After 13 years, Denver city employee reacts to layoffs amid budget cuts
On Monday, the City of Denver announced 171 city employees would be laid off as the city faces a $200 million gap in next year's budget.
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Sarah Horbacewicz is an Emmy and Edward R. Murrow award-winning multi-skilled journalist who joined the CBS Colorado team in 2024. Sarah focuses on breaking down how policies impact Coloradans in their everyday lives and aims to hold those in power accountable. She also loves telling stories that bring people together.
Having started at CBS as a CBS Evening News intern, coming back to the company as a reporter is a true full circle moment. During her time with CBS, Sarah also worked on Capitol Hill to help cover elections and confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court. One of her favorite jobs was working as an interim producer for Steve Hartman's "On the Road" segments that demonstrate stories of kindness across the country.
Most recently, Sarah worked for NBC Olympics to help produce coverage in Paris, Tokyo and Pyeongchang. As a fan, snowboarder, and figure skater, Sarah is now thrilled to be in beautiful Colorado.
Before that, Sarah worked at KTHV in Little Rock, Arkansas (Woo Pig!) where she worked as a political journalist, anchor and investigative reporter. There, she reported extensively on the political campaigns of Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Asa Hutchinson. Sarah also led a cold-case investigative series that regularly pushed police departments to take a second look at evidence.
Sarah won a regional Murrow Award for her continuing coverage of unsafe living conditions at a failing Arkansas apartment complex. It eventually led to intervention from the state and forced Little Rock to change their policies. She won and was nominated for two other regional Emmy awards for her reporting.
She previously worked at WENY in Elmira, New York as a multimedia journalist, anchor, producer and digital host. She won multiple state awards for reports on New York's pandemic response, the 2020 presidential election and racial justice movements that sparked local change.
Sarah is a proud Park Scholar alumna of Ithaca College where she built her foundations in connecting community service and communications. Sarah is currently continuing her studies in a graduate program with Cornell University.
Community service plays a big role in Sarah's life. She has worked to build homes after natural disasters, teach free after-school programs, train seeing eye dogs, serve at food pantries and spent time volunteering in the NICU at Arkansas Children's Hospital.
Sarah loves a good coffee shop, dressing up her dog in hats, poorly singing karaoke and hiking.
Just The Facts
• Position: Multi-Skilled Journalist
• Year hired: 2024
• Alma Mater: Ithaca College and Cornell University
• Why I am journalist: To hold people and governments accountable and share stories that bring us together
• First story: When I was in elementary school, my very first interview as a Kid Reporter for TIME for Kids Magazine was with Justin Bieber!
• Number of pets: I have a rescue dog named Buddy!
• Dream interview: I think it would be really cool to cover the President and fly on Air Force One
• Favorite food: Any type of mac and cheese
• What keeps you in Colorado? The beautiful weather and great news team!
You can contact Sarah by sending an email to yourreporter@cbs.com.
On Monday, the City of Denver announced 171 city employees would be laid off as the city faces a $200 million gap in next year's budget.
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