🌱 Girl Injured In Hit-And-Run + Denver's 1st Safe-Camping Site

Morning, neighbors!

As you may know, Amazon Web Services experienced an outage on Tuesday that affected the Denver Daily. Some of you might have received a late newsletter on Wednesday, or no newsletter at all. Please know this was unfortunately beyond our control, but know that we are fully back in business! - Amber Fisher

Now that's out of the way, let's get you the latest news!

First, today's weather:

You can expect another cloudy day, with a high of 54 and a low of 27.

Here are the top stories today in Denver:

1. An 8-year-old girl was struck and injured in a hit-and-run Tuesday evening near 53rd Avenue and Lowell Boulevard, Colorado State Patrol said. Troopers are looking for a stolen brown 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe SUV with license plate AZQ 027. The girl suffered "moderate to serious" injuries, CSP said. (9News.com KUSA)
2. Construction is underway for Denver's first safe-camping site, which is set to open Tuesday in the city's Clayton neighborhood. Fifty residents will have access to sanitation, services and ice-fishing tents. There are a lot of moving parts to getting such a site open, particularly when it comes to permitting. (Westword)
3. Denver's unemployment rate was 5 percent in October, down from 5.2 percent in September. That reflected some improvement from October 2020, when the unemployment rate stood at 7.9 percent. (Denver Patch)
4. The Douglas County School District Board of Education voted late Tuesday night to end its universal mask requirement and replace it with a new resolution, which allows parents to decide whether their children wear masks. The board voted 4-3 to end the requirement. (Littleton Patch)
5. Denver is among the best U.S. cities to visit at Christmas, according to a new report by Condé Nast Traveler. The magazine says our city has one of the best Christkindlmarkets in the country. (Paywall - The Denver Post)

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Today in metro Denver:

• Winter Band Concert - John F. Kennedy (7 p.m.)
• Theatre Performance - It's a Wonderful Life (7 p.m.)
• Rotating Tap Comedy @ Great Divide Brewing (7 p.m.)
• Dean Edwards at Comedy Works South (7:30 p.m.)
• Trevor Wallace at Comedy Works Downtown (7:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• City and County of Denver Government: "Denver’s citywide minimum wage will increase to $15.87/hour starting January 1, 2022. The tip credit for the food and beverage industry remains $3.02/hour. The citywide minimum wage applies to all work performed within the City and County..." (Facebook)
• Denver Museum of Nature & Science: "Thank you so much to everyone who donated to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for #ColoradoGivesDay! Thanks to your generosity, we raised more than $50,000! #GiveWhereYouLive." (Facebook)
• VISIT DENVER: "Grab your friends, family, and those mittens or gloves and head to Skyline Park to carve, slide, and skate for free at the Downtown Denver Ice Rink sponsored by Southwest Airlines." (Facebook)
• Denver Broncos Community Development: "For the past year, Garett Bolles has been mentoring kids in Arapahoe County’s Juvenile Probation Court. Today he had the chance to meet with pre-trial & probation court staff to become more educated on how he can help kids stay on the right path." (Facebook)
• Denver Preschool Program: "Helping your child with their emotions is an important aspect of healthy development, but managing your own emotions in high-stress situations is equally as important. Below are several tips PBS KIDS for managing feelings of frustration ..." (Facebook)

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That's it for today. See you all tomorrow morning for another update! If you're feeling these newsletters, consider bringing some more friends and neighbors along for the ride. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— Amber Fisher

About me: I'm a Patch editor covering news in Denver's metro area and Boulder. I've spent the past nine years working for various news outlets across North America, including Chicago Patch, Global News and WBEZ. I've covered high-profile court cases, civil rights abuses, mass shootings, natural disasters and major crimes — but also countless happy news stories about kindness, innovation and resilience. When I'm not writing articles, I can be found hiking, snowboarding, debating politics with my husband and attempting to be a sci-fi and astronomy geek.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Denver Daily? You can contact me at amber.fisher@patch.com.