What exactly does a state epidemiologist do on a day-to-day basis, and how has the job changed during the Covid-19 pandemic? We spoke with Dr. Rachel Herlihy about her role and its challenges, along with her own personal journey to science and public health. Read full interview
Posted inHealth
Boulder County hospitals see rise in breast cancer patients
Early last month, when Covid patients were once again filling Boulder’s hospitals, the chief nursing officer at Boulder Community Health, saw another disease on the rise. “We’re going to see the highest number of breast cancer patients that we’ve seen at BCH over the years,” Jackie Attlesey-Pries told reporter John Herrick. It is a ripple effect of the pandemic, and a wake-up call to no longer postpone routine exams and screenings. Read full story
Posted inHealth
Flu cases in Boulder are slightly up after an unusually quiet season last year
As the U.S. underwent its most intense wave of Covid-19 illnesses and deaths in winter of 2021, there was one virological silver lining: Influenza all but disappeared. Now local officials are worried about an uptick in cases. The data bears out their concern. Read full story
Posted inHousing
Boulder’s departing urban planner recommends city commission housing study
The one thing many Boulder residents seem to agree on is that the city has a housing problem. But how to solve it remains a big question. Jacob Lindsey spent the past year as Boulder’s planning and development director. He’s now moving on and out of Boulder, and gave some parting advice in an interview with the Boulder Reporting Lab: “I would suggest that Boulder commission a very in-depth analysis of its housing markets because a lot of our housing discourse right now is based on conjecture,” Lindsey said. Look to Charleston, South Carolina, for a model, he added. Read the full story.
Posted inSchools
Boulder Valley’s substitute teachers, feeling undervalued and underpaid, are now in short supply
In the Boulder Valley School District, some substitute teachers earn less money than their students. The district’s substitutes, many of whom have one or more college degrees, are paid a daily rate starting at $100, which averages to about $14 per hour with no benefits and no union protections. Last year, that rate was bumped […]
Posted inHealth
More than a third of younger children in Boulder County have gotten a first Covid-19 shot
Boulder County Public Health is partway to its goal of vaccinating 14,000 children ages 5-11 against Covid-19 by the end of January 2022.
Posted inHealth
Boulder’s hospitals are filling up. Not all patients have Covid-19.
The latest surge of Covid-19 patients is straining Boulder County’s hospitals, again. On any given day, the county’s four major hospitals are treating at least 80 patients infected with the virus, the highest number since the wave last November, according to the most recently available data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. […]
Posted inLocal Government
Turnout among Boulder voters highlights wide participation gap in off-year elections
About 47% of the city of Boulder’s 70,000 active registered voters cast their ballots in the 2021 election, according to an analysis of county data by the Boulder Reporting Lab. That’s relatively low voter participation for Boulder. But low turnout is typical in off-year elections, when the voting rate is generally about half that of […]
Posted inHow We Work
Boulder’s new independent, nonprofit newsroom has arrived. Here’s why we’re launching and what you can expect.
A culture of innovation in news in Boulder, Colorado, is as old as the city itself. At least 60 local news businesses have made their mark on Boulder’s journalistic landscape over the past 100-plus years. That’s the rich tradition we’re stepping into with the launch of Boulder Reporting Lab. One of our predecessors, the Boulder […]
Posted inEconomy
The pandemic hit Boulder’s restaurants harder than those in other Front Range cities. An uncertain winter looms.
Last year, when state health officials imposed restrictions on indoor dining to control the spread of Covid-19, Peter Waters, the owner of T/aco, did just about everything he could to keep his taqueria open. He changed his menu to offer take-out margaritas and burritos. He built huts and picnic tables to expand outdoor dining. And […]