Deaths in Colorado declined in 2022, but were still higher than pre-pandemic levels. Is this the new normal?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:46:41 GMT

Deaths in Colorado declined in 2022, but were still higher than pre-pandemic levels. Is this the new normal? Fewer Coloradans died in 2022 than during the first two years of the pandemic, but it’s too soon to tell whether the state’s still-elevated death toll last year was a point of transition or the start of a new normal.Nearly all of the improvement in Colorado’s death rates from 2021 to 2022 was because less than half as many people died of COVID-19. That was partially offset by an increase in deaths from other diseases, however, as overdose deaths stabilized well above their pre-pandemic levels.The state’s mortality data is delayed three to four months, so it’s not yet known whether those same trends have continued into 2023, said Kirk Bol, manager of the vital statistics program at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.COVID-19 deaths will most likely be lower this year, because 2022 included the second half of the massive omicron-driven wave and nothing comparable has happened since, he said. But the trends aren’t as obvious for...

Used car buyers looking to spend under $20,000 have slim pickings in Denver

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:46:41 GMT

Used car buyers looking to spend under $20,000 have slim pickings in Denver One fallout from the pandemic and the inflation that followed has been a dramatic decrease in the number of late-model vehicles available for under $20,000, according to a new study from iSeeCars, an online vehicle marketplace.Back in 2019, nearly half of all late-model used vehicles, defined as those under five years old, could be purchased for under $20,000. But this year, only 12.4% fell under that price point, according to the study.And for those with only $15,000 to spend, the availability of late-model vehicles went from 23% of the market nationally to only 1.6%.The decline was more extreme in metro Denver, where the share of sub-$20,000 vehicles fell from 41.6% to 9%, the sixth largest decline of the 50 metro areas examined.“During the pandemic lockdowns, one of the few things people could still do was take a drive, and clearly many of them did,” said Karl Brauer, an executive analyst with iSeeCars. “This drove up the mileage across the used car market, but the supply of new ...

Colorado will consider capping the price of these 5 widely prescribed drugs

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:46:41 GMT

Colorado will consider capping the price of these 5 widely prescribed drugs Colorado’s new Prescription Drug Affordability Board has identified five costly medications used to treat autoimmune diseases, HIV and cystic fibrosis that could receive state-mandated price ceilings — but it’s not clear how that will affect patients.The board was created by a 2021 law that allowed it to set a maximum price for up to 12 drugs each year, if a medication’s cost increased by more than 10% in one year, or if a brand-name drug cost more than $30,000 per year. It can also examine generic drugs that cost more than $100 per month, or medications that members of the public asked it to consider.The Colorado Health Institute estimated about 13% of Colorado adults who took prescription drugs in 2021 reported difficulty affording their medication. Unsurprisingly, people who were uninsured or had low incomes were more likely to report trouble paying for prescriptions.The state’s prescription drug board had a list of hundreds of medications to conside...

Top destination for Bay Area transplants isn’t in Texas or Florida. It’s … Seattle?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:46:41 GMT

Top destination for Bay Area transplants isn’t in Texas or Florida. It’s … Seattle? In recent years, red states have relished the chance to take a deep dig at dark blue California: The Golden State is hemorrhaging residents, and many are moving to the low-tax Republican havens of Texas, Arizona and Florida.So it seems like a no-brainer that liberal-minded Austin or Phoenix, where you can buy a nice house with a pool for $500,000, would be the top stops on the California exodus pipeline.But it turns out the biggest draw for Bay Area transplants is in an entirely different direction.Try our rainy neighbor to the north: Seattle.King County, Washington, topped the IRS migration list of out-of-state relocation destinations for people leaving four of the five core Bay Area counties in 2021: Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara.More than 7,600 Bay Area residents moved to Seattle in the thick of the COVID pandemic, which set off a remote-work revolution that freed employees from being bound to abodes near the office.But wait … Seattle?It’s a revelation that su...

Could a rejuvenated Heliot Ramos be the spark the SF Giants’ lineup needs?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:46:41 GMT

Could a rejuvenated Heliot Ramos be the spark the SF Giants’ lineup needs? SAN FRANCISCO — It meant nothing to the outcome of the game but everything to Heliot Ramos.A year and a half after getting his first call to the big leagues, Ramos slugged his first career home run Saturday night in the ninth inning of a 9-3 loss to the Rangers. A cruise missile — 110.1 mph off the bat — that landed midway up the bleachers in left-center field, the milestone wasn’t as much an introduction as the revival of a onetime top prospect.And served as some brotherly bragging rights.“Now I can tell my brother that I hit my first one — harder than him,” Ramos said of his older brother, Henry, 31, who was called up by the Reds on Saturday for his third look in the major leagues. “It feels great.”The first career home run of @HeliotRamos' career was a LASER pic.twitter.com/e4qHsbdjGP— SFGiants (@SFGiants) August 13, 2023While it was a long time coming for the 2017 first-round pick, it was also a reminder of his immense potential and, desp...

Harry Kane signals he needs time to adapt at Bayern Munich after a loss on his debut

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:46:41 GMT

Harry Kane signals he needs time to adapt at Bayern Munich after a loss on his debut MUNICH (AP) — England captain Harry Kane said Sunday that he may need time to adapt to German football following a loss in his first game for Bayern Munich and won’t “panic” if he isn’t scoring.Kane came on as a 64th-minute substitute in a 3-0 defeat to Leipzig in the German Super Cup on Saturday after being confirmed as a Bayern player earlier in the day.“Obviously, I’ve spent my whole career, my whole life, in England and in the Premier League so it might take a bit of adapting to get used to a new league,” he said.“For me it’s just about settling in, as comfortable as possible, understanding the different types of teams, the way I have to play and adapt. I’ve done that throughout my whole career, whether it’s with Tottenham or the national team and I’ll do that here.”Bayern is next in action in the opening game of the Bundesliga season against Werder Bremen on Friday. Kane said he will work on his link-up play with his new teammates and t...

Roberto Mancini announces surprise resignation as Italy coach after up-and-down tenure

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:46:41 GMT

Roberto Mancini announces surprise resignation as Italy coach after up-and-down tenure ROME (AP) — Italy coach Roberto Mancini surprisingly resigned on Sunday, ending an an up-and-down tenure with the national team that included a European Championship title in 2021 but also a failed qualification for last year’s World Cup.The Italian soccer federation issued a short announcement saying that Mancini communicated his resignation “late last night,” adding that a new coach would be named “over the next days.”The federation doesn’t have much time with Euro 2024 qualifying matches against North Macedonia and Ukraine scheduled for Sept. 10 and 12, respectively.Mancini was hired in May 2018.___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/SoccerSource

Montgomery Co. ‘Vinyl Day’ celebrates DJs and 50 years of hip hop

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:46:41 GMT

Montgomery Co. ‘Vinyl Day’ celebrates DJs and 50 years of hip hop Libraries often get a reputation for being vehemently silent spaces. But on Saturday, a library in Silver Spring, Maryland, was booming with the music of DJs celebrating Montgomery County’s “Vinyl Day.”The event was hosted at Brigadier General Charles E. McGee Library. It’s a vinyl record sale at its core, but a special anniversary celebration gave it a special twist that was every music lover’s dream.“This year is a little different because we are celebrating the DJ and 50 years of hip-hop culture,” said event organizer Jaime Flores, Assistant Director for Programs and Outreach with Montgomery County Public Libraries.“What folks may not know is that we have world champions who live in this area, who compete in the DMC, which is like the Olympics, but for DJs,” Flores said.“There’s a cash prize today for the best turntablist in the mid-Atlantic,” he added.Montgomery County libraries partnered with several educational institutions, music scho...

Horarios de las elecciones primarias en Argentina: ¿hasta qué hora se puede votar y cuándo cierran las urnas?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:46:41 GMT

Horarios de las elecciones primarias en Argentina: ¿hasta qué hora se puede votar y cuándo cierran las urnas? (CNN Español) — Este 13 de agosto en Argentina se llevan a cabo las elecciones primarias, abiertas, simultáneas y obligatorias, conocidas como PASO,  cuyo objetivo es elegir a los candidatos que competirán en las elecciones generales del 22 de octubre, cuando se elegirá el próximo presidente del país.En pocas palabras, las PASO actúan como filtro debido a que las fuerzas políticas que se presentan deben superar el 1,5 % de los votos para llegar a los comicios nacionales. En estas elecciones, los partidos definirán cómo será la lista de candidatos que presentarán en la elección general.Estos fueron los resultados de las últimas elecciones PASO en Argentina¿Cómo son los horarios?Para votar en las PASO podrás hacerlo en el establecimiento que determine el padrón electoral, que puedes consultar aquí.Las urnas se abrirán a partir de las 8 a.m., hora local, hasta las 18:00 horas. Si para el momento del cierre aún hay personas esperando votar, se les permitirá hacerlo hasta que ya no...

Amid surge in kids entering Fairfax Co. child welfare system, nonprofit seeks volunteers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:46:41 GMT

Amid surge in kids entering Fairfax Co. child welfare system, nonprofit seeks volunteers A dramatic increase in kids entering the child welfare system in Fairfax County, Virginia, has led a nonprofit organization to ask for volunteers — especially those who identify as Black, Hispanic and Spanish speaking.More than 230 kids entered the county’s child welfare system between July 2022 and June 2023 — a 138% increase from the group’s last fiscal year, according to a recent news release from Fairfax Court Appointed Special Advocates, also called CASA.The nonprofit expects this need for services to keep growing. Darcy Hubbard, the group’s executive director, said other local agencies and the county’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court agree “all of our systems are overwhelmed and that families in our community are in crisis.”“I think it is fair to say that we are all a bit different coming out of the COVID lockdown than when we went in,” Hubbard said. “The families we work with were hit the hardest and continue to struggl...