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WEEK OF JANUARY 18, 2024

VOLUME 97 | ISSUE 7

Denver Scholarship Foundation helps make college a reality

Colorado gave $2.3 million in federal pandemic aid to people in debt to their HOAs BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN

give them that foundation to understand how to build their lives around it.” The Denver Scholarship Foundation aims to make college possible for all Denver Public Schools students, supporting them with tools and resources. It is known as the “financial aid experts in Denver,” said Diana Madriz, the foundation’s assistant director of college access. It “is a liaison between talent and resources and opportunities.”

Colorado has distributed more than $2.3 million in aid since November 2021 to people who are in debt to their homeowners associations through a mortgage assistance program funded by the federal government during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The money has gone to pay off unpaid HOA assessments, fines and attorneys fees. At least 13 homeowners received more than $20,000 to settle their HOA debt under the Colorado Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program. One received nearly $60,000, including about $41,000 to cover attorneys fees. The data on Colorado’s distribution of Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program funds was obtained through an open records request by Homeowners of America United, a homeowner advocacy group. The Colorado Sun was provided the data and then verified it with the state. The program comes as HOAs have initiated roughly 3,000 judicial foreclosures in Colorado since 2018, according to an investigation published in August by The Sun. About 8% of the cases — or more than 250 — resulted in homes being sold at auction for a fraction of their value so that HOAs could recover what they were owed.

SEE FOUNDATION, P4

SEE RELIEF, P3

Miguel Banuelos-Garcia, left, who is a Denver Scholarship Foundation college advisor at John F. Kennedy High School, and student Rhina Serrano-Zetino work together on some of the prep work for Serrano-Zetino’s FAFSA application in the school’s Future COURTESY OF THE DENVER SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION Center. BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Rhina Serrano-Zetino always knew she wanted to go to college. “It was my biggest dream as a little girl,” she said. “I always wanted to do something more to make my parents proud.” But being the first generation in her family to pursue higher education, she knew she might have some hurdles to overcome. “There’s a lot of nerves knowing that nobody in my family has gone

through this,” Serrano-Zetino said. Then she started working with Miguel Banuelos-Garcia, a Denver Scholarship Foundation college advisor at John F. Kennedy High School. The two talked about SerranoZetino’s values and her career and academic goals. Through these conversations, Serrano-Zetino learned about the Denver Scholarship Foundation and what it offers to aspiring college students like her. “We’re helping them paint that window that they see their lives outside of,” Banuelos-Garcia said. “We

CALENDAR: 9 | VOICES: 10 | LIFE: 12

DENVERHERALD.NET • A PUBLICATION OF COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

TRYING OUT DRYING OUT

Dry January attracts sober curious P12

2 Denver Herald

January 18, 2024

A Cumbia New Years celebration Latin dance genre a hit at Salon Ocampo BY JACKIE RAMIREZ SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

The New Year didn’t arrive quietly at Denver’s Salon Ocampo, which gave the old year a loud goodbye with lights, screens, dance and music. Salon Ocampo is no stranger to the Mexican music scene. The event center brought four Sonideros who joined Denver-based performers the Grupo Kaoba to give a bright welcome to the New Year Dec. 30. As owner of Salon Ocampo Ivan Sosa, who performed at the event as DJ Barrio Sonidero, was excited to host the final event of the year featuring Cumbia Sonidera. Sosa manages two to three Cumbia Sonidera events per year, aside from hosting quinceañeras and weddings at Salon Ocampo. His preparation for the Cumbia Sonidera event started a week and a half before the event, and Sosa worked with his peers to set up screens, speakers, lights, and audio to ensure a strong party atmosphere for the end of the year. The inspiration behind having an event of Cumbia Sonidera came from Sosa’s love of the music of Mexico. “I love the Sonidera music, especially here in Denver, Colorado, I have given it my all with the audio. Music has been my life and the audio too since I was a kid. I’ve always done it,” Sosa said. The Cumbia Sonidera subgenre has a long history. Cumbia comes from Colombia but has expanded over time to different regions of Mexico and the United States. This expansion allows different people to discover Cumbia and give their unique twist to the genre of music. Rene Perez, who has been a Sonidero for 42 years and is a part of Amistad Caracas, explains that the Sonideros themselves set Cumbia

The DJ keeps the Cumbia Soniderio coming Dec. 30 at Denver’s Salon Ocampo

Sonidera apart from other types of Cumbia. The Sonideros are a crucial and distinct feature of this subgenre. “The DJ doesn’t speak, but a Sonidero does. The DJ mixes the Sonidera music and brings in different types of music that the DJ dedicates himself to,” Perez said. “With mixed music, you need to learn the beats and mixing, but the Sonidero doesn’t. He feels the music, and we are used to the bass.” The Sonidero speaks and sends shout-outs on their behalf or from requests of the people, he said. It helps create a sense of community in the music, which is important to the neighborhoods in Mexico City. “We try to transmit what the people like,” Perez said. Sonidera around the globe

Although the origins of Cumbia Sonidera are not well known, many say that the subgenre of music took flight in the neighborhoods of Mexico City. Cumbia Sonidera keeps growing in terms of fans and in style. Inspired by Mexico City’s Cumbia

Sonidera, performers in Ecuador have developed their own style called Cumbia Villera. Now, new generations are mixing the Reggaeton genre – itself a mix of Reggae and Latin dance hall music – into Cumbia Sonidera. This subgenre continues to evolve and Sonidera beats can be heard through the heartbeats of many Latinos. The Cumbia Sonidera event of El Ocampo did its best to capture the essence of the dances in Mexico City, inviting musicians like Amistad Caracas who traveled from Mexico to be part of the event as well as Grupo Kaoba. Sosa used his memories of dances in Mexico City and his love for the music to create an authentic event. “More than anything, we hope that the custom of Sonidera in the neighborhoods doesn’t get lost,” Sosa said. “I am from Iztapalapa and over there, well the dances in the streets, we hope that tradition doesn’t get lost now that we are here in the United States – that the dances continue and more than anything, that the Sonidero atmosphere continues.”

PHOTO BY JACKIE RAMIREZ

Grupo Kaoba

With 23 years of playing Cumbia across the United States, Grupo Kaoba gave a live music performance at the Cumbia Sonidera event at Salon Ocampo. Grupo Kaoba’s Eilee Hernandez said it’s important to preserve Mexican culture here in the United States with events like this one. “With the type of music that we play, we try to return to the culture that we all bring from [Mexico], we try to keep that small piece of Mexico with us. We want to keep all of that and bring it here so that the people can feel that they are in their hometown or city, we want it to feel like Mexico,” Hernandez said. The importance of these events is not only for people to strengthen their connection to the Latino community through dancing and hanging out with each other, but to also return to the roots of many people. For many, events like this one are a chance to bring their home and culture to the United States. To read this story in Spanish, click on the “Noticias en español” link on our website!

Endangered Species Act marks 50th anniversary BY ERIC GALATAS PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE

In 2023, wolverines won federal protections, gray wolves were reintroduced in Colorado and the Bureau of Land Management announced a draft-management plan for critical Gunnison sage grouse habitat, all species protected under a statute passed by Congress 50 years ago. Vera Smith, senior federal lands policy analyst for Defenders of Wildlife, said while the primary goal is to avoid Endangered Species Act listings altogether, when scientists do see species in decline, the act is critical for ensuring they get the protections they need to survive and thrive in the future. “The act is really good at incen-

tivizing that,” Smith pointed out. “When species are getting closer to extinction, the act steps in and offers that critical protection and directs resources where they need to go.” Since the 1900s, the Gunnison sage grouse has lost 90% of its sagebrushsea habitat to human development. Smith said the number of birds known for their iconic mating dance has dropped to just 4,000. The BLM manages 42% of the bird’s remaining habitat, and is accepting public comments on its proposal through Feb. 7. After 20 years of work by conservationists, in November the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to list wolverines as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. SEE ENDANGERED, P14

Denver Herald 3

January 18, 2024

RELIEF FROM PAGE 1

Gov. Jared Polis and Democrats in the legislature, in response to The Sun’s reporting, vowed to pass legislation this year at the state Capitol to try to reduce the foreclosures. Several measures are in the works for the lawmaking term that begins Wednesday. The federal Homeowner Assistance Fund was created through the American Rescue Plan Act, which congressional Democrats passed in 2021. Colorado received $175 million to run its Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program, money that must be spent before October 2026. The U.S. Department of Treasury

let states distribute the aid to cover homeowners association fees or liens, which the Community Associations Institute, an HOA trade group, says marked the first time the federal government made HOA debts equivalent to mortgage delinquencies in emergency housing legislation. Colorado joined the majority of states in opting to let their Homeowner Assistance Fund money be distributed to pay off HOA debts. Only a few states prohibited that use, according to the Community Associations Institute. “In response to the concerning rise in foreclosures attributed to HOA fees and liens across various Colorado communities in 2022, the Division of Housing took decisive action to help address the issue within the

Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program,” said Chynna Cowart, a spokeswoman for the Department of Local Affairs, where the Division of Housing operates out of. “Recognizing the imminent threat of displacement for homeowners, some of whom were mere days away from foreclosure, the inclusion of payment assistance for HOA fees and liens became a crucial component of the program’s framework.” To qualify for the assistance a homeowner must have an income equal to or less than 100% of their area median income and have experienced a COVID-related impact to their finances, including job loss, reduction in income or increased health care costs. The aid is capped at $40,000 per

household, though Cowart said exceptions can be made — like in the case of the homeowner or homeowners who received nearly $60,000 to cover their HOA debt. In that situation, Cowart said the exception stopped an imminent foreclosure sale in Denver’s Green Valley Ranch neighborhood, where a high number of homes have been foreclosed on by an HOA. “It kept the homeowner from losing their home,” she said. As of December, about $81 million remained in the Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program fund. This story was printed through a news sharing agreement with The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned nonprofit based in Denver that covers the state.

Here’s a Statistical Review of the Denver Metro Real Estate Market in 2023

Now that 2023 is in the books, I have done some statistical analysis of the year and how it compared to the other three “Covid years.” The result of that research is reflected in the various charts on this page. In addition to the “Covid years,” of course, we have the “interest rate surge” years, which had the opposite effect. Covid unexpectedly super-charged the real estate market, while the interest rate surge put a wet blanket on it. The effects of each are clearly visible in the charts. One way to do an apples-to-apples comparison of the years is to look at the price per finished square foot, which is independent of the price of the home. In this first chart, you can see how the value of homes using that criterion surged during 2020 and 2021 but dropped quickly in 2022 and has more or less leveled off since:

Looking at the both the median and average sold prices of homes, you see the same trend. I like to look at the median rather than the average when studying the market, because a few multimillion-dollar home sales can have a big effect on the average price of sold homes but has no effect on the median price.

market but because listings go under contract so quickly. However, when interest rates surge as much as they did in 2022-2023, homeowners will refrain from moving up (or downsizing) because of “rate lock.” They don’t want to sell their home with a sub-3% mortgage only to buy a replacement home at double that rate (or more). You can see that in this chart of active vs. sold listings:

In mid-2022 as interest rates began to rise, the sale of homes began to plummet and sellers took or kept their homes off the market at a rate higher than usual. The initial surge in active listings at that time was because fewer listings already on the market were going under contract as buyers waited in hopes that interest rates would decline again. By January 2023 it was evident that rates were staying high, and the pent-up demand of buyers to buy and sellers to sell kicked in. So, how slow did the market become? The following charts are good measures of that. As the pandemic took effect in March 2020, buyers flooded the market (as reflected above) buying homes further from their places of work and/or with more room for home offices now that work-at-home became a thing. This depleted the supply of homes for sale (again as reflected above), and caused the median days on market to plunge to 5 or 6 days. Because there are always overpriced homes which languish on the market, the average days in MLS (DIM)

However, the fact that the average sold price is consistently higher than the median price shows how active the market in million-dollar homes is. In a seller’s market, the number of active listings drops, not because homeowners aren’t putting their homes on the

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remained over 20 until finally sellers saw the writing on the wall and lowered their prices enough to sell, hence the low average DIM by mid-2023. By November 2022, new listings had dropped to a record low, but that was matched last month as shown in the next chart. Expired listings are another meas-

ure of the market’s health — and of how many sellers overprice their homes. That, too, hit a peak in late 2022 and again at the end of 2023. One of my favorite measurements of the seller’s market during Covid was the average ratio of sold price to listing price, indicating how much the average home benefited from a bidding war. In early 2021 and 2022, as shown in the following chart, it reached a record of

about 6% over asking price. Prior to 2020 it was typical for homes, on average, to sell slightly below asking price. As this last chart shows, homes aren’t now selling for above their original

How I Define Metro Denver

Every real estate statistician I know defines the metro area using county boundaries. The statistics I have gathered for this week’s column are derived from REcolorado’s listings within an 18-mile radius of downtown Denver, as shown above.

price but are selling for about their current listing price once that price had been lowered enough. As I’ve said so many times in the past (see the archive of my columns online at www.JimSmithColumns.com), pricing your home at or slightly below the market will typically net you more than if you list it for a wished-for price and then chase the market downhill. Also, just like politics, all real estate is local. Even within my hometown of Golden, I have watched homes languish on the market in one neighborhood while they trigger bidding wars a mile or two away. Bottom line, always hire an experienced Realtor like those of us at Golden Real Estate if you want to price your home right and get the highest price.

Rita and I Are on Vacation — Sort of...

As you read this, I’m in the second week of my 122day world cruise on the Viking Sky with my wife, Rita. You can subscribe free to my daily travel-blog at http:// WhereAreJimandRita.Substack.com. Because of the excellent internet connectivity on the ship, I’ll continue to do “business as usual,” except that my broker associates will be my “boots on the ground.” If you are on WhatsApp, you can call me, even at sea, using the same number as my cell phone. And you certainly can still email me. If you want to list or buy a home, I’ll refer you to the broker associate I feel best fits your needs.

Jim Smith

Broker/Owner, 303-525-1851 Jim@GoldenRealEstate.com 1214 Washington Ave., Golden 80401 Broker Associates: JIM SWANSON, 303-929-2727 CHUCK BROWN, 303-885-7855 DAVID DLUGASCH, 303-908-4835 GREG KRAFT, 720-353-1922 AUSTIN POTTORFF, 970-281-9071 KATHY JONKE, 303-990-7428 “I cannot do all the good the world needs, but the world needs all the good I can do.” —Jana Stanfield

4 Denver Herald

January 18, 2024

FOUNDATION FROM PAGE 1

The Education Data Initiative states that nationally, 1.7 million scholarships are awarded annually, but only seven percent of college students receive a scholarship. According to the Institute of Education Sciences, about 19 million students in the U.S. pursued higher education for the 2021-2022 academic year. Locally, for that same academic year, the Denver Scholarship Foundation awarded nearly $5 million in scholarships to 1,871 DPS students. Additionally, Denver Scholarship Foundation scholarship awards have been increasing, and have returned to pre-COVID numbers, Madriz said. She added that this school year, the foundation awarded a “record number” of scholarships to more than 2,070 DPS graduates. “More students desire to pursue a college education,” Madriz said. “This is mostly due to the direct correlation between postsecondary education and successful employment with higher-paying positions, job security and social mobility.” While it may be best known for its scholarship awards – the Denver Scholarship Foundation has awarded $57.6 million in scholarships to 8,941 DPS graduates since fall of 2007 – the foundation has three main initiatives. They are: the need-based scholarships to attend any college in Colorado, for which any DPS graduate is eligible; access to resources such as financial aid advisement; and ensuring the student is successful through college, career and be-

yond. Fifteen DPS high schools have a Future Center where students and their families can work one-onone with one of the foundation’s college advisors. Students who attend a DPS school that does not have a center can talk with their school’s college advisors about resources. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2024-2025 academic year opened in December, and the foundation wants to ensure all DPS students and their families are aware of the resources available to them. The foundation also provides resources for the Colorado Application for State Financial Aid (CASFA), which allows Colorado public colleges the ability to award financial aid to students who are not eligible for federal student aid but meet the requirements for Colorado residency, including undocumented students. “Having access to financial aid is the difference between being able to enroll in college or not,” Madriz said. “It’s life changing.” And it’s important for students and their families to know that applying for financial aid does not commit them to anything — they do not have to accept any financial aid offered to them, Madriz added. “It just sets them up for options, or expands their options,” she said. The foundation’s FAFSA support includes help with application preparation and submission. This includes helping with gathering all necessary paperwork, identifying a timeline to ensure all deadlines are met, creating a studentaid.gov account and answering any questions about what financial aid is. SEE FOUNDATION, P14

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Denver Herald 5

January 18, 2024

Post-high school certificates good business BY ERIC GALATAS PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE

Coloradans who graduate from college or trade schools are ready to join the labor market equipped with high-demand, highly competitive skills needed to thrive in their chosen career path - according to the Colorado Department of Higher Education’s latest Return on Investment Report. Angie Paccione, Ph.D - the department’s executive director - said there are significant benefits to getting any education or training beyond high school. “When you attain higher educa-

tion, you get higher earnings, better health outcomes,” said Paccione. “You get less unemployment. Typically, debt goes down.” Nine out of ten employers in the state say they have jobs to fill but can’t find skilled workers. Colorado ranks second nationally with more than 60% of its residents with some postsecondary education, including large numbers of people who move to the state with a degree in hand. But just 25% of Black adults have a degree or credential, according to Justice for Black Coloradans. Paccione pointed to the success of the Colorado Opportunity Scholar-

ship Initiative, which has shown that it’s possible to bridge that attainment gap. But she said more funding is needed to scale up and reach more students. “It was designed for low-income students, first-generation students and students of color to get both the scholarships and the wrap-around support services,” said Paccione. “These students will change the trajectories of their families, and of themselves, of course.” Each new postsecondary graduate in Colorado contributes more than $132,000 to the state’s GDP. Colorado workers without a degree

or credential earn on average less than $1,000 per week, compared with $1,500 per week for those with bachelor’s degrees, and more than $2,000 per week for those with advanced degrees. Paccione said the state has taken steps to remove cost as a barrier. “We have about 12 occupations that students in Colorado can pursue at zero cost for tuition and fees,” said Paccione. “The construction trades, firefighting, elementary and earlychildhood education, forest management, certified nursing assistants.” This story via The Associated Press’ Storyshare, of which Colorado Community Media is a member.

DISH Network announces more layoffs BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

After laying off about 500 employees in November, satellite television provider DISH Network is laying off 157 more workers this spring. The new layoff announcement came just eight days after DISH Network’s recent merger with EchoStar, which was completed on Dec. 31. The layoffs will impact employees at the company’s headquarters at 9601 S. Meridian Blvd. in the Meridian area of unincorporated Douglas County, according to a notice filed with the state on Jan. 8. DISH Network also has a sizable presence in Littleton, with a campus at the west end of downtown. Employees being laid off will be notified over the two weeks following the announcement and will

see their positions terminated on March 8. The layoffs will mainly impact employees who work in customer service and tech support, with the company cutting 80 “wireless senior reps” and 25 “intermediate CS and tech reps.” The layoffs come in the wake of financial challenges for the company. DISH Network’s third-quarter 2023 finances showed revenue totaling $3.7 billion, down from $4.1 billion for the corresponding period in 2022. It reported losing $139 million in the quarter and Forbes reported its shares fell to a 25-year low. Charlie Ergen, DISH Network’s founder and CEO, said the merger with EchoStar would launch “a new era of connectivity” for customers as it combines DISH Network’s sat-

ellite technology, streaming services and 5G network with EchoStar’s satellite communications solutions. Some analysts think the merger might not be enough to save DISH Network, saying the merger would provide DISH access to funds for its remaining 5G network build-out, but the company would still need to

fund its debt. DISH Network did not respond to requests for comment by press time. The Littleton Independent also reached out to Littleton, Centennial, Englewood and Douglas County for comment on the layoffs and did not receive responses by press time. CLAIM YOUR

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6 Denver Herald

January 18, 2024

Colorado’s Healthy Meals for All program sees dramatic increase in daily meals served ’25 school year, allows schools to apply for local purchasing grants for high-quality, locally sourced food. “When the HSMA program is fully implemented, it will have one of the most robust farm-to-school programs in the nation,” Agar said. “Farmers and producers are already strategizing how to use the newly available resources to strengthen local food systems and support small farmers.” The next phase also involves gaining feedback from student and parent advisory committees and giving decision-making power to these groups to ensure meals remain healthy and appealing. “Colorado is the first state in the nation to establish these committees, providing a unique opportunity to set a new transformational standard for the country,” Agar said. Anyone wanting to get involved can contact their local nutrition staff or the Hunger Free Colorado team to share their experiences.

BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

On any given day, as many as 400 students pass through Andrea Cisneros’s lunch line at West Woods Elementary in Arvada. Depending on the meal, that number is roughly 100-200 more than she’s used to serving in prior years. The increased demand is due to the voter-approved Healthy School Meals for All initiative run by the Colorado Department of Education. The program allows all students access to free school meals regardless of family income. When the bill passed, many speculated more students would take advantage of the program because it would reduce the stigma associated with qualifying for free or reduced lunch and eliminate financial constraints for others. Yet, no one knew for sure. After five months, the verdict is in. Ellie Agar, director of communications for Hunger-Free Colorado, the organization that led the campaign to pass the HSMA program, confirmed schools are seeing an average increase of 30-40% in lunch and breakfast participation. “The increase is even higher among students who previously didn’t participate in free or reducedpriced lunch either due to income or stigma,” Agar said. Cisneros, kitchen manager and 23-year Jefferson County school district veteran said she sees the impact on low-income families daily. “One mom of three kids in my school missed qualifying for free lunch by $1 last year,” Cisneros said. “She used to worry constantly about how to feed her kids lunch. It’s been a huge burden lifted from her shoulders.” Cisneros also sees how free meals have changed students’ attitudes toward going through the lunch line. “I’ve been told it’s now cool to get your food for free. There’s no stigma — everyone just gets to eat.” Cisneros said she used to risk getting reprimanded for giving kids who

Eliminating poor-quality food

Cisneros recently won Education Support Professional of the Year by the Colorado Education Association for her efforts to boycott junk food from her school and begin a composting program that teaches kids about recycling and reducing food waste. She was part of a bargaining effort on behalf of the Jefferson Education Support Professional Association that successfully won a pilot program to begin working with local farmers to provide fresh food for three Jefferson County schools. Cisneros is on a mission to teach her students about the impacts of junk food and the importance of eating the colors of the rainbow. She also wants her students to know where their food comes from and is constantly looking for creative ways to help them learn about food while standing in line. Cisneros is up for National Education Association Support Professional of the Year. The winner will be announced in March.

The Healthy School Meals for All initiative run by the Colorado Department of Education allows all students access to free school meals regardless of family income. STOCK IMAGE FROM PEXELS

had nothing to eat without charging them, but she couldn’t stand letting any child in her school go hungry. It makes her happy to know that it’s no longer an issue. According to Agar, parents can save more than $1,250 per student each year, alleviating financial stress while food and living costs rise. Feeding more students doesn’t come without challenges, however. Kitchens remain understaffed, and Cisneros says by the time some kids get through the line, they’ve sold out of meals, or the student has little time to eat before lunch is over. Agar acknowledged the issue and noted that districts could apply for

grants for more local purchasing, scratch cooking training, and wage boosts for front-line staff next year. She’s hoping the wage increases will help address some of these issues. Parents have also communicated that they’d like more fresh and culturally relevant options in the coming years. While those plans are in the works, Agar said families can partner with school districts through student and parent advisory committees to help provide students with more enticing food. Phase II implementation

The next phase of HSMA implementation, which begins in the ‘24-

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Denver Herald 7

January 18, 2024

‘We tell our artists to dream big’ Event series at Denver Art Museum features local artists, live performances

This year’s lineup ranges from art and performance rooted in reimagined ancient iconography to poetry slam artists. “We tell our artists to dream big, and then we whittle it down from there to things that are actually feasible and doable,” Rockett said. “We try to connect with as many different creative communities as we can in the Denver area.”

BY BRUCE GOLDBERG SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Quána Madison has a unique outlook about how viewing and experiencing art can improve one’s health. “I think the arts world nourishes well-being, and the arts is a diverse set of experiences and the art form,” said Madison. Madison is a multidisciplinary artist whose three main art forms are abstract expressionist painting, healing arts facilitation and fashion artist. “I paint clothes,” she said, adding that collectors and fashionistas have commissioned her to create paintings on clothing so they can wear it. On Jan. 26, Madison and performing artist/musician Wes Watkins will be the featured artists for the series opener of the Denver Art Museum’s Untitled: Artist Takeover events. The quarterly after-hours DAM presentations feature live performances, pop-up installations throughout the museum, art making-stations and other unique experiences, with each event led by local and regional artists and collaborators. The organizers seek to provide “an unexpected and engaging atmosphere,” the museum states. “Untitled is a pop-up, onenight event and we really have this goal of wanting to connect visitors with artists and their communities,” said Sarah Rockett, manager of creative and public engagement at DAM. “The artists really have to think about different ways in which they are sharing their work with the public.” The series began in 2010, eventually evolved into a monthly program, then moved to the current quarterly schedule in 2020. The other 2024 Untitled events are scheduled for April 26, July 26 and Oct. 25. Tickets to Untitled events are included with museum admission and all museum spaces and exhibitions are open during Untitled. The museum’s onsite The Ponti restaurant and Café Gio also feature special late-night hours during Untitled. Madison has overcome difficult times in her life, and said her skills have helped get her through numerous health crises, homelessness and more. She believes these experiences enrich her soul and well-being.

To learn more about Untitled: Artist Takeover at the Denver Art Museum, visit denverartmuseum.org/en/untitled.

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Quána Madison, pictured, and performing artist/musician Wes Watkins will be the featured artists for PHOTO BY SABRINA MONTOYA the series opener of the Denver Art Museum’s Untitled: Artist Takeover events.

She also is dedicated to helping people overcome illnesses – both physical and mental – and brings a unique set of qualifications to the table. Her skill sets include being a mindfulness teacher, a healing arts workshop facilitator, a self-leadership coach, a model and an artist-philanthropist. Through it all, Madison retains a fervent belief that the arts can heal people. “A lot of people I work with struggle with depression, anxiety, some suicide ideation, stress, traumatic experiences or complex trauma,” Madison said. “At my workshops, I can talk about it as a peer.” Rockett said planning for the Untitled series is at least a four-month process, and that the series is open to trying new things. Recent additions included an opera performance. Another was for a couple of stand-up comedians to perform.

Columnists & Guest Commentaries Columnist opinions are not necessarily those of the Independent. We welcome letters to the editor. Please include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone. Email letters to letters@coloradocommunitymedia.com Deadline Tues. for the following week’s paper.

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Aaron “Ukulele Loki” Johnson poses for a picture during a previous Untitled: Artist Takeover event at the Denver Art Museum. PHOTO BY BRUCE FERNANDEZ COURTESY OF THE DENVER ART MUSEUM

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8 Denver Herald

January 18, 2024

A ‘snow drought’ is leaving the West’s mountains high and dry BY ALEX HAGER KUNC

Across the West, the winter is off to a dry start. Wide swaths of the Rocky Mountains have lower-than-average snow totals for this time of year, but scientists say there’s still plenty of time to end the “snow drought” and close the gap. High-altitude snowpack has big implications for the region’s water supply. Two-thirds of the Colorado River’s water starts as snow in Colorado’s mountains before melting and flowing to about 40 million people across seven states. Nearly every part of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming has significantly less snow than usual for late December. The latest data from a region-wide network of snow sensors shows snow in many areas with snow totals around 60 or 70% of normal. “It’s really going to be dependent on what we see in January and February,” said Becky Bolinger, Colorado’s assistant state climatologist. “We’re really going to need an active January and February to make up these deficits and be okay.” Last year, big snows in the Rockies helped boost the Colorado River’s major reservoirs. Policymakers said the snowy winter lifted some pressure off of tense negotiations about sharing the river’s water in the future. Even a few consecutive wet winters aren’t enough to seriously fix the supply-demand imbalance that fuels the West’s water crisis. More than 20 years

Skiers cruise down the slopes at Arapahoe Basin ski area in Colorado on Nov. 13, 2023. Low precipitation has left much of the region in a “snow drought,” which could have big implications for Colorado River water supply, but isn’t expected to deal a financial PHOTO BY ALEX HAGER KUNC blow to many ski resorts.

of dry conditions, fueled by climate change, have shrunk the Colorado River’s water supply, and policymakers have been unable to agree on significant, long-term cutbacks to water use. Experts say it would take five or six consecutive above-average winters to close that supply-demand gap, which is unlikely to happen as climate change makes the region warmer and drier. Dan McEvoy, regional climatologist at the Western Regional Climate Center and Desert Research Institute, said

last year’s wet winter was an “anomaly.” “Lots of data, lots of research, projections, modeling, all point to this continuing trend of warmer winters, less snow and in some cases, less precipitation,” he said. Last year’s snowy conditions did deliver one major positive for the Colorado River — soaking the soil and helping this year’s snow reach the streams, rivers and reservoirs where people collect water. Dry soil acts like a sponge and soaks up runoff. After a high-snow winter, the soggy soil will

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help make sure a higher percentage of the next year’s snowfall reaches waterways. Despite the low snow, ski resorts may not be feeling much financial pain. Chad Dyer, managing director of ski website OnTheSnow, said a lot of ski traffic around the holidays is coming from tourists who cemented their plans in advance. “Their flights are booked, their lodging is booked. As long as the ski resort is open and has got a product, by and large, they’re going to visit,” Dyer said. Dyer also pointed to statistics from a recent Vail Resorts earnings call. The mountain ownership company said it expects 73% of its worldwide skier visits come from season passholders. That high volume of pre-purchased lift tickets allows ski resorts to depend less on ticket sales that may ebb and flow with the quality of ski conditions. The next few weeks are unlikely to bring much immediate relief for Western mountains. “The medium– to long–range forecasts that go out about two weeks are not super promising,” McEvoy said. “There are some signs of some smaller storms that can impact parts of the West. But overall, it’s a pretty dry forecast.” This story is part of ongoing coverage of the Colorado River, produced by KUNC and supported by the Walton Family Foundation. It runs via The Associated Press’ Storyshare, of which Colorado Community Media is a member.

Denver Herald 9

January 18, 2024

Thu 1/11 Featured

North Mississippi Allstars @ 7pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Englewood

Editor's Pick Eric Golden @ 7:30pm Wide Open Saloon, 5607 US-85, Sedalia

Featured

Editor's Pick

Thu 1/18 Mollie O'Brien

Rotating Tap Comedy @ Fiction Beer Company

@ 7pm Swallow Hill, 71 E Yale Ave, Denver

@ 8pm Fiction Beer Company, 19523 Hess Rd. #103, Parker

Featured

Editor's Pick John Jorgenson: J2B2 at the Lone Tree Arts Center @ 8pm Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St, Lone Tree

Lucy Kaplansky @ 8pm Swallow Hill Music, 71 E Yale Ave, Denver

@ 7pm Jan 13th - May 25th Western Sky Bar & Taproom, 4361 South Broadway, Enlgewood. westernskybarco@ gmail.com

John Gorka

Immortal Sÿnn, Burning Silence, and more at Herman's Hideaway

Jesse Ahern: ROLL WITH IT TOUR

@ 7pm Herman's Hideaway, 1578 S Broadway, Denver

@ 12am Jan 16th - Jan 29th PACE Center, 20000 Pikes Peak Avenue, Parker

@ 8pm daniels hall, 71 E Yale Ave, Denver

Sun 1/14 @ 7pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Engle‐ wood

Jason Gray in Concert

Blockhead

DJ Rockstar Aaron: Forbidden Bingo - Tailgate Tavern & Grill

@ 7pm Lakewood Vineyard, 6800 W Hampden Ave, Lakewood

@ 7pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Engle‐ wood

@ 8pm Tailgate Tavern & Grill, 19552 Mainstreet, Parker

The best place to promote your events online and in print. Visit us @ https://littletonindependent.net/calendar

Eric Golden @ 7:30pm Tailgate Tavern & Grill, 19552 Mainstreet, Parker Finn O'Sullivan: Herman's Hideaway @ 8pm Herman's Hideaway, 1578 S Broadway, Denver Calendar information is provided by event organiz‐ ers. All events are subject to change or cancella‐ tion. This publication is not responsible for the ac‐ curacy of the information contained in this calendar.

10 Denver Herald

LOCAL

VOICES

January 18, 2024

What should we call that 14er above Crestone? It’s called Kit Carson, but a state advisory board in January will review alternatives more acceptable to the Diné and others

y hike up Kit Carson Peak in June 2000 began with great ambition and ended with confusion. Confusion remains now, almost 24 years later, if in a different way. We’re not sure what to call the 14,167-foot summit in the Sangre de Cristo Range. My 12 hours above treeline that day left me hypoxic, my brain suffering from too little oxygen. I insisted that the route down took us the west side of Willow Lake, but my companions knew better. Now I contemplate what to call Kit Carson from the floor of the San Luis Valley. A proposal before the Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board would have us call it Frustum Peak. A frustum is a flat-topped cone or pyramid. Still others prefer Crestone, as was considered — but rejected — by a federal board in 2011. Two other 14,000foot peaks, Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle, lie a short distance away. Three 14ers named Crestone? One stone too many. Other names may yet be considered. Colorado also has a town and a county named Kit Carson, but neither

any of us entered the new

year with a lack of trust. Our cynicism and skepticism muscles seem to be growing harder, stronger, and faster than our trust muscles as our hearts and minds grapple with all of the misinformation and disinformation wars that are being waged against us. The Miriam-Webster Dictionary word for 2023 was “authentic.” This is interesting because in a world filled with mistrust, we long for true and authentic conversations and information. If we search on the words “fact check” on Google, there are 6 billion results that appear. We seem obsessed with trying to find the truth, yet for as hard as we work to uncover the truth, it only seems to slip further away. There is no doubt that some people manipulate the truth for personal gain or out of fear that the real truth will expose them. And others will just flat-out lie without giving it a second thought. And how many of us, if not all of us, have convinced ourselves that those little white lies we told were done for the greater good so someone else wouldn’t get hurt?

is up for change as they are not on federal land. The state advisory board members will resume their discussion on Jan. 24. They will also review alternatives to Garfield County’s Dead Mexican Gulch, Jefferson County’s Redskin Alleen Best Creek and Redskin Mountain and Montezuma County’s Negro Draw. Whatever they recommend will be just that. The U.S. Board of Geographic Names has final authority for names on federal lands as Colorado seeks to cleanse its geographic drawers of names with tawdry historical footnotes. Earlier this year, the 14er west of Denver gained a new name, Blue Sky. It had been called Evans, after the territorial governor in 1864 who seemingly turned a blind eye to the Sand Creek Massacre.

BIG PIVOTS

Blood and Thuder

Christopher Houston “Kit” Carson has a more confused and interesting story. Born in Kentucky, reared in Missouri, he fled an apprenticeship in leathermaking for western adventures. As a fur trapper, he was quite successful. He survived. Like other trappers, he found friends – and foes – among the native Americans, taking two of them as spouses. One called it quits, putting his belongings outside their teepee, as was the custom.

Taos was his favored home. His remains are buried there along with those of Josefa, his final wife. They both died in southeastern Colorado, at Boggsville, near today’s Las Animas. By then, he was General Carson in the U.S. Army. Consult “Blood and Thunder,” by Hampton Sides, for an immensely rewarding read about Carson. Sides acknowledges the complexities of Carson and other frontiersmen. “The mountain men lived with Indians, fought alongside and against them, loved them, married them, buried them, gambled and smoked with them,” he writes. Trappers unwittingly left a more damning legacy. “As the forerunners of Western civilization, creeping up the river valleys and across the mountain passes, the trappers brought smallpox and typhoid, they brought guns and whiskey and venereal disease, they brought the puzzlement of money and the gleam of steel. And on their liquored breath they whispered the coming of an unimaginable force, of a gathering shadow on the eastern horizon, gorging itself on the continent as it pressed steadily this way.” That is the conundrum of Carson. It‘s also the question many of us ask ourselves. Will we leave the world a better place – or worse? Or both? While in the U.S. Army, Carson was responsible for corralling the recalcitrant Navajo, who had long been feared by Spanish, Hispanic and Anglo settlers because of their persistent raiding and sometimes killing. He complained to

superiors about the lack of provisions for the Navajo as he marched them to an encampment in eastern New Mexico. Once there, a third died. Afterward, although gravely ill, Carson accompanied Ute leaders to Washington D.C. at their request to represent them in meetings with President Ulysses Grant and others. His story was complicated. Carson was mythologized in his own time. Today, we tend to idealize Native Americans even while we fail, in some important ways, to pay them their due, such as their water rights in the Colorado River Basin. A former newspaper columnist in Colorado Springs responded to my ruminations on Facebook with this: “In our re-naming craze, we should not name anything after humans anymore. It turns out that all humans put their pants on one leg at a time.” Conquerors generally name things in their own honor. Sometimes, we do honor the vanquished. To honor Utes, among Colorado’s 14ers we also have Antero, Shavano, and Tabeguache. We have none to honor Navajos, who call themselves Diné. If they emphatically dislike Kit Carson, so far they have not proposed a replacement. We already have a Conundrum Peak, near Aspen. I suggest Complicated Peak. Mount Confusion could work, too. Allen Best mostly tracks Colorado’s energy and water transitions, sometimes taking time out to study history, at BigPivots.com.

Trust is watchword for 2024 This sweeping erosion of trust is gaining momentum every day. We feel like we are being lied to at every turn. In the past week I intentionally asked people where they felt that they could get the most accurate news. And almost to a perMichael Norton son they all chuckled a little or shook their head sadly before answering. While answering they all said that they can’t be 100% sure in any news outlet, because of their belief that all are politically driven. Many feel like they cannot trust big tech or corporations as they are all about earnings and control. As a whole, we also do not trust politicians or the political machines behind them. All platitudes and empty promises that leave us wondering if we will ever have a president who isn’t afraid to tell us the truth. It used to be said that people will buy from people who they like and who are like them. But the reality is this, if trust has not been established, the likelihood of a sale is very

WINNING WORDS

low. The more accurate statement is that people will talk to people that they like and who are like them, but they will do business with people they trust and respect. This is where many salespeople fall short, they work so hard to be liked, but don’t work as hard to earn the trust of their prospects and customers. Do you trust your company? Do you trust your leadership and management teams? The same principle holds true as too many leaders and managers work hard to be liked but miss the mark when it comes to trust and respect. I find that people can deal with difficult decisions, however, what they can’t deal with is leaders and managers who don’t tell the truth. Earning trust, building trust, furthering trust, and maintaining trust should not be as hard as we are making it out to be. The keys to any healthy and thriving relationship are trust and open and honest communication. When trust and communication are gone, so is the relationship. OK, so far this column has painted a pretty bleak picture of a trustless future that is only going to get worse, but here’s the thing, we get

to decide who earns our trust. We also get to decide if we are trustworthy ourselves. There is a quote by Mahatma Gandhi, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Well, if we wish to live and work in a more trust-filled world, let us be the difference makers and lead the revolution by making sure we are trustworthy and let’s set clear boundaries and expectations that anything less than the truth is simply unacceptable. The new year offers a blank canvas. Choosing trust as our guide promises masterpieces painted through risk, courage, and grace. Its colors are vibrant. Its hope contagious. I would love to hear your thoughts on trust at gotonorton@ gmail.com, and when we can build trusted relationships, based on open and honestly communicating with others, it really will be a better than good life. Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.

Denver Herald 11

January 18, 2024

Charades in the garden: A playful way to edit your garden in winter

ow is the time to make plans for

your garden before the frenzy of spring arrives. Bundle up and take a walk outside to view your garden while it is stripped down to its bare bones. This time of year, most of the leaves and blossoms have fallen away and you can clearly see the structural elements that hold the garden together. There are two things to look for when ‘winter editing’ your garden: mass and void. Mass in the garden is something more solid and permanent, such as a boulder or dense shrub. Consider structures as well, such as trellises, planters, walls, pergolas, sculptures, etc. These are the framework of your garden. Ensure they fit together nicely in a balanced composition. Do you

have too many garden gnomes crowding your view, or too few shrubs anchoring your planting? How does the spacing feel? If these masses don’t look right together in the dead of winter, you probably can’t fix them with pretty flowers. If you are unsure what sort of structure your garden would benefit from, have a child or playful friend step into the garden and open their arms wide, like a tree, or crouch low, like a small shrub or stone. Play around with it and have fun. You could even use buckets, ladders, or outdoor furniture as placeholders for rocks or trees. Perhaps on a snowy day, you can make snow sculptures. If you prefer pen and paper to cha-

rades, you can sketch out different shapes. This can apply to plants, particularly trees and shrubs, as well as built structures, such as arbors, pillars, etc. Embrace void in the garden. Void is simply emptiness. It’s critical to have a balance of mass and void for a garden to feel right. Too many things in a garden can feel crowded, so make room for empty space. This could be a swathe of low planting, a flat surface cutting through plants, such as a path or water. It can also just be air. Leave room to breathe. If you enjoy this sort of garden staging, you could use a tarp to represent a pond or a sunken gravel seating area, or patio cushions as steppingstones. Use whatever you have around the house — get creative!

After all this garden play, you should have a better understanding of what elements will complete your garden space. Take the time now to make good decisions before spring fever hits. If you can get the balance of mass and void, and good structural elements designed to look appropriate in winter, your garden will look nice in all seasons, no matter what is in bloom. Compile your shopping list ahead of time so you don’t go to the nursery hungry for plants and grab anything bright and colorful, but nothing substantial. Check off your list first, then throw in all the extra beautiful flowers your heart desires.

her mortgage and the value of the property increases. And she’s setting herself up for success to own a singlefamily home in the future if she so chooses. But that choice is virtually nonexistent for this generation of professionals just beginning their careers. Like my daughter, many of them are stuck (literally and figuratively) in their parents’ basement, with little hope that their situation will ever improve. How are our residents supposed to thrive if we only provide single-family homes? What about the single-income earners? Single parents? Young professionals or first responders? We need to provide options for them to give back to the communities they work and invest in. Coloradans, like my daughter, need affordable housing options now. Holly Coffee, Castle Pines

politics. I would hope we can ask questions of ourselves and others before voting. I recently had an opportunity to ask questions when I flew to Des Moines to visit grandchildren. On the plane, I sat next to a 21-yearold male who readily talked to me about his primary reason going to Iowa: to canvass for their upcoming caucuses on Jan. 15. (It’s an interesting social process that I loved during my three decades of living in that state.) I learned three things from this young man: that he had taken a year off college to be part of Tim Scott’s inner circle, that he did not know who he was now going to support, and that he planned to seek out other young people to dialogue with before supporting particular candidates. Statistics show that more people (like me) are registering as independents nationwide. I would hope that we can ask ourselves and others questions before voting.

Person or policy? If voting for a person rather than an issue, is the person’s character/personality or their policy views more important to me? Party bias? Have I always voted for party over issues without deeper examination? Media bias? Which media sources do I consult, and do I recognize bias? Historical knowledge? How much have I researched or analyzed the voting choices? Future planning? What are the possible long-term consequences to my decisions? Values? Are conventional values more important to me than ones that have recently changed? Worldview? What is my philosophical and ideological view of the world? Does that worldview affect my decision-making? May we all examine what’s important and then act in this civic duty. Linda Mazunik, Lone Tree

newspaper. • Letters must be no longer than 400 words. • Letters should be exclusively submitted to Colorado Community Media and

should not be submitted to other outlets or previously posted on websites or social media. Submitted letters become the property of CCM and should not be republished elsewhere.

GUEST COLUMN Julia Peason

Julia Pearson is a horticulturist with the Denver Botanic Gardens.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Housing options needed now

I am a longtime resident of Colorado and parent to a teacher. I’m very aware of the challenges we are facing regarding affordable places to live. Our daughter is a young professional, teaching the next generation of children, hoping to give back to the community she works in. Unfortunately, due to the high cost of housing and the lack of affordable options, it makes more sense for her to live at home since she can’t afford to buy a place of her own. There are many others with a story much like ours — something needs to be done. Our county and state are growing, and with growth comes growing pains. I don’t want to stand in the way of my daughter’s future success — affordable housing options are desperately needed for the next generation of residents in Colorado. Condominiums are great housing options for someone like my daughter because as an owner she can build equity as she pays off

Questions before voting

Like it or not, 2024 will be a year of

ABOUT LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Colorado Community Media welcomes letters to the editor. Please note the following rules: • Email your letter to csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com. Do not send

via postal mail. Put the words “letter to the editor” in the email subject line. • Submit your letter by 5 p.m. on Wednesday in order to have it considered for publication in the following week’s

NO HIDDEN FEES. NO HIDDEN ANYTHING. FREEDOM CALLS. Plans start at just $20/month. Call 866-977-2602 to schedule your free quote!

12 Denver Herald

January 18, 2024

LOCAL

LIFE

Wringing out the new year Dry January attracts sober curious

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

hile it’s long been trendy for New Year’s resolutions to focus on improving health, a growing group of people is tackling that goal by participating in Dry January. Dry January is a 31-day challenge to not drink any alcoholic beverages, serving as a sort of cleanse after the winter holidays when it’s common to drink more excessively. According to a February 2023 poll from CivicScience, 16% of American adults abstained from alcohol last year for the challenge. There’s a multitude of physical and mental health benefits from cutting out alcohol, even temporarily, said Jill Hefti Breed, a family nurse practitioner at AdventHealth, such as better sleep, improved blood pressure, reduced indigestion and potential weight loss. Hefti Breed cited a 2018 study on Dry January participants that corroborated the advantages of going alcohol-free. “By week one, you’re sleeping better, you have better decision-making, you’re more creative and you tend to have better eating patterns,” she said. “The liver gets a chance to clear out fats, which even for a month can be quite beneficial. We also see that with the stomach if it’s inflamed from alcohol.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends women limit drinking to one drink per day and men limit drinks to two per day. Hefti Breed said even drinking the recommended amount comes with a higher risk for some cancers. She pointed to break periods, like Dry January, as a tool to evaluate how alcohol impacts an individual’s quality of life. “Don’t be afraid to talk to your health care provider and ask questions because you won’t be labeled and there’s no dumb questions,” Hefti Breed said. Kayla Phillips, general manager at Golden Moon Speakeasy, said her own experience with Dry January prompted her to create a mocktail program at the bar in 2021 that focuses on maintaining the experience that comes with drinking craft cocktails. Options for teetotalers at Golden Moon aren’t the typical bitters and soda water or juice mixes that most bars offer. That’s because the mocktails, which are crafted with housemade ingredients, include mimics of the bar’s popular original drinks and unique combinations

of teas, syrups, juices and sodas. “I wanted to make drinks that were clearly intentional,” she said. “For the house classics that are a staple on our menu, I wanted to make nonalcoholic twins of those so it doesn’t even have to look like you’re not drinking.” Phillips said her goal with her mocktail options is to make it worth the value and equal in experience to a cocktail. For example, the bar serves a drink called Phoenix Down, which is a play on a smoked whiskey old fashioned that comes in both alcoholic and alcohol-free options. Both options come with a fancy presentation where the drinks are smoked and served tableside. “When we pour the drink from the bottle (it’s mixed in) to the glass, the smoke comes out before the liquid does and gives a really cool effect,” Phillips said. “It adds a wow factor and I think especially when people order nonalcoholic, they’re not expecting a full show.” Since the speakeasy started offering its nonalcoholic options, they have gotten more popular across a broad spectrum, Phillips said. “It’s not only people who are interested in only mocktails, but it’s a good option for people who aren’t trying to drink all night or want to alternate,” she said. “I see more mocktail orders in these months because I think people get overwhelmed with holiday drinking obligations.” This January, Phillips is supporting her customers who have health resolutions by creating a seasonal menu of drinks, with and without liquor, that use less sugar and highlight superfoods, such as a carrot turmeric tonic. Find Golden Moon Speakeasy at 1111 Miner’s Alley in Golden. For Dry January participants who want to avoid the temptation of a bar, but still want to enjoy group activities and social events, The Phoenix provides in-person and online sober get-togethers throughout the state. Vince Huseman, community engagement manager for The Phoenix, said the concept started in Boulder in 2006 with the desire to maintain an active social life without substances. Volunteers organize fitness and entertainment activities, such as CrossFit, comedy nights, dance parties and hikes, all across the state that are free for sober participants. SEE DRY JANUARY, P13

Denver Herald 13

January 18, 2024

DRY JANUARY FROM PAGE 12

Huseman said the events are inclusive of people who are in recovery, fully sober, sober-curious and sober allies. He added that activities are accessible to people of all abilities and skill levels. The only participation requirement is to be sober for 48 hours before the event. “We make our events accessible for everyone and will tailor activities so that even folks with no experience can participate,” Huseman said. “Folks will come for our events that we lead, but I think they stay for the community.” The group works to build a community of people who don’t imbibe in an effort to make the choice to not drink easier and help reduce stigma around sobriety and recovery, Huseman said. “I think when you’re with other people who are also sober or evaluating their relationship with alcohol, it helps you build a foundation for your sobriety,” he said. “Some of the events we’ve produced, such as our Denver Pride dance party, are really setting a new standard for sober fun.” On Jan. 25, The Phoenix is hosting its third annual open mic night, featuring a dozen performers with music, comedy and poetry at Free Spiritual Community in Denver. Huseman said he recommends the event to anyone interested in joining The Phoenix for the first time.

TOP: For those looking for Dry January activities, the Phoenix is a sober community that hosts a variety of fitness and entertainment events, including Cross Fit, throughout Colorado. Dry January, a 30day challenge to not drink alcohol, is a growing trend. COURTESY OF THE PHOENIX RIGHT: At the Golden Moon Speakeasy, general manager Kayla Phillips crafted a mocktail program with non-alcoholic versions of favorite cocktails, as well as unique original beverages. Phillips favorite mocktail is the Phoenix Down, a smoked whisky-like drink. COURTESY OF GOLDEN MOON SPEAKEASY

14 Denver Herald

January 18, 2024

Colorado PUC plan could cost ratepayers Clean energy investment down in effort to lower bills BY ERIC GALATAS PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE

Even though 2023 was the hottest year on record, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission is adding more fossil fuel-generated power and scaling back Xcel Energy’s proposed investments in clean energy. The commission has been on the hot seat to rein in high energy bills, largely due to volatile natural gas prices, and claimed its recently approved energy plan for Xcel is a win

ENDANGERED FROM PAGE 2

Fur trapping and poisoning brought the animal to the brink of extinction, and just 300 remain in the lower 48. Andrea Zaccardi, carnivore conser-

FOUNDATION FROM PAGE 4

The foundation also works with a student’s family to help them understand the financial aid process, and even what it means to have their child attending college and what to expect. A first-generation student going

for ratepayers. Noah Rott, western region deputy press secretary for the Sierra Club, said they got the math wrong. “The plan that was approved is 23% more expensive than Xcel’s portfolio that they proposed on a dollar-per-megawatt basis,” Rott pointed out. The commission’s plan added 669 megawatts from new gas power plants, which critics contended are likely to become stranded assets as Colorado and the world face a looming 2030 deadline to avert the worst impacts of climate change by dramatically cutting fossil fuel pollution. Xcel has argued natural gas is needed to maintain reliable service.

The commission acknowledged the renewables they rejected in Xcel’s initial proposal will be needed in the near future, but balked at the company’s $15 billion price tag. By delaying investments in renewables and transmission lines, the commission hopes to better understand costs to ratepayers. Rott emphasized punting on clean energy could result in even higher energy bills for ratepayers. “The problem with that logic is that if Xcel is buying renewable electricity four or five years from now, instead of two or three years from now, four or five years from now it might be more expensive than it is now,” Rott asserted.

The commission’s plan would increase Xcel’s renewable-energy portfolio to 77% by 2030 and invests in 678 megawatts of renewable-energy battery storage. But Rott noted it also cuts more than 2,000 megawatts of wind and solar capacity proposed by Xcel. “It’s a disappointing outcome in terms of reducing carbon emissions,” Rott added. “But it’s also a disappointing outcome, I think, for customers who were really actually excited to hear that Xcel was going to build out a ton of renewable energy.” This story via The Associated Press’ Storyshare, of which Colorado Community Media is a member.

vation program legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said climate change and human disturbance are the two main threats. “Wolverines need high elevation, large snowpack levels for their denning habitat,” Zaccardi explained. “Climate change obviously is reducing the availability of the heavy snowpack in high elevations that wolver-

ines need.” Ryan Sedgeley, southern Rockies field representative for the Endangered Species Coalition, credited the Endangered Species Act for helping gray wolves rebound from near-total extinction in parts of the Northern Rockies and other states. After Colorado voters approved their reintroduction in 2020, 10 wolves were re-

leased this December. “Wolves haven’t been in Colorado since the 1940s when they were systematically eradicated,” Sedgeley noted. “Restoring the balance to nature, to our ecosystems, is really important.” This story via The Associated Press’ Storyshare, of which Colorado Community Media is a member.

to college can spark generational transformation in their family, Madriz said. “College attainment changes the outlook for families because it creates a new standard for what’s possible,” Madriz said. “It is more important than ever for students and families to be equipped with the correct information, tools and hands-on support to submit financial aid applications and maximize

their postsecondary opportunities.” Serrano-Zetino will be graduating high school this spring. She is her class president, part of the National Honor Society, involved with Key Club and helped found John F. Kennedy High School’s brand-new speech and debate team. She is planning on attending Colorado State University this fall to study international business. Serrano-Zetino’s ultimate goal is to

become a lawyer but is starting with business for her undergraduate degree because she believes it will provide her with many professional and career opportunities as she attends law school and works toward her juris doctor degree. “Some people think that they can’t afford it (college), so why should they even try,” Serrano-Zetino said. “But it’s misunderstood that people do have resources.”

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Solution

TRIVIA 1. MOVIES: What state is the setting for the 1990s movie “Twister”? 2. GEOGRAPHY: Lake Okeechobee is in which U.S. state? 3. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Which president adopted the expression, “Speak softly and carry a big stick”? 4. MUSIC: Actor/singer Jared Leto also is the front man for which rock music band? 5. HISTORY: The U.S. Civil War ended in 1865 when Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union forces in which Virginia town? 6. SCIENCE: Which element has the symbol Pb? 7. GAMES: What is the destination in the board game Candy Land? 8. TELEVISON: Who was the longrunning host of “American Bandstand”? 9. U.S. STATES: What is the capital of Alaska?

10. LITERATURE: Who is the author of the autobiographical work “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”? Answers 1. Oklahoma. 2. Florida. 3. Theodore Roosevelt. 4. Thirty Seconds to Mars. 5. Appomattox. 6. Lead. 7. Candy Castle. 8. Dick Clark. 9. Juneau. 10. Maya Angelou. (c) 2024 King Features Synd., Inc.

Crossword Solution

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Public Notices call 303-566-4123 Legals Misc. Private Legals Public Notice January 18, 2024 NOTICE TO MORTGAGEES IN THE ONE CHEESMAN PLACE CONDOMINIUMS COMMUNITY Notice is hereby given to all mortgagees within the One Cheesman Place Condominiums community in the City and County of Denver, Colorado, that the One Cheesman Place Condominium Association, Inc. is seeking mortgagee approval of a proposed Amended and Restated Declaration of Grants, Submissions and Covenants Establishing Condominium Ownership of One Cheesman Place Condominium, Denver, Colorado (the “Proposed Amendment”). The Proposed Amendment can be obtained at the following address: Altitude Community Law P.C., 555 Zang St., Ste. 100, Lakewood, CO 80228. Failure of any mortgagee to deliver a negative response to the One Cheesman Place Condominium Association, Inc., c/o Altitude Community Law P.C., 555 Zang St., Ste. 100, Lakewood, CO 80228, within 60 days shall be deemed consent on behalf of the mortgagee. Legal Notice No. DHD226 First Publication: January 18, 2024 Last Publication: January 18, 2024 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Notice to Creditors Public Notice NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Timothy Spencer McClure, a/k/a Timothy S. McClure, a/k/a Timothy McClure, a/k/a Spencer McClure, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 31492 All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before May 6, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred. Patrick R. Thiessen (40185) FRIE, ARNDT, DANBORN & THIESSEN P.C. 7400 Wadsworth Blvd, Ste. 201 Arvada, CO 80003 Phone Number: 303-420-1234 Attorney for Rodney Titoni Personal Representative

Legal Notice No. DHD213 First Publication: January 4, 2024 Last Publication: January 18, 2024 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Brian William Mindnich, A/K/A Brian Mindnich, A/K/A Brian W. Mindnich, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 31536 All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before May 18, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred. Bob Mindnich Personal Representative 3501 S. Dawson Street Aurora, CO 80014 Legal Notice No. DHD231 First Publication: January 18, 2024 Last Publication: February 1, 2024 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of KATHLEEN CLAIRE GIDEROFF, a.k.a. KATHLEEN C. GIDEROFF, a.k.a. KATHLEEN GIDEROFF, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 31542 All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before May 20, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred. MICHAEL SCOTT GIDEROFF and MARK STEVEN GIDEROFF Co-Personal Representative 1386 S. Newport Street Denver, Colorado 80224 Telephone: 303-918-0413 Legal Notice No. DHD225 First Publication: January 18, 2024 Last Publication: February 1, 2024 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice Estate of JOANNE M. SESSON, a/k/a Joanne Marie Sesson, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 31406 All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the personal representative

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or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before May 4, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred. Stuart R. Davis Personal Representative 9 Brookside Drive Greenwood Village, CO 80121 Legal Notice No. DHD215 First Publication: January 4, 2024 Last Publication: January 18, 2024 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of CYNTHIA L. HUTCHINSON a/k/a CYNTHIA LEW HUTCHINSON, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 31322 All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before May 18, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred. Jennifer Merer Personal Representative c/o Keith L. Davis, JD Davis Schilken, PC Blvd., Ste. 200 Lakewood, CO 80401

Public Notice NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Brian Frederick Cass, also known as Brian F. Cass, also known as Brian Cass , Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 31434 All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Co-Special Administrators Maxwell F. Cass and/or Nathaniel C. Cass or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before May 4, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred. Kirk B. Holleyman 4450 Arapahoe Avenue #100, Boulder, CO 80303 Legal Notice No. DHD214 First Publication: Januarya 4, 2024 Last Publication: January 18, 2024 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of ROSE 0. MARKS a/ka ROSE ORLINDA MARKS a/k/a ROSE MARKS a/k/a ROSE 0. MARTINEZ a/k/a ROSE ORLINDA MARTINEZ a/k/a ROSE MARTINEZ, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 31369

1658 Cole

Legal Notice No. DHD234 First Publication: January 18, 2024 Last Publication: February 1, 2024 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Sherry Lea Garcia, aka Sherry L. Garcia, aka Sherry Garcia, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 31609 All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before May 18, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred. Tori Lynne Garcia Personal Representative 32186 Castle Court, Ste 301 Evergreen, CO 80439 Legal Notice No. DHD235 First Publication: January 18, 2024 Last Publication: February 1, 2024 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Denver Herald Dispatch January 18, 2024 * 1

Denver Herald 19

January 18, 2024

above-named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before May 11, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred.

ent them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before May 18, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred.

Mary J. Williams Personal Representative 5 Lynwood Avenue Wheeling, West Virginia 26003

Shari D. Caton Attorney for Robert J. Woltemath Caton Law, LLC 7887 E. Belleview Ave., Suite 1100 Englewood, CO 80111

Legal Notice No. DHD220 First Publication: January 11, 2024 Last Publication: January 25, 2024 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Legal Notice No. DHD229 First Publication: January 18, 2024 Last Publication: February 1, 2024 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

above-named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before May 18, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred. Helen L. Gray Personal Representative 375 S. Emerson Street Denver, CO 80209 Legal Notice No. DHD232 First Publication: January 18, 2024 Last Publication: February 1, 2024 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Pete Hernandez, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 31371

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of WENDELIN MAE MARTIN, a/k/a WENDELIN M. MARTIN, and WENDELIN MARTIN, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 31475

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of RICHARD M. HESS, a/k/a RICHARD MATHESON HESS, a/k/a RICHARD HESS, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 31508

Carol Frances Helstosky Personal Representative 2249 Hudson Street Denver, CO 80207

Richard M. Hess, Jr. Personal Representative 50 Jersey Street Denver, CO 80220

Legal Notice No. DHD222 First Publication: January 18, 2024 Last Publication: February 1, 2024 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Legal Notice No. DHD219 First Publication: January 11, 2024 Last Publication: January 25, 2024 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before May 11, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred. Edward Lucero Personal Representative Shannara Quissell #52547 Zalessky Law Group, LLC Attorneys for Personal Representative, Edward Lucero 9725 E. Hampden Ave. Ste 305 Denver, CO 80231 Legal Notice No. DHD221 First Publication: January 11, 2024 Last Publication: January 25, 2024 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Eleanor McLerran, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 520 All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before May 6, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred. Nancy Travis Personal Representative 16245 Plover Pl Parker, CO 80134 Legal Notice No. DHD217 First Publication: January 4, 2024 Last Publication: January 18, 2024 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Lorena Elaine Woltemath, aka Lorena E. Woltemath and Lorie Woltemath, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 31345 All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to pres-

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of ALLAN JULIUS GALONSKY, aka ALLAN J. GALONSKY, aka ALLAN GALONSKY, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 31484

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Diane J. Hammerberg, aka Diane D. Hammerberg, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 31552

before May 18, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred. Dwight C. Reed Personal Representative 1045 Highway 120 Big Rock, Tennessee 37023 Legal Notice No. DHD223 First Publication: January 18, 2024 Last Publication: February 1, 2024 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of RICHARD WILLIAM REED, SR., Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 31416 All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before May 18, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred. Dwight C. Reed Personal Representative 1045 Highway 120 Big Rock, Tennessee 37023 Legal Notice No. DHD224 First Publication: January 18, 2024 Last Publication: February 1, 2024 Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch ###

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It’s your right to know what the city and county governments are changing and proposing. ~~~ See the ordinances on these legal pages. ~~~ Read the public notices and be informed!

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This year, even more than ever before, the news is in crisis. More than 17,000 news media jobs were cut just by June, at national and local outlets including at some of the biggest names like NPR, The Texas Tribune and Gannett. In fact, newsroom layoffs are up 20% from last year. Some of these outlets laid off more than 10% of their staff in the last few months — even as we head into a critical election year. These are devastating numbers. But all is not lost. Many local and independent newsrooms continue to launch across the country. With your contributions and subscriber memberships, small newsrooms like ours continue to grow, adding new journalists and expanding reporting and investigations. We’re committed to bringing the news to Coloradans. That’s because you deserve access to local, independent journalism that keeps you connected and informed — especially during challenging times. This is #newsCOneeds.

PLEASE SUPPORT LOCAL NEWS AND THE COMMUNITY CONNECTION WE PROVIDE. To contribute online: www.ColoradoCommunityMedia.com/give-to-CCM To contribute by phone: Please call 303-566-4100 • Monday-Friday 9am-4pm To contribute by mail please send your contribution to the following address:

Colorado Community Media, Attn: VC, 750 W. Hampden Ave., Ste. 225 Englewood, CO 80110