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Colorado - Thu. 08/27/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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META REACHES $17 BILLION SETTLEMENT IN TEEN SOCIAL MEDIA CASE
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Meta, the parent of Facebook and Instagram, agreed to pay $17 billion and add child-safety measures to the two platforms, to settle a case in federal court in California that was brought by attorneys general of 47 states. Colorado was one of the 29 states that originally sued the tech giant in 2023, and Colorado was due to receive nearly $615 million over nine years, with the money to “go directly to protecting and restoring the mental health and safety of Colorado children,” according to state officials. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser called the settlement a “monumental” victory that will transform how social media companies design products for minors.
Under the proposed settlement, Meta agreed to adopt a series of safety features, including a “hard cap” on daily time limits and pauses for children using Instagram and Facebook. It will eliminate push notifications during weekday school hours and bring in “robust” age assurance measures and “age-appropriate” content controls to prevent bullying and harmful material about eating disorders and self-harm. There will be stronger and more user-friendly parental controls and limits on social comparison features such as “like” counts.
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FALL APPROACHES, ANOTHER FORECAST SHOWING EL NIÑO STRENGTHENING
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Although with sunny skies and hot weather, the Colorado’s West Slope does not seem to be entering the fall season. Although the first official day of fall lands on Sept. 22 this year, meteorological autumn in the Northern Hemisphere is defined as the period from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30, bringing a progressive decline in temperatures and daylight hours. For Colorado, strengthening El Niño conditions will likely be a major player in what those weather patterns look like this year, according to OpenSnow’s 2026 fall weather outlook. Meteorologists forecast that the Northern Hemisphere is heading into a very strong or “super” El Niño by the end of the year, defined by well-above-average sea surface temperatures across the central to eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.
Open Snow Meteorologist Alan Smith said El Niño conditions are often synonymous with strong precipitation early in the winter season, followed by below-average snowfall during the middle of the season. Colorado’s High Country is forecast to follow that pattern, with above-normal precipitation expected for the three-month period from September to November. Signs of an active late season monsoon are typical for El Niño years, meaning this year’s monsoon season could last longer than average.
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AS EXPECTED, DENVER WATER BANS WATERING LAWNS BEGINNING OCT. 1
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Denver Water's Board of Water Commissioners Wednesday voted unanimously to impose a ban on the use of lawn sprinklers at the start of October. The new rule adds to drought restrictions in place since spring as Denver Water has attempted to rein in water use. “We’re facing challenges that we haven’t seen before,” Greg Fisher, Denver Water’s manager of demand planning, told the board. Denver Water customers can still water trees, shrubs, vegetables and flowers by hand or use a non-spray irrigation system. Some facilities, like sports fields and public parks, can seek exemptions to the ban on lawn watering. Prohibiting grass watering after Sept. 30 could save 5,000 acre-feet of water, according to the resolution adopted by the commission.
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DENVER-MUNICH ECO-DEVO ORGANIZATION TO SPONSOR NEW OKTOBERFEST
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Almost two years ago, November 2024, the Denver Economic Development and Opportunity (DEDO) Global Engagement team put together an agreement to create the City2City Munich-Denver Economic Partnership designed to strengthen the ties between Denver and Munich, Germany. Now, the group is sponsoring its first major event, the Denver Wiesn, put on by the Bavarian Guild of Colorado and Wyoming. Wiesn is the Bavarian name for Oktoberfest. Denver Wiesn will run Oct. 16-18 and 22-25 at the National Western Center. Chadwick Williams, CEO of the guild and German Honorary Consul for Colorado and Wyoming, is expecting as many as 45,000 to attend the two-weekend event.
A delegation from the official Munich Oktoberfest will fly into Denver for the Wiesn event, a connection courtesy of the Bavarian Guild’s work with counterparts in Germany. The Denver-Munich agreement is the seventh City2City agreement, with others in place between London, England; Brest, France; the State of New South Wales, Australia; Guadalajara, Mexico; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and Auckland, New Zealand.
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COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF DENVER TO MANAGE HISTORIC LORETTO HEIGHTS THEATER
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The 72-acre site of Loretto Heights College was originally founded as a school for girls by the St. Mary’s Academy of the Loretto Order in southwest Denver when the sisters purchased the hilltop property south of Denver calling the property "Loretto Heights." The May Bonfils Theater, the theater at Loretto Heights, was completed in 1963. At the time, it was Denver's second-largest indoor theater and one of the most professionally equipped educational performance venues in the country. The campus site has had several owners after closing to students in 2017. The city of Denver purchased the southwest part of the campus in 2023 and launched a $60 million renovation of the May Bonfils Theater due for completion in 2028. When it reopens, it will be under new management.
The Denver City Council this week approved an agreement to hand off operations of the historic theater to the Community College of Denver, which will use it for a workforce development program. Denver will retain ownership of the building, but CCD will manage the staffing, programming, ticketing and marketing, according to an intergovernmental agreement.
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CPW: NO NEW ZEBRA MUSSELS IN NEW SAMPLES, BUT WATERS STILL INFECTED
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Last year, Colorado Parks and Wildlife detected zebra mussels in several locations during its weekly samplings in the Colorado River from its headwaters near Granby to the Colorado-Utah state line. This summer, CPW continued its sampling program, with the agency taking over 500 plankton tow samples since May, not only in the Colorado River, but in its major tributaries including the Gunnison, Roaring Fork and Eagle rivers. There have been zero new discoveries of the invasive species of zebra mussels, either veligers (larval stage) or adults, according to Robert Walters, Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s invasive species program manager. However, that does not mean the invasive species are gone.
“Finding a veliger in the Colorado River can be challenging, as it is not a flat body of water like a lake or reservoir,” Walters said. “Locating a veliger in a moving body of water largely depends on being at the right place at the right time, since the water is constantly flowing. This doesn’t mean that veligers are absent, but during the times when sampling crews have visited designated locations, none have been found.” Despite the lack of discoveries, the Colorado River, from its confluence with the Eagle River to the state border with Utah, remains one of six bodies of water that are considered infested with the highly invasive zebra mussels. A body of water is considered “infested” when adult and veliger zebra mussels have been found in it. In Colorado, for a body to no longer be considered infested, it must have five consecutive years without detections of that species. The five-year clock resets at each detection.
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LAKE IRWIN CAMPGROUND WILL NOT BE OPEN NEXT YEAR
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Campers that enjoy going to Crested Butte should plan to go before the end of this summer if they want to stay at the popular Lake Irwin Campground, 9 miles west of Crested Butte. The U.S. Forest Service will close the campground for the season on Sept. 8, and it will not reopen until June 28. It will be closed for the entire 2027 season for “full demolition and reconstruction of facilities,” according to a USFS release. The Forest Service plans to triple the parking capacity there and add eight new campsites, bringing the total to 40. The agency will also rebuild the roads and trails, and replace the kiosks, picnic areas and restrooms. The Lake Irwin day-use area, which provides access to the shores of Lake Irwin, will reopen in 2027, though the Forest Service said there may be times when access is temporarily cordoned off, or traffic may be slowed. For the latest information, visit fs.usda.gov/r02/gmug/recreation/lake-irwin-modernization-project.
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EUROPE’S HEAT WAVE CAUSES VERY EARLY HARVEST OF FRENCH GRAPES
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The extremely hot weather across Europe this summer has resulted in an extraordinarily early harvest of grapes in France, throwing the French wine country into complete turmoil. France has seen four heat waves since May, totaling 63 days of heat wave conditions, according to the country’s weather service. Daily and monthly records for summer heat were broken this year. The early harvest of grapes has been happening for a while, and the trend has accelerated in the past few years. This year, the Champagne region harvest is running about three weeks to a month ahead of schedule.
The heat means there is less moisture and as a result less mildew, which is good. However, the longer the grapes are in the hot sun the earlier they ripen, and the sweeter they get, which means they have a higher alcohol content. That means harvesting even earlier is a requirement. The problem is that the workers who harvest the grapes are still on vacation in early August, causing growers to scramble to get enough workers.
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JAPAN HAS A CONTEST FOR ITS “BACKUP” CAPITAL
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It was during the Meiji Restoration in 1868 when the Japanese Emperor moved his permanent residence from Kyoto to Edo and Edo changed its name to Tokyo and became the capital of the country. After 158 years, the Japanese Diet, or Legislature, decided that a backup capital was needed and passed legislation to create a secondary capital that would serve as an alternative center for government’s operations and would ensure continuity in case of emergency. The plan has created a frenzy across the country, with cities seeing the opportunity to secure millions of dollars, the chance for tax breaks, tourism and urban renewal. Thirteen local governments have already entered the competition ranging from the southern prefecture of Fukuoka to the northern island of Hokkaido, as well as the business center of Osaka.
Japanese citizens are divided over the idea. There are supporters of the concept that in a country prone to earthquakes, typhoons and floods, a backup seems entirely reasonable. Others see it as an opportunity created to reward the allies of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi by making Osaka the alternative capital. There is no timeline established for making the decision. The cabinet of the Takaichi government is expected to put together a list of requirements for the secondary capital in the next few months. Actually, Japan had two capitals for many centuries. During the Edo period, from 1603 to 1868, Edo (Tokyo) was the political and administrative capital where the shogun ruled. Kyoto was the cultural and spiritual capital and home to the emperor.
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COULD YOU NAME EVERY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD?
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The commonly accepted total number of countries in the world is 195. Debates remain whether there is a State of Palestine or whether Kosovo is a nation, generally accepted is the Vatican. So, for the record can you name the:
- 54 in Africa
- 48 in Asia
- 44 in Europe
- 23 in North America
- 12 in South America
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MARKET UPDATE - 08/26/2026 Close
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(Courtesy of Alpine Bank Wealth Management*)
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Canadian dollar (per U.S. dollar)
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Mexican peso (per U.S. dollar)
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30-year fixed mortgage rate (Freddie Mac 08/20/2026)
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*Not FDIC insured. May lose value. Not guaranteed by the bank.
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Alpine Bank is an independent, employee-owned organization with headquarters in Glenwood Springs and banking offices across Colorado's Western Slope, mountains and Front Range. Alpine Bank serves customers with retail, business, wealth management*, mortgage and electronic banking services. Learn more at alpinebank.com.
*Alpine Bank Wealth Management services are not FDIC insured, may lose value and are not guaranteed by the bank.
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