Life On Capitol Hill 1120

Life On

November 2020

Founded in 1975

CAPITOL HILL

LifeOnCapHill.com

ENSURING ALL ARE WARM THIS WINTER

Annual Coats for Colorado drive takes place through Nov. 30

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DELIVERING E-SMILES Denver Girl Scout organizes group to send uplifting emails to hospice nurses

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EXCEPTIONALLY DEDICATED EDUCATORS Two DPS teachers nominated for Teacher of the Year

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GOING SOLAR Denver solar co-op offers opportunity to learn prior to purchase

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2 Life On Capitol Hill

November 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 centralnorth 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 about their current operating status.

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 Junction Food & Drink A new food hall opened in early October in Denver’s University Hills neighborhood.

Junction Food & Drink at the Colorado Center is located at 2000 South Colorado Blvd. It “is a chef-driven food hall featuring inspired creations from both locally and nationally known chefs,” states the food hall’s website.

According to the website, the food hall opened with six restaurant concepts, a stall serving coffee and tea, and the Junction Bar which serves cocktails, wine and beer. The website states that four more restaurant options are coming soon.

To learn more, visit www.junctionfoodanddrink.com.

La Colombe Coffee Roasters at Ideal Market Denver La Colombe Coffee Roasters and Ideal Market Denver have partnered to provide a shopping and café experience in Capitol Hill.

Ideal Market Denver, 900 E. 11th Ave., opened on Oct. 7, which is the same day that the La Colombe café inside also opened. The café is “owned and operated by Ideal Market but fully outfitted and designed in collaboration with the La Colombe team,” states a news release.

La Colombe is a coffee roaster that “provides signature classic blends and exceptional single-origin coffees to cafés, hotels, restaurants and retailers around the world.

In addition, the company owns and operates 30 cafés in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.,” states the news release. It first came to Denver in 2016.

Ideal Market got its start in Boulder, but is now owned and operated by Whole Foods Market.

At Ideal Market Denver, La Colombe offers cold brew on tap, specialty coffee drinks and traditional espresso beverages and teas.

“We are pumped to work in collaboration with the Ideal Market Denver team to rethink

how we design our cafe and experience within the store,” said JP Iberti, president and co-founder of La Colombe, in a news release.

“We love to bring in elements of craftsmanship, light and texture to our spaces and this new cafe certainly reflects that.” I think that we stuck a balance between our beloved cafes, while complementing the local vibes from the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

To learn more about La Colombe, visit www.lacolombe.com.

Pampered Paws Pet Spa & Boutique A new dog grooming business located on the border of Denver’s Cheesman Park and City Park West neighborhoods had its grand opening on Oct. 2.

Pampered Paws Pet Spa & Boutique, 1900 E. Colfax Ave., was founded by Susan Martinez to provide a spot where all the area’s dogs can be pampered.

The shop provides a full range of grooming services including bathing, nail trims, haircuts, fur de-matting and de-shedding treatments, teeth-brushing and ear cleaning, and even hair coloring with pet-friendly products. Pampered Paws also has a selfserve dog wash, and carries a variety of pet foods, accessories, treats and toys.

A portion of Pampered Paws’ proceeds go to the Mile High Canine Rescue, which is a nonprofit, volunteer-run and foster homebased organization that supports abandoned, neglected and abused dogs until they are placed in a forever home.

To learn more about Pampered Paws Pet Spa & Boutique, visit www.pamperedpawspa. com.

Wheelhouse Platt Park resident Jody Fidler had been operating a mobile gift shop called Wheelhouse Gifts for about four years when COVID-19 hit.

Fidler’s converted van would be at a variety of community events including festivals and fairs and other pop up events. However, earlier this year, Fidler realized that most — if not all — of the events she normally would attend were cancelled this year because of the pandemic.

Then, while out on a walk one day, she saw a vacant space available and decided it was an opportunity to open a brick-and-mortar shop.

“I thought Wheelhouse could add to the greatness and charm of Old South Pearl,” Fidler said.

On July 1, Fidler opened Wheelhouse Gifts at 1525 South Pearl St. in Denver’s Platt Park neighborhood.

Wheelhouse Gifts boasts being an affordable gift boutique and carries a variety of items. Much of the items are women’s clothing and accessories, but Wheelhouse also

carries curated gifts for babies and toddlers, men’s gifts and selections for teens; as well as jewelry, novelty items, artwork, Colorado ware, custom-made decorative license plates, wall art and masks.

Not all the items are handmade, Fidler said, but the store does carry a number of items that are made by local artisans.

The concept is to have something for everybody’s wheelhouse, Fidler said.

“We like people to come in and be happy,” Fidler said, “and find the unique gift that will make their friend smile.”

To learn more about Wheelhouse Gifts, visit its Facebook page or call the shop at 720-248-8477.

CLOSINGS Zaidy’s Deli Zaidy’s Deli, which served Jewish comfort food, recently announced on its website that it had closed indefinitely.

According to the letter addressed to “our loyal customers, friends and family,” the deli opened its location in Cherry Creek, 121 Adams St., in 1992.

“The appreciation we have for the opportunity to serve our family recipes and favorite foods while watching this city flourish right outside our window, is only surpassed by our immense gratitude for you,” the letter states.

“It’s the memories made at our restaurant, over good food with good company, that we are most proud of and that we’ll undoubtedly miss the most.”

CHANGES/OTHER Brightmarten BusinessDen reported that Brightmarten, a restaurant located at 730 South University Blvd. near Bonnie Brae, would be operating for take-out only — with some pop-up events — through the winter.

An Oct. 1 post on the restaurant’s Facebook page states the change of operations will help manage labor and food costs.

“We have come to the conclusion that we cannot operate as a normal restaurant over the winter,” the restaurant posted. “The cold

will force us to bring people inside and with the size and shape of our dining room, that leaves us with very few options to create a fun, safe space indoors.”

On its website, Brightmarten states that it plans on making its restaurant space available for private dining events for lunch or dinner, pop-up events, specialty events such as a limited attendance wine dinner, and perhaps cooking-and/or-cocktail making classes.

“We have a lifeline right now and we see a path to make it through the winter. There is no blueprint for what’s ahead, but we believe by controlling our costs, doing take-out and having fun events we give ourselves a chance to be your neighborhood restaurant for years to come,” a letter on the restaurant’s website states. “We are fighters and if all goes well, we will open up in the Spring stronger … While we hunker down over the winter, we hope that you find ways to support restaurants that continue to operate as usual, as well as supporting us.”

To learn more about Brightmarten, or to order take-out, visit www.brightmarten.com/.

MILESTONES Rosy Rings Rosy Rings, a home fragrance company, celebrated the one-year anniversary of its brick-and-mortar location on Oct. 24.

Founder Shannon Cumberland started the business in her Denver home’s kitchen more than 25 years ago, selling her products online and in other retailers, including national and international department stores and boutiques. The Rosy Rings Studio, 2940 E. Sixth Ave. in Cherry Creek North, is the business’ first Rosy Rings company store that is not an independent retailer.

Popular products include diffusers, candles, botanical wax sachets and seasonal fragrance items. Rosy Rings Studio also regularly hosts candle and sachet making classes, now offered virtually or as small-group inperson at the studio.

To learn more about the company or the Rosy Rings Studio, visit www.studio.rosyrings.com.

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Allie Liebgott, director of retail operations and co-owner of Rosy Rings Studio, and Shannon Cumberland, founder of Rosy Rings and co-owner of Rosy Rings Studio, stand outside the Rosy Rings Studio in Cherry Creek North. Rosy Rings was founded more than 25 years ago, and the brick-and-mortar celebrated its one-year anniversary in October.

PHOTO BY JIMENA PECK

Life On Capitol Hill 3

November 2020

Denver Restaurant Week to advocate for local eateries November event will take place across the metro area Staff report Restaurants have endured particular hardships amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and with a focus on advocacy for the restaurant industry, Visit Denver — the city’s convention and visitors bureau — has announced a fall Denver Restaurant Week to take place Nov. 13-22.

With COVID-19 precautions in place to keep the community safe, the November “program will still showcase the creative, exciting menus that diners have come to expect,” states a news release on Visit Denver’s website.

“For the past 16 years, we have been able to applaud the phenomenal growth of Denver’s culinary community with Denver Restaurant Week,” said Richard Scharf, president and CEO of Visit Denver in the news release.

“Now, it is time for the city to come together for this industry by dining out or taking out, so we have their hospitality, creativity and good food to enjoy for many years to come.”

As in years past, the fall Denver Restaurant Week will feature specially-priced menus from some of the finest restaurants across the metro area. Restaurants will choose one of three available price points — which are $25, $35 or $45 — and create a multi-course dinner at that price. The fall event, however, will feature the option for takeout and delivery from some

“Restaurants play a vital role in Denver’s communities — they make our city unique.”

— Sonia Riggs, president and CEO of the Colorado Restaurant Association

of the restaurants, including those that offer alcohol alongside to-go and delivery orders.

“Restaurants play a vital role in Denver’s communities — they make our city unique.

And right now, they are navigating an unprecedented crisis. If they’re going to survive the winter, they need our support,” said Sonia Riggs, president and CEO of the Colorado Restaurant Association. “We ask the public to consider what they’d lose if they lost their local restaurants, and to dine out and take out — during Denver Restaurant Week and then all winter long — to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

Participating restaurants and menus were announced Oct. 26. Diners are able browse the wide variety of options on www.denver. org/denver-restaurant-week. Diners may also make reservations or plan their takeout orders by contacting the individual restaurants.

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A Warren Village resident dances in the new shoes she received through an effort

by CenturyLink’s Women Empowered Group — an employee resource group — earlier this fall. Every summer, Warren Village sends a list of shoe needs to the CenturyLink Women Empowered Group and the group, across five Denver-based CenturyLink locations, collects the shoes — donated by employees — and delivers them to Warren Village. Warren Village is a Denver-based organization located in the Cheesman Park neighborhood that focuses on “helping low-income, single-parent families make the journey from poverty to self-sufficiency,” states a news release.

This year is the 14th consecutive year the shoe donation has occurred, and 174 pairs of shoes were collected and donated.

COURTESY OF WARREN VILLAGE

4 Life On Capitol Hill

The

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new public art installation along East Colfax Avenue in the Bluebird Business Improvement District was recently completed.

Called Bluebird Haiku, it is located along the sidewalk on the north side of Colfax beginning near East High School and ending near the Bluebird Theater. The art project was spearheaded by East High School student Camille Davis and her father Greg Davis, funded in part by a Denver Arts & Venues grant called P.S. You Are Here. The Bluebird Business Improvement District sponsored the father-and-daughter team for the grant.

Anybody in the Denver metro-wide community was permitted to submit a haiku for the project, but the submission had to describe, illustrate, characterize and/or portray the essence or history of the Bluebird District.

The completed project consists of about 20 haikus accompanied by a repeating pattern of three bluebirds flying east.

Learn more at https:// bluebirdhaiku.com/.

essence of Colfax

November 2020

Teagan Johnson stands with the haiku she submitted for the Bluebird Haiku public art project, which was recently implemented along East Colfax. Johnson won an honorable mention for her haiku. COURTESY OF GREG DAVIS

A group of students, artists and volunteers gather for a photo in Denver’s Bluebird Business Improvement District upon the recent completion of the Bluebird Haiku public art project. Camille Davis, an East High School student who spearheaded the project, is pictured in the front.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GREG DAVIS

An example of a haiku and bluebird cluster that is part of the Bluebird haiku public art project in Denver’s Bluebird Business Improvement District along East Colfax.

PHOTO BY CHRISTY STEADMAN

State Representative Leslie Herod’s (D-Denver) 6-month-old Labradoodle named Clinton completed a four-week intensive socialization and basic obedience training in October at the Sterling Correctional Facility. The Colorado Department of Corrections’ Canine Companion Program is run by Colorado Correctional Industries and serves as a “catalyst for community building inside of several prisons across Colorado,” states a news release. How it works is dogs enrolled in the program are coached by an assigned trainer — a person serving a sentence in the DOC. The inmate trainers can eventually qualify as master dog handlers after enough time working in the program. The program is not supported by public tax dollars as most of the dogs come from private families who help fund the program through boarding and training fees. About 13,000 dogs have been trained by inmates through the program since it began in 2002.

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Life On Capitol Hill 5

November 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 Member Chris Hinds to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.

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6 Life On Capitol Hill

r o s t a n c o u m d e i n a S t P e D d for o w T

November 2020

Teac h e r of the Year Rachel Lamb, Gerardo Muñoz are two of seven finalists statewide

By Christy Steadman csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

D

enver Public Schools teachers are dedicated to their students.

And two have stood out among all the teachers in the entire state for their exceptional work.

In early October, the Colorado Department of Education announced that DPS teachers Rachel Lamb and Gerardo Muñoz were named two of seven finalists for the 2021 Colorado Teacher of the Year recognition. The program “recognizes an exceptionally dedicated, knowledgeable and skilled K-12 classroom teacher to represent the entire profession in Colorado,” states the Colorado Department of Education’s website.

“This year has been exceptionally tough on our teachers. We can’t thank them enough for their dedication to teaching our students through all the challenges of COVID-19,” said Katy Anthes, Colorado’s education commissioner, in a news release. “These seven educators have inspired me with their exceptional dedication to supporting their students and the high quality of their professional practice. Colorado would be proud to have any one of them represent the profession for our state.”

DPS Superintendent Susana Cordova added that teachers are “stepping up in ways they never imagined.”

“I know they are doing so thinking about the students who need that familiarity, who need that connection and who depend on great teachers to help them achieve their goals,” Cordova said. “Both Gerardo and Rachel have demonstrated a commitment to our students in a way that not only embodies Denver Public Schools’ cores values, but also goes above and beyond.”

On Oct. 29, the Colorado Department of Education named Muñoz as Colorado’s 2021 Teacher of the Year. He will automatically become Colorado’s nominee for the 2021 Council of Chief State School Officers’ National Teacher of the Year competition. Out of all of the states’ nominees, four finalists will be selected, and of them, one will be named the 2021 National Teacher of the Year.

“Muñoz is an incredible educator deserving of this honor,” Cordova said in a news release.

“His dedication to his students is representative of many outstanding educators you will find in DPS classrooms. He inspires, guides and uplifts students on a daily basis, and I am honored to serve our students alongside him.”

Get to know the nominees Rachel Lamb Being of Navajo descent, growing up, Lamb was taught the importance of passing knowledge on to the future generations, she said.

“It is an honor to my Navajo ancestors and the many innovators in my life,” Lamb said of her nomination. But she added it is her students’ tireless work that earned her the nomination. “I am merely a vessel for their voices, creativity and vision.”

Lamb, 36, has been an educator for 14 years and most of that has been spent teaching grades two-through-five. Her career began with Albuquerque Public Schools, and this school year is her third with DPS. She and her husband — who is also an educator — relocated to Colorado to broaden their educational experience, as well as that of their 7-year-old daughter. With DPS, Lamb taught at Stedman Elementary School in Denver’s North Park Hill

TEACHER SPOTLIGHT Rachel Lamb Years teaching: 14 Years with Denver Public Schools: 2 Current role: Second grade at Inspire Elementary School.

Recognitions/projects: • National Board Certified Teacher • Nearpod PioNear • National Geographic Certified Educator • Two-time TEDxABQ Education Speaker • Apple Distinguished Educator • PBS Digital Innovator • Henry Ford Teacher Innovator • ISTE Making IT Happen award recipient • Translating Tinybop app to Navajo language

LEARN MORE To learn more about the Colorado Department of Education’s annual Colorado Teacher of the Year recognition, visit https://www.cde.state. co.us/cdeawards/teacheroftheyear.

To learn more about the Council of Chief State School Officers’ National Teacher of the Year, visit https://ntoy. ccsso.org/.

Gerardo Muñoz Years teaching: 22 Years with Denver Public Schools: 22 Current role: Middle-andhigh school social studies at the Denver Center for International Studies at Baker.

Recognitions/projects: • EduColor and the #WeBuildEDU project • National Education Association’s Racial and Social Justice Conference • CHOOSE • University of Colorado’s Teachers of Color and Allies Summit • Too Dope Teachers and a Mic podcast (Muñoz and Kevin Adams) • Currently authoring a book about being an educational disrupter, which includes exploring systemic oppression, inequality in education and how to ensure all students have an opportunity to succeed

Years that Denver Public Schools teachers became the Colorado Department of Education’s Teacher of the Year 2021 — Gerardo Muñoz, Denver Center for International Studies at Baker 2019 — Meg Cypress, Bradley International School 2010 — Justin Darnell, BryantWebster K-8

1982 — Hugh Avis, Manual High School

1971 — James Fluckey, West High School

1980 — Richard Nelson, East High School (National Finalist)

1968 — Margaret Jacoby, Pitts Elementary School

1976 — Ted Tsumura, George Washington High School (National Finalist)

1967 — Margaret Smith, Denver East High School

THE SEVEN FINALISTS FOR THE 2021 COLORADO TEACHER OF THE YEAR ARE: Anna Conrad: English language arts and AVID teacher at Harrison High School in Colorado Springs, Harrison School District Two.

School, Mesa County Valley 51.

Lisa Crabtree: Social studies teacher at Fruita Monument High

Joe Hites: Health and leadership teacher at Vista Ridge High

Holly Haverkorn: Drama and technical theatre teacher at Mitchell High School, Colorado Springs School District 11.

neighborhood for the 2018-2019 school year, and she taught at McMeen Elementary School in the Washington Virginia Vale neighborhood last year. This is her first year teaching at Inspire Elementary, 5677 N Galena St., in Denver’s Central Park neighborhood. Lamb teaches second grade there.

In her teaching, Lamb incorporates realworld applications, technology, design thinking and project-based subjects.

“Students learn a lot more when they are active participants,” Lamb said. “When we (challenge) them with something they find difficult, they always are able to meet or exceed expectations.”

Lamb also strives to ensure that education in general evolves with the students.

“Every student has a different background,” Lamb said. “There’s so many different ways students can demonstrate their knowledge through the use of technology and their individual voices.”

Gerardo Muñoz Muñoz, 44, grew up in the east side of Denver “where community, culture and strength were modeled daily,” he said. “I was raised by people

School in Colorado Springs, School District 49.

teacher at Inspire Elementary School, Denver Public Schools.

Tricia Kearns: Science and health teacher at Webber Middle School in Fort Collins, Poudre School District.

Gerardo Muñoz: Middleand-High school social studies teacher at the Denver Center for International Studies, Denver Public Schools.

Rachel Lamb: Second-grade

who cared deeply about making the world a better place for youth.”

His mother is a retired teacher, and his father was a soccer coach, but Muñoz had other career ideas — he was considering a career in journalism or perhaps acting.

But at age 22, he got his first teaching job as a long-term substitute teacher, and fell in love with teaching that first day.

“It’s the energy and curiosity that the young people walk into the classroom with,” Muñoz said. “If I have accomplished anything as a teacher, I have done so because I am a part of a community that inspires, motivates and shows solidarity.”

Muñoz spent eight years teaching at the Contemporary Learning Academy — a DPS school now located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood — before he came to the Denver Center for International Studies at Baker, 574 Sixth Ave. He teaches social studies to seventh graders and to students in grades 10 through 12, and in the 14 years Muñoz has been at DCIS, he helped build the school’s soccer program and start the school’s debate team.

“The big picture,” Muñoz said, “is seeing young people move from educational depen-

dency to a state of freedom. It’s not just about grades and test scores because it’s also about their ability to dream and turn their talents into something they want to do long term.”

Muñoz’s wife is an early childhood educator, and they have a 15-year-old daughter.

When Muñoz was a teen, he witnessed many of his childhood friends drop out of high school, he said. That helps him realize today how important it is for all students to have some basis in education that they can relate to, and an adult that will advocate for them. Both within the school and outside of his role with DPS, Muñoz is involved with a number of programs, initiatives, campaigns and organizations that promote equity and antiracism.

Muñoz is a “champion for people of color and social justice issues,” said Marisa Vasquez, principal at DCIS Baker.

She added that Muñoz empowers his students.

“His enthusiasm for social justice sets the tone for our students as well as our staff,” Vasquez said. “He puts the students who are marginalized at the center. He brings it (equity in education) back to the students who need it the most.”

Life On Capitol Hill 7

November 2020

‘That bright spot makes a real difference’ Girl Scouts send uplifting emails to hospice nurses to brighten their day

By Christy Steadman csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

H

ospice nurses have such an important job.

That is why Denver Girl Scout Rebecca Gruen-Wener wanted to make hospice nurses the focal point of her Silver Award project.

“I really love knowing that I’m helping nurses,” she said, “because their whole job is to help others. This is our chance to help them.”

Hospice nurses are health-care professionals who care for people who are near the end of their life cycle.

The purpose of Gruen-Wener’s Silver Award project, called the Support Pal Program, is to uplift hospice nurses’ spirits. Gruen-Wener is working with about 15 Girl Scouts from eight different troops to send a weekly email with an uplifting message to the nurses working at Brookdale Hospice Denver. The Support Pal emails can include a comic or cartoon, joke or riddle, phrase of encouragement — just about “anything to make the nurses smile,” Gruen-Wener said.

Unlike a pen pal program, the nurses are not required to return an email. The emails have a sole purpose of brightening the nurses’ day, without adding more stress to their

already-busy day, Gruen-Wener said.

The job of a hospice nurse is rewarding — being able to connect with a person during an intimate time in that person’s life, said Kevin Samelson, one of two clinical services managers at Brookdale. He and Abby Shaw oversee the nursing program.

But it is stressful, Samelson added.

Especially now with the virus, a patient’s hospice nurse may be the only person he or she sees in-person. Receiving the emails is such an uplifting, pleasant experience for the nurses, Samelson said.

“It’s something that takes you away from the stress. It (the email) is a completely stress-free moment in the day,” Samelson said. “Everybody needs a bright spot in their day. That bright spot makes a real difference.”

Something else that Samelson added is so valuable about the emails is the spontaneity of them.

“We don’t know when it’s going to come,” he said. “It just arrives. It’s a surprise, but it’s always a pleasant surprise.”

Gruen-Wener began her project by asking the hospice nurses what their biggest challenges are currently, during COVID-19. They told her a big one was the lack of their patients’ support system. Because of the strict no visitor rules, hospice patients don’t have access to visitors such as music therapists, and friends and loved ones. Another was, simply, not being able to exchange the basic human interaction of a smile because of the need to use personal protection equipment (PPE).

SEE GIRL SCOUTS, P11

Meet Rebecca Gruen-Wener

Denver Girl Scout Rebecca Gruen-Wener, 14, is a recent recipient of the Silver Award. To earn the Silver Award, Gruen-Wener implemented the Support Pal Program, for which hospice nurses receive an uplifting email from area Girl Scouts on an ongoing, weekly basis.

COURTESY PHOTO

Rebecca Gruen-Wener, 14, is a recent recipient of the Girl Scout Silver Award.

The Silver Award is the highest achievement for middle school-aged Girl Scouts, and is the penultimate achievement for girls in their entire Girl Scouts career.

It is a progression for girls to earn their Gold Award — the highest achievement — in high school.

To earn a Silver Award, a Girl Scout must complete a project that addresses a need in their community.

“It encourages girls to not only start looking at the issues in the world around them,” said Kaitie LoDolce, manager of Highest Awards for Girl Scouts of Colorado, “but also take action to make an impact.”

LoDolce added that often, earning a Silver Award is the first time that girls “start to truly believe they can make a real difference in the world.”

Girls are expected to advocate for their Silver Award project and reach out to subject matter experts in their community. For some girls, it’s the first time they get real-world experience with skills such as drafting professional emails or speaking with professional adults on the phone, LoDolce said.

“These practical skills are huge for middle school girls and set them up for success in high school and beyond,” she added.

Gruen-Wener has been a Girl Scout since she was in kindergarten. She is part of Troop 1737, which is based in Denver’s Lowry neighborhood.

While completing her Silver Award project, GruenWener enjoyed learning more about hospice, and being able to organize a team. She added that she also improved her communication skills.

“Girl Scouts really highlights that giving back to the community is important,” Gruen-Wener said. “The Silver Award was a really great way for me to do something for the community that has a lasting impact.”

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8 Life On Capitol Hill

November 2020

LOCAL

VOICES

The year we stayed in on Election Night

A

FROM THE EDITOR

Christy Steadman

t the time of writing this, Election Day is just around the corner. But by the time you read this, results will already be known.

Aside from journalists who cover breaking news for a daily, and not counting television because I’ve never been in that industry, Election Night is probably the busiest night of the year for a reporter. It’s stressful, but also exhilarating in a way.

First of all, it’s all hands on deck. But I request a latestart day as it usually ends up being a late night.

I’ll start the workday with creating lists — a list with all the races I’m covering, an updated list with the cell phone numbers for every candidate in those races, a list with all the watch parties I’m hoping to attend (more on that later), a list of contacts for any ballot measures I’m covering, etc.

Once that’s finished, I’ll start prewriting. In my opinion — I may be alone with this thought because it truly is a big help in the long run — the worst part is the prewriting. It’s not so bad with ballot measures, as by Election Day, a journalist has been learning about these for months. But as for candidates, unless a person is running for the seat unopposed, you never know what’s going to happen.

Then comes the best part of the night — the pizza party. I’m not sure if every newsroom partakes in this, but for us here at Colorado Community Media, it has

become tradition. We try to have our prewriting finished by about 5:30 or 5:45 p.m. so that when the pizza arrives at about 6 or 6:15 p.m., we have a bit of time to enjoy the food and chitchat with each other about anything not related to elections. This, as they say, is the calm before the storm.

By about 6:45 p.m., we’re putting our reporters’ hats on again. We’re making sure we’re properly connected to the internet, and that we’re logged into our web system for updating results online. We’re selecting the races we’re covering on the Secretary of State’s website and making sure we’ve tabbed any webpage we might possibly need easy access to. We make sure we know how to get in touch with the clerk and recorder. We check the batteries and memory cards in our cameras, and that we have a reporter’s notebook and a backup pen in case one runs out of ink.

Then we wait.

It honestly can seem like hours between the time we’ve finished checking that our journalist’s tool are in order and the time the first results come in. But as soon as they do, we plug those first numbers into our prewritten stories, send them to our editor who will post them on our respective communities’ websites and then we’re off to the watch parties.

Watch parties are always fun. Sometimes the candidates invite you to stay and hang out — and eat more

food — but in my experience, even though the results are streaming in some manner at the watch party (thus eliminating the need to stay glued to your computer), it has always been impossible to stay at a single watch party for longer than the time necessary to take a few photos and gather a couple of quotes. Not that I don’t appreciate the invite, it’s just that there’s so many places to be in such a short amount of time.

Eventually, you make your way back to the office and hunker down for the next few hours as more ballots are counted. Our newsroom periodically updates our web stories as the results trickle in, but this is the time that most of the reporters’ efforts are focused on writing the stories that will eventually go in print and editing the photos that will accompany them. That’s to say if the race is not too close.

This year is going to be different, however. One reason is that I am now an editor, rather than a reporter.

Secondly, Life on Capitol Hill and Washington Park Profile are monthlies, versus my previous role with a weekly. Lastly, COVID-19.

We’ll still have our newsroom pizza party, and we’ll still take on the responsibility of publishing election results as they come in. But making a new memory at watch party this year just isn’t going to happen. I guess that’s OK — us journalists will remember this year as the year we stayed in on Election Night.

The times are a-changin’ once again Considering a career transition? Denver’s Rocketman Realtor has some advice

I

GUEST COLUMN

Paul Kashmann

n a time long past and a land far, far away, a troubadour once penned the famous line, “the times they are a’changing.” Several decades later, that same gent looked around at the state of the union and offered up a revised tome, “times have changed.”

It is sometimes difficult to tell the chicken from the egg, because as I survey the landscape in 2020, I find us in both places at once - times have certainly changed, but the times, they are a’changing once again.

If you’ve called Denver home for more than a few years, you have seen clearly the shifts that have taken place. They began slowly in the 1980s and 1990s, but as the 21st Century dawned, the faint winds of change turned into a raging storm. Tens of thousands of new neighbors streamed into our neighborhoods and took root in single-family homes and multiunit buildings of style and mass, unlike what have historically populated the Denver skyline.

While the rush of people and businesses into Denver created an economic boom that was the envy of many “less-fortunate” cities around the country, the influx simultaneously spawned a raft of less-desirable changes, including dangerously overwhelmed roadways, inflated housing costs that have made living in Denver increasingly the privilege of none but the well-to-do and architectural shifts that have muddled the

historic character of many inner-city neighborhoods.

Denver is engaged in a number of initiatives designed to make some sense of what has taken place and to better shape our path forward.

For decades, our Planning Department created only one small area (neighborhood) plan per year — at best. These critical documents serve as a guide for local implementation of Denver’s Comprehensive Plan and Blueprint Denver, our primary land use and transportation document. With 78 statistical neighborhoods, it would take nearly a century to plan the entire city, which makes no sense as most plans have dubious value after 20 years. No more than 20% of our city has had current small-area plans at any given time. In 2017, our Department of Community Planning and Development (CPD) created the Neighborhood Planning Initiative (NPI), reconfiguring our 78 neighborhoods into 14 sub-groups to facilitate planning the entire city in 10-14 years, with updates of those plans being made on a regular basis thereafter. While the initial group of NPI efforts have taken longer than anticipated, the pace of planning still far exceeds past attempts.

The Near Southeast Area Plan, including the eastern-most reaches of District 6, will kick off SEE KASHMANN, P9

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Change is constant and unsettling.

Our friends and neighbors experiencing homelessness or staring at the brink of homelessness know this all too well. Maybe you, too, are a missed paycheck away from finding your housing in peril. The booming real estate market is tearing through neighborhoods - raising rents and pushing out longtime neighbors in the name of gentrification. The threat

of housing insecurity is real. Updated zoning regulation is a viable solution.

The Delores Project operates a small shelter for women and transgender folks experiencing homelessness. Our facility is part of an integrated site featuring a shelter, supportive housing and affordable, workforce housing. With 60 beds, our staff work closely with our shelter guests, supporting them through

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

case management and rehousing services. Our shelter guests engage with the community just as any good neighbor would. Recently, guests and residents have helped a lost dog find a home, helped neighbors jumpstart cars with dead batteries and provided impromptu childcare.

Group living changes under the

C

areer transitions are equal parts scary and exhilarating. And if transformation is truly what you desire, then there are few reasons not to take a chance. Life is too short not to do what you love.

How do I know? Well, I went through a significant career transition. After spending over a GUEST decade of working for NASA as an electrical enCOLUMN gineer, I received my real estate license. Making the radical move from rocket scientist to a real estate professional wasn’t an easy transition.

There’s no doubt that guiding astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) to repair their equipment in space is a far cry from guiding home buyers and sellers on their real estate journeys. What helped me the most was figuring out how to apply the lessons learned in my first career to my blooming real estate career.

I credit these lessons learned with my current Juan Munoz success and I hope they can bring you success in your next career transition.

“Trust, But Verify” “Trust, but verify” is NASA’s unofficial slogan. I hear it repeated by everyone from leaders to administrative staff throughout the organization, and for good reason. When everyone is operating with this principle in mind, you don’t just have a team, you have an A-team.

Trust is the mark of true collaboration.

Whether the project is launching a rocket to the ISS or finding the career of your dreams, this principle ensures that the checks and balances needed for success are in place.

When considering this principle in relation to a career transition, it reminds us to take time to discover what we want and how to get

SEE LETTER, P9

SEE REALTOR, P9

JERRY HEALEY President

ERIN ADDENBROOKE Marketing Consultant

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Life On Capitol Hill 9

November 2020

Houseplant care 101

H

ere at the Denver Botanic Gardens, we have a large collection of tropical plants that live in the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory and in our plant collections greenhouses. Much of this collection is also what could suitably be considered houseplants.

Many people choose to decorate their home with houseplants as it can be beneficial in many ways other than visually appealing. Some other benefits of including plants in your home are they can improve mood, reduce fatigue, lower stress and increase oxygen and humidity in the air.

When choosing plants for your living space, it’s important to first pay attention to the conditions in your home. The main things to think about are sun exposure, which changes quite drastically over the course of the year; average temperature of the living space; amount of space you can dedicate to your plants; and what pets might be exposed to the plants. Because of the vast array of houseplants available, it is best to grow what will do well in your conditions.

Here are a few general groups of plants recommended for different conditions.

Kashmann FROM PAGE 8

in early 2021. For information on NPI, visit denvergov.org/neighborhoodplanning.

Simultaneously, CPD is spearheading a trio of housing-related studies that will inform the NPI process. The Group Living Advisory Committee has proposed increasing the number of unrelated individuals that may reside in single-family homes as well as expanding locations where community corrections’ halfway houses and larger homeless shelters may be sited. (Visit denvergov.org/groupliving).

The Affordable Housing Incentives study is looking at ways to stimulate the construction of affordable housing for a broad spectrum of income levels (visit denvergov.org/affordabilityincentive) and the Residential Infill Project will kick off after the first of the year looking at whether to incorporate options such as duplexes, triplexes and the like into neighborhoods that have traditionally welcomed only single-family homes. In addition, discussions continue city-wide on what role Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) can play in expanding housing opportunity in Denver.

For those communities concerned that fast-paced changes will blot out the historic character of their neighborhoods, Conservation Overlay Districts hold promise. Considered “preservation-lite,” conservation overlays allow communities to determine what elements are critical to preserving the feel and curb appeal of their streetscape, while allowing for renovation and expansion of existing properties without the restrictions of historic designation. The Krisana Park area of Virginia Village took advantage of this tool in 2016 for a group of some 175 mid-century homes, preserving the characteristic long-slung roof lines and pushing expansion toward the back of the property.

For many years, cries for city traffic engineers to slow increasing traffic were often met with “we need to keep traffic moving.” There is clear evidence that as traffic deaths rise on city streets, in spite of the efforts of Denver’s Vision Zero initiative, the attitude is changing. We’ve begun experimenting with traffic control tools

Letter FROM PAGE 8

new proposal open the door for agencies like The Delores Project to establish similar small shelters throughout Denver. Our service model offers higher case manager to guest ratios, leading to greater stability and success in future housing.

Nobody wants to see our unhoused neighbors struggle on the streets. This summer’s

Eight hours of direct light is considered full sun. Plants that will be happy with six or more hours of sun include cacti and succulents, croton, dracena, palms, cycads, hibiscus or strelitzia. Some plants that do well in medium light — three to six hours of sun — are orchids, pilea, gesneriads, African violet and begonia. Plants that will do well in low light are spathiphyllum, ferns, diffenbachia, ivy, philodendron, calathea and anthurium.

Now for some general care tips for successfully growing houseplants. In general, don’t overwater. This, in my opinion, is the most important and the hardest thing I ever learned how to do. Roots breathe oxygen and if soil is constantly saturated, roots will rot and the plant will die. Obviously, some plants need more water than others, but a good general schedule for most is saturated for a day or so, two-to-three days of medium dryness and a day or two on the drier side. It’s OK for plants to begin to wilt so long as they don’t get crispy.

GUEST COLUMN Scott Preusser

SEE PLANTS, P13

like roundabouts that other cities have used successfully for decades, and speed tables and raised crosswalks are finally on the drawing board. I was able to get $200,000 into the 2020 budget for a study to look at speed limits on city streets, with an initial focus on possible reduction of neighborhood street limits from 25 mph to 20 mph. The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure is moving forward with plans to complete construction of 125 miles of bike lanes across our city in the next few years and we are moving forward albeit far too slowly - with efforts to create a pedestrian infrastructure that moves people safely through our neighborhoods.

Perhaps the most disheartening change to our city is the increase in residents experiencing homelessness that have been driven to our sidewalks, our parks and along our rivers and creeks to find shelter. Much of this problem has to do with the dismantling of our national mental health system decades ago, a lack of substance abuse treatment beds and a growing gap between rich and poor that has 500,000 people living on our streets nationwide. Over time, funds from the Caring For Denver sales tax passed by voters in 2017 will help rebuild our local mental health and addiction treatment resources. That said, we simply have not been aggressive enough in building both transitional housing for those needing a leg up to get back to an independent lifestyle and permanent supportive housing for those in need of more long-term services. We need to pick up the pace of that effort. In the short term we are restructuring our overnight shelter system to be open 24 hours a day, as well as increasing options for underserved populations — LGBTQ individuals, couples and families, pet owners, etc. We continue the difficult task of trying to site small-scale tiny home villages and managed campsites to provide dignified alternatives to the pop-up camps that do not serve our community well.

Change is difficult, but stagnation is deadly.

Please let your voice be heard on what you want your city to look like, be like and stand for in the coming years.

Paul Kashmann represents District 6 on Denver City Council. He can be reached at paul.kashmann@denvergov.org. challenge at Morey Middle School clearly shows the need in our community. It is time to stand together and take real steps to change things in Denver. Speak with your neighbors on Capitol Hill, and call your city council member, Chris Hinds, and encourage him to approve the revised group living regulations. We must share the burden of lifting up people who need help across the city, on Cap Hill and beyond.

Together we can meet everyone’s basic needs.

Robin Wood-Mason, director of development and communications for The Delores Project

Realtor FROM PAGE 8

it. As you do your research, trust your gut, but verify what you’re feeling. For example, you may find that you still enjoy your current career, but would welcome more flexibility in your schedule. Or, you may come to the conclusion that what you need is a different position in a different field altogether.

If you’re ready to take the plunge, learn as much as possible about your new potential career. Research qualifications, salaries and the marketplace. Then talk to people in your desired profession to get a more realistic picture of what your new career would be like.

Get up-to-speed If, like me, you have been in your current career for many years without having done much job searching, realize the ways in which the process has changed. Like a rocket gearing up to break free of the Earth’s gravitational pull, you’ve got to get up-to-speed on the latest trends in your target profession.

Getting my real estate license meant making a considerable investment in education.

Yes, I had to take all the usual real estate classes, but I also had to educate myself about how to become a successful and profitable independent contractor. Think about how to bridge the gaps in your personal knowledge base to set yourself up for success.

Networking has always been and always will be a critical part of building a successful career as a real estate professional. The same is true of every other career. Do yourself a

favor: if you don’t yet have a LinkedIn profile or your current one could use some updating, pay attention to this critical business tool. Also, it’s important to build in some time each day for online networking.

Plan for the unexpected From the outside, it seems obvious how to prepare for a space flight mission: test for the mission conditions, create a plan, then operate according to the plan. But the thing about space flight missions is that each one is unique and so it’s impossible to plan for everything.

Likewise, each career transition is unique and so it’s impossible to plan for everything.

The best you can do is hedge your bets: • Take your time and avoid rash decisions.

• Don’t be afraid to keep one foot in one career as you feel your way into a different career.

• Involve your family and those closest to you in your decision.

• Gather as much information and talk to as many people with the right experiences as you can.

• Do as much as you can to prepare before you take the leap.

• Remind yourself that you can’t anticipate every challenge you’ll encounter.

• Don’t burn any bridges.

While there are no guarantees in life, keeping the above strategies in mind will maximize your chances of finding success. Best of luck with your career transformation!

Juan Munoz is a rocket scientist-turned-real estate agent with HomeSmart Realty Group. To learn more, visit www.homesindenvernow.com.

“How You Can Put An End To Back 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 back 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 just try to stretch it 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, DPT. I’m a national back pain expert.

I’ve made a career for myself helping hundreds of active adults end their back pain naturally. But this wasn’t always the case. Early on, I had a large bulging disc that caused shooting pain down my leg on and off for 5 long years starting when I was only 18 years old.

I had so much pain when trying put on my shoes or simply go for a walk around the park. I tried what felt like literally 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 didn’t change it for long or it 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 back 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 back 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 back 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 with your back pain, and how you can fix it once you find it… you can join me on a free back pain webinar training 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/CHReader and I’ll see you on the webinar! We only have room for 50 people before we have to take down the replay, so don’t wait and miss it!

10 Life On Capitol Hill

November 2020

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Life On Capitol Hill 11

November 2020

A winter coat to every Coloradan who needs one Coats for Colorado drive takes place through Nov. 30

By Christy Steadman

csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

D

ependable Cleaners is again hosting its annual Coats for Colorado campaign to get coats to those who are in need.

“The need is great. We’ve got the ability to provide, and so we will,” said Kasina Swartz, the Coats for Colorado coordinator and store manager for the Dependable Cleaners at 1701 South Broadway.

“It’s carrying on someone else’s legacy of kindness.”

Coats for Colorado got its start by the late Warren Toltz in the early 1980s. Since then, it has become an annual success, serving nearly 150 local nonprofits, schools and not-for-profit organizations. Last year, about 30,000 coats were collected and distributed to Coloradans in need.

New and gently-used coats may be dropped off at any Dependable Cleaners metro-wide through Nov. 30. Special precautions are being taken this year because of COVID-19, so all coats should be dropped off in a bag to allow time for quarantine. Additionally, Dependable Cleaners’ cleaning process ensures sanitation of each donated coat.

Dependable Cleaners does not have staff to make repairs, so coats must be in condition. For example, there should be no rips or holes and the zippers should work. Coats are cleaned at the location they are dropped off at, then they are delivered to Swartz’s store location for sorting, such as being divided into children’s or adult sizes.

This year, there is a specific need for children’s coats — the loss of jobs because of the pandemic may make it especially difficult for parents who are out-of-work to get their children a winter coat, said Janay Ingram, district manager for Dependable Cleaners.

“The great thing about this year’s drive is that people who are donating coats are truly doing it for the betterment of their community,” Ingram said. “We’ll make sure that every kid, every person in the state of Colorado who needs a winter coat, gets one.”

Girl Scouts FROM PAGE 7

“The hospice nurse now bears the full responsibility for in-person support of the isolated hospice patient,” Gruen-Wener said. “The Support Pals’ emails help the nurses deal with their stress and make their week better. It is a one-way support system for these heronurses at this difficult time.”

To implement this, Gruen-Wener networked with the other Girl Scout troops — four of which are based in Denver, two in Aurora and one in Arvada — and assigned a hospice nurse to each participating Girl Scout.

Launching the entire project was done remotely, Gruen-Wener said, adding that she has never met any

Janay Ingram, district manager for Dependable Cleaners, organizes some donated coats at the 998 Lincoln St. location in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood on Oct. 23. The coats that Ingram is sorting have been cleaned onsite, and she is getting them ready to be delivered to Dependable Cleaners’ main Denver location where they will be sorted by size and eventually distributed to area nonprofits for the Coats for Colorado drive.

PHOTOS BY CHRISTY STEADMAN

Elmer Magno, who works at the Dependable Cleaners at 3525 S. Monaco Pkwy in Denver’s Hampden South neighborhood, delivers cleaned, donated coats to the main Denver Dependable Cleaners for the Coats for Colorado drive. The coats that Magno brought on Oct. 23 will be sorted by size, then dropped off to area nonprofits.

LEARN MORE To learn more about the Coats for Colorado drive, including a list of Dependable Cleaners where coats can be dropped off, visit https://coatsforcolorado.org. of the other Girl Scout Support Pals in person. However, Gruen-Wener is hoping to have a get-together with them once COVID is no longer a concern and it is safe to do so.

Nurses also responded that another big challenge was protecting themselves from catching the virus and keeping their PPE organized.

Brookdale Hospice Denver’s physical location is in Greenwood Village, but the nurses also do home visits which requires travel throughout the Denver-metro area and Boulder, and Brookdale also has a location in Colorado Springs.

To solve the problem of the PPE organization, particularly for the nurses doing home visits, Gruen-Wener designed and made a personalized box that the nurses can keep in the trunk of their car.

The box has dividers so that one side serves as a place where the

Kasina Swartz, the Coats for Colorado coordinator and store manager for the Dependable Cleaners at 1701 South Broadway, stands among bags of donated coats on Oct. 23. Gently-used coats can be dropped off at any Dependable Cleaners location across the metro area through Nov. 30. Coats are cleaned at the location they’re dropped off at, and then Dependable Cleaners staff delivers them to the 1701 South Broadway store — the main Denver location which is on the border of the Platt Park and Overland neighborhoods — to be sorted and eventually given to area nonprofits for distribution to those in need.

nurses can keep their clean and sanitized PPE, and the other side is for personal items such as a cell phone and keys.

Gruen-Wener’s mother, Liss Gruen, was one of the inspirations behind the project. She works fulltime as a geriatrician doctor, and part time as a medical director for Brookdale.

“She works really hard,” GruenWener said. “She is a great role model.”

At nearly 70 years of age, Samelson said something else that’s fun about receiving the Support Pal email is that they come from youth/ teens.

“It exposes us to a younger approach to life,” Samelson said. But moreover, Samelson added, “I’m heartened to see there are young people out there who have such a concern for others.”

As part of her Silver Award project, Denver Girl Scout Rebecca GruenWener, 14, made personalized boxes to help hospice nurses who make home visits organize their personal protection equipment.

COURTESY PHOTO

12 Life On Capitol Hill

November 2020

Support reliable, local news Annual Voluntary Contribution

PROGRAM

This has been the most interesting and demanding year in the history of the Life On Cap Hill. I am sure many of you feel the same about your life and career.

As I write this column for our annual voluntary pay drive, we are completing seven months of covering the impact of COVID-19 on your lives. Throughout this time, we never missed an issue. In fact, we have never been late. This is too important a story, and our team has faced it head on and kept journalism alive in the Capitol Hill area.

Jerry Healey

However, it has not been easy. Many of our advertisers canceled or delayed their spending with us in 2020. Add in that 60% of all advertising buys in Colorado are spent with Facebook or Google and you might be wondering how the Life On Cap Hill survives. It begins with our team of people here who are dedicated to bringing Life On Cap Hill to you. It is because loyal readers like you choose to voluntary pay each year. Finally, it is because you support our advertisers.

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Quality journalism is not free. The trend in the newspaper industry is toward what is called “reader-driven revenue.” That means readers are paying much more of the share of the cost, through subscriptions, contributions and memberships, to offset advertising declines.

So, annually, we ask you, our readers, to contribute to support the cost of reporters, staff and printing/delivery. We have named this year’s effort Support Reliable, Local News.

When you contribute to our voluntary pay program, you are supporting our journalists and the vital work they do to keep you informed about your community: news about your children’s and neighbors’ accomplishments and endeavors, how government decisions affect you — including local election information — fun things to do in your community and metro area. The Capitol Hill area has a great community newspaper because of your hometown journalists.

You can contribute whatever you wish.

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As always, thank you for being a loyal reader, and we wish you well.

CAPITOL HILL

Jerry Healey Publisher, Life On Cap Hill

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Life On Capitol Hill 13

November 2020

‘All those voices are valued’ Autumn Thomas reflects on being a Black artist by bending wood in her sculptures

By Christy Steadman csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

W

hen Congress Park resident Autumn Thomas was in kindergarten, she got interviewed about one of her school projects by television news anchor Reynelda Muse, who is a Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame inductee and known for being the first woman and first African-American to anchor a newscast in Colorado.

“I don’t remember, ever, not being an artist,” Thomas said of her first memory of being interviewed because of her art.

Today, Thomas, 42, is an interdisciplinary artist Thomas currently focusing on wood sculptures. In the past year, she has created about 10 original sculptures, she said.

“It’s been amazing,” Thomas said, adding she particularly enjoys creating public art.

Thomas works a full-time job as an account manager, and also spends time mentoring youths who are up-and-coming artists themselves.

“It’s fascinating to hear young people talk,” Thomas said. “It allowed the inner child in me to come out and just enjoy the making.”

Describing herself as a “maker,” Thomas

was a recent artist-in-residency at PlatteForum, which is a Denver-based, nonprofit arts, youth development and artist-inresidence program. During her residency, Thomas worked with PlatteForum’s ArtLab high school interns for six weekend workshops to teach them the skill of 3D printing.

In that role, Thomas encouraged the youths that it’s OK to be both vulnerable and strong, she said.

Being vulnerable “is challenging but also rewarding,” Thomas said, adding that when artists are vulnerable, their work is more relatable to people.

Thomas’ work, along with that of the interns, was featured in PlatteForum’s exhibition, To Muse the Labyrinth, which will be available for viewing through Nov. 8 for Denver Arts Week.

“To Muse the Labyrinth is an exploration of what it means for me to be a Black artist, lost between worlds of anger, resolve and conjecture,” Thomas said in a news release.

“During this residency (at PlatteForum), I will create a labyrinth — a safe space in which to be vulnerable, free from judgment and awashed in absolution.”

Thomas was raised in Denver and attended East High School. She relocated to Chicago to earn her undergraduate in visual communication, then attended graduate school in Philadelphia and earned a master’s of fine art in printmaking and book art.

She did a fellowship in New Jersey before returning to Denver — where her family resides — about three years ago.

Thomas’ “sculptures feature minimal design, subverting traditional imagery of Black art” and addresses “concepts of systemic oppression in an unexpected form,” states a news release.

Reflecting “the endurance required by marginalized communities to endure

Autumn Thomas of Denver is an interdisciplinary artist currently focusing on wood sculptures. She recently served as an artist-in-residency at PlatteForum, during which she taught teens the skill of 3D printing.

COURTESY PHOTO intersecting forms of bias in their everyday lives,” states a news release, Thomas creates curves in the wood by placing hundreds of cuts in it, which allows the wood to bend and arch.

Physically doing the work is cathartic to Thomas, she said. Wood is not supposed to bend, but making it do so is like chipping away structure — or, what institutionally is supposed to be, Thomas said.

“There can be beautiful change if we chip away from institutional structure,” she said.

Thomas is a firm believer that no Black artist’s abstract work should be discounted.

Whether the work is speaking to its audience in a quiet and soft voice, or whether it’s rage, “everything along that spectrum is valuable,” Thomas said. “All of those voices are valued.”

Plants FROM PAGE 9

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It happens to everyone, and the closer you pay attention to your plants, the less frequent and extensive the outbreaks will be. I like to remove dead leaves and examine the entire plant for bugs on a regular basis.

Although plants can often be overlooked in the home, they do need attention and care.

You will get out of them what you put into them. If at first, you are not successful, keep trying! I’ve certainly killed my share of plants and will kill more in the future.

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14 Life On Capitol Hill

November 2020

Denver invests in affordable housing

By Christy Steadman csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Affordable housing has marked two milestones in Denver, one in the Capitol Hill neighborhood and another in the Baker neighborhood:

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Capitol Square Apartments Denver’s Department of Housing Stability broke ground on Oct. 1 on a project that will provide 103 new income-restricted apartments in Capitol Hill.

To be called the Capitol Square Apartments, the development is located on the corner of 13th Avenue and Sherman Street, which is about one block away from the Colorado Capitol. The project totals 120,405 square feet and the building will be six stories tall. It will house 73 one-bedroom units and 30 two-bedroom units, a fitness room for tenants, a landscaped outdoor terrace and parking for 68 vehicles.

Capitol Square Apartments is being developed by Mile High Development and Brinshore Development.

“It is a deep honor to mark this moment in time,” said George Thorn, president and founder of Mile High Development, in a news release. “Our team has been dedicated to making this project a reality, and this event represents new beginnings for more than 100 new neighbors. This building will rise up just steps away from Colorado’s lawmakers, setting a powerful example of the importance of highquality affordable housing.”

All the apartments in the development will be income restricted, available exclusively for households earning between 30% and 80% of the area median income, which is up to $54,950 for a single-person household, according to a news release.

The project is expected to cost $33.9 million.

The City and County of Denver provided $1,545,000 in financing for it from the Affordable Housing Fund. Other public finance funds came from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs. Colorado Housing & Finance Authority is issuing the bonds for the project.

The Colorado State Land Board has entered into a long-term lease with the developers, and lease proceeds will support the board’s mission to raise funds for education and the K-12 BEST program. The BEST program provides competitive grants for new school construction and renovation projects for existing schools, according to the Colorado Department of Education’s website.

Construction on the Capitol Square Apartments began in October, and it is expected to open to tenants in July 2022.

“We’re proud to utilize Denver’s Affordable Housing Fund to help create 103 new, affordable homes for hard-working residents,” said Denver Mayor Michael Hancock. “Projects like Capitol Square help ensure that Denver remains affordable and accessible for future generations.”

Atlantis Apartments A new income-restricted housing development called the Atlantis Apartments celebrated its grand opening with Denver’s Department of Housing Stability on Sept. 29.

The Atlantis Apartments, 201 S. Cherokee St. in Denver’s Baker neighborhood, boasts 60 apartments primarily for individuals with disabilities.

The building is four stories tall and has 36 one-bedroom units and 24 two-bedroom units, a community conference room, technology/media centers, common-area laundry facilities on each floor and a workshop/mud room for repairing wheelchairs and bicycles.

Additional features include enhanced accessibility features such as sensory elements and wayfinding cues in common areas.

All the apartments are income restricted, available only for households that earn no more than 60% of the area median income, which is up to $42,000 for a single-person household, according to a news release.

The project cost $18.1 million, and the City and County of Denver provided $800,000 in financing for it. The project also received SEE HOUSING, P16

Governor’s Residence Preservation Fund’s ornament now available Staff report The Governor’s Residence Preservation Fund’s 2020 commemorative ornament is now available.

This year’s ornament honors the passing of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the constitutional right to vote. The U.S. Congress voted in favor of this amendment in 1919, and it was ratified in Colorado on Dec. 15, 1920.

Proceeds benefit the Governor’s Residence Preservation Fund, which is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization established in 2008 to ensure the ongoing preservation and use of the Governor’s Residence at the Boettcher Mansion.

The mansion is located in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood at 400 E. Eighth Ave. The mansion was built in 1908 as a family dwelling. The Boettcher Foundation gave the property to the State of Colorado in 1959. Since, it has served as the Colorado governor’s official residence, as well as offering public tours and various education, civic learning and cultural programs.

Colorado has been home to women leaders well before the passage of the 19th Amendment.

In the 1870s, Colorado became one of the first states to enact women’s suffrage via popular referendum, and Colorado women were granted

HOW TO ORDER The 2020 Governor’s Residence Preservation Fund’s commemorative ornament can be ordered online at http://www.coloradoshome.org/gift-shop. Cost is $35 plus shipping. The entire 12-ornament collection is available for $420. the right to vote in 1893. Still, women’s suffrage addressed gender discrimination, but did not end other forms of disenfranchisement for women of color.

The 2020 commemorative ornament is the 12th in a collectable series that features a new design each year. “All ornaments are made in the USA of the finest quality brass, screenprinted in exquisite colors and hand finished in sparkling 24-karat gold. They are packaged in a gift box with a hot-stamp of the image of the ornament created by Beacon Designs,” states a news release.

“We invite people to order ornaments now as gifts for family and friends, and we appreciate the support of the Governor’s Residence Preservation Fund,” said Coco Criste, executive director of the Governor’s Residence Preservation Fund, “especially during a year like 2020 when our normal fundraising events were halted due to COVID-19.”

Life On Capitol Hill 15

November 2020

GOING SOLAR

By Christy Steadman csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

S

tacey Decker believes that people in Denver want to do what they can to help reduce negative impacts to the environment.

“Denver is a forward-thinking community,” she said. “Many people are realizing the benefits of energy independence.”

Decker is a homeowner in Denver’s Wellshire neighborhood. She has lived in her home for about five years and had an interest in converting to solar power. But the initial research she did on her own found it to be too expensive.

Then, in the summer of 2019, Decker learned of a new co-op by a nonprofit organization called Solar United Neighbors (SUN) that helps people and small businesses go solar. She signed up right away, and in March, had 26 solar panels installed in three different spots on her home.

These panels provide the Decker family with more than enough power to meet their electric needs — including charging an electric car, Decker said.

“Since going solar, we’re saving money each month and reducing our carbon footprint,” Decker said. “It’s a real win-win.”

SUN works nationwide, and has its Colorado office based in Denver.

The organization recently launched its second co-op to specifically serve Denver’s residents and small businesses.

Membership to the co-op will be open through Feb. 1.

For the co-op, SUN is partnering with the Denver Office of Climate Action, Sustainability & Resiliency; Alpine

Bank; Colorado Renewable Energy Society; Vote Solar; Physicians for Social Responsibility-Colorado; New Energy Colorado; and the Northside Sustainability Alliance.

How it works is first people sign up to become a member of the co-op for free and with no obligation. Becoming a member is simply so people can learn “what going solar means to them,” said Bryce Carter, SUN’s Colorado program director. Members of last year’s co-op ranged from those who already had going solar on their minds to those looking into it for the first time, Carter said.

Once about enough people and businesses have signed up, SUN issues a Request for Proposals to local providers.

SUN staff then reviews the proposals — this review process entails looking into each provider’s licensing credentials and other important verifications.

SUN then provides an “apples-toapples” comparison of each proposal to the co-op members, Carter said. It is the members who select the single solar company that will complete all the installations for the co-op members. The co-op members then have the option to individually purchase a solar system and electric vehicle chargers based on the installer’s group rate.

Joining the co-op does not obligate members to purchase solar, Carter said.

If, for whatever reason, a person or small business decides not to go solar, they can walk away, he added.

“We are an advocate on behalf of our members,” Carter said. “We’re there to answer all of their questions.”

SUN remains vendor-neutral while streamlining the process, providing SEE SOLAR, P16

Co-op offers residents, businesses an opportunity to get group pricing, education on solar installation LEARN MORE To learn more about Solar United Neighbors, visit www.solarunitedneighbors.org/denver.

On that website, people can sign up for the next information session, which are scheduled to take place as webinars at 6 p.m.

Nov. 17 and at noon on Dec. 12.

The website also includes an orientation video which was part of an online launch event and orientation on Oct. 5. The Spanishlanguage presentation took place on Oct. 8.

Stacey Decker, a resident of Denver’s Wellshire neighborhood, sits among the solar panels on her home, which were installed in March after Decker participated in Solar United Neighbors’ 2019 solar co-op. COURTESY PHOTO

Renewable Denver Community Solar Program Denver has a goal of to become a city that uses 100% renewable electricity by 2030.

On April 30, the Colorado Department of Local Affairs Renewable Energy Challenge grant program awarded Denver with $1,000,000 to support the city’s Renewable Denver Initiative.

Part of this initiative includes hosting low-cost community solar gardens across municipal properties such as parking lots at recreation centers, libraries and schools. “The electricity generated will be shared between the municipal facilities and low-income residents in the surrounding areas,” states a news

release.

In the near future, renters and building owners who are unable to install solar on their property can sign up for the city and county of Denver’s Renewable Denver Community Solar Program.

Beginning in 2021, this program can provide solar energy for up to 1,000 households, and income-qualified residents can save 10% or more on their monthly electric bills through this program, states a news release.

“Denver is committed to a rapid and equitable transition to a 100% renewable electricity sys-

tem, focusing on local clean energy infrastructure and expanding economic and environmental benefits to more members of our community,” said Grace Rink in a news release. Rink is the executive director of the Denver Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency. “We are excited to partner with Solar United Neighbors to promote opportunities for our residents to go solar, whether through rooftop solar installations or participation in Denver’s upcoming community solar program.”

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16 Life On Capitol Hill

November 2020

‘We’re the people who take care of people’

By Christy Steadman csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

The Denver Fire Department is more than 150 years old.

Along with that age has come some various traditions within the department, but one mainstay value has always been helping the community during an emergency.

“We have an opportunity to make a positive difference in somebody’s life every day,” said Desmond Fulton, who has been with the department for 22 years. “We’re the people who take care of people.”

The Denver Fire Department serves the City and County of Denver, Glendale, Sheridan, Englewood and the Skyline Fire District.

In early October, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock appointed Fulton as chief of the Denver Fire Department. Fulton was sworn in on Oct. 12.

“The job of a Denver firefighter is one of the most critical public safety jobs in our city,” Hancock said in a news release. “Fulton knows this department and has served alongside

Housing FROM PAGE 14

other public finance funds from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, and low-income housing tax credits through the Colorado Housing & Finance Authority, a news release states.

Atlantis Apartments’ first residents moved in in September.

men and women up and down the ranks, and he is committed to making Denver’s fire department the best, most inclusive it can be.”

Fulton was serving as deputy chief prior to his current appointment as chief, and in that role, he managed the daily operations of the department. He also served as the Incident Plan Commander and liaison for the department’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic; the fire department’s representative on the city’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity Team; and on the mayor’s Office of Equity Reconciliation Task Force Team, which focuses on tackling the public health crisis of racism.

As chief, Fulton will lead the department’s more than 1,000 firefighter personnel and will oversee all the services the department provides.

These include fire suppression, emergency medical services, technical rescue, hazardous materials response, water and high-angle rescue. Fulton added that he will be placing priority on additional engagement with the community, and professional/career development opportunities within “We’re proud to invest not only in affordable housing, but in much-needed homes for people living with physical or cognitive disabling conditions,” said Britta Fisher, executive director of Denver’s Department of Housing Stability, in a news release. “These apartments will make a lasting difference for decades to come and add to the great progress made by the Atlantis Community Foundation in housing individuals.”

the department — calling the latter “reinvesting in our people,” Fulton said.

Fulton, 50, joined the Denver Fire Department on Sept. 16, 1998. Starting out as a firefighter technician, Fulton has spent his entire career with the Denver Fire Department. To date, he is the only active member to have run two divisions as a division chief.

Some of his accomplishments with the department through the years include creating the department’s Mentorship Program, which guarantees highly coveted positions to people of color and women; organizing the development of many new department policies, including a progressive maternity policy; developing cutting-edge hazmat awareness and training practices; helping to develop and implement new wellness initiatives and programs with a focus on physical and behavioral wellness; and, in response to the prevalence of cancer illness and deaths in the fire service, leading the development of the nation’s first Cancer Resource Guidebook, which has proven to

Solar FROM PAGE 15

quality control, helping to determine possible cost savings, networking among members and providing any necessary education about going solar, including information about equipment, Carter said. He added SUN is happy to

be instrumental in helping affected members of fire departments and their families cope with serious illness, a news release states.

Fulton is a Colorado native and currently resides in unincorporated Adams County. He is married, and has one daughter who is a senior in high school and one son who is studying business at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

While attending college in Greeley, Fulton was considering a career in law enforcement. However, he eventually got acquainted with some fire service professionals “who loved their job,” Fulton said. He ended up going on a going a ride-along, and “that was it,” Fulton said. “I just knew.”

Fulton said the Denver Fire Department team is like a family, and added he is honored “to serve alongside the men and women of this department who show up to serve every single day to protect the people of this great city.”

No matter if the emergency is putting out a fire or helping a senior who has misplaced medication, the Denver Fire Department is “here to work with Registered Neighborhood Organizations and other community groups to provide talks or meetings — which can be done virtually — so people can learn more about the co-op and/or going solar.

Since SUN’s launch in Colorado in 2019, SUN has facilitated five solar co-ops throughout the state.

Those five co-ops have helped about 150 families and businesses

Desmond Fulton was sworn in as chief of the Denver Fire Department on Oct. 12.

COURTESY PHOTO

make a difference,” Fulton said.

“Denver is a diverse city. I recognize the importance of social equity and will work to ensure our department is as diverse and inclusive as the residents and communities we serve,” Fulton said. “We take pride in recognizing everybody’s emergency is different. And we’re here for them, no matter what that emergency may be.”

go solar — about 25 of them were members of Denver’s 2019 co-op.

Even though the cost of installing solar has gone down by about 90% in the past decade, Decker said, it is still a major investment for people.

“It feels nice to do it as a community (because) doing it as a group affects our net impact,” Decker said. “But the cost savings are what makes a lot of sense for individual homeowners.”

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