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Coloradans battle insurance companies to get medical treatments covered

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

Dr. Eric Shaw felt huge relief when he finally found a drug that stopped the allergic reaction that made it hard for him to swallow — and a significant blow when he learned his insurance company might not cover it.Shaw, a pediatrician in Littleton, has dealt with insurance denials when trying to get drugs approved for his patients, but said Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s delay in paying for his own treatment for eosinophilic esophagitis used a new tactic. The company refused to pay unless he got an endoscopy procedure examining his esophagus to check for a placebo effect, which is essentially unheard of, he said.The medication, called Dupixent, costs about $52,000 a year, and also has helped with his asthma, Shaw said.“My worry is this is just a means to deny me the medication,” he said. “To feel this helpless as a patient, even knowing how to navigate the system, has been a gut punch.”State and federal law gives insurance companies latitude to a...

5 bluegrass music festivals to hit in Colorado this summer

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

The Telluride Bluegrass Festival celebrates a milestone 50th anniversary in June, but because the event is notoriously an instant sell-out, it’s improbable to find passes this close to the festival dates.No worries, though, as Colorado is teeming with bluegrass music options throughout the summer months. Here are five festivals where you can get your pickin’ fix. (Note: This list does not include sold-out events such as Billy Strings’ Renewal in Buena Vista or RockyGrass Festival in Lyons.)GoldenGrass Bluegrass Weekend – June 1-4Live music and craft beer make an optimal pairing, and during the GoldenGrass Bluegrass Weekend at New Terrain Brewing Co. in Golden, the two will be inseparable. The brewery’s outdoor stage will host nearly a dozen local acts, such as Whitewater Ramble and Pick & Howl, as well as special events like yoga classes backed by live performances and attractions like face painting for kids and kids at heart. Music is free to enjoy and open to all ages, w...

Can you be an eco-friendly traveler in Denver?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

If nothing else, Earth Day each April serves as a reminder to be mindful of everyday habits — from how your home is powered to what you do with leftovers. Once you leave home though, how can you continue to reduce your carbon footprint as you explore the earth in pursuit of new experiences, sights and people?There are a few ways for visitors to Denver and other parts of Colorado to offset their environmental impact, from which businesses they choose to how they get around while here.TravelJeremy Papasso, Boulder Daily CameraBoulder resident Carolyn Hales takes a test ride on an electric bicycle during a demonstration event on Tuesday at the Gerald Stazio Softball Fields in Boulder.When travelers arrive at Denver International Airport, there are many choices for how to get into the city and beyond: rent a traditional gas car or truck; rent a hybrid or electric vehicle; take a gas, hybrid or EV taxi; ride the bus; or take the light rail train.Single-passenger vehicles are the le...

Get your kids in on a little home-ec action this summer

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

Somewhere between the time when I was hand-sewing a pillowcase in my low-tech, middle-school classroom and the arrival of TikTok shorts, public schools nationwide dropped practical courses such as home economics and shop.I’m by no means a master of the domestic arts, but FACS – short for Family and Consumer Sciences (it seems “home economics” had already undergone its rebranding by the time I reached puberty) – is one of the few classes I remember from my years in junior high.Even if these practical, skill-oriented courses haven’t faded away completely, their presence in Denver area schools is definitely on the decline. Who has the time, or funding, for hands-on electives when there are standardized tests to prep for?The consequence?“We have this whole generation of kids paying for services they could be doing themselves,” said Alice Sampson, a recently retired educator and the owner of Kids’ Carpentry Colorado, which offers youth woodworking classes at 3735 ...

Suspicious deaths of father, son investigated in Thousand Oaks

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

The deaths of a father and son are being investigated Wednesday after they were found unresponsive inside a Thousand Oaks home.The discovery was made shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday when deputies, police, and fire department personnel responded to a possible suicide call at a home in the 2300 block of Chiquita Lane in the Oak Grove Vilas neighborhood, Ventura County Sheriff's Office Capt. Worthy said in a statement.Responders discovered an unconscious adult male in his 40s who was pronounced dead at the scene. A 7-year-old boy was also found unconscious and transported to Las Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, Worthy said. The boy was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival at the hospital. The Sheriff's Department's major crimes investigators were called to the home. Investigators determined the adult male and child are father and son, Worthy said. The deaths are considered suspicious and investigators have not ruled out the possibility of homicide. There is no threat...

NorCal baseball regionals: De La Salle, Bellarmine, St. Ignatius, Hillsdale advance

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

Division INo. 2 De La Salle 6, No. 7 Buchanan-Clovis 0De La Salle seems to flip a switch when it comes to the CIF NorCal Regional and North Coast Section playoffs. The Spartans won their 28th straight in one of those tournaments, scoring five runs in the first two innings and coasting past Buchanan in Tuesday’s quarterfinals.De La Salle’s last loss in one of the final two playoffs of a season was in 2015 to College Park.The Spartans (25-5) will be at home again on Thursday in the semifinals against Franklin-Elk Grove (30-4), which beat Hollister 5-4.Pitchers Jack Hershey and Jack Karst had all the support they needed two batters into the home half of the first. Smith Chandler led off with a triple and Tanner Griffith belted his fourth home run of the season, making it 2-0.The Spartans scored one more run in the first and two more in the second. Catcher Connor Harrison drove in two runs with a double and a sacrifice fly. Hank Tripaldi also doubled and drove in a run.Hershey worked th...

Largest-ever San Jose safe RV parking site could come to Berryessa neighborhood

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

San Jose’s Berryessa neighborhood could end up serving as the city’s largest-ever sanctioned parking site for RV dwellers, with up to 85 vehicles legally allowed to park in a highly industrialized spot along Coyote Creek as part of a larger strategy to reduce homelessness.The San Jose City Council is expected to vote in early June on whether to lease the 6.3-acre parcel of land at 1300 Berryessa Road from Terreno Realty, which bought it for $23 million in 2021. If approved, the city would pay the real estate group $18.9 million for a 10-year lease.The safe parking site — about a mile from the nearby Berryessa BART station — could exceed $24 million in costs over a half-decade if on-site improvements and service expenses are included. Though the parking lot would have no maximum stay rule, the ultimate goal would be connecting its residents with permanent housing, according to city officials. The city doesn’t currently have an estimated opening date.Depu...

Johnson & Johnson’s $8.9 billion baby powder deal faces key test in Oakland trial

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

By Jef Feeley | BloombergJohnson & Johnson’s first jury trial in nearly two years over allegations that its talc-based baby powder causes cancer could influence plaintiffs weighing the $8.9 billion settlement offer put forth by the company last month.The trial in Anthony Hernandez Valadez’s suit alleging he got mesothelioma from asbestos-contaminated talc in J&J products is scheduled to go before a jury Wednesday in state court in Oakland, California. Due to Valadez’s failing health, the case was allowed to proceed as an exception to the order putting all litigation on hold after J&J sought to wall off all of its talc liability in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy for its LTL Management unit.J&J, which is trying to settle more than 40,000 talc cases in the bankruptcy, must convince 75% of plaintiffs to back its settlement offer. The company is hoping the Chapter 11 halt to most jury trials will help it build support for the deal. But a big award for Valadez could convince more...

San Jose airport soars back to key passenger milestone as rebound extends

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

SAN JOSE — San Jose International Airport has just achieved a long-absent milestone for passenger activity in a sign that the Silicon Valley aviation hub’s rebound from its coronavirus-induced ailments has strengthened.The South Bay air travel complex has achieved a benchmark that had eluded the airport since the coronavirus outbreak three years ago caused passenger activity to nosedive by massive amounts.Here’s the milestone: San Jose International Airport has averaged at least one million passengers a month over the most recent one-year period, this news organization’s analysis of the airport’s latest statistics shows.During the 12 months that ended in April, San Jose Airport handled about 12.04 million passengers, which works out to a shade more than 1 million passengers a month.The passenger total for the most recent one-year period was 6.3% higher than the 11.33 million passengers the airport accommodated during the calendar year of 2022, the analy...

Editorial: Sophia Mason investigation looks more like a coverup

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:10 GMT

More than a year after the decomposing body of 8-year-old Sophia Mason was found inside a Merced home, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors last week finally authorized an independent investigation into the death of the Hayward girl.Records and reporting by this news organization over the past year show that county social workers ignored at least seven separate warnings in the 15 months before Sophia’s death that she was being abused and in danger.The supervisors’ unanimous decision to authorize the investigation — the first time they had discussed Sophia in a public meeting — comes after months of prodding by this editorial board.But it’s not at all clear that the investigation will get to the bottom of what went wrong and hold those responsible accountable for their actions. Unfortunately, this looks more like a coverup than a breakthrough.Newly elected Supervisor Lena Tam of Alameda, with support from newly appointed Supervisor Elisa Márquez of Hayward, deserves cr...