Washington Park Profile February 2022

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FEBRUARY 2022

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Digital and print community newspaper founded in 1978.

AN OPEN DOOR FOR NEW WRITERS Denver Woman’s Press Club soliciting entries for Unknown Writers’ Contest

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WHAT’S YOUR PEACE? New crowdsourcing campaign encourages mental wellness

34 UNIQUE FILMS Denver Jewish Film Festival takes place in February

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COOKIE TIME! Girl Scouts offer a new cookie this year

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2 Washington Park Profile

February 1, 2022

Business Matters Christy Steadman | csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com Business Matters is a monthly column featuring business news in the Life on Capitol Hill and Washington Park Profile coverage areas, which is roughly central and central-south Denver.

If you are a local business that would like to announce any updates to your operations, email Christy Steadman at csteadman@ coloradocommunitymedia.com.

NEW OPENINGS The Crypt A new dive bar and restaurant opened in January in Denver’s City Park West neighborhood.

Located at 1618 E. 17th Ave., the Crypt offers a mostly-vegan menu, but also has options with meat.

The drink menu offers an extensive beer list, including beer on tap.

Décor influences include punk; the book, “Death Scenes;” and the television show, “Tales From the Crypt,” according to Westword. A stage is also planned to host live music.

Westword reports that the Crypt is the brainchild of Priscilla Jerez, who spent decades running the former Tooey’s Off Colfax, which was a live music venue located nearby at 1521 N. Marion St.; Chris Maynard; and Dale Canino.

For more information, visit thecryptdenver.com.

CLOSINGS Brightmarten Brightmarten, also known as Bright Bar & Kitchen, at 730 S. University Blvd. in Denver’s Bonnie Brae, has closed.

Westword reported Brightmarten closed following its brunch service on last day Jan. 16.

The neighborhood restaurant and bar opened in 2018, serving American-style food, offering robust brunch, lunch and dinner menus.

MILESTONES Full Afterburner Calzones Full Afterburner Calzones celebrated the one-year anniversary of opening its brick-and-mortar location at 32 N. Broadway in Denver.

Full Afterburner Calzones got its start in 2008 as a fighter jet/aircraft carrier-themed food truck. Originally opening the Broadway dine-in location as Danger Zone Calzones, the restaurant changed its name to Full Afterburner Calzones and launched a new website in June last year, according to its Facebook posts.

The restaurant specializes in “Top Gun” and fighter jet-themed calzones, such as the Goose — pepperoni, marinara sauce, mozzarella and ricotta — and also has a vegan calzone and jet-shaped sugar cookies.

For more information, visit fullafterburnercalzones.com.

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Dr. Martha Lucas works on a patient in her Capitol Hill business.

Lucas Acupuncture celebrated its 20th anniversary in January.

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Lucas Acupuncture Capitol Hill-based Lucas Acupuncture celebrated its 20th anniversary in January.

Dr. Martha Lucas opened her small business, which offers Chinese medicine and specializes in treating trauma patterns, just after the new year in 2002.

Today, the business has three arms — a private practice, teaching Chinese medicine and a natural skin care line called My Zen Skin Care.

Lucas’ patients include people who are not feeling well, and those who come for routine maintenance.

She sees all her patients herself, but is looking to expand this year by adding another acupuncturist or Chinese medicine massage therapist.

“There is a big move to natural medicine now,” Lucas said, adding that she especially enjoys seeing people who have chronic illnesses that Western medicine can’t treat get better. “Your body wants to be well, and if someone can encourage your good health, your body will respond.”

To learn more about Lucas Acupuncture and its services, visit acupuncturewoman.com.

The Urban Cookie The Urban Cookie celebrated its one-year anniversary mid-January.

The cookie bakery — which offers dine-in on an outdoor patio, take-out and catering — is located at 2260 E. Colfax Ave., which is in the upper east corner of the Cheesman Park neighborhood.

The Urban Cookie offers a variety of classic cookie flavors, such as Chocolate Chunk & Chip; vegan options, gluten-free cookies and mystery flavors that change weekly.

To learn more or to order, visit theurbancookie.com.

MISCELLANEOUS Moxy Cherry Creek Mile High CRE, an online commercial development news publication, reported that BMC Investments has sold the Moxy Cherry Creek hotel to RLJ Lodging Trust for $51.3 million. The hotel will be managed

by Denver-based Sage Hospitality Group.

BMC Investments is a Denverbased developer. RLJ Lodging Trust is a real estate investment trust based in Maryland. Moxy Hotels are a hotel brand of Marriott International Inc.

The Moxy Cherry Creek is located at 240 Josephine St. in Denver.

It is one of five hotels located in the Cherry Creek North area, which consists of 16 walkable blocks of shopping, dining, lodging and residential. There are about 275 businesses in Cherry Creek North, and about 70% of them are locally owned.

The Moxy Cherry Creek opened in late 2017, and features 170 rooms, a bar, meeting rooms, outdoor event space, complimentary bike rentals and a state-of-the-art fitness center, states Mile High CRE. To learn more about Moxy Hotels, visit moxy-hotels.marriott.com.

NONPROFIT NEWS Dumb Friends League The Dumb Friends League Veterinary Hospital at CSU Spur has been awarded a $750,000 grant from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

The Dumb Friends League Veterinary Hospital at CSU Spur opened to the public on Feb. 1 in Denver’s Globeville-Elyria-Swansea neighborhood. It is a funder-and donorsubsidized clinic.

The Dumb Friends League has been offering funder-and donor-subsidized urgent veterinary care and spay/neuter surgeries for owned and feral cats at its Veterinary Hospital at Yuma, 191 Yuma St. in the Valverde neighborhood, since 2018.

These services will be expanded to the new Spur location.

The Spur location will also serve as an educational tool for students and the public, offering field placements for CSU veterinary students to gain hands-on experience, learning programs for the public and exposure to veterinary and STEMrelated careers for young people.

“Providing accessible and affordable veterinary services for pets whose owners face financial challenges is critical to keeping those pets healthy and safe at home with their families,” said Matt Bershadker, ASPCA president and CEO, in a news release. “The Dumb Friends League has been a leader in this work, and we are proud to support their responsive veterinary care and innovative veterinary education programs, both of which will help thousands of Denver-area pets now and in the future.”

To learn more about the Dumb Friends League, visit ddfl.org.

Washington Park Profile 3

February 1, 2022

Sharing well-being with the Colorado community Mental Health Colorado launches What’s Your Peace? campaign

BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The COVID-19 pandemic, a divisive election year, social justice movements, climate change.

This is “one of the most stressful times that many of us living have experienced,” said Vincent Atchity, president and CEO of Mental Health Colorado. “We’re in a critical moment for mental wellbeing for Coloradans.”

A news release states that a 2021 Colorado Health Access Survey revealed that 38% of Coloradans older than 16 “experienced a decline in mental health such as anxiety, depression or loneliness, as the result of COVID-19.” Atchity added that Colorado has experienced an “unacceptably high rate of suicide (and) opioid use and overdose, and overdose death.” Exacerbating the grief, Atchity added, is finding access for care — Colorado has ranked in the bottom third in the country for access to care.

“Colorado has been in a tough place for mental health,” Atchity

‘Colorado has been in a tough place for mental health ... There’s a concern for Coloradans of all ages.’

Vincent Atchity, president and CEO of Mental Health Colorado

said. “There’s a concern for Coloradans of all ages.”

Mental Health Colorado, which is a nonprofit that serves as a resource and advocates for mental health awareness, has launched a new campaign to help promote mental well-being among the greater statewide community.

The What’s Your Peace? is a crowdsourcing campaign that launched on Jan. 12 and will run through May, which is Mental Health Awareness month.

The idea is for people to share the real-life ways they “care for themselves and find joy, strength

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or peace,” states a news release.

“We’ve all got our own unique composition how we put our wellbeing together,” Atchity said. And “how we make peace for ourselves.”

It can be anything such as knitting, calling a friend, hiking, enjoying a cup of afternoon tea, flyfishing, singing in a choir, yoga or the many other activities that bring people happiness. Coloradans can share their pictures or videos of these activities by visiting Mental Health Colorado’s website, and Mental Health Colorado will assemble them and make

To learn more about Mental Health Colorado, visit mentalhealthcolorado. org.

Coloradans can follow the What’s Your Peace? campaign by opting into the Mental Health Colorado email campaign or by following Mental Health Colorado on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

them available via its social media channels.

Atchity is hoping for “a diverse picture of all the things” people do, he said.

People in Colorado’s southern plains may do different activities than those in the mountain communities or those in the heart of Denver, Atchity said. Additionally, someone in a rural community may have different struggles than someone in a more populated area.

“It all started with the notion that how we take care of ourselves and others is diverse,” Atchity said. The What’s Your Peace? campaign “can inspire others to try new things, but also bring the realization that there’s community in some of the things we do. This campaign will celebrate the things we each do, and will help inform others about how little things we work into our day can have a dramatic effect on our well-being.”

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Thousands gathered in Denver on Jan. 17 to participate in the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Marade and celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King Jr. This year’s in-person event included guest speakers and the marade — a parade and march — which began at City Park and ran along Colfax Avenue to Civic Center Park.

COURTESY OF TRAVIS LEIKER/CAPITOL HILL UNITED NEIGHBORHOODS

Radon tests still available STAFF REPORT

The Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment would like to remind all Colorado homeowners to test their homes for radon.

Low-cost radon test kits for $15 are available through the CDPHE year-round.

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that has no color, odor or taste. It can enter homes and other buildings through small openings such as cracks in foundations, openings around pumps and drains, and crawl spaces.

According to a news release, “radon is the leading cause of lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers in America and claims the lives of about 21,000 Americans each year.

In Colorado, nearly half of homes have high radon levels, and more than 500 lung cancer deaths in the state each year are attributed to radon.”

In addition to regular testing, the CDPHE recommends that homeowners who have mitigation systems should retest their homes every few years to make sure the system is working properly.

To learn more about radon and

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4 Washington Park Profile

February 1, 2022

‘Mostly positive, though closer to neutral’ Denver residents say recycling continues to progress but leaves room for improvement

BY ELICIA HESSELGRAVE SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Denver is committed to continuing to work on lowering its recycling diversion rate.

But some residents believe that Denver’s overall recycling rate can be improved by increasing the number of bins available to people and better informing the public on how to recycle.

“If it’s the right number of plastic, but not the right shape or if there is tape on it, et cetera, I’m not sure it gets recycled,” said Abby Peterson, 35, who has lived in Denver for eight years. “I have noticed that most people just put every single thing in recycling, and I just don’t think that’s how it works.”

Diversion rate is the amount of product that is not sent to landfill, usually measured by weight.

Denver has an ambitious goal of reaching the nation’s average diversion rate of 34%.

However, numbers from 2020 reveal that Denver’s Solid Waste Management Division recycled and composted 62,931 tons of Abby Peterson gets her recyclables ready for pick up in December at her home in Denmaterials that year, achieving a PHOTO BY ELICIA HESSELGRAVE ver’s Clayton neighborhood.

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More information on Denver’s recycling dos and don’ts can be found on the city’s website: tinyurl.com/RecycleInDenver. composting rate has increased by 10% with 30,000 households participating in composting, Lacayo said. She added that the city is also making efforts to encourage more sustainable behaviors, including the grocery bag fee which was implemented in July 2021.

More recently, a new program in Denver called the Single-Use Accessory Restriction Ordinance requires vendors to provide single-use items such as straws, napkins and utensils only when requested, rather than supplying them to each customer automatically. According to the ordinance, this policy is expected to decrease the amount of landfill waste as well as save money for restaurants and other food vendors.

Through public education campaigns, seasonal programs and other initiatives, the city is also trying to make it easier and more efficient for residents to recycle and compost.

For example, the county has recently updated the type of recyclable products accepted to all plastics labeled 1 through 7.

These numbers refer to the Resin Identification Code (RIC), usually found at the bottom of packaging material in the Mobius Loop, more commonly known as the “chasing arrows” triangle.

Denver recycles plastic materials that other counties would reject, including clamshell berry containers and the plastic sleeves cradling Oreos.

After living in three different residences in Denver during the past two years, Matt Ardaiolo, 35, describes his recycling experience as “mostly positive, though closer to neutral.”

He has a few suggestions on how to improve the city’s recycling program, including clearer messaging, access to recycling and increased pick-up frequencies — he states that because recycling is only collected every other week, “it’s hard to remember if it’s (a) recycling week.”

Ardaiolo points out that some apartment complexes do not provide recycling bins, and that when “they do, they are not marked clearly enough as to what they are.” Or, he added, there are not adequate instructions, “so people (end up) throwing trash in whatever bin they find.”

Ardaiolo also believes that bilingual recycling messaging would go a long way to help encourage Denver’s Spanishspeaking community to get more involved with recycling efforts.

Peterson agrees and advocates for environmental justice to break down systemic barriers, which she believes add to the low recycling rate.

“If you are living paycheck to paycheck, recycling is just not a priority,” Peterson said. “There needs to be a visible connection of how recycling impacts your life.”

Washington Park Profile 5

February 1, 2022

Denver’s iconic Breakfast King diner closed for good, and staff say they got little notice

BY DAVID GILBERT THE COLORADO SUN

The King is dead.

Denver’s iconic Breakfast King diner, at the corner of South Santa Fe Drive and Mississippi Avenue, closed its doors for good on Jan. 3, longtime server Lori Prien confirmed.

“My boss called me yesterday and said not to come in because we’re closing up shop,” said Prien, who has worked at the eatery since 1989. “I’m in shock. I’m 55 years old - I don’t want to start at another restaurant.”

Opened in 1975, Breakfast King often landed on local “Best Of” lists for its vintage decor, woodpaneled dining room, orange vinyl booths and voluminous menu featuring Greek, Mexican and American food.

Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for decades, Breakfast King scaled back its hours significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prien said business was still strong in recent months, but said supply shortages were making things difficult.

“It’s been a nightmare,” she said.

“Last week we were running out of meat, drinks, to-go boxes, everything.”

Hiring staff has been hard, Prien said.

“There was just nobody coming in for applications,” she said.

“In the old days we never had to advertise. We couldn’t find cooks.

We’ve had ads up on Craigslist and a ‘now hiring’ sign in the window for the first time I can remember.”

Starting wages for servers were just under $10 an hour plus tips, Prien said, and cooks started at just under $20 an hour.

Breakfast King received two federal Paycheck Protection Program loans, according to public records.

One granted in May 2020 was for $159,739 and is listed as repaid, and another was granted in March 2021 for $223,632, but its repayment status is not available. Loan data indicated the restaurant had 22 employees.

Breakfast King drew ire online in its final months with a sign posted on the door that read: “WE

Iconic Denver institution Breakfast King closed its doors for good on Jan. 3.

ARE SHORT STAFFED. PLEASE BE PATIENT WITH THE STAFF THAT DID SHOW UP. NO ONE WANTS TO WORK ANYMORE.” “Added this to my list of places to never go,” read a post on a Reddit thread about the sign that stretched to more than 900 comments. “Even if they take the sign down, they’ve just advertised they are the type of people I never want to support.”

Breakfast King’s owners did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the closure. Tom Andrianakos, the restaurant’s accountant, also confirmed the closure.

Prien said she adored working at Breakfast King.

“It was such a joy,” she said. “You get to be yourself, you get to joke around, and the customers are from all walks of life.”

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Breakfast King’s tables were still set on the morning of Jan. 3. Staff closed up the night before not knowing the restaurant was closing for good, server Lori Prien said.

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February 1, 2022

A thousand words paint a picture

Mikah Conway plays the role of Christopher Dunn and Diana Dresser portrays Bella Lee Baird in Curious Theatre’s presentation of “The Sound Inside.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MICHAEL ENSMINGER PHOTOGRAPHY

Dialogue-heavy play keeps audience engaged throughout

BY SONYA ELLINGBOE SELLINGBOE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

I

t’s a play about writing and flows with words, words, words — and minimal action, yet one stays pretty much hooked in for most of its 90-minute run. The stage is sparsely set with a desk at each side and a couple of bookshelves at the rear against stark white walls. It beckons an audience member in ...

Curious Theatre is housed in a vintage 1910 church at 1080 Acoma St., in Denver’s Golden Triangle, and offers strong productions — usually of well-received contemporary plays that have not yet been performed in Denver ... which is a good thing in my view.

“The Sound Inside,” by wellrecognized writer Adam Rapp, played on Broadway in 2020 and was nominated for both a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award, which speaks well of its qualities. Language flows throughout this performance — it’s a pleasure to hear the dialogue. Mary Louise Parker, who played Bella on Broadway, did indeed win a Tony for her performance.

Director Sabin Epstein is a widely recognized director and educator, who was head of Performance Skills for the National Theatre Conservatory in Denver, Head of Acting for the Old Globe/ University of San Diego MFA Actor Training Program and more.

He has directed at a number of Shakespeare Festivals across the nation and at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

Accomplished local actress Diana Dresser, who plays Bella, a mid-career Yale writing professor, launches immediately into a reflection about her cancer diagnosis in a low-key conversational mode ... she chats with the audi-

IF YOU GO If you go: “The Sound Inside” by Adam Rapp plays at Curious Theatre, 1080 Acoma St., Denver, through Feb. 12. Masks and proof of vaccination are required. curioustheatre.org, 303-623-0524.

ence in the beginning and is soon joined by a freshman student, Christopher (Mikah Conway), who arrives “without making an appointment.” He repeats this the next day. (Conway is a recent graduate of the strong University of Denver theatre program.)

Bella reminds him of this protocol and soon senses that he’s not much concerned about protocol.

She also senses that he’s a writer in the making and tells him so. He wants to talk with her about his novel in process.

“Please don’t call security,” he begs. “I just wanted to tell you how much I liked the class.”

Her class begins with Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment,” and she remarks that many students tend to sympathize with the killer, which puzzles her.

Aside, she comments: “I did kind of get the feeling he just wants to hang out ...” She’s right ... he appears the next day and the next, with pages from his novel, which he’s typing on an old manual Corona. (A piece of equipment that seems to appear fairly often onstage.) He tells her the story of his novel in process.

She is a loner who has “written two collections of stories and an ‘underappreciated’” novel.

Eventually, she invites him to dinner. He says he bought her novel at the college bookstore and has read it a number of times.

The night goes as you’ve guessed it would ... “In the morning, he’s gone,” she recalls ...

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Mikah Conway as Christopher Dunn and Diana Dresser as Bella Lee Baird perform in “The Sound Inside” at Curious Theatre in Denver’s Golden Triangle neighborhood.

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Washington Park Profile 7

February 1, 2022

BY KIRSTEN DAHL COLLINS SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Winning the Unknown Writers’ Contest sent aerospace engineer Petra Perkins’ career on a new trajectory.

“It opened up a new world of possibilities,” said Perkins, who lives in Highlands Ranch and is now a professional writer specializing in memoir.

The competition, which is sponsored by the Denver Woman’s Press Club (DWPC), also helped Denver author Corinne Joy Brown launch her career as a novelist.

“I felt as if I had been recognized by women I respected and idolized,” she said. “Looking back, it was a life-changing experience.”

After a pandemic hiatus, the DWPC is again soliciting entries with a deadline of Feb. 23. All residents of Colorado, aged 18 and older, may enter as long as they have never been professionally published.

Founded in 1898, the DWPC is one d of the nation’s oldest clubs for female journalists. While the Unknown Writers’ Contest doesn’t go back quite that far, the , competition has been pulling unknown writers out of obscurity for decades.

“It is one of my favorite sources of surprise,” said Katherine “Kim” Millett, who serves as the contest’s chairwoman and is a nationally-published journalist and retired editor with The Denver Post.

“It reaches out into the unknown, all over Colorado.”

Said DWPC President, Mindy Sink, a freelance non-fiction writer, “we’re really interested in people’s stories whether they’re pandemic-related or not. It’s a wonderful time for our group to be sharing with the world again.”

Winners celebrate over a proper English tea Entrants can write their way to first, second and third prizes in three categories: Short Fiction, Non-Fiction and Poetry. The contest winners will be invited to read their work aloud at an April 10 awards ceremony held at DWPC’s historic clubhouse, 1325 Logan St., in Capitol Hill.

Contest winners often bring their families to the ceremony, something both Millett and Sink find especially touching.

“It’s wonderful to see adult children cheering for their parents,” Millett said.

After the readings, members and honorees adjourn for a proper English tea.

According to Millett, this tradition began years ago with an English club member who provided an authentic tea service with delicate porcelain tea cups and homemade scones.

The tea is served under the approving gaze of Mary Elitch Long, whose formal portrait graces the club’s main meeting room. A turn-of-the century entrepreneur and society hostess, Long was also an enthusiastic booster of DWPC. Before the club acquired its permanent quarters in 1912, she hosted many gatherings at her picturesque cottage on the grounds of Elitch Gardens, the amusement park and zoo she co-founded with her husband, John Elitch. Elitch Gardens originally occupied 16 acres of farmland in northwestern Denver.

Coaching instead of criticizing Who enters the Unknown Writers’ Contest? According to Millett, entries arrive from towns large and small, throughout

Colorado. Some contestants write while struggling with poverty or homelessness, including people served by Denver’s nonprofit daytime drop-in center, The Gathering Place, where DWPC members have led writing workshops. The center, located at 1535 High St. in the City Park West neighborhood, provides supportive services to women, children and people who are transgender. Millett noted with pride that some writers from The Gathering Place have gone on to win awards, join DWPC and become published authors.

Whether they win awards or not, all entries receive constructive written feedback from two professional writers who are members of DWPC. This was especially important to former contest winner Corinne Joy Brown.

“There are very few places where you get peer-reviewed recognition,” she said.

According to Millett, DWPC judges undergo special training to ensure that contestants get supportive coaching — rather than criticism.

“As judges, we are not teachers or editors, we are there as sensitive readers,” she said. “Our mission is to encourage.”

Club dates back to Woman’s Suffrage era Not to be confused with the Denver Press Club, originally intended for men, the Denver Woman’s Press Club was founded as a haven for female journalists in a repressive era of bustles and poke bonnets.

“It was these women’s equivalent of going out for a beer,” said Millett. “They used the club as a way to let loose and have fun with their writing.”

The club was born amidst the woman’s suffrage movement, when leading female journalists such as Minnie J. Reynolds, the society columnist for the Rocky Mountain News, urged male editors throughout Colorado to write editorials in favor of granting women the right to vote. Those efforts paid off when 70% of state newspapers complied. Her efforts helped women gain full voting rights in 1893, making Colorado the first state to enfranchise women through popular referendum.

A striking poster in the club’s foyer depicts Reynolds elegantly attired and seated at her typewriter. She went on to become a national advocate for women’s suffrage and DWPC’s first president.

Many prominent women joined, including Helen Ring Robinson, Colorado’s first woman state senator and Mary Coyle Chase, who won the Pulitzer Prize for her 1944 Broadway play, “Harvey.”

Today, the club occupies a landmarked building that was once the former home and studio of professional artist George Elbert Burr. Burr was known for his etchings of Colorado and they are on display in the main room, near the portrait of benefactor Mary Elitch Long. Bookshelves are lined with volumes written by club members.

Every time the Denver Woman’s Press Club meets, it is surrounded by the history it helped to make.

To learn more about the Denver Woman’s Press Club, or for more information on the Unknown Writers’ Contest, visit dwpconline. org.

Rocky Mountain News journalist Minnie J. Reynolds worked to help Colorado women gain full voting rights in 1893. Over the next five years, she played a major role in organizing the Denver Woman’s Press Club and COURTESY OF WOMAN’S PRESS CLUB became its first president.

Denver Woman’s Press Club member Kelli Marko, at the podium, welcomes invitees to a reception for winners of the Unknown Writers’ Contest in a COURTESY OF WOMAN’S PRESS CLUB previous year.

Katherine “Kim” Millett, chairwoman of the Unknown Writers’ Contest sponsored by the Denver Woman’s Press Club, wants to open the door to PHOTO BY TIM COLLINS new writers.

8 Washington Park Profile

February 1, 2022

Girl Scouts to offer new cookie called Adventurefuls

BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

February is cookie time, and the Girl Scouts will be offering a new cookie this year.

Called Adventurefuls, it represents “all the adventures that cookie sales fund for Girl Scouts,” said Denver Girl Scout Bianca Morris, 12, who has been a Girl Scout for five years. “I think they’re going to be a hit.”

Adventurefuls is a brownie-inspired cookie with a combination of chocolate and caramel flavors, and smooth and crispy textures. It joins the cookie lineup of favorites such as Thin Mints and Tagalongs, and the gluten-free Toffee-tastic.

Cookie sales begin this year on Feb. 6 and will end on March 13. People can purchase cookies in a number of ways, both online and in-person.

People love Girl Scout cookies, but cookie season is not just the time of year that people get to indulge in these sweet treats. Girl Scout cookie sales is when girls are able to apply and practice lifelong skills, said Robin Morris, Bianca’s mom, such as goal-setting, decision-making, money management, people skills and business ethics.

“It starts with the girls,” said Robin Morris.

And “the skills build upon each other as they (the girls) grow.”

Bianca Morris’ troop, which serves central Denver, works toward what they call the Three S’s — Spend, Share and Save — with their cookie sales.

Spend is the money the troop can use to buy things they need, such as supplies. Share is the money that they give back to the community.

Save is the money the troop will put toward an adventure or trip, which, currently, the plan is to go to Hawaii once it is safe to do so, concerning COVID. Bianca Morris has a goal to sell between 500-700 boxes of cookies this year. Considering reasonable time management, this is a smaller goal than last year — 1,000 boxes, which she met — because she has more going on this year with school and coursework.

Plus, Bianca Morris added, “I can always get more boxes if needed.”

Bianca Morris is looking forward to selling cookies at school and booth sales because she enjoys connecting with the community, she said.

“People know about Girl Scouts and know it helps girls out. It makes people happy knowing Girl Scout cookies are the same and that they can still get them,” Bianca Morris said. “But I also like getting to eat the cookies myself. That’s always a great part of cookie season.”

Denver Girl Scout Bianca Morris is looking forward to selling the new cookie, Adventurefuls, which represents all the adventures that cookie sales fund for Girl HELEN L. MONTOYA Scouts.

There is a mobile app to help find the booths, or text COOKIES to 59618. To use the Cookie Finder online, visit girlscoutsofcolorado.org, and select Find Cookies. Enter your zip code in the Cookie Finder, and a new window will provide you with a list of dates, times and locations of a local Girl Scout cookie sales booth.

2. Digital Cookie: If you know a Girl Scout, this might be

the most direct way to get your cookies. Your Girl Scout might send you an invite to purchase cookies from her Digital Cookie site, but you can also ask her for her Digital Cookie link. Through Digital Cookie, you pay online and cookies can be shipped. If you are local to the Girl Scout you are ordering from, inquire about delivery — some troops are offering inperson and contactless delivery.

HOW TO GET GIRL SCOUT COOKIES Girl Scout cookie season in Colorado this year is Feb. 6-March 13.

Adventurefuls, Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs, Trefoils, Dos-Si-Dos and Lemon-Ups cost $5/package. S’mores and gluten-free Toffee-tastic cost $6/package.

1. Booth sales: Some Girl Scouts will still be doing booth sales this year, and some will be offering drive-thru booths.

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Washington Park Profile 9

February 1, 2022

34 films and shorts from 14 countries to be featured

BY BRUCE GOLDBERG SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Yes, Richard Cowden does have some favorites among the 34 films that will be shown at the 26th annual Denver Jewish Film Festival, to be held from Feb. 14 to March 1.

“When I first started at the job, I appointed myself to the film selection committee. I’m so glad that I did. I ended up watching over 75 films,” said Cowden, 51, the new general manager of the StaenbergLoup Jewish Community Center’s Mizel Arts and Culture Center, which runs arts, culture and community programming. “So I’ve seen every minute of every film. The thing that strikes me is the entire lineup is extraordinarily strong, especially on the narrative feature side.”

One such film, based on a true story and the opening-night choice, is titled “Persian Lessons.”

“It’s a really remarkable, funny, profoundly heartbreaking film about a young Belgian Jew who gets taken captive by the SS and avoids being executed by convincing them he is Persian because he has a book

that was written in Persian One,” Cowden said.

There’s one catch: The protagonist didn’t speak Persian and couldn’t read the book, so he invented a nonsense language, taught it to the commandment, and thus saved his life and others.

Cowden, who was hired in August, also sought some family films and found them in “The Crossing,” which is about children trying to reach Denmark’s border to get away from the occupation; and “When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit,” which is about a family on the run because the father was a journalist and a critic of the Nazis and Hitler.

“Both movies are great for families because they’re historical, they move very fast and focus on the kids,” Cowden said.

“Mighty Ira” also caught Cowden’s attention. It’s about Ira Glassman, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union for many years.

“It looks at his life through the lens of baseball,” Cowden said. “He was a Dodger fan and it shows him kicking around in Brooklyn where Ebbets Field used to be.”

Another unique film is “A Father’s Kaddish,” which is about pottery-maker Steven Branfman paying homage to his son, who died from brain cancer at age 23. Bran-

fman, 69, used his pottery to help him work through his grief. Each day, for one year, he said a Kaddish prayer for his son and also created a Japanese tea bowl called a chawn.

Making the bowls “was my personal tribute, my personal Kaddish,” Branfman said. “They were the only pots I made for a year (and) each piece is unique.”

Branfman’s pottery will be on display at the Plinth Gallery, 3520 Brighton Blvd. in Denver, starting Feb. 4. Plinth Gallery will host a special opening from 7-9 p.m. Feb.

19, leading up to the film being screened at the JCC’s Elaine Wolf Theatre at 1 p.m. Feb. 20. Branfman will attend the screening and conduct a question-and-answer session.

He will also have a selection of the remaining Kaddish tea bowls for sale. Proceeds will benefit organizations that fight cancer.

“Each piece reflected how I felt that day, what the weather was, how I was feeling physically,” Branfman said. “It gave me something I knew I was committed to do each day, no matter where I was.”

person; and Feb. 23 to March 1, virtual only.

From Feb. 14-22, virtual films will be available through Eventive the day after the in-person screening for seven days. Films to be shown only virtually will be available from Feb. 23 to March 1. Virtual films can be seen through Chromecasting on your

television, or with the Eventive Smart TV apps for Roku or Apple TV. Tickets: Visit www.jccdenver.org/film.

Tickets can also be purchased both online and in-person at the Mizel Arts and Culture Center Box Office, from noon-5 p.m.

Monday-Friday and one hour before all

in-person screenings.

Cost: Individual tickets cost $15 for adults and $13 for students and seniors.

Virtual films cost $20 per household per film. A variety of film festival all-access passes are also available at different price points.

A still from “Persian Lessons,” which is the Denver Jewish Film Festival’s opening night feature. An unconventional friendship grows between a German chef of a concentration camp kitchen and a young Belgian Jew, who falsely claims to be Persian COURTESY OF VLADISLAV OPELYANTS in order to survive a mass shooting.

IF YOU GO What: 26th annual Denver Jewish Film Festival, featuring 34 films and shorts from 14 countries.

Where: The Mizel Arts and Culture Center at the Staenberg-Loup Jewish Community Center, 350 S. Dahlia St., in Denver.

When: Feb. 14-22, both virtual and in-

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10 Washington Park Profile

February 1, 2022

LOCAL

VOICES

Experience something new with SCFD Free Days FROM THE EDITOR

Christy Steadman

A

nybody who has lived in Denver for the past 40 years or so is probably familiar with the SCFD, which makes many of our favorite cultural organizations possible.

SCFD is an acronym for Scientific & Cultural Facilities District. It is a sales tax that collects one penny on every $10 to support cultural organizations in the seven-county metro area — Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Adams, Arapahoe, Jefferson and Douglas.

The SCFD supports more than 100 organizations in Denver County alone, and about 300 throughout the seven counties. According to its website, the “SCFD distributes more than $60 million each year” to these 300-ish organizations.

But what that means to us, is thanks to this funding, there are a lot of cool things to do and experience in our own backyard!

Something that’s important to the SCFD is ensuring that everyone has access to these fun places and experiences. One way it makes that happen is by offering SCFD Free Days. It’s important to note that some

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dementia training needed When my husband, John, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, our family was devastated. There was so much for us to learn. When it was time to look for help with his care, we wanted to know the staff was well-prepared to provide for his needs.

The most important factor in quality dementia care is the staff. When choosing a care community, I assumed that the staff was knowledgeable in all aspects of dementia care. Sadly, there were times when I observed that lack of training impacted my husband’s (or another resident’s) care. I was surprised to learn that Colorado does not require staff at nursing homes, assisted living residences or adult day centers to have a specific number of hours of training in dementia.

While some facilities do make dementia training a priority, I believe all providers of these services should require it.

Please join me in thanking Senator Kolker, Senator Ginal and Representative Young for supporting the Alzheimer’s Association’s proposal to require a minimum of four hours of initial training and two hours of additional training every two years after that for direct care staff at every nursing home, assisted living and adult day centers across the state. I urge Speaker Garnett, Senators Smallwood, Fields and Buckner, and Representatives Lontine, Ortiz and Titone to also support this proposal.

Without proper training, we cannot ensure appropriate care for the thousands of Coloradans living with Alzheimer’s in assisted living facilities.

Debra Wells Centennial SEE LETTERS, P11

A publication of

Mailing Address: 750 W. Hampden Ave., Suite 225 Englewood, CO 80110 Phone: 303-566-4100 To subscribe call 303-566-4100 or visit www.washparkprofile.com/subscribe

organizations are always free to visit — the SCFD’s website points to the Broomfield Veterans Museum and Foothills Art Center in Golden — but others charge a fee for entry. But not on SCFD Free Days!

SCFD Free Days, like the name implies, is a specific day that people can visit a museum or experience the arts for free.

Just about anything you can imagine — from the Colorado Railroad Museum to the Denver Center of Performing Arts — offers SCFD Free Days.

SCFD Free Days take place throughout the year, and usually happen on different days at the various organizations. For example, the Denver Botanic Gardens has an upcoming SCFD Free Day at both its York Street and Chatfield Farms locations on Thursday, Feb. 17, and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science is offering an SCFD Free Day on Sunday, Feb. 27. It’s worth it to browse the calendar, because most places offer a number of SCFD Free Days throughout the year.

SEE EDITOR, P11

Me with the SCFD bear in summer 2016 during a free concert in the park performance of the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra in Parfet Park in Golden.

Proposal to expand residential recycling and composting services

T

he trash we throw away and bury in our landfill has a direct impact on air quality and the rate of climate change, because landfill waste produces one of the most harmful greenhouse gas emissions - methane. Reducing GUEST landfill waste will fight rising temperatures and poor air quality, as COLUMN recycling uses 92% less energy than creating the same products from raw materials.

Fires and drought on the Front Range over the winter months point to worsening climate impacts that are poised to upend our expectations of temperatures and seasonal weather patterns, not just on coasts and in other Councilmember countries, but right here in Robin Kniech Denver. And the health effects

S

of these changes are hitting Black, indigenous and other communities of color especially hard with disproportionate asthma rates, less access to air conditioning and other risks. Denverites care deeply about our natural environment and have overwhelmingly supported pro-environment ballot initiatives and council actions in the past. Together, we’re moving toward renewable energy, energy efficiency, electric vehicles and electrification plans - but we haven’t moved the needle on recycling and composting habits of Denver residents to reduce the landfill waste we bury every year.

We’ve been trying to get there for years through education campaigns and fee-based compost services for residential customers, but it hasn’t been enough.

Improvements have been too slow to make a meaningful difference in our diversion rate, or the amount of SEE KNIECH, P19

Germination tricks of the trade

eeds are quite amazing little capsules of information — it’s mind boggling that something that fits in the palm of your hand, or on the tip of your finger, can hold the information needed to grow something GUEST as large as a tree.

All the while, seeds do not only COLUMN act as a container of genetic Brooke Palmer information, but they also contain mechanisms to make sure that the embryo will start growing exactly when conditions are just right for it to thrive, even if that means waiting for years to get it right.

While seeds “wait” to germinate at the right time in the right place, they will go into types of dormancies to help preserve the information it contains inside. As gardeners, we strive to manipulate environments and grow plants when we want them to. Breaking these dormancies can take a little expertise, and time, but it’s so rewarding once the deed is done.

Here are a few simple tricks I have found over the years as a horticulturist in propagation and production: SEE GERMINATION, P19

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher

LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation Manager

lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

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LISA SCHLICHTMAN Editor-in-Chief

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Email letters to csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

AUDREY BROOKS Business Manager

Deadline 5 p.m. on the 20th of each month for the following month’s paper.

CHRISTY STEADMAN Editor csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

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Columnists & Guest Commentaries Columnist opinions are not necessarily those of the Profile.

We welcome letters to the editor. Please include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone.

Washington Park Profile 11

February 1, 2022

Five fun and easy ways to enjoy the outdoors this winter

C

ooler temperatures and shorter days mark the start of winter activities in Colorado.

If you enjoy being outdoors, there is no shortGUEST age of activities in and around COLUMN Denver to make the most of this winter. From a simple enjoyable walk in a neighborhood park to mountain biking on local trails and ice skating, there are many acHappy Haynes tivities to choose from that will suite all kinds of preferences for outdoor adventures.

Even though the weather is cold and you might prefer to watch your latest favorite Netflix series, here are some ways to stay active and make the most of being outside this winter:

Ice skating Is there a better winter tradition than ice skating?

This season visit a rink in Denver to give skating a whirl. The Downtown Denver Rink at Skyline Park opened on Nov. 24 and provides free skating through Feb. 20. During the season, skating is free, with skate rentals available for $7 for kids 12 and under, and $9 for people ages 13 and over. Bring your MY Denver Card to enjoy free skate rentals at the Downtown

EDITOR FROM PAGE 10

Something to pay attention to is how the different organizations operate their SCFD Free Days. Some may require an advance ticket, while others may do it as a first come, first served basis. The Denver Zoo, for example, does a lottery system for its SCFD Free Days.

I love the SCFD Free Days because they truly accomplish what they’re meant to - I believe everyone should get to see a theater production, visit a museum or attend a concert, no matter if they wouldn’t normally

LETTERS FROM PAGE 10

e Protect Medicare program My grandfather spent more than three decades working to support our Colorado economy. After retiring, the years of hard labor started to take a toll, and his health began to decline.

At 91 years old, he handles a host of health issues, including frequent falls. This past year, he has had to be hospitalized seven times. And while these incidents used to result in high-priced medical bills, he has been able to access the care he needs for minimal costs since switching to Medicare Advantage earlier this year.

In addition to covering the major-

Denver Rink and check online for more information including hours of operation, parking options and special events - including details about free skating and free rentals for all Colorado fourth graders.

Sledding, snowboarding and skiing After a major snow fall, venture to the corner of West Florida Avenue and South Platte River Drive, where you’ll find 80-acre Ruby Hill Park and a seasonal Rail Yard and terrain park for skiers and snowboarders. Bring a sled to experience the hills that the park has to offer and enjoy a classic pastime. In the winter months, Denver Parks and Recreation and Winter Park host the free Ruby Hill Rail Yard in Denver, which includes a terrain park for snowboarders and skiers.

If you are feeling extra adventurous and want to venture outside of Denver, there are a plethora of winter programs through Denver Parks and Recreation where youth can learn to snowboard or ski, and adults can try their hand at cross country skiing, snowshoeing and other winter adventures.

Walking in a city park You don’t need snow to enjoy walking in the many great parks Denver has to offer, or on the more than 80 miles of off-street, multiuse trails within the city limits. Especially when it’s cold and

have the financial means to do so.

Culture and arts enrich us as a society.

But another reason that makes the SCFD Free Days so great is that they offer an opportunity to experience something new. Maybe there’s something you think is not really your “thing,” but there’s no harm in checking it out free-of-cost during an SCFD Free Day. And who knows, after that experience, it just might become your new “thing.”

To learn more about the SCFD, visit scfd.org. To browse its calendar of SCFD Free Days, hover over the ‘Find Culture’ tab to get the drop down menu, and select ‘Free Days.’ ity of his medical bills, he is able to access free transportation to and from his doctor appointments, which helps him get to all the appointments he needs since he can no longer drive. The benefits he receives have been helpful for our family too, as we know he is getting the care and assistance he deserves.

Coloradans should all have access to quality health care, like the coverage that is provided through Medicare Advantage. That is why I hope our representatives in Congress will continue to advocate for this program and protect it from potential funding cuts. After so many years of supporting our state, our lawmakers should be doing everything they can to assist outstanding citizens like my grandfather.

Slade E. Mills Denver

dark, getting outside is invigorating and provides positive mental and physical health benefits. Plus, you never know what you might run into along the way - a playground, a trail, a great view of the mountains or a friendly neighbor - that will make your walk even more worthwhile. And if there is some snow on the ground, consider letting your inner child out, pick up some snow and toss a snowball or build a snowman.

Hiking or snowshoeing in Denver Mountain Parks If hiking or snowshoeing in the winter is more your style, grab your snowshoes or hiking shoes, bundle up and head on up to Echo Lake Park. This area offers easy snowshoeing and winter hiking that is suitable for the whole family. If you’d prefer not to go solo, you can participate in an adult snowshoeing day or a guided family adventure snowshoeing day that includes snowshoeing through the trees, games and hot chocolate.

Mountain biking We all know the Colorado weather can surprise us with some sunny and warmer days throughout

winter. Weather permitting, visit Ruby Hill Bike Park to test your riding skills on a variety of terrain and features that are designed to improve balance and other biking skills. The park features a slopestyle course, dirt jumps, pump tracks and a skills course.

Varying lines of difficulty from beginner to advanced offer options for all skill levels, with a special expert slopestyle line to challenge and entertain professional riders.

There is also a 1.7-mile multi-use natural surface loop trail around the perimeter of Ruby Hill Park that is suitable for mountain biking. Please be aware that the bike park closes when conditions are muddy to preserve the integrity of its features.

What outdoor fall and winter activities are you interested in that you’d like to see in Denver’s future open spaces? Visit our website at tinyurl.com/OutdoorAdventuresPlan to learn more about efforts to improve the future of outdoor adventure in Denver. After all, we don’t have many snow closure days in our Denver outdoor spaces, so get outside and play!

Happy Haynes is the executive director of Denver Parks and Recreation

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Washington Park Profile 13

February 1, 2022

How many traffic accidents occurred on Denver’s neighborhood streets in 2021?

Numbers show it’s low-key scary to drive, ride or walk in Denver DESIREE MATHURIN AND KEVIN BEATY DENVERITE

Traffic fatalities reached an all-time high in 2021. According to city data, 84 people died in traffic crashes last year, surpassing Denver’s 2019 record high of 71 people.

One way the city is looking into making Denver streets safer is by lowering speed limits in residential areas — or on streets without striped lanes or centerlines.

In December, Denver City Council approved the “20 is plenty” ordinance, which will reduce the speed limit on neighborhood streets from 25 to 20 MPH. Councilmember Paul Kashmann, who spearheaded the bill, said that “there’s no illusion that dropping neighborhood speeds from 25 to 20 is the single silver bullet needed to reduce the chaos on Denver streets. It’s the beginning of a change in culture and a way of thinking that we just need to slow down.”

Activists agree.

“We’ve seen from other cities that just changing the speed limit itself does have some impact,” said Jill Locantore, executive director of The Denver Streets Partnership, a coalition of community groups that advocate for safer streets.

The speed changes got people talking. Some Denverites worried enforcement would increase,

RESTAURANT FROM PAGE 5

She mostly worked days, but said the real action took place on the graveyard shift.

“One night this motorcycle club got into a fight with these cowboy dudes,” she recalled. “One of the cowboys went outside and drove his car into the club president’s motorcycle - but when he drove off, he left his bumper and license plate behind. The biker gang told the cops, `you better hope you find that guy before we do.’ You just had to laugh.”

Prien said she’s heartbroken by the restaurant’s sudden closure.

“We knew it was a possibility, but they didn’t give us a chance to say goodbye,” she said. “We’ve had people who have been coming in nearly every day for years. Some of them, we were all the family they had.”

John Coyner of Castle Rock stopped by on Jan. 3 and discovered the restaurant was closed.

“I’m stunned,” said Coyner, who said he’s been coming to Breakfast King for more than 30 years.

It’s possible another restaurateur

though Denver Police said that wouldn’t happen.

Others, like Councilmember Kendra Black, said the city should focus on arterial streets or major streets, such as Colorado Boulevard.

Let’s get nerdy, Denver A Denverite analysis showed that in 2021, there were about 3,453 traffic accidents in total on streets with speed limits 25 miles per hour or less, based on city data. That’s about 20% of the total 18,000 incidents in Denver in 2021.

Of those local accidents, 1,460 happened during the day, 42 of them involved a bicycle and 80 of them involved a pedestrian.

About 329 crashes happened in the Central Business District (downtown) or the Union Station statistical neighborhoods, meaning many of them took place on regular streets.

Now, around 464 crashes resulted in serious injuries or fatalities in 2021, according to the city. That includes the 84 fatalities previously mentioned. Those serious wrecks accounted for 2.4% of all traffic crashes.

According to our analysis, 69 of these serious incidents happened on streets with speed limits 25 miles per hour or less. That’s 16% of all serious accidents: 36 of those were during the day, 23 involved a pedestrian and seven involved a bicycle.

So, what does this mean? Well, Vision Zero, the city’s initiative to completely eradicate traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030, has some work to do.

Locantore said in order for the city to hit zero fatalities or injucould buy the restaurant and keep it operating, Prien said, but she’s afraid it will be sold to the highest bidder and redeveloped. The property is not currently listed for sale on real estate websites.

Denver has lost several other beloved all-night diners in recent years. Tom’s Diner, along East Colfax Avenue in Capitol Hill, closed as pandemic shutdowns began in March 2020, following a protracted battle over whether to preserve its historic Googie architecture, a flamboyant midcentury modern style. The 20th Street Café closed the same month after 74 years in the Ballpark neighborhood. Denver Diner at Speer Boulevard and West Colfax Avenue closed in January, citing increased food and labor costs and decreased traffic.

Losing Denver’s diners means losing a piece of the city’s soul, said Bree Davies, who hosts the City Cast Denver podcast and was a longtime fan of Breakfast King.

“These spaces are so important to bridging the gaps of humanity,” Davies said. “At Breakfast King, you’d see cops sitting next to punks, or construction workers getting ready for their shift sitting next to someone who had been out all night partying. There aren’t

ries, big changes, including widespread speed reductions, street structure changes and a better public transportation system, are needed to make a difference.

“We need a radical shift in our thinking about the transit system,” Locantore said. “Radically rethinking the transportation system and acknowledging that to get to zero traffic fatalities, we have to reduce the amount of driving on our streets and significantly invest in other forms of transportation. As long as we’re not willing to prioritize safety over the speed and convenience of driving we’re not going to get to zero.”

Officials at the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) said in a statement they’re working on it and “planning significant investments and multimodal improvements” on major corridors, including West Colfax Avenue, Federal Boulevard, Morrison Road and Peoria Street. They’re also using “lowcost” methods “to narrow roadways to slow down vehicles and vehicle turning movements, and to shorten crossing distances for people on foot.”

Some of those improvements can be seen on East Colfax Avenue and Santa Fe Drive from about Eighth Avenue to Colfax Avenue.

“The fact that our roadway system was built to prioritize travel by cars, as opposed to prioritizing the safety of pedestrians and people who ride bikes, is one contributing factor that our city is trying to now correct,” DOTI officials said. “But we can’t eliminate all problems without the public’s cooperation. We need to many places left where people of diverse economic statuses are close together. We take them for granted. We’re losing our community spaces. What are we going to do about that?”

This story is from The Colorado

A NOTE ON OUR METHODOLOGY To figure out how many wrecks in 2021 happened on residential streets, we plotted every accident logged in city data over a map of streets that includes speed limits. We deleted points that fell on roadways with faster speeds and then selected points that intersected specifically with slower-limit roads. So, for example, incidents that occurred in an intersection of a slow street and one with a higher speed limit are not included in our totals. We also removed incidents that occurred in parking lots. build a culture of safety in Denver. We need people to slow down, follow speed limits and look out for one another, especially people walking and biking.”

There have been four crashes resulting in serious injury as of Jan. 14 of this year. None of them were on residential streets. There have been no deaths. And, maybe one day, it’ll stay that way.

For now, Locantore said reducing speed on neighborhood streets is one way to break a problem down into “solvable pieces.”

“If I had a magic wand and I could wave it tomorrow, I would love to reduce the speed limit across the board on all streets in Denver and follow that up immediately with street design changes but the world doesn’t work that way,” Locantore said.

CPR News data reporter Veronica Penney contributed to this report.

This story is from Denverite, a nonprofit Denver news source affiliated with CPR News. Used by permission. For more, and to support Denverite, visit denverite.com.

Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun. com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

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14 Washington Park Profile

February 1, 2022

Athena Project hosts annual Cocktails & Comedy Fundraiser STAFF REPORT

The Athena Project is inviting the community to celebrate its 10th anniversary and mark Women’s History month with its annual Cocktails & Comedy Fundraiser on March 5.

The Athena Project is a local nonprofit organization that “empowers women through the arts and creates a world with gender equity where women’s voices are amplified,” states a news release. It consists of “creates a world where women’s voices are powerfully expressed and recognized for artistic merit in the community,” states the news release.

Athena Project’s Cocktails & Comedy Fundraiser takes place at 7:30 p.m., with doors opening at 7 p.m., March 5 at the Maven Hotel Windsor Ballroom inside the Dairy Block at 1850 Wazee St. in Denver.

Parking is available at the Dairy Block underground garage parking — the entrance is on 19th between Blake and Wazee streets.

The event will feature several local comedians, heavy appetizers, desserts, a specially-created Athena Project cocktail, games and prizes. Mannequin heads designed

by Denver artists will be available for sale at the event and throughout the month, as featured at the Dairy Block in an art Installation called “Women In Their Infinite Forms.”

All COVID health and safety protocols, including required masks, will be observed.

Local comedians and the 2019 event’s emcee stand with Angela Astle, the executive founder and producer of Athena Project who is pictured second from left, for a photo at the Athena Project’s Cocktails & Comedy Fundraiser in 2019. This year’s event marks PHOTO BY CHARLOTTE BASSIN the Athena Project’s 10-year anniversary.

Tickets cost $75 in advance and $80 at the door. A special ticket price for artists is offered at $25.

Artists must show proof with a business card, website or headshot/resume at the door.

“Athena Project was founded to shine a spotlight on the underrepresentation of women in the arts,

so it’s an honor reflecting on the past 10 years of our impact and service with both joy and pride,” said Angela Astle, executive founder and producer of Athena Project.

“We know that we have been a beacon of light throughout the Denver community for women artists. By uplifting their voices and creating

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Washington Park Profile 15

February 1, 2022

Blood supplies running low Donations are needed now in all regions

BY THELMA GRIMES TGRIMES@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The American Red Cross has been sending up the red flag, stressing that there is a nationwide blood shortage and Colorado is no different. In fact, along the Front Range, hospitals are managing but are one major tragedy away from danger.

Dr. Kyle Annen, director of tansfusion services and patient blood management for Children’s Hospital Colorado, said their blood supplies are not as low as those being reported by the American Red Cross and Vitalant, a national independent, nonprofit blood services provider.

“We definitely have lower supplies than normal,” Annen said. “But we are one bad emergency away from getting into some real trouble.”

Annen said CHC, which has hospitals along the Front Range and throughout the state, has been lucky to keep a flow of regular donors, but she is getting more concerned as the omicron variant of COVID continues to spread.

“It is not today or tomorrow that I worry about,” Annen said. “I worry about our supplies in the next few weeks. As omicron continues to hit us, we are going to start getting in trouble. It really is not just about today, we have to keep blood supplies

stable for the future.”

Caitlin Ballenger, the American Red Cross regional communications manager for Colorado and Wyoming, said while the national organization does not directly collect blood in the state, they do provide blood to 11 hospitals in Colorado, including Denver Health, Swedish Medical Center and the University of Colorado Hospital.

In total, the American Red Cross supplies 40% of the nation’s blood, Ballenger said.

Because of the continued shortage, Ballenger said the American Red Cross has had to limit blood product distributions to hospitals.

At times, as much as one-quarter of hospital blood needs are not being met, she said.

“Seasonal blood shortages are not uncommon in the U.S., however, what makes this situation unique is the many compounding factors (COVID-19, severe winter weather, supply chain and staffing challenges, and holidays) at play,” Ballenger said. “These challenges have resulted in the lowest national blood inventories in more than a decade.

What is even more challenging at this time is that the blood supply levels have remained at historically low levels for now nearly four months.”

Vitalant, with nine Colorado blood donation centers, is also seeing a continued decrease in blood supplies. The national program also

Blood donor squeezes the rubber bulb in the form of heart in his hand

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16 Washington Park Profile

February 1, 2022

Where to go Here’s a list of venues currently offering Afternoon Teain the metro area.

Afternoon Tea at the Brown Palace Hotel.

Metro tea time puts Colorado spin on an English classic

BY BOB WOOLEY BWOOLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A

fternoon Tea was introduced in 1840 by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, to get her through the long period between lunch and dinner, not served in her abode until 8 p.m., according to Historic-UK.com.

That being the case, you might have surmised that Afternoon Tea consists of more than just a hot beverage. It always comes with scrummy nosh as well. You may find scones with clotted cream and freshly made jams, a tasty selection of sweet and savory pastries and finger sandwiches. And of course, there’s British-style biscuits to set you right.

You don’t have to be in England to enjoy Afternoon Tea. There are several places in the Queen City of the Plains (and surrounding areas) where you can have the experience.

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Kathy Curry, visiting from Georgia with her two young daughters, said one of the things they looked most forward to this year was Afternoon Tea at the Brown.

“It’s magical,” Curry said. “It makes the girls feel like they’re princesses. And I love it too.”

Morgan Bobo handles press requests for the Brown. She said Afternoon Tea has been served at the Brown Palace since 1986.

“It’s presently hosted in the historic and stunning Atrium Lobby. Guests can enjoy a variety of teas topped with Devonshire cream shipped directly from England while listening to the soft sounds of the grand piano float through the lobby and natural light streaming through the stainedglass ceiling,” she said. “The rich history isn’t the only thing that makes the experience unique, as all of the honey utilized for tea service comes directly from the property’s rooftop bee colonies and can be purchased on property to take home.”

The Brown Palace does have perhaps the most storied Afternoon Tea in the metro area. But recent years have seen plenty of competition spring up from Castle Rock to

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Louisville and all spots in-between, keeping this decidedly British tradition alive and well in Colorado.

“It’s about the experience,” said Michael Herrera, proud Denver dad.

“My daughter loved being able to get dressed up to go to Tea.” Elaine Bryant and her husband, Joel, a trained chef, are the owners of The Lumber Baron, a historic Bed and Breakfast in the Potter Highlands neighborhood. Bryant says they started offering Afternoon Tea about six months after opening the Inn because it seemed like such a natural fit. The Victorian mansion is the perfect setting for their traditional English tea service featuring a variety of fancy finger sandwiches, scones, crumpets and fresh cookies.

Bryant says she honed the customer service skills it takes to run a B&B serving up a different hot beverage — coffee — for Starbucks, where she worked for 13 years before becoming an Inn Keeper.

Speaking of kids, Bryant said they’re more than welcome and get the same white tablecloth and antique china treatment as anyone else.

“We love having children come to the High Tea,” she said. “And they love coming, The little girls, especially. They just know that it’s something special.”

If you haven’t taken Afternoon Tea before, here’s a primer: Tea comes by the pot, with different loose-leaf varieties to choose from, while the treats are always served family style, but on much fancier platters than your average chicken nachos. Price covers both tea and food per person. So, no need to fuss. Just make a reservation, show up and as they say across the pond, “Bob’s your uncle.”

The Brown Palace 321 17th St., Denver Visit www.brown palace.com/dining/restaurants/ afternoon-tea or call 303-297-3111 to reserve

D Bar Denver 494 E. 19th Ave. Call 303- 861-4710 for reservations

Capital Tea 1450 S. Broadway St., Denver Reserve your English Tea Time spot by calling 303-777-2255

English Tealeaves 18551 Mainstreet, Parker Tea Parties can be booked to your schedule, for parties of two to 24.

Call 720-851-6099

Swiss Floral and Gift Cottage 9890 West 44th Ave., Wheat Ridge Call 303-424-7421 to reserve

The Huckleberry 700 Main Street, Louisville Call 303-666-8020 for reservations Visit www.thehuckleberry.com/afternoon-tea for more information

The Lumber Baron 2555 West 37th Ave., Denver 303-477-8205 to reserve

Washington Park Profile 17

February 1, 2022

‘Teaching your dog to be a good dog’ Ancillary K9 offers training from basic obedience to protection dog training

BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Indy had never been an aggressive dog, but he is a bit rambunctious.

Ryan Schnier knew he wanted to adopt a rescue, but was not particular on the breed.

He found Indy when he was 8 weeks old and adopted the pit bull mix in March last year. At the time, Schnier was living in New Jersey, and Indy had a yard to run around in.

“He was fairly well behaved,” Schnier said.

Schnier and his girlfriend moved to Denver with Indy in September last year. They now live in an apartment.

Though it has an indoor dog course and Indy gets taken out for a walk daily — if not more than once every day — he seemed to have what Schnier described as “sensory overload.”

“He wants to interact and play with all the other dogs,” Schnier said. “It was nearly impossible to take him for a walk or even out to use the bathroom.”

Schnier wanted to be able to take Indy to social places, like parks and brewery patios.

“I could take him, but it wasn’t a pleasant experience,” Schnier said.

Then one day, Indy was able to

To learn more about Ancillary K9, visit ancillaryk9.com. escape from his leash. He started running in and out of traffic, and wouldn’t come back to Schnier’s calls.

“That was the breaking point,” Schnier said.

He started looking into various trainers and found Ancillary K9, a small business in Cherry Creek that got its start in 2016.

Schnier enrolled in a six-session program in October last year, and it was like a “complete 180,” he said.

“After only one week, he (Indy) was listening to me. He’s learning to control his impulses.”

There is a common misconception that training isn’t much more than sit or stay, said Dion Studinski, dog trainer and founder of Ancillary K9, which serves Denver, Aurora and Thornton, but will travel anywhere within the E-470 corridor.

“It goes deeper than that,” Studinski said. “It’s teaching your dog to be a good dog.”

Ancillary K9 can help with anything from basic obedience training to obsessive barking and destructive behavior, and offers protection dog training.

Studinski has always been a dog owner. Ancillary K9 started out as a hobby — Studinski training people’s dogs because he enjoyed it and found that he was good at it — but then, to meet demand, it turned into his fulltime job.

Ryan Schnier and his dog, Indy, enrolled in a six-session program with Ancillary K9 last fall. Indy has always been fairly well behaved, but he is rambunctious and always wanted to play with other dogs.

Ancillary K9 has helped Indy learn to listen to Schnier and control his impulses.

COURTESY PHOTO

Ancillary K9 can work with any dog and dog owner, but specializes in dogs that were turned away from other trainers or kicked out of other programs.

“But it’s not just about the dog,” Studinski said. “We equip the owners with the tools and knowledge they need to be successful with their dog.”

Schnier is happy with the progress that both he and Indy have made, adding that Indy is now a well-balanced and well-behaved dog.

“Our connection is so much better,”

he said.

Schnier said he plans on doing some ongoing training with Studinski so he can start taking Indy on future camping trips and/or to places that offer off-leash experiences.

He added that it’s so valuable to have a well-trained and well-behaved dog. People in Denver form a socialemotional relationship with their dog, Schnier said.

“They become part of the family,” Schnier said. “People in Denver give their dog a really good life.”

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18 Washington Park Profile

February 1, 2022

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Washington Park Profile 19

February 1, 2022

KNIECH FROM PAGE 10

In one of many blood drives held in Highlands Ranch last year, Vitalant Assistant Donor Care Specialist Natasna Almeyda prepares the vein for the blood donation from Steve Packard, of Castle Pines.

FILE PHOTO

RED CROSS

FROM PAGE 15

hosts blood drives throughout the region, including through partnerships with organizations such as the Highlands Ranch Community Association.

Brooke Way, communications manager for Vitalant, said there are several contributing factors that have led to the nationwide shortage

GERMINATION FROM PAGE 10

Cold stratification Seed dormancy can be regulated by the environment or by the seed itself. In Colorado where we experience a temperate climate — which generally have wider temperature ranges throughout the year with distinct seasonal changes — many plants are used to a cycle of blustery, winter temperatures followed by the fluctuations that spring, summer and fall bring about. We can mimic this through a period of moist, cold stratification. Here at the Denver Botanic Gardens, we sow flats of seeds, water and cover them up, and either place in a cooler or outside in cold frames in winter. At home, you can do the

of blood.

In 2020 and 2021, Way said Vitalant was forced to canceled 500 bloods drives due to COVID and, like other industries, staff shortages.

“We are now trying to make up for all those lost units we could have collected,” Way said.

In Colorado, Vitalant blood supplies matter because they provide units to more than 75 hospitals statewide, including Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree.

Linda Watson, the hospital’s VP

of marketing and public affairs, said they work directly with Vitalant to host quarterly blood drives, including an upcoming event on Feb. 16. Watson said they are getting plenty of participation in the drives, noting that they had a full slate of donors for the Jan. 10 drive they recently held.

However, while blood drives do help replenish supplies, Annen said they do not always result in the type of blood hospitals need most.

Type O blood is needed the most, she said.

same by either placing seed in wet sand or vermiculite in a baggy and storing in your fridge or freezer until you are ready to sow. Alternatively, you can take advantage of our spring snowstorms and broadcast seed directly into your garden just before an expected snow to let seeds get a taste of real winter.

we have several tools to scarify, including sandpaper, nail files and clippers, and even needles to poke and nick.

Scarifying Many seeds — think tree seeds and legumes — have a thick, tough seed coat protecting the seed until prime conditions occur. Scarifying, or mechanically breaking down the seed coat, can also give you a higher percentage of germination in a quicker process than mother nature does. The goal is to expose the tender tissues hiding inside.

This can be done several ways and you can get creative in the process.

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Water baths Soaking your seeds in water is another simple trick to germination. Soaking in water can either help soften the seed coat to wake up the hiding embryo or can leach out chemicals in the seed coat that are preventing germination until conditions are right. A technique I have fallen to recently is an aerated bath, where seeds soak in a bath of water being turned by an aquarium air pump, which provides required oxygen to the seeds as their coats soften.

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waste being recycled or composted rather than landfilled. Denver’s current diversion rate of 26% is below the national average of 34%, less than half of Boulder (53%) and less than a third of San Francisco (80%) and Los Angeles (76%). We know that Denver can and must improve our recycling and composting rate.

Denver has been exploring the best policy to achieve this outcome for more than a decade, including recommendations for policy change from the community-led Climate Action Task Force, the city’s Sustainable Food Policy Council and many community organizations and leaders. Denver’s current policy has made it harder for residents to do the right thing, because it has charged residents to compost and only picked up recycling every other week, while making it free to throw away as much as they want - eliminating any incentive to compost or recycle.

In response, Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency (CASR), in partnership with Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure and Division of Solid Waste, has researched and is exploring a proven expanded waste service approach that would provide Denver residents free, weekly recycling and compost services, while charging people less if they throw less trash away. Customers would choose a small, medium or large trash cart size, and the monthly fee would vary accordingly - the smaller the cart, the smaller the fee. All customers would receive weekly composting and recycling for free, which has been a growing need for many years and became increasingly apparent during the pandemic as households recycled more cardboard and plastics from online orders and deliveries. The current proposal includes an affordability index with instant rebates to support lower-income households or those on fixed incomes. Denver would be the only city in the nation that discounts trash fees for low-income residents.

Additionally, tens of thousands of residents would simply be able to switch from the compost fee they are paying today to a smaller fee for selection of the smallest trash cart.

Residential waste policy change isn’t the only step we need to take.

Multi-family condo and apartment building residents in neighborhoods like Capitol Hill, who already pay for their waste service if their building has more than seven units, should also have better access to recycling and composting to reduce their trash waste. Expanding residential waste services first is the city’s opportunity to lead by example before tackling ways to reduce private waste hauling.

Increasing Denver’s diversion rate is a common-sense way to improve quality of life and reduce climate impacts in Denver. Stakeholder outreach is underway to answer questions and identify any challenges we would need to overcome to take this policy change on as a community.

Robin Kniech is an at-large member of Denver City Council. She can be reached at kniechatlarge@denvergov. org or 720-337-7712.

20 Washington Park Profile

February 1, 2022

Welton Street Café seeks community’s help with move

BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

When someone walks into Welton Street Café, they’re not just customers.

“Welton Street Café means family,” said Fathima Dickerson, one of the restaurant’s co-owners. “We are here for family. We are here for community. We are here to serve.

We serve our community, and our community is our family.”

Welton Street Café, which is family owned and operated, got its start serving Denver’s Five Points community in 1986, eventually making itself known for being the place where one could get a pate — an island-style fried pastry stuffed with various fillings — and a Coke for $1.

People “got hooked,” said Chereka Dickerson, Welton Street Café’s communications manager, “and (the restaurant) became a staple.”

It opened a permanent location at 2736 Welton St. in July 1999. The space has served Welton Street Café well, however, it was known well before the pandemic hit that the establishment had outgrown the space, Dickerson said.

“The kitchen is so small,” Dickerson said. And “so many things need updated, it doesn’t make sense to stay.”

While the restaurant is surviving the pandemic, thanks to “the strength of our customers,” Dickerson said, a number of other issues have recently come about — namely, problems with the HVAC system in the old building, which Dickerson guesses was probably built sometime in the 1980s.

Welton Street Café’s current lease is up in March, and the restaurant is looking to move into a new, larger space about a block and a half away at 2883 Welton St., which it found in May 2021.

While the new location is secured, funding is an issue. Efforts to receive funding from sources such as government grants and loans, business loans and corporate grants have been unsuccessful, Dickerson said.

“So we are reaching out to our community for support,” states the message on Welton Street Café’s Go Fund Me page. “If we have our village behind us, then we can continue to serve.”

The Go Fund Me was launched on Jan. 13 with a $250,000 goal. This will be enough to help the restaurant build out before opening, meaning the money will be used to purchase equipment, furnishings, fixtures and other supplies.

Welton Street Café is a family-owned and operated restaurant that has been serving the Five Points community for nearly 23 years. It has outgrown its space and is asking for the community’s help in securing funding to move to a new space about a block PHOTO BY CHERMETRA KEYS and a half away.

“We’re trying to secure (enough) to give us a running start,” Dickerson said.

Welton Street Café hopes to not be out of operation for too long, even if it temporarily operates out

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of a ghost kitchen, or does only catering or popup events during the time before it can reopen in its new space, Dickerson said. Knowing also that the new space will need to go through the city’s permitting and inspections, the hope is to have Welton Street Café reopened in the new space by mid-2022.

Within the first week of launching the Go Fund Me, Welton Street Café’ had reached about 25% of its goal. By Jan. 21, a little more than $79,000 had been raised.

“It’s so heartwarming that we’re receiving this amount of support,” Dickerson said. “People in Denver like to see these mom-and-pop shops survive.”

Welton Street Café is a beloved part of the community, and especially among Denver’s Black population. Historically, Five Points is known as the Harlem of the West, Dickerson said.

“There’s a lot of Black history centered in Five Points. This is where Black folks lived, and frequented the businesses,” Dickerson said.

Welton Street Café is part of that legacy, she added.

“We know people’s names when they come in,” Dickerson said. “It means a lot to people.”

To learn more about Welton Street Cafe, visit weltonstreetcafe.com. The website includes a link to the restaurant’s Go Fund Me campaign to help with its move.