
Colorado reports 8% increase in people applying for help to pay heating bills
As temperatures begin to drop, the costs of heating your home is going up. Many Coloradans are now left wondering how they're going to pay for their winter heating bills.
Watch CBS News
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.
As temperatures begin to drop, the costs of heating your home is going up. Many Coloradans are now left wondering how they're going to pay for their winter heating bills.
A Lakewood woman got her stolen car back thanks to the quick response of Arapahoe County deputies utilizing Flock Safety cameras.
A substitute school bus driver with the Douglas County School District has been fired, but parents in Castle Rock still want answers after their children had to go through a frightening experience.
At the start of the new year, some Colorado workers will get a bump in pay as Denver's minimum wage will go up 52 cents, from $18.29 to $18.81.
GoFundMe says there has been a 30% increase in eviction fundraisers in Colorado compared to pre-pandemic levels.
The founder of an animal sanctuary in Adams County says her nonprofit is down thousands of dollars and with winter coming, she's worried about how she's going to keep nearly 200 animals fed.
The Cherry Creek Innovation Campus in Centennial is filling a big need for aviation mechanics.
It's that time of year for Coloradans to get back to the high country for ski season, and one of the metro area's public conveniences is expanding this year.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars of jewelry and cash were taken from a local jewelry store.
Arapahoe County election officials gave CBS Colorado a behind-the-scenes tour of the elections facility to show how they're able to keep that promise.
The City of Englewood launched a program over the summer to support small businesses through an app where customers can get cash back.
Election Day is less than two weeks away, and school funding is among one of the measures Colorado voters in Aurora are deciding on right now.
Council members will vote on rezoning the area around the arena where the Nuggets and Avalanche play. If approved, 1,000 housing units would be built on the existing parking lots.
It was a day to remember and honor Liam Stewart, but also to push for changes to make the community safer for everyone -- including drivers, pedestrians and bikers.
It's been almost a year since the nation's first mental health treatment facility operated by a school district opened in Aurora. Since then, dozens of Cherry Creek School students facing mental health crises have attended Traverse Academy.