Denver, CO
Denver DA charges California man with fentanyl distribution resulting in death
Denver District Attorney Beth McCann has charged Jamal Gamal, of California, with distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. Prosecutors believe that between Nov. 9 and Nov. 19, 2023, Gamal sold fentanyl to Collin Walker, 28, a Denver resident.
Walker died as a result, according to the district attorney’s office.
The DA’s office said that detectives with the Denver Police Department developed a relationship with Gamal and allegedly bought narcotics from him as part of the sting operation.
Prosecutors then claim that between Feb. 1 and Feb. 6 Gamal mailed detectives more than 14 grams of fentanyl from California, where he lives. Police in San Francisco arrested Gamal on Aug. 28. Prosecutors expect Gamal will be brought back to Denver on Sept. 16.
“Collin Walker’s death is yet another tragic example of the devastation that fentanyl continues to cause in our community. The charges against Mr. Gamal should send the message that people who are accused of selling this poison in Denver will be prosecuted by my office to the fullest extent of the law,” said McCann in a statement.
“The Denver Police Department shares our deepest condolences with the family of Collin Walker, and all those who have lost a loved one due to fentanyl,” said Denver Chief Police Ron Thomas in a statement. “Members of our department will continue working tirelessly to remove dealers and this deadly substance from our streets with the goal of saving lives. As this investigation demonstrates, we will work to track down dealers here at home or wherever they may live in our country.”
Denver, CO
DIA braces for 100 million travelers a year after record-high holiday travel
Denver International Airport broke a record over the Labor Day period – screening 428,182 passengers over six days to board flights — the latest in a year of records at a U.S. air transport hub built to handle far fewer people.
DIA managers saw the Labor Day surge as a test run for a fast-approaching future bringing 100 million travelers a year, anticipated as early as 2027, five years sooner than previously projected. That would double the capacity DIA was built for when it opened in 1995 with 33 miles of runways and taxiways on 53 square miles northeast of Denver. They’re focused on a race to clear major hurdles for handling that many people pressing to get to where they want to go.
Two days before the surge, the airport’s internal rail system broke down, shooting white sparks as electric currents arced, forcing emergency track repairs and messing up weekend plans for travelers who had to book and re-book flights missed while stuck in terminal crowds. However, the trains ran on their regular 2-minute intervals over the next six days, ferrying 955,000 passengers mostly without problems, though a software glitch on Aug. 30 caused a six-minute shutdown.
Waiting
Here are the average and maximum wait times travelers at DIA faced in 2024 (Feb. 6 through Sept. 10), according to data provided to the Denver Post.
– A-Bridge: average 6.93 minutes, maximum 16.32 minutes
– West checkpoint: average 4 minutes, maximum 28.66 minutes
– South checkpoint: average 11.47 minutes, maximum 26.40 minutes
Beyond train woes (a new train car is scheduled to begin service this month), Transportation Security Administration wait lines loom as an intensifying challenge. DIA officials claimed an average wait time between 7 and 11 minutes around Labor Day with a maximum wait of 39 minutes.
Airport chief executive Phil Washington called DIA’s performance over Labor Day “a good test for the 100 million” but added he’s far from comfortable.
“The crowds are getting to be more and more, increasing out here. I’m never really satisfied with how we are processing people through,” Washington said.
“People are prioritizing travel all over the world and we are one of ‘those’ airports,” he said. “We could have improved on the Labor Day period. But we did get folks through with that average wait time between 7 and 11 minutes.” Moving people quickly through the airport, he said, is the current top priority.
The record number of passengers cleared for flights around Labor Day reflects a steady post-pandemic increase that puts DIA on track to reach 82 million passengers by the end of 2024, up from 69 million in 2019.
The 428,182 passengers around Labor Day exceeded the record set in 2023 of 422,992 by 1.2% and the previous 2019 record of 408,424 by almost 5%, according to TSA passenger-screening data. Those numbers don’t include travelers connecting from one flight to another in DIA and those arriving to stay in Colorado.
Hurdles for handling 100 million
The increasing travel through DIA is driving a race to complete large-scale construction projects launched five years ago to expand the airport’s operational capacity.
DIA’s Great Hall under the signature tent-topped roof, conceived in the early 1990s as a place for people to be together as travelers arrive and depart, will be devoted to the nation’s post-9/11 terrorism security priority. DIA officials say the overhaul will be done in 2027 after a restructuring and budget increase from $770 million to $2.1 billion.
A key hurdle will be ensuring the best possible customer service amid construction disruptions, Washington said, referring to the internal trains, baggage-moving systems, and communications to reach drivers approaching on Pena Boulevard.
DIA workers face another major challenge in maintaining existing escalators, elevators, and moving sidewalks – ensuring “a state of good repair” to handle 100 million people, Washington said. More than 300 conveyors move people in DIA.
A third main hurdle requires “maintaining our pace” on other construction projects, including the addition of 11 aircraft gates on the C Concourse and the implementation of faster security screening systems, he said. An east security checkpoint, bringing 17 new passenger screening lanes, is scheduled to open by August 2025.
DIA’s federally run security systems have been able to process 150 travelers an hour per lane. The latest 17-lane west checkpoint, and the new east checkpoint, are designed to screen 240 travelers an hour per lane. DIA officials before Labor Day expanded access to an online reservation system that lets travelers at the west checkpoint “skip the line” by making appointments for their screening. They’re mulling whether to use a reservation system at both checkpoints in the future.
Overall, “it is like remodeling your house while you still live in it,” Washington said. “We cannot close this place down.”
Rising demand for DIA
Denver airport’s busiest days
The heaviest travel is concentrated during summer months, according to the latest single-day numbers provided by DIA. The busiest days for passenger screenings to fly so far in 2024 are as follows:
– July 7: 93,591 (a DIA record)
– July 21: 89,421
– June 30: 86,941
– Sept. 2: 86,726
– August 11: 86,519
– July 28: 86,242
– July 14: 86,125
– July 22: 85,580
– Aug. 4: 85,485
– June 23: 85,304
Airlines’ commercial decision-making is driving the expansion. DIA officials this year announced a 13-hour nonstop route to Istanbul, the longest flight from DIA, opening access to Asia and Africa. They’re adding other expanded international flights this winter, including 14% more nonstop flights to Europe. Denver officials also are exploring more nonstop flights to Tokyo and a new direct route to Africa with a refueling stop between DIA and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
In addition, DIA negotiators have identified “the three largest underserved international markets” in Rome, Italy; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; and Amsterdam, Netherlands, airport spokesman Michael Konopasek said. “Due to the large demand, these are all targets for new service. We continue conversations with airline partners for new and expanded service.”
“Our facilities have to be not just average. They have to be exceptional. That goes to our through-put of passengers. That goes to safety. That goes to our partnerships with airlines, who see us as a major hub,” Washington said. “We want to be the greenest, most efficient, and easiest to navigate airport in the world.”
Originally Published:
Denver, CO
Denver voters will be asked whether to ban slaughterhouses in the city
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Denver, CO
I-76 northeast of Denver reopens after closure in both directions due to wildfire
Both directions of I-76 reopened after a closure northeast of Denver on Thursday afternoon because of a wildfire. The interstate was closed between Roggen (9 miles east of Keenesburg) and CO 52; CO 39 (14 miles west of Fort Morgan) from Mile Point 48 to Mile Point 66.
All lanes reopened after 4 p.m.
The fire burned more than 900 acres. Several fire crews responded including air support.
On the Colorado Department of Transportation camera, smoke from the wildfire was seen crossing the interstate.
CBS News Colorado First Alert Meteorologists have declared Thursday a First Alert Weather Day for high fire danger from the Denver metro area out over Colorado’s Eastern Plains and for portions of the mountains and Colorado’s Western Slope.
The Red Flag Warning is in effect from noon until 8 p.m. Thursday. The wind was gusting 15 to 35 mph in the Wiggins area at the time of the fire.
What caused the fire is being investigated. Fire officials said it may have been a re-ignite from a lightning strike on Wednesday.
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