Justin George

Sep 29, 2024 | coloradosun.com | Justin George

There have been at least four deaths tied to the drug xylazine in Colorado since early 2022. Xylazine is an animal tranquilizer used on horses that produces some of the same sedative effects as opioids. It is not approved for human use. It gained popularity as an illegal drug in the early 2000s in Puerto Rico. In the United States, it is most heavily used illegally in the Northeast.

Sep 26, 2024 | coloradosun.com | Justin George

Motor vehicle theft in Colorado is down this year compared with last year, the second year in a row that the crime has dropped. In 2022, motor vehicle thefts rose for the first time in at least two years to 47,079 thefts. Last year, incidents of car theft fell by 16% to 39,514 offenses. Through July, 18,836 car thefts have been reported in the state, less than half of last year’s total. The Colorado State Patrol believes that stiffer charges are playing a part in the decrease.

Sep 22, 2024 | coloradosun.com | Justin George

Streetcar companies operated in Boulder from 1891 to 1931. With the population booming in the late 1880s, city leaders recognized Boulder’s tourism potential due to the scenic beauty of the Flatirons. Many tourists arriving in town on trains were drawn to Chautauqua Park, which was a mile and a half from downtown. To get there, tourists often walked, and city officials wanted some way to steer those tourists back downtown to patronize shops and businesses.

Sep 15, 2024 | coloradosun.com | Justin George

A group of aspen trees, known as an aspen stand, are often connected to a single root system. The trees spread underground with new trunks growing up from the same root system. Aspen groves are referred to as clones since the trees share many of the same genetics. The root systems of aspens can be hundreds or even thousands of years old even though their trunks may only last 100 years. According to the U.S. Forest Service, one root system in Utah was found to be 80,000 years old.

Sep 12, 2024 | coloradosun.com | Justin George

Award-winning actor James Earl Jones, who died Sept. 9, 2024, at the age of 93, spent his first assignment after joining the Army at Camp Hale near Leadville in the 1950s. Jones, at the time, was a second lieutenant in the 38th Regimental Combat Team. He had recently graduated from the Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Michigan. Assigned to Camp Hale in Leadville in the early 1950s, Jones established a cold weather training command.