Who Had the Worst Week?

• It’s going to be hot, dry and windy today, so much so that meteorologists say that the wildfire danger in Colorado today is higher than it has been in a decade.
• The pandemic has caused a lot of collateral damage. In Colorado, that includes a 30% increase in both alcohol-related deaths and syphilis.
• Denver Public Schools board member Tay Anderson had his defamation suit against BLM 5280 and Mary Katherine Brooks-Fleming dismissed by a judge, and he could be liable for their attorneys fees.
• D’Evelyn Jr./Sr. High School named a man convicted of domestic violence as the sole finalist for its principal position. He quickly withdrew from consideration when media coverage caused a public backlash.
• The Vail town council said it was “ready to go to war with Vail Resorts” over a proposed affordable housing project in the town and then voted to condemn the land to prevent construction.
• With several key players injured, no one expected the Denver Nuggets to make a deep playoff run, but what has emerged has been a worst-case scenario: down 3-0 to the Golden State Warriors and at risk of being swept out of the playoffs in embarrassing fashion.
•  The conservation group American Rivers has ranked the Colorado River as one of the country’s most endangered waterways. The group says the river and its reservoirs are at record lows.
• Hyundai and its subsidiary Kia account for five of the six most-stolen brands of cars in the Denver metro area.
• The world’s No. 2 men’s tennis player, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, and the world’s No. 4 women’s player, Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka, will not be allowed to compete in Wimbledon this year due to Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the tournament’s organizers announced this week.
• Former Denver Bronco Von Miller is facing a “revenge porn” lawsuit alleging he distributed a sexually explicit photo of a former girlfriend to “two well-known celebrities.”
• A Kentucky business that was asked by an employee with extreme anxiety not to throw him a birthday party did just that and now has been ordered to pay him $450,000.
• It was a tough week for streaming services and shows:
  • Jon Stewart’s Apple TV+ show, “The Problem with Jon Stewart,” saw its audience drop 78% from its first to its fifth episode. The show now averages about 40,000 viewers, which is less than 5% of John Oliver’s similar HBO show.
  • Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 and expects to lose another 2 million in the second quarter. Its stock has dropped nearly 70% over the past four months.
  • CNN is pulling the plug on its CNN+ streaming service just weeks after its launch.
  • The director of “The Chosen,” an online series about Jesus, has apologized for a marketing ploy that intentionally defaced billboards for the show. Supporters of the series blamed “everyone from Starbucks to ‘Democratic Satanists'” for the apparent vandalism.
• Lucky Charms … they’re magically litigious? The cereal manufacturer likely will soon be the target of a class-action lawsuit after dozens of consumers reported becoming ill after eating the breakfast cereal.

So, who won the week?

• Colorado Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland signed a five-year, $64.5 million extension this week. Freeland is a Colorado native who played high school baseball at Thomas Jefferson in Denver.
• Meanwhile, it’s almost May and the Colorado Rockies find themselves second in the division and third in the entire National League.
• A beloved therapy dog, Spencer, has been named the official dog of the Boston Marathon.