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Business Journals
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Journals
The Colorado-Israel Chamber of Commerce, a Binational Innovation Gateway
Bridging Innovation Between Dynamic Ecosystems: The Colorado-Israel Business Connection By Jordan Kastrinsky, Co-Founder & Israel Director, Colorado-Israel Chamber of Commerce On a sun-filled morning in a Tel Aviv cafe this past March, I sat across from the founder of an energy tech venture capital firm who was raising a fund to help bring innovative technologies to market. His goal was simple: to support and develop some of the most forward-thinking energy solutions available. He asked me directly, 'Where should we go for partnerships and growth opportunities?' My answer came quickly: Colorado. Not because I was born in Colorado or because I represent the Colorado-Israel Chamber of Commerce. But because I've come to believe that something extraordinary is happening between Colorado and Israel, and it is only beginning to take shape. Together with Jeremiah Baronberg, a fellow Coloradan from Denver, I co-founded the new Colorado-Israel Chamber of Commerce (CO-IL) in February 2024 as a binational platform to bring two thriving, yet under-connected innovation ecosystems closer together. Israel is known globally for its startup ingenuity as The Startup Nation, where its tech firms punch above their weight for such a relatively small country when it comes to investments raised, IPOs, and degree of innovation. Israel is also home to hundreds of international firms' R&D centers. Likewise, Colorado is a U.S. leader in agriculture, energy, aerospace, bioscience, and quantum technologies and home to 33 federally funded national laboratories, making it one of the U.S.'s leading hubs for scientific research and innovation and contributing significantly to the state's economy. Together, Colorado and Israel are well-positioned to turn high-tech breakthroughs into real-world resilience. In building CO-IL, we have stayed true to our business-oriented focus by working in close partnership with both government and industry to help founders identify and engage partners, public agencies find pilot programs, and investors find deals. We've seen how powerful this work can be. At Denver Startup Week, we hosted Colorado-Israeli biotech founders and investors to engage directly with Colorado's entrepreneurial community while discussing lessons learned from Israel's innovation economy. At the Colorado State Capitol, we convened legislators with the CO-IL community around a shared mission: to deepen economic collaboration rooted in innovation and shared goals. Across dozens of meetings, introductions, and follow-ups, we've helped Israeli startups secure meaningful business opportunities and connect with active Colorado investors, universities, municipalities, and major corporations. It is also important to emphasize that the interest comes in both directions—Colorado stakeholders are increasingly looking to Israel not only for advanced solutions but also for resilient partners. In the aftermath of October 7, the Israeli innovation ecosystem has been building under extraordinary pressure. Founders have not stopped even as they rush to the frontlines. If anything, they have accelerated their entrepreneurial ambitions with an acute sense of mission and urgency to forge sustainable partnerships. As Israel faces the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, its resilience—rooted in unity and innovation—is being tested and strengthened in profound ways. That is where Colorado comes in. This year, CO-IL is working to launch two binational flagship initiatives. First, a water-tech accelerator designed to connect Israeli startups with utilities across Colorado for real-world pilot program deployment. Second, a Colorado-Israel cybersecurity business center to provide Israeli cyber-tech companies with a launchpad into the U.S. market and offer Colorado stakeholders early access to tested technologies. These programs point to a new kind of collaborative, business bridge between Colorado and Israel centered around addressing critical, timely challenges through innovation. As we look ahead, CO-IL is working to organize delegations of Colorado and Israeli industry leaders for visits to both regions to meet their Israeli counterparts, tour laboratory and pilot sites, and shape the future of these collaborations. Our vision is to grow Colorado's value as an anchor for Israeli innovation and to champion Israel as a trusted launchpad for Colorado-based technologies. We know the work is only beginning. But we are proud of what's already been built and excited about what's ahead. We believe we are building more than a chamber and something that can become a shared platform for resilience, innovation, and trust. So when an Israeli founder asks where to go next, I don't hesitate. Come to Colorado. We are ready to build with you.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Schumer warned Biden only five of 51 Senators wanted him to stay in the race after disastrous debate
Joe Biden's doomed effort to remain atop the Democratic ticket in the 2024 presidential election came to a crashing halt last summer after the then-president was made aware of the paltry party support he still had among his former colleagues in the U.S. Senate, a new book reveals. In their inside account of the tumultuous election, titled simply 2024, Washington Post reporters Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf write that the July 13, 2024 meeting between Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Biden was only put on the president's private schedule after the veteran New York senator, with whom Biden served in the upper chamber for a decade, threatened to go public with his request for a sit-down. Schumer, who was then the Senate majority leader, traveled from Washington to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where Biden purchased a 4,786-square-foot beachfront home in 2017 after his term as vice president under Barack Obama had come to a close. According to the authors, Biden's meeting with his former colleague Schumer followed a series of Zoom meetings with key Democratic groups, including a contentious session with the House's New Democrat Coalition that blew up when Biden attacked Colorado Rep. Jason Crow, a decorated Army veteran who'd read the president a note which stated that he and others were 'seeing overwhelming evidence in our districts that many voters are losing confidence' in Biden's ability to handle another four-year term. Schumer reportedly heard the confrontation, during which Biden laid into Crow in personal terms, referencing his military service and demanding that the Coloradan find 'a world leader who's an ally of ours who doesn't think I'm the most effective president they've ever met' after the congressman questioned the sitting president's effectiveness. Things didn't get much better for Biden when he joined Schumer, who reportedly told him that of the 51 Democratic senators then in office, perhaps only five would express support for him to remain in the race if there was a secret ballot to measure the caucus' enthusiasm for the president. Biden was reportedly surprised by the statistic, at which point Schumer said: 'I know my caucus.' Schumer also r told Biden that his own campaign's pollsters were not confident that he could defeat Trump for a second time, the book claims. 'I don't believe you are getting all the information,' he said. 'Or the information you are getting is inaccurate.' The president asked Schumer for a week to make a decision, and as he left his home to attend Mass at nearby St. Edmund Catholic Church, he posed one more question to the Senate leader. He asked: 'What do you think about Kamala? Do you think she could win?' Schumer told Biden he didn't know if the vice president could defeat Trump, but he added that he was sure the president could not. 'If I were you, I wouldn't run, and I'm urging you not to run,' he said. One week leader, Biden released a letter announcing that he was standing down from the presidential race, becoming the first incumbent president to do so since then-president Lyndon Johnson announced that he would not seek the Democratic presidential nomination amid the tumult of the Vietnam War in 1968. He wrote: 'It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.'
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rep. Lauren Boebert seeking $5m in federal funds to remove ‘toxic black sludge' from drinking water in tiny Colorado community
Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert visited a small community in Morgan County, in the eastern part of her state, promising to address a long-standing issue that has left locals with 'toxic black sludge' in place of clean drinking water. Boebert this week toured the Prairie View Ranch Water District, which lies 50 miles north of Denver, and told the residents: 'This is something that certainly needs to be addressed. I'm sorry it's been ignored for two decades. 'This is something that should upset and appall every single Coloradan.' To remedy the situation, she has pledged to ask the House Appropriations Committee for a $5 million grant to help overhaul the local water supply. Her request will be put before the committee later this month and, if it is approved, will then likely be folded into a larger appropriations bill that would have to pass through the House of Representatives and Senate before reaching President Donald Trump's desk for signing off. Boebert's office believes that could happen before the end of September, according to CBS News. Boebert has been notable in recent months over her outspoken support for Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has slashed federal budgets in a bid to reduce 'waste' expenditure and fraud. The Independent has reached out to Boebert's office for further comment. The water crisis in eastern Colorado has been in the making for almost 20 years, with the area's 150 residents saying they have been repeatedly let down by the people elected to protect them and left with houses that are worthless without reliable water. CBS reports that the Morgan County Board of County Commissioners allowed the district to be run as a for-profit private company for 16 years, a period during which the Colorado Division of Housing allegedly failed to stop unscrupulous developers from using an unregistered installer, using false credentials and faked signatures, to assemble houses and infrastructure on the cheap. The network adds that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Water Quality Control Division failed to act for a decade after learning that the homes had been erected without valid state approval or proper regulatory oversight, resulting in contaminated water and widespread discontent. 'We have systems. We have policies. We have regulations that should never allow this, and it went by blind eyes and deaf ears,' resident Sam Belmonte told CBS. He challenged Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, a gubernatorial candidate, to follow Boebert's example and said he found her visit 'invigorating' after years of feeling ignored. 'It gave us some sense of hope that Congresswoman Boebert actually came,' Belmonte said. The representative left the site with a sample of the water, which she said she hopes to use to present to the House committee to persuade its members to hand over the funding. 'I'm happy to be here doing this but the state of Colorado should have stepped in years and years ago,' she said. 'Every Coloradan, every American, every person deserves clean drinking water. This is unacceptable.'
American Military News
05-06-2025
- Health
- American Military News
Turkish Airlines passenger from Denver is 7th measles case tied to DIA outbreak
A Denver resident is the seventh Coloradan to get measles from a passenger on a Turkish Airlines flight last month — and they may have passed the highly contagious virus on to people at three stores along the Front Range. The new patient is among four people who flew on Turkish Airlines flight 201, which landed at Denver International Airport on May 13, who have since tested positive for measles. Three additional people who passed through DIA at the same time as the initially infected person — an out-of-state traveler — or shortly thereafter have also contracted the disease. The measles virus can linger in the air for about two hours. The new Denver patient was a vaccinated adult who is recovering at home, according to the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment. Two doses of the measles vaccine are about 97% effective in preventing infection. The public should watch for measles symptoms if they visited the following locations: —Trader Joe's, 661 Logan St., Denver, between 9:30 and 11:40 a.m. May 29. Symptoms could appear through June 19. —King Soopers, 1520 Main St., Windsor, between 10:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. Friday. Symptoms could appear through June 20. —Target, 4301 E. Virginia Ave., Glendale, between 9:20 and 11:50 p.m. Monday. Symptoms could appear through June 23. An El Paso County resident who visited the airport also tested positive in the last week. That person visited Single Barrel Bar and Grill, 5885 Stetson Hills Blvd. in Colorado Springs, possibly exposing people who were there between 6 and 11:30 p.m. Friday. Symptoms can take anywhere from one to three weeks to develop. Unvaccinated people can reduce their risk of infection if they get the shot within 72 hours. Initial symptoms of measles include a fever, runny nose, red eyes and cough. A red rash develops about four days after someone becomes contagious. If someone who was at an exposure site develops symptoms, they should call ahead before seeking medical care, so their provider can protect other patients from infection. The state has confirmed 12 measles cases this year. In a typical year, Colorado has two or fewer, usually involving people who got the virus while traveling overseas, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends that anyone going abroad who isn't already vaccinated get the shot before departing. ___ © 2025 MediaNews Group, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Brighton man loses wife of 68 years, 4 pets, home in fire
DENVER (KDVR) — On Thursday night, FOX31 learned new information about a fatal fire in Brighton that burned a home on Mother's Day, killing an 88-year-old grandmother and four animals. Measles case confirmed in vaccinated Coloradan who flew into DIA FOX31's Talya Cunningham found out the fire was caused by a piece of furniture that could be in your house right now. The cause of this fatal fire may be surprising: an electric recliner chair. Family members are truly devastated and not ready to speak on-camera, but they were spoken with on the phone, and they hope to prevent another tragedy by sharing their story. It's a device common to many households, and investigators said it's the cause of the fire that sparked on May 11. The fire started around 12:30 p.m. on 132nd Avenue, and when firefighters arrived on the scene, the home was fully engulfed in smoke, with one person trapped inside. Crews rushed in, rescued her and began CPR, but it was unsuccessful. 88-year-old Kim Okada died from smoke inhalation. The family said their three dogs and cat all died of smoke inhalation as well. Kim's husband, Paul, was outside the home when the fire started, but was unable to save her. The couple were high school sweethearts who met when they were 16 and 17 years old, and were married for 68 years. 'My mom was a kind woman who brought smiles to those around her. She was a loving wife, mom, grandmother and great-grandmother who is sorely missed. She was a light in our lives,' said daughter Teiko Richy. Brighton fire investigators concluded the home had no smoke detectors and the fire started underneath an electric recliner. They determined a cord was pinched due to wear over time. The Brighton Fire Chief of Prevention, Elizabeth Bednracik, is warning everyone with this piece of furniture to always check the integrity of the appliance cord because it can lead to fires. The Brighton Fire Department said there are several steps to take to prevent fires: Always have working smoke alarms Check electrical cords frequently Have an escape plan Use power strips over extension cords Evans, Boebert tout 'Big, Beautiful, Bill' amid boos from Coloradans 'It's a difficult time right now. We're doing everything we can to help support the family and community. This is a big loss for us, and we're going to be there for them during this time,' said Bednracik. 'They're very grateful. They've reached out to me to express thanks to the crews who came out, as you can imagine, it's very difficult for our responding crews who knew there was a party trapped inside. They were able to get her out and do CPR. It's a tragedy to the entire community, including our fire department.' The family has set up a GoFundMe to help Paul after the incident. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
