Your Guide to Community, Politics, Ar ts and Culture in Nor th Denver DenverNorthStar.com
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Volume 3, Issue 5
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February 15, 2022-March 14, 2022
Juvenile Justice, Porch Pirates, Catalytic Converters, and More This Legislative Session ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
REPRESENTATIVE ALEX VALDEZ Representative Alex Valdez, who represents House District 5, is tacking a different aspect of crime in one of his sponsored bills. House Bill 22-1030 creates a refundable state income tax credit of up to $75 for residents who have been the victim of theft to install anti-theft devices, or for companies who give them to customers. “At some point there is an industry that will rise up to solve this problem,” Valdez told The Denver North Star. He hopes the credit will spur more local businesses to create boxes that delivery companies can access but lock afterward and similar options that reduce package theft. Valdez, whose district currently includes Chaffee Park, Sunnyside, Highland, and Jefferson Park neighborhoods, said during his committee presentation that he’s well familiar with the problem, at one point having an average of a package a week stolen. Valdez is also sponsoring HB22-1116, which creates a policy review panel for plant-based medicines. Denver may have decriminalized psilocybin mushrooms (hallucinogenic mushrooms sometimes called “magic mushrooms”), but this bill focuses on medical, not recreational uses, specifically for mental health. Valdez hopes it can help address the mental health crisis he sees both locally and nationally, noting that several other states across the country, including more conservative areas, have all introduced similar legislation.
he Dragon Boat Film Festival returns in person this March for a four-day showcase of all Asian and Asian American screenings celebrating resilience in the Asian and AAPI communities. Last year’s theme, “RepresentASIAN,” was chosen in response to anti-Asian sentiments present in the country. Paired with hardships around COVID-19, the Asian and AAPI community voted that “Celebrating Our Resilience” was the best theme to remind Denver that they are still here, and boldly, said Sara Moore, Executive Director of Colorado Dragon Boat. “We are here, we are overcoming [hardships], we are still passionate about our community and who we are as a group,” Moore said. “We’re celebrating that resilience and strength that we have in the community.” Though the festival is going into its seventh year, this is the third year that Denver Film is helping bring it to life. In addition to hosting it at their home base, the Sie FilmCenter, Denver Film leverages the relationships they have in terms of distribution, sales agents and access to titles from all over the world, said Kevin Smith, Denver Film Chief Marketing Officer. Dragon Boat then takes the lead on thematic choice and which countries they want representation from every year. “We really have spent a lot of time trying to find all of the best ways to leverage the operational support that we can bring to Colorado Dragon Boat, and Colorado Dragon Boat has done an amazing job of helping us do a much better job of understanding the community that is there and how we can best support them,” Smith said. “We’re very honored to have [Denver Film] as a partner,” Moore said. “It is just me at the organization currently as an employee, so it’s so nice to have a team to work with.” There are three major categories: features, a short film showcase, and an emerging artists showcase. All full features are curated by Denver Film’s Artistic Director Matthew Campbell, and local submissions are chosen by Colorado Dragon Boat. The short film artists are local filmmakers that are mostly Colorado based, but tend to span out to surrounding states. The category may also include artists who studied in the U.S. but now live in other countries. The emerging artists are students and professors from CU Denver’s College of Arts & Media. When asked what films she’s looking forward to most, Moore responded with, “all of them!” “I think I say that every year, but it’s
See SESSION, Page 14
See FILM, Page 5
DINING
PHOTO BY DAVID SABADOS
This year’s legislative session includes bills on porch piracy prevention, youth criminal justice reform, school lunches, psychedelic mushrooms, and more. By David Sabados
K KIDS & EDUCATION NHS Sports and Activities PAGES 8-9
ELECTED OFFICIAL UPDATE Congresswoman Diana DeGette PAGE 13
POLITICS Board of Adjustment to be Adjusted PAGE 14
POLITICS What Redistricting Could Mean for North Denver PAGE 15
Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival Returns in Person
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ALWAYS FREE!
By Celeste Benzschawel
Music Lessons and Jazz Performances
Sunnyside Supper Club
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eeping children out of the school to prison pipeline, stopping the black market sales of catalytic converter thefts, and reducing porch package thefts are just a few of the bills legislators are debating at the Capitol this session. With hundreds of bills flowing through the state legislature each year it can be hard to follow what could have an impact on your life, so we wanted to explain a few bills important to the North Denver community and reached out to our local legislators to get their thoughts on the bills they are sponsoring this year. Colorado’s legislature meets for 120 days at the start of each year, and is considered a part-time legislature, with most members maintaining other jobs as well. REPRESENTATIVE SERENA GONZALES-GUTIERREZ Representative Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, who represents House District 4 in the NW corner of the city, highlighted two of her bills in an interview with The Denver North Star. House Bill 22-1131, which has bipartisan sponsorship, removes minors who are 10, 11, and 12 from the juvenile court’s jurisdiction (with the exception of homicide cases). She hopes the bill will keep children who make a mistake from being stuck in the perpetual cycle of the criminal justice system for life. She said that before the 1990s, minor incidents like a child stealing a candy bar were more the purview of the parents, the store, and a community that allowed restorative justice rather than a criminal matter. By removing grade school aged children from the court, it helps put the focus on underlying issues. “Why were they stealing? What's the root cause of that?” Gonzales-Gutierrez, whose nonlegislative career includes nearly 20 years of experience in the juvenile justice and child welfare fields, said she has talked with the families of too many 15 and 16-year-olds who are already stuck in the criminal justice system and can’t get out, so she’s hoping to tackle the problem earlier. Gonzales-Gutierrez is also sponsoring SB22-087, which reimburses local school districts for the cost of providing healthy meals to students, using federal funds the state is hoping to receive. The “Healthy Meals for All Public School Students” bill encour-
ages more local school districts to provide meals for their students. Marc Jacobson, CEO of Hunger Free Colorado, spoke at a press conference in support of the bill. “By providing healthy school meals free for all public school students, we will take away the stigma and embarrassment that has been a regular part of the school meals experience for kids from low income families. No eight-year-old, or kid of any age, should learn stigma from the lunch line.” Many schools have been providing free meals to all students during COVID, and schools realized more students were using the service than expected, also likely due to the economic impact COVID had on families.