Who Had the Worst Week?

• The Girl Scouts of Colorado say they could lose millions of dollars in cookie sales due to the King Soopers strike. “We’re respecting the strike and the picket lines, but also being creative and really banding together and making calls and doing whatever we can to support the girls,” said Leanna Clark, CEO.
• Six years – SIX YEARS – after a Comcast–Altitude Sports carriage dispute blacked out Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets games for most of Denver, the two companies agreed to a new television deal that reflects the terms essentially offered back in 2019. What did fans miss in those six years? Two championships and four MVPs.
• 9News parent company TEGNA has laid off its 20-member VERIFY fact-checking team whose mission was “to stop the spread of false information.” I’d love to hear the “Next with Kyle Clark” editorial commentary on that decision.
• Media outlets have been dismissive of President Donald Trump‘s strategy of using “deceptive advertising” claims as a legal strategy to sue media he doesn’t like (CBS, Des Moines Register, etc.), but now some First Amendment lawyers are growing concerned it could actually lead somewhere with the current U.S. Supreme Court.
• Few Colorado school districts are taking the Denver Broncos up on their generous offer of free “smart” football helmets. Districts are concerned about potential liability and student privacy. The Broncos intended to donate more than 15,00 helmets statewide at a cost of about $12 million.
• Karla Sofia Gascón, the first openly transgender woman to be nominated for an Oscar for best performance by an actress in a leading role, has apologized for since-deleted social media posts in which she appears to attack Muslims, George Floyd and the lack of diversity at the Oscars. She probably only needed to apologize for two of those.
• Waffle House is charging a $0.50 surcharge per egg due to the shortage caused by an aggressive strain of the avian flu. Speaking of bird flu, you may want to stock up on milk and butter now. A new strain has started infecting dairy cows.
• The cost to insure a car in Colorado increased 26% last year, one of the largest jumps in the nation. The biggest jump was Minnesota at 58%. Extreme weather, including hail, is driving the increase in our state.
• Side hustles are all the rage, but the NFL cannot be happy that the president and head of communications of the New Orleans Saints have gotten caught up moonlighting in a local Catholic diocese sex abuse scandal. Emails show that team representatives may have persuaded city prosecutors to remove some names from a list of clergy members accused of abuse that was released, and the PR head gave media interview critiques to church officials.
• Colorado could see fewer federal transportation dollars thanks to a new directive from President Donald Trump that prioritizes projects in places with high birth and marriage rates. Colorado has one of the lowest fertility rates in the country.
• It’s been a tough few weeks for “old” Denver. First, we lost preservationist Dana Crawford and now we have lost Dan Ritchie. The impact of both on the development of Denver was immeasurable.

Who won the week?

• Former Denver7 anchor Tom Mustin is now the Director of Media Relations for District Attorney George Brauchler.
• Denver Broncos CB Pat Surtain II was named the NFL‘s Defensive Player of the Year. He is only the second Bronco to win the award (Randy Gradishar won in 1978).
• Denver’s Alan Roach, the PA voice of the Colorado Avalanche, the Colorado Rapids and the Minnesota Vikings will be the in-stadium announcer for the Super Bowl this weekend, his 17th time.