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High school grad earns more than $4M in scholarships after health and finance hurdles

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:40:41 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - A St. Louis County mother is getting ready to send her son off to college. This is after they jumped over hurdles with health and finances.Imarion Griffin has now earned more than $4 million in scholarships and acceptance into 80 plus colleges. FOX 2's Blair Ledet spoke to this family who showed how resilience and determination can get you to your destination.  'I feel good." "It's exciting, ready for a fresh start."The excitement to walk on a college campus hits a little harder for Imarion Griffin."I really had to fight to be in this position, it was not a walk in the park - fight to get here," Griffin expressed."When you meet him – he has a popping personality, character, charisma," Griffin's mother, Kenyatta Patrick Griffin said."It was hard - not being a regular kid," Imarion said.Behind his positive demeanor, there's a powerful story."A kid is innocent," Kenyatta shared. "So you question God I'm not saying, 'God why my son?' you say, 'Did I do somet...

Missouri man makes speed bumps to slow traffic

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:40:41 GMT

O'FALLON, Mo. - Residents in O'Fallon, Missouri, decided to take matters into their own hands to solve a problem communities all over the St. Louis area have been dealing with.Residents said they are trying to stop people from speeding through their community. Cory Starkey got the idea of neighbors putting their speed bumps and speed cones in the street to slow down traffic."I’ve made a makeshift speed bump out here; I’ve put cones out just to try to get the community to be aware that if you come through here, we’re going to slow you down," Starkey said. "They’re portable speed bumps they’re made out of rubber, so whenever the kids are out, I can drag them out, whenever the kids are in, I bring them back into the garage.” Man wanted in deadly St. Louis gas station shooting, escaped police custody while handcuffed He said he had some officials complain about the practice but said if they did it then they just can’t get action from O’Fallon."They were trying to get a stop sign. Sinc...

Former Safta chef opens fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant in LoHi

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:40:41 GMT

The restaurant: Sonny’s Mediterranean, 2622 W. 32nd Ave. #100, DenverAbout: This fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant in LoHi has been in the works for the past two years. Owner David Schloss, a former Safta chef, and his fiancee Lena Young signed a lease for the 18-seat restaurant in May 2021 and have been building out the space in the meantime.“We’ve had a ‘Coming Soon’ sign in the window for over a year that’s helped us build some hype,” Young said. “We’ve already had a lot of repeat business with people in the neighborhood, which is exactly what we were hoping for.”What’s on the menu: Sonny’s, named after Schloss’ dog, a great Pyrenees, focuses on falafel and rotisserie chicken. There are three styles of pita sandwiches, like the indulgent harissa aioli, fries, feta, Israeli salad and lettuce sandwich, and four signature salads, including a classic Greek or Fattoush salad, with your choice of protein.The restaurant also serves half ($26) and whole ($42) rotisserie chickens for l...

Burned by the sriracha shortage? Try these 5 Colorado hot sauces instead.

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:40:41 GMT

A bottle of Sriracha chili sauce is shown in New York on Thursday, July 13, 2023. Huy Fong Sriracha, which used to go for under $5 or $10 a bottle, is now selling for shocking amounts in some listings posted to Amazon, eBay and Walmart. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)The disappearance of the familiar Huy Fong sriracha hot sauce from store shelves over the past two years is a direct result, producers say, of bad weather and an ingredient-sourcing crisis. As a result, people have been paying exorbitant prices for bottles of the market-leading, green-capped Vietnamese condiment online, according to an article in the New York Times from last week.That’s a tragedy, but not for people who know where to look for other srirachas (hint: they’re not that hard to find). Sriracha hot sauce makers abound in Colorado, selling their wares online, at farmers markets and in specialty stores. But even the grocery chains, such as King Soopers and Safeway have lately carried more legit brands of Co...

Denver area ranks as third most competitive rental market in the West

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:40:41 GMT

The Denver area ranks as the third most competitive large rental market in the West behind Salt Lake City and Tucson, Ariz., blowing past Phoenix and Las Vegas.A new report by apartment search website Rent Cafe points to the market’s scant availability of rentals, with prospective tenants usually vying against eight others for a place to live – a statistic that’s on par with the U.S. average of nine people per empty rental. Apartments are typically snagged off of the market within 42 days.Denver’s occupancy rate is close to 94%, even though recent months have seen an almost 0.5% jump in new apartments, according to the report.More than half of Denver tenants, 56%, renewed their leases this season.Out of the small Western markets, Montana takes the top ranking, followed by Albuquerque, N.M., at No. 2, Boise, Idaho, at No. 3, Wyoming at No. 4 and Colorado Springs at No. 5. Montana and Wyoming are considered single markets.The news comes as Denver’s average apar...

Bookkeeper robbed Boulder frozen yogurt shop of $114K, owners say

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:40:41 GMT

On Feb. 8, a man called Ripple Frozen Yogurt in Boulder with a strange message.He told the self-serve dessert shop that he had noticed unusual money transfers from Ripple to the bank account that he shares with his ex-wife, a woman named Aiesha Teague. There had been unexplained deposits of $2,750, $2,900 and $4,500, this man claimed.Teague’s name was not foreign to Jamie Gardner and David Humphrey, Ripple’s owners. She had been the company’s bookkeeper since 2012 and had access to its bank account.That single phone call in February led to a startling revelation: Teague had steadily been stealing from Ripple for 10 years — nearly the entire time that its single store in a nondescript strip mall at 1682 30th St. had been open — according to Ripple’s owners.“At this time, Ms. Teague will not be making any statements,” her defense attorney, Claire Elster with the Elster Law Office in Westminster, told BusinessDen.On her LinkedIn page, Teague claims that she is a member of the “Co...

9 places to find refreshing spritzes this summer in Denver

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:40:41 GMT

Summer is for spritzes. They’re bubbly, refreshing and usually low in ABV — qualities worth seeking out in a sunny-day sipper. Native to Italy, the birthplace of Aperol and limoncello — and where lemons grow as big as grapefruits and perfume the air along the sun-baked Amalfi Coast — spritzes are easy to find throughout Europe.Related ArticlesRestaurants, Food and Drink | It’s not summer without a tinto de verano Restaurants, Food and Drink | Taylor Swift parties: A guide to Denver events before the singer’s Eras Tour concerts Restaurants, Food and Drink | Rum-focused cocktail bar opens in Cherry Creek with mojitos, pina coladas and daiquiris Restaurants, Food and Drink | Two friends open all-day taco shop in Five Points Restaurants, Food and Drink | LoHi hot-spot named one of the 50 best rooftop bars in the country Thankfully, for “la dolce vita” in the Mile High City...

Man killed, 2 others wounded in Inglewood shooting

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:40:41 GMT

Police are searching for whoever was involved in a shooting that left one person dead and two others injured at an Inglewood marketplace Tuesday night.First responders were called to the intersection of Rosewood Avenue and Arbor Vitae Street around 10:30 p.m.Jose Guadalupe Valenzuela is seen in this image provided by family members.Firefighters found three men suffering from gunshot wounds. One of the victims, a man in his 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene. Family members later identified the man as Jose Guadalupe Valenzuela.Two others were taken to local hospitals in unknown condition. Santa Monica city councilman attacked by homeless man on 3rd Street Promenade Both of the transported victims were described as men but no further information about them was released. Video from the scene showed a gray Honda Civic surrounded by crime scene tape and multiple evidence markers. Police investigate a fatal shooting in Inglewood on July 18, 2023. (KeyNews.TV)Investigators do not bel...

Investigation into accused Long Island killer Rex Heuermann expands to Nevada and South Carolina

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:40:41 GMT

By Elizabeth Wolfe | CNNProbes into Gilgo Beach serial killings suspect Rex Heuermann now reach across the country as investigators are examining his connections to Las Vegas and South Carolina, where the suspect has owned property.Police in Las Vegas are sifting through their roster of unsolved cases for any sign Heuermann may have been involved, a spokesperson for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department confirmed in a statement.Though Heuermann lived on Long Island, New York, he and his wife had purchased two timeshare condos in Las Vegas between 2003 and 2005, according to property records obtained by CNN. The couple has since sold the first property, the records show, and it is unclear whether they still own the second.The 59-year-old architect and father of two was arrested last week in New York City and charged with the murders of three of the “Gilgo Four,” a group of four women whose remains were found along a short stretch of Long Island’s Gilgo Beach in 2010.Heuermann ...

Why is San Jose’s gun insurance law going unused?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:40:41 GMT

It was touted as a novel way to hold gun owners accountable.San Jose’s gun liability insurance requirement — the first-of-its-kind in America and upheld by a federal court judge last week — will make the city safer from the firearm-related violence that has wreaked havoc across the nation, its proponents assert.But nearly eight months after the ordinance went into effect on Jan. 1, not a single resident has been cited for not having the insurance, according to the city manager’s office, raising questions about the law’s effectiveness.Nor is there any data on how many firearm owners in San Jose are actually following the law. The city does not have access to the state’s gun registry, meaning it cannot contact gun owners to ensure that they are in compliance. Instead, the city is trying to boost cooperation through digital advertising, point-of-sale materials at gun retailers and letters to 2,400 local insurance agents.Under the city ordinance, fire...