Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Colorado environmental groups file federal lawsuit to halt Rocky Flats trail Katie Langford The Denver Post
Physicians for Social Responsibility and five Colorado advocacy groups are suing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and four federal agencies to halt work on a trail through Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the District of Columbia on Monday, claims that the U.S. departments of Transportation and the Interior, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Federal Highway Administration violated the National Environmental Policy Act by not considering alternatives to constructing an 8-mile greenway “through the most heavily plutonium-contaminated portion” of the refuge. “Although this facility is no longer in operation, the radioactive contamiAn entrance to the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge, with the Rocky Mountains in the background. nants, particularly weapons-grade plutodeclared the area safe for public use. nium, that persist in the local ecosystem tory limits for radiation and appear to be migrating by air and soil.” In addition to not considering althreaten grave harm to those who live, The lawsuit repeatedly cites a soil ternative trail routes, the lawsuit claims work or recreate in or near these areas,” sample found in 2019 along the eastern the federal agencies failed to hold a the complaint states. “In the absence of edge of the refuge that had plutonium public hearing or public comment peintervention by this Court, the health levels more than five times above the riod about the project and that they did and safety of many individuals will be cleanup standard. Dozens of subsequent not take into account the 2019 elevated at risk due to exposure from nuclear soil samples did not have elevated plutoplutonium reading. contaminants that are far above regulanium levels, and federal agencies later The advocacy groups asked the
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court to find that the agencies violated the National Environmental Policy Act and to halt work on the project until they comply with the law. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of Interior declined to comment on the pending lawsuit. The Department of Transportation could not be reached for comment. news.ed@ocolly.com
At least 21 hurt in massive explosion at Fort Worth downtown hotel; gas suspected James Hartley and Cody Copeland Fort Worth Star-Telegram
explosion is believed to have occurred. Authorities were assessing the structural integrity of the 102-year-old tower. A Fort Worth Fire Department spokesperson said at news conference Monday evening that “this was some FORT WORTH, Texas type of gas explosion” but the — An explosion in the base- exact cause remains under inment of the Sandman Sigvestigation with the assistance nature Hotel in downtown of the arson unit, ATF and Fort Worth on Monday blew FBI. There was a strong smell out windows on the first and of natural gas in the area, second floors of the 20-story but it was initially unknown hotel, sending debris into the whether the gas leak was the streets. Multiple people were cause or happened as a result injured, with 21 hospitalized of the explosion. Technicians or treated on scene, according with the gas company, Atmos to the Fire Department and Energy, also were the scene MedStar. assisting. The explosion at the “Gas has been isolated historic Waggoner Building at to the affected area, and we 810 Houston St. rocked down- will continue to assist the Fort town shortly after 3:30 p.m. Worth Fire and Police DeDebris was scattered hundreds partments and all officials in of feet around the front of support of their investigation,” the building and out the rear an Atmos spokesperson wrote toward Throckmorton Street. in response to a reporter’s The Sandman Signature Hotel question about the company’s opened less than a year ago efforts. and included a basementSee Hotel on 5 level restaurant, where the
Tribune Content Agency A view from 6th Street in downtown Fort Worth, Texas, as firefighters, police and medics respond to an explosion at the Sandman Hotel on Houston Street, Monday, Jan. 8, 2024.
Tribune Content Agency Participants lay in a circle and meditate during The Feels event on a December evening in Philadelphia.
Tired of dating apps, Gen Z and millennials pay to gaze into strangers’ eyes Zoe Greenberg The Philadelphia Inquirer
PHILADELPHIA — The notion that Americans are lonely — very, very lonely, and anxious, and depressed, and therefore more at risk of heart disease, dementia, and stroke — has gained traction in recent years. It’s been called an “epidemic” and a “quiet catastrophe,” a particular problem for men and young people and adults and the elderly and pretty much everyone. The surgeon general recently proposed a “National Strategy to Advance Social Connection.” Millennials and Gen Z are navigating the dating world in this context, and they say the overall experience is not inspiring. In a nationally representative Harris poll, for
example, 30% of Gen Z singles agreed with the statement, “I would rather walk across hot coals than go on another online date.” “People come to me and they’re frustrated. They’re tired,” said Michal Naisteter, a matchmaker and selfdescribed “superconnector” who runs Michal Matches in Philly. “The essence of human connection can’t be using my thumbs.” That’s where the ancient practice of Meeting People in Person comes in. There seems to be demand: Naisteter co-runs in-person dating events, called “Date Him Philly,” where attendees bring vouched-for members of the opposite sex. Similarly, the New York-based “We Met in Real Life” promises “no swiping no matching just dating.” It was in this spirit that a group of single Philadelphians signed up to participate in a
real-life, highly structured “ongoing experiment” related to dating on a recent December evening. “The Feels,” as it’s called, seeks to fast-track intimacy by drawing on meditation, mindfulness, positive psychology, and nonviolent communication. The experience was designed by Allie Hoffman, 40, an energetic facilitator who got the idea while studying for a master’s in spiritual psychology at Columbia University and navigating life as a single woman. “In dating, we can get very in our heads. We can take a very cognitive approach: ‘Where does he live? What does he do? How much money does he make?’” Hoffman said. She wanted people to focus instead on their bodies and their present experiences, without intellectualizing the whole thing. There would be no algorithms. See Apps on 7