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Denver-area construction jobs: not enough workers to go around

DENVER — There’s at least one booming industry in Colorado right now, desperately looking for workers:  the construction industry.  After a decade of doldrums, Colorado construction is hot again. 

Between February 2011 and February 2012, the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield area added 6,300 construction jobs, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.  That’s more than anywhere else in the United States. 

Right now, about 137,000 Coloradans are working in construction.  Times are good.

“The first quarter of 2012, we will equal the construction volume and revenue that we had in all of 2011,” said David Sinkey, managing director for Boulder Creek Builders.  His company is hard at work developing the Steel Ranch neighborhood in Louisville.  But there’s a problem.  He can’t find enough construction workers.

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Surveillance video: Thieves crash stolen pickup into pawn shop

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — New surveillance video shows thieves using a pickup truck to crash through the front of a pawn shop to rob the business.

It’s a dramatic scene. Police say a stolen pickup truck slammed through the front door and window of the EZ Pawn store in the 900 block of Sheridan Blvd. Monday morning.

In the video, you can clearly see two suspects dressed in hoodies get out of the pickup and start grabbing items in the store.

Police were still looking for the thieves Tuesday.

Related: Stolen truck crashes into Lakewood pawn shop

Colorado’s small businesses get $17 million boost

Small businesses in Colorado are getting a $17 million boost through two new capital access programs announced by Gov. John Hickenlooper, the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), and Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA).

Woman says Colorado Christian University fired her for “living in sin”

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Ashlie Simpson and her boyfriend were doing what the Census Bureau says 7.5 million other couples are doing, living together without being married–and she says Colorado Christian University in Lakewood fired her for it. 

She says the HR person asked her if she was “having an inappropriate relationship and it was considered living in sin.” 

 Simpson says she started working for CCU in 2009 and loved her job helping adult students with degree plans. 

She says employee guidelines, which are not a contract, never mentioned couples living together. Things started going downhill in 2010 when she and a married co-worker went on a coffee run together. 

“A vice president and cabinet member at the time approached me in my office alone and accused me of having an inappropriate relationship with that co-worker, as well as being a distraction and threat to his marriage because I was single and he was married.” 

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New lottery ticket: "Hidden Gems of Colorado"

New to the Colorado Lottery this month is a Scratch game called "Hidden Gems of Colorado." The game was developed by the Colorado Lottery and Colorado Tourism Office to boost awareness of things to see and do across the state. The game was inspired by the Colorado Tourism Office’s official vacation guide, “99 Gorgeous Places in Colorado.” The ticket’s graphic elements and unique prize structure; every prize ends in “9,” comes from the 99 Gorgeous Places theme.

Stolen truck crashes into Lakewood pawn shop

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Police say one or two suspects in a stolen pickup truck crashed the vehicle into a pawn shop as part of a robbery Monday.

Police say It happened at about 1:00 a.m. at the EZ Pawn store at 955 Sheridan Blvd.

Police didn’t have much information other than a brief description of one suspect: a man wearing a black hoodie and a white mask. It’s possible there was a second suspect as well. Information about whether the suspects stole anything from the store wasn’t released.

Damage was extensive since the truck crashed through the front door and window of the store. A restoration company was at the business working on cleanup.

Front Range firefighters bare (almost) all for charity calendar

DENVER — Despite the chill in the air Friday night, it’s quite heated at auditions for the 2013 Colorado Firefighter Calendar in Denver.

This is the calendar’s first major event since a financial scandal last fall forced the former organizer to step down.

The screams firefighters hear are usually for help–not this–ladies screaming and squealing with delight.

And usually firefighters battle smoke and flames–not each other.

“Whether I make it or whether I don’t, just being asked to do it is a great honor,” says Eric Pingel from Buckley AFB Fire Department.

These professional firefighters compete for one of 14 coveted spots in the 2013 Colorado Firefighter Calendar.

“Firefighters are all about helping people. If we can use our role as firefighters to promote fire safety and help Children’s Hospital, I think any of us would take advantage of the opportunity,” says Matt Zavala with Boulder Fire Department.