Colorado
What’s Working: Robocalls are declining in Colorado but still number in the millions
Quick links: Comcast layoffs | Local fed workers update | Take the reader poll | More!
Coloradans fare better than most Americans when it comes to pesky robocallers, according to the latest data from YouMail, which has a free call-blocking app.
But at nine calls per capita last month — below the nation’s average of 12.3 — Colorado phones received an estimated 51.6 million robocalls in September. That per capita figure includes babies.
The problem is, said Danny Katz, executive director of Colorado Public Interest Research Group, many of us are getting way more annoying calls. And the number of robocalls in the state has doubled since 2016 despite laws requiring phone companies to adopt technology that authenticates a voice caller’s identity to prevent spoofing and scams.
While the technology doesn’t authenticate text messages, the FCC has other rules banning text messages sent by an autodialer.
The Federal Communications Commission has taken action. In August, the FCC kicked out 1,200 noncompliant voice service companies “effectively disconnecting them from (the) U.S. phone network.”
But in a new analysis of federal data, PIRG found that only 44% of more than 9,000 phone companies had fully installed the technology. Another 18% have it partially installed. And 31% haven’t installed it.
“Unfortunately, protecting consumers is a marathon and every time that we get to the next benchmark, oftentimes the scam artists are thinking, OK, what’s the new technology or new way that we can get around the rules and regulations?” Katz said. “But I do think every benchmark we hit is a higher bar for scam artists to have to pass. Even though it’s not working perfectly yet, I think there’s plenty of us who have seen a decrease in the number of robocalls and spam texts we have gotten over the last few years.”
Katz is talking about the phone companies in compliance, like T-Mobile, Verizon and other familiar consumer mobile services. Verizon has its Spam Alerts and Call Filter tools for landlines and wireless to help users identify suspicious callers and block them. T-Mobile has ScamShield. AT&T has ActiveArmor.
According to the broadband trade association US Telecom, on behalf of AT&T, the number of robocalls is actually going down. Even YouMail’s data shows that numbers have been in decline this year.
Still, “we recognize that illegal robocalls and scams do continue to be a scourge on our networks, which is why carriers have implemented security protocols,” the trade group said in a statement.
More to come on this topic. Are spam calls getting worse, better or have you even noticed? Take the reader poll to help us better understand the impact on Coloradans.
➔ cosun.co/WWrobocalls
Why Comcast is closing its Centennial HQ and laying off 302
Comcast this week told the state’s labor department that it will close its West Division headquarters in Centennial and layoff 302 employees as part of a major restructuring.
In a memo from Sept. 18, company leaders told employees they need to realign the company for growth. And something that’s not growing? Legacy cable TV and broadband businesses.
The company doesn’t even call it cable TV anymore, but rather, “residential connectivity and platforms.” In its second-quarter earnings report, Comcast lost 11% of its domestic video customers in a year, down by 1.4 million to 11.8 million customers. A decade ago, it had 22.3 million video customers.
Over the same decade, its broadband subscribers grew 40% to 31.5 million, as of June. But that is falling, too, and was down 1.6% in June, compared with a year ago, for a loss of 528,000 internet customers.
But Comcast’s revenues are growing, up 2.1% in the second quarter from a year earlier, thanks to its Universal theme parks and its mobile phone service. Net income nearly tripled to $11 billion, though that was largely due to selling its interest in Hulu to Disney for $9.4 billion.
The restructuring gets rid of divisions in order to focus on regions. If that sounds a little confusing, a Comcast spokesperson clarified Thursday that the company has three divisions: Central, West and Northeast.
The Centennial office, located at 9401 E. Panorama Circle, is the West Division headquarters. But all three divisions are closing. The Central division in Atlanta, is laying off 240 employees. The Northeast division in New Hampshire layoff total has not been confirmed.
But regions, which include other offices and Comcast operations in the U.S., will remain.
The city of Centennial is still home to several Comcast facilities, including an older building at 4100 E. Dry Creek. The aging facility, which existed before Centennial was incorporated in 2001, is the local headend where large satellite dishes help distribute video and is the metro Denver home of Comcast Technology Solutions.
Centennial city officials said in a statement that it “feels for those impacted workers,” but also understands “the need for our companies to restructure and recalibrate in order to remain competitive in a challenging economic environment.”
Neil Marciniak, Centennial’s director of Economic Development, said Comcast will still be the city’s largest private employer. Based on 2024 data, Comcast employed 2,500 people in Centennial, he said.
Colorado federal workers unemployment claims up 81% in a week
The federal shutdown continued to impact federal workers in Colorado with the numbers filing for unemployment growing 81% since last week to 1,119 since Oct. 1, according to the state labor department.
That includes folks who took deferred resignation earlier in the year and had their last day Sept. 30. But current employees, who haven’t been paid since the shutdown began, are now 18 days into the shutdown.
Companies are sharing information on what they’re doing to ease the financial burden, including:
Speaking of the government shutdown, here’s how What’s Working readers responded to last week’s poll on how the shutdown has affected your life. Check it out 🡻🡻
Sun economy stories you may have missed
➔ Dark money group that spent big in Colorado’s Democratic primaries approved funding for Vail retreat for state lawmakers, lobbyists. The Colorado Sun has learned that One Main Street Colorado signed off on a request for $25,000 from the Colorado Opportunity Caucus to fund hotel rooms. >> Read story
➔ Michael Bennet, Phil Weiser are amassing millions of dollars for their Democratic gubernatorial primary fight. The candidates had about $4.6 million in combined campaign cash to begin October. >> Read story
➔ Nederland fire erased a third of local businesses and with it 30% of town sales tax revenue. U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, Gov. Jared Polis visited Caribou Village Shopping Center and promised help navigating access to government help >> Read story
➔ Colorado plans to fully digitize paper and analog land records, some dating back to the 1860s, by next year. A $2 fee from every property filing since 2016 has helped fund the state’s $21M effort to preserve paper and analog records for digital eternity >> Read story
➔ Subsidized flights to small Colorado communities will continue during shutdown — for now. Denver International Airport has the most federally subsidized essential air service routes of anywhere in the nation. That includes flights to Cortez, Alamosa and Pueblo. >> Read story
➔ From Brooklyn to Beulah, hippie beginnings to golden years, a retired couple returns to van life. Part of Colorado’s rapidly aging demographic, Dave and Helene Van Manen left their mountain home for a more practical future — on their own terms >> Read story
Other working bits
➔ Dollar General agrees to pay $400,000 fine for pricing inaccuracies. The settlement comes after the state attorney general’s office sent investigators to stores in Milliken and Loveland in 2023 and found that more than 2% of item prices advertised on shelves rang in differently at the cash register. The AG’s office continued to inspect stores all over the state and found that 12 of 18 inspections charged a higher price at the register.
Dollar General, which has 70 stores in Colorado, denied the allegations but agreed to the settlement, which also requires the retailer to do price audits at each store for the next three years, according to terms. >> View settlement
➔ There are 157,819 job openings on state’s job board. But of those, nearly one-third are remote or out of state, according to the state labor department. As of Oct. 15, 45,880 were out of state and 5,522 were remote. The top company posting jobs? Oracle, with 10,153 openings. Registration to the state’s job board, at connectingcolorado.gov, is required for those collecting unemployment checks. >> Hunt for a job
➔ Pueblo recycler named to Cleantech 50 watch list. That’s a notable honor for Driven Plastics, which takes unwanted plastic bags or that shrink wrap that companies excessively use and turns it into an additive to make asphalt roads last longer. For each mile of one lane, the Pueblo manufacturer recycles up to 10 tons of that thin plastic. >> Earlier story
Got some economic news or business bits Coloradans should know? Tell us: cosun.co/heyww
Thanks for sticking with me for this week’s report. As always, share your 2 cents on how the economy is keeping you down or helping you up at cosun.co/heyww. ~ tamara
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Colorado
Colorado faces LA in first round as Kings captain Anze Kopitar embarks on final Stanley Cup chase
DENVER — Anze Kopitar wrapped up the last regular season of his storied career. The Los Angeles Kings captain wants to prolong his final playoff run for as long as possible.
Kopitar, who announced in September his plans to retire, instantly becomes a postseason rallying point for the Kings. They have a tall task ahead of them against the Colorado Avalanche, the top team in the league, with the top goal scorer in Nathan MacKinnon and one of the best defensemen in the game in Cale Makar. Game 1 is Sunday at Ball Arena, where the Avalanche are 26-9-6.
“Playoffs,” said the 38-year-old Kopitar, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Kings. “I’m not going to say anything can happen, but we’ll go in and we’ll play hard and we’ll see where that takes us.”
This will be the third postseason series between the two teams and the first in 24 years. Colorado won in seven games during both the 2002 conference quarterfinals and the 2001 conference semifinals.
It’s been a record season for the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche as they amassed the most points (121) in franchise history. That broke the mark set by the 2022 team, which went on to win the Stanley Cup title. MacKinnon had a career-best 53 goals.
Goaltenders Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood shared the net this season and surrendered a league low in goals. They earned the William M. Jennings Trophy, which is presented to the goalies who have played a minimum of 25 games — Wedgewood suited up in 45 and Blackwood 39 — for the team with the fewest goals allowed. The other goaltender to win that honor for Colorado was Hall of Famer Patrick Roy (2001-02).
“We’re in a good spot,” Colorado forward Brock Nelson said. “The mentality of this group throughout the year, right from the start of training camp, (was) set on a mission to be the best team.”
Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrates the goal against Edmonton Oilers goalie Connor Ingram (39) during shoot-out NHL action, in Edmonton on Monday, April 13, 2026. Credit: AP/JASON FRANSON
Record against each other
The Kings went 0-3 against Colorado this season and were outscored by a 13-5 margin.
“You hear the hype. They have good players,” Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke said. “We’re a scrappy team. We keep it close with everybody. That can really frustrate them.”
Leading after two
The Avalanche were 41-0-0 when leading after two periods. They’re the first squad to have a lead after two periods on 40 or more instances and capture each one, according to team research.
“Even though we’ve been smart, we’ve been committed, we’ve been relentless at times, it’s going to have to go to a whole new level now,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “I have faith in our guys.”
Los Angeles Kings’ Anze Kopitar, who is retiring after this season, acknowledges the crowd after being recognized after losing to the Vancouver Canucks during overtime NHL hockey action in Vancouver, on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. Credit: AP/DARRYL DYCK
Remember the season opener?
Six grueling months ago, the Avalanche and Kings opened the season against each other. The Avalanche won 4-1 in Los Angeles behind a pair of goals from Martin Necas, who would go on to register his first 100-point season (38 goals, 62 assists).
The two teams join an exclusive club by becoming the fifth pair since 2015-16 to open the regular season and the playoffs against each other, according to NHL Stats. The other pairs to do so were Montreal and Toronto (2020-21); Colorado and St. Louis (2020-21); St. Louis and Winnipeg (2018-19); and Los Angeles and San Jose (2015-16).
Of those teams that won the season opener only San Jose went on to win the series. It’s a trend Kopitar and the Kings wouldn’t mind joining.
Kopitar and the playoffs
Kopitar helped the Kings to the Stanley Cup title in 2011-12 and 2013-14 along with goaltender Jonathan Quick, who now is with the New York Rangers and recently said he’s retiring. Kopitar has played in 103 postseason games with 27 goals and 62 assists.
“The intensity ramps up, everything ramps up,” Kopitar said of the postseason. “Every mistake, every little play, magnifies now.”
Familiar faces
Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper was in net for the Avalanche when they won the Stanley Cup in 2022. In addition, Kuemper and Drew Doughty were teammates with MacKinnon, Makar and Devon Toews when Canada won silver at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Colorado
U.S. Women’s National Team Closes Three-Game Series Against Japan With Emphatic 3-0 Victory in Colorado
COMMERCE CITY, COLO. (April 17, 2026) – Naomi Girma, Rose Lavelle and Kennedy Wesley scored second-half goals to lead the U.S. Women’s National Team to a 3-0 victory over Japan in the third and final match of the series between the two sides.
Wesley recorded her first international goal and assist in her sixth cap to become the 27th player to score under U.S. head coach Emma Hayes. Girma scored her third international goal and Lavelle scored her 29th, marking her 10th goal contribution in her last 10 appearances.
Precision in the final third had been a key point of emphasis for Hayes heading into the match, and even though the USA did not score before the break, it showed flashes of what was to come in the second half, dominating 70% of possession and firing nine shots. The USWNT then broke through with three goals in the first 20 minutes of the second half to record its largest victory over Japan since 2017.
For the first time in this three-game series, the match went into halftime scoreless, but the Americans came close on several occasions. Off one of the USA’s four first half corner kicks, the most dangerous look came in the 21st minute from a Lavelle service that was headed around the box before defender Tierna Davidson nodded the ball down to Sophia Wilson, who had her back to goal. The forward chested down the ball and smashed a turnaround half-volley that forced a point blank save from Japanese goalkeeper Chika Hirao. Girma leaped up to get her head on the rebound, but her shot went over the crossbar.
In the 39th minute, Lavelle received the ball just past half field and played a long switch over to Alyssa Thompson on the left side. The forward beat her defender before playing a pass centrally to midfielder Claire Hutton at the top of the box. Her first-time shot from just outside the penalty box clanged off the crossbar and out for a goal kick. In one of the final plays before the half, forward Trinity Rodman cut inside the box and sent a cross in that deflected off defender Toko Koga, nearly causing an own goal before Hirao collected the ball.
As it did in the first match of the series, the USA came out hot to start the second half and scored almost immediately. On April 11, the USA scored 141 seconds into the half and tonight the goal came 155 seconds after the half began. The USA earned a corner kick after Wilson blasted a shot from outside the box that forced another leaping save from Hirao. Lavelle sent in service from the right corner that drifted towards Wesley at the back post. Wesley headed the cross back in front of goal for Girma, who redirected the ball with a powerful header into the back of the net. The goal was a combination of two center backs and former Stanford University teammates for Girma’s first goal since October of 2024.
Less than 10 minutes later, Wesley started the counterattack that led to the second goal. The defender picked off a pass in the USA’s defensive third and played captain Lindsey Heaps in the midfield. Heaps passed the ball forward to Rodman, who nutmegged her defender with a long pass, splitting two more Japanese players to send Lavelle in on a breakaway. Lavelle dribbled to the top of 18-yard box and then slotted a low shot into the bottom left corner with class to double the lead.
The squad kept the momentum rolling following substitutions just after the hour mark. A few minutes after entering the match, midfielder Jaedyn Shaw stepped up to take the USA’s sixth corner kick of the match. She sent a cross to the center of the box where Wesley leaped to hit a shot with the outside of her right foot, redirecting the ball through traffic and into the left side goal for the third of the night and the first of her USWNT career.
The USA held Japan scoreless for the first time in the series with goalkeeper Claudia Dickey making three saves to earn her eighth clean sheet in her 10th appearance.
Goal Scoring Rundown:
USA –NAOMI GIRMA (KENNEDY WESLEY),47th minute: Rose Lavelle lofted a corner kick from the right to the back post to Kennedy Wesley, who drifted under the ball and headed it back in front of the face of goal. Naomi Girma was in perfect position to redirect the cross with a forceful header into the back of the net at the center of the six-yard box. USA 1, JPN 0
USA – ROSE LAVELLE (TRINITY RODMAN), 56th minute: Kennedy Wesley intercepted a pass in the USA’s defensive third and played Lindsey Heaps near the center circle. Heaps played the ball forward to Trinity Rodman, who split two defenders with a pass up the field as Lavelle made a run inside. Lavelle dribbled toward the 18-yard box before slotting her shot to the bottom left corner of the goal. USA 2, JPN 0
USA – KENNEDY WESLEY (JAEDYN SHAW), 63rd minute: Jaedyn Shaw sent a corner kick toward the center of the box. Around eight yards out, Kennedy Wesley connected with the cross using the outside of her right foot, sending her shot through traffic into the back of the net. USA 3, JPN 0 FINAL
Additional Notes:
- Emma Hayes made 10 changes to the Starting XI from the last match against Japan on April 14 with Claire Hutton as the only player to start two games in a row. However, this Starting XI had only two changes from the Starting XI on April 11 in the first game against Japan. From the first match, Tierna Davidson replaced Kennedy Wesley on the back line and Hutton stepped in for midfielder Sam Coffey.
- With her cap today, Colorado native Lindsey Heaps tied Shannon MacMillan for 18th most caps in USWNT history with 176, making her one of only 19 women to reach the milestone. Heaps will return to her hometown to play professionally as a member of the NWSL’s Denver Summit upon the completion of her contract with OL Lyonnes in July.
- The other starter from Colorado was forward Sophia Wilson. The last time Wilson and Heaps played in Colorado was on June 1, 2024, vs. Korea Republic. The U.S. also won that match 4-0, which was also Hayes’ first match as head coach of the USWNT and the fourth-to-last match before of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Wilson hails from Windsor just an hour from Commerce City and Denver proper while Golden, a suburb of Denver, is Heaps’ hometown.
- Davidson earned the start, her first since Feb. 23, 2025, in a 2-1 win over Australia. In the WNT’s previous match on April 14, Davidson entered as a substitute in the 65th minute, her first appearance in more than one year following her recovery from an ACL injury she suffered in March of 2025. Tonight, she played the first 45 minutes before coming out on pre-planned sub.
- Center back Naomi Girma scored her third international goal – and all three have been headers. She scored her first two international goals on Oct. 30, 2024, against Argentina.
- Girma was assisted on her goal by fellow center back and Stanford Cardinal Kennedy Wesley, who replaced Davidson at halftime. Girma and Wesley played two full seasons together on the backline over three overlapping school years (2019-2022) as Girma took a redshirt season for her junior year (2020-21) due to injury. It was Wesley’s first international assist in her sixth career cap.
- Rose Lavelle’s goal in the 56th minute tonight was her 29th career goal and second goal of the week after recording one goal and an assist in the April 11 match against Japan. Lavelle now has 10 goal contributions in her last 10 matches for the USWNT.
- Lavelle was assisted by forward Trinity Rodman, who recorded her 11th international assist.
- Wesley scored her first international goal in the 64th minute. She is the 27th player to score a goal under head coach Emma Hayes. The center back ended her 45 minutes of play with two contributions, a goal and an assist, and was voted Woman of the Match.
- Jaedyn Shaw recorded her fifth career assist on Wesley’s goal with her service on a corner kick.
- Two of the three goals scored by the U.S. tonight came off corner kicks.
- The USWNT recorded its first clean sheet of the April window and its eighth shutout win in its last 10 matches.
- With the temperature at 38 degrees at kickoff and patches of snow pushed outside the edges of the pitch, it was the coldest WNT game since February 2022, which kicked off in Frisco, Texas.
- With the new FIFA substitution rules in effect (eight are now allowed in friendly matches), and Japan making use of a concussion sub, which gave the USA an extra substitution opportunity, the USA made its most ever substitutions in a single game over the 778 matches in program history with nine.
- Japan also made nine substitutions.
– U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT –
Match: United States vs. Japan
Date: April 17, 2026
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: DICK’S Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, Colo.
Attendance: 17,589
Kickoff: 7 p.m. MT / 9 p.m. ET
Weather: 38 degrees, mostly sunny
| Scoring Summary | 1 | 2 | F |
| USA | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| JPN | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| USA — Naomi Girma (Kennedy Wesley) | 47th minute |
| USA — Rose Lavelle (Trinity Rodman) | 56 |
| USA — Kennedy Wesley (Jaedyn Shaw) | 64 |
Lineups:
USA: 1-Claudia Dickey, 23-Emily Fox, 4-Naomi Girma (5-Lilly Reale, 83), 12-Tierna Davidson (25-Kennedy Wesley, 46), 22-Gisele Thompson (3-Avery Patterson, 62), 10-Lindsey Heaps (Capt.) (17-Sam Coffey, 63), 15-Claire Hutton (7-Lily Yohannes, 82), 16-Rose Lavelle (13-Olivia Moultrie, 73), 2-Trinity Rodman (20-Michelle Cooper, 73), 11-Sophia Wilson (9-Ally Sentnor, 73), 21-Alyssa Thompson (8-Jaedyn Shaw, 63)
Substitutes not used: 6-Emily Sams, 19-Emma Sears, 24-Phallon Tullis-Joyce
Not dressing: 14-Emily Sonnett, 18-Jane Campbell
Head Coach: Emma Hayes
JPN: 12-Chika Hirao, 2- Risa Shimizu (24-Maya Hijikata, 74), 6-Toko Koga (3-Moeka Minami, 60), 4-Saki Kumagai, 13-Hikaru Kitagawa (21-Miyabi Moriya, 25), 19-Momoko Tanikawa (20-Manaka Matsukubo, 46), 16-Yuzuki Yamamoto (17-Maika Hamano, 46), 14-Yui Hasegawa (Capt.) (10-Fuka Nagano, 74), 15-Aoba Fujino (22-Remina Chiba, 74), 9-Riko Ueki (11-Mina Tanaka, 46), 7-Hinata Miyazawa (18-Honoka Hayashi, 60)
Substitutes not used: 23-Akane Okuma, 1-Ayaka Yamashita
Head Coach: Michihisa Kano
Stats Summary: USA / JPN
Shots: 15 / 5
Shots on Goal: 7 / 3
Saves: 3 / 4
Corner Kicks: 6 / 2
Fouls: 7 / 5
Offside: 0 / 2
Misconduct Summary:
None
Officials:
Ref: Myriam Marcotte (CAN)
AR1: Mijensa Rensch (SUR)
AR2: Stephanie Yee Sing (JAM)
4TH: Carly Shaw-Maclaren (CAN)
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