🧑‍⚖️ Fuel mixup leads to legal action

🚔 Arson Suspect Arrested in Leetsdale Fire Investigation

Denver police used facial recognition technology to identify the person suspected to have caused the massive five-alarm fire in the Washington Virginia Vale neighborhood last week. A 38-year-old man was caught by surveillance cameras with a container of gasoline in the area at the time of the fire and is now facing arson charges. The fire took nearly a week to fully extinguish. [Denverite]

⚡ Xcel Prepares More Planned Power Shutoffs Today

Residents in Larimer and Weld counties may lose electricity as early as 8 a.m. today as part of another Public Safety Power Shutoff scheduled by Xcel Energy in response to dangerous wind conditions. The utility company expects the number of people affected to be “substantially less” than last month’s shutoffs, which left more than 100,000 Front Range customers without power for days.

• Growing ire: Xcel has recently faced public outrage over the handling and communication of these shutoffs. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission is soliciting public feedback to help develop better PSPS regulations.

🥡 Is Takeout Too Expensive?

Local food critic Allyson Reedy shared her perspective on the rising costs of ordering takeout from her fave restaurants, wondering if the high price of getting your meal to-go outweighs the ease. It got us thinking — if our Uber Eats and Grubhub bills are mirroring the cost of a week’s worth of groceries, is ordering out even worth it anymore? [City Cast Denver 🎧]

🧑‍⚖️ Drivers Affected By Tainted Fuel Invited to Class Action Lawsuit

A Littleton resident who filled his car with contaminated fuel last week — and who is now potentially facing hundreds of dollars in repairs on his car — has decided to sue. So far, 46 gas stations were confirmed to have sold the bad fuel, and hundreds (possibly thousands) of Denver metro drivers were likely impacted. The well-known local personal injury attorney Franklin D. Azar & Associates is representing the plaintiff and has invited anyone else who was impacted to join the suit. [Denver Post 🔒]

🇺🇸 Gov. Polis Delivers Final State of the State Address

In his hour-and-half speech, Gov. Jared Polis — who terms out next January — celebrated his administration's accomplishments (like free universal pre-K and landing the Sundance Film Festival) and acknowledged its challenges (like COVID-19 and climate change) over that last eight years, and called on Coloradans to come together with kindness and respect “now more than ever.” [Axios Denver]

• Tune in: Watch the address or read the transcript.

Last week’s answer: You can find this mural on the side of the historic church-turned-theater at 1080 Acoma Street. Originally built for the Swedish Evangelical Free Church in 1895, the building served as a spiritual setting for many years before being converted into a performance space. Curious Theater Company took up residence in 1998 and bought the property for $800,000 in 2008. In the summer of 2024, the company announced it could no longer sustain the cost of maintenance and listed the building for sale. While Curious continues to operate out of the venue, the property remains on the market as they wait for the “right buyer.”

📣 A special shoutout for this week’s correct guessers:

• Leah J. was the first to write in with the correct answer! 👏
• But Christie I., Jeff S., Lisa R., Joe C., Michael F., Diane E., Ser B., and Annie weren’t far behind!

This Week’s Photo:

🕵️ Do YOU recognize where this gorgeous candlelight concert was recently hosted? Be among the first to respond with the right answer and you’ll get a special shoutout in next Friday’s newsletter!

📸 Want to submit a photo? Send me a snapshot of somewhere in Denver, and I’ll consider it for an upcoming photo trivia segment!