Life On Capitol Hill 1020

Life On LifeOnCapHill.com

October 2020

Founded in 1975

CAPITOL HILL HAUNTINGLY GOOD TALES Victorian Horrors event offered at Molly Brown House Museum

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GATHERING SPOT Denver City Council expected to decide on Tears-McFarlane rezone in late October

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COLORADO CULTURE Exhibit highlights Chicano/a, Mexicano/a arts

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CREATING A SCHOOL ATMOSPHERE Shai Learning Labs provides a location for virtual school

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2 Life On Capitol Hill

October 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.

As businesses continue to weather the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Colorado Community Media urges you to reach out to your favorite local businesses to find out their reopening status, or to check if they are operating differently upon reopening.

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 AND REOPENINGS RPO Framing and Gallery Robert Platz and his wife Julie Lizak took over Old South Frame and Gallery, 1588 S. Pearl St., on Sept. 1.

Former owner Mark Shanstrom retired after owning the business in Denver’s Platt Park neighborhood for 20 years.

Platz and Lizak have rebranded it to RPO Framing and Gallery. Platz has more than 29 years of custom framing experience, and is a Formula 1-inspired abstract artist. Lizak is a nature-inspired abstract photographer. Their artwork, and the work of other local artists, will be represented in the gallery.

Platz and Lizak also encourage repurposing and recycling as much as possible.

The couple lives in the neighborhood, and is looking forward to meeting

Julie Lizak and Robert Platz took over Old South Frame and Gallery, 1588 S. Pearl St., on Sept. 1. The couple is rebranding the business to RPO Framing and Gallery, and it will feature some of their original artwork, as well as works by other local artists.

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existing-and-new customers, they said.

“We’ve been eyeing this space for more than 25 years,” Platz said. “And now all

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RPO Framing and Gallery’s new hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. during the South Pearl Street Farmers Market, which will be open through Nov. 15.

A website for the business will be available soon.

Landmark Theatres Landmark Theatres reopened a select number of its movie theaters in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Indianapolis, Minneapolis and St. Louis on Aug. 28.

In Denver, the theaters that reopened are the Mayan Theatre, 110 Broadway; Esquire Theatre, 590 Downing St.; the Chez Artiste Theatre, 4150 E. Amherst Ave.; and Greenwood Village, 5415 Landmark Place.

Landmark shut down all operations on March 17 because of COVID-19.

Upon reopening, Landmark is following protocols set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local-and-state public health guidance, as well CinemaSafe guidelines. CinemaSafe is “a program promoting protocols and guidelines developed and supported by leading epidemiologists to support a safe return to movie theaters,” states its website.

Landmark Theatres is a national theater chain founded in 1974, now boasting 45 theaters including historic and contemporary theaters, according to its website. The “theatres showcase a wide variety of films ranging from independent and foreign film to 3-D movies and smart films from Hollywood,” states its website.

To learn more about Landmark Theatres, including movie showtimes for its theaters in Denver, visit www.landmarktheatres.com/denver.

Mr. B’s Wine & Spirits Mr. B’s Wine & Spirits, a family-owned local business, opened its third location

in the Golden Triangle on Sept. 5.

Mr. B’s got its start in 2009. The new Golden Triangle location, 380 W. 13th Ave., joins the other two Mr. B’s stores at 2101 Market St. #112 in downtown Denver and in the Stanley Marketplace in Aurora.

All three of the locations are open and operating with COVID-19 social distancing measures.

To learn more about, Mr. B’s, visit https://mrbswineandspirits.com/.

CLOSINGS EMW Carpets & Furniture On Sept. 16, BusinessDen posted a story referencing a store closing sale on EMW Carpets & Furniture’s website.

An online news release available on the store’s website does not identify an exact closing date, but states that the store closing sale will continue through the fall.

According to the release, the closure is not because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The property was placed under contract with a developer just before the pandemic hit,” states the release. In March, BusinessDen reported that “Dallas-based developer Trammell Crow Residential had proposed a five-story apartment complex on the full city block where EMW sits.”

EMW Carpets and Furniture, 2141 S. Broadway in Denver’s Overland neighborhood, got its start in 1923 by Englebert H. Wagenblast and his wife Elizabeth Mary Wagenblast (EMW). In its 97 years of operating in the same location, four generations have owned and worked in the business, according to the news release.

“The business has survived the depression, several recessions, the Harvard Gulch flood of 1956, a warehouse fire, a direct hit from a tornado in 1988 and now a pandemic,” states the news release.

“The lifeline has always been our loyal generations of customers who come SEE BUSINESS, P3

Life On Capitol Hill 3

October 2020

New director to lead business development center Staff report The Denver Metro Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has named China Califf as its new director.

The Denver Metro SBDC is an affiliate of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

As director of the Denver Metro SBDC, Califf will “oversee a team committed to providing educational programming, one-on-one free consulting and virtual resources to Colorado entrepreneurs,” Califf a news release stated.

“We are excited to have Califf join our Denver Metro SBDC and the chamber family at the time our small business community needs us most,” said Kelly Brough, Denver Metro Chamber’s president and CEO, in a news release. “Califf understands the strengths and changing needs of this com-

Business FROM PAGE 2

back time after time. Many have already come in to buy one more time or just say goodbye. It truly is the end of an era.”

MILESTONES/CHANGES/OTHER Emily Griffith Technical College Emily Griffith Technical College, 1860 Lincoln St. in Denver, celebrated its 104th anniversary on Sept. 9.

The celebration included Denver Mayor Michael Hancock proclaiming Sept.

9 as Emily Griffith Technical College Day. His proclamation states that “more than two million people have benefitted from Emily Griffith Technical College’s progressive idea that education should be accessible to all.”

“This anniversary is especially important because of the major transformations the school has undergone in the last 12 months that will propel the school forward to the next 100 years,” said Keo Frazier, the college’s vice president of communications and engagement in a news release. “Had we not overhauled our technology, added

munity.”

Califf brings her experience of helping entrepreneurs and small businesses start and grow to the Denver Metro SBDC, the release said. For 17 years, Califf was involved with Colorado Lending Source where she led branding and marketing strategies, worked with Colorado’s Congressional Delegation and oversaw operations. Colorado Lending Source has been a key partner of the Denver Metro SBDC for two decades, and in her new role, Califf will continue to foster that partnership.

“Particularly at this moment in time, the types of education and opportunities needed by entrepreneurs are shifting and I firmly believe the Denver Metro SBDC network is well-positioned to adapt to the changing environment of where and how we do business,” Califf said in the release. “I feel honored to continue the work of helping small businesses and the visionary entrepreneurs behind them to start, grow and prosper through the Denver Metro SBDC.”

several new courses, updated our communication channels and created a more student-centric intake process, we may not be able to continue to teach our students, especially through the pandemic.”

In honor of its 104th anniversary and as a way to give back to the community, in partnership with the Emily Griffith Foundation, the college has committed to providing additional support to 104 students during the next year. Requests can be submitted anonymously, and requests are open to current or potential students, and alumni. Requests can be made online at www.emilygriffith.edu/ celebrating-104-years/.

Emily Griffith opened her Opportunity School in 1916, envisioning a school “where students could attend classes day or night and receive as much education as they wanted or needed,” states the college’s website. It was the first public career and technical college in the country, states the website. It was renamed Emily Griffith Technical College in 2011.

Today, it is a nationally accredited public college serving about 8,000 students with 25 career training certification programs, 13 apprenticeships and a robust adult education and English language program, states its website.

Learn more at www.emilygriffith.edu.

The late Emily Griffith opened her Opportunity School in 1916. For its 104th anniversary in September, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock proclaimed Sept. 9 as Emily Griffith Technical College Day. The school is located at 1860 Lincoln St. in Denver.

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4 Life On Capitol Hill

October 2020

Gothic horror authors come back from the grave to spook you this October Versions of Victorian Horrors @ Molly Brown House Museum offered in-person or at-home Staff report

Local actor Jim Hunt reads a spooky tale during a past year’s Victorian Horrors at the Molly Brown House Museum. This year, the event is offered as both an in-person or athome experience.

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Victorian Horrors @ the Molly Brown House Museum will be offered again this year with in-person and at-home options for the spooky experience.

Victorian Horrors is environmental theater presented by Castle Lion Development, set within the Molly Brown House Museum, 1340 Pennsylvania St. in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.

The in-person experience starts with a prerecorded video transmission of a story from a Gothic horror author who has come back from the grave. This takes place onsite, and after listening to the tale, attendees are invited to tour the 14-room Molly Brown House Museum. It will be decorated by Denver’s authentic oddities dealers, The Learned Lemur and Atomic Folk Art, to create a Victorian cabinet of curiosities — creepy taxidermy, spiny specimens and rattling bones. The tours are primarily self-guided with audio narrated by specters from the past, but docents will be present.

A ticket also includes additional video transmissions of Victorian Horrors actors presenting tales that can be viewed before or

after your visit.

Those who prefer the at-home version will have access to the pre-recorded video transmission of the story, which can be viewed from anywhere, but the ticket does not include access into the Molly Brown House Museum.

A different story and author will be featured each night.

This year’s stories include “The invisible Man,” “Frankenstein” and “La Llorona.”

“La Llorona,” translated to “The Weeping Woman” in English, will be presented in both Spanish and English. The authors of these Gothic horror tales will be portrayed by local actors David and Julia Payne, Jim Hunt, Trina Magness, Josh Hartwell, Gabriella Cavallero and John Wittbrodt.

Victorian Horrors @ the Molly Brown House Museum is being offered on Oct. 16, 17, 23, 24, 29 and 30. Advance ticket purchase is required. Ticketed admission will take place every 20 minutes between 6 and 9 p.m.

Tickets for in-person Victorian Horrors cost $18 for non-member adults, and $16 for members, seniors and juniors age 6-18.

This event is advised for ages 12 and up, per parental discretion.

Masks are required.

Tickets for the at-home spooky story access is $8 per household.

To purchase tickets, call 303-832-4092 ext.

16 for tickets or go online to www.mollybrown.org.

VIRTUAL

parent previews October 24 and November 6, 2020 • 9:00 AM The Molly Brown House Museum in Capitol Hill is decorated for its annual Victorian Horrors event, which takes place this year on select dates in October.

Because you want to know...

Take a virtual tour of our campus!

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Life On Capitol Hill 5

October 2020

Planners urge approval of Tears-McFarlane rezone

proposed e Caféforconcept historic site

By Christy Steadman csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

The Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods’ board president, Travis Leiker, believes the future plans for the Tears-McFarlane mansion will be an amenity for the neighborhood.

“It will be a place that neighbors can truly enjoy and cherish as an integral part of their community,” Leiker said.

On Sept. 2, Denver’s Planning Board decided to give a recommendation to approve the rezone proposal for the Tears-McFarlane mansion, 1290 Williams St. It will now head to Denver’s Land Use, Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, which is a subcommittee of city council, for review. The meeting will be a public, but there will not be a public hearing. Denver City Council will make the final decision, with an expected date of Oct. 26 for another public hearing and city council’s vote on the matter.

“I want to thank all of the neighbors who participated in this process thus far — providing ideas during focus groups, completing community-wide surveys in Cheesman Park and co-authoring the Good Neighbor Agreement,” Leiker said. “We are energized by the days awaiting the Tears-McFarlane.”

The Tears-McFarlane mansion is a CHUNowned property just north of Cheesman Park. The Colonial Revival style mansion was s built in 1899 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976. It was gifted to CHUN in 2005, and the organization took full ownership of it in 2015.

In 2016, selling the mansion was brought up as a relief to CHUN’s financial struggles, but the board of directors voted to keep the man-

This rendering shows a new design for the annex building at the Tears-McFarlane House adjacent to Cheesman Park. Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods, which is headquartered at the house, would use the annex space as a new community cafe.

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sion because of its value to the community, Leiker said.

CHUN entered into a partnership with City Street Investors LLC, a Denver-based real estate investment company, and eventually the current concept came about that potentially generate revenue while also serving as a community gathering spot.

The rezone for the Tears-McFarlane mansion proposes new development plans that include opening a small café with a full coffee shop. The café will serve breakfast snacks

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and juices; grab-and-go salads, fresh deli sandwiches and desserts; and beer, wine and specialty cocktails.

It is envisioned to be an amenity to Cheesman Park’s neighbors and visitors, Leiker said.

“The new café concept … promotes a stronger sense of community while contributing to the preservation of this grand home,” said CHUN board member Debbie Young.

“Houses like the Tears-McFarlane make Denver interesting and they make Cheesman Park an extraordinary park for all.”

The rezone application, which was filed on Jan. 2, is for a Planned Unit Development — which allows for customized, site-specific development — with general urban neighborhood standards. It also requests to create two subareas so development standards can be addressed separately for the house, which is roughly 6,000 square feet; and the adjacent Hedlund Hall, better known as the mansion’s annex building, which is about 2,000 square feet.

The café is proposed to be custom-built where the hall is today. Unlike the mansion, the hall does not have historic designation — it was built in the early 1980s to serve as an event center. The new café will be roughly the same size as the structure that’s already there, said Pat McHenry, principal with City Street.

As for the mansion itself, CHUN plans on keeping its headquarters there, leasing office space to small businesses and nonprofits, as well as making it available for small public events and meetings and CHUN programming.

However, it is in need of some costly renovations.

City Street is partnering 50-50 with CHUN on the proposed project, which could cost north of $3 million, including financing the mansion’s revitalization costs, McHenry said.

CHUN will sell 50% of the property equity to City Street, and retain a 50% interest. Proceeds of the sale will go toward an endowment for CHUN services.

The Tears McFarlane mansion is “an icon and treasure to be preserved to maintain the character of historic Capitol Hill to live on for future generations,” said CHUN board member Peggy Randall. “I believe in creating something new and visionary for our Capitol Hill community. What’s better planning our future than a cup of coffee or glass of wine after a beautiful walk or bike ride around specular, historic Cheesman Park.”

6 Life On Capitol Hill

October 2020

‘Hecho en Colorado’ tells stories of people

History Colorado, Latino Cultural Arts Center team up for revealing artworks

By Christy Steadman

T This piece by Abi Rosales is one of many works of art that is part of the Hecho en Colorado exhibit at the History Colorado Center in Denver. The exhibit is presented in collaboration with the Latino Cultural Arts Center (LCAC) of Colorado.

IMAGES COURTESY OF LATINO CULTURAL ARTS CENTER OF COLORADO

csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

he artwork featured in the Hecho en Colorado exhibit is a reflection of the artists, their community and their heritage.

“Most were born in Colorado, but not all of them,” said the exhibit’s curator, Adrianna Abarca. “But all call Colorado home.”

Hecho en Colorado — Spanish for Made in Colorado — is an art exhibit at the History Colorado Center that highlights the history, culture and heritage of the Chicano/a and Mexicano/a people of Colorado. It is presented in collaboration with the Latino Cultural Arts Center (LCAC) of Colorado in Denver.

“Until recently, these stories were sometimes excluded, denied or omitted,” said Abarca, who founded the LCAC and currently serves as its board’s chair. “These stories come from the people of this SEE EXHIBIT, P7

IF YOU GO

“Curandera,” translated to “Healer” in English is a work

by Emanuel Martinez part of the Hecho en Colorado exhibit.

The exhibit highlights the history, culture and heritage of the Chicano/a and Mexicano/a people of Colorado.

The Hecho en Colorado exhibit is on display in the Ballantine Gallery at the History Colorado Center, 1200 N. Broadway in Denver, until Jan. 10, 2021.

For the duration of the Hecho en Colorado exhibit, History Colorado is offering a special series called Cafecitos, which is a guided tour of the exhibit by Adrianna Abarca, founder of the Latino Cultural Arts Center and curator of the Hecho en Colorado exhibit. Cafecitos attendees have an opportunity to try biscochitos de anis, which is a traditional Hispano cookie from northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, and piñon-flavored coffee.

Cafecitos is offered every Friday at 9 a.m. for up to 10 people.

Small groups and individuals

may register for Cafecitos.

History Colorado is offering admission with a limited capacity, and a timed ticket purchased in advance is required for entry.

Entry will be timed in 30-minute blocks. Tickets can be purchased online or by phone. No tickets will be available for purchase onsite.

On Mondays through Dec. 31, the History Colorado Center is open exclusively to members.

The museum is open for general admission from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tuesday-Sunday.

To purchase tickets to History Colorado Center and the Hecho en Colorado exhibit, or to register for Cafecitos, visit www. historycolorado.org or call 303866-2394.

MORE EVENTS

LEARN MORE

Here are a couple other events going on in Denver to celebrate and learn more about the city’s rich Hispanic culture and heritage.

What: Events for Hispanic Heritage Month, and the Rhythm & Ritual: Music of the Ancient Americas exhibit Where: Museo de las Americas, 861 Santa Fe Drive, Denver Details: Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. The museum is offering a variety of events. A calendar of events is on the museum’s website.

The Rhythm & Ritual: Music of the Ancient Americas exhibit takes place through Oct. 17. This exhibit is in collaboration with the Denver Art Museum. It explores music of the ancient Americas, and features about 80 instruments dating from 1000 BCE to 1530 CE. When: Museum hours are noon to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Cost: General admission is $8 for adults; and $5 for students, seniors and military. Admission is free for members and children age 12 and younger.

How to purchase tickets: Timed tickets for a two-hour block can be purchased online.

Learn more/purchase tickets: https://museo.org/

“Westside Wedding”

by Carlos Fresquez depicts St. Cajetan’s Church, which was the first Hispanic parish in Denver and served the area’s Spanishspeaking Catholic community from 1925 until 1973 when the Auraria campus was built.

What: Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection Where: Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway Details: This traveling exhibit focuses on the post-Mexican Revolution artworks of internationally celebrated artists, including Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Lola and Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Gunther Gerzso, María Izquierdo and Carlos Mérida. It features more than 150 artworks — more than 20 of them being by Frida Kahlo. This is the first time this exhibit has come to Denver.

When: Oct. 25 to Jan. 24. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day of the week.

Cost: Adult tickets cost $26 for non-members and start at $20 for members.

Youth tickets cost $5 for ages 6-18. Tickets for children age 5 and younger are free.

How to purchase tickets: Tickets will be for timed entry and must be purchased in advance. They will be available for purchase in two blocks. The first block, for dates between Oct. 25 to Nov. 30, will go on sale on Oct. 12. The second block, for dates between Dec. 1 to Jan. 24, will go on sale Nov. 23.

Learn more/purchase tickets: www.denverartmuseum.org or 720-913-0130.

The Latino Cultural Arts Center (LCAC) of Colorado is a cultural campus in west Denver with a mission “to elevate and advance the artistic and intellectual contributions of Latinos in Denver to national and international levels,” states its website. To learn more, visit www. lcac-denver.org.

Life On Capitol Hill 7

October 2020

Exhibit FROM PAGE 6

region. All these artists have a strong connection to community and created their art with community present in their minds.”

The exhibit boasts the artwork of about 40 artists representing different regions of Colorado and includes a variety of formats — paintings, sculptures, textiles, writings and more. The exhibit “depicts and draws from both urban and rural traditions” and reflects “both ancient and contemporary Indigenous and European heritages,” states a news release.

From zoot suits and high fashion, Frida Kahlo and Quetzalcoatl, to Casa Bonita and St. Cajetan’s Church, the collection is a vast array of artwork, “representational of our experiences, history, icons and culture,” Abarca said.

Along with demonstrating the contributions that Colorado’s Mexicanos/as and Chicanos/as have made to the community through history, Abarca was also inspired to honor the anniversary of the Chicano Civil Rights Movement, which took place largely in the southwestern United States, primarily in the late 1960s and `70s.

“The Mexican/Chicano/Native people have been in this region from the very beginning of the modern history of Colorado. We have been an integral part of every aspect of Colorado’s history,” Abarca said.

“And we continue to be major contributors in all industries, including the arts.”

Victor Escobedo’s Mayan heritage is prominent in some of his artwork, but he also incorporates influences from all over the world.

Victor Escobedo As a child, Victor Escobedo was the one who was always doodling on the desks in school classrooms.

“I’ve always been interested in art,” the now 35-year-old said.

“But I don’t subscribe to one thing.”

As an artist, Escobedo has formal training as an illustrator, but enjoys working with a variety of media.

His work in the Hecho en Colorado exhibit is a painting of a jaguar called Rey de la Selva, which translates to King of the Jungle in English.

“The symbolism reflects my Mayan roots, paired with hip-hop

Ana Marina Sanchez has had a passion for jewelry her whole life, and today, she is a professional silversmith and jewelry designer.

COURTESY PHOTOS

culture,” Escobedo said of the painting, adding that the jaguar is the apex predator of the Mayan region.

The piece is a smaller re-creation of a 10 foot-by-10 foot mural that Escobedo had been working on in collaboration with Denver artists Emanuel Martínez and David Ocelotl García — who also have works in the Hecho en Colorado exhibit — for the Chicano/a Murals of Colorado Project.

Hailing from artisans from Yucatán, Mexico, Escobedo is the first generation in his family born in the United States.

“I grew up in a hub of culture,” Escobedo said of his upbringing in Los Angeles.

Joining his mother who had relocated to Colorado to live in a place that, at the time, was economically more viable, Escobedo moved to Denver in 2006 shortly after graduating high school.

He went on to earn a degree in 2011 from the Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design in Lakewood.

Art is not currently his primary income — Escobedo makes a living doing odd jobs such as in the construction industry. He has also done some teaching/art instruction for middle-and-highschoolers.

“It’s the youth culture that informs everyone else,” Escobedo said.

While his Mayan heritage is prominent in some of his work, Escobedo also incorporates influences from all over the world in his art, he said.

To him, “art is me being able to be real.”

Ana Marina Sanchez Ana Marina Sanchez believes that when a piece of jewelry is one-of-a-kind, it creates a strong connection between it and its owner.

“It becomes more than just a piece of jewelry,” she said. “It becomes a treasure.”

Called Mexica Warrior Priestess, Sanchez’s piece in the Hecho en Colorado exhibit is a carved pendant made of mixed metals and stone.

In pre-Columbian beliefs, there are different legends and stories about who went where after death, Sanchez said. Warriors who died during battle became in charge of the sunrise, and women who died during childbirth became in charge of the sunset.

These are the two stories reflected in Sanchez’s piece.

“My art speaks about who I am and where I come from,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez, 35, was born and raised in Mexico City. She immigrated to Los Angeles with her parents and her brother in the early 2000s, and lived there for 18 years.

Sanchez met her husband Adan, a California native, while living in Los Angeles. It was his job as a health coach for people living with Type II diabetes that brought the couple to Denver. A city girl at heart, Sanchez fell in love with Denver right away, she said.

In L.A., Sanchez attended California State University with

dreams of becoming a teacher.

Being undocumented at the time of her graduation, however, prevented Sanchez from being able to fulfill some post-graduation requirements to become an educator. So, she decided to take a year off and pursue something she always enjoyed — creating jewelry.

“It gives me so much joy,” Sanchez said, “being able to bring ideas to life.”

Her early days of jewelrymaking — roughly 10 years ago — started out as getting together with friends and doing the craft together. Sanchez considers that she stepped into the professional world as a silversmith about three years ago, selling her jewelry at fairs, galleries and cultural events.

After spending a number of years simultaneously exploring a variety of jobs — namely, working as a barista and freelance gigs in television production — Sanchez decided to pursue a career in jewelry-making fulltime near the end of last year. She launched her website, anamarinastudio.com, during the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There are so many great Mexican jewelers,” Sanchez said, adding they have “elevated Mexican design in history.”

Though Sanchez is thankful to now be able to make a living creating jewelry, she said she feels “very young” in her career.

“I’m still learning and exploring my voice as an artist,” Sanchez said. “But that’s also exciting.”

Norbeto Mojardin, a fashion designer, sews 900 masks, which were donated to hospitals during the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Norbeto Mojardin Norbeto Mojardin is an artist that can do it all.

He is a fashion designer, dancer, hair stylist, painter with a current focus on acrylics and creates with paper mâché — to name a few of his talents.

“Art invokes positivity,” Mojardin said. “By doing art, any type of art, I can express myself.”

Mojardin’s work in the Hecho en Colorado exhibit is an elaborate evening gown with intricate designs of white birds and a colorful flora pattern on a black background.

“Artists need to be involved in their community,” Mojardin said. “It’s inspirational when people can experience different types of art.”

Mojardin, 46, has been an artist all his life.

He was born in Sonora, Mexico, and grew up in Arizona. As a survivor of abuse, he relocated to Colorado about 25 years ago to start a new life and “create a new world” for himself, he said.

One reason he chose Colorado was because he loved the landscape, Mojardin said.

When he was a teen and young adult, Mojardin was involved in dance, namely folk and ballet. He discovered Denver when he performed for Pope John Paul II during his 1993 visit for World Youth Day. “For me, Colorado is such a special place,” Mojardin said. “I will always feel that.”

Mojardin has been doing hair for nearly two decades — his passion for it stemming from the enjoyment of “helping women feel comfortable and happy with their identity,” Mojardin said.

His salon, Beto’s Hair Studio, is located at 5940 E. Colfax Ave., which is near the border of Denver’s Montclair and South Park Hill neighborhoods.

Mojardin believes that everyone is an artist of sorts.

“All of us were born with a gift,” Mojardin said, adding that his hope is that his art will inspire positivity in others. His art something that he will leave behind for people to appreciate for many generations to come, he said. “I’m one who was lucky enough to have found this gift.”

8 Life On Capitol Hill

October 2020

LOCAL

VOICES A socially-distanced Halloween A

FROM THE EDITOR

Christy Steadman

utumn is finally here.

I love the seeing the Aspen leaves change to shades of yellow and orange, contrasting with the deep green of our Evergreens and the brownish tan of fallen pine needles. And there’s just something about those crisp Colorado breezes during a pleasantly warm fall day that enhances my mood, and the calming factor of the day merging into a cool evening as the sun sets.

October also brings Halloween. My Halloween decorations usually come out of storage mid-September - my thirdfloor balcony is usually the first one in the entire complex to be decked out with spooky cobwebs, black cats, ghosts made out of old sheets, Dia de los Muertos sugar skull cutouts and orange-andpurple lights.

My boyfriend Tommy and I typically start browsing the second-hand stores in August to start generating ideas for our costumes. We go all out and try to come up with an original idea each year. As far as replication, I think our best was when we dressed up as Morticia and Gomez Addams. But, the most original probably

was the year we dressed as Negan and Lucille. If you’re not familiar with the AMC series, “The Walking Dead,” Negan is the antagonist in seasons six through eight. He carries a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, named after his late wife, Lucille. Yes, I dressed as a baseball bat that year — I found a perfect, longsleeved tan/wood-colored dress at the thrift store, and we wrapped it with silver crafter’s wire and made little twists out of tin-foil to look like barbed wire.

Two years ago, Tommy and I started a new tradition — attending the Broadway Halloween Parade, which is put on by the Baker Broadway Merchants Association and City Council Lucky District 7. This parade is unlike any other — attendees and parade participants alike are dressed to the nines in freakishly awesome costumes. Some cute, some funny, some scary. This would be the fourth annual year for the parade, but unfortunately, it is not happening this year — one reason being COVID-19.

However, the Denver Hearse Association, which participates in the Broadway Halloween Parade each year, is planning a car parade called Nightmare on Your

Street. It will be happening from 5-10 p.m. Oct. 10. More details can be found on the Facebook event page, but here’s the basic rundown: club members will be cruising through various neighborhoods in their hearses and old ambulances.

People are encouraged to go out on their front lawns and porches or balconies to watch the parade go by. The parade will be starting in Highlands Ranch, and will make its way north through the southern metro area to Denver, arriving at Washington Park roughly between 7:45 and 8:30 p.m. After an approximate 45-minute stop there, the parade will head north on Downing to Speer Boulevard, which it will take through Denver with I-25 being the termination of the parade route.

Like much of 2020’s annual events and celebrations, Halloween may be different this year. But there are still a number of local events going on — many organizations and businesses have adjusted their events to create a socially-distanced, but still fun and spooky, experience; and some events are being offered virtually.

And, of course, Halloween can also be a fun night in for pumpkin-carving and horror flicks.

‘We urge you to support measure 2B’

O

GUEST COLUMN

Mayor Michael B. Hancock and Councilmember Robin Kniech

ver the last several years, we have worked together to identify solutions to create a more equitable city where everyone has a place. We’ve made substantial investments in affordable housing for people of all incomes, raised wages, and launched innovative programs to support people experiencing or exiting homelessness.

But our community is acutely aware that more work remains to help our unhoused neighbors get back on their feet. Community non-profit homeless service providers and city agencies have stepped up like never before to leverage emergency dollars to save lives during this pandemic.

But the need continues to grow and far outpace our capacity.

Following the defeat of Initiative 300 in 2019, we asked one another: how will we do better for our city and our residents who are experiencing homelessness?

Service providers, community leaders, city agencies and elected officials have come together to answer with a bold measure to implement the most effective and intentional mechanisms to resolve homelessness through a sustainable funding source, which will appear on your November 2020 ballot as 2B.

This ballot question will fund three primary strategies to reduce homelessness in Denver, ease the challenges facing our neighborhoods and transform the lives of children, families and individuals who are facing hard times. Through just 2.5 cents on a $10 purchase, we can make an immeasurable impact on the lives of Denverites who need a hand up.

First, we will expand shelter access and the number of beds and improve access for underserved populations. While the challenge of homelessness has faced our city for years, the current pandemic has placed a greater strain on our shelter capacity. Social distancing required more space between beds and that eliminated 1,200 beds at existing shelters in Denver.

Second, we will create more housing for people who are experiencing homelessness.

Over the next 10 years, we plan to build 1,800 new supportive housing apartments where residents pay rents they can afford and can access wrap-around services to help prevent them from facing homelessness again. This model has proven more than 80% effective at keeping people housed and includes employment

Life On

CAPITOL HILL

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.lifeoncaphill.com/subscribe

being subsequently captured by the North Vietnamese. I wonder if Trump even knew that McCain, on being offered early release from prison, would not accept his freedom unless every person imprisoned before him was also released. In so refusing, McCain endured almost five years of additional incarceration during which he was frequently tortured. If this choice of action does not make a hero, what does?

‘Climate justice is racial justice’

I

Second is the role of the Kurdish people in fighting ISIS in northern Syria and Iraq. The Kurds’ role in subduing and routing ISIS was extremely important to our goal of defeating them. Yet Trump, after a favorable outcome was achieved, turned his back on them and left them to fend for themselves.

n late August, I attended the Get Your Knee Off Our Necks March and Rally in Washington D.C., a revival and celebration of the anniversary of the 1963 march on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

Boarding the plane to our nation’s ENVIRONMENT capital, I had two thoughts in my mind: How safe is this going to be, knowing I WITH EAN am traveling during COVID-19? And how can I be sure that the carbon offsets I purchased are actually going to help offset this travel?

These offsets are crucial to justifying this trip, let alone during COVID. I found one service that helped calculate the impact. I had to do some extra math and ask the airline how full the plane was because the basic calculations to figure out the emissions tied to my travel. It wasn’t easy Ean Thomas Tafoya to figure this out and that’s something that needs improvement.

The morning of the march, I listened to Dr. King’s iconic words. I held on to the concept that children of all colors could join in unity as one people — something I see the youth who march for climate crisis are doing now, united towards one goal.

“It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of its colored citizens. This sweltering summer of the colored people’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end but a beginning. Those who hope that the colored Americans needed to blow off steam and will now be content, will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.” — Martin Luther King, Jr. Wading into the reflection pond at the steps of the Lincoln

SEE LETTER, P9

SEE ENVIRONMENT, P9

SEE ELECTION, P9

LETTER TO THE EDITOR I am a Colorado voter registered as unaffiliated. It is my opinion that two particular actions by President Donald Trump have not received proper media attention, yet they provide clear testimony about the nature of his character.

Consider the president’s view of 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain. Trump stated he did not consider McCain a hero for having had his plane shot down over Hanoi, and

My boyfriend Tommy and I dressed up as creepy clowns at the 2019 Broadway Halloween Parade in Denver.

JERRY HEALEY President

ERIN ADDENBROOKE Marketing Consultant

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Life On Capitol Hill 9

October 2020

Prepping your water garden for winter

A

s we have been abruptly reminded by our snow storm in early September, winter is right around the corner here in Colorado.

If you have a water garden, be it a large pond or a small water bowl, you may be wondering what steps you can take to prep them for the chilly months ahead. The following are some tips to keep in mind as you begin your winterizing chores.

Before leaves begin to fall, it is best to place netting above your pond to catch them. This will keep them from accumulating in the water and decomposing — a process that adds both excess nutrients and tannins to your pond water which will cause issues next spring.

For plants grown in ponds, be sure to cut back the foliage to minimize decomposition in the water. Waterlilies can be cut back to the soil line while marginal plants and lotus should be cut to just above the water line. At Denver Botanic Gardens, we normally begin this work in mid-to-late October, depending on the weather. Tropical marginal plants, such as taro and papyrus, can be brought into a greenhouse or brightly-lit room to overwinter. Tropical waterlilies can be

Election FROM PAGE 8

counseling, medical care, substance misuse treatment and more.

Finally, we will focus additional services to reach people who are unsheltered, whose numbers have recently doubled. We must do more - and that includes more intentional outreach and services and expanding the use of transitional steps like tiny homes.

Measure 2B will allow the city to make great gains to help people exit homelessness, but it will take time and the support of our community to build the trust, housing and facilities

Environment FROM PAGE 8

Memorial, the call and response of “say their names” began. I spent all summer shouting the names of those tragically lost to police violence and I amplified only some of our local losses — Paul Childs, Frank Lobato, Marvin Booker, Ryan Ronquillo, Jessica Hernandez, Naeschylus Carter-Vinzant, Paul Castaway, Michael Marshall, David Baker and Elijah McClain. I was suddenly overcome by what I was hearing — a long list of so many names, so many lives lost, so many families and communities impacted around this country.

Then, Breonna Taylor’s mother came to the stage and began to say her name. Together in unison, the thousands in attendance lifted her name to the sky. I cannot fathom the courage that these mothers have to fight for justice for their loved ones, and to alter a system that took their children from them. Her final words were, “we have to stand together. We have to vote.”

We learned that these officers will not be charged with her murder despite shooting 32 rounds into a building during a no-knock raid. This excessive response should drive home the terrors of the drug war that have

Letter FROM PAGE 8

Many other comparable examples could be cited, such as Trump’s position regarding our long-time NATO partners, and his behavior regarding the dismissals and resignations within his own cabinet and inner circle. The latter are introduced with much fanfare as the very best available, only to be berated when they leave.

searched for tubers that are produced below the soil line. These can be stored in damp peat moss or bags of water and grown out the following season.

If you have fish, it is advised to stop feeding them once the water temperature drops below 50 degrees. As the temperature decreases, so does the metabolism of your fish. Any food fed after this point can either contribute to excess nutrients building up in your pond from uneaten food, or issues with the health of your fish as they struggle to metabolize the food.

Pumps for waterfalls and streams can be left running over the winter months, but be sure to check the area of water flow frequently to ensure that any buildup of ice isn’t causing water to flow outside of your pond’s liner. This can quickly drain your pond, and in turn, burn out your pump.

If you have a water bowl rather than a pond, now is the time to think about where you will store the bowl over the winter months, and how you will winterize the plants and fish. Most water bowls are either ceramic glazed containers without drain-

GUEST COLUMN Tamara Kilbane

needed to implement these plans. This is the next, necessary step in Denver’s long-term strategy to reduce homelessness and a critical investment that will change thousands of lives, while we continue to collaborate and advocate for broader regional, state and federal solutions to the root causes of homelessness. This includes mitigating the economic fallout from the pandemic, which has left tens of thousands of Denver residents at risk of losing their jobs and homes.

We have never stopped working toward better ways to address the conditions of those experiencing homelessness. We need to continue our efforts and we urge you to support measure 2B on your ballot this fall and to help make a difference for Denver. spurred militarization and why it must end.

As “I Can’t Breathe” is cried out, I hear two meanings. One meaning is obvious — the literal choking of life by those who swear to protect it. The other meaning is less apparent but just as ubiquitous — the same Black, Indigenous, Latino and low-income people who are disproportionately impacted by a justice system are also those who are most exposed to toxic pollution because of the same legacy of white supremacy. When people protest this injustice, it is the same misuse of the justice system that is used to silence their cries.

At the Standing Rock and Black Lives Matter protests in Denver and Aurora, identical militarized police force is seen, all too happy to use aerosol chemical weapons during a respiratory pandemic and to show off their shiny toys and tanks, threatening the community they are here to serve. Climate justice is racial justice, too. When we demilitarize the police and reform their use of force escalation, tools of oppression are taken away from corporations and from a government that values property over universal human rights to clean air, water and respect for sacred life.

Ean Thomas Tafoya is a climate and government activist. He can be reached at @ BelieveEan on Twitter.

Given the record-breaking number of these individuals, at best, the president has shown extremely poor judgment appointing them in the first place; and at worst, it shows a fatal character flaw. Both may explain why so many prominent Republicans have chosen not to support him.

The cited facts seem clearly and sufficiently damaging to show that Trump should not be re-elected for office. If it were a sporting event, he would be disqualified.

— Jim Lowell, resident of Denver’s Washington Park West neighborhood

Taro overwintering in the greenhouse at the Denver Botanic Gardens.

PHOTO BY TAMARA KILBANE

age holes or solid plastic tubs. Both styles are susceptible to freezing solid if left filled through the winter. Goldfish can be moved to an aquarium indoors. Plants such as cannas and lotus can be stored in a basement or garage where they won’t freeze. Be sure to

check on and water these as needed to ensure they do not dry out completely. Tropical plants can be stored as outlined above.

Tamara Kilbane is a curator of aquatic collections at the Denver Botanic Gardens

Local Focus. More News.

ColoradoCommunityMedia ColoradoCommunityMedia.com

“Learn How To Put An End To Knee Pain Even If It’s Been Years Of Misery, All From The Comfort Of Your Living Room”

By Leading CO Back Pain Doctor of Physical Therapy, Brooke Olsen Denver - If I were to get bad knee pain again, here’s what I would do differently…

First, I wouldn’t wait and hope it just goes away.

That only made it worse. I wouldn’t try to stretch, or get adjustments on it. I definitely wouldn’t get an injection (very dangerous long term).So what would I do?

Hi, my name is Dr. Brooke Olsen.

I’m a national knee pain expert. I’ve made a career for myself helping hundreds of active adults end their knee pain naturally, and I help them do it all over the world. But that wasn’t always the case. Early on in my career, I had bad knee pain. I previously tore my meniscus, MCL, and part of my ACL when I was young. They removed a big portion of my meniscus when I was 17.

I had so much swelling and pain when just walking up and down stairs in the hospitals, nonetheless trying to go for a hike or walk around the park.

I tried what felt live everything to help, and it just wouldn’t go away.

You can imagine the frustration and hopelessness that set in. I asked my colleagues for help, but most of what they tried did nothing for me.

When it got really bad and I still had to work, I took Advil, and sometimes wish I had something stronger. (I hate

pills by the way, so that’s really saying something).

Desperate for a return to my normal life, I set out on a journey. I traveled the country, in search of learning from the best and brightest. I took many courses, and eventually found a mentor who had some answers. I learned that in order to fix knee pain permanently and naturally, which is the holy grail, it’s really not that hard.

The secret is fixing the root cause, which is the thing that’s causing your knee to hurt in the first place. Most treatment options just focus on relieving the pain where it hurts, without ever questioning why it hurts and what other areas could be affecting it.

So if I ever got bad knee pain again, I would immediately start fixing the root cause of my pain, rather than waste time on temporary band-aid fixes.

If you are wondering how you find what your root cause is, and how you can fix it once you find it, you can join me on a free training webinar that will show just that. There is no cost to attend, and you can watch from the comfort of your living room. Just go online to this link:

www.ThePhysioRevolution .com/Cap-Hill and I’ll see you on the webinar! We only have room for 50 people before we have to take it down, so don’t wait and miss it!

10 Life On Capitol Hill

1st Congressional District

Diana DeGette Party: Democrat Residence: Denver Campaign website: www. degette.com

Paul Noel Fiorino Party: Unity Party of America/ Colorado Residence: Denver Campaign website: https:// fiorinoforcolorado.com/

Jan Kok Party: Approval Voting Party Residence: Fort Collins Website: approvalvotingparty. com

October 2020

ELECTIONS 2020

If you are elected, which one single issue will be at the top of your agenda?

What makes you the best choice for this office?

I believe that I am the best choice for this office due to my seniority in the House, record of progressive legislating while also achieving bipartisan results, and my commitment to delivering for Coloradoans and the American people.

Promoting access to quality health care including the full range of women’s reproductive care.

For all of the good that the Affordable Care Act has done in the past 10 years, healthcare in the United States still does not cover everyone, not everyone who has access to coverage can afford to use it, and prescription drug costs are too high.

Additionally, this is also an issue that I can address through my role as a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and chair of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

I have eight campaigns that have kept the dialogue on the arts in participation of the governments, local and national. Colorado is the top in the nation, and we need to lead for more arts education with a basis of dance awareness.

The election of an artist, advocate and TV producer would bring Congress into the next evolution of the broadband, cloud, BankingTech and environmental hope for the sustainable future economy for health and the pursuit of happiness in Denver, Colorado, America and the world. A positive attitude of change.

The National Endowments for Arts and Humanities are constantly undergoing attacks by executive orders or by our president and congressional leaders who have no regard for their ownership. You have a legacy in YOUR ENDOWMENTS and they need to be protected, along with freedom of expression and speech. They should be a political force for diplomacy and the pride of a nation. Cultural differences are the most important to uphold in a democracy and to have representation is paramount to maintain a Republic.

I’m the only candidate whose No. 1 issue is election reform. Government has an enormous influence on our lives. It controls our health care options, it decides who we go to war with, it takes a large fraction of our income from us in direct and indirect taxes. Thus, the type of leaders we elect also greatly affects our lives. Our vote-for-one voting method is defective. In elections with more than two candidates running, it can fail to elect the most-preferred candidate. My mission is to promote better voting methods that can make better choices of winners.

Election reform. In Florida 2000, more voters preferred Gore over Bush (if you include the Nader voters who preferred Gore), yet Bush won. And it can just as easily go the other way. In 1992, more voters preferred Bush over Clinton, yet Clinton won. I will promote Approval Voting which allows voters to vote for as many candidates as they like, and whoever gets the most votes wins. Approval Voting can reduce or eliminate the “wrong winner” phenomenon, the “spoiler” and “vote splitting” effects, and other problems with our vote-for-one voting method.

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***Candidates Shane Bolling, Republican; and Kyle Furey, Libertarian, did not return Colorado Community Media’s questionnaire.

District Attorney - 2nd Judicial District

Beth McCann Party: Democratic Residence: Denver Campaign website: www.mccannfordenverda.com

William F. “Bill” Robinson, III

I have been serving as Denver’s district attorney since January 2017. I have extensive management and legal experience, including serving as a deputy and chief deputy district attorney and handling hundreds of criminal prosecutions, and serving as the first female manager of safety for Denver’s Department of Safety.

I also served as a deputy attorney general, supervising over 30 attorneys in the administrations of Ken Salazar and John Suthers. As a state representative, I sponsored and passed several criminal justice bills, including juvenile justice reform, strengthening human trafficking laws and enforcing the law that prohibits domestic violence offenders from possessing firearms.

Since I have been in office, I started several new and progressive programs to provide alternatives to incarceration, including adult diversion, restorative justice, establishing human trafficking and elder abuse units, establishing community advisory councils and opposing the death penalty.

Taxpayers in ONE PARTY Denver deserve a Libertarian district attorney watchdog!

Party: Libertarian

Board of Education District 1

Alan Hayman Party: Libertarian Residence: Englewood Website: lpcolorado.org

Zachary Laddison Party: Approval Voting Party Residence: Denver Campaign website: electionscience.org

Sydnnia Wulff Party: Republican Residence: Denver Campaign website: sydnniaforcoloradoeducation.com

If you are elected, which one single issue will be at the top of your agenda?

What makes you the best choice for this office?

What makes you the best choice for this office?

I am running to offer a choice to Colorado voters this year. Students in Colorado also deserve an education system that offers them choices. Amidst the growing COVID-19 crisis, flexibility in education options are of the utmost importance. I would listen to parents, teachers, school administrators and students, in order to empower school districts to pursue as many education options as their communities need.

I am absolutely NOT the best choice for this office. Do not waste your vote on me. But, since I’ve got your attention, can we really say we live in a democracy when ‘wasting one’s vote’ is a legitimate concern? When 60% of voters do not feel adequately represented by either established party, causing 50% of eligible voters to not even show up at the polls, that is a wrong that cannot go unrighted. The issue is HOW we vote, it’s just a mathematical fact. Research and support Approval Voting for a more fair, logical and representative system.

An extreme decline of Colorado academic results requires a more objective, non-education board member. We need to bring back common sense in the classroom.

I want to work with the legislature to revise our habitual criminal and felony murder statutes, and on bond and sentencing reform.

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Investigating and making individuals and interrelated corporations “pay up” after fair trials for their illegal acts responsible for the cost overruns in construction going on at DIA, the National Western Stock Show, the Convention and Performing Arts centers and elsewhere in Denver that are costing the taxpayers millions.

If you are elected, which one single issue will be at the top of your agenda?

My top issue in education will always be choice. Now more than ever, families need options that meet their needs. Teachers are likewise facing uncertainty, and school administrators are struggling with having to balance a variety of risks. There is no silver bullet to the crisis we find ourselves in, which is why choice is the solution.

If I am elected, I will demand a recount.

Reduce the 46% administrative allocation and place those funds in the classroom and schools.

*** Lisa Escarcega, Democrat, did not return Colorado Community Media’s questionnaire.

Editor’s note: To read candidate questionnaires for Senate and House races in the Life on Capitol Hill’s coverage area, visit https://lifeoncaphill.com/.

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October 2020

If you are elected, what must you accomplish in order to consider your term a success?

ELECTIONS 2020 What measure or measures will you push for in the new year to make strides toward economic recovery form the COVID-19 pandemic?

Life On Capitol Hill 11

What is the one thing congress can do to achieve social justice?

Passing legislation that makes a true difference in people’s lives. That can be through standalone legislation like my 21st Century Cures Act, or by adding amendments to legislation on the floor such as the amendment I have successfully added to the past two years’ EPA funding bill requiring the agency to identify and clean up 100 communities across the nation that are disproportionally suffering from large amounts of pollution.

My top priorities are helping the families and small business owners who are struggling to make ends meet because of the pandemic.

This includes more PPP loans, more Economic Impact Statements, reinstating the additional $600 federal unemployment increase and passing rental and mortgage assistance.

We also need to ensure that state and local governments have the resources they need to respond and maintain critical government functions with the decrease in tax revenues.

One thing we can do is ensure that corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes. This must be the cornerstone of our tax system. Our nation’s long term fiscal outlook must be secure while being able to make the investments and reinvestment in infrastructure, education and workers that will keep America competitive long into the 21st century.

Denver has the distinction of the cable capital of the world, and the next phase will be satellite internet and broadband networks, and .coms in every home for education and information programs. Productivity growth is happening now. The support of the television industry has the facilities and technology to accommodate it all.

Teaching for the 21st Century will be by screen for many and possibly for the future of urban and rural community and schools, public, private, charter, etc. Getting the services needed is the challenge now.

The COVID-19 pandemic has no boundaries. The effect of it on our economy and sanity is preparing us all for new paradigms. I think it’s time for the bipartisan issue of Universal Basic Income (UBI) to be considered for the changes in the employment sector. Gas and oil in Colorado will be the ones to develop their transition to a more sustainable environment where Colorado also leads.

A state bank in the post office can model the unique experiment with accessibility to those who need, and credits to those who choose to reinvest in the valued nonprofit community that one day may take care of you.

Pass legislation to reform the penal system and do away with the private for-profit prisons with the highways of felons who move from place-to-place using valued tax dollars and keep one guessing where they are. The overbearing costs and the amount of time and resources that Colorado has to expend, and the abuses on the guardians and inmates is taking its toll.

Release and parole more, and adjust sentences to fit the crime. Time served should not mean you lose your citizenship and can’t vote. They should still maintain that privilege and support the constitutional right to vote. Voter suppression is a real problem today.

Introduce a bill with the support of at least 20 cosponsors that enables states to use Approval Voting in federal-level elections, and removes barriers to the use of proportional representation voting methods in elections for state legislatures and the U.S. House of Representatives.

Getting the pandemic itself under control is still high priority. Let the CDC continue its job of providing science-based information on how to prevent the spread of diseases.

Businesses are doing a good job of adapting to the pandemic. Many people are now working from home. Grocery stores and restaurants are taking orders online and providing curbside and home delivery service. Doctors are seeing patients through online video calls. Students are attending classes online. I don’t think the federal government can do anything to help the economy more than state governments, businesses and individuals are already doing.

Repeal laws against victimless crimes. The U.S. (the “land of the free”) has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. That’s absurd and outrageous - and expensive in human and monetary costs. About half of those incarcerated are there for nonviolent drug crimes. Drug addiction should be addressed by schools, doctors and psychological counselors, not by heavy-handed government.

If you are elected, what must you accomplish in order to consider your term a success?

Where do you stand on calls to defund the police?

I want to ensure the office is filled with excellent attorneys and staff members who are committed to working hard and exercising good judgment so that we continue to be able to successfully prosecute criminal behavior. I am trying to move the culture to more innovation and creative thinking in respect to what is the best way to handle cases. I want members of the office to embrace restorative justice, diversion, and drug-and-mental health treatment, and be willing to support sentencing people along these lines rather than prison. I also want to establish a conviction review unit to review convictions in cases in which the person claims innocence, and review lengthy sentences to determine if they should be reduced in the interest of justice.

I do not support defunding the police. We must have a well-trained police department to continue to provide safety and security to our community, as well as solve community problems.

I do support providing more funding to drug addiction treatment and mental health services. I think we could redirect some of the Department of Safety’s funds to that effort. Denver has a great co-responder program in which mental health clinicians ride with officers and handle mental health calls. Chief Pazen recently started the STARS program in which an EMT and mental health clinician respond to 911 mental health calls. Both programs are showing great success and should reduce the number of calls that officers respond to, thus saving money which could be directed to expand these programs.

Grand juries must have been convened and kept busy during my entire term. They will hear evidence obtained by the district attorney’s office and bring appropriate charges against wrong-doing individuals, officers of corporations and corporations themselves. After fair trials conducted by my office, the level of convictions with large monetary restorations imposed by the court at sentencing at my office’s urging, together with follow up by my office to see that they are actually paid, will be the measure of my accomplishment.

I’m against doing that. However, as the police are public servants, I advocate ending police unions.

Like teachers’ unions, they make it difficult to weed out incompetents. Also, while sworn to enforce existing law, as a Libertarian district attorney, I will use that platform to speak out in favor of ending the “War on Drugs.”

If you’re elected, what must you accomplish in order for you to consider your term a success?

In what ways will you ensure that schools with underserved students have a voice to help them meet the needs for COVID-19 recovery?

Given the expected financial shortfall, my biggest accomplishment would be creating an environment of administrative freedom sufficient to provide enough options that lead to every child’s successful education, and do so within the limited budget provided.

The key to a successful education is empowerment, rather than dictation. As a general rule, I would ask whether a problem can be solved with more freedom, instead of less. I would seek more freedom for parents and students, but also teachers as well. I would empower school boards to make decisions that are in the best interest of their schools, but I would also support extending as many options to parents and students as possible.

Candidate declined to respond.

Candidate declined to respond.

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Increase academic results.

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Open funding to private schools.

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Increase length of school year.

•

Increase teacher salaries.

The impact of school closures on children of lower income families will be detrimental for many years into the future, robbing them of opportunities for a better future. It is necessary to open schools immediately to provide a learning environment and special tutoring to these students so we can help them get a high school and college degree so they can compete equally when entering the workforce.

12 Life On Capitol Hill

October 2020

A salute to first

responders, health-care workers

Denver firefighters gather for a photo outside of Fire Station 19, 300 S. Ivy St., as they wait for the parade of antique fire trucks on Sept. 13.

PHOTOS BY CHRISTY STEADMAN

By Christy Steadman csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

C

lassic cars and antique fire trucks took to Denver’s streets on Sept. 13 to honor first responders and health-care workers for their continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The parade featured members of Mile High Hook & Ladder, which is the Colorado Chapter of the Society for the Preservation & Appreciation of Antique Motor Fire Apparatus in America; the Collector Car Council of Colorado; the Model T Car Club; and the Denver Fire Department.

Staging took place at George Washington High School in Denver’s Washington Virginia Vale neighborhood. From there, the parade made its way throughout Denver, circling Denver’s fire stations 15, 18 and 19; and four hospitals — Rose Medical Center, Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children, Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Hospital and National Jewish/St. Joseph Hospital.

A parade of antique fire trucks makes its way down Ivy Street in Denver toward Denver Fire Station 19.

The driver points to Denver Fire Station 19 as the antique vehicle approaches the station, and the rest of the group waves and gives a thumb’s up to firefighters during the parade on Sept. 13.

An antique fire truck drives under a ladder, which was extended from a Denver Fire Department fire truck parked in front of Denver Fire Station 19 during a parade on Sept. 13.

Caring for our Community by

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• It’s the ink: Soy based inks are used, reused then recycled.

• It’s the plate: Process-free plates eliminate VOC’s and reduce water usage.

• It’s the press: Using cold-set presses reduces the amount of VOC’s put into the air.

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ColoradoCommunityMedia.com

A Pink Panther stuffed animal waves to firefighters at Denver Fire Station 19 from a classic Mustang convertible during a parade on Sept. 13.

A group holds a sign while driving by Denver Fire Station 19 during a parade on Sept. 13 that took place to thank first responders.

The Denver Fire Department recently got a new piece of training equipment — a Hazardous Materials Training Railcar Trailer. It was awarded to the department by the Urban Area Security Initiative’s Residual Funds Grant program, which is managed by the Denver Office of Emergency Management. The railcar trainer will be managed by Denver Fire Department and will be used as a shared training device for other nearby regional fire departments for response to hazmat emergencies.

COURTESY OF DENVER FIRE DEPARTMENT

Life On Capitol Hill 13

October 2020

Mike Michalek takes a ballot from a voter at the drive-through drop off site in front of the City and County Building on a past year’s Election Day. FILE PHOTOS BY KAILYN LAMB

Vikki Otero drops off her ballot at the Washington Park Recreation Center on a past year’s Election Day.

City adds polling locations to ease crush

Elections office relocating to create space for ballot processing

By Esteban L. Hernandez Denverite.com

Denver Elections anticipates such a busy election, it went out and found new places for people to cast their ballot.

A release from Denver Elections on Sept. 29

said it will move operations from its main office vote center, on 14th Avenue, down a block to the McNichols Building in Civic Center Park “so that the entire Denver Elections building can be utilized for ballot processing.” The move was prompted as the office anticipates high voter turnout and because this year’s ballot includes three double-sided cards.

The McNichols offices, at 144 W. Colfax Ave., will open Oct. 12.

It’s the latest change announced by the office, which said earlier this month that all Denver ballots were getting a first-class upgrade.

The city will have six more voting centers

than in 2018, bringing the total to 36. They include the Pepsi Center, which will be used as a voting center for the first time ever and will open on Oct. 30. The voting centers allow people to vote in person or drop their ballots.

Most voters in Denver use the city’s 38 drop boxes to cast their ballots, a contactless option City Clerk and Recorder Paul López encouraged in the release.

Several schools will also be used as voting centers. They include: Abraham Lincoln High School, East High School, George Washington High School, Hamilton Middle School (the Montbello Campus), Morey Middle School

and South High School.

The release said a change to state law discouraging voting at police stations not housed in multipurpose buildings means the Denver Police District 3 station on University Boulevard won’t be used as a voting center. Its drop box will still be available.

Ballots will be mailed out in Denver to active voters starting on Oct. 9.

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.

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14 Life On Capitol Hill

October 2020

Denver voters to decide 12 ballot measures Issues include homelessness, pit bulls, council power

2G: Expanding Denver City Council’s budgeting authority Also part of Denver City Council’s effort to strengthen its own power, this ballot measure – the second led by Kniech – would give council members the authority to change the city’s budget mid-year. Denver’s governing document currently does not allow the Denver City Council to initiate a spending proposal, even with super-majority support, to address a pressing city need in the middle of a fiscal year that may not have been known or possible to take up during the annual budget process. If the mayor doesn’t agree that the spending proposal is urgent or approve of the proposed approach, funds may have to wait a full year to be addressed in the next regularly scheduled budget.

By Alayna Alvarez Colorado Politics

From sales tax increases intended to help the homeless and combat climate change to deciding whether to lift the city’s pit bull ban and strengthen the Denver City Council’s power, Denver voters have a lot to consider about Denver’s future this November.

This year’s stacked lineup is as follows: 2A: Climate Funding This measure will ask voters if their sales taxes should be raised by 0.25%, or 2.5 cents on a $10 purchase, to generate $40 million annually to reduce the city’s climate footprint. If approved, the city would begin allocating in January 2021 the tax revenue on a monthly basis to renewable energy efforts, including “steep reductions” in fossil fuel consumption and “significant improvements” in air and water quality, the bill states. Half of the revenue would be dedicated directly to underserved communities with a “strong lens toward equity, race and social justice,” and exemptions for food, water, fuel, medical supplies and feminine hygiene products would be built into the legislation.

2B: Funding to address homelessness Similar to the proposed climate tax, this question will ask Denverites to raise sales taxes by 2.5 cents for every $10 spent — or an average of $5.25 per household a month, according to the mayor’s office — to collect $40 million a year directed to housing, shelter and services to support job training

Hailey Hayes, a 2020 Denver South High School graduate and co-founder of the metrowide Youth Sustainability Board, speaks during a campaign kickoff event on Aug. 4 for Denver’s ballot measure 2A: Climate Funding.

PHOTO BY CHRISTY STEADMAN and mental and physical health for people experiencing homelessness. The issue was led by Denver City Councilwoman At Large Robin Kniech and backed by Mayor Michael Hancock, who said the city is “pulling every lever available to help people and ensure that episodes of homelessness are brief and onetime occurrences.” There are more than 4,100 people experiencing homelessness in Denver, according to the latest Point-in-Time survey.

2C: Professional services for the Denver City Council If approved, this city charter amendment, led by Denver City Councilwoman At Large

Debbie Ortega, would grant City Council the authority to hire professional services, including legal counsel, without needing a green light from the executive branch upstairs. The need, she says, has come to the forefront on multiple occasions, including just a few years ago when council members were required to review a massive contract for the Great Hall Project at Denver International Airport, which ultimately went sour and cost nearly $184 million to terminate.

This bill is one of a series on the ballot that would empower the city’s legislative branch.

2D: DOTI advisory board A second charter amendment led by Ortega would create an advisory board for the city-run Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, which was created with voters’ approval last year. The Board of Transportation and Infrastructure would provide policy and operational strategy advice to the director, currently Eulois Cleckley, and review the proposed annual budget.

The board will be made up of 19 people, all of whom will go unpaid. Six members will be appointed by the mayor, and 13 will be chosen by each of the 13 City Council members. Those selected to the board must live in the districts of their appointing council member and represent “a variety of interests, backgrounds and geography,” according to the bill.

2E: Denver City Council approval of mayoral appointments Part of a series of ballot questions that would give the legislative branch more oversight of the executive branch, this charter change would give council members the authority to approve 11 cabinet appointees, plus the sheriff, and fire and police chiefs. The initiative is spearheaded by Councilwomen Amanda Sawyer and Candi CdeBaca with the intent of ensuring more accountability and transparency within the city’s executive leadership. “Now more than ever, we owe it to our constituents to give them a more representative government,” Sawyer said.

2F: Removing outdated language from city charter Another bill led by Sawyer, this ballot referral will remove outdated language from the city charter, first created in 1904 and has been updated over time, to modernize the way the Denver City Council conducts public business. The issue came to light during the coronavirus emergency, when council members said it became clear that the city charter could potentially restrict the body’s ability to do business during times of emergency. The goal is to remove overly prescriptive language to give the council more flexibility to adapt the way they meet in times of uncertainty.

2H: Closing the broadband gap Denver voters will be asked to decide whether to help bridge the city’s broadband divide. The bill, pushed forward by Councilman Paul Kashmann, would exempt the city from Senate Bill 152, which prevents municipalities from directly addressing broadband. The exemption, if passed, would not devote any public dollars to broadband, but provide the possibility to examine all options to broadband service. Currently, Denver is tied to mainstream providers, such as CenturyLink and Comcast. “I don’t want Denver to necessarily go build its own broadband infrastructure and say, ‘To heck with Comcast.’ I don’t want to do that,” Kashmann said. “But what I want to be able to do is have more flexibility.”

2I: Clarification on the Clerk and Recorder’s appointees The ballot measure proposal, led by Denver Clerk and Recorder Paul Lopez, would allow for the office to be restructured into three divisions, each with a director at the top. Lopez’ thinking is that all high-ranking employees should be appointed, so this change will let him appoint those people instead of having a mix of appointees and hired employees. The goal is clarity, and no impacts are anticipated to the city budget.

2J: Allowing pit bulls in Denver Denver voters will also decide whether to lift the city’s pit bull breed ban, beginning in January, after more than three decades. The bill is led by Councilman Chris Herndon and would establish a permitting system for pit bulls, breeds that include the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier and Staffordshire Bull Terrier. If approved, pit bull owners would need to obtain a “breedrestricted permit.” If no violations for the dog are recorded for three consecutive years, it would be allowed to register like any other dog in Denver. The measure was vetoed by Hancock earlier this year for safety reasons.

4A and 4B: Funding for Denver Public Schools Denver Public Schools is asking voters whether to provide $827 million in more funding for the school system through bond and mill levy proposals. The bond measure would provide $795 million to build and maintain schools in the district. The second ballot initiative, called “Debt Free Schools,” would invest $32 million into mental health, nursing, special education and teacher compensation, with $15 million for DPS employees, including an increase in the minimum wage to $14.77 an hour and cost of living increases for teachers. The bond measure would help schools with maintenance, capacity, air conditioning, technology, a rebuild or remodel of the Montbello High School campus and $31.7 million in school funds to invest in communal spaces like classrooms, cafeterias, playgrounds, libraries, gyms and auditoriums.

This story is from Colorado Politics, a statewide political and public policy news journal.

Used by permission. For more, visit coloradopolitics.com.

Life On Capitol Hill 15

October 2020

Making investments in short-term rentals effortless bnbExcellent launched in August

By Christy Steadman csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

About six years ago, West Washington Park resident Sabrina Calnan left her successful corporate career in bank mergers and acquisitions for the exciting world of property management.

“I was itching for something more,” said Calnan, 42. “I personally could have benefited from a property manager with some of my early investments, and I wasn’t able to find a property manager that met my needs. I felt there was a gap in the market that I could fill.”

She established her business, and in June, sold off the long-term property management side of the business to focus on the Airbnb side.

That was something that had been on the horizon for a long time, Calnan said.

“It’s what I’m passionate about, and the part of the business that I enjoy the most,” Calnan said of short-term rentals.

In August, Calnan launched bnbExcellent, a small business that provides Airbnb management services, CE credited Airbnb classes and in November, will be launching a detailed, Airbnb how-to educational series.

The “longer-term vision is to be a premier online educational resource for Airbnb hosts and real estate investors,” Calnan said. “Investing in short-term rentals can be very complicated, and if you don’t start from a knowledgeable place, it can be very easy to make a bad investment decision.” bnbExcellent’s CE-credited class is ca-

tered toward real estate agents and aspiring hosts. It provides a “great launching point to help people understand what is, and isn’t, allowed as a short-term rental; market trends; and the risks and rewards of being a host,” Calnan said. The upcoming how-to series “will include detailed how-to instructions on how to set-up, market, price, communicate with guests and automate processes to minimize work,” Calnan said.

“It is really rewarding to make being a short-term rental host effortless for people,” Calnan said. “Aspiring hosts come to me with a vision, and I get to help to actualize that vision in the most profitable and effortless way for them. I really like being a part of all that.”

Q&A with Sabrina Calnan Why is property management an exciting venture for you?

I guess I’m just a real estate nerd. I love houses, architecture and design. I love identifying up-and-coming areas, and I enjoy running the numbers and analyzing investments. Property management gives me a chance to participate in all of this on a greater level than I would be able to with just my own properties.

I get to be an integral part of people’s wealth-building strategies. And when I talk about wealth, it isn’t just about money. It’s about security, freedom and time to focus on what’s most valuable to you. For instance, I have a client that decided to pursue her lifelong dream of being an actress at the age of 60. The extra income from her Airbnb allows her to pursue that dream by funding her back-and-forth travel to LA. In your opinion, why are short-term rentals flourishing right now?

I think it’s a combination of factors that

make it a perfect storm.

People are itching to get out of their homes, and more people are working remotely than ever. People are taking this opportunity to flee their tiny apartments or boring hometowns to try out a new lifestyle or get away for a little while.

Many also view short-term rentals as a safer alternative to hotels since it’s often a private space — no hotel lobbies and no common areas.

Why do you think people enjoy being short-term rental hosts?

The initial attraction is that it’s a great way to earn extra money with very little upfront investment — especially if it’s extra space in your house.

The barrage of guest compliments about a space and a city that you’re proud of is also a consistent, little feel-good. It’s different than a long-term rental where, oftentimes, the only time you hear from the tenant is when something has gone wrong.

I think, by nature, a lot of Airbnb hosts are DIYers and they enjoy being involved in their own rentals. bnbExcellent’s Airbnb rentals consistently outperform the market, and there is a real art and science behind it. I enjoy sharing my knowledge and helping people to be successful.

Why focus specifically on Denver?

I focus on Denver because this is where I can add the most value. bnbExcellent respects that each property, location and neighborhood is unique, and keeping the focus on Denver helps me to showcase that and refine our marketing strategies.

Successfully marketing and operating a short-term rental in a metro area is very different from doing the same in the mountains or other areas.

Sabrina Calnan launched bnbExcellent, a Denverbased short-term rental property management business, in August.

COURTESY PHOTO

LEARN MORE To learn more about bnbExcellent, its services or classes, visit https://bnbexcellent.com/.

YO U C A N ' T A LWAYS S E E EXCEPTIONAL CARE B U T YO U C A N F E E L I T. Centura Health does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex, religion, creed, ancestry, sexual orientation, and marital status in admission, treatment, or participation in its programs, services and activities, or in employment. For further information about this policy contact Centura Health’s Office of the General Counsel at 1-303-673-8166 (TTY: 711). Copyright © Centura Health, 2020. ATENCIÓN: Si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 1-719-776-5370 (TTY: 711). CHÚ Ý: Nếu bạn nói Tiếng Việt, có các dịch vụ hỗ trợ ngôn ngữ miễn phí dành cho bạn. Gọi số 1-719-776-5370 (TTY: 711).

16 Life On Capitol Hill

October 2020

Social worker honored with Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award Carol Lingenfelter receives the award for her work with the Central Visitation Program

ABOUT THE AWARD

By Cindy Piggott Every volunteer should be celebrated and acknowledged, as they are the backbones of most nonprofits. Some volunteers go the extra mile and exceed expectations.

Carol Lingenfelter is one such volunteer.

And for her exceptional work with the Central Visitation Program, Lingenfelter was recently honored as a Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award recipient.

Lingenfelter has been a volunteer with Denver’s Central Visitation Program since 2002. For the past 18 years, she has served on its board of directors, assisted with fundraising, volunteered with families and supervised interns.

The Central Visitation Program is a unique nonprofit that provides the metro-area with a much-needed service. Families can fracture — divorce, separation and restraining orders can wreak havoc on a family. In many of these situations, the courts want to make certain that children are safe, but are still able to maintain a relationship with their parents. The answer is supervised parenting time. Yet, this can be expensive and many families with limited resources can have difficulty finding an afford-

The Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award is a program of Spark the Change Colorado. The award was conceived by the Commission on Community Relations to recognize and promote volunteerism by honoring an individual each month whose contributions are constructive, unique and outstanding.

To learn more about this award, donate or nominate an extraordinary volunteer, visit website www.minyasui.org. able program.

To meet that need, the Central Presbyterian Church, 1660 Sherman St. in Uptown, provided the seed money and established the Central Visitation Program in 1993. The Central Visitation Program provides the space and the oversight, enabling low-income families the opportunity to see their children, make exchanges in a safe, supervised setting and maintain a comfortable familial relationship with their children.

Lingenfelter was a social worker in Chicago, and she constantly received calls from attorneys who were working on difficult divorces and needed someone to assist with supervised visits with the children involved.

Upon moving to Denver, Lingenfelter was thrilled to find a volunteer opportunity with the Central Visitation Program. She played a critical role in the development of Central Visitation Program’s internship program, using her experience to work with students gaining intern experience with the Central Visitation Program. She created an intern handbook and

Carol Lingenfelter, left, holds her Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award for a photo op with Liza Kirkpatrick, a committee member for the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award. Lingenfelter donated the $2,000 cash award she received as an award recipient to the Central Visitation Program.

COURTESY PHOTO offered countless hours of supervisory time to ensure the interns’ time was meaningful, productive and provided a positive learning experience.

Lingenfelter demonstrates extreme compassion and empathy in difficult work, and she challenges her interns to think in the same way.

“I cannot think of anyone that embodies Minoru Yasui’s values of vision, integrity, passion, courage, perseverance, advocacy, inclusion and compassion more than Carol,” said Kristen Knaak, one of Lingenfelter’s interns.

Lingenfelter has served on the Central Visitation Program’s board of directors since 2002 and was recently re-elected as its board president.

“Carol has been instrumental in helping guide the organization through its growth,” said Brad Wood, executive director of the Central Visitation Program. “Her expertise has been invaluable in helping the Central Visitation Program grow, and its success.”

Cindy Piggott is the chairperson of the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award Committee.

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Life On Capitol Hill 17

October 2020

Learning labs offer options in trying

times

Shai Learning Labs provide support for virtual learners in small groups

LEARN MORE

By Christy Steadman csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Sometimes 8-year-old Griffith Saxe will say that he doesn’t like school.

“But, really, I love it,” he said.

Griffith is a third-grader at Teller Elementary School in Denver’s Congress Park neighborhood. His favorite subjects are P.E. and science, but what he really enjoys about going to school is making friends and the peer-topeer learning experience.

“He’s very bright,” said his mother, Meredith Goldburg. “But he did not adapt well to virtual learning. We had a difficult time with it.”

Still, the family was not comfortable with Griffith going back to school full-time for in-person learning during the 2020-2021 academic year because of the pandemic. They researched some private schools, but decided that wasn’t a good fit for them — they wanted to continue to supporting Denver Public Schools and keep Griffith part of the Teller community.

Then they found an option that met their needs — the Staenberg-Loup Jewish Community Center’s (JCC Denver) Shai Learning Labs.

“He seems less stressed,” said Gareth Saxe, Griffith’s dad. “As odd as it all still is (the pandemic), he’s having a much more normal school year.”

JCC Denver, 350 S. Dahlia St., opened its Shai Learning Labs on Aug. 31. The learning labs are available to students from any school district in grades kindergarten through fifth grade. They provide small-group support for students who are doing virtual learning. The students’ work is assigned by their school district, and parents still interact directly with their child’s teacher. What the learning labs do is provide a socially distanced space where the students can learn with adult supervision to ensure students are completing their assignments and following a school-like routine; as well as tutoring, homework help and tech support, if needed.

“It creates a school atmosphere for virtual learning,” said Daniel Siegel, associate director of Camp Shai at JCC Denver. “We’re not their teachers, but we’re there, helping them (the students) through all of it.”

Care providers experienced JCC Denver is a licensed childcare provider, so the adults in the learning labs have experience working with children in the K-5 age group, Siegel said. The learning labs are being hosted through JCC Denver’s Camp Shai, which is a day camp offered for Denver-metro youths in grades kindergarten through eighth grade.

Parents of youths who attended Camp Shai had asked if JCC Denver would consider hosting a learning lab, Siegel said, because they trusted that JCC Denver would be able to provide a structured learning environment that would be safe during the pandemic.

With the learning labs, students are divided into small, separate groups of six to eight children, and the groups do not intermingle to adhere to social distancing. During virtual learning time, each student has a divider between them, similar to some office setups.

These dividers serve two purposes, Siegel said.

One is for social distancing, and the other is to provide a focus zone for learning. Games and recreational activities during breaks, and/or once virtual learning is completed, have been adapted to be socially distanced, Siegel said.

Additionally, both the students and staff wear masks the entire time and practice frequent hand washing.

Students also stick to a schedule, like they would at in-person school, Siegel said.

Corbin Smith uses headphones and a laptop during his virtual learning experience at the Shai Learning Labs, which is offered by the Staenberg-Loup Jewish Community Center in Denver. PHOTOS COURTESY OF DANIEL SIEGEL/CAMP SHAI

To learn more about the Staenberg-Loup Jewish Community Center (JCC Denver), visit www. jccdenver.org. A direct link to the Shai Learning Labs is: www.jccdenver. org/communities/youth/ learning-labs. That webpage has information on cost of enrollment to the learning labs, a sample schedule, COVID-19 precautions the JCC Denver is taking and more.

“It’s hard to be in a routine when stuck at home,” he said. “This gives them routine. And the kids are super happy to be around kids their age.”

Though JCC Denver is “not the only one doing this,” Siegel said, it is one way the organization is helping to fill a need in the community. The additional responsibility for parents to navigate their children’s educational needs every day can be difficult — whether they’re working from home or away from home, Siegel said.

Additionally, JCC Denver is a nonprofit, Siegel said. The learning labs, he said, are a creative way for JCC to bring in revenue. Although Camp Shai hosted youths this summer, it was nowhere near the amount in past years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Need will determine future Currently, Shai Learning Labs has 35 students enrolled, and there are only a few spots still available. JCC plans on operating the learning labs through this semester, and possibly next semester depending on the need, Siegel said. The organization is also exploring options to possibly open the learning labs for students who attend hybrid school, meaning part virtual and part in-person learning.

Like Griffith Saxe, Nina Visser enjoys the social aspect of school. She is an only child, and it’s important to her parents that she has interaction with other children her age. Nina, 8, is in the third grade and has attended Palmer Elementary School in Denver’s Hale neighborhood since she was in kindergarten.

“We believe strongly in public education,” said Sara Visser, Nina’s mother, adding she wanted Nina’s school get the funding for her enrollment in the 2020-2021 school year.

Nina’s father, Klaas Visser, is a pilot and is sometimes away from home for three to four

Alan Alvarado works on his virtual learning assignments at the Shai Learning Labs, located at the Staenberg-Loup Jewish Community Center in Denver. days at a time. Sara Visser works part time as an aide to a Denver city councilmember. The family was able to make their schedules work to balance virtual learning last year, but there were times that Nina’s grandmother had to come over so Sara could attend a virtual meeting or a conference call.

“Grandma couldn’t help with the computer,” Nina said.

So, for the 2020-2021 school year, the Vissers looked into hiring a teacher to facilitate a learning pod for about five to eight of Nina’s classmates, but that didn’t work out, Sara Visser said.

Then, Sara Visser, who is a Denver native and grew up involved with the JCC, heard about the Shai Learning Labs.

“We knew they would do it well,” she said.

Nina enjoys seeing her teacher from Palmer every day, even though it is in a virtual format. But what’s exciting about the learning labs, she said, is that she has made two new friends.

The learning labs “are very helpful,” Nina Visser said. Although it’s not quite as good as going to school with a teacher in the classroom every day, she said, “you still learn better there (at JCC) than at home.”

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18 Life On Capitol Hill

October 2020 More than 20 businesses participated in the Colfax Ave Business Improvement District’s inaugural Independents Day. The event, which celebrates the local and independent businesses that make Colfax Avenue special, was originally planned to take place as a one-day event in July.

However, plans changed slightly because of the coronavirus pandemic, and this year, the event took place Sept. 18-20. Throughout the weekend, participating businesses offered a variety of deals and promotions, including food-and-drink specials and discounts on retail purchases.

The Colfax Ave BID also offered a scavenger hunt, which people could participate virtually or in-person, and $500 worth of gift cards were awarded to scavenger hunt winners.

Colfax Avenue is home to an eclectic mix of businesses, said Michelle Valeri, communications and programs director for the Colfax Ave BID. Independents Day was a fun way to engage the community and promote the local businesses, Valeri said. But, she added, local businesses need support all the time, not just during a special event. The Colfax Ave BID’s boundaries stretch approximately from the capitol building at 200 E. Colfax Ave. to Denver East High School, 1600 City Park Esplanade; and includes 14th and 16th avenues.

There are roughly 500 businesses in the district. Learn more at https:// colfaxave.com. Pictured is one of the power boxes part of 2020’s art installation called Colfax Strong. This one is by Kaitlin Ziesmer. There are 15 power boxes part of Colfax Strong, and they are located along Colfax Avenue from Grant to Josephine streets.

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20 Life On Capitol Hill

October 2020

All the flavors to entice kids.

All the nicotine to keep them hooked.

E-cigarette makers and vape shops are enticing kids with flavors like cotton candy, gummy bear and bubble gum. And nationally, over 5 million kids are using these flavored e-cigarettes.

Vape shops and tobacco companies say their products aren’t ending up in kids’ hands, but that’s just not true. Many retailers still sell to minors, and many of them in Denver even illegally sold products during the COVID-19 shutdown violating emergency orders.

Let’s stop pretending vape shops and the industry care about public health or the health of our children. It’s time to stop the sale of flavored tobacco products to protect our kids.

Take action now by visiting FlavorsHookKidsDenver.org to tell City Council Members Jolon Clark and Paul Kashmann to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.

Paid for by Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund