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Many Ukrainians stuck in limbo with US permission expiring

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:40:10 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — When U.S. officials at the U.S.-Mexico border stamped the Ukrainian passports of Mariia and her daughter last April and gave them permission to stay for a year, she figured she would return home within months.Now with that year almost up and the war that caused them to flee still raging, their permission to stay in the U.S. — known as humanitarian parole — is set to expire April 23. “The word `worry’ doesn’t capture what I’m feeling,” said Mariia, who spoke through an interpreter and asked that only her first name be used over concerns that speaking publicly would hurt their immigration case. “This is something that frightens me, mainly because of my daughter and my daughter’s future.”The 46-year-old woman and her daughter, now 13, are among 20,000 Ukrainians in a similar situation, according to resettlement agencies. Most arrived to the United States at its southern border after fleeing to Mexico, where it was easier and faster to get a visa to enter the country in...

Loyal and experienced, China’s other top leaders take posts

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:40:10 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — With Chinese leader Xi Jinping receiving a norms-breaking third five-year term as president on Friday, the other six men who serve with him on the ruling Communist Party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee are beginning to take up their new portfolios. All are party veterans with close personal and professional ties to Xi, China’s most powerful figure in decades. Chief among them, the party’s second-in-command Li Qiang is widely expected to take over as premier, nominally in charge of the Cabinet and caretaker of the economy. Li is best known for ruthlessly enforcing a brutal “zero-COVID” lockdown on Shanghai last spring. Shortly after Xi received unanimous approval from the National People’s Congress, the party’s third-ranking official Zhao Leji was put in charge of the nearly 3,000-member ceremonial legislature. A member of the Politburo Standing Committee until October, Han Zheng was made vice president.Underscoring the overwhelmingly male makeup of ...

Is America a Democracy or a Constitutional Republic?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:40:10 GMT

Q&A with Denver City Council District 7 candidate Nick Campion

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:40:10 GMT

Go to: Denver Post Voter Guide • Candidate Q&A home pageNick CampionPROFESSIONSoftware CEOEDUCATIONMBA, BSEXPERIENCECEO for three private equity software companies; aircraft maintainer for the Colorado Air National Guard; event marketing tour manager, volunteer for the unhoused, entrepreneurs and the planet.WEBSITE • FACEBOOK • TWITTERBriefly describe the single most urgent issue facing the city of Denver and how it should be addressed.Homelessness. Right now, the city’s approach is piecemeal and patchwork at best. What we need as a city is a plan that is comprehensive. We need quality services to get the unhoused jobs, houses, and treatment, if they suffer with mental health problems. Part of the issue is the lack of affordability many Denver residents are facing.What should Denver leaders do to address the city’s lack of affordable housing?Denver leaders need to rework the antiquated zoning laws that make development unaffordable and inequitable. We need to work on ...

Q&A with Denver City Council District 5 candidate Amanda Sawyer

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:40:10 GMT

Go to: Denver Post Voter Guide • Candidate Q&A home pageIncumbentAmanda SawyerPROFESSIONDenver City CouncilwomanEDUCATIONBA – University of Colorado at Boulder, JD/MBA – American UniversityEXPERIENCEFour years as the current District 5 City CouncilmemberWEBSITE • FACEBOOK • TWITTERBriefly describe the single most urgent issue facing the city of Denver and how it should be addressed.It’s public safety. I’ve worked hard to create and fund new programs to address this in my first term. I partnered with DPD District 2 leadership and residents to design a community policing program in East Colfax. I created a program using CPTED studies to help small businesses address crime issues. In 2022, I took almost 1,000 weapons off our streets through a gun buyback program, which were turned into garden tools. I also partnered with Xcel Energy and DPD to deliver two lightbulbs to homes and add street lighting in problem areas.What should Denver leaders do to addre...

Q&A with Denver City Council District 1 candidate Amanda Sandoval

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:40:10 GMT

Go to: Denver Post Voter Guide • Candidate Q&A home pageIncumbentAmanda SandovalPROFESSIONCity CouncilwomanEDUCATIONMetro State – BA of Political ScienceEXPERIENCECurrently serving as Denver City Council representative District 1 – Previously, Denver City Council aide. Also, I have worked at my family’s restaurant.WEBSITE • FACEBOOKBriefly describe the single most urgent issue facing the city of Denver and how it should be addressed.There is a myriad of issues that need attention to address the most urgent issue, quality of life and the vitality of the City of Denver. There are many tools that have been utilized to address the unhoused, safety, infrastructure, and economic challenges. The most effective tool is a comprehensive plan for land use which encourages prosperity and viability for the places that the citizens of Denver want to live, work and enjoy.What should Denver leaders do to address the city’s lack of affordable housing?There has been a...

Q&A with Denver City Council District 4 candidate Tony Pigford

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:40:10 GMT

Go to: Denver Post Voter Guide • Candidate Q&A home pageTony PigfordPROFESSIONEducator and advocateEDUCATIONStudied Business Administration at Florida A&M UniversityEXPERIENCEI’ve worked in the business sector and founded several non-profit organizations. I have worked in Denver Public Schools focusing on youth leadership. I have led three successful ballot measures.WEBSITE • FACEBOOK • TWITTERBriefly describe the single most urgent issue facing the city of Denver and how it should be addressed.Housing is an issue I hear about every day. I think the city should be taking a more active role in the development of housing — I am closely following Seattle’s ballot initiative I-135 to create a social housing authority, and would like to see Denver follow suit. We also need to be thoughtful about housing as more than just warehousing people — we should be building walkable, complete neighborhoods with access to open space and parks, schools and child care, quality...

Q&A with Denver City Council District 1 candidate Ava Truckey

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:40:10 GMT

Go to: Denver Post Voter Guide • Candidate Q&A home pageAva TruckeyPROFESSIONMicro business ownerEDUCATIONTrade schoolEXPERIENCEI’m a parent, a baker, a writer, an ex-hairstylist, a community organizer, activist, and have used the systems as a kid, an adult, and now as a parent.WEBSITEBriefly describe the single most urgent issue facing the city of Denver and how it should be addressed.The city has become unaffordable for too many individuals and families who helped build it. We lose neighbors and community anchors every day to being priced out with nowhere close to land, outside of being criminalized when we find ourselves unhoused. We need to stabilize housing costs, increase housing access and development for the most vulnerable in our communities, end rampant displacement, and support our neighbors in maintaining the homes they have, sometimes for generations.What should Denver leaders do to address the city’s lack of affordable housing?We need to make sure ...

Q&A with Denver City Council District 3 candidate Jamie Torres

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:40:10 GMT

Go to: Denver Post Voter Guide • Candidate Q&A home pageIncumbentJamie TorresPROFESSIONDenver CouncilwomanEDUCATIONB.A. in Cultural Anthropology and M.A. in Medical AnthropologyEXPERIENCEDistrict 3 Councilwoman from 2019-current;Deputy Director, Agency for Human Rights & Community Partnerships from 2013-2019;Director, Denver Office of Immigrant & Refugee Affairs from 2005-2019WEBSITE • FACEBOOKBriefly describe the single most urgent issue facing the city of Denver and how it should be addressed.Affordability in every corner of the city. This covers the broad range of a person or family’s ability to find housing, purchase goods, cover basic needs, and have a reasonable quality of life in Denver. It is addressed by supporting options across a spectrum of need from safe outdoor spaces, to permanent supportive housing, subsidized housing, workforce housing, accessory dwelling units and market rate housing. It is further addressed by ensuring families can earn a li...

Q&A with Denver City Council District 7 candidate Guy Padgett

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:40:10 GMT

Go to: Denver Post Voter Guide • Candidate Q&A home pageGuy PadgettPROFESSIONOperations director at a non-profit news siteEDUCATIONMA, International Relations, University of Denver Korbel SchoolEXPERIENCEMayor, Casper, WYCouncilman, Casper WYWEBSITE • FACEBOOK • TWITTERBriefly describe the single most urgent issue facing the city of Denver and how it should be addressed.What should Denver leaders do to address the city’s lack of affordable housing?We must closely monitor the effects of the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance to determine if its incentives and consequences need to be adjusted in order to fulfill its purpose. We must also work to clear the backlog of permit applications; this may require more manpower in the permitting department. We should look at how adaptive reuse can be made more affordable and practical, this could include creating finance stack models with assistance available from the city as well as creating or adopting code specifically aimed a wide...