🩺 Colorado’s syphilis spike

🏀🏒🏈 Denver Sports!

It’s a sports-heavy newsweek here in the Mile High. Here’s the latest:

• The Porter brothers: Coban Porter, brother of Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr., has been sentenced to six years in prison for DUI vehicular homicide. In the same week, Michael’s other brother, former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter, was banned from the NBA for life for his involvement in illegal sports betting. [Denver Post 🔒]
• Joker news: Denver Nuggets’ beloved Nikola Jokić is favored to take home his third NBA MVP award. Also, did you catch him dressed as Felonious Gru from “Despicable Me” before Saturday’s game? [CBS Sports; Denver7]
• Football: The Denver Broncos have unveiled their newly revamped uniforms, which they’re calling the Mile High Collection. See pics 👈 P.S. The NFL draft kicks off this week.
• Playoff standings: The Nuggs took the Lakers in Game 1 (114-103) and Game 2 (101-99) of the playoffs. The Avs narrowly lost their Game 1 (6-7) against the Winnipeg Jets. Keep reading for when and where to catch the next games 👇

📈 The Syphilis Spike

A sharp rise in syphilis cases has led the state health department to declare a public health epidemic. Cases in Colorado have more than tripled since 2018, largely affecting infants and pregnant women. Officials are focused on expanding free / low-cost access to testing and treatment. [9News]

❓ Minority Fund Mystery Continues

Last month, Danielle Shoots, the managing director of DEMI Fund — a venture capital firm tasked with distributing taxpayer money meant to support minority-owned businesses — sued the City for “willful misconduct” after funding mysteriously stopped coming. Last week, with the lawsuit still pending, Shoots announced her resignation from DEMI Fund. [BusinessDen 🔒]

🏠 A Win for Housing

Governor Polis signed a “for cause” eviction protections bill into law this month that could be another step toward keeping Coloradans housed. But the story is just as much about the legislators behind the bill, who have been working on renters’ rights issues from different angles for the last few years. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

• Related: What’s a tenants union, and how do I start one? [Hey Denver]

Rockies’ Viral Fail, Polis Sides With Renters, and Local Startup Strikes Gold!

The Colorado Rockies went viral in a bad way over the weekend when one of their coaching staff posted a video from the cockpit of a United flight, causing the Federal Aviation Administration to launch an investigation. Also, lawmakers have made progress with on-going tenants’ rights issues and, in a slight surprise, the governor is on board. Plus, local tech darling iBotta hits it big on the stock market and questions arise over Denver’s WNBA prospects.