses, and Fortune 100 companies across the country. Among the companies she has worked with include AT&T, State Farm Insurance, McDonald’s USA, and others. She has also worked on legislative strategies, messaging for grassroot campaigns, local town hall meetings, press events, and communications with the U.S. Administration, Congress members, state legislators, and city government officials.
In particular, Aguilar has built relationships with people across Colorado with a focus on Latino outreach on national and local projects impacting Latino communities.
Aguilar’s commitment to her community goes beyond her professional work. She believes strongly in the importance of uplifting others and creating pathways for success, especially for young Latinos and Latinas looking to enter public relations or other professions.
When it comes to Hispanic Heritage Month, Aguilar feels a deep sense of pride and connection. She said she’s happy our world recognizes different cultures and discussed the shared experiences and beauty of the Latino culture.
“What (Hispanic Heritage Month) means to me is sharing something I love with the rest of the world,” said Aguilar.
The average career in Major League Baseball (MLB) is 5.6 years, and Rockies fans had the luxury of watching the 14-year-career of fan favorite Charlie ‘Chuck Nazty,’ Blackmon.
Photo courtesy: Charlie Blackmon X (formally Twitter)
The four-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger, and 2017 National League batting champion announced his retirement last week. Sunday was his farewell game where the Rockies organization pulled out all the stops to show Blackmon their appreciation for his commitment and loyalty to the franchise.
Blackmon’s legacy is forever etched into the brick at Coors Field and will forever be remembered for his iconic walk-up song “Your Love,” by the Outfield. On Sunday, in Colorado’s last game, Blackmon gave a speech to the fans with his son in hand, and his wife and daughter beside him. Blackmon took to the field solo to the cheers of a packed standing ovation before the game.
The Denver Broncos accomplished what many didn’t see coming on Sunday. On a wet and damp New Jersey afternoon, Aaron Rogers and the New York Jets played host to the Denver Broncos who just came off a stunning win over the Tamp Bay Buccaneers the previous week.
The Broncos start to the season was a disappointing one after losing two straight in Seattle and across the country in Pittsburgh. Both losses were close games, with the Broncos losing by a total of 13 points combined. Despite those loses the Broncos’ defense managed to keep them close, even in yesterdays win over the Jets.
Denver’s defense has been a problem for opposing offenses who in recent weeks were much more productive than their meetings with Denver. The Jets put up 24 on the Tennessee Titans two weeks ago and put up 24 on the New England Patriots last weekend in their win at home.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were successful in beating the red hot Commanders to kick off their season, and averaged 30 points in the games where they didn’t face the Broncos. Denver’s defense held Tampa’s potent offense to just 7 points in Denver’s 26-7 win in Tampa.
This week is Raider week as the Broncos return home to host Las Vegas at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday at 2:05 p.m.
The Colorado Buffs have put the Big 12 on notice after defeating the University of Central Florida on Saturday. The Buffs sit in second place in the Big 12 with Brigham Young University (BYU) sitting atop the conference after winning their fifth straight, beating Baylor 34-28.
CU’s ironman Heisman candidate, Travis Hunter had 9 receptions for 89 yards, 1 tackle and an interception. This Saturday the Buffs are at home to host ranked (20th) Kansas State who was blown out 38-9 by BYU a couple weeks ago.
You would not be far off calling Rocky Ford native Mike Bartolo a ‘man of the soil.’ But what grows out of the soil is where he really shines. Bartolo, actually, Dr. Bartolo, is nationally known for his knowledge of chile, the pepper not the dish.
Bartolo’s family left Italy in the early part of the last century for the opportunities this country offered. But initially, they found themselves in mining and steel, the two industries that enticed scores of immigrants to southern Colorado. It was one or the other, said Bartolo.
Both industries were hungry for labor. It was only when they had saved enough to buy a patch of land that farming became their calling in a new land. It has been that way ever since.
Farming, of course, was nothing new for Bartolo’s ancestors. It was a generational calling for them in Italy. The only thing new in Colorado were the seeds they submerged in the soil. The bonus, though, was doing it in a region that more often than not rewarded their efforts.
Bartolo spent summers learning all he could about family farming, its joys, success, even its heartbreak. It then became time for him to leave the farm to learn the science of this family calling.
After earning degrees in Bio-Agriculture and Horticulture at CSU Fort Collins, Bartolo came home and no surprise, became the latest link in this generational tradition. Farming for him, as it had been for family, not a job but a calling. He also had the good fortune of having an aunt who gave him seeds an uncle had preserved. The seeds were chile but so much more.
Using what he’d learned in a classroom along with the lessons from the fields, Bartolo’s path was forged. His own personal odyssey with growing things—not just chile—began. “I’m just naturally curious about a lot of things; soil and water; melons and onions…just fascinated with them. But it just seems like everyone wants to know about chile peppers.”
People go to him, he said, all the time to get the answers they think only he can provide on this fruit that has placed Pueblo on the chile pepper map. In fact, the southern Colorado city now openly competes with once dominant Hatch, New Mexico, for the crown of ‘best of the best’ in the chile game.
Bartolo, also a co-founder of Pueblo’s annual ‘Chile and Frijoles Festival,’ concedes he doesn’t have all the answers about chile. But one thing he does know is that the patch of land south and east of the city where the state and region’s best crop is harvested seems ideal for growing this fruit along with so many other crops.
But one thing that remains a mystery about Pueblo’s chile is measuring its place on the state’s agricultural table. There doesn’t seem to be any hard data on the crop’s tonnage or economic contributions. “It’s not like corn,” he said, a crop whose numbers are measured in tons and easily quantifiable. “There’s just not a lot of statistics” on chile. The state, he added, lists chile as a ‘specialty’ crop.
What Bartolo can tell you is that chile deserves its respect. “You have to understand the risk and reward” in growing it. “It takes money to produce a good crop…it’s horrifically expensive.” Add to that the gamble. One hungry insect or one untimely hailstorm can ruin a season.
But luck held this season. The crop came in and can be found in roasters—along with its seductively alluring scent—up and down the Front Range. Prices this year, around $40 a bushel plus the cost of the roast.
But chile has something that can’t be measured, Bartolo said. “It’s a communal thing.” It is the tapestry woven with threads of culture, heritage, food, family and memories.
This year has been an extremely positive year for LaVozColorado and me, its publisher. We celebrated our 50th anniversary in early August with a special edition that told the story of LaVozColorado and its history, employees, vision and much more.
We learned that the Colorado Trust Foundation via the Denver Public Library (Denver Public Library Friends Foundation) will complete the archiving and digitizing of 50 years of our editions that will be accessible in perpetuity at the Colorado Historic Newspapers site.
A career highlight marked my life with a recent honor awarded by the Denver Press Club Hall of Fame that named me one of its inductees into their 2024 Hall of Fame this past Saturday, September 28th at the Curtis Hotel. Ultimately, all is right with the world at LaVozColorado and at home in 2024.
When so many positive things are beckoning your attention, we tend to forget the special people and events that are right in front of us. So with that in mind . . .
Photo courtesy: LaVozColorado
Can you honestly believe that I met the other publisher and husband in kindergarten? A very shy little boy who grew up to be a people person that so many family, friends and colleagues love. He is always there for those he loves, even if there is no reciprocation. He is generous by nature, smart and ambitious and he agreed to be the other publisher at LaVozColorado, as a silent partner. My husband of 50 years, Richard Henry Rivera and I exchanged vows decades ago that said we would partner up for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. Well, both of us are still alive and kicking and that contract is still valid.
It became painfully obvious to me last Saturday night as we drove home from the beautiful event that honored my career in media that I’d forgotten to thank him for his support over the years during my responses on stage. I’d forgotten that he supported my ideas, crazy and otherwise. I’d forgotten that he has willingly and sometimes reluctantly said yes when he wanted to say no.
I’m reminded many times, that perhaps he’s just wanted to travel during his retirement, instead of supporting my commitment to LaVozColorado, but he’s done so anyway because he also cares about community. But I know this, life with the other publisher has been a series of adventures, roller coaster rides, travel, and endless memories. Thanks to Richard Henry Rivera, you are an awesome publisher who also deserves our thanks.
David Conde, Senior Consultant for International Programs
Hispanic Heritage Month is also a time to take a look at the cultural foundations of Americans of Mexican and New Mexico descent that constitutes the majority of Latinos in the United States. The Chicano Movement attempted to do that as part of the effort to promote justice for the community in the social and political landscape, especially in the 1960s and 70s.
The activities of the Movement largely achieved recognition of the proper space for that community. However, it did not complete its other mission of coming to terms with its history both as Mexicans and as Americans.
The question of “identity” calls for embracing historical contradictions caused being a blend of Europe and indigenous America that most activists were not ready to accept. The expression of those very contradictions in the epic poem I Am Joaquin escaped many of the readers’ attention who, instead, celebrated Gonzalez’ work only as an eloquent lyrical experience with a universal message and inspirational motif.
Over the years, I have had the opportunity to observe and listen to many of outgoing Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s 3-hour-long daily briefings. In addition to presenting and discussing the projects that have described the development of the nation in his 6-year term, Lopez Obrador has gone out of his way to set in motion the dynamics of his people’s reconciliation with their continental origins.
He has indicated that rather than just accepting the modern social, economic and political theories intended for modern democracies, Mexico should also look to anchor its identity in a-cultural past that is among the longest and richest in the world. Lopez Obrador comes from the State of Tabasco, a region that is among the closest to the place where the first Mexican civilization began over three thousand years ago.
Tabasco borders the State of Veracruz and their dividing line is the Tonala River that empties into the Gulf of Mexico. On an island located at the mouth of that river is where the earliest Olmec city, La Venta, was constructed.
Lopez Obrador appears to see this place and its original civilization that spread its influence to the North, the South and to the West and helped to create the greater civilizations of the Maya, Zapotec, Teotihuacan, among others, as somewhat forgotten givers of Mexican identity that in time were obscured by the strong colonial European cultural stream.
By comparison, the Chicano Movement effort took the community back to a cultural context that mainly featured the Aztecs that, together with the Toltecs, were the later inheritors of their founding ancestors trappings.
In Mexico, the new cultural emphasis is, in part, driving what is referred to as the 4th Transformation, an effort that seeks to redraw the social and political foundations of the Mexican State. The legacy of its pre-Colombian past is again at the forefront of what it is to be Mexican.
Americans of Mexican descent have had the advantage of receiving from the strong waves of Mexican immigrants a sense of history, nationality and language, three major characteristics that attend to the notion of identity that generally had been lacking in the American-born community. The indicated route for Mexico, however, is to go even further into the past and make peace with origins.
For those of Mexican descent in America, the road to cultural reconciliation is much harder and longer. Being bilingual and bicultural is both a major advantage and a challenge because there are two world views competing for attention.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of laVozColorado. Comments and responses may be directed to news@lavozcolorado.com.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment sent text and email reminders to more than 880,000 Coloradans aged 65 and older whose records in the Colorado Immunization Information System show they may be due for their annual flu vaccine.
The text messages came from 45778 and read:
From CDPHE: State public health records show you may be due for your annual flu vaccine. A flu vaccine is the best way to protect against the flu and its potential serious complications, including hospitalization and death. This is especially important for people at higher risk, including adults 65 years and older. Contact a vaccine provider today to get your flu vaccine. For more information and to find a location near you, visit 123protectyouandme.organd vaccines.gov. Opt out=STOP
Emails will come from cdphe.vaccine.registry@state.co.us and read:
Hello,
State public health records from the Colorado Immunization Information System show you may be due for your annual flu vaccine. A flu vaccine is the best way to protect against the flu and its potential serious complications, includ- ing hospitalization and death. This is especially important for people at higher risk, including adults 65 years and older. Flu vaccines prevent millions of flu-related illnesses and doctor’s visits and prevent tens of thousands of hospitalizations each year. Getting a flu vaccine can be the difference that keeps you or someone you love out of the hospital.
Contact a health care provider, a local pharmacy, or a local public health agency to make a vaccine appointment today. Learn more about the flu vaccine and its effectiveness and find a vaccine provider near you.
If you already got your flu vaccine, let us know by completing this secure Google form. We are standing by to update your immunization record in CIIS.
Medicare, Medicaid, CHP+, and most private health insurers cover the full cost of the flu vaccine. You don’t have to pay anything to health care providers that accept your health plan. If you don’t have health insurance, you can still get the flu vaccine for free or low cost at certain health care providers. Free and low-cost vaccine providers, as well as additional information on flu vaccines, can be found at 123protectyouandme.org. Protect yourself and your loved ones against the flu by contacting your health care provider, a local pharmacy, or your local public health agency to make a vaccine appointment today.
