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Colorado investigates “unprecedented” scheme by drivers paid to transport Medicaid patients hundreds of miles a day

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 15:18:33 GMT

The patients began to flock to metro Denver methadone clinics in mid to late summer, five or six to a car. Most were users of illicit opioids, including fentanyl. Many were homeless.And all were from Pueblo or other parts of southern Colorado, driven up Interstate 25 by independent transportation contractors who suddenly had flooded the state’s Medicaid system.As clinics scrambled to process the patients, some told The Denver Post that they thought it was odd so many were coming from outside of metro Denver — especially while clinics were open and waiting in southern Colorado. Providers at the methadone facilities, which are tightly regulated and highly stigmatized, made note of the vehicles dropping off these new patients: new SUVs with temporary tags, driven by men who often spoke accented English and who all had enrolled in a lucrative program that paid them to drive patients to the doctor.The drivers billed Medicaid for every mile they drove, on a per-patient basis. The mo...

At Holy Family, football team finds inspiration in mother’s battle with leukemia: “I couldn’t do it without all of them”

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 15:18:33 GMT

Three weeks after undergoing a bone marrow transplant, Crystal Gabriel sat in a car behind the end zone at Holy Family, armed with a cowbell and ready to cheer with all the energy she had.Crystal, the wife of Tigers head coach Mike D. Gabriel and the mom of star senior tailback/safety Dominic Gabriel, had been battling leukemia since the spring. But nothing was going to keep her from her Tigers — even if that meant watching every home game from a car with her window slightly cracked to emphatically ring her cowbell.“Just being there at the game, and being able to watch from wherever I could, was such a blessing because I didn’t know if I would be well enough to even attend the games,” Crystal recalled.“That first game was emotional. There were tears in my eyes as the players walked into the stadium holding hands and with a bagpiper playing Amazing Grace. I was crying almost the whole game, just because I was so happy to be there.”The Gabriel family pose...

Nuggets Podcast: Jamal Murray returns, Reggie Jackson and DeAndre Jordan toast Clippers and the definitive NBA center draft

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 15:18:33 GMT

In the latest edition of the Nuggets Ink podcast, host Matt Schubert and beat writer Bennett Durando catch up with the Nuggets riding a three-game winning streak heading into the weekend. Among the topics discussed:Is Matt back on the Suns bandwagon after writing them off one game into the season as they look to capture the first NBA in season tournament championship? Matt and Bennett discuss where things stand with the Nuggets on the outside looking in.Reggie Jackson and DeAndre Jordan had themselves an evening against their former team in Los Angeles. What does the performance say about this team? And where does that win stand among this era’s best?Jamal Murray returned after a monthlong injury on Wednesday night, immediately tweaked his ankle, then hit a 40-footer not long after that. What are the takeaways from his first game back? And what can fans look forward to as he strives to regain his form?The fellas engage in an NBA centers draft. Who knows ball… an editor, ...

Opinion: Colorado’s trolls are looking for Commies and Nazis in all the wrong places

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 15:18:33 GMT

“You’re nothing but a God hating. America hating, commie loving, evil woman” is just a banjo away from being a country music song.I received this insightful Twitter critique of my last column exposing the lunacy of the Colorado Republican Party. I’d written about how the state GOP somehow managed to shed even more credibility by inviting failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate and avid conspiracy theorist Kari Lake to headline a fundraising dinner. A few days before that, Chairman Dave Williams promoted an interview he did with self-proclaimed white nationalist and islamophobe Laura Loomer. What columnist could pass that up?Among the two dozen or so outraged Twitter responses to the column, there were the usual Nazi references, sexist mansplain, RINO blah, blah, blah. Few showed any creativity. One called me a Satanist, a first. Also, someone misspelled the word “imbecile.”As I flew off to Ethiopia — stay tuned for more on that trip next week — I thought to myself, ...

Legislators need to restore balance to U.S. Supreme Court

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 15:18:33 GMT

Restore the U.S. Supreme CourtLast month, the Supreme Court heard arguments for United States vs. Rahimi, a case that could allow individuals with a history of domestic violence to obtain guns. It is common sense to keep guns away from people with a history of violence, and the majority of Americans would agree. When my daughter died in the Aurora mass shooting, I dedicated my life to ensuring no parent goes through the pain and trauma caused by gun violence. Now, I am alarmed that the Supreme Court paved the way for this extreme case to be under debate at all.United States vs. Rahimi is the first time the fate of gun violence prevention has been in the Supreme Court’s hands since its 2022 Bruen decision. In Bruen, the Court rolled back long-standing precedents on gun safety, putting special interests ahead of our communities. This is why Rahimi is on the docket – and more dangerous cases could come if Congress doesn’t take back its power and fix this broken Court.Right now, our Sup...

Jets strike targets in Gaza as Israel resumes offensive, warns of attacks to come

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 15:18:33 GMT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli fighter jets hit targets in the Gaza Strip minutes after a weeklong truce expired on Friday, as the war with Hamas resumed in full force. Black smoke billowed from the besieged territory and Israel dropped leaflets over parts of southern Gaza urging people to leave their homes, suggesting it was preparing to widen its offensive.Renewed hostilities heightened concerns for the about 140 hostages who remain in Gaza, after more than 100 were freed as part of the truce. Qatar, which has served as a mediator along with Egypt, said negotiators from both sides were still trying to reach an agreement on restarting the ceasefire.The resumption of hostilities “complicates mediation efforts and exacerbates the humanitarian catastrophe,” Qatar's Foreign Ministry said.Palestinians visit their houses destroyed in the Israeli bombings in Al-Zahra, on the outskirts of Gaza City, on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. during the temporary ceasefire between Hamas and Isra...

Single family residence sells in Saratoga for $2.6 million

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 15:18:33 GMT

18720 Harleigh Drive – Google Street ViewThe property located in the 18700 block of Harleigh Drive in Saratoga was sold on Nov. 9, 2023. The $2,628,000 purchase price works out to $1,537 per square foot. The house, built in 1958, has an interior space of 1,710 square feet. The layout of this single-story house includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Additionally, the house includes a two-car garage, offering generous space for vehicles and storage requirements. The property’s backyard showcases both a spa and a pool.Additional houses have recently changed hands nearby:In June 2023, a 2,962-square-foot home on Via Alto Court in Saratoga sold for $5,250,000, a price per square foot of $1,772. The home has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.On Allendale Avenue, Saratoga, in February 2023, a 2,213-square-foot home was sold for $2,910,000, a price per square foot of $1,315. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 2,571-square-foot home on the 18500 block of Allendale Avenue in Saratoga sold...

Elias: California’s Lara gave away the farm to insurance companies

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 15:18:33 GMT

Until a consumer advocacy group used the Public Records Act to unearth previously secret files, just what the insurance industry won when it blackmailed millions of Californians last summer and this fall was uncertain.Related ArticlesLocal News | Elias: Transgender students California’s latest state-local conflict Local News | Elias: Here are the signs Newsom is setting self up for ’28 presidential run Local News | Elias: California towns’ battle for local control still very much in play Now it’s clear the companies won immense new freedoms from longstanding regulations that have saved California insurance customers billions of dollars since 1988, when voters passed Proposition 103 — and despite this, some firms are still not back in the market here.Here’s how the blackmail worked: Companies like State Farm, Allstate and Farmers stopped selling new property policies anywhere in California, claiming intolerable losses ...

Warriors may have plenty of depth and not enough space to optimize it

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 15:18:33 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Steve Kerr has a great problem.Too many guys that deserve fair playing time — to open and close games, to play big minutes or extended stretches — and no clear-cut formula to maximize it all just yet.The gray area between their nine wins and 10 losses has often come down to those in-game decisions: Toss faith at struggling veterans such as Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins or go by merit and play the hottest hand off the bench?No period captured that quandary more than the last 72 hours. Thursday morning, Kerr repented for pulling a hot-handed Moses Moody late in the fourth quarter when none of his teammates could get a bucket in an eventual meltdown loss to the Sacramento Kings.Thursday night, after a collective-effort 120-114 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, Kerr saw enough from rookie Brandin Podziemski to lock up his job as a closer in specific late-game situations. One play on Thursday stood out in particular.Just 33 seconds remaining and the ...

Bay Area trumpet player gives up career on Wall Street for a life in jazz

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 15:18:33 GMT

Photo by Stefan Kohli“I want to be the next Chris Botti, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to do it,” says Sausalito jazz trumpeter Jonathan Dely. (Photo by Stefan Kohli)Provided by Jonathan DelySausalito musician Jonathan Dely stars in “Goodbye Jonathan’s Soul,” a short film based on his life. (Provided by Jonathan Dely)Photo by Will JellicorseSausalito’s Jonathan Dely started playing the trumpet when he was 8 years old. (Photo by Will Jellicorse)Show Caption of ExpandHere’s the scenario: A young man from a privileged background with a talent for playing the trumpet is faced with the choice between a lucrative career on Wall Street or the uncertain life of a jazz musician.If that sounds like a script for a movie, that’s because it is. It’s the plot of a short film, “Goodbye Jonathan’s Soul,” that’s based on the true story of 30-year-old Sausalito jazz trumpeter and bandleader Jonathan Dely (pronounced Day-lee).Dely, whose attorney father was a senior corporate...