• The Colorado PUC ruled that customers are on the hook for $500 million in inflated costs for natural gas that Xcel secured during a record-breaking cold snap in February 2021. Each Xcel customer in Colorado can expect to pay an additional $213 spread out over the next 30 months.
• The Sawaya Law Firm has quietly started removing references to its founder Michael Sawaya after he was accused of sexual assault and battery by a client.
• CityCast Denver podcast host Bree Davies is under fire from Colorado HD-6 candidate Elisabeth Epps and her supporters for what they perceive as unfair and misleading interviews with each of the candidates for the position.
• Denver’s Clerk and Recorder Office sent primary ballots that included the wrong candidates to 60 voters in precinct 832. Five of the voters had already cast their ballots, and the process that assures anonymity means that those ballots cannot be identified and removed.
• Douglas County is no stranger to self-inflicted reputational wounds (see: county commissioners, board of education, public health, sheriff’s office). That streak continued as commissioners surprisingly announced they plan to use eminent domain to seize a 1,000-acre park in the county that is owned by Denver. Experts pointed out that the value of the park was approximately $800 million, far more than Douglas County’s annual operating budget.
• Routt County is bracing itself to play host to the annual Rainbow Family gathering. Local and federal authorities are scrambling to prepare for the 10,000-person, month-long event, which has historically led to traffic, trash and environmental issues.
• The Cherry Cricket in Cherry Creek North is the latest “old Denver” restaurant to be involved in a real-estate transaction. The lot on which the restaurant sits sold for $25.2 million. Unlike the Bonnie Brae Tavern, though, the Cherry Cricket is expected to remain open.
• Netflix laid off another 300 employees, the second time in as many months that is has downsized as it adjusts to an avalanche of subscribers cancelling their service. It’s stock price has fallen 70% this year.
• Abadan, Iran set a 2022 record for highest temperature on earth, recording 126 degrees F.

So, who won the week?

• Tennis star Naomi Osaka has partnered with NBA star LeBron James to launch a media company that will create scripted and unscripted television series, documentaries, anime and branded content.
• The Colorado Avalanche are one win away from clinching its third Stanley Cup championship. Meanwhile, the Colorado Mammoth defeated the Buffalo Bandits to win the National Lacrosse League championship.
• Colorado State’s David Roddy was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA draft.
• “Trumpet, a magnificently be-wrinkled and be-jowled bloodhound from Illinois,” won Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.