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• Unusual respite from surging health care costs

  January 7, 2013 4:24 PM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - Americans kept health care spending in check for three years in a row, the government reported Monday, an unusual respite that could linger if the economy stays soft or fade like a mirage if job growth comes roaring back. The nation's health care tab stood at $2.7... more »

• Education cuts hitting home Play Video

  November 14, 2011 6:27 PM

  Classroom in Colorado Springs School District 11 will be empty next week as employees take their two mandatory furlough days this year. Glen Gustafson, D11's chief financial office, says all of the furloughs are happening during Thanksgiving week to minimize the impact on the community. "We know that this... more »

• Denver police spend $365k on Occupy Denver work

  October 22, 2011 3:21 PM

  DENVER (AP) - Denver has spent $365,000 in overtime expenses over five days for their work on the Wall Street protests. The Denver Post reports that the spending includes police, sheriff, public works and environmental health departments. That figure does not include costs for an all day concert at... more »

• 2010 travel costs up for Denver airport officials

  December 12, 2010 4:52 PM

  DENVER (AP) - Denver International Airport officials expect their travel costs this to year to be at least 43 percent more than last year. The Denver Post reports that travel costs were almost $384,000 as of Friday. Aviation manager Kim Day says the costs are necessary to market the... more »

• Flight delays cost passengers $16.7B

  October 19, 2010 8:58 AM

  A government-funded study says airline flight delays cost passengers a lot more than grief - $16.7 billion more, to be precise. That's the price a study delivered Monday to the Federal Aviation Administration puts on the cost to passengers for flight delays in 2007. That was the latest year... more »

• Disabilities no longer a death sentence for pets

  October 18, 2010 10:03 AM

  Cats, dogs and other pets with disabilities that would have once caused the animals to be euthanized are living longer lives, thanks to a growing industry that caters to their owners. From canine chiropractors to companies that make wheelchairs designed for dogs, a segment of the $47 billion pet... more »

• Fannie Mae offers housing aid to military families

  September 27, 2010 10:35 AM

  Mortgage giant Fannie Mae plans to give military families a break on their home loan payments if they are struggling because of the death or injury of a service member. The Washington-based company says it will reduce or suspend borrowers' monthly payments up to six months. Fannie Mae is... more »

• Number of fat people in US to grow, report says

  September 27, 2010 9:39 AM

  Citizens of the world's richest countries are getting fatter and fatter and the United States is leading the charge, an organization of leading economies said Thursday in its first ever obesity forecast. Three out of four Americans will be overweight or obese by 2020, and disease rates and health... more »

• Obesity hurts your wallet along with your health

  September 21, 2010 9:15 AM

  Researchers are putting a price tag on obesity. Doctors have long known that medical bills are higher for the obese, but a report from George Washington University finds that's only a portion of the real-life costs. The researchers added in things like employee sick days, lost productivity, even the... more »

• BP says cost of Gulf of Mexico spill hits $8 billion

  September 3, 2010 8:28 AM

  BP says it has so far spent $8 billion responding to the disastrous oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. The company said Friday that the total included $399 million paid to settle 127,000 claims from businesses and other affected by the oil spill. The oil company... more »

• Boulder's smart grid triples in cost; Pueblo to pay

  August 31, 2010 9:23 AM

  Xcel Energy's SmartGridCity is supposed to be an experiment in what a modern energy grid might look like. Since the utility announced the project in Boulder in 2008, its costs have nearly tripled from initial estimates to around $45 million. This week the Colorado Public Utilities Commission is... more »

• A chance to save a little more this school year

  August 22, 2010 6:21 PM

  Julian McNally just got in to Colorado Springs from Minnesota, and hasn't even had a chance to unpack; he's enrolling in school. "A thousand miles, you know, a decent drive," McNally says. "I still have all my stuff in my car here." A bit of a rite of passage... more »

• Shrimpers cross fingers as they head into the Gulf

  August 16, 2010 8:02 AM

  Louisiana shrimpers have more than the usual worries as they hit the water today for the opening of shrimp season. Besides concerns over how much they'll catch and what they'll get for it, there's anxiety about how much damage the shrimp population has truly suffered from the lengthy oil... more »

• Nevada slashes state employee benefits, costs

  August 6, 2010 8:36 AM

  A state panel has voted to slash benefits for tens of thousands of Nevada public employees, retirees and their dependents, including eliminating some benefits and drastically reducing others. The Public Employees' Benefit Program Board on Thursday cut nearly $81 million in subsidized services for 70,000 participants. That's about two-thirds... more »

• Colorado to begin reviewing conservation easements

  August 5, 2010 8:23 AM

  Colorado Attorney General John Suthers is stepping into the dispute between landowners and the state Department of Revenue over conservation easements. Department of Revenue Director Roxy Huber told dozens of angry landowners Wednesday that the state will evaluate complaints of shoddy appraisals that prompted the denial of $90 million... more »

• BP puts Gulf oil spill cost at nearly $4 billion

  July 19, 2010 8:07 AM

  Oil company BP says that the cost of dealing with the Gulf of Mexico spill has now reached nearly $4 billion. The company, which last week managed to place a temporary cap on the leak, said Monday it has made payments totaling $207 million to settle individual claims for... more »

• BP ahead of schedule on cap; releases latest costs

  July 12, 2010 8:12 AM

  BP says it's ahead of schedule as underwater robots steadily assemble heavy metal pieces in what could be the most significant progress yet toward containing the Gulf oil spill. BP is aiming for completion today of a new, tighter cap it hopes will allow the containment of all the... more »

• BP: Gulf oil spill costs have reached $1.25B

  June 7, 2010 9:13 AM

  BP says the cost of the company's response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has reached about $1.25 billion. The figure company announced the total in a news release Monday. BP says the figure does not include $360 million for a project to build six sand... more »

• Xcel Energy 2-tier rate plan starts Tuesday

  June 1, 2010 8:24 AM

  Xcel Energy's two-tiered rate plan aimed at encouraging customers to cut electricity use during the summer begins Tuesday. Customers will be charged the lower rate of 0.098 per kilowatt hour for the first 500-kilowatt hours and 0.14 per kilowatt hour for use above 500 kilowatt hours, under the plan... more »

• Paying for the peaks: hiking charges considered

  May 17, 2010 8:24 AM

  Hikers who tackle some of Colorado's highest peaks could soon face a toll beyond the physical. The federal government is considering charging hikers up to $20 to access popular mountaintops. The U.S. Forest Service says it will consider permit fees to cover trail improvements at some of Colorado "fourteeners"... more »

• Black Hills seeks rate hike of 8 to 15 percent

  May 13, 2010 4:46 PM

  Black Hills Energy plans to seek a rate hike to help it pay for costs of building a $450 million natural gas-fired power plant to serve Pueblo customers. Black Hills currently serves about 93,000 Pueblo-area customers with power from Xcel Energy. Black Hills CEO David Emery told investors last... more »

• BP says its Gulf oil spill costs now $450 million

  May 13, 2010 9:26 AM

  The cost of fighting a massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill is mounting rapidly for the global oil company that owns the well. London-based BP PLC says it has spent $450 million since the spill started after an April 20 oil rig explosion. That's up by $100 million from... more »

• Governor to sign bill allowing massive tuition hikes

  May 12, 2010 8:31 AM

  A bill giving Colorado colleges more flexibility to set tuition rates is on its way to the governor. The Senate on Tuesday agreed to changes made by the House and readopted the bill. Backers say the bill is needed because lawmakers will have to cut state funding by $300... more »

• US cancer costs nearly doubled in 20 years

  May 10, 2010 8:44 AM

  A surprising new study finds that the cost of treating cancer in the United States nearly doubled over the past two decades. But expensive cancer drugs may not be the main reason why. The study found that rising costs may have been driven more by the growing number of... more »

• Loan guarantees recharge nuclear debate

  February 10, 2010 10:21 AM

  President Barack Obama's proposal to triple federal loan guarantees for the construction of new nuclear power plants has galvanized critics of the existing program, which they say is on the verge of throwing taxpayer support behind four projects facing untold costs and dependent on unproven technology. In his $3.8... more »

• Colorado optimistic Calif ruling won't hurt water deal

  January 19, 2010 11:19 AM

  Colorado water officials are optimistic that a California court ruling invalidating a conservation plan won't derail agreements affecting seven Western states. Dick Wolfe, director of the Colorado Division of Water Resources, said Tuesday that water officials have shown a "collective will" to overcome obstacles. A judge last week... more »

• Obesity driving up diabetes cases and costs

  November 30, 2009 12:10 PM

  The number of diabetes cases in this country is expected to nearly double in the next 25 years -- from 23-million to 44-million in the year 2034, according to researchers at the University of Chicago. A surge in obesity in this country has prompted doctors to test more people... more »

• Poll: Americans support curbs on malpractice lawsuits

  November 19, 2009 8:59 AM

  An Associated Press poll says most Americans want Congress to deal with malpractice lawsuits driving up the cost of medical care. Yet, Democrats are reluctant to press forward on an issue that would upset a valuable political constituency - trial lawyers - even if President Barack Obama says he's open... more »

• Natural gas prices staying low

  October 5, 2009 1:59 PM

  There's good news for consumers who heat with natural gas. The American Gas Association says plentiful domestic supplies and lower wellhead prices will drive bills down this winter. Some utilities are telling their customers they'll pay at least 20 percent less for natural gas than they did a year ago.... more »