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Denver voters appear sluggish — or overwhelmed — as key ballot deadline nears for city election

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:23:25 GMT

With early ballot returns so far trailing the pace of the last two municipal elections in Denver, city officials are reminding voters that the clock is winding down on the 2023 contest and urging them to cast their votes.As of midday Friday, Denver elections officials had collected 22,036 of the 452,660 ballots sent out for the election, a return rate of 4.87%. That’s a lower turnout to that point than the city saw in 2019 or 2015, the only other two municipal elections conducted via mail ballots said Lucille Wenegieme, a strategic advisor to the city elections division.With 11 days to go before the 2019 municipal election in May of that year, 24,136 of the 405,638 ballots the city mailed out had been returned, according to elections division data, good for a return rate of 5.95%. “It seems that voters may be overwhelmed by their choices or waiting to see if other candidates drop out,” Wenegieme said. “While we don’t advise waiting, it’s understandable.”...

At this school, computer science class now includes critiquing chatbots

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:23:25 GMT

NEW YORK — Marisa Shuman’s computer science class at the Young Women’s Leadership School of the Bronx in New York City began as usual on a recent January morning.Just after 11:30, energetic 11th and 12th graders bounded into the classroom, settled down at communal study tables and pulled out their laptops. Then they turned to the front of the room, eyeing a whiteboard where Shuman had posted a question on wearable technology, the topic of that day’s class.For the first time in her decadelong teaching career, Shuman had not written any of the lesson plan. She had generated the class material using ChatGPT, a new chatbot that relies on artificial intelligence to deliver written responses to questions in clear prose. Shuman was using the algorithm-generated lesson to examine the chatbot’s potential usefulness and pitfalls with her students.“I don’t care if you learn anything about wearable technology today,” Shuman said to her students. “We are evaluating ChatGPT. Your goal is to...

Projecting the Colorado Rockies’ 2023 Opening Day 26-man roster

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:23:25 GMT

With the Rockies’ season set to begin March 30 at Petco Park against the NL West rival Padres, here is The Post’s projection for Colorado’s opening-day 26-man roster, from the no-brainers to the bubble picks.InfieldersFirst baseman C.J. Cron (25) has been one of the Rockies’ most prolific sluggers over the past two seasons. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)1B C.J. Cron: Coming off his first career All-Star Game appearance, Cron is looking to provide power for the lineup once again after slugging 57 total homers the past two years. He’ll be a longball threat and the everyday first baseman. Cron slashed just .208/.270/.360 with nine home runs in his final 66 games last season, in part because of a sore left wrist.2B Ryan McMahon: After Brendan Rodgers was lost early in spring training to left shoulder surgery, McMahon took over at second, where he looks to have a redemptive season in the field and at the plate. He needs to hit for better average and power in 2023 ...

Google releases Bard, its competitor in the race to create AI chatbots

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:23:25 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — For more than three months, Google executives have watched as projects at Microsoft and a San Francisco startup called OpenAI have stoked the public’s imagination with the potential for artificial intelligence.But on Tuesday, Google tentatively stepped off the sidelines as it released a chatbot called Bard. The new AI chatbot will be available to a limited number of users in the United States and Britain and will accommodate additional users, countries and languages over time, Google executives said in an interview.The cautious rollout is the company’s first public effort to address the recent chatbot craze driven by OpenAI and Microsoft, and it is meant to demonstrate that Google is capable of providing similar technology. But Google is taking a much more cautious approach than its competitors, which have faced criticism that they are proliferating an unpredictable and sometimes untrustworthy technology.Still, the release represents a significant step to stave...

After JBS shutters plant-based food company, Boulder startup expands its alternative-meat production

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:23:25 GMT

Just months after JBS USA pulled the plug on its plant-based protein business, a Boulder startup has opened a factory in Thornton to expand its version of a meat alternative.Meati Foods, founded in 2016, started operation in February at a 120,000-square-foot building where it produces plant-based food from mushroom root. The company, which has 300 employees, sells its cutlets and steaks in area Sprouts Farmer Market stores and Birdcall fast-food restaurants.The company recently started shipping to all 385 Sprouts stores nationwide, said Scott Tassani, president and chief operating officer. He said Meati’s footprint was tied to its production capacity, which was limited until the Thornton factory opened.“We have a pipeline of commercial partners that are interested and ready to launch as quickly as we can supply them,” said Tassani, who joined the company in 2021 after nearly 30 years at General Mills.As interest leveled off in meat alternatives and inflation rose, ...

Living with trees: What you need to know about storm protection and insurance coverage

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:23:25 GMT

As the Bay Area dries out from a parade of atmospheric rivers, leaving hundreds of downed trees in their wake, a new set of questions are facing residents: How can trees be protected and risks of damage and danger to life and property reduced? When the damage is already done, who pays?With so many losses, just finding help is a challenge. We asked some experts for insight: Tree Davis, a nonprofit which plants trees in Yolo County; Michal Brower, State Farm Insurance public affairs specialist; and Elizabeth Hartman, spokesperson for Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies. Q: How can I assess the risk of my trees?A: Tree care can significantly extend the performance, lifespan and the benefits of trees. Have your trees inspected periodically. Prune overextended or dead branches. Here are signs of trouble: leaning trees, with raised soil on the side of the trunk opposite the lean: cracks extending into the wood on the trunk or major limbs; “conks,” or fungal fruiting b...

Editorial: Where is California’s comprehensive mental health plan, governor?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:23:25 GMT

California needs a comprehensive plan to solve its growing mental health problem.The current piecemeal approach is creating confusion among city, county and state leaders while thousands of mentally ill people wander the streets, failing to receive the help or housing they desperately need.The situation calls for Gavin Newsom to provide the leadership Californians expect from their governor. What they’re getting instead is bureaucratic chaos lacking in accountability.On March 19, Newsom unveiled his latest proposal, calling for a bond measure that would raise $3 billion to fund housing for the mentally ill. The governor also wants to divert another $1 billion a year from an existing voter-approved mental health tax.The idea has merit. So does Newsom’s Care Court plan, which was signed into law in 2022 and is designed to make it easier to place severely mentally ill Californians into psychiatric treatment and housing.But it’s not clear how Newsom’s plans fit i...

SF Giants’ answers in catching competition will reveal themselves soon

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:23:25 GMT

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — As the Giants pack up their equipment trucks, they will include four sets of catchers gear. Declared a “true competition” on the first day of camp, San Francisco’s backstop blockade hasn’t resolved itself yet as the team heads north.With less than a week until Opening Day, answers are coming. And at least one decision will have to be made even sooner. While nothing has yet to be finalized, the Giants’ head decision-maker, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, provided some insight on the state of the competition Friday in an end-of-camp media session.The most imminent choice Zaidi and the Giants’ braintrust must make is regarding Roberto Pérez, the veteran former Gold Glover in camp as a non-roster invitee. Pérez’s minor-league deal includes an opt out clause that is triggered on Saturday, giving the Giants 48 hours — until Monday — to add him to their active roster, or he can request his release.While Pérez̵...

Opinion: AI will take us to terrifying and beautiful places. Are we ready?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:23:25 GMT

As a civilization, we’ve done a collectively poor job recognizing technology that is transformational. In hindsight, we shake our heads and wonder how we could have possibly overlooked the dawn of a new epoch. This being Silicon Valley, there will be another one coming along in six months.The guy who dreamed up the wheel was probably dismissed as a nut. History is full of real whack jobs with names like Da Vinci, Newton and Copernicus. One such whack job, Douglas Engelebart, was the father of trivial things such as the mouse and the teleconference. He was Silicon Valley’s own prophet without honor. He tried once to explain to me why we keep underestimating technologies that are truly revolutionary. It was as if we’re in a car, flying down a dark, twisty road. “It keeps speeding up,” he said, “but the headlights aren’t reaching any further.”Today, we’re flying down a road that’s going to take us to terrifying and beautiful p...

Yemen rebels restrict humanitarian flights arriving in Sanaa

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:23:25 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they were imposing severe restrictions starting Saturday on U.N. and other humanitarian flights arriving in the capital, Sanaa.The Houthi-run Civil Aviation Authority said no humanitarian flights would land in Sanaa between March 25-30. It said in a statement they would allow such flights in Sanaa only on Fridays.The Houthis said their decision was in response to an alleged barring of commercial flights to and from the Yemeni capital, and a ban of booking flights from Sanaa.The United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The Sanaa International Airport was partly reopened for commercial fights last year as part of a U.N.-brokered cease-fire deal between Yemen’s warring parties. The cease-fire expired in October when the two sides failed to reach a compromise to renew the truce.The Houthi move comes amid an escalation in fighting in the central province of Marib, where the Houthi rebels in recent days at...