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Opinion: Mike Johnston’s first test as Denver mayor: housing, homelessness and Denver’s living room

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:07:39 GMT

Mike Johnston ran a hard race to become Denver’s new mayor, but now just across the finish line, the real work begins.For example, how does the new mayor handle the decision to close the public seating in Union Station to anyone who hasn’t made a purchase? Known as “Denver’s living room”, something is being lost when a taxpayer-funded building’s seating area is suddenly closed to the non-paying public, a rule that had been in place but seldom enforced. However, Union Station, where Johnston held his election night victory party, was never intended to serve as a daytime shelter for the unhoused. Denver has been unfairly vilified post-pandemic for these kinds of problems – the same problems that plague cities like Grand Junction, towns like Gunnison, and suburbs like Aurora. Johnston will have to address expensive housing, growing crime rates, especially among teens, homeless encampments, and empty office space abandoned in favor of work-from-home arrangements.But if Denver, und...

For two Colorado counties that haven’t “de-Bruced,” the fiscal alarm is growing louder

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:07:39 GMT

Arapahoe County just fired a fiscal warning shot across the bow.In a little-noticed news release issued this month, Colorado’s third-largest county painted a dire picture of “critical services at risk” for its 655,000 residents “without modernizing finances.”A further read shows that what Arapahoe County is in fact doing is teeing up a request for “additional funding” — i.e. a tax hike or permission from voters to keep millions of dollars beyond what the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, allows. It is, in large part, an acknowledgment by the county that fundamental changes to the way it raises revenue are needed if basic governmental functions are to continue at current levels.“The county has always prized fiscal conservatism and keeping a tight belt,” Commissioner Jessica Campbell-Swanson said minutes after addressing a crowd of hundreds at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds last week during the State of the County a...

Brewery teams with restaurateur Bryan Dayton on Englewood taproom

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:07:39 GMT

Boulder’s Sanitas Brewing Co. is celebrating a decade in the beer business with a soon-to-open location in the Denver suburbs.The new taproom, Sanitas’ second, is located at 200. W. Belleview Ave. in Englewood where craft beer drinkers will find a 4,700-square-foot taproom with more than 15 beers on tap, including experimental recipes brewed on the 3.5-barrel pilot system onsite, plus a 2,500-square-foot patio.The grand opening is slated for Friday, June 23, through Sunday, June 25. To celebrate, Sanitas will release a new hazy IPA called Cheers from Englewood that’s “packed with peach, apricot and sweet melon flavor notes,” according to the brewery.Sanitas Brewing Co. is celebrating the opening with a new hazy IPA, called Cheers from Englewood. (Provided by Sanitas Brewing Co.)Part of co-founder and CEO Michael Memsic’s vision is to be a destination morning, noon and night, which is why the brewery includes an outpost for the local Atlas Coffee, its fourth on the Front Range....

Final piece of former Loveland outlet mall sold as redevelopment gets underway

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:07:39 GMT

The company that is redeveloping the Outlets at Loveland, an all-but-vacant prime piece of real estate along Interstate 25, has closed on the last piece of the property for $12.3 million.The real estate services firm CBRE said Wednesday that Schuman Companies’ purchase completes the company’s acquisition of the outlet mall at the intersection of I-25 and U.S. 34.Schuman Companies, a real estate investment firm in Windsor, paid $15 million for the north parcel of the roughly 36-acre mall in a deal that closed late last year. The south parcel, about 146,100 square feet, is the final piece of the renamed Loveland Yards.More than 10 tenants have bought or leased suites on the north side of the property, filling 138,700 square feet, or 71% of the available space, according to CBRE.“The velocity of tenant commitments at Loveland Yards is proof of concept for Schuman Companies’ vision to create a marketplace catering to Northern Colorado business owners,” CBRE Vice Presid...

10 of the loveliest easy to moderate hikes in Colorado

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:07:39 GMT

Hiking is a quintessential part of summer in Colorado for many residents and visitors. If you love to summit fourteeners, consider tackling the extremely difficult Longs Peak since this year is the 150th anniversary of intrepid traveler Isabella Bird’s 1873 ascent. She’s largely responsible for making Estes Park a must-see mountain destination.But if bagging the state’s highest summits isn’t your thing, there are hundreds of other trails worth your efforts. Here are 10 easy to moderately strenuous hikes from an avid hiker who’s always on the hunt for lesser-traveled trails. I’m also sharing what I believe are the best hikes without crowds in Colorado’s four national parks and two popular trails that are hitting big milestones this year.There are more than 15 miles of trails to hike and ride at Red Mountain Open Space north of Fort Collins. (Photo by Jennifer Broome/Special to The Denver Post)Red Mountain Open SpaceWellingtonRating: Easy loop connecting several trailsTime: 2 hoursJus...

Some Colorado 14ers will remain closed to the public unless a new coalition can change the law

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:07:39 GMT

Colorado’s mountains are beckoning as fourteener hiking season approaches, but five of the state’s 58 towering 14,000-foot peaks will continue to be off limits this summer due to liability concerns from private landowners who control access to those peaks.Recreation advocates tried to resolve the issues through legislative action in March while Colorado lawmakers were in session. But their efforts were unsuccessful.Now a growing alliance of prominent nonprofits is mobilizing to raise the issue again next year, seeking a revision to the Colorado Recreational Use Statute (CRUS). The Fix CRUS Coalition, founded in April, includes the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, the Colorado Mountain Club, the Boulder Climbing Community, the Access Fund, The Nature Conservancy, the Trust for Public Land, the American Alpine Club, the Outdoor Alliance, People for Bikes and American Whitewater.They contend the issue is much bigger than access to Colorado’s iconic fourteeners. Mounta...

The Book Club: “Demon Copperhead,” “Small World” and other short reviews by readers, staff | Opinion

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:07:39 GMT

Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. Sure, you could read advertising blurbs on Amazon, but wouldn’t you be more likely to believe a neighbor with no skin in the game over a corporation being fed words by publishers? So in this new series, we are sharing these mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email [email protected].“The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley,” by David Waldstreicher (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)“The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley,” by David Waldstreicher (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)Part biography and part literary analysis, this book focuses on the life, times and writing of Phillis Wheatley, who is considered the first African-American author to publish a book of poetry. Wheatley was born in West Africa around 1750, kidnapped and sold into slavery. Her owners in Boston taught her to read and wri...

Colorado prisons must reform use of restraints on mentally ill inmates under new law

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:07:39 GMT

Colorado’s prisons must reform their use of metal restraints on mentally ill inmates in the coming four years under a new bill signed into law Tuesday regulating a practice that one lawmaker likened to torture.The bill — HB23-1013 — requires the state Department of Corrections to conform with the “gold standard” regulations of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care on the use of restraints. That would institute regulations in Colorado that either don’t exist or are looser than national benchmarks: Critics had accused the department of chaining inmates to beds for hours at a time, with little medical oversight and unclear guidelines for initiating or ending seclusion.There were 219 “restraint events” involving inmates in five Colorado prisons between 2020 and 2022, according to a state fiscal analysis of the bill. One former inmate told the Denver Post in October that he was chained at the wrists and ankles for 20 consecuti...

Why this yoga studio is worth getting out of bed for | Opinion

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:07:39 GMT

Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems).I’ve never been much of a morning person, let alone someone who wakes up early to work out. Neon lights, cardio machines, loud music and people screaming at you first thing in the morning have never been my thing.But The River Yoga has completely changed my reluctance to start my day with a sweat.I first joined The River Yoga (which has three locations throughout Denver) because I got a free membership through my last job. I’d attend a few classes after work, but never made it a firm commitment, mainly because I wasn’t paying for it.When that membership ended, I realized how much I missed the workout, so I joined again on my own ($120 a month for unlimited classes at every location). Since morning classes work better for my schedule, I fo...

Fiery crash on 57 Freeway leaves 2 vehicles damaged in San Dimas

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:07:39 GMT

A fiery crash on the 57 Freeway in San Dimas left two vehicles damaged Monday morning.The incident was reported around 1 a.m. on the southbound side of the freeway just before the 10 Freeway. Video from the scene showed a Mercedes had crashed into the center divider before catching fire. Arriving firefighters were seen attacking the blaze and putting out the flames. A second vehicle, a Toyota, crashed into a light pole on the side of the freeway while swerving to avoid the Mercedes.Rescue crews had to free the trapped driver in the Toyota. No major injuries were reported as a result of the crash. An investigation is underway into the cause of the initial crash.