by Mark Smiley | Dec 17, 2021 | Main Articles
FAA Warns Rollout Of 5G Network Could Also Affect Air Safety Including Flights From DIA
by Glen Richardson
Denver’s cellphone carriers are set to begin shutting down their older networks as 2022 gets underway. If and when they do and you have an older device you won’t be able to text, phone friends or make an emergency 9-1-1 call.
The shutdown dates were set to start Jan. 1, 2022, and continue throughout the year. Verizon says their 3G CDMA network will go away no later than the end of 2022. T-Mobile plans to retire all its 3G networks, including those obtained through its merger with Sprint, as quickly as possible as this year begins.
The changeover dates initially appeared to be confirmed. Phone carriers here and elsewhere have been proceeding as if they were permanent and established.
Air Safety?
However, the FCC warned as 2021 was coming to an end that the 5G rollout would impede air safety for pilots and slow airline travel, including traffic at DIA in Denver. Just after mid-November, carriers agreed to delay their launch of 5G C-band spectrum licenses until Jan. 5, 2022, due to the FAA concerns.
DIA Delays: FAA says the rollout of 5G may affect air safety, including at DIA. Pilots apparently will also tell passengers that new 5G devices should be turned off or switched to airplane mode during flights.
In a special information bulletin released at the time, the FAA said operators “should be prepared for the possibility that interference from 5G transmitters and other technology could cause certain safety equipment to malfunction, requiring them to take mitigating action that could affect flight operations.”
The bulletin said “there have not yet been proven reports of harmful interference,” but recommended pilots also remind passengers that all portable electronic devices equipped with 5G be should be turned off or switched to airplane mode during flight.” Following Thanksgiving, however, The Wall Street Journal reported that, “AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. said they would limit some of their fifth-generation wireless services for six months while federal regulators review the signals’ effect on aircraft sensors.”
Definitive Dish Deal: Colorado dropped out of the T-Mobile-Sprint merger lawsuit to allow Littleton-based Dish Network to create nation’s fourth wireless provider. Dish is attempting to build a cloud-native 5G network.
Rollout Impact
The slowdown or even a longer delay may yet occur as the two government agencies — the FAA (Federal Aviation Agency) and FCC (Federal Communications Commission) — feud over nationwide safety. The Wall Street Journal said the compromise was proposed in a letter sent to the agencies by the carriers.
If and when the rollout begins, here’s what to expect: Your older phone(s) will no longer take phone calls; furthermore, apps and websites will no longer work over a cellular connection.
Killing off the slower networks, moreover, will upset much more than just your cell phone: older cars have 3G systems, as do security cameras and other systems. Examples include medical alert devices plus e-readers like the Kindle.
New Nightmare
Denver is one of the first major U.S. cities where telecommunications companies sta
rted installing the super-powerful cell towers. Companies providing 5G service here — AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile — are doubling the number of 5G towers around the Mile High City.
Valley residents were told they were the beginning of, “a new era of digital interconnectedness.” Cell phone carriers even claimed, “It was the beginning of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
Over the past couple of years, however, residents in neighborhood after neighborhood have found them to be an infrastructural nightmare.
Poles A Drawback
Homeowners say the poles are ugly, spoiling the scenery and harming their property values.
As time has gone by, residents in several locations have uncovered additional problems but contend they can’t get the cell phone companies to fix them or even acknowledge problems exist. The city, however, can’t stop the carriers from installing the poles, thanks to a 2017 state law that says companies should generally be allowed to build them on the public right of way along city streets.
Furthermore, many families remain uneasy that the poles could also cause adverse health effects. Will the added small cells mean there are higher amounts of RF-waves surrounding people? Bottom line: Nothing conclusive has been ruled out or in and the long-term effects remain unknown.
Colorado Deal
Colorado, as many local residents likely recall, was originally one of 12 states that joined a lawsuit to stop the merger claiming it would hurt consumers and cut competition.
Changeover Collision: Rollout of 5G technology by Denver’s cellphone carriers this month will shut down older cellphones (pictured). If you have a Samsung Galaxy S4 or older it is also a 3G device, but newer models may still need an update to work.
The state pulled out of the lawsuit, however, when T-Mobile agreed to sell its subsidiaries Boost and Virgin Mobile to Colorado-based Dish Network for $5 billion. The deal allowed Dish to take over T-Mobile and Sprint’s service bands, creating the nation’s fourth wireless provider.
Eventually the compact will create, “thousands of new jobs,” the state said when announcing the deal. Potential job estimates according to carrier sources, are currently slightly more than 2,000. To date, Dish is still building the network in conjunction with more than 35 other companies. When completed it will link about nine million customers of Boost plus cable companies Comcast and Charter by relying on Verizon’s network.
T-Mobile Tactics
Meanwhile, in what some industry insiders are calling “double-dealing,” some observers are insinuating that T-Mobile is trying to crush the Dish deal.
Prior to the close of 2021, T-Mobile launched substantial promotions intended to get back the very customers it was required to sell to Dish as part of the Sprint merger. Even without the T-Mobile promotions, Dish was expected to lose more than 8.9 million wireless subscribers.
T-Mobile is the brand name used by the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG. The brand is active in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Poland, along with the U.S.
by Charles Bonniwell | Dec 17, 2021 | Main Articles
So Why Are We Still Wearing Masks? Mask Mandates Cause End Of Tri-County Health
by Charles Bonniwell
Canny Politician: Colorado Governor Jared Polis has gone on a national media tour receiving praise for declaring the COVID-19 medical emergency over and the lack of any need for mask mandates while 75% of the state’s population still remain under local mask mandates.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis made national news by appearing on Colorado Public Radio and declaring that after 16 months since he issued a medical emergency, the emergency was “over” and that there would be no statewide or vaccine requirements. He opined that:
“You don’t tell people to wear a jacket when they go out in winter and force them to (wear it). If they get frostbite, it’s their own darn fault. If you haven’t been vaccinated, that’s your choice. I respect that. But it’s your fault when you’re in the hospital with COVID.”
It was quite a reversal from just a few weeks earlier when he halted elective or cosmetic procedures to try to save hospital beds for COVID patients.
So why then are people in Metro Denver still wearing masks? Polis had stated that, “Public health [officials] don’t get to tell people what to wear; that’s not their job.” That is apparently not what some local health officials in Colorado believe.
On November 23, 2021, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock reinstated mask mandates requiring all indoor Denver businesses and venues “mask up” unless they choose to require proof of vaccination. Hancock followed the lead of Jefferson, Adams, and Arapahoe counties.
Still Under The Mask: Notwithstanding Colorado Governor Jared Polis declaring the COVID-19 pandemic emergency over and there being no need for statewide mask mandates, 75% of the population of the state are under some form of a mask mandate.
Tri-County Health Acts
Tri-County Health Department had preceded Hancock after waiting in vain for Polis to impose new statewide mask mandates. “If the state is unwilling to act, metro-wide action to implement mask mandates can provide some benefit given the size of our population and number of hospitalizations,” said Dr. John Douglas, executive director for the Tri-County Health Department, which covers Adams, and Arapahoe counties.
Other counties in Colorado that also presently have mask mandates are Boulder County, Larimer County, Pitkin County, and San Miguel County. In fact, notwithstanding the lifting of the state emergency by Polis, over 75% of the population of the state still live under mask or vaccine mandates.
Polis was not going, however, full Governor Ron DeSantis, who banned all local mask mandates in Florida.
While Polis received generally positive press nationally on his declaration that the COVID-19 emergency is over, not everyone in Colorado was thrilled. The editorial board of the Aurora Sentinel criticized Polis saying his action was “a grave disservice” to the state and that “the pandemic emergency in Colorado and across the nation is not over. It is far from over.”
The Destruction Of Tri-County Health
Local mask mandates are also not popular in Colorado in some circles. The Tri-County Health Department was until recent
ly considered the premier and most respected health department in the state covering 1.3 million people (25% of the state population) in Adams, Arapahoe, and Douglas counties with 431 employees. Founded in 1948, it will be totally dismantled in just over one year due almost solely to mask mandates. Many blame Dr. John Douglas, the 69-year-old executive director of the department, and his insistence on mask mandates.
The Tri-County Health mask mandates, first ordered in July of 2020, allowed municipalities and counties to opt out. Those mask mandates preceded those that Polis issued statewide. At the time, Polis announced: “Wearing a mask is not a political statement. I don’t know how, in anybody’s mind, this became a political football.”
Douglas County, all of whose county commissioners are Republicans, balked and threatened to leave Tri-County Health when Tri-County decided to prevent counties from opting out from its mask mandates. Douglas County formalized its withdrawal in September of 2021. At the time, Tri-County also imposed the mandate for all people above the age of two in all schools and childcare facilities.
Adams County, all of whose county commissioners are Democrats, had also opted out of the Tri-County Health mask mandates. When that option disappeared, on October 19, 2021, the commissioners elected to leave subject to the mandatory one year notice.
That only left Arapahoe County whose county commissioners are split between Republicans and Democrats. On December 14, 2021, Arapahoe County, after over 60 minutes of public testimony demanding that the county get out of and remove the mask mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions, the commissioners voted to say goodbye to Dr. Douglas and his Tri-County Board.
Douglas Views The Wreckage
When interviewed by The Denver Post on the dissolution of a 74-year-old institution like Tri-County Health over mask mandates, Dr. Douglas stated:
Clueless: The executive director of the Tri-County Health Department, Dr. John Douglas, is blamed for the demise of the 74-year-old institution with mask mandates of dubious value. If the 400 plus workers of Tri-County’s Health Department who are losing their jobs are looking for a mea culpa from him they will be disappointed as he doesn’t appear to see what he might have done differently.
“If you had asked me to take a multiple-choice test three years ago about what would be the most controversial issues if we were to have a pandemic, and mask-wearing was one of my options, it would have been last on whatever list you gave me. I could just not have imagined that this would have become so.”
Given that the efficacy of non-surgical masks in preventing COVID-19 is a matter of dispute particularly as it applies to children, it does not appear to occur to Dr. Douglas that perhaps he should have given some credence himself to listening to all of the people who went before the various county commissioners demanding to leave Tri-County Health over mask mandates.
The question remains, given all that has happened, why most Coloradans are still required to wear masks. As a practical matter, the mandates of Tri-County Health are still law until the end of 2022 when the entity dissolves. Of course, people want to wear masks for health or political reasons. Enforcement of mask mandates, however, won’t be a law enforcement priority so many who do not enjoy wearing masks will flout the applicable law and that will certainly not help the moral authority of future local health directives.
by Mark Smiley | Dec 17, 2021 | Main Articles
by Mark Smiley
Candy Cane Tunnel: The candy cane tunnel is a must see when visiting Elitch Gardens this holiday season.
Rides: A limited amount of rides are open at Elitch Gardens during the Luminova Holidays event.
Luminova Holidays at Elitch Gardens premiered on November 26, 2021, and runs through Sunday, January 2, 2022. For the first time ever, the park transformed into Luminova Holidays and delivered a winter wonderland experience with larger-than-life holiday displays featuring over three million lights and more.
The immersive family experience features a display of glittering lights, fun rides, memory-making moments, and visits with St. Nick. Reservations are required. The event will run evenings from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
“We truly are proud and excited to introduce the first-ever holiday event at the Park,” says David Dorman, Elitch Gardens General Manager. “Luminova Holidays promises to be a must-see, sensational, and sophisticated spectacle, and a must-do for Coloradans of all ages to make lifelong memories at Elitch Gardens.”
Luminova Holidays featured at Elitch Gardens includes a 65 ft. Christmas tree, 25 ft. snowman that never melts, 200 ft. candy cane tunnel, ornaments and presents scaling over 16 ft. tall, rides on limited Elitch Gardens attractions, strolling holiday entertainers, and interactive activities, including light-up hopscotch.
Three Million Lights: Luminova Holidays features over three million lights throughout the park.
“This year more than ever we want families and friends to create memories that will last well beyond the holiday season,” says Dixie Baker, co-producer of Luminova Holidays. “We are extremely excited to be making our Colorado debut and to share with Denver the joy and holiday cheer that thousands have experienced when coming to see Luminova! We are thrilled to be partnering with Elitch Gardens and look forward to brightening up your holidays for years to come.”
President and CEO of VISIT DENVER, Richard Scharf, further adds, “We are thrilled that Luminova Holidays has chosen Denver and Elitch Gardens for their newest attraction. The holiday season in the Mile High City is always an exciting time with shopping, festive attractions, performances, and displays, and we look forward to adding another unique tradition for families to enjoy downtown.”
Visit ElitchGardens.com/Luminova to reserve your visit and purchase tickets. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram – @LuminovaHolidays and @ElitchGar dens, and Twitter – @LuminovaHoliday and @ElitchGardens.
