#Kutcher now giving us TV dinner quality tweets

Why would someone give up control of their Twitter account? Of course I know people do it, but it seems like a bad idea. Ashton Kutcher has eight million followers because it’s him behind the keyboard. I don’t particularly love him, yet I follow his tweets because I’m interested in what someone as high profile as him really thinks. 

Now it feels like I’ll be getting Tweets the quality of a TV dinner when I wanted a steak.

Read the full article.

Online schools. We made a difference and we’re proud of it.

The state Legislative Audit Committee didn’t vote to do an audit of online schools, but I’m still proud that our 9Wants to Know investigation got people talking.

We teamed with I-NEWS, a group of independent investigative journalists in Colorado. We showed some concerning stats about learning at online schools verses traditional schools.

(Read the full story here.)

We showed your elected officials what we found and they hoped an audit would dig deeper. That won't be happening after votes today that were as partisan as they get.

Journalists don’t take sides, but we do search for information.

It seems to me that doing the audit of online schools would have provided more information. If the audit turned up nothing, then no action would have needed to be taken to fix anything.

Taxpayer dollars are precious, though.

If the audit turned up problems, wouldn’t you want to know about them? Wouldn’t you want to have an opportunity to debate solutions?

You deserve it. It’s your money.

Here’s more information:

Colo. Ski Area Opening Dates

The dates everyone has been waiting for... Colorado ski area opening dates:
(This list is according to Ashton Altieri, 9NEWS meteorologist. Check www.9news.com later today for our complete ski information.)

Saturday, October 8

Wolf Creek

Thursday, October 13

Arapahoe Basin

Friday, October 14

Loveland

Friday, November 4

Copper Mountain

Keystone

Friday, November 11

Breckenridge

Wednesday, November 16

Winter Park

Friday, November 18

Eldora
Vail

Wednesday, November 23

Beaver Creek

Crested Butte

Monarch
Steamboat

Thursday, November 24 (Thanksgiving)

Aspen Mountain
Ski Copper

Snowmass
Telluride

Friday, November 25
Purgatory

Friday, December 2

Sunlight

Saturday, December 3

Howelsen

Silverton Mountain

Thursday, December 8

Powderhorn

Saturday, December 10

Aspen Highlands
Buttermilk

Wednesday, December 14

SolVista Basin

Can't wait to get out there this year!

Scam Alert: Worth a reminder to parents and grandparents

Most of us aren’t likely to fall for something such as this, but sometimes our loved ones in different age groups do. It breaks my heart each time a senior cries on the phone to me because he or she has lost a few thousand dollars.

Here’s the latest warning from the 18^th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

It’s not often that I get to tell you something isn’t a scam: “ACT” letters #9NEWS

A local Realtor asked me to look into a letter he says several of his clients received from ACT claiming homeowners have a “scheduled interest reduction option on your mortgage.”

The letter asks homeowners to call an 800-number. I called it myself to see what the pitch is.

Steve told me I could pay off my mortgage much faster using their personal finance software which he said costs about $100 to set up and about $30 each month, no contract. He told me his company Accelerated Cash Flow Technology, www.actdebtfree.com and Accelerate Equity and Development have a good rating with the Better Business Bureau in Salt Lake City.