Conference Calls

By BILL BARROW, Associated Press President Donald Trump started his second administration with a blitz of policy actions to reorient the U. S. government. His executive orders cover issues that range from trade, immigration and U. S. foreign aid to demographic diversity, civil rights and the hiring of federal workers. Some have an immediate policy impact.

Fourteen food or drink specialists in Colorado have been named as semifinalists for the prestigious James Beard Awards, the foundation announced Wednesday. A shortlist of nominees will be released on April 2, followed by a ceremony in June to declare the winners. The James Beard Foundation, a culinary arts nonprofit based in New York City, is now in its 35th year governing the awards.

Westbound Interstate 70 has reopened after it was partially closed near Eisenhower Tunnel on Wednesday after two people crashed in the snow, according to Clear Creek County sheriff’s officials. The sheriff’s office posted about the first crash, at mile marker 219, on social media at 9:07 a.m. Wednesday. Multiple injuries were reported in the crash and deputies shut down the westbound interstate’s right lane. Ten minutes later, sheriff’s officials said a second crash happened in the traffic backup from the first crash. No injuries were reported in the second crash, which happened at mile marker 120. Westbound I-70’s right lane was closed for both crashes between Exit 221 for Bakerville and Exit 218 for Herman Gulch, at mile marker 120, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

A development site in Lincoln Park has traded for double what it fetched two years ago. Jeff Shanahan, a local income-restricted housing developer, sold his 1530 W. 13th Ave. property earlier this month for $12.5 million to Atel Street LLC, according to public records. He had planned to build nearly 200 apartments on the 1.4-acre site. The deal works out to $205 a square foot for the land.

Everyone has their own favorite ski resort or snow-centric destination, so it’s always fun to compare notes with fellow ski enthusiasts. Who knows? You might find a new snowboarding, cross-country or downhill place to love. That’s the thinking behind Ski Magazine’s annual reader survey. The snow-focused magazine recently released a ranking of the top 30 ski resorts in the West.

The high school graduation rate in Colorado inched up during the last academic year to its highest level in a decade as 84.2% of students received their diplomas on time, but it still lags behind the national rate, according to new state data released Wednesday. The statewide dropout rate — the number of students who left school before graduating — fell less than a percentage point to 1.9% during the the 2023-24 academic year, according to the Colorado Department of Education.