ST. LOUIS – A piece of aviation history in Forest Park will get a touch-up early this week. The COVID pandemic disrupted the plane’s routine maintenance last year.

A piece of aviation history in Forest Park will get a touch-up early this week. The COVID pandemic disrupted the plane’s routine maintenance last year.

“This is an important display and we want it looking good and we want to make a good impression for St. Louis and all visitors,” said Diane Earhart, a member of the Greater St. Louis Ninety-Nines and spokesperson for Big River Aviation.

Earhart is referring to is the retired FA-18 fighter plane that has called Forest Park home for more than a decade. 

“The airplane is traditionally cleaned and restored. Any touch-up (or) repainting is taken care of,” Earhart said.

The National Naval Aviation Museum permanently loaned the fighter plane to the St. Louis Science Center in 2010.  

On Tuesday, volunteers will begin sprucing up this piece of aviation history.  

“Being on permanent display, obviously, it’s subject to all kinds of weather in St. Louis,” Earhart said. “From 0 degree to 100 degrees and all of the elements, it just needs some tender love and care.” 

Earhart said the work is usually done by the owner of Big River Aviation and the labor fee paid by the St. Louis Science Center is donated to a local charity.  

“This year, the charitable organization is the Ninety-Nines; and they’re going to use the donation for the Adela Scharr Scholarship Fund,” Earhart said.

Adela Scharr was a pioneer for women in the aviation industry.  

“She was a public school teacher for many years,” Earhart said. “She was also the first commercial pilot and first ground and flight instructor at Lambert Airport and one of the first members of the Ninety-Nines and what is now the Greater St. Louis Ninety-Nines.” 

More than a dozen volunteers will give the FA-18 the attention it didn’t get last year because of the pandemic.   

“It’ll be scrubbed down really well and get all the dirt and everything off of it,” Earhart said. “We’re going to make her shine.”

NEW YORK — “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” a jukebox adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s hyperactive 2001 movie, won the best new musical crown at the Tony Awards on a Sunday night when Broadway looked back to honor shows shuttered by COVID-19, mourn its fallen and also look forward to welcoming audiences again.

The show about the goings-on in a turn-of-the-century Parisian nightclub, updated with tunes like “Single Ladies” and “Firework” alongside the big hit “Lady Marmalade,” won 10 Tonys. The record is 12, won by “The Producers.”

Producer Carmen Pavlovic said after what Broadway has been through the last 18 months it felt strange to be considered the best. She dedicated the award to every show that closed, opened, nearly opened or was fortunate to be reborn.

“The Inheritance” by Matthew Lopez was named the best new play, and Charles Fuller’s “A Soldier’s Play” won best play revival.

Lopez’s two-part, seven-hour epic uses “Howards End” as a starting point for a play that looks at gay life in the early 21st century. It also yielded wins for Andrew Burnap as best actor in a play, Stephen Daldry as best director, and Lois Smith as best performance by an actress in a featured role in a play.

Thomas Kirdahy, a producer, dedicated the award to his late husband, the playwright Terrence McNally. Lopez, the first Latin writer to win in the category, urged more plays to be produced from the Latin community. “We have so many stories inside us aching to come out. Let us tell you our stories,” he said.

The pandemic-delayed telecast kicked off with an energetic performance of “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from original Broadway cast members of “Hairspray!” Jennifer Holliday also took the stage to deliver an unforgettable rendition of “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” from the musical “Dreamgirls.”

The singers performed for a masked and appreciative audience at a packed Winter Garden Theatre. Host Audra McDonald got a standing ovation when she took the stage. “You can’t stop the beat. The heart of New York City!” she said.

“Moulin Rouge! The Musical” won for scenic design, costume, lighting, sound design, orchestrations and a featured acting Tony for Broadway favorite Danny Burstein. Sonya Tayeh won for choreography on her Broadway debut, and Alex Timbers won the trophy for best direction of a musical.

In a surprise to no one, Aaron Tveit won the award for best leading actor in a musical for “Moulin Rouge! The Musical.” That’s because he was the only person nominated in the category. He thanked a long list of people, including his parents, brother, agents, manager and the cast and crew. “We are so privileged to get to do this,” he said, tearing up. “Because what we do changes peoples’ lives.”

Burstein, who won for featured actor in a musical and had not won six previous times, thanked the Broadway community for supporting him after the death last year of his wife, Rebecca Luker. “You were there for us, whether you just sent a note or sent your love, sent your prayers — sent bagels — it meant the world to us, and it’s something I’ll never forget.”

David Alan Grier won featured actor in a play for his role in “A Soldier’s Play,” which dissects entrenched Black-white racism as well as internal divisions in the Black military community during World War II. “To my other nominees: Tough bananas, I won,” he said. On stage, the director Kenny Leon recited the names Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, killed by police. “We will never, ever forget you.”

Adrienne Warren won the Tony for best leading actress in a musical for her electric turn as Tina Turner in “Tina — The Tina Turner Musical.” Warren was considered the front-runner for the award thanks to becoming a one-woman fireball of energy and exhilaration. She dedicated the win to three family members she lost while playing Turner — and thanked Turner herself.

Mary-Louise Parker won her second best lead actress Tony Award, winning for playing a Yale professor who treasures great literature but has made no room in her life for someone to share that love with in “The Sound Inside.” She thanked her dog, whom she was walking in the rain when she bumped into Mandy Greenfield from the Williamstown Theatre Festival, who told her about the play.

Burnap made his Broadway debut in “The Inheritance.” He thanked his mom, and the University of Rhode Island and joked that he felt grateful because “I got to act for seven hours.”

The sobering musical “Jagged Little Pill,” which plumbs Alanis Morissette’s 1995 breakthrough album to tell a story of an American family spiraling out of control, came into the night with a leading 15 Tony nominations. It won for best book, and Lauren Patten won the award for best featured actress in a musical.

“A Christmas Carol” cleaned up with five technical awards: scenic design of a play, costumes, lighting, sound design and score. No one from the production was on hand to accept any of the awards.

Members of Broadway’s royalty — Norm Lewis, Kelli O’Hara and Brian Stokes Mitchell — mourned the list of those who have died, which included icons like McNally, Harold Prince and Larry Kramer.

“Slave Play,” Jeremy O. Harris’ ground-breaking, bracing work that mixes race, sex, taboo desires and class, earned a dozen nominations, making it the most nominated play in Tony history. But it won nothing.

Sunday’s show was expanded from its typical three hours to four, with McDonald handing out Tonys for the first two hours and Leslie Odom Jr. hosting a “Broadway’s Back!” celebration for the second half with performances from the three top musicals.

The live special also included David Byrne and the cast of “American Utopia” playing “Burning Down the House” to a standing and clapping crowd. Byrne told them they might not remember how to dance after so long but they were welcome to try.

John Legend and the cast of “Ain’t Too Proud” performed “My Girl” and “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” and Josh Groban and Odom Jr. sang “Beautiful City” from “Godspell,” dedicating it to educators. And Ben Platt and Anika Noni Rose sang “Move On” from “Sunday in the Park with George.”

This season’s nominations were pulled from just 18 eligible plays and musicals from the 2019-2020 season, a fraction of the 34 shows the previous season. During most years, there are 26 competitive categories. This year there are 25 with several depleted ones.

The last Tony Awards ceremony was held in 2019. The virus forced Broadway theaters to abruptly close on March 12, 2020, knocking out all shows and scrambling the spring season. Several have restarted, including the so-called big three of “Wicked,” “Hamilton” and “The Lion King.”

AP National Writer Jocelyn Noveck contributed to this report.

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(AP) – George Holliday, the Los Angeles plumber who shot grainy video of four white police officers beating Black motorist Rodney King in 1991, has died of complications of COVID-19, a friend said Monday.

Holliday, 61, died Sunday at a Los Angeles hospital, where he had been for more than a month, according to Robert Wollenweber, a longtime friend and former coworker. Holliday was not vaccinated and was on a ventilator in recent days after contracting pneumonia, Wollenweber said.

Holliday was awakened by a traffic stop outside his San Fernando Valley home on the night of March 3, 1991. He went outside to film it with his new video camera, catching the Los Angeles officers punching, kicking, and using a stun gun on King, even after he was on the ground.

A year later, Holliday’s out-of-focus footage — about 9 minutes worth — was a key piece of evidence at the four officers’ criminal trial for assault and excessive use of force.

When a jury acquitted all the officers on April 29, 1992, the city erupted in widespread violence. Hundreds of businesses were looted and destroyed over several days. Entire blocks of homes and stores went up in flames. More than 60 people died by shootings or other violence, mostly in South Los Angeles.

The uprising seemed to catch the rest of the nation by surprise, but longtime residents said tensions were building in South LA for years and the King verdict was just the tipping point.

On the third day of the riots, King went on TV to plead for calm, asking in a trembling voice, “Can we all get along?”

King sued Los Angeles over the beating and was awarded $3.8 million in 1994, but he told The Associated Press in 2012 that he lost most of that money to bad investments. King drowned in his backyard swimming pool on June 17, 2012, at age 47.

Holliday’s death was first reported by TMZ.com.

Holliday put the Sony camcorder he used to record the beating up for auction last July, with bidding starting at $225,000. It was unclear if it ever sold.

Holliday told the New York Times last year that he was still working as a plumber and never profited from the video.

He said he had purchased the camera about a month earlier and he grabbed it instinctively when he was awakened by a noise outside his window.

“You know how it is when you have a new piece of technology,” he told the Times. “You film anything and everything.”

Holliday said in 2017 that he was working on a documentary about his role in the King case, but it was unclear if anything became of that project.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — One desperate California school district is sending flyers home in students’ lunchboxes, telling parents it’s “now hiring.” Elsewhere, principals are filling in as crossing guards, teachers are being offered to sign bonuses and schools are moving back to online learning.

Now that schools have welcomed students back to classrooms, they face a new challenge: a shortage of teachers and staff the likes of which some districts say they have never seen.

Public schools have struggled for years with teacher shortages, particularly in math, science, special education, and languages. But the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the problem. The stress of teaching in the COVID-19 era has triggered a spike in retirements and resignations. Schools also need to hire staffers like tutors and special aides to make up for learning losses and more teachers to run online schools for those not ready to return.

Teacher shortages and difficulties filling openings have been reported in Tennessee, New Jersey, and South Dakota, where one district started the school year with 120 teacher vacancies. Across Texas, the main districts in Houston, Waco, and elsewhere reported hundreds of teaching vacancies at the start of the year.

Several schools nationwide have had to shut classrooms because of a lack of teachers.

In Michigan, Eastpointe Community Schools abruptly moved its middle school back to remote learning this week because it doesn’t have enough teachers. The small district north of Detroit has 43 positions vacant — a quarter of its teaching staff. When several middle school teachers resigned without notice last week, the district shifted to online classes to avoid sending in unqualified substitutes, spokeswoman Caitlyn Kienitz said.

“You don’t want just an adult who can pass a background check, you want a teacher in front of your kids,” Kienitz said. “This is obviously not ideal, but we’re able to make sure they’re getting each subject area from a teacher certified to teach it.”

According to a June survey of 2,690 members of the National Education Association, 32% said the pandemic drove them to plan to leave the profession earlier than expected. Another survey by the RAND Corp. said the pandemic exacerbated attrition, burnout, and stress on teachers, who were almost twice as likely as other employed adults to feel frequent job-related stress and almost three times more likely to experience depression.

The lack of teachers is “really a nationwide issue and definitely a statewide issue,” said Linda Darling-Hammond, president of California’s State Board of Education.

A school district in California’s West Contra Costa County is considering hiring out-of-state math educators to teach online while a substitute monitors students in person.

“This is the most acute shortage of labor we have ever had,” associate superintendent Tony Wold said. “We opened this year with 50 — that’s five-zero — teaching positions open. That means students are going to 50 classrooms that do not have a permanent teacher.”

There are an additional 100 openings for non-credentialed but critical staff like instructional aides — who help English learners and special needs students — custodians, cafeteria workers, and others, Wold said.

California’s largest district, Los Angeles Unified with 600,000 students, has more than 500 teacher vacancies, a fivefold increase from previous years, spokeswoman Shannon Haber said.

Schools try to fill in with substitutes, but they’re in short supply, too. Only about a quarter of the pool of 1,000 qualified substitutes is willing to work in Fresno Unified, said Nikki Henry, a spokeswoman for the central California district with 70,000 students and 12,000 staffers.

At Berkeley High School, a shortage of substitutes means teachers are asked to fill in during their prep periods, leading to exhaustion and burnout typically not felt at the start of a school year.

“We are absolutely strained. This has been an incredibly stressful start to the year,” said Hasmig Minassian, a ninth-grade teacher who describes physical and mental exhaustion as she tries to juggle staffing needs and the emotional needs of students who are showing signs of more mental fragility and learning loss.

“It doesn’t feel like there are enough adults on these campuses to keep kids really safe. We feel short-staffed in a way we’ve never felt before,” she said. “You know the early videos of nurses crying in their cars? I kind of expect those to come out about teachers.”

The California shortages range from dire to less severe in places that planned ahead and beat the competition, but those are the minority, said Darling-Hammond of the board of education.

In a new twist, money is not the main problem. School districts have the funds to hire additional staff, thanks to billions in federal and state pandemic relief funding. There just aren’t people applying.

“We’re all competing for a shrinking piece of the pie,” said Mike Ghelber, assistant superintendent at the Morongo Unified School District in the Mojave Desert, which has more than 200 openings for special education aides, custodians, cafeteria workers, and others. “I don’t know if everybody is getting snatched up, or if they don’t want to teach in the COVID era, but it’s like the well has dried up.”

The district of 8,000 students has ads in newspapers, radio, and social media. Teachers are packing “now hiring” flyers into kids’ lunchboxes, with a long list of openings so families can spread the word. In the meantime, everyone is pitching in.

“Principals and administrators are out being crossing guards. Secretaries are directing traffic because we’re short on supervisors,” Ghelber said.

The shortages raise concerns that schools will hire underqualified teachers, particularly in low-income communities where it’s already harder to fill positions, Darling-Hammond said.

Class sizes also are expanding.

Mount Diablo Unified School District, which serves 28,000 students east of San Francisco, has had to fill several elementary school classrooms at the maximum capacity of 32 students. It’s not ideal for social distancing but frees up teachers for an online school.

About 150 kids initially signed up for distance learning, but with spiking infections blamed on the highly contagious delta variant, the number ballooned to 600 when school reopened. The same happened in Fresno, where enrollment in remote learning exploded to 3,800 from 450.

Superintendent Adam Clark said the Mount Diablo district is offering $5,000 signing bonuses for speech pathologists and $1,500 for paraeducators who help students with learning needs.

San Francisco Unified is offering a similar starting bonus for 100 paraeducator jobs. Nearby West Contra Costa County Unified has set $6,000 signing bonuses for teachers, with a third paid out after the first month and the rest when the teacher enters year three.

Districts in Oklahoma, North Carolina, New Jersey, and elsewhere are offering a range of cash incentives for new teachers, particularly in low-income and low-performing schools.

Of a dozen officials interviewed in California districts, only one said it was facing no shortages.

Long Beach Unified, the state’s fourth-largest district with over 70,000 students, anticipated the need last spring for a hiring spree of about 400 jobs.

“We went full aggressive,” assistant superintendent David Zaid said, including beefing up human resources for a 24-hour turnaround on contract offers.

A virtual interview team worked through the summer. Recruitment events drew hundreds of applicants, and as HR employees met hiring benchmarks, they got rewards like catered breakfasts and an ice cream truck.

“We probably would have experienced the same shortages as others,” Zaid said. “But we became much more assertive, and as a result, we are not in the same position.”

The global microchip shortage is showing no signs of slowing down as major automakers continue to halt production, leading to lower inventory levels, especially for the most in-demand vehicles. Demand for new cars has continued to outpace supply, with new cars selling over a week faster than in July, while demand for used cars has remained relatively steady.

Analyzing nearly one million new and used cars sold in August 2021, iSeeCars.com determined the new and used cars that were in the highest demand and vanished the quickest from dealer lots. Here are the fastest-selling new and used cars by state:

Fastest-Selling New Cars by State

What were August’s fastest-selling new cars across the country? Here are the new vehicles in the highest demand by state:

Fastest-Selling New Car in Each State – August 2021
State	Vehicle	Average Days to Sell
Alabama	Chevrolet Corvette	1.8
Alaska	–	–
Arizona	Mercedes-Benz GLS	3.1
Arkansas	Kia Carnival	4.5
California	Subaru Crosstrek	4.8
Colorado	Kia Telluride	4.7
Connecticut	Subaru Crosstrek	7.9
Delaware	Toyota Camry	3.1
Florida	Toyota Highlander Hybrid	4.7
Georgia	Toyota RAV4	5.5
Hawaii	Hyundai Palisade	4.1
Idaho	Ford Bronco	3.1
Illinois	Kia Telluride	5.2
Indiana	BMW X7	3.0
Iowa	Toyota Sienna	5.8
Kansas	Kia Telluride	1.5
Kentucky	Hyundai Venue	5.1
Louisiana	Toyota Sienna	4.7
Maine	Hyundai Palisade	7.5
Maryland	Hyundai Santa Cruz	3.8
Massachusetts	Chevrolet Spark	3.9
Michigan	Mercedes-Benz GLE	4.0
Minnesota	Chevrolet Corvette	4.4
Mississippi	Ford Bronco Sport	1.9
Missouri	Chevrolet Corvette	4.5
Montana	Subaru Forester	5.3
Nebraska	Toyota Venza	4.4
Nevada	Chevrolet Corvette	2.1
New Hampshire	Chevrolet Trailblazer	2.0
New Jersey	Hyundai Santa Cruz	4.4
New Mexico	Lexus GX 460	9.0
New York	Jeep Wrangler	3.5
North Carolina	Cadillac Escalade	2.0
North Dakota	Hyundai Tucson	5.4
Ohio	Hyundai Santa Cruz	3.2
Oklahoma	Toyota RAV4 Hybrid	3.1
Oregon	Kia Seltos	3.5
Pennsylvania	Chevrolet Corvette	5.8
Rhode Island	Mercedes-Benz S-Class	1.2
South Carolina	Mercedes-Benz GLE	4.6
South Dakota	Hyundai Palisade	8.5
Tennessee	Kia Carnival	3.1
Texas	Toyota RAV4 Prime	3.7
Utah	Ford Bronco	2.4
Vermont	Ford Bronco Sport	1.7
Virginia	Lexus RX 350	4.0
Washington	Chevrolet Corvette	3.4
West Virginia	Honda Civic	2.5
Wisconsin	Jeep Wrangler 4xe	4.5
Wyoming	Hyundai Palisade	10.6

• The fastest-selling new car in the most states is the Chevrolet Corvette in six states.
• The second fastest-selling new car is the Hyundai Palisade in four states.
• SUVs are the fastest-selling vehicle type in 32 states.
• Hybrid cars are the fastest sellers in 7 states.
• The fastest-selling new vehicle across all states is the Mercedes-Benz S-Class in Rhode Island at 1.2 days.

Fastest-Selling Used Cars by State

Here are the fastest-selling used cars by state:

Fastest-Selling Used Car in Each State – August 2021
State	Vehicle	Average Days to Sell
Alabama	Honda Odyssey	17.8
Alaska	Chevrolet Silverado 1500	33.1
Arizona	Honda Insight	9.0
Arkansas	Jeep Wrangler	15.4
California	Honda Insight	14.0
Colorado	Volvo S60	17.2
Connecticut	Honda Odyssey	14.1
Delaware	Nissan Altima	13.5
Florida	BMW 2 Series	18.5
Georgia	Tesla Model 3	12.7
Hawaii	Honda HR-V	12.6
Idaho	Subaru Crosstrek	23.0
Illinois	Toyota Prius	17.5
Indiana	Toyota Prius	17.3
Iowa	Nissan Armada	21.2
Kansas	Mazda Mazda6	13.6
Kentucky	Mazda CX-9	19.0
Louisiana	Honda HR-V	16.8
Maine	Ford Mustang	29.6
Maryland	Tesla Model 3	12.4
Massachusetts	Toyota Prius	15.4
Michigan	Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross	16.3
Minnesota	Toyota Prius	14.5
Mississippi	Honda Accord	15.2
Missouri	Mazda CX-9	11.5
Montana	Toyota RAV4	16.2
Nebraska	Subaru Crosstrek	18.8
Nevada	Toyota Prius	13.7
New Hampshire	Honda Ridgeline	18.5
New Jersey	Fiat 500x	22.6
New Mexico	Chrysler 300	22.5
New York	Porsche Panamera	17.6
North Carolina	Lexus RX 350L	13.3
North Dakota	Hyundai Elantra	16.0
Ohio	Mazda MX-5 Miata	17.2
Oklahoma	Hyundai Accent	11.1
Oregon	Chevrolet Bolt EV	18.3
Pennsylvania	Toyota Prius	18.6
Rhode Island	Nissan Rogue	11.4
South Carolina	Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross	17.1
South Dakota	GMC Yukon XL	24.8
Tennessee	Land Rover Discovery Sport	10.2
Texas	Tesla Model 3	13.5
Utah	Subaru Ascent	12.4
Vermont	Toyota RAV4	28.3
Virginia	Toyota Sequoia	14.5
Washington	Volkswagen Golf	12.7
West Virginia	Honda Pilot	18.9
Wisconsin	Buick Envision	14.8
Wyoming	Toyota RAV4	40.1

• The Toyota Prius is the fastest-selling used car in the most states with six.
• In second place is a tie between the Tesla Model 3 and the Toyota RAV4, which are the fastest-sellers in three states.
• SUVs are the most represented vehicle type as the fastest-selling used car type in 22 states.
• The fastest-selling used car across all states is the Honda Insight in Arizona at 9.0 days.
• Electric vehicles are the fastest sellers in four states, and hybrid vehicles are the fastest sellers in eight states.

Buyers who are making a new or used car purchase might have difficulty finding these in-demand vehicles and may end up paying a premium for them in the used car marketplace amid microchip-related inventory constraints. As demand continues to outpace supply for new cars, consumers should act quickly if they see their desired vehicle for sale, and buyers may have to be flexible on color and trim options for in-demand models.

This article, August’s Fastest-Selling Car in Each State, originally appeared on iSeeCars.com. 

The Broncos’ one-two rushing punch of Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams combined for 90 yards and two touchdowns Sunday, enough to pace Denver to a rout of the Jets at Empower Field.

While it may have been good enough to beat the lowly Jets, Gordon emphasized the rushing attack isn’t good enough if the Broncos want to contend for the long haul this season.

“(Javonte and I) have been all right — and just all right — but I feel like we can be better,” Gordon said after the game. “I’m definitely not satisfied with how we did (today)… We should’ve done better. Our expectation for our group is way higher than today.

“We’ve got some tough games coming up, where we’re really going to see what we’re about. There’s no time to be satisfied with scoring — we should’ve had two touchdowns each, and that’s the expectations that we have. Today was not good enough, but it was good enough to get the win, and that’s all that matters.”

Gordon had 61 yards on 18 carries and a second-quarter touchdown, while Williams finished with 29 yards on 12 carries after getting the Broncos ahead early with a score. Both of the tailbacks’ touchdowns were one-yard power runs, and the Broncos had 121 yards rushing overall.

That’s not quite the ground output the Broncos were expecting against New York, but for a third straight week, the opponents’ focus on Gordon and Williams opened up the passing game for quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

Man, he missed the pizza. The pizza and the smack.

John Ayala and his family parked the family’s gorgeous three-wheel trike in lot E4 at Empower Field a few hours before the Broncos’ home opener on Sunday, as if the pandemic never happened.

About 20 yards away, a large tailgate of about 50 or so New York Jets fans had gathered, hoping for the best but, with a rookie quarterback on the road, knowing better.

Every few minutes, the gang in green launched into their beloved cheer in unison:

“J-E-T …

And, every time, before those 50 got to the “S” in “Jets,” John or his brother or a cousin would walk over to the trike and pull a lever that set off the mother of all horns.

“This is beautiful,” Ayala said of Sunday’s home opener. “It’s being able to share a camaraderie with others who are the same as you — blue and orange.”

“J-E-T …”

Honnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnk!

“You listen to music, get a beer and a shot, have a good time,” John continued. “It’s beautiful, man.”

Especially because, like most Broncos fans, Ayala couldn’t do this last year. And for a guy who grew up partying in the south stands, it hurt like Hades.

His wife works for the Department of Public Health. With a newborn due in August 2021, John got every vaccine shot he could. And when Ayala put down a deposit on his Broncos season tickets for 2020, realizing that the odds of actually getting into the building were slim, he took the option to push those seats into 2021.

“I was looking at some of the (first two) games we played away and I was amazed by how many Broncos fans (there were) — the orange was just unbelievable,” Ayala said. “So Broncos Country is hard core. And having Teddy Bridgewater and maybe (general manager) George Paton, that’s gonna be the new chapter in these games.”

The weather was perfect, even if the traffic flow wasn’t. Shutout? Check. 3-0 start? Check. Postseason momentum? Check. The first Broncos game at full capacity since December 2019 managed to squeeze in a little bit of everything, live music included.

A few lots down from John and his family, Sergio Gomez, a native of Barnum West, danced and swayed behind a giant grill in C11, while local band El Pollo Y Su Pandilla — The Chicken And His Gang — played with gusto just over his left shoulder.

“This is Denver, Colorado, right here,” Garcia shouted over the music.

“This is what Denver is all about. It’s about the Broncos. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from. We can all unite for the same thing: The Denver Broncos.”

Scale of 1-10, how much did you miss this last fall?

“Oh an 11,” Gomez shouted, this time with a grin. “An 11.

“Going in that stadium, win or lose, you’re there, supporting the team, supporting the city, supporting the state. It’s about diversity. Everyone comes together when it comes to the Denver Broncos.”

QUEENSBURY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Foggy and cloudy weather prevented any balloons from launching on the final day of this year’s Adirondack Balloon Festival. But despite the weather challenges Sunday morning, organizers say it was a successful return after last year’s event was canceled.

Crowds of people returned to the Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport in Queensbury this weekend for the much anticipated return of the Adirondack Balloon Festival.

Over a dozen balloons lined the Adirondack sky Sunday morning, giving visitors a chance to see some of their favorite balloons, even if they didn’t venture far into the sky.

“Not only did you see, you could see up close. What’s nice when the balloons can’t fly in the fog is you can roam around, see the special shapes up close, talk to the pilots,” said Mark Donahue, the festival board’s president.

While balloons weren’t launched, some did slightly leave the ground, with some rising into the air on strings. Visitors also got an up-close look at their favorites getting inflated.

Some visited the festival for the very first time, “They said it was fun, so I just figured I’d come along,” said Bobby Taylor from Hudson Falls.

While others have been coming for years. “I enjoy the balloons, photographing all the different shapes and sizes and also to get some of the light from the sun, sunrises and sunsets,” said Andrew Paolano, a Queensbury resident who’s been coming since he was young.

“We come here like every year. I was very upset that it was canceled because of COVID, but I’m glad it’s back this year,” Emma Lewis said.

Sunday marking the end of a successful year, despite all the changes that to be made because of COVID. Unlike year’s past, this year’s event did not feature vendors, a craft fair or commercial flights. All balloons were also launched from the airport in Queensbury, while some have also launched in Glens Falls in the past.

“To have local officials, state officials, even federal officials involved has been quite the challenging process. But overall, it’s been so rewarding to get the event back,” Donahue explained.

And at the end of another year, some like Cole Contzius, are already looking ahead, “I can’t wait for next year to do this all again!”

Large crowds gathered at the airport throughout the weekend, with balloons successfully launching Saturday morning. Donahue says he also believes Saturday evening’s moon glow was the best the festival has ever had.

In addition to weather concerns Sunday, launches were also called off Friday, the opening day of the festival, because of wind.