Denver’s public works department closed the left eastbound lane on the West Evans Avenue bridge over South Santa Fe Drive because inspectors found deterioration of the concrete bridge deck, officials said Monday.
Damage to the deck could affect its load-bearing capacity, they said, so about 100 feet of the one lane will be closed for about a week for repairs.
The recent bridge collapse in Minnesota caused local and state officials nationwide to increase bridge-inspection programs.
Additional local news briefs:
GREENWOOD VILLAGE
Man arrested in rental-property scam
Police have arrested Nick J. Beram, 43, of Denver for allegedly persuading 29 people to give him $250 rental deposits on apartments they had never seen. He’s been charged with a variety of crimes, including computer crimes, theft of more than $1,000 and criminal impersonation.
Police arrested Beram in mid-August after learning about the scam and locating about a dozen victims, according to Greenwood Village police Detective Joe Gutgsell. Police put out a news release, describing how Beram represented himself as a property manager with apartments for rent that he advertised on the Internet.
Gutgsell said police now have the names of 29 individuals and two banks who are out of the $250 deposits. One more person called police Tuesday.
None of the money has been recovered, Gutgsell said. Beram is scheduled to be in court later this month.
DENVER
Botulism blamed for City Park bird kill
The 40 dead ducks found at City Park over the Labor Day weekend likely died of avian botulism, officials say.
“We’re almost 99.9 percent sure,” said Ellen Dumm, spokeswoman for Denver Environmental Health. “We see it every year.”
“There’s no threat to animals, fish or humans,” she said. “It only affects the bottom feeders.”
DENVER
DPS tells state: Keep out of contract fight
Denver Public Schools officials Tuesday asked the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment not to get involved in the current labor dispute the district is having with the teachers’ union.
The request was made because the Denver Classroom Teachers Association on Thursday had petitioned the state to assert its jurisdiction in the contract negotiations, which are at an impasse.
Teachers are seeking a 4.47 percent raise and DPS is offering a 3.6 percent increase. Teachers also want more say in school reforms and more time to implement the reforms.
GREELEY
15-year-old charged in deaths of girls
The Weld County district attorney filed several charges Tuesday against a 15-year-old Greeley youth for allegedly striking and killing a 9-year-old girl while driving his father’s pickup Aug. 27.
Carlos Manzo was charged with vehicular homicide, among other charges.
If convicted, Manzo faces 10 to 41 years in prison.
Manzo allegedly was driving his father’s pickup truck and struck Jasmine Hernandez, 9, and her cousin, Ibeth Rodriguez, 8. Hernandez died and Rodriguez was injured.
LAKEWOOD
Police name boy, 5, who drowned in lake
Authorities have released the name of a 5-year-old boy who drowned in Bear Creek Lake Park on Sunday afternoon.
Kasey C. Allen of Denver died after he was discovered in a shallow swimming area of the lake, said Steve Davis, Lakewood police spokesman.
Lakewood detectives continue to investigate the incident, Davis said.
GREELEY
Fire from shrubbery damages church
A small church in downtown Greeley received substantial fire damage Monday evening when nearby bushes caught on fire from suspected fireworks.
The Unitarian Universalist Church at 929 15th St. received about $5,000 in fire damage when a small fireworks rocket shot into a bush next to the church, said Dale Lyman, division chief of the Union Colony Fire Rescue Authority.
