News

The heavy snow blanketing the Rocky Mountains this winter is a welcome respite for the shrinking Colorado River.

Yes, but: Climate experts say it still falls short from saturating the state's drought-ridden reservoirs.

It's going to be a lot harder to get a jaywalking ticket in Denver.

Driving the news: The Denver City Council voted 10-3 on Monday to adopt a measure decriminalizing jaywalking.

Denver Public Schools is weighing the pros and cons of ChatGPT, Axios Denver has learned.

Driving the news: ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot that launched late last year. A growing number of schools and universities across the country are barring the tech outright, with many teachers fearing their students will use the super-smart software to cheat.

Inspired by our colleagues at Axios San Antonio and Twin Cities, we thought it would be fun to test ChatGPT's local savvy.

⛰️ Its explanation of Denver's nickname was spot-on:

• Denver is called the Mile High City because its elevation is approximately one mile (5,280 feet) above sea level. The city was officially recognized as the "Mile High City" in the 1950s by the United States Postal Service. The nickname was used to promote Denver's high altitude as a tourist attraction.

The building boom in Denver is making us look … dull.

What's happening: The city's new apartment buildings, condos and even single-family homes all look alike with banal and boxy shapes masked by a splash of color on the facade, or in other words, like putting lipstick on a pig.

Pickup trucks are getting bigger and heavier, and their popularity is soaring in the Centennial State.

Driving the news: Half of Denver's 10 bestselling vehicles are pickup trucks, according to vehicle registration data collected from January through November 2022 by S&P Global Mobility.

The political heat on Colorado regulators is rising as fast as homeowners' heating bills.

What's happening: The conservative Americans for Prosperity is launching a new campaign today aimed at the Public Utilities Commission that demands a moratorium on electric and gas rate hikes, Axios has learned.

Aurora Democrats are coordinating an effort to regain control of the City Council two years after Republicans gained a 6-4 majority.

Why it matters: Aurora's conservative-controlled council runs counter to what had been an increasingly left-leaning city — Colorado's third largest — and remains one of few Republican-led institutions in the area, the Sentinel reports.