Here are all the biggest announcements from Apple’s “Glowtime” event.

Apple Intelligence

Apple’s core artificial intelligence offerings are being packaged and billed as Apple Intelligence — first revealed at the company’s developers conference in June.

These features include the ability to search for images in your library by describing them, creating custom emojis, summarizing emails and prioritizing notifications. Apple Intelligence will also upgrade Apple’s virtual assistant Siri to get it to better understand requests and give it some awareness of on-screen actions taking place on the phone, hopefully making it more useful.

What sets Apple apart from what’s being offered by rivals Samsung and Google? It is trying to preserve its longtime commitment to privacy by tailoring its AI so that most of its functions are processed on the device itself instead of at remote data centers. When a task requires a connection to a data center, Apple promises it will be done in a tightly controlled way that ensures no personal data is stored remotely.

Most of Apple’s AI functions will roll out as part of a free software update to iOS 18, the operating system that will power the iPhone 16 rolling out from October through December. U.S. English will be the featured language at launch but an update enabling other languages will come out next year, according to Apple.

iPhone 16 and the camera button

The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will offer slightly bigger displays and feature variants of the powerful A18 chip, which gives Apple the computing power its devices need to run AI functions.

The iPhone 16 “has been designed for Apple Intelligence from the ground up,” CEO Tim Cook said during Monday’s event.

On the other end of the spectrum, the biggest physical change to the iPhone 16 lineup comes in the form of a dedicated camera-control button. The button responds to clicks and gestures, allowing users to quickly snap pictures, preview a shot or start video recording.

The button also allows owners to use something called Visual Intelligence, which will tell the iPhone 16 to automatically search on things you take photos of.

The phones will start shipping Sept. 20. The iPhone 16 will retail for $799, with the Plus model going for $899. The iPhone 16 Pro will cost $999, while the Pro Max will sell for $1,199.

Apple Watch upgrades

The Apple Watch Series 10 features a larger, and brighter, wide-angle OLED display that will allow users to better view the watch at an angle. But Apple focused much of its presentation on the device’s ability to detect signs of sleep apnea.

The new device is also being offered in a titanium finish for the first time, joining a longtime trend in the watch industry of offering a tougher, more lightweight, and perceived higher-quality, alternative to traditional materials.

The Series 10 watch starts at $399 and will be available on Sept. 20.

Airpods lean toward being a listening device

The new AirPods 4 series will come with an upgraded chip for better audio quality, and will feature more active noise cancellation.

If you frequently lose your ear buds, the new AirPods will also play a sound when you locate them through the Find My app.

In a medically focused update to the AirPods Pro 2, Apple said it will upgrade the devices so they can act as an over-the-counter hearing aid. A free software update will provide the upgrade and also include options to help protect hearing and the ability to administer a clinical-grade hearing test.

The AirPod 4 model costs $129, while the version with active noise cancelling will cost $179. They both ship on Sept. 20.

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The impasse between DirecTV and Disney over a new carriage agreement has become more heated as it entered its second week.

DirecTV filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission on Saturday night accusing Disney of negotiating in bad faith.

Disney channels, including ESPN and ABC-owned stations in nine markets, have been off DirecTV since the evening of Sept. 1. That meant DirecTV customers were blacked out from viewing most college football games and the final week of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, including the women’s and men’s finals.

DirecTV has 11.3 million subscribers, according to Leichtman Research Group, making it the nation’s third-largest pay TV provider.

ABC and ESPN will have the “Monday Night Football” opener between the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers. ABC will also produce and carry a presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on Tuesday in Philadelphia.

ABC-owned stations in Los Angeles; the San Francisco Bay Area; Fresno, California; New York; Chicago; Philadelphia; Houston; and Raleigh, North Carolina, are off DirecTV.

Besides all ESPN network channels and ABC-owned stations, Disney-branded channels Freeform, FX and National Geographic channel are dark.

DirecTV says in its 10-page complaint that Disney is violating the FCC’s good faith mandates by asking it to waive any legal claims on any anticompetitive actions, including its ongoing packaging and minimum penetration demands.

DirecTV has asked Disney for the option to provide consumers with cheaper and skinnier bundles of programming, instead of bigger bundles that carry programming some viewers might not be interested in watching.

The complaint states: “Along with these anticompetitive demands, Disney has also insisted that DirecTV agree to a ‘clean slate’ provision and a covenant not to sue, both of which are intended to prevent DirecTV from taking legal action regarding Disney’s anticompetitive demands, which would include filing good faith complaints at the Commission. Not three months ago, however, the Media Bureau made clear that such a demand itself constitutes bad faith.”

DirecTV CEO Ray Carpenter said during a conference call with business and media analysts on Tuesday that they would not agree to a new carriage deal with Disney without bundling changes.

“We’re not playing a short-term game,” Carpenter said. “We need something that is going to work for the long-term sustainability of our video customers. The resolve is there.”

Disney has claimed since the blackout began that mutual release of claims is standard practice after licensing agreements are negotiated and agreed upon by the parties. It has also had one with DirecTV under its past renewals.

A Disney spokesperson said: “We continue to negotiate with DirecTV to restore access to our content as quickly as possible. We urge DirecTV to stop creating diversions and instead prioritize their customers by finalizing a deal that would allow their subscribers to watch our strong upcoming lineup of sports, news and entertainment programming, starting with the return of Monday Night Football.”

Last year, Disney and Charter Spectrum — the nation’s second-largest cable TV provider — were involved in a nearly 12-day impasse until coming to an agreement hours before the first Monday night NFL game of the season.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

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Ehmer joined Waffle House in 1992 and quickly rose to senior leadership, becoming president of the company in 2002, and later adding the titles of CEO and chairman, according to information from Georgia Tech, his alma mater.

“His leadership, dedication and warmth touched the lives of many, both within the Waffle House family and beyond. He leaves behind a remarkable legacy,” Mayor Andre Dickens said in a news release.

The board of directors for Waffle House issued a statement Sunday afternoon saying Ehmer died after a long illness. “He will be greatly missed by his entire Waffle House family,” the statement said.

Ehmer was chair of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association Board of Trustees from 2012 to 2013 and served numerous organizations, including the Georgia Tech Foundation Board and the Georgia Tech Advisory Board.

The Waffle House chain of around-the-clock diners opened in 1955 and now boasts more than 1,900 locations in 25 states.

Ehmer is survived by three children, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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This story was first published on Sept. 8, 2024. It was updated on Sept. 9, 2024, to correct the name of Waffle House CEO Walt Ehmer’s alma mater. It is Georgia Tech, not Georgia Tech University.

Dressed in head-to-toe coveralls and fitted with respirators, the crew members toiling in a building without power had no obvious respite from the heat. Instead, they wore armbands that recorded their heart rates, movements and exertion levels for signs of heat stress.

Stephanie Miller, a safety and health manager for a U.S. government contractor doing cleanup work at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, watched a computer screen nearby. A color-coding system with little bubbles showing each worker’s physiological data alerted her if anyone was in danger of overheating.

“Heat is one of the greatest risks that we have in this work, even though we deal with high radiation, hazardous chemicals and heavy metals,” Miller said.

As the world experiences more record high temperatures, employers are exploring wearable technologies to keep workers safe. New devices collect biometric data to estimate core body temperature – an elevated one is a symptom of heat exhaustion – and prompt workers to take cool-down breaks.

The devices, which were originally developed for athletes, firefighters and military personnel, are getting adopted at a time when the Atlantic Council estimates heat-induced losses in labor productivity could cost the U.S. approximately $100 billion annually.

But there are concerns about how the medical information collected on employees will be safeguarded. Some labor groups worry managers could use it to penalize people for taking needed breaks.

“Any time you put any device on a worker, they’re very concerned about tracking, privacy, and how are you going to use this against me,” said Travis Parsons, director of occupational safety and health at the Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America. “There’s a lot of exciting stuff out there, but there’s no guardrails around it.”

Vulernable to heat

At the Tennessee cleanup site, the workers wearing heat stress monitors made by Atlanta company SlateSafety are employed by United Cleanup Oak Ridge. The company is a contractor of the U.S. Department of Energy, which has rules to prevent on-the-job overheating.

But most U.S. workers lack protections from extreme heat because there are no federal regulations requiring them, and many vulnerable workers don’t speak up or seek medical attention. In July, the Biden administration proposed a rule to protect 36 million workers from heat-related illnesses.

From 1992 to 2022, 986 workers died from heat exposure in the U.S., according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Experts suspect the number is higher because a coroner might not list heat as the cause of death if a sweltering roofer takes a fatal fall.

Setting occupational safety standards can be tricky because individuals respond differently to heat. That’s where the makers of wearable devices hope to come in.

How wearable heat wear works

Employers have observed workers for heat-related distress by checking their temperatures with thermometers, sometimes rectally. More recently, firefighters and military personnel swallowed thermometer capsules.

“That just was not going to work in our work environment,” Rob Somers, global environment, health and safety director at consumer product company Perrigo, said.

Instead, more than 100 employees at the company’s infant formula plants were outfitted with SlateSafety armbands. The devices estimate a wearer’s core body temperature, and a reading of 101.3 degrees triggers an alert.

Another SlateSafety customer is a Cardinal Glass factory in Wisconsin, where four masons maintain a furnace that reaches 3000 degrees Fahrenheit.

“They’re right up against the face of the wall. So it’s them and fire,” Jeff Bechel, the company’s safety manager, said.

Cardinal Glass paid $5,000 for five armbands, software and air-monitoring hardware. Bechel thinks the investment will pay off; an employee’s two heat-related emergency room visits cost the company $15,000.

Another wearable, made by Massachusetts company Epicore Biosystems, analyzes sweat to determine when workers are at risk of dehydration and overheating.

“Until a few years ago, you just sort of wiped (sweat) off with a towel,” CEO Rooz Ghaffari said. “Turns out there’s all this information packed away that we’ve been missing.”

Research has shown some devices successfully predict core body temperature in controlled environments, but their accuracy remains unproven in dynamic workplaces, according to experts. A 2022 research review said factors such as age, gender and ambient humidity make it challenging to reliably gauge body temperature with the technology.

The United Cleanup Oak Ridge workers swathed in protective gear can get sweaty even before they begin demolition. Managers see dozens of sensor alerts daily.

Laborer Xavier Allison, 33, was removing heavy pieces of ductwork during a recent heat wave when his device vibrated. Since he was working with radioactive materials and asbestos, he couldn’t walk outside to rest without going through a decontamination process, so he spent about 15 minutes in a nearby room which was just as hot.

“You just sit by yourself and do your best to cool off,” Allison said.

The armband notifies workers when they’ve cooled down enough to resume work.

“Ever since we implemented it, we have seen a significant decrease in the number of people who need to get medical attention,” Miller said.

Collecting personal data

United Cleanup Oak Ridge uses the sensor data and an annual medical exam to determine work assignments, Miller said. After noticing patterns, the company sent a few employees to see their personal physicians, who found heart issues the employees hadn’t known about, she said.

At Perrigo, managers analyze the data to find people with multiple alerts and speak to them to see if there’s “a reason why they’re not able to work in the environment,” Somers said. The information is organized by identification numbers, not names, when it goes into the company’s software system, he said.

Companies keeping years of medical data raises concerns about privacy and whether bosses may use the information to kick an employee off a health plan or fire them, said Adam Schwartz, privacy litigation director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

“The device could hurt, frankly, because you could raise your hand and say ‘I need a break,’ and the boss could say, ‘No, your heart rate is not elevated, go back to work,'” Schwartz said.

To minimize such risks, employers should allow workers to opt in or out of wearing monitoring devices, only process strictly necessary data and delete the information within 24 hours, he said.

Wearing such devices also may expose workers to unwanted marketing, Ikusei Misaka, a professor at Tokyo’s Musashino University, said.

A partial solution

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health advises employers to institute a plan to help workers adjust to hot conditions and to train them to recognize signs of heat-related illness and to administer first aid. Wearable devices can be part of efforts to reduce heat stress, but more work needs to be done to determine their accuracy, said Doug Trout, the agency’s medical officer.

The technology also needs to be paired with access to breaks, shade and cool water, since many workers, especially in agriculture, fear retaliation for pausing to cool off or hydrate.

“If they don’t have water to drink, and the time to do it, it doesn’t mean much,” Juanita Constible, senior advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said. “It’s just something extra they have to carry when they’re in the hot fields.”

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Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.

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Most people are now holding on to smartphones longer instead of regularly upgrading them, and there are many reasons why.

At the dawn of the smartphone age, you might have upgraded to a new device every few years to make sure you had the latest must-have features or because your carrier’s contract subsidized the purchase of the newest model. But that’s no longer the case as smartphone technology has matured and innovations have become more incremental, and carrier pricing models have changed.

There’s also an environmental push to keep old phones out of landfills as electronic waste becomes a larger sustainability issue. Smartphones these days are also just sturdier and better able to survive dunks and shocks.

“As long as you take care of your phone and keep it updated, you’re going to get at least four or five good years of use out of it,” said Chris Hauk, of Pixel Privacy, a tech website. Some device owners boast in online forums that they’ve had phones last more than seven years.

And if you’re paying over $1,000 for your smartphone, you’ll probably want to it to last as long as it can. Here are some tips to extend the lifespan of your Apple or Android mobile device:

Battery care

One of the biggest factor in your phone’s lifespan is the battery. A rechargeable battery’s chemical age isn’t related to when it was manufactured. Instead, it’s based on a complex mix of factors including “temperature history and charging pattern,” according to Apple.

“As lithium-ion batteries chemically age, the amount of charge they can hold diminishes, resulting in reduced battery life and reduced peak performance,” the iPhone maker says.

The company says its charging optimization technology is designed to improve battery life, and it’s safe for iPhone users to charge their phones overnight.

Samsung, meanwhile, says its lithium ion batteries do best when kept above 50% charge. It advises against running the battery down.

“Repeatedly allowing the battery to drain fully may shorten its life and decrease its overall capacity,” the company says in an online guide. “If this happens, you’ll need to charge the battery more frequently and it may last only a few hours before needing a charge, for example.”

Avoid extreme temperatures

Apple says that batteries warm up as they charge, which can shorten their lifespan. It warns against using your phone or charging it in very hot temperatures, above 95 degrees (35 Celsius), “which can permanently reduce battery lifespan.”

Samsung also says extreme heat or cold can damage batteries and warns people not to, for example, leave their phones in a car’s glove box when it’s very hot or cold. And don’t put your phone in a freezer either, it’s a myth that it can prolong battery life. “This is not correct and can damage your battery,” Samsung says.

Google, which makes the Android operating system and Pixel phones, says hot batteries drain faster, even when they’re not in use, and that can damage the battery.

Adjust your power options

Tweak your device settings so apps or features use less power, which extends your battery’s daily life and the time between charging cycles.

You can turn down your phone’s screen brightness, turn on the dark theme and reduce the time for the screen to power off. Enable the auto-brightness feature, which adjusts screen brightness according to the level of ambient light. Also check battery usage in your settings to see if there are any power-hungry apps you can switch off or uninstall.

If the power level dips below 10%, iPhone users can turn on low power mode to stretch their battery’s life before it need recharging. Samsung’s Android phones have a similar “power saving mode.” You can also leave it on all the time, but it might affect your phone’s performance.

Samsung says users can switch off Bluetooth or Wi-Fi if they’re not being used, although Apple advises leaving them on because they draw minimal power when not connected.

Use protection

Phones are sleek capsules but the glossy surface means they can slip easily out of your hand. So it goes without saying that you should get a sturdy protective case to help cushion the blow when you accidentally drop it.

Don’t forget a screen protector. Plastic versions are the cheapest option but can scuff easily, according to device repair website iFixit, which recommends ones made with TPU film or tempered glass, which offer better protection against scratches and drops.

Keep your device clean

Keeping your phone in your pocket or purse means its ports and sockets can collect lint and other debris that you’ll need to clean out.

“Take a little toothpick and just kind of get in and get rid of any debris,” said Hauk. “Also the speaker and the microphone grills on phones, they do get dirty,” so use a toothbrush to clean them, he said. Just make sure you’re flicking the debris away from the phone instead of pushing it deeper inside the tiny holes.

Update your device

Software is another important factor in a phone’s lifespan. Experts advise keeping your operating system and apps up to date so they have the latest privacy, security and battery management features.

That will be easier to do as your phone ages because some device makers have been extending the time limit for providing updates.

Google has pledged to provide Pixel 8 and newer phones with seven years of Android and security updates, compared with four to five years for older models. Samsung has also extended its operating system updates to seven years starting with its flagship S24 device launched earlier this year.

Apple doesn’t spell out how long it will support iOS updates for devices, although older devices like the iPhone 6s released in 2014 and the iPhone 8 were still getting security updates this year.

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Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

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A city commission has denied an application by Monfort Cos. to redevelop the El Chapultepec building at the corner of 20th and Market streets and a historic, two-story building next door at 1320 20th St. But the Lower Downtown Design Review Commission signaled in a meeting Thursday that it’s willing to consider a revised plan that addresses concerns about the scope of construction on the historic building.

Monfort Cos., owned by the family that owns the Colorado Rockies and McGregor Square in LoDo, plans to resubmit its application, possibly as early as the commission’s Oct. 3 meeting.

“The design we presented was the product of extensive community collaboration, including with Historic Denver. While we’re disappointed, we have conviction in our approach, and with some minor modifications, we expect to receive approval,” Kenneth Monfort, executive vice president for Monfort Cos., said in Friday in a statement.

“We believe strongly in the concept for this property. We have an opportunity to bring thoughtful and much-needed activation to a corner that has been dark for five years now,” Monfort added.

Jenn Cappeto, manager of Denver Landmark Preservation, said the city is working with company officials to help them understand what changes the commission is looking for.

“A denial of the Landmark Preservation committee and Lower Downtown Design Review Commission is almost never a full denial,” Cappeto said. “It’s usually that the project that’s proposed does not meet the guidelines, so they will recommend changes to a project to meet their guidelines.”

In the case of the Monfort Cos.’ project, which would preserve a portion of the well-known El Chapultepec exterior, the commission had concerns about a rooftop addition and alterations to the adjacent historic building, which houses the Giggling Grizzly sports bar.

“The commission was very supportive of the proposed work at the El Chapultepec building,” Cappeto said.

However, members believed the proposed rooftop and deck would overwhelm the other building’s historic character, she added.

Under the company’s plans, the two buildings would make up one business, expected to be a bar and restaurant. The El Chapultepec jazz club was in business for nearly 90 years before closing in 2020. Monfort Cos. bought the club and the Giggling Grizzly building for $5.38 million in 2022, according to property records.

Plans for the sites fueled concerns and protests when talk of demolishing the El Chapultepec building got out. The building was deemed uninhabitable because of various engineering and safety concerns, according to city documents. Kenneth Monfort said in an earlier statement that saving the building would be “physically impossible and cost prohibitive.”

Historic Denver filed a landmark designation application in March to save El Chapultepec. At the time, John Deffenbaugh, president and CEO of Historic Denver, said the “incredible music that took place” inside the club and its national reputation set El Chapultepec apart.

In June, Monfort Cos. announced a compromise with a new design it said would honor the legendary site. The proposal would preserve the main entrance to the former jazz club along with a short stretch of wall on either side. The building’s signature neon-cactus sign and red canopy will remain.

Deffenbaugh said in an email that with some design updates, Historic Denver hopes there will be a pathway to approval of the redevelopment project. “We are excited to see this corner of LoDo come to life in the year ahead.”

El Chapultepec was a hot spot for jazz for generations, from a renowned house group to such stars as Etta James, Art Blakey, Natalie Cole, the Marsalis brothers and Harry Connick Jr. There were reports of visits by such legends as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Ella Fitzgerald.

Andrew Hudson, a third-generation Denverite, spoke in favor of the Monfort Cos.’ project. Hudson was in former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb’s administration and headed communications at the Regional Transportation District. He’s also a jazz musician who played for several years at El Chapultepec.

“Much like today, in the ’90s Denver was somewhat of a ghost town. The joke was you could roll a bowling ball down the 16th Street Mall and not be afraid of hitting anybody,” Hudson said.

The Webb administration worked with civic and business leaders to make downtown Denver “a dynamic, thriving and livable center,” Hudson said, and residents responded by approving billions of dollars in bond proposals for improvements. After the COVID-19 pandemic and a number of restaurant and nightclub closures, the city is currently at a junction, he said.

“We cannot and should not stand in the way of committed, dedicated and responsible developers like the Monforts who are doing everything they can to activate new excitement for downtown,” Hudson said.

Updated Sept. 6 at 4:56 to add comments.

Some homeowners sell their homes independently, hoping to keep more of the proceeds.

According to research from Clever, a real estate data company, selling a house without a real estate agent in Colorado can save an average of $31,112 in realtor commission.

However, research shows that for-sale-by-owner homes typically sell for about 24% less, and 36% of sellers make legal mistakes.

“Let’s keep this simple — representing yourself in court? Not usually a great idea, right? The same goes for selling your home,” said Michael Coleman with The Agency Denver.

“Most people who try to sell on their own quickly realize they’re in over their heads, which is why most homes are sold with the help of a professional. You’ve got enough on your plate, so leave the heavy lifting to someone who lives and breathes real estate and loves it.”

Selling your home without a realtor poses risks, including inadequate knowledge, pricing challenges, limited exposure, and complex negotiations.

Inadequate knowledge

Real estate transactions involve complex laws, regulations, and disclosures. Sellers may be unaware of their legal obligations, leading to legal risks and financial liabilities.

“The old adage, ‘You don’t know what you don’t know,’ rings true when an owner tries to sell their home without being represented,” said Christine Dupont-Patz with RE/MAX of Cherry Creek.

“Real estate transactions are multi-layered and have so many nuances. Is the owner current on the recent regulations and local laws?”

For example:

• Realizing they must provide information on radon or lead-based paint
• Knowing what they have to disclose to potential buyers
• Knowing what to ask lenders to ensure a smooth escrow process
• Managing deadlines while moving
• Understanding the implications of buyers changing their minds and when they are entitled to their earnest money.

Pricing challenges

Determining the right listing price is crucial. With realtor expertise, sellers may be unable to accurately price their homes, leading to overpricing or underpricing, which can deter potential buyers or result in financial losses.

“Realtors are market experts and will advise sellers on the proper pricing of their homes. Pricing too low will leave money on the table for the seller, and pricing too high can lead to undesirable delays in the sale of the home and even prevent a seller from getting the possible sales price,” said Stewart Seeligson with The Agency Telluride.

Limited exposure

Realtors have access to professional networks, multiple listing services, and marketing strategies to ensure your property gets maximum exposure. Without a realtor, sellers may not be able to reach a large number of potential buyers, which can lengthen the selling process.

“Statistically, 84% of home sales come from the multi-listing service, which syndicates to other websites like Zillow where qualified buyers look. That’s how you reach buyers who are prequalified and actively looking,” said Kendra Lanterman with West+Main. “It increases the market value.”

Complex negotiations

Negotiating offers, handling contingencies, and navigating contract terms can be challenging for sellers without realtor representation. Working without a professional can lead to less favorable terms and misunderstandings.

“There are hundreds of things that can go wrong in a real estate transaction,” said Jorge Becerra with 8z. “A realtor can creatively solve transactions. If a seller tries to negotiate, they don’t have a buffer. It can become too emotional.”

The news and editorial staffs of The Denver Post had no role in this post’s preparation.

City attorneys are asking a judge to force that cluster of colleges just west of downtown to take down two of the three billboards on its campus. The city claims that Auraria, which is a state entity, is working with the billboard company Outfront Media to ignore zoning laws.

“We cannot comment as AHEC has not been served,” said Shaneis Malouff, AHEC chief of staff.

Denver caps its number of billboards, meaning an owner must remove one before it can erect another, and doesn’t allow electronic billboards in areas zoned for educational use.

So, city officials were surprised when a billboard cropped up in the Walnut parking lot on the campus’ far west side in 2014, according to their Aug. 29 lawsuit. But the city opted to let the billboard remain, making a one-time exception to its billboard zoning laws.

The matter seemed settled. But nine years later, the dormant disagreement re-emerged.

“On May 15, 2023, AHEC informed Denver that it intended to implement a billboard strategy involving the construction and operation of multiple digital media billboards on AHEC-owned property,” according to the city’s lawsuit, which uses an acronym for Auraria.

The city said it reminded Auraria “that erecting any billboard would be in violation of Denver zoning regulations” and the campus then flatly ignored that warning, building an Outfront digital billboard along Speer Boulevard without a permit in December 2023.

Then, in June, a third billboard went up at 1450 7th St., along Auraria Parkway. So, the city sued Auraria and Outfront, and asked Judge Andrew Luxen to make them take the signs down.

A spokeswoman for Outfront did not answer a request for comment. The publicly traded company operates more than 700 billboards within city limits, according to its website.

“The City Attorney’s Office does not comment on pending litigation,” spokeswoman Melissa Sisneros said, “including any matters related to the city’s motivations for filing law

Full story via BusinessDen

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The four zones permitted by the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure for food truck operations are 18th Street between Larimer and Market streets; Lawrence Street between 20th and 21st streets; Market Street between 17th and 18th streets and 21st Street between Blake and Market streets.

The Market Street between 17th and 18th streets location is only being used this weekend because of an upcoming construction project, police said. Officials will evaluate additional potential locations to replace that one.

On Sept. 6, 7 and 27, food truck permits will not be granted on 21st Street between Blake and Market streets because of large Coors Field events, police said. Instead, food trucks will be allowed to park in the loading zone on the east side of Market Street between 20th and 21st streets on these dates only.

Police said the zones benefit safety because they create a positive environment between the bars and rideshare pickup zones, increase pedestrian safety and reduce crowds in the busiest parts of LoDo.

In creating the new food truck zones, DPD said it partnered with DOTI to consider areas that could accommodate lines, not block parking lot exits, not impede pedestrian traffic or bike lanes and offer enough space for multiple food trucks.

To reserve these meters, food truck operators must apply for a meter bag permit from DOTI to park and operate in these locations, DPD said.

“Through these adjustments to food truck permitting, the food trucks will be helping to improve safety in LoDo,” DPD said in a statement.

Last weekend, DPD distributed fliers to late-night food trucks in LoDo alerting them to upcoming restrictions on where they could operate.

Starting this week, food trucks are prohibited from parking along Blake, Market and Larimer streets, between 18th and 21st streets, and on 21st, between Market and Larimer, from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

“The Denver Police Department has a large number of officers in the LoDo area on weekend nights, and finds violent incidents often stem from areas in which crowds congregate after leaving nightclubs and entertainment establishments,” DPD said in a statement. “By encouraging patrons to head home after leaving bars in the busiest parts of LoDo, DPD’s goal is to reduce the number of ‘bump into’ fights and incidents that sometimes escalate to gun violence among the crowds late at night Fridays through Sundays.”

Violent crime, however, is down this year in that area, according to data posted by the Denver Police Department.

The part of LoDo where food trucks are prohibited on late weekend nights straddles the Union Station and Five Points neighborhoods. Denver police data shows reported violent crime is down 17% so far in 2024 over the three-year average in the Union Station neighborhood and down 1% over the three-year average in Five Points — though the latter neighborhood is much larger and features other distinct nightlife areas.

In the summer of 2022, food trucks first were barred from operating in LoDo for about a month following a mass shooting in which Denver police wounded an armed man and six bystanders, though city officials denied a connection between that shooting and the ban.

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Amazon is challenging the structure of the National Labor Relations Board in a lawsuit that also accuses the agency of improperly influencing the outcome of a union election at a company warehouse more than two years ago.

The complaint, filed Thursday at a federal court in San Antonio, mirrors legal arguments the tech giant made in front of the agency earlier this year after NLRB prosecutors accused the company of maintaining policies that made it challenging for workers to organize and retaliating against some who did so.

In the new legal filing, attorneys for Amazon pointed back to a lawsuit the agency filed against the company in March 2022, roughly a week before voting for a union election was set to begin at a company warehouse in the New York borough of Staten Island.

Amazon views the agency’s lawsuit, which sought to force the company to give a union organizer his job back, as improperly influencing the outcome of the election. The company has also cited the action as one of its objections to the historic election, where workers voted in favor of union representation for the first time in the U.S.

Last month, the NLRB’s board denied Amazon’s appeal to review its objections, closing off any options for the company to get the election results overturned within the agency.

In its new complaint, Amazon said the four NLRB board members who authorized the injunction were later judges reviewing the objections that came before them. It argued that structure was unconstitutional because board members are shielded from removal by the president, violates Amazon’s due process rights as well as right to a jury trial.

Other companies, such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Trader Joe’s, have also challenged the structure of the agency in pending lawsuits or administrative cases. Kayla Blado, spokesperson for the NLRB General Counsel noted that while big companies have sought to challenge the NLRB, the Supreme Court in 1937 upheld the agency’s constitutionality.

“While the current challenges require the NLRB to expend scarce resources defending against them, we’ve seen that the results of these kinds of challenges is ultimately a delay in justice, but that ultimately justice does prevail,” Blado said.

Earlier this year, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, said at an event that the challenges were intended to prevent the agency from enforcing labor laws as companies “divert attention away from the fact that they’re actually law-breakers.”

Amazon is asking the court to issue an order that stops the agency from pursuing “unconstitutional” administrative proceedings against the company as the case plays out.