thedenverpost--2020-08-29--Chambers: Avalanche injuries aren’t alarming; depth makes winning possible

If the injury-plagued Avalanche rallies from an 0-2 series deficit to eliminate the Dallas Stars , Colorado general manager Joe Sakic and his staff should get the much-deserved credit .
Players win games , but setting the team up for success is on Sakic and his right-hand man , Chris MacFarland , among others .
Sakic is a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee but MacFarland ’ s name can not be found on any database of junior , college , or professional players .
Despite the massive difference in their hockey backgrounds , Sakic and MacFarland make a great team @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have great depth , and without it , they wouldn ’ t even be in these playoffs — let alone among the eight teams still playing .
Colorado coach Jared Bednar , despite his team ’ s three days off since Game 3 , said he will again be without four key players in Sunday ’ s Game 4 .
But the injuries to goalie Philipp Grubauer , defensemen Erik Johnson and forwards Matt Calvert and Joonas Donskoi won ’ t cause panic .
All season , the Avs have found ways to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were unavailable at the same time .
And they plan on doing that again .
“ We know we ’ re good enough to win , ” star center Nathan MacKinnon said Saturday of the Avs ’ injury-depleted lineup .
“ Obviously , having those injured guys ( in the lineup ) would help .
We were hurt all season .
We don ’ t want to be hurt but we have no choice than to put our best foot forward and hope those guys get healthy , ( and ) if we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them back in later rounds .
So we got to get through this round .
Down 2-1 , it ’ s a huge one Sunday.
” The four replacements who began the playoffs as healthy scratches or backups were drafted ( forward Tyson Jost ) , acquired by trade ( defenseman Kevin Connauton ) or signed via free agency ( goalie Pavel Francouz and forward Logan O ’ Connor ) .
And they each spent time with the Avs ’ American Hockey League affiliate , the Colorado Eagles in Loveland .
The Eagles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Avs ’ AHL affiliate , are run by Avalanche assistant general manager Craig Billington , another unsung hero of the organization .
“ Moving our affiliation up the road ( from Denver ) was one of the best choices I think our organization has made , ” Bednar said Saturday .
“ Everyone ’ s kind of on the same page when it comes to the way we want to play as an organization , the structure of our game , although they have a little bit of a different makeup , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a home run .
“ Some of the depth players we ’ ve gotten out of there over the last couple years — credit to the coaches and their hard work — they ’ ve come up , been ready to play and have helped us win hockey games.
” Sakic should be a candidate to win the Jim Gregory General manager of the Year Award , which is voted on by 10 print and broadcast media and all 31 GMs .
He should be a shoo-in if the Avs rally to eliminate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voted on at the end of the second round of the playoffs .
Two areas of the Avalanche have been consistent throughout this season : Injuries and winning .
Without this kind of depth , winning wouldn ’ t be as frequent , and the Avs wouldn ’ t be in a position to advance to the Western Conference finals .
Footnote .
Bednar said defenseman Nikita Zadorov , who didn ’ t play in the third period of Game 3 because of injury , practiced Saturday and should be in the lineup @ @

If the injury-plagued Avalanche rallies from an 0-2 series deficit to eliminate the Dallas Stars, Colorado general manager Joe Sakic and his staff should get the much-deserved credit.
Players win games, but setting the team up for success is on Sakic and his right-hand man, Chris MacFarland, among others. Sakic is a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee but MacFarland’s name cannot be found on any database of junior, college, or professional players.
Despite the massive difference in their hockey backgrounds, Sakic and MacFarland make a great team.
Thanks to them, the Avs have great depth, and without it, they wouldn’t even be in these playoffs — let alone among the eight teams still playing.
Colorado coach Jared Bednar, despite his team’s three days off since Game 3, said he will again be without four key players in Sunday’s Game 4. But the injuries to goalie Philipp Grubauer, defensemen Erik Johnson and forwards Matt Calvert and Joonas Donskoi won’t cause panic. All season, the Avs have found ways to win while some of their best players were unavailable at the same time. And they plan on doing that again.
“We know we’re good enough to win,” star center Nathan MacKinnon said Saturday of the Avs’ injury-depleted lineup. “Obviously, having those injured guys (in the lineup) would help. We were hurt all season. We don’t want to be hurt but we have no choice than to put our best foot forward and hope those guys get healthy, (and) if we can win this series we can get them back in later rounds. So we got to get through this round. Down 2-1, it’s a huge one Sunday.”
The four replacements who began the playoffs as healthy scratches or backups were drafted (forward Tyson Jost), acquired by trade (defenseman Kevin Connauton) or signed via free agency (goalie Pavel Francouz and forward Logan O’Connor). And they each spent time with the Avs’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Colorado Eagles in Loveland.
The Eagles, in their second year as the Avs’ AHL affiliate, are run by Avalanche assistant general manager Craig Billington, another unsung hero of the organization.
“Moving our affiliation up the road (from Denver) was one of the best choices I think our organization has made,” Bednar said Saturday. “Everyone’s kind of on the same page when it comes to the way we want to play as an organization, the structure of our game, although they have a little bit of a different makeup, I just feel like that’s been a home run.
“Some of the depth players we’ve gotten out of there over the last couple years — credit to the coaches and their hard work — they’ve come up, been ready to play and have helped us win hockey games.”
Sakic should be a candidate to win the Jim Gregory General manager of the Year Award, which is voted on by 10 print and broadcast media and all 31 GMs. He should be a shoo-in if the Avs rally to eliminate the Stars, because the award is voted on at the end of the second round of the playoffs.
Two areas of the Avalanche have been consistent throughout this season: Injuries and winning.
Without this kind of depth, winning wouldn’t be as frequent, and the Avs wouldn’t be in a position to advance to the Western Conference finals.
Footnote. Bednar said defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who didn’t play in the third period of Game 3 because of injury, practiced Saturday and should be in the lineup Sunday.


thedenverpost--2020-08-29--Denver police fire pepper balls, tear gas at protesters Friday night

Officers and protesters clashed Friday night in Denver ’ s Capitol Hill neighborhood outside a police department precinct , with pepper balls and tear gas used against the crowd , a department spokesperson confirmed .
The chaos came after hours of peaceful rallies and marches around the city honoring the 57th anniversary of the historic March on Washington .
After dark a group of a couple hundred marched to the 6th District police precinct on North Washington Street near Colfax Avenue , where protesters proceeded to shake a chain fence and yell at police , said participant Jess Wiederholt .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ gas in response to what police spokeswoman Ana Munoz said was an attempt by protesters to break through the fence around the precinct .
“ I was on the front line with an umbrella against the fence , and all the folks were doing was shaking the fence , ” Wiederholt said , disputing the characterization that people were trying to tear it down and get to the building .
“ I saw no violence besides shaking and screaming .
That ’ s what prompted them to shoot.
” Wiederholt said she woke @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on her thigh from the pepper balls .
“ This might be the worst I ’ ve experienced , ” she said .
“ They went at it strong .
For not being violent , it was harsh.
” Counter-protesters also showed up Friday night , and Munoz said the group dispersed after police told them to leave .
In audio captured by a Denverite photographer from the scene , a man identified by the news organization as a Denver police lieutenant can be heard telling the opposition group : “ We appreciate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” before asking them to leave .
“ We really want you guys to just disengage and go back to your cars and call it a night because we don ’ t want to have to take enforcement action on you guys , ” the lieutenant said .
Munoz said she hadn ’ t heard the audio but didn ’ t dispute that an officer could have said something along those lines .
“ Our number one goal is to diffuse situations peacefully , ” she said .
“ We don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just respect everybody ’ s voice if they want to be there.
” But protesters say police kettled their rally directly into the opposition group .
“ When you go head to head with white supremacists , and when they have weapons , you run the other direction , ” Wiederholt said .
The protesters and counter-protesters never had much interaction , Wiederholt and Munoz said , as both groups dispersed .
There were no injuries or arrests , Munoz said , and the only damage came to the chain fence .

Officers and protesters clashed Friday night in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood outside a police department precinct, with pepper balls and tear gas used against the crowd, a department spokesperson confirmed.
The chaos came after hours of peaceful rallies and marches around the city honoring the 57th anniversary of the historic March on Washington.
After dark a group of a couple hundred marched to the 6th District police precinct on North Washington Street near Colfax Avenue, where protesters proceeded to shake a chain fence and yell at police, said participant Jess Wiederholt.
Officers then fired pepper balls and tear gas in response to what police spokeswoman Ana Munoz said was an attempt by protesters to break through the fence around the precinct.
“I was on the front line with an umbrella against the fence, and all the folks were doing was shaking the fence,” Wiederholt said, disputing the characterization that people were trying to tear it down and get to the building. “I saw no violence besides shaking and screaming. That’s what prompted them to shoot.”
Wiederholt said she woke up this morning with a large welt on her thigh from the pepper balls.
“This might be the worst I’ve experienced,” she said. “They went at it strong. For not being violent, it was harsh.”
Counter-protesters also showed up Friday night, and Munoz said the group dispersed after police told them to leave.
In audio captured by a Denverite photographer from the scene, a man identified by the news organization as a Denver police lieutenant can be heard telling the opposition group: “We appreciate you coming here and giving us support” before asking them to leave.
“We really want you guys to just disengage and go back to your cars and call it a night because we don’t want to have to take enforcement action on you guys,” the lieutenant said.
Munoz said she hadn’t heard the audio but didn’t dispute that an officer could have said something along those lines.
“Our number one goal is to diffuse situations peacefully,” she said. “We don’t support any of the groups — we just respect everybody’s voice if they want to be there.”
But protesters say police kettled their rally directly into the opposition group.
“When you go head to head with white supremacists, and when they have weapons, you run the other direction,” Wiederholt said.
The protesters and counter-protesters never had much interaction, Wiederholt and Munoz said, as both groups dispersed.
There were no injuries or arrests, Munoz said, and the only damage came to the chain fence.


thedenverpost--2020-08-29--Nuggets approaching Sunday’s Game 6 with raw emotions: “We can’t be one foot in, one foot out”

Stuck inside the NBA ’ s bubble for nearly two months , the video of 29-year-old Jacob Blake getting shot seven times in the back marked a boiling point for the NBA and its players this past week .
For three tumultuous days , where mental stress had already manifested and postponed games seized the outside world ’ s attention , players considered leaving Orlando .
“ We expected the worst , ” said Monte Morris , who served as Denver ’ s player representative , alongside stars like LeBron James , Chris Paul and Andre Iguodala .
“ Going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the elephant in the room , where , ‘ Man , this thing could be over.
’ ” When the Bucks unilaterally decided to sit out Wednesday ’ s Game 5 against Orlando , it spurred a string of unprecedented activism that ultimately led to tangible , actionable results .
After a Thursday meeting with owners and other player representatives , Morris said the league committed to two primary initiatives : increasing access to voting by converting team-owned arenas into polling places and lobbying for the end of qualified immunity .
It was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NBA players felt comfortable about pledging to finish the season .
Players were adamant that their months-long sacrifices , away from their families and outside their communities , wouldn ’ t be in vain .
There were still playoff games to be played , and in the case of the Nuggets , an elimination game on Sunday .
How any player could focus their emotions into a meaningful playoff game , only days after pouring energy into causes as seismic as systemic racism , was anyone ’ s guess .
“ Emotions were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Morris said .
Nuggets coach Michael Malone called Friday ’ s practice the worst he ’ s been a part of in his five years with the organization .
“ And I wasn ’ t surprised , and I understood it , and I sympathized for our players because so much is being asked of them on the court , so much of them is being asked for them off the court , and they ’ re doing their best , ” Malone said .
For what it ’ s worth , Malone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ better during Saturday ’ s practice , a day ahead of Game 6 against Utah .
The Nuggets trail the first-round playoff series , 3-2 , and need a win to avoid elimination .
It ’ s a delicate balance for a coach to find , pushing his players to focus when their heads are elsewhere .
It ’ s even harder for Malone who ’ s made a dedicated effort for months to be the face of a franchise demanding change .
“ You know that right now , there ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and throughout the bubble … listen , all the players , all the teams voted to stay , ” Malone said .
“ But let me remind everybody , just because all the teams voted to stay , I have a feeling that when teams took an internal vote , that the vote to stay was probably 8-7 , 9-6 , 10-5 .
It wasn ’ t unanimous .
It wasn ’ t a landslide that we have 13 playoff teams that are all thrilled about being here still .
“ That makes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ We ’ re going into a game where we can ’ t be one foot in , one foot out .
I put myself in our players ’ shoes .
It ’ s hard , man .
It ’ s such a delicate balance .
I want to do what ’ s right for society , I want to do what ’ s right for my people , and I also have a game to play.
” Consider Jamal Murray ’ s mental state .
He began his news conference Saturday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an image of George Floyd and another with an image of Breonna Taylor , on the stool in front of the Zoom camera for reporters to see .
“ How long was that ?
Two minutes ?
” Murray said .
“ One person on that shoe had a knee on their neck for eight ( minutes ) .
… It doesn ’ t take me , a 23-year-old , to recognize that ’ s not right and that should be in everybody ’ s mind .
If you don ’ t see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s a problem with you.
” Or hear the anguish in Morris ’ voice when he talked about watching the Blake video , considering he ’ s from a predominantly Black area in Flint , Mich. “ Seeing stuff like that happen , it could be any one of us , ” Morris said , citing his mom and his niece .
“ I hate when guys or people try not to pay attention to it because it ’ s not them , or their family members that have been involved with this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it as if Jacob Blake was part of me .
That ’ s where my emotions have been .
I got ta try to put it behind and get ready for a playoff game.
” Celtics star Jaylen Brown said during his news conference that he walked into an elevator only to see Nuggets center Mason Plumlee “ giving himself words of affirmation , ” Brown said , before re-enacting the scene .
“ ’ I want to go to practice .
I love basketball .
I ’ m happy to be here.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ through that same thing.
” That ’ s why the three-day pause was necessary .
Players needed to collect their thoughts after seeing the video , organizing an impromptu walk-out , identifying goals and implementing short-term change and preparing for a postseason game that some didn ’ t necessarily want to stay for .
“ Until we see change , it is tough to go out there and keep a good headspace knowing that stuff in the world is still happening , ” Murray said .
As Morris said , it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s also unfair to heave the burden of responsibility on dozens of NBA players , even if they are some of the most prominent Black men in the country .
“ Our players are not activists , they ’ re not politicians , they need people to help guide them , and they ’ ve been getting that , ” Malone said , adding that everyone from coaches to owners feels an investment .
“ I just want to remind people that when we decided to come here to Orlando to resume the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was just going to be , we ’ re in the Magic Kingdom and magically things are going to get better because we ’ ve decided to play .
“ This is going to require a sustained fight .
”

Stuck inside the NBA’s bubble for nearly two months, the video of 29-year-old Jacob Blake getting shot seven times in the back marked a boiling point for the NBA and its players this past week.
For three tumultuous days, where mental stress had already manifested and postponed games seized the outside world’s attention, players considered leaving Orlando.
“We expected the worst,” said Monte Morris, who served as Denver’s player representative, alongside stars like LeBron James, Chris Paul and Andre Iguodala. “Going through the meetings, it was always the elephant in the room, where, ‘Man, this thing could be over.’”
When the Bucks unilaterally decided to sit out Wednesday’s Game 5 against Orlando, it spurred a string of unprecedented activism that ultimately led to tangible, actionable results. After a Thursday meeting with owners and other player representatives, Morris said the league committed to two primary initiatives: increasing access to voting by converting team-owned arenas into polling places and lobbying for the end of qualified immunity.
It was only after these commitments were secured that NBA players felt comfortable about pledging to finish the season. Players were adamant that their months-long sacrifices, away from their families and outside their communities, wouldn’t be in vain.
There were still playoff games to be played, and in the case of the Nuggets, an elimination game on Sunday. How any player could focus their emotions into a meaningful playoff game, only days after pouring energy into causes as seismic as systemic racism, was anyone’s guess.
“Emotions were flying (on Friday),” Morris said.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone called Friday’s practice the worst he’s been a part of in his five years with the organization.
“And I wasn’t surprised, and I understood it, and I sympathized for our players because so much is being asked of them on the court, so much of them is being asked for them off the court, and they’re doing their best,” Malone said.
For what it’s worth, Malone said the mood and energy were far better during Saturday’s practice, a day ahead of Game 6 against Utah. The Nuggets trail the first-round playoff series, 3-2, and need a win to avoid elimination.
It’s a delicate balance for a coach to find, pushing his players to focus when their heads are elsewhere. It’s even harder for Malone who’s made a dedicated effort for months to be the face of a franchise demanding change.
“You know that right now, there’s a lot of players on our team and throughout the bubble … listen, all the players, all the teams voted to stay,” Malone said. “But let me remind everybody, just because all the teams voted to stay, I have a feeling that when teams took an internal vote, that the vote to stay was probably 8-7, 9-6, 10-5. It wasn’t unanimous. It wasn’t a landslide that we have 13 playoff teams that are all thrilled about being here still.
“That makes it really hard,” he continued. “We’re going into a game where we can’t be one foot in, one foot out. I put myself in our players’ shoes. It’s hard, man. It’s such a delicate balance. I want to do what’s right for society, I want to do what’s right for my people, and I also have a game to play.”
Consider Jamal Murray’s mental state. He began his news conference Saturday by placing his shoes, one with an image of George Floyd and another with an image of Breonna Taylor, on the stool in front of the Zoom camera for reporters to see.
“How long was that? Two minutes?” Murray said. “One person on that shoe had a knee on their neck for eight (minutes). … It doesn’t take me, a 23-year-old, to recognize that’s not right and that should be in everybody’s mind. If you don’t see it that way, then there’s a problem with you.”
Or hear the anguish in Morris’ voice when he talked about watching the Blake video, considering he’s from a predominantly Black area in Flint, Mich.
“Seeing stuff like that happen, it could be any one of us,” Morris said, citing his mom and his niece. “I hate when guys or people try not to pay attention to it because it’s not them, or their family members that have been involved with this situation. So I try to take it as if Jacob Blake was part of me. That’s where my emotions have been. I gotta try to put it behind and get ready for a playoff game.”
Celtics star Jaylen Brown said during his news conference that he walked into an elevator only to see Nuggets center Mason Plumlee “giving himself words of affirmation,” Brown said, before re-enacting the scene. “’I want to go to practice. I love basketball. I’m happy to be here.’ Everybody’s kind of going through that same thing.”
An interesting Mason Plumlee anecdote. I think a lot more NBA players than we’ll ever realize were questioning what the right decision was. https://t.co/XRUHSfvDKV — Mike Singer (@msinger) August 29, 2020
That’s why the three-day pause was necessary. Players needed to collect their thoughts after seeing the video, organizing an impromptu walk-out, identifying goals and implementing short-term change and preparing for a postseason game that some didn’t necessarily want to stay for.
“Until we see change, it is tough to go out there and keep a good headspace knowing that stuff in the world is still happening,” Murray said.
As Morris said, it’s deeply personal for players. It’s also unfair to heave the burden of responsibility on dozens of NBA players, even if they are some of the most prominent Black men in the country.
“Our players are not activists, they’re not politicians, they need people to help guide them, and they’ve been getting that,” Malone said, adding that everyone from coaches to owners feels an investment. “I just want to remind people that when we decided to come here to Orlando to resume the season, no one thought that this was just going to be, we’re in the Magic Kingdom and magically things are going to get better because we’ve decided to play.
“This is going to require a sustained fight.”


thedenverpost--2020-08-30--NFL Journal: Broncos tight end Nick Vannett wants to be more than just blocker

When the Broncos signed Nick Vannett in March , the projection was he would serve as the primary blocking tight end .
Noah Fant ’ s presence and Vannett ’ s track record — 61 catches in 55 games — made it an easy guess .
But we may have been half-correct .
Through two weeks of training camp practices , Vannett has often lined up in a three-point stance next to right tackle Elijah Wilkinson or left tackle Garett Bolles .
But Vannett has looked comfortable as a downfield receiver , too , which should be another wrinkle for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vannett isn ’ t going to be a 30- or 40-catch guy — there are too many other players to get touches , led by Fant , receivers Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy and running backs Melvin Gordon and Phillip Lindsay .
But he has 12 , 29 and 17 catches the past three years so his sweet spot might be 20 to 25 receptions .
“ I want be as involved as I can , ” said Vannett , who missed three full practices ( concussion protocol ) earlier this month .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve always had great hands .
I ’ ve always been able to make contested catches and catches anywhere outside my frame .
“ Each year , I ’ ve gotten better with my quickness , gotten better at running routes , I ’ ve added some speed and I think this year is by far the best I ’ ve felt .
I feel like more of a receiver and more athletic ( to ) where I can run these routes the other guys can run.
” No officials , no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not having officials present .
For most practices , including the regular season , local high school and college officials attend practice and an NFL crew would also make a stop in Denver to go over the new rules .
This year , though , it ’ s a free-for-all .
Take one play on Friday as an example .
Tight end Albert Okwuegbunam made a touchdown catch against cornerback Duke Dawson .
One “ official ” — Dawson — made the pushing-off gesture to signal offensive pass interference .
Another “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the sideline — signaled good catch and no call .
“ We do critique them ( on fouls ) , ” coach Vic Fangio said .
“ When we think there ’ s a penalty , we point it out .
The NFL is not sending out the officials like they usually do and to bring in college or high school officials , they ( would ) have to go through ( COVID-19 ) testing and take up spots on your tiers ( of access ) .
But we ’ re trying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A lot of coaches think they ’ re officials anyway.
” Decisions , decisions .
The Broncos play two weeks from Monday night and still have to declare their decisions at starting center and No .
3 cornerback just to name two spots .
“ In a normal training camp , by the third preseason game ( you want a decision ) , ” Fangio said .
“ In this training camp , I think we need to by the week of the first game when we start practicing .
We ’ ll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but if not , we ’ ll let it play out.
” The Broncos ’ first practice with their 53-man roster can be Sept. 7 .
Last year entering the final preseason game , the Broncos ’ only lineup decisions were injury-related — inside linebacker Todd Davis ( calf ) and cornerback Bryce Callahan ( foot ) were out , but the other 20 spots were locked in .
Stadiums closing .
More teams joined the growing list who will not have fans attend at least their opening home game .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2 ) and the New York Jets ( Week 4 ) early in the season will be to empty stadiums .
No fans will be present for the Broncos ’ opener against Tennessee .
The last time the attendance was so small ?
The 1987 strike season in which replacement players were hired for three games .
The Broncos had 38,494 fans for a 40-10 loss to Houston .
Scangarello ’ s switch .
Old friend/ex-Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello , fired by Fangio in January , is with Philadelphia as a senior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here to come help be a part of a staff that is already a veteran group that have worked together , ” Scans told the Philadelphia media .
“ It ’ s been pretty seamless .
“ Scangarello said connecting with Eagles coach Doug Pederson was “ just kind of a random situation .
I had a couple different options that I was seriously considering after Denver .
Doug called me one morning .
We talked for hours.
” Jacksonville ’ s approach .
Through their first 11 training camp practices , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off ” — outside linebacker Bradley Chubb ( who tore his ACL last year ) on Aug. 19 .
The Jaguars gave 18 players a maintenance day Aug. 21 and a whopping 30 ( 30 ! )
players Aug. 28 .
The Jaguars traditionally practice outside in the morning Florida heat and the injury prevention/management is viewed as best by coach Doug Marrone .

When the Broncos signed Nick Vannett in March, the projection was he would serve as the primary blocking tight end. Noah Fant’s presence and Vannett’s track record — 61 catches in 55 games — made it an easy guess.
But we may have been half-correct.
Through two weeks of training camp practices, Vannett has often lined up in a three-point stance next to right tackle Elijah Wilkinson or left tackle Garett Bolles. But Vannett has looked comfortable as a downfield receiver, too, which should be another wrinkle for offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur to utilize.
Vannett isn’t going to be a 30- or 40-catch guy — there are too many other players to get touches, led by Fant, receivers Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy and running backs Melvin Gordon and Phillip Lindsay. But he has 12, 29 and 17 catches the past three years so his sweet spot might be 20 to 25 receptions.
“I want be as involved as I can,” said Vannett, who missed three full practices (concussion protocol) earlier this month. “The thing about me is I’ve always had great hands. I’ve always been able to make contested catches and catches anywhere outside my frame.
“Each year, I’ve gotten better with my quickness, gotten better at running routes, I’ve added some speed and I think this year is by far the best I’ve felt. I feel like more of a receiver and more athletic (to) where I can run these routes the other guys can run.”
No officials, no calls. One departure during training camp is not having officials present. For most practices, including the regular season, local high school and college officials attend practice and an NFL crew would also make a stop in Denver to go over the new rules.
This year, though, it’s a free-for-all. Take one play on Friday as an example. Tight end Albert Okwuegbunam made a touchdown catch against cornerback Duke Dawson.
One “official” — Dawson — made the pushing-off gesture to signal offensive pass interference. Another “official” -— receiver Courtland Sutton on the sideline — signaled good catch and no call.
“We do critique them (on fouls),” coach Vic Fangio said. “When we think there’s a penalty, we point it out. The NFL is not sending out the officials like they usually do and to bring in college or high school officials, they (would) have to go through (COVID-19) testing and take up spots on your tiers (of access). But we’re trying to do a good job as coaches. A lot of coaches think they’re officials anyway.”
Decisions, decisions. The Broncos play two weeks from Monday night and still have to declare their decisions at starting center and No. 3 cornerback just to name two spots.
“In a normal training camp, by the third preseason game (you want a decision),” Fangio said. “In this training camp, I think we need to by the week of the first game when we start practicing. We’ll look for it to happen before then, but if not, we’ll let it play out.”
The Broncos’ first practice with their 53-man roster can be Sept. 7.
Last year entering the final preseason game, the Broncos’ only lineup decisions were injury-related — inside linebacker Todd Davis (calf) and cornerback Bryce Callahan (foot) were out, but the other 20 spots were locked in.
Stadiums closing. More teams joined the growing list who will not have fans attend at least their opening home game. The Broncos know trips to Pittsburgh (Week 2) and the New York Jets (Week 4) early in the season will be to empty stadiums.
No fans will be present for the Broncos’ opener against Tennessee. The last time the attendance was so small? The 1987 strike season in which replacement players were hired for three games. The Broncos had 38,494 fans for a 40-10 loss to Houston.
Around the NFL
Scangarello’s switch. Old friend/ex-Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello, fired by Fangio in January, is with Philadelphia as a senior offensive assistant.
“I was hired here to come help be a part of a staff that is already a veteran group that have worked together,” Scans told the Philadelphia media. “It’s been pretty seamless. “
Scangarello said connecting with Eagles coach Doug Pederson was “just kind of a random situation. I had a couple different options that I was seriously considering after Denver. Doug called me one morning. We talked for hours.”
Jacksonville’s approach. Through their first 11 training camp practices, the Broncos had only one “vet day off” — outside linebacker Bradley Chubb (who tore his ACL last year) on Aug. 19.
The Jaguars gave 18 players a maintenance day Aug. 21 and a whopping 30 (30!) players Aug. 28. The Jaguars traditionally practice outside in the morning Florida heat and the injury prevention/management is viewed as best by coach Doug Marrone.


thedenverpost--2020-08-30--Post Premium: Our top stories for the week of Aug. 24-30

The incoming leader of the Regional Transportation District has overseen huge budgets and dug into daily operational details at other transit agencies .
She has negotiated difficult labor contracts , including in a city notorious for union strife .
She ’ s also managed a board of directors rife with complexity and conflicting interests .
Debra Johnson will need all of those skills in Denver when she takes the reins as RTD ’ s new general manager and CEO , inside and outside observers say .
She ’ s coming aboard at a time when the metro area ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the coronavirus pandemic , but also budget imbalances , underfunded rail projects , and an outside review that kicked off this month .
That review could recommend drastic changes to the setup of the 51-year-old district , which has struggled to repair fraying public trust caused in part by service cuts and fare hikes .
The last time RTD hired a new boss from outside the agency was in 1995 , when it tapped Cal Marsella in another time of turmoil .
He would become the father of FasTracks , the massive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Read more… Five in-depth looks at Colorado in the age of coronavirus Denver-born billionaire and philanthropist Robert F. Smith is under criminal investigation for potential tax crimes , according to reporting by Bloomberg .
In a story published Friday , Bloomberg reporters detailed a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into whether or not Smith paid U.S. taxes on about $ 200 million in assets moved through financial structures based in the Caribbean .
The investigation began in 2016 , late in President Barack Obama ’ s administration , according to Bloomberg .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of “ when , ” not “ if , ” the coronavirus would make its way into Colorado schools , as many K-12 districts reopened for in-person learning this month .
In some , it took just days for students and staff to be forced into quarantine .
The Denver Post is keeping a running list of the school-related COVID-19 cases we learn about .
School districts are not required to publicly disclose when cases pop up , although outbreaks are reported weekly by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ comprehensive , and reporting may sometimes lag .
If you know of a case not listed here , please email Tiney Ricciardi at cricciardi @ denverpost.com .
Read more here… Boulder fraternity to be fined over large gathering of CU students without masks or social distancing The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity in Boulder will be fined for a gathering that drew 120 students to the organization ’ s house on University Hill this week , flouting COVID-19 health protocols .
Marc Stine , who oversees the Interfraternity Council on the Hill , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Epsilon $ 10 per member , or about $ 1,750 total , for this first infraction .
“ That fine is for violating public health rules , but it ’ s also for embarrassing the fraternity community so publicly , ” Stine said Thursday .
“ Yesterday was the first time that we had evidence of a large gathering of students on a fraternity property without masks or social distancing.
” Read more here… Two Colorado K-12 schools report COVID-19 outbreaks among staff , two outbreaks tied to CSU still ongoing Two Colorado @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new coronavirus since restarting in-person classes earlier this month , both involving infected staff members .
While just two schools made the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment ’ s weekly outbreak list — updated Wednesday — more have found cases as they preemptively test students .
The state health department defines an outbreak as two or more cases of COVID-19 within two weeks that are linked to the same location or event .
Read more here… A cold front at the end of the week has been a welcome reprieve for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ temperatures , rain and higher humidity have helped stifle wildfire growth .
The change in weather has allowed containment to rise on the state ’ s two largest fires — Pine Gulch near Grand Junction and Grizzly Creek in Glenwood Springs — and improved air quality up and down the Front Range .
Read more… Click here to skip to a specific fire : Pine Gulch fire | Grizzly Creek fire | Cameron Peak fire | Williams Fork fire | Wildfire map See more great photos like this on The Denver Post ’ @ @ @ @

The incoming leader of the Regional Transportation District has overseen huge budgets and dug into daily operational details at other transit agencies. She has negotiated difficult labor contracts, including in a city notorious for union strife.
She’s also managed a board of directors rife with complexity and conflicting interests.
Debra Johnson will need all of those skills in Denver when she takes the reins as RTD’s new general manager and CEO, inside and outside observers say. She’s coming aboard at a time when the metro area’s transit provider faces not only tremendous fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, but also budget imbalances, underfunded rail projects, and an outside review that kicked off this month.
That review could recommend drastic changes to the setup of the 51-year-old district, which has struggled to repair fraying public trust caused in part by service cuts and fare hikes.
The last time RTD hired a new boss from outside the agency was in 1995, when it tapped Cal Marsella in another time of turmoil. He would become the father of FasTracks, the massive transit expansion approved by voters in 2004. Read more…
— Jon Murray, The Denver Post
Five in-depth looks at Colorado in the age of coronavirus
Denver-born billionaire and philanthropist Robert F. Smith is under criminal investigation for potential tax crimes, according to reporting by Bloomberg.
In a story published Friday, Bloomberg reporters detailed a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into whether or not Smith paid U.S. taxes on about $200 million in assets moved through financial structures based in the Caribbean. The investigation began in 2016, late in President Barack Obama’s administration, according to Bloomberg. Read more here…
It was a question of “when,” not “if,” the coronavirus would make its way into Colorado schools, as many K-12 districts reopened for in-person learning this month. In some, it took just days for students and staff to be forced into quarantine.
The Denver Post is keeping a running list of the school-related COVID-19 cases we learn about. School districts are not required to publicly disclose when cases pop up, although outbreaks are reported weekly by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. That means this list may not be comprehensive, and reporting may sometimes lag.
If you know of a case not listed here, please email Tiney Ricciardi at cricciardi@denverpost.com. Read more here…
The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity in Boulder will be fined for a gathering that drew 120 students to the organization’s house on University Hill this week, flouting COVID-19 health protocols.
Marc Stine, who oversees the Interfraternity Council on the Hill, said the governing organization will fine Sigma Alpha Epsilon $10 per member, or about $1,750 total, for this first infraction.
“That fine is for violating public health rules, but it’s also for embarrassing the fraternity community so publicly,” Stine said Thursday. “Yesterday was the first time that we had evidence of a large gathering of students on a fraternity property without masks or social distancing.” Read more here…
Two Colorado K-12 schools have reported outbreaks of the new coronavirus since restarting in-person classes earlier this month, both involving infected staff members.
While just two schools made the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s weekly outbreak list — updated Wednesday — more have found cases as they preemptively test students.
The state health department defines an outbreak as two or more cases of COVID-19 within two weeks that are linked to the same location or event. Read more here…
A cold front at the end of the week has been a welcome reprieve for fire crews around Colorado, as cooler temperatures, rain and higher humidity have helped stifle wildfire growth.
The change in weather has allowed containment to rise on the state’s two largest fires — Pine Gulch near Grand Junction and Grizzly Creek in Glenwood Springs — and improved air quality up and down the Front Range. Read more…
Click here to skip to a specific fire: Pine Gulch fire | Grizzly Creek fire | Cameron Peak fire | Williams Fork fire | Wildfire map
Photo of the week
See more great photos like this on The Denver Post’s Instagram account.


thedenverpost--2020-08-30--RTD’s new chief faces big challenges at cash-strapped transit agency

The incoming leader of the Regional Transportation District has overseen huge budgets and dug into daily operational details at other transit agencies .
She has negotiated difficult labor contracts , including in a city notorious for union strife .
She ’ s also managed a board of directors rife with complexity and conflicting interests .
Debra Johnson will need all of those skills in Denver when she takes the reins as RTD ’ s new general manager and CEO , inside and outside observers say .
She ’ s coming aboard at a time when the metro area ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the coronavirus pandemic , but also budget imbalances , underfunded rail projects , and an outside review that kicked off this month .
That review could recommend drastic changes to the setup of the 51-year-old district , which has struggled to repair fraying public trust caused in part by service cuts and fare hikes .
The last time RTD hired a new boss from outside the agency was in 1995 , when it tapped Cal Marsella in another time of turmoil .
He would become the father of FasTracks , the massive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
With its vote Tuesday for Johnson , who ’ s spent six years at Long Beach Transit as deputy CEO , the elected board made history by installing a woman in the top job for the first time .
“ I think it ’ s good they went for an outsider .
It ’ s clear the agency really needs some new blood , ” said David Bragdon , the executive director of TransitCenter , a New York City-based research and advocacy organization .
Johnson will confront problems here that have also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ include agencies in Los Angeles and San Francisco .
Chief among them : years of falling or stagnating ridership , long before the pandemic shoved those numbers over a cliff earlier this year , along with tax revenue .
As of earlier this month , RTD ’ s average weekday ridership had recovered slightly but still was at about 140,000 , down 60 % from normal .
Bragdon likes what he sees in Johnson ’ s background , suggesting her extensive experience with operations could help guide the agency to new long-term thinking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of RTD ’ s focus on building suburban commuter rail lines at the expense of expanded urban bus service under the $ 5.6 billion-and-counting FasTracks initiative .
“ RTD basically became a construction company for a number of years and basically overlooked the nuts and bolts of operating , ” he said .
But the new CEO will have a bumpy political landscape to navigate , reporting to one of the few elected transit boards in the country — a body made up of members representing 15 districts across a sprawling service area @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s also high outside interest in how RTD operates that goes all the way up to the Colorado governor ’ s office .
Gov .
Jared Polis , a Democrat , is among the state politicians behind a new “ accountability committee ” that began meeting this month to perform an independent top-to-bottom review of RTD over the next year .
He talks about the need for new approaches — while remaining adamant that RTD also must finish the way-underfunded $ 1.5 billion northwest commuter rail line promised to voters in Longmont and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who ’ s still negotiating a contract and salary with RTD , was not available for an interview last week .
But in her public video presentation for the job , it was clear she was seeking to fulfill a career ambition .
Though this will be her first time as CEO , aside from a brief interim stint at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency , she said : “ I have been preparing to lead at this level for more than 25 years.
” Those who have worked with her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Former colleagues , a former agency board member and her current boss portrayed Johnson as a relationship-driven leader who works long hours , building trust within their agencies and in their communities that has outlasted her .
Her rise accelerated in San Francisco , where she was director of administration , safety and training from 2007 to 2012 .
She left to become deputy chief operations officer at the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority , where she says she developed a $ 1.1 billion annual operating budget .
In San Francisco , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t hesitate to visit warring labor representatives on their own turf , inside their union halls , recalled Kenneth A. McDonald , SFMTA ’ s chief operating officer at the time .
That showed courage , said McDonald , now the CEO of Long Beach Transit , which serves more than a dozen cities in Southern California .
In 2014 , he recruited Johnson from Los Angeles to be his No .
2 .
“ She is very politically astute , ” he said in an interview .
“ The ability @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she does every day .
To do that , you have to be flexible and agile.
” Shalonda Baldwin , who worked with Johnson in San Francisco and L.A. , said she “ knows the business of transportation , she understands public governance and she ’ s about consensus-building .
I don ’ t doubt her ability to move RTD at this time.
” Whatever shakes out , RTD ’ s board and its new leader are largely in tune as they begin “ this new adventure , ” as Chair Angie Rivera-Malpiede @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Folska , who represents parts of the east and southeast metro area : “ I think she ’ s going to do wonderful , wonderful things for the district .
People — whether they use RTD or they don ’ t — will benefit from having a great public transit system that ’ s multimodal.
” Union President Lance Longenbohn says he is hopeful about the approach Johnson will bring after hearing favorable word from his counterparts elsewhere and speaking with her last week .
He sees potential for improvement in working conditions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ included significant overtime because of an operator shortage that forced frequent cancellations of bus and train runs .
“ RTD used to be a job where people literally lined up the block to try to get the job , ” Longenbohn said .
“ And you know , we ’ ve lost that .
We ’ ve become a company that is no longer a shining example .
It ’ s unfortunately ( become ) the company that is looked at as , ‘ What ’ s the problem , what the heck @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will start her new role with an early celebration when RTD opens the N-Line , a 13-mile commuter rail line from Denver to Thornton , on Sept. 21 .
But much of the fall agenda will be heavy .
The same day , RTD is set to begin a monthlong trial in Denver District Court to settle disputes with Denver Transit Partners , the private consortium that built and operates three other FasTracks rail lines .
They ’ re fighting over reimbursement claims for significant costs that resulted from finicky crossing-gate technology .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ RTD , which has lodged $ 27 million in counter-claims .
Meanwhile , RTD ’ s board is weighing options to close a pandemic-driven shortfall next year that ’ s projected at $ 166 million , or roughly 20 % of the operating budget .
Amid all the uncertainty , some board members recently urged a pause in RTD ’ s underway Reimagine RTD initiative , which has sought community input to craft a long-term plan for its future , separate from the new state review committee .
Malcolm Heinicke , a San @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who stepped down this year , has kept in touch with Johnson all these years .
He isn ’ t surprised to see her reach her goal of leading an agency — especially one with deep issues .
He was among those who entrusted her to fill that agency ’ s interim CEO role for about two months in 2011 , after the top two leaders stepped down during a time of labor strife .
He credited Johnson with helping to repair some of the agency ’ s problems .
Heinicke suggested she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Denver .
“ Let me put it this way : I know for a fact that Debra had many options for where she could take her career , ” he said .
“ And I think it speaks to her dedication and passion that she chose this opportunity and all the challenges that come with it .
”

The incoming leader of the Regional Transportation District has overseen huge budgets and dug into daily operational details at other transit agencies. She has negotiated difficult labor contracts, including in a city notorious for union strife.
She’s also managed a board of directors rife with complexity and conflicting interests.
Debra Johnson will need all of those skills in Denver when she takes the reins as RTD’s new general manager and CEO, inside and outside observers say. She’s coming aboard at a time when the metro area’s transit provider faces not only tremendous fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, but also budget imbalances, underfunded rail projects, and an outside review that kicked off this month.
That review could recommend drastic changes to the setup of the 51-year-old district, which has struggled to repair fraying public trust caused in part by service cuts and fare hikes.
The last time RTD hired a new boss from outside the agency was in 1995, when it tapped Cal Marsella in another time of turmoil. He would become the father of FasTracks, the massive transit expansion approved by voters in 2004.
With its vote Tuesday for Johnson, who’s spent six years at Long Beach Transit as deputy CEO, the elected board made history by installing a woman in the top job for the first time.
“I think it’s good they went for an outsider. It’s clear the agency really needs some new blood,” said David Bragdon, the executive director of TransitCenter, a New York City-based research and advocacy organization.
Johnson will confront problems here that have also plagued her most recent employers, which include agencies in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Chief among them: years of falling or stagnating ridership, long before the pandemic shoved those numbers over a cliff earlier this year, along with tax revenue. As of earlier this month, RTD’s average weekday ridership had recovered slightly but still was at about 140,000, down 60% from normal.
Bragdon likes what he sees in Johnson’s background, suggesting her extensive experience with operations could help guide the agency to new long-term thinking. He’s long been critical of RTD’s focus on building suburban commuter rail lines at the expense of expanded urban bus service under the $5.6 billion-and-counting FasTracks initiative.
“RTD basically became a construction company for a number of years and basically overlooked the nuts and bolts of operating,” he said.
But the new CEO will have a bumpy political landscape to navigate, reporting to one of the few elected transit boards in the country — a body made up of members representing 15 districts across a sprawling service area covering 2,342 square miles. There’s also high outside interest in how RTD operates that goes all the way up to the Colorado governor’s office.
Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, is among the state politicians behind a new “accountability committee” that began meeting this month to perform an independent top-to-bottom review of RTD over the next year. He talks about the need for new approaches — while remaining adamant that RTD also must finish the way-underfunded $1.5 billion northwest commuter rail line promised to voters in Longmont and Boulder, where he lives.
Relationship-driven leader who’s “politically astute”
Johnson, who’s still negotiating a contract and salary with RTD, was not available for an interview last week. But in her public video presentation for the job, it was clear she was seeking to fulfill a career ambition.
Though this will be her first time as CEO, aside from a brief interim stint at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, she said: “I have been preparing to lead at this level for more than 25 years.”
Those who have worked with her say that’s not an overstatement.
Former colleagues, a former agency board member and her current boss portrayed Johnson as a relationship-driven leader who works long hours, building trust within their agencies and in their communities that has outlasted her. Her rise accelerated in San Francisco, where she was director of administration, safety and training from 2007 to 2012.
She left to become deputy chief operations officer at the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority, where she says she developed a $1.1 billion annual operating budget.
In San Francisco, during a particularly acrimonious period, she didn’t hesitate to visit warring labor representatives on their own turf, inside their union halls, recalled Kenneth A. McDonald, SFMTA’s chief operating officer at the time.
That showed courage, said McDonald, now the CEO of Long Beach Transit, which serves more than a dozen cities in Southern California. In 2014, he recruited Johnson from Los Angeles to be his No. 2.
“She is very politically astute,” he said in an interview. “The ability to negotiate through competing agendas is something she does every day. To do that, you have to be flexible and agile.”
Shalonda Baldwin, who worked with Johnson in San Francisco and L.A., said she “knows the business of transportation, she understands public governance and she’s about consensus-building. I don’t doubt her ability to move RTD at this time.”
Whatever shakes out, RTD’s board and its new leader are largely in tune as they begin “this new adventure,” as Chair Angie Rivera-Malpiede put it Tuesday.
Added Director Claudia Folska, who represents parts of the east and southeast metro area: “I think she’s going to do wonderful, wonderful things for the district. People — whether they use RTD or they don’t — will benefit from having a great public transit system that’s multimodal.”
Union President Lance Longenbohn says he is hopeful about the approach Johnson will bring after hearing favorable word from his counterparts elsewhere and speaking with her last week.
He sees potential for improvement in working conditions — which, before the pandemic, included significant overtime because of an operator shortage that forced frequent cancellations of bus and train runs.
“RTD used to be a job where people literally lined up the block to try to get the job,” Longenbohn said. “And you know, we’ve lost that. We’ve become a company that is no longer a shining example. It’s unfortunately (become) the company that is looked at as, ‘What’s the problem, what the heck is going on?’”
Rough waters to navigate at RTD
Johnson will start her new role with an early celebration when RTD opens the N-Line, a 13-mile commuter rail line from Denver to Thornton, on Sept. 21.
But much of the fall agenda will be heavy.
The same day, RTD is set to begin a monthlong trial in Denver District Court to settle disputes with Denver Transit Partners, the private consortium that built and operates three other FasTracks rail lines. They’re fighting over reimbursement claims for significant costs that resulted from finicky crossing-gate technology. DTP now seeks $111 million from RTD, which has lodged $27 million in counter-claims.
Meanwhile, RTD’s board is weighing options to close a pandemic-driven shortfall next year that’s projected at $166 million, or roughly 20% of the operating budget.
Amid all the uncertainty, some board members recently urged a pause in RTD’s underway Reimagine RTD initiative, which has sought community input to craft a long-term plan for its future, separate from the new state review committee.
Malcolm Heinicke, a San Francisco lawyer and longtime SFMTA board member who stepped down this year, has kept in touch with Johnson all these years. He isn’t surprised to see her reach her goal of leading an agency — especially one with deep issues.
He was among those who entrusted her to fill that agency’s interim CEO role for about two months in 2011, after the top two leaders stepped down during a time of labor strife. He credited Johnson with helping to repair some of the agency’s problems.
Heinicke suggested she’s clear-eyed about what awaits in Denver.
“Let me put it this way: I know for a fact that Debra had many options for where she could take her career,” he said. “And I think it speaks to her dedication and passion that she chose this opportunity and all the challenges that come with it.”


thedenverpost--2020-08-30--As San Luis Valley’s water shortage intensifies, Gov. Jared Polis mulls climate warming adaptation

CENTER — The sun beat down , baking Colorado ’ s bone-dry , cracking San Luis Valley , where farmers for eight years have been trying to save their depleted underground water but are falling behind .
They ’ re fighting to survive at an epicenter of the West ’ s worsening water squeeze amid a 20-year shift to aridity .
Federal data this past week placed 93 % of Colorado in “ severe , ” “ extreme ” or “ exceptional ” drought .
And Gov .
Jared Polis was listening now , as a group of farmers sat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ frowning , frustration etched on their faces — down by 150,000 acre-feet of water below their aquifer-pumping target as the driest months begin .
“ We ’ re about as lean as we possibly can be .
We ’ ve re-nozzled our sprinklers .
Our pumping is as efficient as it possibly can be .
We ’ re trying different crops , ” said Tyler Mitchell , who had cut his water use by 30 % after installing soil moisture sensors and shifting from barley to quinoa .
“ But , at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too many businesses that are trying to stay in business .
I don ’ t know how we can reduce pumping more than we already have.
” How to adapt to a hotter , drier world is emerging as a do-or-die mission for people living around the arid West .
Polis was in the San Luis Valley on Tuesday , embarking on a potentially groundbreaking statewide effort to explore solutions amid increasingly harsh impacts of climate warming , including wildfires burning more than 300 square miles of western Colorado .
“ It is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ making preparations , ” the governor said as he bounced along a dirt road between stops in the valley , the start of what administration officials cast as a continuing drought tour .
Average temperatures will keep rising for decades , federal climate scientists say , based on the thickening global atmospheric concentration of heat-trapping carbon dioxide , now around 412 parts per million , the highest in human history .
Heat is depleting water across the Colorado and Rio Grande river basins , where more than 50 million people live .
Nowhere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than here in the Massachusetts-sized , predominantly Hispanic , low-income San Luis Valley between the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan mountains of southern Colorado .
Ute and Apache natives migrated through , sensing nature ’ s limits .
Spanish settlers set up small-scale farming in the 18th century using an intricate Moorish irrigation system .
Modern commercial farming exploded after the 1950s , when economic development promoters invited production of potatoes and hay that led farmers to drill 6,000 wells and install 2,700 center-pivots to irrigate 120-acre crop circles — temporarily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But the pumping drained underground water after 1976 by roughly 1 million acre-feet , state records show .
This year , the winter mountain snowpack that determines surface water flow in the Rio Grande River measured 33 % of normal in spring .
Rainfall so far , 2.7 inches , lags at around 38 % of average .
And the Rio Grande barely trickles , at 7 cubic feet per second , leaving Colorado toward New Mexico and Texas .
Those similarly drought-stricken states count on shares of surface water in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Colorado farmers ’ fallback habit of pumping more from the aquifers connected to the river — water use that is restricted under a locally-run , state-ordered conservation plan — has obliterated water savings painstakingly gained since 2012 .
The 150,000 acre-feet draw-down this year hurled farmers practically back to their starting point .
And a state-enforced deadline of 2030 for restoring the aquifer to a healthy level looms .
If not met , state authorities could take control over wells .
Rio Grande Water Conservation District manager Cleave Simpson said recovery now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — 4.5 times this year ’ s draw-down .
Gnawing at farmers ’ nerves , developers from Colorado ’ s booming-yet-water-limited Front Range suburbs 180 miles away propose to buy up water rights from valley farmers and siphon away 22,000 acre-feet of water a year from 14 wells drilled 2,000 feet deep at the base of the Sangre de Cristos .
This push by Renewable Water Resources , with former Gov .
Bill Owens as a principal , would entail building a pipeline costing $ 250 million or more and pumping water northward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Polis looked out the windows of a black utility vehicle and saw devastation spreading as climate warming impacts hit home .
Hot wind churned dust around farms now abandoned and rented to newcomers struggling to get by .
San Luis Valley leaders have estimated that low flows and falling water tables may lead to the dry-up of 100,000 irrigated acres , a fifth of the farmland in a valley where residents depend economically and culturally on growing food .
He saw farm crews toiling , coaxing the most from their heavy machinery , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and even reportedly pulled up just air .
He said he sees different dimensions of problems around climate warming .
On one hand , human emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases “ are going up , ” Polis said .
“ But , then , here in this world , it is about adapting to what is happening .
I mean , the global effort needs to succeed .
Climate change needs to slow down .
Colorado is just a teeny piece of that — a fundamental issue affecting the entire world .
America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Paris accords .
I hope we return , and have a concerted international effort .
“ But it is also a reality for how these farmers put food on their plate , for how their communities thrive in a drier and hotter world .
… The same crops we have been growing , with one water and warm temperature profile , don ’ t work with the way things are now.
” Colorado agriculture commissioner Kate Greenberg said state leaders also will hear from producers enduring dry times on the Eastern Plains , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Agriculture statewide “ is hurting ” and the San Luis Valley stands out as “ ground zero ” in a water squeeze due to low snow , shrinking aquifers , drought and competing demands from inside and outside the valley .
Legal obligations to leave water for New Mexico and Texas compel cuts that complicate solutions , Greenberg said .
“ Everyone who is working on this issue here in the valley still hopes there ’ s a way to thread the needle .
Of course , the state of Colorado has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreements in the interstate compacts , ” she said .
“ How do we keep farmers and ranchers in business , keep agriculture as the driver of our economy , and use less water ?
” Few of the farmers on the patio meeting with the governor saw much that state governments can do in the face of a possible environmental collapse .
Many have concluded that , as Jim Erlich said , “ we ’ re going to be farming less here.
” Some anticipated an agricultural landscape looking more like western @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possibilities .
And they were sticking together for the most part in opposing the developers ’ plans to siphon water to cities .
Polis called climate warming “ the new normal.
” He asked the farmers : “ Where does it lead ?
Do you see a way forward ?
” State projections show conditions for at lest 15 years will be “ likely hotter and drier… What does that mean in terms of crop mix ?
What does it mean in terms of sustainability ?
What does it mean in communities ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said they ’ ll push ahead in the “ sub-districts ” they ’ ve formed to encourage saving groundwater — as an alternative to state engineer authorities controlling wells .
They now pay fees for pumping and pooled funds can be used to pay farmers for leaving fields fallow .
“ We do all that , ” Simpson said .
“ And we still lose ground.
” An entrepreneurial businessman , Polis pushed toward what might be done to create better markets for crops , such as “ Colorado quinoa ” that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ perspective .
“ I mean , agriculture does occur in dry parts of the world .
It has to work from a water perspective.
” Farmers getting by here have adapted , in some cases radically adjusting entrenched practices .
Hemp grower Dion Oakes stood by as late afternoon temperatures topped 80 degrees .
Seven years ago , his family ’ s water situation looked so dire that he ditched potatoes in favor of hemp , which uses half as much water .
Oakes harvested 3,500 acres of hemp last year and 1,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in China .
U.S. garment designers led by Patagonia have committed to buy from those Chinese factories .
On Tuesday , a gaggle of Patagonia promoters gathered with Polis in a hemp field , filming as the governor touted opportunities .
Oakes looked on .
“ Our main reason to get hemp was the water use .
We didn ’ t know anything about hemp .
All we knew was it uses less water , ” he said in an interview .
Patagonia ’ s role creating a new market was playing out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his farm , and another six at a processing facility — a capacity he said must expand .
Yet amid early signs of success , Oakes worried about dry times hitting too hard and driving other farmers out of the valley .
Shutting down wells to meet the 2030 deadline , if that happens , “ is going to totally disrupt this valley , ” he said .
“ It would take us out of here , too .
Community is key.
” At another farm , Brendon and Sheldon Rockey showed Polis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use of water from wells by 50 % and prospered , growing 25 types of potatoes , shifting off water-intensive crops such as barley and planting more “ Colorado Quinoa ” along with a half dozen other growers .
Fallow fields fertilized with cows and planted with restorative “ cover crops ” help boost productivity by improving soil , Brendon Rockey told the governor .
“ I don ’ t have a mono-culture anywhere on this farm.
” As president of the potato producers ’ council and leader of a water-saving sub-district , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ optimistically despite increased stress around the depletion of aquifers .
“ We can still make it back , ” he said , “ if we have snow.
” Polis planned on listening more in the coming months .
“ I ’ m impressed by the resilience of our farmers , finding a way to get through , ” he said .
Some families had farmed for nearly a century , creating a vibrant , self-reliant culture .
“ Hemp is part of the answer , ” the governor said .
And he told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that require moving water out of one river basin to another , pointing to past cases where “ buy-and-dry ” practices decimated Colorado communities .
Polis also suggested a relaxed state approach to the 2030 deadline for replenishing the shrinking aquifer .
“ It is about the long-term trends .
… whether goals are being met .
There ’ s nothing that would ever be done based on one bad year.
” The farmers were hanging on that .
“ He is genuinely interested in providing what support the state can to help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Simpson concluded following this first meeting .
But “ farmers are frustrated , ” he said , emphasizing that aquifer recovery can happen only “ if mother nature brings snow.
” And Polis left with a more detailed sense of the stakes .
“ What we want here is sustainability .
That ’ s why I oppose trans-basin water diversions , ” he said .
“ But we have to make sure that farmers here today don ’ t live at the expense of farmers here tomorrow and the next decade .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ water is sold off , or the water is used up , it will become a dust bowl .
”

CENTER — The sun beat down, baking Colorado’s bone-dry, cracking San Luis Valley, where farmers for eight years have been trying to save their depleted underground water but are falling behind.
They’re fighting to survive at an epicenter of the West’s worsening water squeeze amid a 20-year shift to aridity. Federal data this past week placed 93% of Colorado in “severe,” “extreme” or “exceptional” drought .
And Gov. Jared Polis was listening now, as a group of farmers sat around a patio shaking their heads, frowning, frustration etched on their faces — down by 150,000 acre-feet of water below their aquifer-pumping target as the driest months begin.
“We’re about as lean as we possibly can be. We’ve re-nozzled our sprinklers. Our pumping is as efficient as it possibly can be. We’re trying different crops,” said Tyler Mitchell, who had cut his water use by 30% after installing soil moisture sensors and shifting from barley to quinoa. “But, at the end of the day, we have too many businesses that are trying to stay in business. I don’t know how we can reduce pumping more than we already have.”
How to adapt to a hotter, drier world is emerging as a do-or-die mission for people living around the arid West. Polis was in the San Luis Valley on Tuesday, embarking on a potentially groundbreaking statewide effort to explore solutions amid increasingly harsh impacts of climate warming, including wildfires burning more than 300 square miles of western Colorado.
“It is about building resilience. It is about making preparations,” the governor said as he bounced along a dirt road between stops in the valley, the start of what administration officials cast as a continuing drought tour.
Average temperatures will keep rising for decades, federal climate scientists say, based on the thickening global atmospheric concentration of heat-trapping carbon dioxide, now around 412 parts per million, the highest in human history. Heat is depleting water across the Colorado and Rio Grande river basins, where more than 50 million people live.
Nowhere have climate warming impacts exacerbated local difficulties more than here in the Massachusetts-sized, predominantly Hispanic, low-income San Luis Valley between the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan mountains of southern Colorado.
Ute and Apache natives migrated through, sensing nature’s limits. Spanish settlers set up small-scale farming in the 18th century using an intricate Moorish irrigation system. Modern commercial farming exploded after the 1950s, when economic development promoters invited production of potatoes and hay that led farmers to drill 6,000 wells and install 2,700 center-pivots to irrigate 120-acre crop circles — temporarily turning naturally soft-hued scrub terrain bright green.
But the pumping drained underground water after 1976 by roughly 1 million acre-feet, state records show.
This year, the winter mountain snowpack that determines surface water flow in the Rio Grande River measured 33% of normal in spring. Rainfall so far, 2.7 inches, lags at around 38% of average.
And the Rio Grande barely trickles, at 7 cubic feet per second, leaving Colorado toward New Mexico and Texas. Those similarly drought-stricken states count on shares of surface water in the river under a 1938 interstate legal agreement.
Colorado farmers’ fallback habit of pumping more from the aquifers connected to the river — water use that is restricted under a locally-run, state-ordered conservation plan — has obliterated water savings painstakingly gained since 2012.
The 150,000 acre-feet draw-down this year hurled farmers practically back to their starting point. And a state-enforced deadline of 2030 for restoring the aquifer to a healthy level looms. If not met, state authorities could take control over wells.
Rio Grande Water Conservation District manager Cleave Simpson said recovery now requires a snow-dependent gain of 680,000 acre-feet — 4.5 times this year’s draw-down.
Gnawing at farmers’ nerves, developers from Colorado’s booming-yet-water-limited Front Range suburbs 180 miles away propose to buy up water rights from valley farmers and siphon away 22,000 acre-feet of water a year from 14 wells drilled 2,000 feet deep at the base of the Sangre de Cristos. This push by Renewable Water Resources, with former Gov. Bill Owens as a principal, would entail building a pipeline costing $250 million or more and pumping water northward over Poncha Pass toward expanding suburbs.
“A drier and hotter world”
Polis looked out the windows of a black utility vehicle and saw devastation spreading as climate warming impacts hit home. Hot wind churned dust around farms now abandoned and rented to newcomers struggling to get by. San Luis Valley leaders have estimated that low flows and falling water tables may lead to the dry-up of 100,000 irrigated acres, a fifth of the farmland in a valley where residents depend economically and culturally on growing food.
He saw farm crews toiling, coaxing the most from their heavy machinery, after flows from some wells had diminished and even reportedly pulled up just air.
He said he sees different dimensions of problems around climate warming.
On one hand, human emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases “are going up,” Polis said. “But, then, here in this world, it is about adapting to what is happening. I mean, the global effort needs to succeed. Climate change needs to slow down. Colorado is just a teeny piece of that — a fundamental issue affecting the entire world. America never should have pulled out of the Paris accords. I hope we return, and have a concerted international effort.
“But it is also a reality for how these farmers put food on their plate, for how their communities thrive in a drier and hotter world. … The same crops we have been growing, with one water and warm temperature profile, don’t work with the way things are now.”
Colorado agriculture commissioner Kate Greenberg said state leaders also will hear from producers enduring dry times on the Eastern Plains, where wheat harvests are expected to suffer. Agriculture statewide “is hurting” and the San Luis Valley stands out as “ground zero” in a water squeeze due to low snow, shrinking aquifers, drought and competing demands from inside and outside the valley. Legal obligations to leave water for New Mexico and Texas compel cuts that complicate solutions, Greenberg said.
“Everyone who is working on this issue here in the valley still hopes there’s a way to thread the needle. Of course, the state of Colorado has to protect itself legally and uphold their agreements in the interstate compacts,” she said. “How do we keep farmers and ranchers in business, keep agriculture as the driver of our economy, and use less water?”
Few of the farmers on the patio meeting with the governor saw much that state governments can do in the face of a possible environmental collapse.
Many have concluded that, as Jim Erlich said, “we’re going to be farming less here.” Some anticipated an agricultural landscape looking more like western Kansas.
But the farmers also saw possibilities. And they were sticking together for the most part in opposing the developers’ plans to siphon water to cities.
Polis called climate warming “the new normal.” He asked the farmers: “Where does it lead? Do you see a way forward?” State projections show conditions for at lest 15 years will be “likely hotter and drier… What does that mean in terms of crop mix? What does it mean in terms of sustainability? What does it mean in communities?”
The farmers, about a dozen, said they’ll push ahead in the “sub-districts” they’ve formed to encourage saving groundwater — as an alternative to state engineer authorities controlling wells. They now pay fees for pumping and pooled funds can be used to pay farmers for leaving fields fallow.
“We do all that,” Simpson said. “And we still lose ground.”
An entrepreneurial businessman, Polis pushed toward what might be done to create better markets for crops, such as “Colorado quinoa” that use less water, giving a global perspective. “I mean, agriculture does occur in dry parts of the world. It has to work from a water perspective.”
“Community is key”
Farmers getting by here have adapted, in some cases radically adjusting entrenched practices.
Hemp grower Dion Oakes stood by as late afternoon temperatures topped 80 degrees. Seven years ago, his family’s water situation looked so dire that he ditched potatoes in favor of hemp, which uses half as much water. Oakes harvested 3,500 acres of hemp last year and 1,000 so far this year — supplying factories in China.
U.S. garment designers led by Patagonia have committed to buy from those Chinese factories.
On Tuesday, a gaggle of Patagonia promoters gathered with Polis in a hemp field, filming as the governor touted opportunities.
Oakes looked on. “Our main reason to get hemp was the water use. We didn’t know anything about hemp. All we knew was it uses less water,” he said in an interview.
Patagonia’s role creating a new market was playing out nicely. Oakes employed three workers on his farm, and another six at a processing facility — a capacity he said must expand.
Yet amid early signs of success, Oakes worried about dry times hitting too hard and driving other farmers out of the valley. Shutting down wells to meet the 2030 deadline, if that happens, “is going to totally disrupt this valley,” he said. “It would take us out of here, too. Community is key.”
At another farm, Brendon and Sheldon Rockey showed Polis around. They’ve reduced their use of water from wells by 50% and prospered, growing 25 types of potatoes, shifting off water-intensive crops such as barley and planting more “Colorado Quinoa” along with a half dozen other growers.
Fallow fields fertilized with cows and planted with restorative “cover crops” help boost productivity by improving soil, Brendon Rockey told the governor. “I don’t have a mono-culture anywhere on this farm.”
As president of the potato producers’ council and leader of a water-saving sub-district, Sheldon Rockey is encouraging other farmers — optimistically despite increased stress around the depletion of aquifers. “We can still make it back,” he said, “if we have snow.”
Polis planned on listening more in the coming months.
“I’m impressed by the resilience of our farmers, finding a way to get through,” he said.
Some families had farmed for nearly a century, creating a vibrant, self-reliant culture.
“Hemp is part of the answer,” the governor said. And he told farmers repeatedly that he opposes water projects that require moving water out of one river basin to another, pointing to past cases where “buy-and-dry” practices decimated Colorado communities.
Polis also suggested a relaxed state approach to the 2030 deadline for replenishing the shrinking aquifer. “It is about the long-term trends. … whether goals are being met. There’s nothing that would ever be done based on one bad year.”
The farmers were hanging on that.
“He is genuinely interested in providing what support the state can to help with our water balance challenges,” Simpson concluded following this first meeting.
But “farmers are frustrated,” he said, emphasizing that aquifer recovery can happen only “if mother nature brings snow.”
And Polis left with a more detailed sense of the stakes.
“What we want here is sustainability. That’s why I oppose trans-basin water diversions,” he said. “But we have to make sure that farmers here today don’t live at the expense of farmers here tomorrow and the next decade. This valley is about agriculture. If the water is sold off, or the water is used up, it will become a dust bowl.”


thedenverpost--2020-08-30--Colorado’s Medicaid numbers are rising more slowly than expected, but state is on guard for a late s

Colorado’s Medicaid numbers are rising more slowly than expected, but state is on guard for a late surge

Colorado ’ s Medicaid numbers aren ’ t surging as fast as predicted amid COVID-fueled joblessness , but the program ’ s administrators aren ’ t relaxing yet , since federal decisions and the economy ’ s unpredictable trajectory could still force them to come up with additional funding .
The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing had estimated about 500,000 people in the state could enroll in Medicaid by December .
The Colorado Health Institute had estimated the number of new members could be closer to 563,000 , which would mean about one-third of the state ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So far , the increase has been more modest , but it ’ s difficult to predict the trajectory only one month into the fiscal year , said Kim Bimestefer , HCPF ’ s executive director .
The number of people enrolled in Medicaid in Colorado increased by about 100,000 from February to mid-August , topping 1.3 million .
There hasn ’ t been a large increase in people buying insurance through the marketplace , either .
About 159,000 people had coverage through plans they bought on the marketplace as of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 18,000 more than were enrolled at the same time in 2019 , said Monica Caballeros , spokeswoman for Connect for Health Colorado .
Most of that growth came from the special enrollment period from late March through the end of April , she said .
People who lose a job can buy coverage through the marketplace , but they have to do it within 60 days of losing their old health insurance .
HCPF has since revised its estimate to predict 427,000 people in Colorado could enroll in Medicaid by the end of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the department might need to raise that number again if a second virus surge causes more layoffs , parents have to drop out of the workforce to supervise at-home learning , or the federal government extends a policy of allowing more people to stay on Medicaid .
The department is working with the Office of State Budget Planning to project how much it might cost to cover newly eligible people under different scenarios , she said .
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services declared a public health emergency in March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Medicaid until Oct. 25 .
That means HCPF isn ’ t conducting the annual reviews to determine if a household isn ’ t eligible for coverage anymore because they increased their income or moved out-of-state , Bimestefer said .
By October , they estimate about 200,000 people will be up for review , though most probably will still be eligible because incomes usually don ’ t increase during a recession , she said .
Medicaid , a joint federal and state program , is the largest source of health insurance in the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Children ’ s Health Insurance Program — to more than 72.5 million Americans of limited means , according to the federal government .
Why are numbers lower than expected ?
Colorado ’ s lower-than-expected enrollment numbers could reflect people dealing with more pressing issues first , said Adam Fox , director of strategic engagement at the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative .
“ Many of them are focused on keeping a roof over their heads or keeping food on the table , ” he said .
Some people also may expect they ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new job quickly , Bimesteffer said .
If the job market remains difficult for a prolonged time , more of those people may decide to find out if they qualify for Medicaid , she said .
A survey of unemployed people conducted with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment found about one-fifth of those who didn ’ t have insurance planned to apply for Medicaid , Bimesteffer said .
About 46 % said they planned to stay uninsured , which is especially concerning now , because people without insurance tend to delay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consequences , she said .
“ That ’ s not OK during a pandemic , ” she said .
It ’ s possible that people don ’ t realize they qualify for Medicaid , Fox said .
The program calculates eligibility on a monthly basis , so people who previously earned too much might qualify if they haven ’ t been able to find another job , he said .
A single adult who isn ’ t pregnant can earn up to $ 1,415 per month , and a family of four can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and pregnant adults may be eligible for a different state-run program , even if their income is higher than those cutoffs .
If a surge in enrollment does come , the impact on hospital finances would be substantial , said Emily Johnson , director of policy analysis at the Colorado Health Institute .
The difference between what Medicaid pays and what most commercial insurance plans pay for the same care would mean a substantially larger hit to hospital revenues than any of the payment changes posed in the legislature this year , she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of those other proposals ” in projections , she said .
The federal portion of the Medicaid budget increased from 50 % to 56.5 % , which has helped absorb some of the state ’ s costs , Johnson said .
Still , they ’ ll likely have to put off rate increases for providers or new benefits like expanded addiction treatment if the number of members increases substantially , she said .
The impact on patients seeking care looks like it could be less severe , however , Johnson said .
Providers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more patients covered by Medicaid , and were more concerned people would continue to put off non-emergency care , she said .
“ Even the providers who aren ’ t super worried about the Medicaid surge are worried about the decrease in demand for services , ” she said .
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Colorado’s Medicaid numbers aren’t surging as fast as predicted amid COVID-fueled joblessness, but the program’s administrators aren’t relaxing yet, since federal decisions and the economy’s unpredictable trajectory could still force them to come up with additional funding.
The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing had estimated about 500,000 people in the state could enroll in Medicaid by December. The Colorado Health Institute had estimated the number of new members could be closer to 563,000, which would mean about one-third of the state’s residents would be covered by Medicaid.
So far, the increase has been more modest, but it’s difficult to predict the trajectory only one month into the fiscal year, said Kim Bimestefer, HCPF’s executive director. The number of people enrolled in Medicaid in Colorado increased by about 100,000 from February to mid-August, topping 1.3 million.
There hasn’t been a large increase in people buying insurance through the marketplace, either. About 159,000 people had coverage through plans they bought on the marketplace as of the end of July, which is about 18,000 more than were enrolled at the same time in 2019, said Monica Caballeros, spokeswoman for Connect for Health Colorado.
Most of that growth came from the special enrollment period from late March through the end of April, she said. People who lose a job can buy coverage through the marketplace, but they have to do it within 60 days of losing their old health insurance.
HCPF has since revised its estimate to predict 427,000 people in Colorado could enroll in Medicaid by the end of next June. But, Bimestefer said, the department might need to raise that number again if a second virus surge causes more layoffs, parents have to drop out of the workforce to supervise at-home learning, or the federal government extends a policy of allowing more people to stay on Medicaid.
The department is working with the Office of State Budget Planning to project how much it might cost to cover newly eligible people under different scenarios, she said.
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services declared a public health emergency in March, preventing states from removing anyone from Medicaid until Oct. 25. That means HCPF isn’t conducting the annual reviews to determine if a household isn’t eligible for coverage anymore because they increased their income or moved out-of-state, Bimestefer said. By October, they estimate about 200,000 people will be up for review, though most probably will still be eligible because incomes usually don’t increase during a recession, she said.
Medicaid, a joint federal and state program, is the largest source of health insurance in the United States, providing coverage — along with the Children’s Health Insurance Program — to more than 72.5 million Americans of limited means, according to the federal government.
Why are numbers lower than expected?
Colorado’s lower-than-expected enrollment numbers could reflect people dealing with more pressing issues first, said Adam Fox, director of strategic engagement at the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative.
“Many of them are focused on keeping a roof over their heads or keeping food on the table,” he said.
Some people also may expect they’ll be hired back or find a new job quickly, Bimestefer said. If the job market remains difficult for a prolonged time, more of those people may decide to find out if they qualify for Medicaid, she said.
A survey of unemployed people conducted with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment found about one-fifth of those who didn’t have insurance planned to apply for Medicaid, Bimestefer said. About 46% said they planned to stay uninsured, which is especially concerning now, because people without insurance tend to delay care due to fear of the financial consequences, she said.
“That’s not OK during a pandemic,” she said.
It’s possible that people don’t realize they qualify for Medicaid, Fox said. The program calculates eligibility on a monthly basis, so people who previously earned too much might qualify if they haven’t been able to find another job, he said. A single adult who isn’t pregnant can earn up to $1,415 per month, and a family of four can make up to $2,904. Children and pregnant adults may be eligible for a different state-run program, even if their income is higher than those cutoffs.
Concerns about enrollment surge
If a surge in enrollment does come, the impact on hospital finances would be substantial, said Emily Johnson, director of policy analysis at the Colorado Health Institute. The difference between what Medicaid pays and what most commercial insurance plans pay for the same care would mean a substantially larger hit to hospital revenues than any of the payment changes posed in the legislature this year, she said
“That dwarfed the financial impact of those other proposals” in projections, she said.
The federal portion of the Medicaid budget increased from 50% to 56.5%, which has helped absorb some of the state’s costs, Johnson said. Still, they’ll likely have to put off rate increases for providers or new benefits like expanded addiction treatment if the number of members increases substantially, she said.
The impact on patients seeking care looks like it could be less severe, however, Johnson said. Providers they interviewed felt prepared to take on more patients covered by Medicaid, and were more concerned people would continue to put off non-emergency care, she said.
“Even the providers who aren’t super worried about the Medicaid surge are worried about the decrease in demand for services,” she said.
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thedenverpost--2020-08-30--Broncos Insider: Several issues for Vic Fangio and Co., to address during final week of camp

In normal times , an NFL ’ s 12th practice would arrive in mid-June during mandatory mini-camp .
But the coronavirus pandemic sent normal times packing until at least 2021 , meaning the Broncos ’ 12th practice this year , Saturday at Mile High , was 16 days before their season opener against Tennessee .
Coach Vic Fangio was asked for a status report on his team .
“ I like our team , ” he said .
“ I like where we ’ re at .
Obviously , we wish some of the guys who have missed time with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ five days of practice this coming week before we get into Tennessee Week and these are probably the most valuable practices we ’ ll have in camp .
We have to take advantage of them , iron some things out , get sharp and get ready for our opener.
” Fangio said the Broncos will practice five times ( Monday-Friday ) before Saturday ’ s cutdown to 53 players .
A few of the issues Fangio and his staff have to figure out : Starting center .
Austin Schlottmann had the first-team advantage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a bunch of starter snaps last week .
Ideally , the Broncos have their center situation figured out by Sept. 8 , the first regular season practice .
No .
3 cornerback .
Fangio has consistently said Davonte Harris , De ’ Vante Bausby and Isaac Yiadom haven ’ t separated themselves yet .
Well , the clock is ticking .
( Rookie Michael Ojemudia never got into the mix because of his quad injury ) .
How many tight ends ?
The Broncos ’ tight ends , all of them , have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ isn ’ t room for all of them on the 53-man roster .
The starters are Noah Fant and Nick Vannett .
Rookie Albert Okwuegbunam has dazzled .
Andrew Beck likely makes it as a hybrid tight end/fullback .
That leaves one spot for Jake Butt and Troy Fumagalli .
Receiver KJ Hamler ’ s status .
Hamler has missed seven consecutive practices with a hamstring injury .
He could be a candidate to be placed on injured reserve , which for this year means he can return after only three weeks .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Alexander Johnson and Josey Jewell will make the roster , but then things get complicated .
Joe Jones or Josh Watson ?
Special teams coordinator Tom McMahon will have a big say in this decision .
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In normal times, an NFL’s 12th practice would arrive in mid-June during mandatory mini-camp.
But the coronavirus pandemic sent normal times packing until at least 2021, meaning the Broncos’ 12th practice this year, Saturday at Mile High, was 16 days before their season opener against Tennessee.
Coach Vic Fangio was asked for a status report on his team.
“I like our team,” he said. “I like where we’re at. Obviously, we wish some of the guys who have missed time with nagging injuries were practicing. We have five days of practice this coming week before we get into Tennessee Week and these are probably the most valuable practices we’ll have in camp. We have to take advantage of them, iron some things out, get sharp and get ready for our opener.”
Fangio said the Broncos will practice five times (Monday-Friday) before Saturday’s cutdown to 53 players.
A few of the issues Fangio and his staff have to figure out:
Starting center. Austin Schlottmann had the first-team advantage early, but rookie Lloyd Cushenberry received a bunch of starter snaps last week. Ideally, the Broncos have their center situation figured out by Sept. 8, the first regular season practice.
No. 3 cornerback. Fangio has consistently said Davonte Harris, De’Vante Bausby and Isaac Yiadom haven’t separated themselves yet. Well, the clock is ticking. (Rookie Michael Ojemudia never got into the mix because of his quad injury).
How many tight ends? The Broncos’ tight ends, all of them, have made plays throughout camp, but there isn’t room for all of them on the 53-man roster. The starters are Noah Fant and Nick Vannett. Rookie Albert Okwuegbunam has dazzled. Andrew Beck likely makes it as a hybrid tight end/fullback. That leaves one spot for Jake Butt and Troy Fumagalli.
Receiver KJ Hamler’s status. Hamler has missed seven consecutive practices with a hamstring injury. He could be a candidate to be placed on injured reserve, which for this year means he can return after only three weeks.
Inside linebacker depth. Todd Davis, Alexander Johnson and Josey Jewell will make the roster, but then things get complicated. Joe Jones or Josh Watson? Special teams coordinator Tom McMahon will have a big say in this decision.
— Ryan O’Halloran, The Denver Post
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If you see something that’s cause for question or have a comment, thought or suggestion, email me at dboniface@denverpost.com or tweet me @danielboniface.