Utilities Sector

Documentary filmmaker Pete McBride releases first trailer for The Water Tower

Basalt-based photographer/filmmaker Pete McBride is offering a sneak peek at his new film The Water Tower today, with the unveiling of a teaser trailer for his documentary that follows Golden-based climber Jake Norton's Challenge 21 team to Mt. Kenya and its vanishing glaciers. See also: - Chasing ... More >>

Municipal Waste

Wednesday, April 11, Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins, 970-482-8300.

Xcel Energy not amused by April Fool's Day letters about Boulder power cuts

April Fool's Day jokes often seem funnier to those pulling them than they do to their targets. That was undoubtedly the case for bogus letters claiming that Xcel Energy would be cutting off anyone who voted to end Boulder's relationship with the power supplier.

Reader: John Hickenlooper is an uninformed industry apologist when it comes to fracking

​Alan Prendergast's recent post quoted Governor John Hickenlooper as calling the prospect of contamination from fracking "inconceivable." But one reader thinks he wouldn't have any problems conceiving of this prospect were he not buddying up to the oil and gas industry.

Medical marijuana dispensary inspections -- and what about those discontinued DVRs?

​State regulations of the medical marijuana industry went into effect on July 1 -- and that includes inspections of dispensaries by the Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division. But how does the process work? We talked with a security pro who sat in on an inspection that was made for TV.

Public Utilities Commission, embroiled in taxi controversies, faces state audit

​Folks who have tried to start taxi companies in Denver -- an industry long fraught with controversy -- often butt heads with the Public Utilities Commission, the body charged with regulating cabs. Lately, PUC officials seem to swing back and forth as to whether the city needs more taxis, and ... More >>

Taxicab controversy: Mayor Bill Vidal asks PUC to nix 300 divisive new cabs

​The fight over how many taxicabs to allow in Denver, detailed in the November feature "Mean Streets," took a strange turn in March. After rejecting taxi drivers' application to start Mile High Cab because he said the market was saturated, PUC Judge Paul Gomez green-lit 300 other new Denver ca ... More >>

Japanese radiation worries in U.S.: Health dept. tries to calm fears as media stokes them

​This morning, Peter Boyles spent part of his KHOW morning show wondering if we should be taking potassium iodide to protect ourselves against radiation from the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. And at this writing, the main story on the CBS4 home page asks, "Could Japan's Radi ... More >>

Pueblo nuclear power plant proposal hearings against backdrop of Japanese explosions

​Timing is everything. With gas prices going up, up, up due to the chaos in North Africa last month, suddenly a nuclear power plant started looking good to Pueblo County, where the commissioners are considering a proposal to make that county one of the spots in the country vying for a new nuke ... More >>

Qwest sign: Light there be lights!

​The Denver skyline is bright with Christmas lights, but a traditional blue glow still dominates the dark. And while the status of the Qwest sign will ride on the Qwest/CenturyLink merger proposal, that azure light isn't expected to go out anytime soon.

Will it be lights out for Qwest's blue sign?

​For years, the blue light of the Qwest sign has dominated the downtown Denver skyline, even as its been joined by other light shows -- the spire on the Four Seasons, the logo atop the Xcel building. But if the merger deal between Qwest and CenturyLink goes through, will it be lights out for t ... More >>

Qwest, CenturyLink merger on the line for Colorado Public Utilities Commission

​Colorado's Public Utilities Commission is slated to sign off on Qwest's merger with CenturyLink today, a day after Montana became the fourteenth state to okay the deal, pushing memories of Mountain Bell even further down the line. The PUC was initially scheduled to approve the merger last we ... More >>

Xcel's plan to convert its coal plants sparks an energetic debate

Black out: Lamar gets steamed over a troubled coal plant -- right in the middle of town

Building the Future

Xcel employees can win a camera -- by saying how much they love Xcel

Are you ready for your closeup, Xcel employees?​This month, Xcel Energy has launched an internal contest called "Why I Love Xcel Energy," with a hand-held video camera being awarded to the employee who makes the best clip of him or her saying why Xcel is a nifty place to work -- footage that c ... More >>

Xcel Energy, others accused of OSHA violations in incident that killed five

​In October 2007, five employees of RPI Coating Inc. were killed by carbon monoxide generated by a fire at the Cabin Creek Hydro Plant outside Georgetown that's operated by Xcel Energy and Public Service Company of Colorado. Now, a federal grand jury has issued indictments against RPI, Xcel, P ... More >>

Public Service Company of Colorado responds to Cabin Creek charges

Tim Taylor.​Just over an hour ago, we told you about a federal grand jury indictment leveled against Xcel Energy, Public Service Company of Colorado, RPI Coating and two individuals over an October 2007 incident at Cabin Creek Hydro Plant near Georgetown in which five workers died. Since then, ... More >>

Behind the scenes at Global Dance Fest with Vista TV

​If you're curious about what the annual Global Dance Festival, now in its seventh year, is all about, but have always been afraid to ask, or to go and be surrounded by all those glowsticks and Vicks, you're in luck. Local Internet "lifestyle television" site Vista TV has gone behind the scene ... More >>

For Colorado's largest power co-op, going green will mean taking down the King of Coal

Memories of Colorado’s atomic age

Sauce for the Coal-Fired Goose?

Rich Tower, Poor Tower

Pole Position

Ruby Hill-area residents want to protect their views from eleven-story utility poles, but Xcel thinks it has the juice.

Green Day

Red Rocks offers recycling — but only if you trash your seat.

Smoked

Letters to the Editor

From the week of November 3, 2005

A Mighty Wind

The results of Xcel's wind-power program are still in the air.

Carbon Loading

Xcel’s solution to rising energy prices includes a lot of coal. Is that a bad thing?

The Meter's Running...

Freedom cabbies struggle for freedom.

The Next Bad Thing

Creeping traffic. Strained schools. Dwindling water. Commuters are flocking to Elbert County for a little bit of country, but there isn't much country left.

Power to the People

The answer could be blowing in the wind.

Mayberry, BFD

When pollsters start dialing the denizens of a small city, it's all Opie gone bad.

Free For All

Highlighting the week's greatest gratis event

Con Air

Mile High Telecom promised to be an alternative to Qwest, but the line is going dead.

Power Outage

Xcel Energy faces tough financial scrutiny as power companies nationwide feel the heat.

A Matter of Trust

Who paid what to clean up Lowry Landfill? That's confidential.

The Lowdown on Lowry

The city thought it had settled any questions about the Lowry Landfill. The truth is a toxic shocker.

Best free service

The Denver Water Department's Xeriscape seminars, info and demonstration garden

Going With the Flow

As spring melts into summer, water users along the St. Vrain could find themselves up the creek.

Crossed Wires

US West mistakenly tries to grab $11,000 from a hapless customer.

What's on Tap?

Blowing Smoke

Is Public Service coming clean about its clean-air campaign?

Letters

Socket to Me

If Colorado deregulates electricity, Californians will be first in line for the state's cheap power--and Coloradans may get fried.

Dark Days on Black Mesa

The Hopi want one of the largest coal mines in North America to stop using their groundwater. If springs and wells dry up, their ancient culture may disappear.

Fight to the Finish

The Moffat Tunnel Commission goes out kicking and screaming.

Gasoline Alley

Diamond Shamrock's pipeline isn't built yet, but it's already brought a flammable mixture to Elbert County politics.

THREE ACRES AND A DUELWILL THE STATE LOSE OUT ON A PRIME REAL ESTATE DEAL IN SUMMIT COUNTY?

HARD TO SWALLOW

TEN YEARS AFTER QUESTIONS WERE FIRST RAISED ABOUT THE DRINKING WATER IN FRIENDLY HILLS, SCIENTISTS SAY THE STATE IS DROWNING OUT CRUCIAL RESEARCH.