A $280 million development project to bring Denver's first bus rapid transit line to Colfax Avenue is underway.

Why it matters: The East Colfax Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project aims to move people more efficiently around the metro area — but for now, it means major disruptions to one of the city's busiest, densest and most historic corridors.

The latest: Construction kicks off this week, marking the start of phase one of the 5-mile project, which stretches from Capitol Hill near Civic Center Park to Aurora's border at Yosemite Street.

The big picture: The long-planned project, expected to be completed by 2027, will convert a vehicle lane in the center of Colfax into a bus-only lane, with transit stops along the route.

• It will also add trees, widen sidewalks and improve street lighting.
• The project is funded by federal and local dollars.

What they're saying: Many businesses along East Colfax worry that construction will hurt their bottom line.

• "It's a major concern, because there's already a limited amount of parking" on Colfax, says Shellie Martinez, a barber at Hollywood's Barber Shop, which has been on East Colfax for more than 40 years.
• "If patrons do not walk in the door, we don't make money," she tells us.

Between the lines: Communication from the city has been spotty, some businesses say.

• "Personally, I have not heard anything from the city," Taelor Brody, a manager at Atomic Cowboy, tells us. She noted, however, she did receive a pamphlet about the project.

The other side: Mayor Mike Johnston's office says it's committed to supporting local businesses through grants, though details on timing and amounts remain unclear.

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Colorado reproductive rights advocates recently spent nearly $2 million on a TV ad campaign to convince voters to enshrine abortion access in the state constitution.

Yes, but: It's merely a fraction of their overall campaign spending, with much of it taking place through political nonprofits that don't need to disclose donors.

Why it matters: Colorado voters broadly favor abortion rights, but the advocates behind the 2024 ballot measure aren't taking chances, deploying a sweeping coalition to target voters.

State of play: The main force behind Amendment 79 is the issue committee Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom.

• The campaign reported raising $8 million, according to its latest campaign finance report through Sept. 25.
• It spent about $1.7 million on a new TV ad and campaign materials — the most of any Colorado campaign in the latest reporting period that ended Sept. 25, an Axios analysis finds.

Between the lines: Karen Middleton, one of the campaign leaders, tells us another $5 million in contributions came into a cadre of political nonprofits working alongside the issue committee.

• The combined fundraising makes it one of the highest-grossing campaigns in Colorado this year, she says.

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Many Coloradans who move out of state don't stray far, according to newly released Census Bureau data.

Why it matters: While moving overall is at an all-time low, there's been an uptick in state-to-state migration in recent years, Axios' Erica Pandey reports.

State of play: The top destinations for residents leaving Colorado were Texas, followed by California, Florida, Arizona and Washington.

Zoom in: The top five counties former Coloradans relocated to were:

• Maricopa County, Arizona
• Los Angeles County, California
• San Diego County, California
• Clark County, Nevada
• King County, Washington

The intrigue: Zillow data shows only two of those — Maricopa and Clark counties — have lower average home values than Denver, raising questions about how much affordability is driving migration.

How it works: The data is drawn from new 2018-2022 five-year state-to-county migration estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

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🏈 The Denver Broncos defeated the Las Vegas Raiders yesterday 34-18. (9News)

🚩 Court administrators in Grand Junction are investigating threats they've received after a district court judge sentenced ex-county clerk Tina Peters to nine years for election tampering. (Colorado Sun)

✅ A plan to redevelop and partially preserve El Chapultepec in Denver's Ballpark neighborhood received a key approval last week that allows the developer to move forward with construction. (Denverite)

👮 RTD named two acting co-chiefs of its police department — Glynell Horn, Jr. and Steven Martingano — roughly a week after it was revealed RTD's former chief of police Joel Fitzgerald was terminated. (CBS4)

🏡 Denver homes are sitting on the market longer and seeing more price reductions, the latest data shows. (Denver Post 🔑)

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When it came time to find a name for his whiskey, Blake Johns drew inspiration from a story he heard about a Prohibition-era still unearthed at his family's Arizona ranch in an area called Smokeye Hill.

Dig in: Launched in 2018, Smokeye Hill is bottled, barreled and aged in Colorado Springs.

• Johns, who's from Phoenix, says he chose Colorado because it offered a "world-class" place to make whiskeys that he says rival what's made in the American South.

Driving the news: The company's two varieties — a straight bourbon and barrel proof bourbon — are now finally on sale at select stores in Colorado after delays due to distributor issues.

• The whiskey has received numerous awards, including being named 2024 "Bourbon of the Year" by a prominent spirits organization.

What to expect: Its barrel proof bourbon has an imposing 60%-plus alcohol by volume (it varies by batch), but the small batch whiskey still offers solid, flavorful vanilla notes despite being such a stiff spirit.

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