• The Colorado Attorney General‘s office says Colorado consumers would collectively pay an additional $500 million annually for groceries if the proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger is approved.
• Jonathan Davis, a self-styled food influencer who runs The Denver Foodie social media accounts, has been accused of taking hundreds of dollars from small restaurants and then failing to profile them.
• The Pope expelled a Denver priest and nine others, but not for the reason you think.
• Online students – including some in Colorado – have filed suit against the prestigious university Caltech for licensing its name to online certificate programs that it has nothing to do with. “I think it’s a fundamental betrayal of students to slap the branding of an elite institution on, essentially, a cookie-cutter, for-profit boot camp,” said the attorney for one of the students.
• A hair and makeup artist has sued country singer Garth Brooks for allegedly sexually assaulting her.
• It was a tough week for celebrity deaths:
  • NBA Hall of Famer and former Denver Nugget Dikembe Mutombo died of brain cancer. He was 58. Mutombo was known worldwide for his basketball prowess, but it was his post-career efforts as a humanitarian on behalf of his native Democratic Republic of the Congo and Africa as a whole that made him a respected figure around the world.
  • The family of actor John Amos, a Colorado State University alumnus, announced he passed away at the age of 84.
  • John Ashton, the actor most known for his role as Detective Taggart in “Beverly Hills Cop,” passed away at his home in Fort Collins. He was 76.
  • Former Cincinnati Red Pete Rose passed away at the age of 83. He was a legend on the field, but his legacy may be his boorish behavior and gambling habit that prevented him from going into the Hall of Fame.
  • Singer and actor Kris Kristofferson passed away at the age of 88. In addition to singing and acting, Kristofferson was a college football player, Golden Gloves boxer, U.S. Army helicopter pilot and Rhodes Scholar.
• More than 200 people are confirmed dead from Hurricane Helene, and experts predict the recovery could cost more than $34 billion.
• Natural Grocers said it will close its store on Colfax Avenue in Denver due to retail theft and safety issues.
• Tesla has issued a recall on its Cybertruck, the fifth one in the last year.
• It may be October in Colorado, but Mother Nature thinks it is still August.
• It was been a tough few years for Dish Network co-founder Charlie Ergen. Forbes estimated his net worth at $13 billion in 2021, and at “only” $2.7 billion this year.

Who won the week?

• B Public Relations’ Jordan Blakesley was named a winner for the Denver Business Journal‘s Most Admired CEO awards.
• A lot of changes at 9News. Anchor Anusha Roy will join Denver7 later this month as a morning anchor. Meanwhile, anchor Jennifer Meckles announced she is expecting a child and will be on maternity leave starting immediately. And sports reporter Jacob Tobey is leaving to become the play-by-play announcer for the NBA‘s San Antonio Spurs.
• U.K.-based online gambling company bet365 has selected Denver for its U.S. headquarters in a move that will bring more than 800 jobs.
• The Monforts’ revised renovation plan for the historic El Chapultepec building adjacent to Coors Field received approval from the Lower Downtown Design Review Commission. The building itself will be mostly demolished, but a portion of its iconic facade will be retained.
• WNBA phenom Caitlin Clark was named “Rookie of the Year.”