Inflation, workforce shortages: Littleton restaurant struggling to survive
It's been just over four years since the start of the COVID pandemic, and some businesses are still struggling in its wake.
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Ashley Portillo is a multimedia journalist for CBS News Colorado and is passionate about Covering Colorado First.
Ashley chose reporting as a career with the goal of telling stories in her community and listening to what others have to say.
"I knew since middle school that I wanted to be a journalist when I grew up," she says.
She also believes it's important to get answers, hold people accountable and give people a platform to share their story through tragedy or through celebration. She's covered everything from court and crime to city and county government, plus education, breaking news and severe weather.
Before joining the team in Denver, Ashley was a reporter at KOAA in Colorado Springs for three years. At KOAA, she covered the mass shooting at Club Q, the Letecia Stauch murder trial and the Joshua Johnson murder trial. She also covered stories during the Olympics and Paralympics. Prior to that, she worked as a reporter at KRIS 6 News in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Outside of the newsroom, you can find Ashley trying new restaurants around town, cooking, traveling or hiking in the mountains. She also enjoys soaking in the hot springs and she says it's just a matter of time before she learns how to snowboard or ski.
Just The Facts
Position: Multimedia Journalist
Year hired: October 2023
Alma Mater: Temple University, go Owls!
Why I am a journalist: To give people a platform to share their stories, listening to others, creative storytelling and making a difference in my community.
Most memorable interview: Sharing the stories of recovery and resilience after the Club Q shooting
Dream job: I'm doing it!
Star sign: Taurus
First TV appearance: Haha, does doing the morning announcements in high school count?
First story: My first several months in the industry, I was covering the aftermath and devastation of Hurricane Harvey, a category 4 hurricane that hit the Coastal Bend of Texas.
Hidden talent: I can spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and antidisestablishmentarianism.
Hometown: Maryland/Pennsylvania
Favorite food: Mexican food
Number of pets: I don't have any pets, but I'm a big dog lover and will most likely ask to pet your dog if I meet them
Favorite sports team: I was born in Baltimore, so go Ravens!
Favorite vacation spot: Somewhere warm and tropical
What keeps you in Colorado? The mountains, the beauty, the fact that there is so many things to do, and of course the people and the community
What's the biggest risk you've taken? Moving away from all of my family and everything I knew when I was 22 years old
Who would play you in a movie? Selena Quintanilla, but then again J.Lo already did a phenomenal job playing her
You can contact Ashley by sending an email to yourreporter@cbs.com.
It's been just over four years since the start of the COVID pandemic, and some businesses are still struggling in its wake.
One Denver restaurant is taking initiatives to be more sustainable not only today but year-round by partnering with a local company to collect and dispose of hard-to-recycle items.
A group of local citizens are getting an inside look at the FBI in Denver and the work FBI agents do. It's for the FBI Citizens Academy, an exclusive, invite-only program that is only held once a year in Denver.
Demolition work will begin on Tuesday at the site of a southern Colorado funeral home facility where nearly 200 decomposing and improperly stored bodies were found last year.
At least two children with autism have been identified by police as alleged victims of abuse on a Littleton Public Schools school bus, according to attorneys representing three families. They said a third family has also documented injuries on their child.
When not stationed at the firehouse or battling blazes, one Aurora firefighter dedicates his time to training firefighters and departments nationwide in responding to lithium-ion battery fires and electric vehicle (EV) fires.
Denver Health is hosting surgeons from around the world. It's an opportunity for international doctors to come and learn from U.S. surgeons, and take what they've learned back to their home country.
When customers buy a vehicle from a participating dealership, all the title work will be submitted through the dealership, and then the title and registration will be mailed to the customer's home.
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is one of many places in the city that's hosting an event for people to watch the partial eclipse.
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Amber Craven and Vinny Cagungun are both nurse anesthesiologists who live in Englewood. Before filming for season 36 of the show, the two met at a nurse anesthesiology school in 2017.
As state lawmakers took another step to increase regulations in the funeral industry, a local college is educating students and preparing the future workforce of the industry. More than 200 people apply to the program for this upcoming fall semester and only 50 will be accepted.
Prom is right around the corner for high schoolers, and dresses can cost a lot of money. Meanwhile, Arapahoe Libraries is helping with that effort, with a special giveaway because of a growing need for it in the community.
From highlighting stories in the 90s that featured kids and their interests, to now being a member of the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office for over 20 years, Sgt. Ron Luton reflects on his time as a young journalist, and how that led him to become a law enforcement member.
The first Buc-ee's in Colorado opened its doors to the public on Monday morning.