Life On Capitol Hill 0720

Life On

July 2020

Founded in 1975

CAPITOL HILL

LifeOnCapHill.com

CREATING ART FOR CHANGE Anti-Racist Club teams up with poets, artists to keep systemic racism at forefront of conversation

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SAFETY FIRST Petition seeks pedestrianfriendly sidewalks

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A VIRTUAL DASH Jodi’s Race participants benefit Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance

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READING, MAKING, EXPLORING Denver Public Library offers Summer of Adventure

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE Girl Scouts impact community through Gold Award projects

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2 Life On Capitol Hill

July 2020

Business Matters Christy Steadman | csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com Editor’s note: 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-north and south Denver.

Businesses are beginning to reopen after being closed — for some, several months — because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Colorado Community Media urges you to reach out to your favorite local businesses — including commercial and retail, fitness, restaurants and salon services — to find out their reopening status, or to check if they are operating slightly differently upon reopening.

The July Business Matters column is a listing of a few new businesses that have opened and/or had opened as a new business just prior to the pandemic and had to close their doors only after a few weeks of operations.

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

Cherry Creek North A number of retail stores in Cherry Creek North have masks/face coverings available for purchase. Some of the shops are offering free delivery in the Denverarea with the purchase of a certain number of masks, and others are donating a portion of the proceeds to hospitals.

According to a blog post on the Cherry Creek North’s website, the following stores have masks available for sale: Ann Marie Designs, Adornments, Covered Cherry Creek, Denver Darling Boutique,

Garbarini, Mariel, NIC + ZOE, Revampt and State & Liberty. The list will be updated if additional shops make masks available.

Some of the shops request that an appointment be made or to contact them to inquire about their masks. To find the contact information for the shops, visit https://cherrycreeknorth.com/ and select the story, Where to Buy Masks in Cherry Creek North, on the website’s homepage.

Choice Market Choice Market, a convenience store that offers high quality fresh foods, is opening a third Denver location in the near future.

It will be located at Colfax Avenue and Gaylord Street near Cheesman Park.

The other two locations are in Uptown at 1770 N. Broadway, and Lincoln Park at 1015 Osage St. Denver.

Joy Hill Bar & Pizza Joy Hill Bar & Pizza, 1229 S. Broadway, is a new bar, lounge and wood fired pizza restaurant located on the border of Denver’s Platt Park and Overland neighborhoods.

It opened on March 2 and offered takeout orders, according to the Platt Park Post. Joy Hill’s website states that it is now open for in-person dining.

Ruby’s Market Ruby’s Market, 1569 S. Pearl St., was set to open right before the coronavirus hit, and is now operating through an online ordering collective with contactless alleyside pickup.

The market is multi-cultural artisan

and food destination.

Its Ruby’s Pantry has also launched, which collects emergency supplies, such as shelf stable food, toiletries and cleaning products, for refugee families.

Sherry’s Soda Shoppe Sherry’s Soda Shoppe reopened on June 12 after being closed during the COVID19 shutdowns.

Sherry’s Soda Shoppe, 2714 Welton St. in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood, is an old-fashioned creamery that offers homemade ice cream, milkshakes, sodas and more. The menu features dairy-andvegan homemade, small-batch gourmet ice cream; real phosphates and CBD sodas, malts, sundaes and more, states a news release.

It is a concept by the Bridge & Tunnel Restaurant Group. The Five Points location debuted on March 10, but closed in mid-March because of the coronavirus.

Other Bridge & Tunnel Restaurant Group concepts include Rosenberg’s Bagels and Delicatessen, Famous Original J’s Pizza and Lou’s Italian Specialties.

Tacos El Metate Tacos El Metate opened its second location near the University of Denver.

The taqueria, which boasts a specialty of a fried fish taco, got its start in Aurora in 2017. The new location, 2060 S. University Blvd., opened on June 18, according to the restaurant’s Facebook page.

Sullivan Scrap Kitchen A catering company will soon be opening a brick-and-mortar casual eatery in Denver’s City Park West neighborhood.

Terence Rogers, chef and owner of TBD Foods, will be purchasing an existing kitchen at 1740 E 17th Ave. to host Sullivan Scrap Kitchen. Rogers has a personal passion for reducing food waste, and will utilize excess food from his catering business for Sullivan Scrap Kitchen.

“I knew this was the perfect fit for us as we already had an established catering business, TBD Foods, which is more on the high-end side,” Rogers said in a news release. “Sullivan Scrap Kitchen became our perfect complement to fully utilize our ingredients in a creative and delicious way.”

In Spring 2019, Rogers tested his food waste kitchen idea with a pop-up called Lil’ Scrap Kitchen in TBD Foods former commissary space. The trial was a success and he decided the repurposed ingredients could make salads, sandwiches, soups, burgers and breads at a standalone café. More recently, Rogers and his business partner and fiancé Holly Adinoff have been experimenting with sourdough — instead of discarding the excess starter, they’ve repurposed it into cinnamon rolls, pizza dough and banana bread.

Sullivan Scrap Kitchen plans to open late June/early July.

S A FELY D I S P O S E O F YO U R

HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE EXAMPLES OF ACCEPTED ITEMS • Automotive Fluids • Batteries • Caulk and Grout • Cleaners and Polishes • Fertilizers • Fluorescent Lights • Glue Adhesives • Insecticides and Poisons • Mercury Thermometers • Paint • Pool Chemicals • Solvents and Thinners • Stains and Varnishes

SCHEDULE A COLLECTION • Call 1-800-449-7587 or visit www.wmatyourdoor.com • Minimum of three different item types or 25 pounds of one item required for a collection • Paint and alkaline batteries accepted but not included in the three item minimum • One collection permitted per calendar year • $15 copayment due at time of collection

A program of Solid Waste Management and Wastewater Management.

To learn more, call 311 (720-913-1311) or visit DenverGov.org/HHW.

Terence Rogers and Holly Adinoff will be opening Sullivan Scrap Kitchen, 1740 E. 17th Ave., as a casual eatery. The vision is to reduce food waste and Rogers will utilize excess food from his catering business, TBD Foods.

COURTESY PHOTO

Life On Capitol Hill 3

July 2020

MORE SAFETY. LESS STRESS. PROTECTED LANES MAKE DENVER SAFER FOR ALL OF US. Today in Denver, there are more people than ever driving cars, taking buses and riding bikes, walking to parks, going jogging, and pushing strollers. So it’s important we all support the new protected lanes that are making the Mile High City safer, smarter and more connected. By designing the street better, we gain a whole lot more in safety. Plus we get more control, more separation and protection, more peace for all of us, and more connections to the people, places and spaces we love in our city.

Support safer streets at

4 Life On Capitol Hill

July 2020

‘ Five fe et

is not s ix

fe e t ’

Two people walk side-by-side on the five-footwide sidewalk along 13th Avenue in Capitol Hill. A couple of the neighborhood’s small business owners would like to see a more pedestrian-friendly corridor where people can social distance while waiting outside to enter the shops.

PHOTOS BY CHRISTY STEADMAN

Local business owners want better pedestrian experience on 13th Avenue

By Christy Steadman csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

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ccording to a couple of the small business owners on 13th Avenue, the stretch of sidewalk between Pearl and Washington streets is like a danger zone.

One, there is a lot of speeding on 13th Avenue, they said. The street consists of one parking lane on the north side and three lanes of westbound one-way traffic. Two, the storefronts on the south side face a three-foothigh concrete wall. And lastly, the sidewalk between the wall and the storefronts is only five feet wide.

“We, and our customers, cannot socially distance on our sidewalk,” said Pete Stidman, who manages the record store and is the son of one of Wax Trax Records’ co-owners. “This is a public health issue.”

Wax Trax Records Denver, 638 E. 13th Ave. in Capitol Hill, opened in 1978. Local co-owners Dave Stidman and Duane Davis are both in their 70s.

They “are forced to use this narrow sidewalk daily,” Pete Stidman said.

Wax Trax closed on March 16 because of COVID-19, and in early May launched a website for the first time to serve customers during the pandemic.

The record store re-opened for inperson shopping on June 4. Stidman feels they are doing everything they can to keep customers and employees safe — browsing time is limited, only a certain number of people are allowed in at one time, everyone gets a temperature check, hand sanitizer must be applied before entering and face coverings are a requirement for all customers and employees.

But the five-foot-wide sidewalk must also be addressed, Stidman said.

To generate awareness of the issue, with hopes of getting the attention of Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, Wax Trax has launched a petition on its website.

Wax Trax Records Denver, 638 E. 13th Ave. in Capitol Hill, has launched a petition with hopes of making the block between Pearl and Washington streets more pedestrian-friendly. The petition can be found on the record store’s new website: www.waxtraxrecords.com.

“We, and our customers, cannot socially distance on our sidewalk.”

— Pete Stidman,

Titled Safer 13th Avenue — 5 Feet is not 6, Wax Trax urges all nearby residents and people who frequent the area to sign it.

Stidman believes there is a “simple fix,” he said.

The petition suggests to create a parking lane in the third lane that is now used by motorists. That third lane is not used by motorists as much as the other two lanes are, Stidman said. Additionally, 13th Avenue is two lanes until Washington Street — Wax Trax is on the corner of Washington and 13th — so when motorists do use the third lane, they tend to increase their speed once on it, Stidman said.

An October 2011 alcohol-related motor vehicle collision at the corner of Washington and 13th resulted in a fatality, when a drunken driver ran a red light and broadsided a car causing it to flip and crash into Wax Trax, damaging its front entrance and façade, multiple media sources reported.

Still, ideally, the wall would come out as well, Stidman said.

“It’s well-intentioned,” he said of the wall, adding it is probably there to serve as a buffer between traffic and pedestrians, “but it’s not working.”

He believes a parking lane would be a much better alternative to the wall, indicating that parked cars serve as a better buffer between traffic and a sidewalk.

Stidman mentioned he was raised in Denver, but moved back from out-of-state to help his father with the store only a few months ago. So, he was unsure how long the wall has been there, but guessed it has been for quite some time, Stidman said.

Next door, John Kuebler, owner of Kilgore Books & Comics, agrees that

getting rid of the wall and converting the third traffic lane into a parking lane would make the area much safer.

“But we’d be open to any ideas that would make it more pedestrian-friendly,” Kuebler said.

Kuebler described his approximate 700-square-foot store as “cozy” and therefore, is operating as walk-up only for now. He is concerned about what it will be like when he opens up for in-store shopping, he said.

Though the numbers of area visitors have not returned to the volume it was pre-pandemic, it’s still a busy area, Kuebler said.

About five or six small businesses line the block-long stretch of sidewalk that has the wall. Two are restaurants that both Stidman and Kuebler described as popular and busy.

“If standing outside social distancing, waiting to access the stores, there’s only about three feet between a passerby,” Kuebler said. “It’s narrow and walled in.”

Being able to take even one step into a parking lane without being blocked by a wall would potentially provide people a better opportunity to maintain a six-foot distance between themselves, Kuebler said.

The area boasts being both a residential neighborhood and small business district, with some of those businesses having a regional draw, Stidman said.

Making 13th Avenue safer for all is just another way to help some local businesses recover from the hardships of the pandemic, Stidman said.

But in general, Stidman added, “one way to support neighborhood business districts is to provide a pedestrian-friendly environment.”

manager of Wax Trax Records

Two people walk westbound toward Pearl Street along the south side of 13th Avenue where a five-foot-wide sidewalk separates storefronts and a three-foot-high concrete wall.

Thirteenth Avenue consists of one parking lane on the north side and three lanes of one-way traffic.

Life On Capitol Hill 5

July 2020

GOING FOR THE GOLD AWARD

Two Denver Girl Scouts implement projects to better their community

By Christy Steadman csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

A couple of East High School class of 2020 graduates have spent the past couple of years dedicated to making a difference in their community.

Fiona Goe, 17, of Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood and Ellie McWhirter, 18, of Denver’s Five Points neighborhood are best friends and have been part of Park Hill-based Girl Scout Troop 3573 since the first and second grade, respectively.

“All the experiences I had in Girl Scouts shaped me into who I am today,” McWhirter said.

These experiences include travelling abroad — namely, to Costa Rica, Italy and Iceland — and lots of opportunities to volunteer in the local community.

“Being a Girl Scout is definitely much more than selling cookies,” Goe said, especially as a Girl Scout gets older.

During their sophomore year in high school, the two started thinking about earning a Girl Scout Gold Award.

The Gold Award is the highest honor a Girl Scout can earn and the culmination of her Girl Scout experience. It is an individual effort, not a troop effort, and not every Girl Scout pursues it.

To earn it, a Girl Scout must complete a large-scale project that solves a community problem — not only in the short-term but for years into the future. It typically takes about two years to complete a Gold Award

Fiona Goe, 17, gives a presentation while working on her Girl Scouts Gold Award project. Goe’s The Informed Voters Project addressed the lack of informed voters among her peers at East High School and in her community.

COURTESY PHOTO project.

Girl Scouts who choose to earn a Gold Award must be passionate, resilient, organized and demonstrate active leadership, said Kaitie LoDolce, manager of Highest Awards for Girl Scouts of Colorado.

“By earning the Gold Award, girls enter into an elite class of women nation-wide who have made a difference,” LoDolce said. “Having

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the Gold Award shows that she is a young woman of courage, confidence and character at the highest level who is committed to making her community and the world a better place.”

The Informed Voters Project Goe’s The Informed Voters Project addressed the lack of informed voters among her peers at East High School and in her community.

Ellie McWhirter, 18, holds up a reusable bag during a photo op for her Girl Scouts Gold Award project. McWhirter had originally planned on implementing take-a-bag/leave-a-bag dispensers at area grocery stores, but the COVID-19 pandemic prevented her from being able to do so. Her project then became more of an awareness campaign and information hub about the dangers of plastic bags.

COURTESY PHOTO Though many are not voting age quite yet, Goe felt that her generation wants to see — and be a part of — change, but many did not know how to go about researching policy and elected officials.

“I cared that my peers will become informed voters,” Goe said, “and find candidates that would represent their beliefs the best.”

To accomplish this, Goe worked

with the League of Women Voters and a political science professor at the University of Denver to create a survey to serve as a tool to help people understand which political party they best align with.

Goe then had a sampling of people — her friends, family members and acquaintances — take the survey.

SEE SCOUTS, P7

6 Life On Capitol Hill

July 2020

Team Sue gathers for a group photo during a previous year’s Jodi’s Race, a fundraiser for the Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance (COCA), which took place virtually this year because of COVID-19. Sue Hester is an ovarian cancer survivor and president of the COCA board.

COURTESY PHOTOS

A rare but deadly disease Ovarian cancer survivors talk the importance of awareness

By Christy Steadman csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

O

varian cancer survivors urge any woman who feels that something is not quite right to “pursue, pursue, pursue” and request that the doctor does enough tests to rule out the possibility of ovarian cancer.

“Ovarian cancer is rare, but deadly,” said Sue Hester, an ovarian cancer survivor and president of the Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance (COCA) board. “It is so scary to be diagnosed with this.”

Hester, a resident of Denver’s Congress Park neighborhood, was diagnosed in January 2010 with stage 3c ovarian cancer. She was 62 — the average age of diagnosis, though it also known that any woman of any age can get ovarian cancer, states COCA’s website.

At the time of her diagnosis, Hester had a 40% survival rate. Since then, she has undergone surgeries and 18 rounds of chemo, and has survived a couple of recurrences.

Hester is now cancer-free, she said, but still gets monitored every three months.

“I don’t think I’ll ever feel completely cured of it,” Hester said.

As its name indicates, ovarian cancer is a growth of abnormal malignant cells that begins in the ovaries.

A woman’s annual gynecological exam does not check for ovarian cancer, the COCA website states. Though there is no diagnostic tool, in 2007, the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance “endorsed a consensus statement on ovarian cancer symptoms” and 95% of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer reported having had one or more of the most common four.

They are bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, urinary urgency or frequency and

Karen Carter is an ovarian cancer survivor and has run in every Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance’s annual Jodi’s Race for Awareness since the race began in 2010. The event was virtual this year, but Carter and her husband John decided to still run at City Park in Denver on June 13, which is when and where the race would have taken place if COVID-19 were not a factor. difficulty eating or feeling full quickly.

Still, these symptoms are also associated with nonlethal conditions, states COCA, such as irritable bowel syndrome, a common disorder that affects the large intestine.

The way ovarian cancer is ruled out — or definitively diagnosed — is through a trans-vaginal ultrasound, pelvic/rectal exam and CA125 blood test, COCA states.

“When you’re diagnosed with cancer, you can feel isolated and frightened,” said Jeanene Smith, 63, of Denver’s Wellshire neighborhood. “This carries through to caregivers and loved ones — there is no instruction manual. But meeting others helps you realize you’re not alone.”

Smith is a 21-year ovarian cancer survivor and has served as the race director for COCA’s annual Jodi’s Race for Awareness for the past four years.

As the largest fundraiser for COCA, a SEE OVARIAN CANCER, P7

Jeanene Smith is the race director for the Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance’s annual Jodi’s Race for Awareness. The annual race is the biggest fundraiser for the organization.

LEARN MORE The Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance (COCA), a nonprofit organization, has a variety of resources and programs for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer and their caregivers/loved ones.

R s

Life On Capitol Hill 7

July 2020

Scouts FROM PAGE 5

Runners gather at Denver’s City Park for Jodi’s Race for Awareness in a previous year. This year, the event took place virtually because the survivors are at high risk for COVID-19. Jodi’s Race is the largest annual fundraiser for the Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance. COURTESY PHOTOS

Ovarian Cancer FROM PAGE 6

nonprofit, a typical Jodi’s Race at Denver’s City Park will have a turnout of at least 3,000 people, Smith said. It includes a variety of activities such as a breakfast, music, a family fun zone, an expo and, of course, the race which is offered as a 5K or one-mile loop around the park’s lake.

This year, it took place virtually on June 13. Cancer survivors are at high risk for COVID-19.

By June 10, more than 1,100 people had registered for the virtual event. Participants received a Virtual Dash package — along with many other goodies, everyone got a branded Jodi’s Race T-shirt, remembrance participants got forget-me-not seeds to plant to memorialize a loved one lost to ovarian cancer, and survivors got a strand of teal beads for every year since their diagnosis.

Jodi’s Race got its start in June 2010, and since, has become a time to bring awareness to ovarian cancer, raise funds for COCA’s various programs and for both memorializing loved ones and celebrating survivors, Smith said.

“We wanted to provide that Jodi’s Race experience at home, with love, since we can’t all be together,” Smith said.

A live-stream watch party took place in the morning, and some participants, such

as Karen Carter of Denver’s Cheesman Park neighborhood, did their own form of a race in replace of the in-person gathering.

Carter, 64, has always been a runner and started participating in triathlons in 1999.

She was diagnosed with stage 2c ovarian cancer in 2009 and has run in every Jodi’s Race.

Carter is also involved with COCA’s Carol’s Wish Financial Navigation Program.

There are women diagnosed with ovarian cancer who face financial difficulties for treatment in part because of being underinsured or not insured at all, Carter said.

“Our goal is that nobody foregoes treatment because of financial reasons,” she added.

Not to be confused with the COCA Cares program — which provides a grant to women diagnosed with ovarian cancer who are living at the poverty level to help with living expenses — Carol’s Wish is a program for which women diagnosed with ovarian cancer meet with advocates to review “current medical coverage and clinical treatment plan and, if needed, work together to create a new, personalized strategy to minimize your financial burden going forward,” states the Carol’s Wish website.

“This is probably the most meaningful work I’ve ever done,” Carter said. “Truly, my big reward is helping these ladies through the journey that I faced 11 years ago.”

It is life-saving work, Carter added.

“I don’t know of anything more rewarding than that.”

Sue Hester, an ovarian cancer survivor and president of the Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance (COCA) board, carries a Team Sue sign during a previous year’s Jodi’s Race. The race is the organization’s biggest annual fundraiser, and because of COVID-19 it took place virtually this year.

DID YOU KNOW...

Source: Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance

The results were surprising to some of the participants, Goe said. For example, one version of her survey focused on candidates for the Denver mayoral election.

“My grandpa had one candidate in mind,” Goe said. “However, after he took my survey, he was surprised to find that his chosen candidate did not represent the majority of his views.”

Goe’s survey will fulfill the Gold Award’s requirement of being sustainable in two ways. The first is she created a website to house the survey, and the website also includes information on how to move forward with becoming an informed voter. Secondly, every future student at East High School will take the survey in civics class, a course required for graduation.

Goe said completing her Gold Award project and the finished product are rewarding, adding “it was good to see my friends taking the survey and engaging in politics.”

Plastic Bag Awareness Project McWhirter’s Plastic Bag Awareness Project began with the concept of a reusable bag exchange. She had launched a website and was in the midst of arranging with local grocery stores to host the bag exchange dispensers.

Then COVID-19 hit, and the grocery stores said they were no longer able to work with her.

“I was upset because I had worked so hard,” McWhirter said. “But I decided to make it more of an information hub, rather than an interactive project.”

McWhirter built up her website with information on the impacts that plastic bags have on the environment, and solutions that everyone can do to help lessen the impact such as how to make a reusable bag.

“I have a solid project as is,” McWhirter said, “but I’d still like to implement my original project to help my community more.”

To do this, McWhirter plans on looking into connecting with younger Girl Scout troops and/or other clubs to generate interest in carrying her project on.

Still, the project fulfills the sustainability requirement with its website, but also through working with the Park Hill food bank, one of the places where McWhirter’s Girl Scout Troop had previously volunteered.

Early on in implementing her project, McWhirter received a donation of about 300-500 reusable bags from the Colorado Convention Center.

McWhirter remembered that the Park Hill food bank uses primarily plastic bags when clients pick up food.

On her Plastic Bag Awareness Project website, McWhirter directs people to donate any extra reusable bags to the food bank, and the food bank in turn can track the impact of McWhirter’s project through the donations.

Plus, McWhirter added, the food bank will now be able to provide reusable bags to their clients.

Earning a Gold Award may seem scary at first to some Girl Scouts, Goe said, because of the amount of work and dedication it requires.

“But it’s awesome. You get to design a project, lead a team and see change in your community,” Goe said. “I would encourage any girl to complete it (Gold Award) and stick with Girl Scouts.”

McWhirter agreed.

“I loved being a part of something,” she said of her Girl Scout experience.

“Being a Girl Scout helped me stay on the right path. So, if you have a daughter, put her in Girl Scouts. And if you are a daughter, join the Girl Scouts.”

8 Life On Capitol Hill

July 2020

LOCAL

VOICES

W

Fun foods of July

hen most Americans think of July holidays, it is the Fourth of July that comes to mind.

But there are actually quite a few unofficial holidays and fun theme days in the month.

They range from Cheer Up the Lonely Day on July 11 to Shark Awareness Day on July 14. Others are quite unusual, such as Take Your Houseplant For a Walk Day. I’m not sure who would take a houseplant for a walk, but just in case you feel that your fern needs a little extra sunshine and fresh air, July 27 is the day take it for a walk.

Michael Kerr is an international business trainer.

On his website titled Humor At Work, www.HumoratWork.com, he provides a list of some of the “fun, wacky, offbeat, unusual” and strange holidays and theme days that can be celebrated each month.

“Recognizing these theme days is a very simple way to bring a little fun and humor into your workplace and create some rituals and traditions to help strengthen your workplace culture,” states the website.

Though some companies are beginning to open up to host their employees again, not everybody works in an office setting. But everybody’s got to eat, so I have decided to focus on the fun foods of July.

FROM THE EDITOR

Christy Steadman

It kicks off with Deep Fried Clams Day on July 1 and concludes with Avocado Day on July 31. In between there’s French Fries Day on July 13 and probably my personal favorite, Cheesecake Day on July 30.

If you like chicken, then July is the month for you.

July 6 is Fried Chicken Day, International Chicken Wing Day is July 29 and July 30 is Chicken and Waffles Day. Not sure if the latter are meant to be eaten together, but perhaps the month’s oddest pairing is strawberry rhubarb wine and caviar, both which have their day on July 18.

The kids will enjoy Macaroni and Cheese Day on July 14, and adults of age for legal alcohol consumption has an excuse to drink a couple of piña coladas on July 10.

Those with a sweet tooth should not fear that July has nothing for them. Enjoy gummy worms on July 15 and lollipops on July 20. Chocolate lovers can get their fill of that sweet treat on July 7 and July 28. Go out for ice cream on July 19, but if that is something you cannot wait for, celebrate Make Your Own Sundae Day on July 11.

Speaking of July 11, I would be remiss if I did not SEE EDITOR, P9

My office’s candy bowl has been restocked to welcome us back to the workplace. July 7 and July 28 are the two fun theme days this month that celebrate chocolate.

CHRISTY STEADMAN

A right that all citizens of the U.S. are entitled to

T Farmers markets are opening but are taking precautions – such as restricting the number of customers allowed to shop at any one time and controlling the flow of traffic — in their operations. Pictured is Golden Acre Farm selling produce at the South Pearl Street Farmers Market in June.

COURTESY OF BRIEN DARBY

Exploring Denver’s farmers markets GUEST COLUMN Brien Darby

I

f you have spent your time in Colorado living in Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs, or a similar urban area, you may not know that our state is one of the top producers of both commodity and specialty crops in the United States.

Locally and throughout the nation, we are known for our chilis, melons, potatoes, orchard crops and beef. And this is to say nothing of the commodities, such as wheat, sugar beets and sorghum, that are used as ingredients in other foods we purchase at the grocery store.

While Denver is not an area known for agricultural production, the city is located within 50 miles of most of the top-producing counties in Colorado. As a result, our farmers markets are stocked with the best agricultural products the

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state has to offer.

Each day of the week, there are multiple markets and farm stands to choose from, just in the Denver metro area. Both the Colorado Department of Agriculture and the Colorado Farmers Market Association publish lists on their websites with market times and locations for the state.

During the current COVID-19 pandemic, these organizations have also worked closely with market managers to make them as safe as possible for vendors and customers. In addition to the standard requirement to wear a mask and wash your hands frequently, each market is restricting the number of customers allowed to SEE MARKETS, P9

he Black American West Museum & Heritage Center acknowledges the long history of injustice, immorality and police brutality that has taken place in this nation for over 400 years.

From George Floyd to Breonna Taylor to Ahmaud Arbury and a litany of others. We have seen the eroding of GUEST COLUMN civil respect toward Black lives.

Throughout our bloody history, there has The board of been a desire to be recognized as first-class citizens in this country. This recognition is not a directors, advisory but a right that all citizens of the United board and volunteers dream States of America are entitled. Freedom from of the Black oppression is the ability to say, “I can breathe, I can live my life as I want it to be, I am not afraid American West when I am stopped by police that my life is in Museum & Heritage danger.”

The Black American West Museum & HeriCenter tage Center stands in support with the protestors and the community to fight against racial injustice, which goes against the core values held by the Black American West Museum.

Racial inequality, social injustice, and the lack of equity, access and inclusion for African Americans has been the norm for America for centuries. This is not political, but a cultural disease that must be addressed in all aspects of our society.

From the outcries heard from the protestors, silence is no longer an option. Our voices must be heard as we march toward the eradication of racism in these United States of America.

The Black American West Museum & Heritage Center’s volunteers, board members and advisory board stand in support of the movement, and are committed to social justice initiatives through its “storytelling” of the contributions made by African Americans, leveraging the power of African Americans’ history and culture for action and change. We support all the individuals who are fighting for the rights of African Americans in the United States and around the World.

The Black American West Museum & Heritage Center is a volunteerrun organization located at 3091 California St. in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood. Learn more at https://www.bawmhc.org/.

JERRY HEALEY President

ERIN ADDENBROOKE Marketing Consultant

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Life On Capitol Hill 9

July 2020

Denver metro area residents talk dating during COVID-19 Residents are finding creative ways to date during the pandemic

By Joseph Rios jrios@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Townsend Wenzler of Arvada is just getting used to his new home.

Wenzler, 23, moved out to Colorado from Arkansas at the beginning of the year, and he came only knowing a few family members and friends who live in the state.

And as COVID-19 closed social places where Wenzler would go to look to find people to date, him and other residents throughout the Denver metro area turned to dating apps like Hinge, Bumble and Tinder to meet other people.

“I don’t think it’s anything crazy, it’s just how it is, and young people are young and dumb and going insane and just wanting to branch out and meet each other. It’s impossible without the bars, so thank God for dating apps,” said Wenzler.

Since mid-March, apps like Tinder and Bumble, where users swipe through a feed of profiles to see who is interested in them, have seen an uptick in use.

BBC reported that on March 29, Tinder users made 3 billion swipes worldwide — a record for the app. Other apps like Bumble reported that it saw a 16% increase in messages sent during the week ending on May 1 as opposed to the week ending on March 13.

Bumble also has a voice call and video chat feature and reported that it saw a near 70% increase in video calls during the week ending on May 1 in comparison to the week ending on March 13.

Wenzler had a date over to his home that -he met on XXX to cook her dinner during the pandemic. He said he thinks people are bored, and because of that, he believes residents his d age aren’t afraid to forgo social distancing recommendations.

“Half of you wants to social distance, while the other part of you is going insane. I had more success (dating) toward the end of (the

Editor FROM PAGE 8

mention another wildly popular day in July — Free Slurpee Day. Taking place annually on July 11, or, 7-11, this is the day that you get to go into any 7-Eleven and get a free Slurpee in honor of the convenience store’s birthday.

This year, however, it will happen a bit differently. USA TODAY reported in mid-June that 7-Eleven is cancelling its in-store celebra-

,

Markets FROM PAGE 8

shop at any one time and controlling the flow of traffic within the market.

In a recent visit to the Pearl Street Market — open on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. — I noted four separate entrances to the market, which were each monitored by volunteers allowing customers in as others exited. Once inside, taped arrows on the pavement directed traffic.

While I missed the free samples, vendors were more than happy to allow customers to select the desired bundle of carrots or basket of peas that would then be bagged by the vendor.

Some vendors offered preorder options allowing customers to reduce the amount of time in the market.

My family and I only had to wait five minutes to enter and we were able to reconnect with all our favorite farmers and vendors from

stay-at-home order) just because initially, people were more freaked out and less willing to go on dates with people they didn’t know,” said Wenzler.

A different way of meeting people Meredith Gerdes of Denver also uses Bumble to meet other people for dating. She believes residents who are looking to date are realizing how dependent they are on bars and restaurants to meet someone.

“The important message to bring across is no one is meeting anyone in a normal setting,” she said.

Gerdes said dating during the pandemic is restoring a safer environment for women to meet men. She said before the pandemic, some of her friends would go over to men’s houses after their only interactions were on Bumble.

“Rather than meeting someone with dimmed lights and alcohol at a restaurant or bar, you’re meeting in the park in broad daylight. It’s kind of cool because you are forced to be put into a different environment, so therefore, it could almost change the dynamic for whatever the relationship might be,” Gerdes said.

Gerdes has gone on a date to a park with a man who she met on Bumble during the COVID-19 era. She also added that before the pandemic, she met a man on Bumble who was visiting from San Diego, and although he is back in California, the two have been facetiming and getting to know each other more.

“I am abiding to social distancing, and it has helped me learn more about myself. I feel good coming out of this knowing what I want and getting to learn more about myself,” said Gerdes. “I think COVID-19 has enabled (residents) to get to know each other more.”

Forming a new relationship during the pandemic Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, Sam Whitley met his now girlfriend Chelsea Benavides through a friend. The two went out together to a restaurant, hit it off and decided they wanted to go out together again.

But COVID-19 forced restaurants to close, so Whitley and Benavides ordered take-out food and ate together at a park.

SEE DATING, P19

tion of Free Slurpee Day to help with social distancing measures in place because of the coronavirus. Instead, 7-Eleven is offering its 7Rewards loyalty program members a coupon for a free medium Slurpee, USA TODAY reported.

Though you have to sign up to become a member of the 7Rewards loyalty program, there is an upside to this: The free Slurpee coupon is redeemable at anytime in July, so you won’t have to wait among all the others seeking a free Slurpee to get your fix of that sweet, frozen beverage on a hot summer’s day.

past seasons. Be sure to check the market’s website before attending for social distancing requirements that will be unique to each space.

Payment at farmers markets varies widely.

Some locations use “market bucks,” which are purchased prior to entering the market and are accepted by all vendors. At other markets, individual vendors accept payment directly, usually through card or cash, but it is increasingly common to see payment platforms like Venmo and PayPal being accepted.

If you are a customer who qualifies for Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, many markets accept EBT cards. Most markets that accept EBT cards also participate in Double Up Food Bucks, a program that provides extra incentives and price breaks for SNAP users.

Regardless of your payment method, Colorado farmers need our support now. Shop local and reap the rewards!

Brien Darby is the manager of the Denver Botanic Gardens’ Urban Food Programs

Townsend Wenzler swipes through the Bumble dating app outside his Arvada home on June 4. Dating apps like Bumble have reported that they have seen more users since the pandemic started.

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10 Life On Capitol Hill

July 2020

Reading, making, exploring with Denver Public Library Youth invited to participate in Summer of Adventure through Aug. 8

By Christy Steadman csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Y

Denver Public Library’s 2020 Summer of Adventure takes place until Aug. 8, with registration closing on July 31. The program includes a variety of learning-based activities that allows youths to read, make and explore.

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Twins have their photo taken during a past year’s Denver Public Library summer programming. This year, the Summer of Adventure program takes place remotely, but still offers youths the opportunity to engage in reading, making and exploring during the summer. COURTESY OF DENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY

LEARN MORE Denver Public Library’s Summer of Adventure kicked off on June 1 and concludes on Aug. 8.

Registration to participate in the program closes on July 31. Completion prize pickup is available from July 31 to Aug. 31.

The Summer of Adventure program brochure and Adventure Guide is available online to download or print, or the library can mail it.

To learn more about the Summer of Adventure program, or to register, visit https://denverlibraryadventures.org/or call the library at 720-865-1111.

ouths enjoy talking with library staff and their peers about the books they’re reading or what they’re making and creating for the Summer of Adventure program.

This year, because of COVID-19 and social distancing, those conversations may not take place in a library setting, said Michelle Jeske, executive director of the Denver Public Library, but she still expects them to happen.

No matter if they’re occurring with a neighbor, parent/caregiver or sibling, it’s priceless when youths talk with others about their passions, Jeske said.

“Kids, like all people, have a variety of interests,” Jeske said. “The books and activities (part of the Summer of Adventure program) will still provide the opportunity to strike up those conversations.”

Denver Public Library has been putting on some sort of summer reading program for at least 50 years, said Yanira Duarte, program coordinator for Summer of Adventure. Its current form came about in 2006, she said, when the library changed the program to include a variety of activities to engage youths, as well as reading.

This year, the Denver Public Library’s Summer of Adventure program continues with its “reading, making, exploring” concept, and a big part of that is choice, Duarte said.

“Choice is important because all kids can participate and build on various skills,” she said.

In addition, providing options “offers the type of learning they want to do in the summer.”

Some youths love reading, and others prefer to build or create something, Duarte said.

“They still have to use literary skills in some way,” she said, “it’s just integrated differently.”

For example, Duarte said, if a youth is cooking, they will need to read a recipe. Or, if they’re building a robot, they have to read the instructions on how to assemble it.

Summer of Adventure kicked off on June 1 and concludes on Aug. 8. Activities are available for birth through 12th grade, and range from attending a virtual storytime for a pre-schooler to designing a 3D object or baking muffins for elementary-school age children and virtual roleplaying games for teens.

The Summer of Adventure program is particularly valuable because some youth scan lose up to two months of academic progress when not engaged in learning-based activities during the summer, Jeske said.

“Parents are juggling a lot this year,” Jeske said, including some in a work-from-home environment, for example. “The Summer of Adventure program can help keep kids engaged in productive and fun activities.”

All youths who register and participate in the Summer of Adventure program will receive a free Foldscope, which can be mailed. A Foldscope is a paper microscope “designed to be portable and durable, while performing on par with conventional research microscopes,” states the library’s website.

Participants who complete 15 activities earn a completion prize, which is a free book. Additionally, participants are entered in weekly drawings to win gift cards to local businesses or family passes to local cultural institutions.

Denver Public Library also has a number of activities for adults to participate in this summer, Duarte said. These include activities part of the Summer of Adventure: The Prequel, which was intended to precede the Summer of Adventure but because of its popularity, the library has decided to keep it available; and the Maker Challenge, of which all library locations are participating and continues through Aug. 8.

Though the library’s doors may be physically closed because of COVID-19, the library is still a place for community, Duarte said.

“Here at the library, it’s not just about books,” Duarte said. “It’s about relationships and community.”

Life On Capitol Hill 11

July 2020

DOCUMENTATION EFFORTS History Colorado History Colorado is collecting journals, voicemails and other artifacts, with a focus on first-person narratives.

Visit www.historycolorado.org/covid-19 for more information. Some documents have already been added to History Colorado’s online collection. They can be viewed at: 5008.sydneyplus. com/HistoryColorado_ ArgusNet_Final/Portal. aspx?

This image of empty grocery stores shelves in Arvada is part of History Colorado’s online database of COVID-19-related photographs.

COURTESY OF HISTORY COLORADO

This photo of two signs on the door of the former Cart Driver pizza restaurant in the RiNo neighborhood, informing customers of the restaurant’s closure due to COVID-19, is part of the library’s collection of images documenting COVID-19’s impact on the Denver area.

Denver Public Library The Denver Public Library has collected photos, menus and other materials. Many of those materials have been published to its Digital Collections site at digital.denverlibrary.org.

COURTESY OF LAURA HERMANSTORFER VIA DENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY

Documenting a pandemic in Denver Denver-area archivists chronicling this time

By Paul Albani-Burgio palbaniburgio@coloradocommunitymedia.com

W

hen six-year-old Noah Alpert decided to express his feelings about his life during the COVID-19 pandemic in a song, he never could have imagined that song would someday end up in the collection of a major historical museum.

Yet that’s just where it is now, thanks to a new effort underway at History Colorado to document the pandemic’s impact on Colorado that is finding material worth saving in the most unexpected places.

The Denver historical society, which operates the History Colorado Center downtown, launched its COVID-19 collecting project in late March, when it posted a message on its website asking Colorado residents to share stories about the experiences with COVID-19 with it. The post explained that the museum was giving residents a variety of means to do so ranging from answering a series of survey questions online to creating a journal and then submitting it to the museum.

Although the collection process (like the crisis itself) is still ongoing, senior curator Alisa DiGiacomo said several themes and commonalities have already begun to emerge from the impressive amount of material that has already been collected.

“It’s clear the commonalities as far as the people that have responded,” she said. “That feeling of isolation, which for the people who haven’t necessarily been directly affected is also mixed with gratitude as far as tragedy, but still who are in isolation and getting used to the new normal. We’ve also had interesting submissions from children, which it’s fascinating to see that perspective and to, for example, know that students miss school and that they now have a different perspective of missing what they took for granted and being in the classroom.”

That said, there are still some perspectives that DiGiacomo feels still need to be brought into the growing collection.

“Part of what we know is missing is what I would call the more tragic stories whether it’s somebody that’s been directly affected

by COVID or lost a family member or had financial hardship,” said DiGiacomo. “Those are some of the stories that we know will

be coming but we know that it takes a little time.”

Closed signs collected History Colorado, however, will be just one of several institutions where future generations will be able to find documents and other artifacts from this current crisis.

At the Jefferson County Archives, archivist Ronda Frasier said her efforts have focused on county government communications related to the crisis.

“I have just been basically gathering and saving all of the communications that have been put out by the county commissioners and Jeffco Public Health,” said Frasier. “That includes both everything that has gone to the public as well as everything that has gone to employees.”

Just across the street from the History Colorado Center on North Broadway, the Denver Public Library has also been working to document the local impact of COVID-19, albeit by with a slightly different approach.

After learning that History Colorado planned to focus on collecting journals and other oral histories, the library’s Western Histories and Genealogy Department decided it would work to document the impact on businesses by having staff go out in their own neighborhoods to take pictures of closed signs at local businesses from throughout the city. They also collected several take-out menus from restaurants that provide a different look at the impact on the restaurant industry.

“It was pretty ephemeral because most of those signs are now gone and those businesses are now open,” said Jamie Seemiller, the department’s Acquisitions Archivist. “So, it was just trying to document how that short time period affected neighborhoods and businesses in those neighborhoods.”

At the Golden History Museum and Park in Golden, curator Mark Dodge put out a call to the Golden community asking them to consider and submit suggestions for how that museum should document the pandemic. Some of the suggestions have included N-95 masks, a copy of Jefferson County’s Public Health Orders and even hand sanitizer and toilet paper.

Dodge said in a post on the museum’s website that it has already added a homemade face mask, along with dozens of photos of downtown Golden taken on March 18, to its collection.

Colorado State University’s libraries, meanwhile, are focusing their collection efforts on documenting the impact of the pan-

demic on the school’s Fort Collins campus.

“We are interested in your stories about the shift to remote instruction and learning, studying and working from home, working at off-campus jobs, the impact of closing residence halls and other campus services, and the ways you and your friends and family are staying in touch during the pandemic,” reads a post on the library’s website.

In addition to collecting photos and signs to document COVID-19, Seemiller said the library has also aimed to document the historic Black Lives Matter protests that recently took place around the Colorado State Capitol just blocks away from the museum.

Protests also being documented One morning, a photographer visited the area around the Capitol before protesting had resumed to document the pro-BlackLives-Matter graffiti that now covered the capitol and several surrounding buildings.

Another staff member, who lives in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, later collected around 30 protest signs that will be digitized and made available online. The library also has some videos of the protesting, although Seemiller said staff will blur out the faces of those captured on the video to protect their privacy.

Documenting the protests has presented particular challenges, Seemiller said.

“When we documented the Women’s Marches over the last few years, we had a

table set up down there and we would tell people to donate their stuff and have them fill out our forms,” said Seemiller. “But this one moved so quickly that he kind of just found abandoned signs so we don’t always know the complete story behind each sign like we did with the Women’s March.”

The library’s archiving activities have also been further complicated by COVID-19 itself, which has kept staff away from their office’s since March.

Someday, researchers might examine the various COVID-19 collections being amassed across the state alongside institutions collections of material from the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, which tend to be more limited. Seemiller said the library’s collection includes records of who died as well as obituaries.

History Colorado’s material, mostly consists of newspapers from the pandemic that are contained in its extensive newspaper archive. However, the museum also recently had the opportunity to acquire the trunk of a woman who died in that pandemic.

DiGiacomo, however, expects the museum’s COVID-19 collection to be much richer than its Spanish Flu collection for one key reason.

“The biggest difference is that we do not have material as rich as far as the first-hand experience as we have the opportunity to collect right now,” she said.

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July 2020

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Life On Capitol Hill 13

July 2020

A passerby looks at the artwork part of a pop-up community art display called Re-imagine Safety. The event took place on June 15 in front of Denver’s City and County Building, and was organized by the Anti-Racist Club and RedLine Contemporary Art Center.

PHOTOS BY CHRISTY STEADMAN

Toluwanimi Obiwole reads an original poem during a pop-up community art display event on June 15. The event was organized by the Anti-Racist Club and RedLine Contemporary Art Center. Find Obiwole’s work on Instagram: @toluwaob.

Keeping systemic racism at the forefront of conversation New club partners with art community to implement art installation in front of Denver’s City and County Building

By Christy Steadman csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

A Talaya Banks reads an original poem during a pop-up community art display event on June 15. The event was organized by the Anti-Racist Club and RedLine Contemporary Art Center. Find Banks’ work on Instagram: @ Sunlight Quartz.

Isaiah Ulla signs a poster board at an event put on by the Anti-Racist Club and RedLine Contemporary Art Center. The event took place in front of the Denver City and County Building downtown on June 15.

rt has a way of influencing change.

“Artists have always been at the forefront of being thoughtful and creative on how we bring about change,” said JC Futrell, director of education at RedLine Contemporary Art Center, a nonprofit located in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood.

To provide people with an access point to further educate themselves on the Black Lives Matter movement, and to celebrate the work that’s being done toward social change, RedLine partnered with a new, local organization called the Anti-Racist Club to implement a community art display in front of Denver’s City and County Building. The Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, an organization that “provides grants and fellowships to advance the arts and inspire creative leadership in Denver,” states its website, was also involved with the event.

The art installation went up on June 15.

The event included the artwork display, a few speeches and poetry readings. As of June 14 — which was when RedLine provided space to any community artist who wanted to create artwork for the display — about 100 pieces of original art were submitted, and the art came from across Colorado and even a couple of other states, Futrell said.

June 15, a Monday, was the chosen day for the art installation to go up so that Denver’s City Council could see the community’s input on the city’s discussions surrounding the future of policing and safety in Denver, Futrell said.

The city had given its permission for the art installation, and it will remain in its location in front of the City and County Building, 1437 Bannock St., for an indefinite period of time. It is Futrell’s hope that people not only take the opportunity to view the art, but also build on it with their own submissions.

Local artist Leticia Tanguma looks over her work as displayed for a pop-up community art display that took place in front of Denver’s City and County Building on June 15.

LEARN MORE The Anti-Racist Club can be found on Facebook at theantiracistclub, and Instagram at @antiracistclubco.

To learn more about RedLine Contemporary Art Center, visit www.redlineart.org.

Co-organized by Katie Leonard, Daria Eisner and Torrence Brown-Smith, the Denver-based Anti-Racist Club got its start in early June. As of the June 15 event, the club had about 2,000 registered members, Leonard said.

Its mission, Leonard said, is “to keep systemic racism at the forefront of conversation through education and civic engagement.”

“There are a lot of conversations about policy (and) we’re on the heels of a lot of momentum,” Leonard said. “We’re all collectively feeling something. Art cuts right to the chase. It moves people and can reach them in a way that words sometimes can’t.”

JC Futrell, director of education at RedLine Contemporary Art Center, assists Louise Martorano, executive director of RedLine, set up Martorano’s artwork for a pop-up community art display on June 15.

14 Life On Capitol Hill

July 2020

‘They are cheering for us to succeed’ Denver-based Iconic Medical Group donates face shields to local restaurants

donated to local restaurants, said Ellen Marchman, who served as media relations for the event.

Each independent restaurant was provided one box of face shields per restaurant location. For example, Marchman said, Illegal Pete’s is a locally-owned restaurant chain with nine locations throughout Denver, Boulder and Fort

By Christy Steadman Collins. Therefore, they received nine csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com boxes, totaling 900 face shields for their operations, Marchman said.

Yasu Kizaki believes the survival of “We’re mainly doing it for the independent restaurants is critical. kitchen” staff, said Shasta Kibe, manager “Restaurants create a unique characof Bastien’s Restaurant in Denver’s City ter of a city,” Kizaki said, who co-owns Park neighborhood.

Sushi Den, Izakaya Den and Ototo Den Chefs and cooks spend hours next to with his brother. “People look forward to dining out (at local restaurants) when a grill that can get up to 700 degrees or more, Kibe said. A face shield, which they travel.”

But not only do restaurants contribute provides just as good — if not better — protection from any potential spread of to the tourism industry, many other the coronavirus, is a much better alterindustries rely on restaurants, Kizaki native to a mask in those said. Namely, ranchers and temperatures, Kibe said. farmers, and suppliers and LEARN MORE But aside from that, she distributers, he added. added, restaurants serve “If we go down, all that Iconic Medical the general public and “the goes down with us,” Kizaki Group is a new, more we can do to protect said.

Denver-based each other is a good thing.”

Surviving on a take-out manufacturing and Clinton Manzzo, execuonly model was difficult, and distributing comtive chef for West of Surthe need to adhere to certain pany. Miguel Sosa, render, a new restaurant social distancing measures CEO and founder, located on the 16th Street upon reopening further adds estimated that by to the challenge, Kizaki said. July, the company Mall, agreed.

“We opened in SeptemSo to help independent will have made at Denver-metro restaurants least five million face ber, just before everything hit,” he said, “but we reopen with the proper proshields since openwanted to keep going.” tocols, Kizaki and Denvering in May. Iconic’s The restaurant stayed based Iconic Medical Group products — including opened for take out, and partnered to provide face protective eyewear, participated in meal shields to any local restauhand sanitizer and donations for teachers, first rant in need. face shields — are responders and medical “I love our restaurants, available for purpersonnel through the and I want to make sure they chase by the public. pandemic. However, can open safely,” said Miguel To learn more, visit Manzzo added, West of Sosa, CEO and founder of www.iconicmedicalSurrender is family owned Iconic. “Americans have a group.com. and operated so all supremarkable way of innovatplies, including those that ing their way out of a crisis provide protection from spreading the when they come together and work virus, comes out-of-pocket. together.”

Local restaurants have been hit hard On June 11, Iconic brought 200 boxes by the COVID-19 pandemic, Kizaki filled with 100 face shields each to Sushi said.

Den’s rooftop in Platt Park to donate to “This is a little bit of good news,” any independent restaurant that came Kizaki said of the face shield donations. by during the approximate three-hour “They (Iconic) are cheering for us to distribution period. succeed.”

In total, 19,000 face shields were

Miguel Sosa, CEO and founder of Denver-based Iconic Medical Group, stands in front of a stack of boxes containing 100 face shields each. Iconic partnered with Yasu Kizaki, owner of Sushi Den, to donate 20,000 face shields to the Denver metro area’s independent restaurants.

Yasu Kizaki, right, owner of Sushi Den, talks with Clinton Manzzo, executive chef for West of Surrender, a new restaurant on the 16th Street Mall, as Manzzo picks up a box of 100 face shields donated by Iconic Medical Group.

PHOTOS BY CHRISTY STEADMAN

Tarah Moya, right, picks up a box of 100 face shields from representatives of the Iconic Medical Group on June 11 for Vice Kitchen Wine Whiskey, a restaurant in Golden.

Bryan Zink, left, lead designer for Iconic Medical Group, shows Shasta Kibe, manager of Bastien’s Restaurant in Denver’s City Park neighborhood, how to get the donated face shields ready for use.

Life On Capitol Hill 15

July 2020

‘We will take what we can get’ Retired Denver Broncos spokesman talks significance of sports in city

By Jim Benton jbenton@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Denver is the smallest of the 13 U.S. cities with four professional sports teams in the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Hockey League and National Basketball Association.

But is Denver really a sports city?

Let’s ask somebody who should know.

Jim Saccomano was born and raised in Denver. He went to Mount Carmel High School, has two degrees from Metropolitan State University of Denver and earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Colorado.

Saccomano worked as the public relations chief for the Denver Bears and was the highly respected Denver Broncos vice president of public relations for 36 years before retiring in 2013.

“It’s a knee-jerk answer, but sports are very important in Denver,” Saccomano said. “Sometimes we just get used to things and take them for granted. Like on those cool summer nights, I step outside on my deck and I say, ‘Oh, what a beautiful night this would be at Coors Field.’”

He added that people work hard, and that’s one reason sports talk shows are so big.

“People are driving home from work and they listen to those shows,” Saccomano said. “Then you come home, have dinner and sports are all on TV. It’s a diversion. Everybody works hard enough and it’s a wonderful thing for them to say, ‘Now, I’m watching my team.’ Sports are very important and I’ll be glad to have it back.”

Saccomano believes sports — on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic — will be back in the near future.

“I just hope we play this fall and have fans when we can,” said Saccomano. “Right now, we will take what we can get. Everybody is going to have to adjust — the fans, the press, the teams, the players — and then we’ll see. It’s an adjustment for all of us and just shows us that nothing ever stays the same.”

Reminiscing on Denver’s sports history Saccomano — with a little encouragement — remembered way too much of Denver’s sports history to reminiscence in this column. But here are a few of his thoughts about baseball, onetime Broncos owner Gerald Phipps, erstwhile Broncos owner Edgar Kaiser and Broncos quarterbacks John Elway and Peyton Manning.

“Denver was always a baseball town,” Saccomano pointed out.

“Denver had a professional team in 1895. You think about it, and how the heck are you going someplace in 1895? By wagon? Five guys in a wagon? Three miles seems like a pretty good trek on a wagon.”

Saccomano remembered being shown the newspaper when Denver became a Triple A franchise from the Western League.

“The headline type was so big, almost as big as ‘War in Europe Over,’” Saccomano said. He added that “baseball was big, and the dog races. Sounds crazy now, but in the ‘50s, that was a really big thing. There wasn’t that much in Denver — the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo, and the Denver Bears, which were an affiliate of the Yankees and Tigers, and had great success.”

And what about the Broncos? Saccomano was once quoted as saying, “the Broncos are the state religion in Colorado and are the soul of the city.”

“When the Broncos came, I always felt historically that they were terrible,” admitted Saccomano. “Then in about 1964, they almost moved to Atlanta. The ownership group was going to sell to Atlanta, and then Gerry Phipps excuses himself from a meeting, goes across the street to a bank, borrows a million dollars and comes back and buys out his partners. Then Phipps owned the Broncos.”

Saccomano added that season tickets sales were in the 5,000to-7,000 range.

“And then after a terrible year, when they didn’t move and were saved, there were 22,000 season tickets in (the) 35,000-seat Bears Stadium,” Saccomano said. “The Broncos just became enormous and set the stage for the Nuggets — which were originally the Rockets — and the other sports.”

Two other significant moves include owner Edgar Kaiser arranging the trade to get quarterback John Elway to Denver in 1983, and Elway enticing quarterback Peyton Manning to play for the Broncos before the 2012 season.

“Kaiser deserves a lot of credit for what he did to get Elway,”

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Jim Saccomano served as the vice president of public relations for the Denver Broncos for 36 years before retiring in 2013.

ERIC LARS BAKKE 2009

said Saccomano. “Everybody was thinking he would be traded, but they were thinking Raiders and Al Davis, or the Chargers.

That statue at the airport of Wally Schirra, no offense what so ever, but that could easily be John Elway. If you say Denver internationally, they say, ‘Oh Elway, Broncos.’”

Elway, as Broncos president of football operations, signed Manning as a free agent.

“I remember sitting in the press conference room,” Saccomano said, “waiting for the Manning press conference and Les Shapiro said to me, ‘You know, I’ve sat in this room for so many press conferences and I just can’t believe in a few minutes, Peyton Manning will walk in these doors.’”

SEE SACCOMANO, P19

16 Life On Capitol Hill

July 2020

12 metro police agencies joined Denver during protests Tactics, use-of-force rules differed among departments; tactics draw rebuke from federal judge

By David Gilbert dgilbert@coloradocommunitymedia.com

In the days after protests against racial injustice and police brutality first broke out in Denver on May 28, the Denver Police Department called in backup from a dozen metro-area law enforcement agencies, each bringing their own equipment, tactics and use-of-force regulations.

City police departments and county sheriff ’s offices in Arapahoe, Douglas, Jefferson, Adams and Broomfield counties assisted in Denver.

As police and protesters clashed, with some protesters vandalizing or destroying property or throwing objects at police, officers deployed a variety of crowd-control methods, including firing “less-lethal munitions” at protesters, and deploying tear gas and flash-bang devices.

How Denver police oversaw and coordinated the response and crowd-control methods of officers from numerous agencies is difficult to determine — the department did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Colorado Community Media.

But in a rebuke of police tactics, federal District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson issued a temporary restraining order against Denver police and partner agencies late on June 5, severely restricting their ability to use such methods.

“Although I do not agree with those who have committed property damage during the protests, property damage is a small price to pay for constitutional rights — especially the constitutional right of the public to speak against widespread injustice,” Jackson wrote in an 11-page decision, citing injuries to protesters including “loss of vision, fractured bones requiring surgery, deep laceration, loss of eyes, (and) ruptured testicles.”

“If a store’s windows must be broken to prevent a protestor’s facial bones from being broken or eye being permanently damaged, that is more than a fair trade,” Jackson wrote. “If a building must be graffitied to prevent the suppression of free speech, that is a fair trade. The threat to physical safety and free speech outweighs the threat to property.”

The protests were spurred by the May 25 death of Black Minneapolis man George Floyd, who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. Investigators ruled Floyd’s death a homicide, and officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder.

Three other officers have been charged with aiding and abetting murder.

Officers from a dozen metro-area agencies responded to the Denver protests, according to Denver police: Adams County Sheriff ’s Office, Arapahoe County Sheriff ’s Office, Arvada Police, Aurora Police, Broomfield Police, Brighton Police, Commerce City Police, Douglas County Sheriff ’s Office, Jefferson County Sheriff ’s Office, Lakewood Police, Wheat Ridge Police and Westminster Police.

Though Colorado Community Media was not able to obtain

comment from all 12 agencies, a sampling of respondents showed a variety of tactics and involvement.

Adams County deputies, for example, deployed flash-bang devices and two types of tear gas, according to Commander Paul Gregory.

In social media posts and in response to questions from journalists, Denver police repeatedly denied using flash-bang devices against protesters.

Adams County deputies detained protesters on behalf of Denver police, Gregory said, but said the detainments were not arrests.

Unlike many local agencies, Adams County deputies do not wear body cameras.

Gregory did not respond to a question about how many Adams County deputies provided backup in Denver.

Adams County Sheriff Rick Reigenborn did not respond to multiple requests for comment on his department’s tactics and crowd control methods.

The Jefferson County Sheriff ’s Office sent 44 officers on May 31 and June 1, drawn from county deputies and officers from city police departments that form a joint task force.

The Jefferson County team made about 10 arrests, said Sheriff Jeff Shrader, including “three or four” people found to be carrying weapons including guns. Shrader said he was unsure whether Jefferson County personnel deployed tear gas, but said he was aware of one instance of a deputy firing “less-lethal” rounds at a fleeing suspect.

Shrader said he understands the outrage at Floyd’s death.

“We all witnessed a murder in that video,” Shrader said, adding he supports many elements of a police reform bill making its way through the state General Assembly.

The Douglas County Sheriff ’s Office used a variety of munitions, according to spokesperson Lauren Childress, including tear gas, “sting ball grenades,” foam bullets, bean bag rounds, flash-bang grenades and 40mm “aerial warning” munitions.

Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock declined a request for an interview through a spokesperson.

In an interview on other matters with Colorado Community Media’s Elliott Wenzler, Spurlock decried the Floyd killing, saying: “There is no reasonable, rational reason for any police officer to use that kind of restraint on someone.”

Other departments’ responses to assist in Denver appear to have been more low-key.

The Arapahoe County Sheriff ’s Office sent between 40 and 50 deputies for several nights, said Sheriff Tyler Brown, but said they fired no shots or tear gas and made no arrests.

Brown said he sympathized with protesters, saying George Floyd’s killing was “an abuse of power people should be upset about.”

While Brown said he is confident Arapahoe County is a forwardthinking department, there’s always room for improvement.

“We need to make sure our ears and offices are open to have these conversations,” Brown said. “We can do this together.”

Demonstrators gathered May 28 at the Colorado state Capitol in Denver to protest the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis . PHOTOS BY CHRISTY STEADMAN

DA protester takes part in a May 28 demonstration outside the Colorado state Capitol in Denver following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Life On Capitol Hill 17

July 2020

COVID-19 and the Denver real estate market

I

t has certainly been a wild ride for all of us these past months and the Denver real estate market has been no exception.

The year got off to a fast start with property values poised to jump yet again. Then the pandemic hit. March tracked along fairly normal but in April, everything went off the rails and into a coma of sorts as real estate virtually shut down under the stay-athome order. During April and May, the number of closed sales dropped 40% from the same period a year ago. Understandably, the most frequently asked questions became what would happen to the market when things opened up again? Would home values drop, creating opportunities for hopeful buyers in Denver’s ever-tight housing market?

By mid-May, the market officially opened again and the questions — at least for the short-term — received a fairly rapid answer. Sellers brave or desperate enough to venture into the unknown were greeted in most cases with strong, pent-up buyer demand. Homes in traditionally hot neighborhoods had buyers literally lining up to view homes, and multiple offers were the norm. One Washington Park listing had 80 showings in two days and more than a dozen offers, which was remarkable even for that perennially strong location. Although the market lost about six weeks, it was apparent that things had gotten back to some version of normal rather

GUEST COLUMN

Tom Snyder

quickly. Property values during that period remained very stable compared to 2019 values while there was clearly pressure on the market to press values even higher.

What do we make of this and where is the market headed for the rest of the year? First let’s consider underlying factors. During the height of the pandemic, most financial markets were in freefall but such, often has an unlikely silver-lining — interest rates also tend to fall in such times. For the past 10 years, interest rates have bumped along at historic lows but the pandemic pushed those even lower. The most traditional home loan, the 30-year fix mortgage, was suddenly available to most buyers at close to 3%. In home buying parlance, that is practically free money. Home buyers understandably jumped at the chance to secure such attractive terms. Secondly, although the high unemployment has made headlines, the vast majority of the Denver workforce retained their jobs and didn’t drop out of the potential buyer pool — all of which created something of a perfect storm of demand.

Significant questions about the market still remain. What will be the longer-term effects on the Denver market? Sellers to some degree have not greeted the market with as much enthusiasm as buyers. Some would-be sellers have chosen to remain on the sidelines, fearful of the unknown and of course

becoming stranded buyers themselves unable to find replacement homes. Sellers deciding not to sell further constricts the housing market and exacerbates the housing shortage. It is difficult to know when sellers will feel it is safe to venture out again.

So much hinges on the broader economic recovery, and for the moment it seems no one has a clear handle on where that is going to go and how long it is going to take. The National Bureau of Economic Research announced mid-June that we have officially been in a recession since February. It is anybody’s guess how long that will last at this point.

One encouraging bit of history we can look to in all this is perhaps the last recession of 2008-2011. If that recession is any predictor of the present Denver housing market, then likely we will weather the storms quite well. During that period, which was a housing-driven recession with home values plummeting in most parts of the country, Denver actually did quite well. Our housing market slowed but home values didn’t drop significantly and recovered quickly. Likely a hopeful indicator of where things will trend around here.

The coming months will certainly not be dull, stay tuned.

Tom Snyder is the owner and managing broker of Snyder Realty.

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18 Life On Capitol Hill

July 2020

adopting, keeping animals

Pet owners

during COVID-19 Metro area shelters say they have fewer available animals than previous years

By Casey Van Divier cvandivier@coloradocommunitymedia.com

M

ay 26 marked the first day that the Denver Animal Shelter reopened its animal adoptions after more than two months of suspending the process during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. That day, hundreds of customers showed up interested in adopting a new pet, said Tracy Koss, the shelter’s customer care manager.

“Part of it was that it was the first day and part of it was that we had two popular dog breeds available,” Koss said of the large number of customers. “The very next day, it was very light traffic and has remained that way due to the lack of animals; we only have three to five (available for adoption) per day,” she said, while on average, the shelter can have anywhere from 75 to 100 animals available for adoption at one time.

“In times of turmoil or uncertainty, people tend to hold onto their animals,” she said, “so I think we could be seeing that here.”

Nationwide and across the Denver metro area, animal shelters have seen a decrease in the number of people surrendering their animals to shelters, even as many shelters have stayed open for surrenders throughout the pandemic. At the same time, the percentage of available animals that have been adopted has increased.

At cat shelter Angels with Paws in Lakewood, in a usual week, the shelter oversees one or two adoptions, said kennel technician Rachel Jones. But from March 1 through June 17, there were 76 cats adopted from the shelter, or an average of about five adoptions per week.

“We’ve seen a huge jump in adoptions,” Jones said, “and we actually saw a big jump in adoption of our less adoptable animals with special needs.”

According to the Shelter Animals Count database, shelters took in 912,143 animals from January to May 2019. Only 691,760 were taken in during the same period for 2020. The count receives data from 1,207 organizations nationwide.

For the same timeframes, the number of adopted animals has also decreased. However, the percentage of available animals that were adopted increased from about 51% in 2019 to about 58% in 2020.

“For the past several months, adoption numbers have started to decrease, but as a percentage of intake they remain very high,” said Jim Tedford, president and CEO of the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement. The association is made up of leaders running shelters and rescue groups across the nation.

These trends have been a necessity for shelters, Koss said — especially in the months when shelters were required to run operations with fewer staff members because of the coronavirus.

“It could have been a really scary situation with a lot of animals coming in. We

A staff member at the Dumb Friends League takes a photo with an adoptable pet, Indiana, during the COVID-19 crisis.

COURTESY OF DUMB FRIENDS LEAGUE

“We’ve seen a huge jump in adoptions, and we actually saw a big jump in adoption of our less adoptable animals with special needs..”

— Rachel Jones, kennel technician

were prepared for that and never saw it,” Koss said. “We just really want to thank the Denver community. They kept their animals.”

As for why intake is down and a higher percentage of available animals are being adopted, some shelter employees and new pet-owners point to the pandemic.

Frank Carlson from Aurora was one of those who adopted a Denver pet on May 26, saying that as a single person, he had been feeling isolated, particularly after being laid off from his job because of COVID-19.

Carlson’s eleven-month-old Australian SEE PET ADOPTION, P19

“Aspen” was adopted in April from the Foothills Animal Shelter in Jefferson County by one of the newspaper’s employees. He’s taken to his new home by showing a fondness for face licking and shoe chewing.

COURTESY PHOTO

Life On Capitol Hill 19

July 2020

Pet Adoption FROM PAGE 18

cattle dog, Tom Brady, is the first dog he’s owned in 30 years.

“It was either a dog or a girlfriend, so I picked a dog,” he laughed. “Mainly, I wanted the exercise because I was just hanging around, and the companionship as well.”

Many recent animal adopters who found a new pet at the Dumb Friends League, which has locations in Denver and Castle Rock, have given similar reasons to Carlson’s for why they wanted to adopt, said Maia Brusseau, the league’s interim director of marketing and communications.

“I know that we have heard from some people that they were thinking of adopting anyway, and then all of a sudden, they have this extra time on their hands,” she said.

“And for some, if you’re living alone, it can be very lonely without a pet.”

The Dumb Friends League has only been conducting virtual adoptions to help keep residents safe throughout

Dating FROM PAGE 9

“After our second date, we decided to do social distance dating because we wanted to be cautious with what’s going and be safe. For a good while, we didn’t see each other at all,” said Whitley.

Wanting to still keep the connection with Benavides, Whitley dropped off a care package to her that included ice cream and dinner.

After that, the two spent time video chatting

Saccomano

the pandemic. The process takes more time to complete than the typical process, she said, and the league has encountered huge public interest in adoptions. As such, the shelters have been asking those who would like to adopt to expect a slightly longer wait before their adoption can take place.

Another request of adopting residents: “We’re asking people to think about what their lives will be like when we go back to whatever normal looks like,” Brusseau said.

“Think about that so you are prepared for changes and setting your pet up for success whenever you’re going back to work.”

As for pet-owners like Carlson, adjusting to having a pet in the house is already going well, he said. While COVID-19 has brought up some new challenges he never faced as a previous dog-owner — for example, the vast majority of off-leash parks near him are closed — he emphasized that the experience has been a very beneficial lifestyle change.

“It’s been great. It’s kind of like having a family member,” Carlson said. “I would advise anyone else in my situation to adopt a dog. They’re a great companion for times of isolation.”

and did online tours of places like Machu Picchu — while still keeping a distance from each other.

Whitley said his big idea was to set up a projector in his driveway with a screen. Benavides sat in her car on Whitley’s driveway, and he sat outside of it and kept a distance as the two watched a movie together.

“I think my mentality was trying to figure out what I would do on a typical date and how I can modify it so that we can still do a date like a typical one in a way to still social distance,” he said.

Whitley said dating during the pandemic

FROM PAGE 15

Looking at sports down the road Saccomano says it will take some time for the Broncos, Nuggets, Avalanche and other sports to rebound from the problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It will be a big change, even more so because we will get used to watching games on TV,” said Saccomano. “It just makes it harder for everybody to get all those people back.

It will take them a while to rebound. The Broncos are more like, to me, a big-time college program in terms of how the fans are to them. The Steelers and Packers are like us. They transcend everything and so do the Broncos. Good or bad.”

Saccomano added that discussions on tickets prices are “kind of like a two-edged sword.”

“Teams would like to raise them but it’s a terrible time to do that,” Saccomano said. “You probably have to say, ‘Welcome to 2021 and the ticket office is open.’ And for every ticket you sell, you say, ‘Thank you sir, thank you ma’am.’”

has been a crazy time, but it has forced him to think outside the box in terms of setting up dates with Benavides. He added that it has been worth it, because he has had a great time with her.

“I feel like it allowed us to connect, and it caused us to have deeper conversations. It was a time to spend at a park or watch the sunset and catch up on each other’s days and to get to know each other and what our lives are like,” said Whitley. “It was really nice to be able to connect, and because there was so much other stuff going on, we really got to know each other. I really appreciate that.”

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20 Life On Capitol Hill

July 2020

University of Denver celebrates 2020 grads virtually The University of Denver celebrated its Class of 2020 on June 12 with a virtual commencement ceremony being called the Day of Recognition. The event honored more than 3,300 graduates who studied at the university’s 10 schools and colleges.

Speeches included a conferral of degrees and remarks from Chancellor Jeremy Haefner among others, and messages of congratulations from several dignitaries including Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette.

The Day of Recognition also included the opportunity for graduating students who remained in the Denver area to be photographed in their cap and gown. About 250 graduates signed up for the photo shoot, which operated with careful social distancing measures.

DU is planning to host a formal commencement ceremony for its 2020 graduates next spring.

A University of Denver graduate dons a graduation cap and gown and face covering while attending a special social-distanced photo op for the Class of 2020 on June 12.

The University of Denver puts on a virtual commencement ceremony on June 12 to honor its Class of 2020.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF WAYNE ARMSTRONG, UNIVERSITY OF DENVER

Graduates of the University of Denver’s Class of 2020 pose for photos at their socialdistanced ceremony that was held on June 12 at the campus.

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