The Denver North Star Nov 15 2022 Online Edition

Bienvenidos Food Bank Sees Lull in Support Amid Inflation

Lake Steam Baths to Remain Open

By

By Eric Heinz

ianne Evans said she has been coming to Bienveni dos Food Bank in Sunnyside for about two years, and without it, as prices have surged lately, it would be a struggle to get by.

“There have been a lot of things that have gone up in price, like getting a corned beef this year for Easter, if you think about it, how expensive it is,” Evans said.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consumer price index for Septem ber in Colorado rose 7.7% compared to last year, even as prices dropped slightly for the month.

For Bienvenidos volunteers, they have felt that strain. The food bank said the demand for its prod ucts has increased more than 29% in both its store-front weekly food pantry on 38th and Pecos and its mobile locations.

On top of that, the number of new clients the food bank has document ed has increased 68% compared to last year, with most of the clients be ing working families.

“I had one woman in line last week who said her rent increased 14% and that left her with little extra money for food,” said Greg Pratt, the executive director of the Bienvenidos Food Bank. “She works as a full-time ad ministrative assistant. Another woman said she had to choose between paying for internet for her kids' school work or food.”

Pratt said some of the new clients are people who used to frequent the food bank but hadn’t in a couple years, but the need for resources remains high. He said some of the donations and fund ing sources he used to rely

on have either not been able to provide much or at all this year.

“I would say the availability of donated food is the lowest I've ever seen,” Pratt said, adding that food from grocery stores the food bank saves before it expires has also been very low.

“I think if you go to the grocery stores, you'll see that they’re just not carrying as many things, their inventories just are not as high, and so they don’t have as much actually leftover,” he said. “The good news is that we’re able to go out and buy food that we need, but I’m having to look for sources that I've never had to look for before.”

said,

Pratt said Bienvenidos will serve about 200 families a week during its food giveaway, which comes out to about 20,000 clients getting food from them each year.

Several volunteers worked during an October weekly food giveaway. The line of people was consistent throughout a chilly morning and the afternoon.

A woman who asked to be identified as Mel said she works as a caregiver for people with mental disabili ties. She said she’s also been taking care of her family and has had to save money wherever she can.

“My brother is having some hard times right now, so I’m trying to take care of him and my two kids, and my job is not really stable right now,” Mel said. “You gotta make sure what you want. I don't know. Pay my bill or eat?”

Bienvenidos Food Bank is located at 3810 N. Pecos St. and serves clients 10 a.m to noon and 3:30-5:30 p.m. on most Thursdays. More information on food pickup hours and ways to donate can be found at bienvenidosfoodbank.org.

Lake Steam is here to stay,” said man ager Sky Brown.

Business was brisk at the 95-year-old bathhouse when The Denver North Star stopped by recently to clear up confusion about its recent sale. Public records show the 3540 W. Colfax Ave. property was sold to Boom Car Wash LLC for $2 million.

BusinessDen first reported the transac tion on Oct. 18 but had few details about its future until Tyler Weston and Scott Kilkenny, members in the entity listed as Boom Car Wash LLC, came forward for a follow-up story on Oct. 26.

“It’s not going to be a car wash,” Weston told BusinessDen, adding Weston and Kilkenny intend to “build apartments on the 0.38-acre site, zoned for up to five sto ries. The bathhouse will be situated on the ground floor.”

“It’s going to be a really cool long-term situation,” Weston told the publication.

According to BusinessDen, Weston and Kilkenny have yet to submit development plans to the city.

“We’re leaving the bathhouse as is for the next couple of years,” Weston said. “It’s probably going to take a couple of years to get permits.”

Customers walk into the business to pick up a folded white sheet, small hand towel, and locker key affixed to a circle of brass with a number punched on it.

“People can continue to book massages and come by for a soak,” said Brown from the desk behind the counter.

Longtime patrons will recognize the brass locker numbers and remember when, decades ago, a woman named Gertie Hy man held court at the counter, distributing the same stacks of amenities while she wel

Kathryn White

Lake Steam Baths in Sloan's Lake will remain a bathhouse after the owners announced the business would continue.

PHOTO BY ERIC HEINZ

Volunteers with Bienvenidos Food Bank listen to clients who seek food on a recent Thursday giveaway.

PHOTO BY ERIC HEINZ

“I would say the availability of donated food is the lowest I've ever seen,” Pratt

adding that food from grocery stores the food bank saves before it expires has also been very low.

Five Important Updates for the Community

I hope autumn is treat ing you well. I don’t like to take space away from the news often, but we’ve had a lot go ing on and I wanted to take this opportunity to update our readers on a few important, exciting developments.

Public Spotlight” by Kathryn White

• Best Editorial Special Section - first place “2021 Election Special Section” by Rachel Lorenz, Ernest Gurulé, and David Sabados

SABADOS

We’re proud to be part of a resurgence of print media across the country, providing quality local news at no cost to our communi ty. The current dumpster fire at Twitter, a plat form many digital outlets rely on for readers that’s now hemorrhaging trust and users, only serves to highlight the importance of print media outlets free of corporate clickbait, the whims of billionaires, and elitist paywalls.

As we enter our fourth year of publishing, we’re looking forward to continuing to bring you unbiased news about our city and com munity free of charge and directly to your mailbox or local business paper rack.

BETTER LATE THAN OUTDATED

You may have noticed this issue arrived a little later than normal. We had it ready to go with a front page story about NW Denver schools DPS was considering closing - an im portant and controversial issue in our com munity. Just before we were set to mail, DPS reversed course and likely took the schools in our area off the chopping block (see page 11 for more on that). We couldn’t send out a pa per with an outdated cover story so, for the 1st time since we started, we had to scrap the run, redo a few parts of this edition, and reprint. It wasn’t the easiest (or cheapest) decision, but it’s more important to be accurate than fast. We hope this edition was worth the wait.

YOU’RE READING AN AWARD-WINNING NEWSPAPER!

• Best Humorous Column Writing - first place “Pumpkin Workouts Aren’t Scary; But are Effective!” by Erika Taylor

• Best Junior Journalist Story - first place “Reflecting on the COVID Class of 2021” by Shaina Walsh

• Best Advertising Campaign - first place: Tennyson Street ads by Melissa LevadFeeney and Jill Carstens

• Best Business News/Feature Story - first place “Five North Denver Businesses You May Not Know (But Do Now!)” by Kathryn White and David Sabados

• Best Serious Column Writing - second place “The Gray Zone: Make it a Good Visit” by Kathryn White

• Best Sports or Sports Event Story - second place “Youth Baseball Team Looks to Be High School Feeder” by Eric Heinz

• Best Editorial Special Section - second place “The Don’t Panic Gift Guide” by Basha Cohen

CONSIDERING OUR ROLE IN THE COM MUNITY—AS A NONPROFIT?

When we started The Denver North Star, it was with the goal of bringing community news back to North Denver. While a business was the simplest way to legally incorporate, none of us thought we’d be getting rich do ing this (and we were right). After three years, we’re looking at what our role is and what that means for us as an organization.

ing The Denver North Star and our bilingual sister publication The G.E.S. Gazette. More than 10% of that comes from community do nations. Our costs, like everyone's, have risen dramatically: printing has more than doubled and delivery costs have increased nearly that much as well. We aren’t alone and know all small businesses are seeing rising costs. We see our advertisers as community partners— not ATMs—and decided we would be one cost that isn’t increasing for them next year, so our rates are staying the same.

While advertising will continue to be the majority of our funding, your contribution is meaningful to ensuring our longevity. We have set a December fundraising goal of $10,000 from the community and hope you’ll contribute next month. If you prefer to write a check, please use the form on this page to mail your check dated Dec. 1 or later so we can show the strength of our community support. If you prefer to donate online, we’ll have a new, easy to use online contribution option ready at denvernorthstar.com by Dec. 1 as well.

While we are hoping to transition our sta tus, we are not yet a nonprofit so please note that your contribution this year is not tax-de ductible, but we hope that will change by next year’s drive. Thank you for your support!

MAILBOXES ARE BETTER THAN DOORSTEPS, BUT NOTHING IS PERFECT

You may have noticed that earlier this year your paper started arriving in your mailbox instead of on your doorstep: we switched from a private delivery service to using the Postal Service.

In the October edition of The Denver North Star, the photo used for the Cen tennial Elementary fundraiser was incor rect. The photo used was of a school with the same name in Colorado Springs. We regret the error.

/// CORRECTION /// 720-248-7327 P.O. Box 11584, Denver CO 80211 DenverNorthStar.com

PUBLISHER: David Sabados

EDITOR: Eric Heinz

ART DIRECTOR/ GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Melissa Levad-Feeney

NEWS INQUIRIES: For news inquiries, email News@DenverNorthStar.com

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: For advertising inquiries, email Ads@DenverNorthStar.com.

GET INVOLVED!

You can make a contribution, sign up to receive email updates and submit events for our community calendar at DenverNorthStar.com.

DISTRIBUTION: The paper is printed and mailed on the 15th of each month. It is delivered to 34,000 homes and businesses in North Denver.

We’re honored that the Colorado Press Association has again recognized the talent and dedication of our team. The association recently bestowed nine awards on The Den ver North Star for our 2021 coverage. I’m es pecially proud of the variety of awards: from an investigative piece that contributed to the reshaping of a city board, to our in depth elec tion coverage, to heartfelt and at times fun ny pieces from our columnists, and even an award for our creative and effective advertis ing of Tennyson Street businesses.

• Best Investigative Story Package - first place “North Denver Couple Denied Zoning Variance to House Disabled Mom: Subjectivity and Bias on Denver’s Board of Adjustment for Zoning Enters

Across the country, a number of media outlets, especially local ones, are converting to nonprofit status. The change is more than simply a legal conversion though—we also think it reflects the role we strive to have: as a community-centric organization. Over the next few months, we’ll continue conversations with other outlets about their transition and with the community about the role we hope to continue serving.

$5,000 MATCHING GRANT AND END OF YEAR FUNDRAISING

For the fourth year in a row, we’ve been selected by the Colorado Media Project to receive a $5,000 year-end matching grant. To receive it, we just need to raise $5,000 in the month of December.

Each year since we’ve started, we have asked the community to donate, and each year you have responded. Thank you.

It costs about a quarter of a million dollars each year to cover the basic expenses of creat

Overall we think it’s been a positive change, and hope you agree. Mailing papers lets us de liver faster, deliver to more apartments, ADUs, and other hard to reach places, and your paper isn’t accidentally tossed on the lawn by your sprinkler or in the snow. No delivery method is perfect, though, and we are working with our local post offices to identify holes or prob lems. If you live North of 20th Street and West of I-25 within Denver, you should be receiving the paper each month.

If you’ve had any delivery problems these last few months, please email me directly at David@denvernorthstar.com with your ad dress and details so we can work with the local post offices to further improve our de livery in 2023.

Thank you for caring about our communi ty and our community paper!

David Sabados–Publisher

The Denver North Star

The G.E.S. Gazette

If

DAVID

bilingual Gazette. More community do have risen than doubled nearly that know all costs. We partners— be one cost year, so our to be the contribution longevity. fundraising goal of hope you’ll to write a page to mail so we can community support. have a new, option ready at well. transition our sta please note not tax-de change by next support!

THAN earlier this year your mailbox switched using the positive change, lets us de apartments, ADUs, your paper lawn by your delivery method working with holes or prob and West receiving problems these directly at your ad with the improve our de communi

Bike Giveaway Brings Joy for Kids at Quigg Newton

By

Over two SUNI Sippers this summer, Eliza beth Morales was on the hunt for commu nity members who wanted to get involved and make a positive impact through micro grants. The happy hour events for the Sunnyside United Neighbors Incorporated (SUNI), the registered neighborhood organization for Sunnyside, were opportunities for her to engage community members.

Morales works for the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure's Com munity Active Living Coalition (CALC). She describes their mission in a few words as to “make it safer, easier, more fun, and equitable to physically move our bodies in Denver.”

Morales is part of one of the three CALC teams in Denver assigned to neighborhoods. The team she works on is assigned to North west Denver, whose focus is on the neighbor hoods of Sunnyside and Chaffee Park, where Morales also has family ties with relatives liv ing in the neighborhood.

Over a meeting in August, Morales and several members of the community that ex pressed interest at the happy hours came together to brainstorm ideas on how they could make a difference in the communi ty and get kids moving, especially in the Quigg Newton area of Sunnyside, a public housing development.

The group discussed having a communi ty bike ride that was kid friendly, but quick ly realized that many kids didn't have access to bikes. Not only that, but many kids didn’t use their bikes to go places in the neighbor hood, because there was a fear that they might be stolen.

By the end of the micro grant meeting, SUNI President Trupti Suthar volunteered to apply for a micro grant on behalf of the

RNO, along with New Beginnings Ministry, a local church. The groups decided to focus their grant applications on getting new bikes, bike helmets, and locks to donate to kids in the neighborhood.

CALC awards micro grants of up to $400 for individuals, and up to $1,500 for organi zations. Neighborhoods in the CALC focus areas are typically given preference, but any Denver resident or organization can apply if they have an idea. CALC team members will even help residents with the microgrant appli cation process at local libraries or rec centers if the applicant does not have access to a com puter or the internet.

The CALC focus on the Sunnyside and Chaffee park neighborhoods was due to both of them being areas of greater need on the eq uity index for DOTI. Morales described that

CALC tries to empower the community to make change for themselves. They want to be the device that makes it happen. One of her team’s roles is to get to know folks and make it a little bit easier to replace one car trip or make it easier for folks without a car.

The two grants were ultimately awarded by CALC, and SUNI and New Beginnings got to work purchasing supplies for a bike giveaway event to be held in October next to the Aztlan Recreation Center. Morales helped coordi nate with the groups, and also connected with other community members to help maximize the effort.

Local bike shop SloHi Bike Company helped get the bikes and locks at cost. Embark, a micro middle school that partners with local

Allen Cowgill

PHOTO BY ALLEN COWGILL

Members of the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure's Community Active Living Coalition and volunteers gathered at a recent bicycle giveaway. See GIVEAWAY, Page 12

Council Member Amanda P. Sandoval Says Budget Looks

for 2023

By Eric Heinz

With larger revenue streams than in the last few years due to COVID-19, Den ver Mayor Michael Hancock is aiming for the city to spend about $1.6 billion next year, a nearly 11% increase from 2022.

Councilwoman Amanda P. Sandoval, who represents Northwest Denver, said she was able to get her budget amendments forward ed, one of which was $500,000 to study the 38th Avenue corridor, something she said she’d been working on since she was a council staff member.

“I've been trying to make sure that that cor ridor gets the type of attention that it needs,” she said. “Unbeknownst to me, it was already in the budget, so $100,000 was added to make sure that it’s the type of study it needs. I also believe it needs to rectify some of the right-ofway issues.”

Sandoval said she also wanted to ensure funding was available for parks and recreation surveillance cameras to help deter crime.

“I feel really good, actually, about where we landed with this budget,” she said. “It had so much padding this year. It was interesting to look at the budget because of all of that had happened (regarding COVID-19).”

The total 2023 budget for all funds, includ ing pensions, grants and others, is $3.75 bil lion, an increase of 8.2% from 2022. The city’s main operating fund is proposed to be $1.66 billion, up from that fund’s amount from last year by 10.9%, according to Mayor Michael Hancock’s office.

“This proposed budget presents historic investments to resolve homelessness, increase our stock of affordable housing, reduce crime,

and address the community’s behavioral health needs, particularly the drug-overdose crisis plaguing our streets,” Hancock wrote in his letter to the city council. “The budget also prioritizes the reinvigoration of downtown.”

Sandoval said with the state of the econo my and lingering issues like supply chains, she doesn’t think the 2024 budget will be as robust.

“How could it be when people aren’t spend ing as much because of inflation and other things?” she said. “Even though interest rates have gone up, we’ve still seen a steady amount of permitting coming through (the Denver Department of) Community Planning and Development, which helps with revenue.”

Sandoval said the two voter-approved bonds, RISE from 2021 and Elevate Denver from 2017, continue to support public infrastructure proj ects, but she said she still thinks operations may slow down a bit in the new year.

“I’m not an economic expert at all, but this is just what I'm hearing from my constitu ents,” Sandoval said. “I think it's going to be interesting because we’re approving a budget, and then about halfway through, we get a new administration.”

Hancock’s term ends mid-2023.

Sandoval said she also wanted to make sure the STAR Program continues to get the sup port it needs, which operates as an alternative to law enforcement responses when someone is having a mental health issue.

Editor’s note: The Denver City Council was expected to take a final vote on the budget Nov. 14, after the paper is printed. An updated sto ry will be in our December edition, should any major changes occur.

behavioral drug-overdose Hancock wrote in budget also downtown.” the econo chains, she as robust. aren’t spend and other interest rates steady amount (the Denver Planning and revenue.” voter-approved bonds, from 2017, infrastructure proj operations may all, but this constitu going to be a budget, we get a new make sure get the sup alternative when someone Council was budget Nov. updated sto should any

We Owe Our Vagus Nerve Complex Some Gratitude

ur nervous system includes the brain, spinal cord, and a com plex network of nerves. It’s our body’s commu nications hub. But it is so much more than that and a key to our well-being.

One part of it is the autonomic nervous sys tem that regulates involuntary processes like heart rate, respiration, and digestion. It con tains two divisions: sympathetic and parasym pathetic.

While their processes may be “automatic,” keeping them healthy may not be. The sympa thetic nervous system’s (SNS) primary func tion is to stimulate the body’s fight-or-flight response. It increases the heart rate, tenses muscles, and secretes “action-taking” hor mones. When we touch a hot stove and yank our hand away without thinking, we owe our SNS a debt of gratitude.

Our parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) stimulates the body’s “rest-and-digest” re sponses. The PNS slows the heart rate, cues di gestion, and brings the body to a state of calm. Homeostasis! In the absence of any threat, this is the state our nervous system wants to be in.

The vagus nerve makes up most of our parasympathetic nervous system and literally wanders throughout our body, connecting the brainstem to our organs. It constantly scans the environment and our bodies for cues of safety

Oor danger.

The polyvagal theory, first proposed by Dr. Stephen Porges, helps make sense of how our nervous system is linked to our behavior. When our vagus nerve picks up enough cues of safety and connection, we will be in a ventral state. Sensing danger, we move to a sympathet ic or dorsal state as our nervous system tries to navigate the situation.

The three physiological states according to the polyvagal theory:

Ventral Vagal–Our centered state. We feel calm, compassionate, and able to communicate effectively. We can focus, have positive social interaction, and connect. It is in this state that cognition occurs.

Sympathetic–Our mobilized state. Fight or flight. We are hyper-focused or anxious. We may feel inspired to quick action by bursts of energy. In this state cognition slows to make room for more action oriented behavior.

Dorsal Vagal–Our immobilized state. This is when we “freeze.” We become still to hide from danger. Since the dorsal branch of the vagus nerve is responsible for digestion, this state may produce digestive distress. We feel foggy, drained, disconnected from others, and powerless.

As local therapist Betsy Clark, LCSW, ex plains it, “Polyvagal theory explains (biolog ically) how our sense of safety or danger im pacts our behavior.”

If the state of our nervous system matches our circumstances, like in the hot stove ex

ample, it can be life saving. But when our state doesn't match our needs or our nervous system can’t accurately discern danger from safety, serious problems may arise. Clark uses the ex ample of a parent witnessing a child spilling their milk.

“If I am in the ventral state, I am likely to be calm in my response,” Clark said. “If I am already in the sympathetic state, I am more likely to be reactive, angry, or blaming in my response. If I am stuck in the dorsal state, I may cry and feel the world is against me.”

A healthy vagus nerve allows us to move ap propriately between these states.

Because the vagus nerve travels so widely through the body, Vagal nerve dysfunction can also cause digestive issues, inappropriate changes to heart rate or blood sugar, swallow ing challenges, and more. Several things in cluding head trauma, diabetes, viral infection, and chronic stress can cause it.

Clark says, “Each state of the nervous sys tem has its function in our well being and daily bodily functions. However, if we get stuck, or have a hard time settling back into a sense of safety and connection, we will experience dis tress.” Hearing her say this and experiencing a giant leap forward in my own post-COVID recovery after starting to work with a speech therapist who bases her practice in this theory, I am convinced there is good news.

We don't have to stay stuck!

See VARGUS, Page 11

BookGive Looks Forward to Next Chapter Following BookBar Closure

By Eric Heinz

Nonprofit BookGive is aiming to continue fueling minds within the former gas sta tion it turned into a headquarters.

As its partner BookBar will close in Jan uary, Melissa Monforti, the executive di rector of BookGive, said the nonprofit will continue to operate at its location and provide programs.

“Of course it's going to change some things because we have depended on that income. The BookBar supports BookGive with 10% of book sales, and so that's going to be a chunk,” Monforti said. “We share a community of book lovers in the North Denver area. And so those folks who shop BookBar, our hope is that they will want to continue to support BookGive and the philanthropic work we do.”

The name is in the actions of BookGive, which offers free books to anyone seeking one. They have also been seeking corporate sponsorship to continue hosting free commu nity events.

Monforti said when BookGive started in 2020, it diversified its funding sources, and

there is an active donor group. Because it’s a newer nonprofit, she said it is hard to get sig nificant grant funding.

“BookGive’s philosophy is that book own ership is actually a very important part of the kinds of things we want to see happen,” Mon forti said. “We want to see kids have higher grades, we want to see them enjoy learning.”

She said the nonprofit’s financial situation is “not drastic,” but some of its aspirations may take longer to achieve. Emblematic of that is Mavis, a bright orange but broken-down van sitting outside the station that the nonprofit used to use for deliveries.

“She is old and not really road-worthly, and she is parked here because she is not easy to maintain and not efficient to drive around,” Monforti said. “But we did open the free book room in September and we have volunteers staffing it.”

The next giveaway event is noon-2 p.m. Dec. 10 at the station. The intent is to also ac quire books to offset BookGive’s expenses.

BookGive’s regular hours are 10 a.m. to 1

p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, as well as every second and fourth Saturday.

PHOTO BY ERIC HEINZ

Melissa Monforti, the executive director of BookGive, poses for a photo inside the BookGive headquarters at 4890 Lowell Blvd.

ERIKA TAYLOR

Annual Point in Time Count Shows Homelessness Increasing

By Kathryn White

one late January 2022 morning, teams of Denverites fanned out across the city. They were tasked with tallying the number of people who were unsheltered that night, sleeping on streets or in some other place not meant for human habitation.

They drove two per car and counted in dividuals, tents, RVs, and other vehicles turned into sleeping quarters. Snow cov ered the ground and temperatures hovered near freezing.

Over the week that followed a representa tive sample of those experiencing homeless ness was surveyed. They were asked their age, race, ethnicity, and gender. They were asked if they had mental health concerns, were fleeing domestic violence, or had a disabling condition. Did they identify as LGBTQ+? Had they been homeless before? Giving their names was optional.

In the City and County of Denver, 4,794 people were counted that night. 3,481 stayed in emergency shelters, transitional housing, or safe haven programs. 1,313 stayed in tents or vehicles, under awnings or bridges, and in other places not meant for living. One in three were experiencing homelessness for the first time.

Point in Time (PIT) counts are conduct ed at least every two years across the U.S. as required for funding from the U.S. Depart ment of Housing and Urban Development. Regions are given extra credit for conducting an annual PIT. Most take place during the last 10 days of January.

Metro Denver Homeless Initiative (MDHI) conducts the seven-county PIT encompass ing Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield,

Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson counties.

The City and County of Denver Depart ment of Housing Stability (HOST) coordi nates Denver’s portion.

Sabrina Allie, communications and en gagement director for HOST, participated in the January count this year for the first time. Her team covered a swath of North Denver and was out from 4 to 10 a.m. on Jan. 25.

“Anytime we witness people experienc ing homelessness, there’s a feeling of great humility that comes with it,” Allie said. “To know that there are people, neighbors in our community, who have nowhere to be. It’s deeply sad. And at the same time, it’s reward ing to know that we’re doing something that needs to be done in order to help people re solve their episodes of homelessness and get back to housing.”

Bayaud Enterprises provides employment training, coaching, placement, and support ed employment to people with disabilities and other barriers to employment. And they rely on PIT data.

“We use the Point in Time data for grant writing,” said Tami Bellofatto, executive director at Bayaud. “City, state and federal applications always ask, ‘How many people are experiencing homelessness?’ And that’s where we’re getting the data.”

“We had a couple of teams go out last year. They’ll go out again this year. I’m hoping that we get everybody counted. I think we do a good job of getting out there, but I don’t think we find everyone. For people experi encing homelessness, this number leads to funding, and that will help them.”

District 9 Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca,

who has been vocal on the issue of homeless ness, leans on PIT data as well, to a point.

“I’m a data-driven person,” CdeBaca said, “The Point in Time count is an important snapshot of homelessness in the metro area. But it's just a snapshot—to really comprehend the scale of the homelessness crisis we're fac ing, we need to see the PIT data combined with other data sources like Metro Denver Homeless Initiative (HMIS) from service providers and McKinney-Vento data from our schools, all of which inform MDHI's an nual State of Homelessness reports.

“Those data trends, as well as the data from our frontline community partners and researchers, are at the root of everything that I do as a Council member in proposing policy solutions and budget amendments to address this crisis.”

HMIS is the region’s Homeless Manage ment Information System. And in MDHI’s State of Homelessness Report 2021, that sys tem showed 32,233 individuals accessing the seven-county region’s services or housing support related to homelessness between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021.

For comparison, PIT counts for the same seven-county region were 6,104 in 2020, 5,530 in 2021 (due to COVID-19 the 2021 count did not include an unsheltered num ber), and 6,884 in 2022.

“Point in Time numbers are an utterly abysmal low count of people who happened to be counted on a particular day,” said Ter ese Howard, an organizer with Housekeys Action Network Denver.

“The number of folks who access HMIS is a better count. A large majority of house

less people will get entered into that system in some way. Not everybody. There are lots of people who are houseless who are not in the HMIS system, but it’s a much more complete number than the Point in Time number.”

Howard said, “The Denver five-year plan refers to the number of people who are hous ing cost-burdened at different AMI levels. That helps to give a bigger picture of houselessness.”

The HOST plan includes, for example, that in 2019 “nearly 115,000 households in Den ver (35%) pay more than the recommended 30% of their incomes on housing costs.”

With the release of the 2022 PIT data showing homelessness increasing from pre-pandemic levels, MDHI echoes HMIS’ growing significance on its website.

“The region has made significant strides in decreasing its reliance on the one-night count,” MDHI stated. “Instead, providers, municipalities, and others are working to gether to improve participation with the re gion’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) to make data accessible each day on those experiencing homelessness.”

CdeBaca looks further, “In terms of other research, I'm actively in touch with a team at the University of Denver and Regis Uni versity who are studying Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WaSH) access among people experiencing homelessness in Denver. I'm also actively in conversation with research ers from the University of Colorado who are looking at adverse health outcomes for peo ple displaced by encampment sweeps. Their data fills out the picture of what people expe riencing homelessness in Denver face all 365 days of the year.”

Business As Is

By Thomas Gounley, BusinessDen

decade-old liquor store along Tennyson Street has sold to new owners who don’t want to change a thing.

Tami and Joe Tumbarello, who founded Small Batch Liquors at 4340 Tennyson St. in 2012, sold the business and its real es tate this week to Eli Cox, Mark Hansen and Trevor Gilham.

Hansen is owner and CEO of backpack and clothing brand Topo Designs, which recent ly added a store downtown. Cox owns men’s apparel shop Berkeley Supply Co., which was founded in 2012 and moved recently to a portion of the former Allegro Coffee space at 4040 Tennyson St.

Gilman, meanwhile, most recently worked for apparel brand Fjallraven, and will be the day-to-day operator of Small Batch.

Tami Tumbarello said she has known Cox for years, and that he’d joked about buying the store. So the mother of four approached him when she wanted to sell due to “the ev er-changing of life.”

Tumbarello said the space had been a wine shop known as The Wine Jester when she bought that business and the property. She branched out into more types of alcohol, fo cusing on Colorado-produced varieties.

“When we bought it, we thought in three to four years, Tennyson Street would be ‘done,’” Tumbarello said. “But they just keep ripping down and rebuilding.”

But Tumbarello said the changing nature of the Berkeley neighborhood retail corridor, particularly the addition to more housing, has ultimately been good for business.

“The parking thing is never great,” she said. “But it’s that many more people walking by your door everyday.”

The bungalow that Small Batch occu pies is about 1,500 square feet and sits on a

3,100-square-foot lot. Tumbarello said the latter is too small to appeal to developers on its own, and she wasn’t really interested in selling to one anyway, preferring to see a small business keep going.

Cox, Hansen and Gilman, acting as Pants and Bags LLC, paid $700,000 for the real estate, which the seller bought for $360,000 in 2012, according to public records. The parties said an additional amount was paid for the business itself, but declined to give specifics.

Cox said there are no plans to significantly change the business.

“We like the design, we like the aesthetic,

we like the name,” he said. “What they built there over the past 10 years is great.”

Cox said the purchase is also significant to him because he finally owns a property along the corridor. He’s had opportunities to buy Berkeley Supply’s real estate home in the past, he said, but he “was never really in the position to do it.”

“To finally be able to capitalize on it and actually do it, it’s just really meaningful,” Cox said.

RTD Will Allow Customers to Travel with E-Bikes Effective Nov. 15

By Denver North Star Staff

Beginning Nov. 15, Regional Transpor tation District (RTD) customers will be permitted to travel with battery electric bikes, commonly known as e-bikes, the district stated.

E-bikes can now be brought aboard RTD transit vehicles, with the following exceptions:

• Those exceeding 55 pounds may not be load ed onto any bus-mounted front bicycle rack.

• For regional buses, such as those used for Flatiron Flyer service, e-bikes must either fit on the front bike racks or in the luggage compartment beneath the vehicles.

• Gasoline-powered vehicles remain prohibit ed aboard transit vehicles.

• E-bikes may not be brought onto the light rail high blocks, which are intended for use by individuals with disabilities and are not intended to accommodate devices that are not primarily designed or intended to assist persons with mobility disabilities.

In the coming weeks, RTD will update the Bike-n-Ride webpage to reflect additional policies or best practices around e-bikes that will be put into place by Nov. 15.

“I recognize that public interest in this top ic has been high, and I commend the team across RTD that reviewed this topic with such thoughtfulness,” said General Manager and CEO Debra A. Johnson. “Based upon industry best practices garnered by staff, the agency’s course of action regarding e-bikes will contin ue to evolve over time, and RTD will remain flexible and agile on this matter.”

PHOTO FROM INSTAGRAM

Tami Tumbarello, center, with Small Batch Liquors buyers (from left to right) Trevor Gilham, Eli Cox and Mark Hansen.

Ho-Ho-Ho Shop Till You

By Basha Cohen

With a Ho-Ho-Ho and a Hee-Hee-Hee, it’s time to go out on that shopping spree!

No need to hit the malls. Consider being old-school and get off your computer to truly enjoy the spirit of the gift-giving season right in the heart of Northwest Denver.

The smell of cinnamon and sage, the touch of something fuzzy or furry, the flicker of a feather or sequin, the scent of a candle, the per fect cozy hat, cocktails to-go, or the delight of a cheap and cheerful find. The hunt for treasures at every price point shows that the merchant scene is alive, well, and ready to serve your friends and family some delectable treats.

Shopping local for the holidays is a map of discovery and a key to the people who have been grounded in our community, often for decades. Supporting what’s iconic and trea sured like Lois Harvey’s West Side Books, Cindy Berry Ollig’s Perfect Petal, and Wendy

Sjogren’s Clotheshorse, or saying “goodbye” to Nicole Sullivan’s community Bookbar, or wishing Kat Furr, an original in the Tenny son gift scene with XO Gifts, good luck as she moves to Gold’s Market on 26th Avenue and Kipling after this holiday season ends.

Aside from the old, discover what’s new, like menswear master Eli Cox of Berkeley Supply Company’s new and expanded digs on Tenny son. A new women’s shop, Boutique La Voga, owned by Deb Scherer has entered the contem porary accessory and apparel scene on 32nd Ave with some seriously cool denim and boots.

The Dew Drop Shop at Nurture on 29th Avenue and Federal Boulevard features a ro tating apothecary of beauty and wellness products curated by Cindy Koder that give back to worthy causes. West Colfax newbies Omar Sandoval and Skylah Marroquin have just opened Chaos, a vintage thrift shop fea

turing 25 vendors and local artisans. Maurice Anderson and KC Christian launched a fun and funky new boutique, It’s a Bodega, that mashes up high-end trainers, leather jackets, kooky toys, and bodega eats at the Edgewater Public Market.

Wordshop, located at 3180 Meade St., en capsulates the sentiment of local merchants that depend on us: “For every dollar you spend, you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want to live in. Thank you for supporting small businesses. We love you.”

We could devote an entire newspaper to all of the great finds out there, but here are some of our inflation-buster top picks mostly under $100 and five new shops that will get you some lovin’ this holiday season. Shop till you drop and have a joyous season ahead.

All photos by Basha Cohen unless otherwise noted.

Dew Drop Shop at Nurture – 2949

Federal Blvd.

Mojave + Tejon Dry Goods 2436 W 44th Ave.

Exquisitely handcrafted, curated collectibles, ceramics, leather, skin care, and apparel $10-$500.

Best Pick: Hand-Loomed decorative cushions and blankets, $88-$118.

A pop-up shop of small-batch alchemists and local artists that give back to worthy causes. $6-$50.

Best Pick: Cult + King, where conscience and style collide in hair potions and lotions, $18-$40.

Chaos 3601 W. Colfax Ave.

A vintage & thrift shop featuring 25 vendors and local artists, $10 and up.

Best Pick: Saucy Bustiers, $18-$38

It's A Bodega –Edgewater Public Market 5505 W. 20th Ave.

A whacky mix of toys, high-end trainers, men's leather jackets, hipster tees, and a bodega, $5-$1000.

Best Pick: It's a Bodega mystery box filled with snacks, drinks and who knows what, $50.

PHOTOS BY SASH LEVITOV

PHOTOS BY HARRY WARTERS

Where will Collegiate Peaks Bank take

CU Denver Recruiting Inaugural ‘Change Maker’ Fellows

There’s a new type of program popping up at universities across the country. It’s geared to ward a segment of learn ers not unlike higher edu cation’s longer-held target demographic, recent high school graduates.

scholarships may be available.

KATHRYN WHITE

Students in this new wave of programs are adults in what Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, a writer, entrepreneur, and consultant for gen der and generational balance, calls the Third Quarter (age 50-75) of life. Like their 18- to 25-year-old counterparts, they are entering a stage of exploration, preparing for the next chapter of life.

Wittenberg-Cox unpacked the trend in her Sept. 28 Forbes magazine article, “Old School: Midlife Transition Programs Take Off.” The programs are fueled by declining enroll ment numbers at U.S. colleges and universi ties coupled with greater market awareness around the interests and needs of a growing 50-and-older population.

“If 60 is the new 40, people will need places and people to help them prepare for midlife re-inventions, accelerations or adaptations. Universities could have a key role to play, if they are willing to flex their model, and rec reate themselves,” Wittenberg-Cox said.

The trend traces back to 2009 when Har vard University launched its Advanced Lead ership Initiative. Similar offerings can now be found at Stanford University, Loyola Univer sity Chicago, the University of Notre Dame, and others.

And starting this January, in Denver.

“CU Denver’s a logical place to offer a pro gram like this,” said Anne Button, program director for CU Denver’s new Change Makers program. “In the heart of the city, with all of our connections.

“Universities are traditionally built to help people figure out their purpose at the start of their careers. Why not at the end of their primary career? This is what we do. Why not extend who we do it for?

“There’s this huge untapped resource of skills, experience, and wisdom in people at this stage of life,” Button continued. “And there are a lot of unmet needs in the commu nity. Change Makers offers that opportunity to translate what you’ve already done into what you can contribute in your next stage of life.”

Change Makers will run for four months, an academic semester, and will be offered twice a year, in the fall and spring. The spring 2023 inaugural program begins Jan. 10 and ends April 26. The fee is $3,200. Need-based

Its website states, “Through expertly guided cohort discussions, seminars with practitioners, opportunities to audit CU Denver classes, and an optional applied "in ternship" in a nonprofit or social enterprise, Change Maker fellows investigate areas of interest and growth and develop an action able plan for using their wisdom in a new, fulfilling context.”

Button herself is in that Third Quarter of life, with two children off on their own and a 15-year career in university executive communications under her belt. She par ticipated in CU Denver’s most recent stra tegic planning process, while at the same time following the success of programs like Harvard’s. It started to coalesce for her: CU Denver’s “next step,” as well as her own. She’s moved from communications into program leadership.

Button is now actively recruiting for the first cohort of Change Maker fellows.

“People who run these programs are pos itively evangelistic about them. I’ve spoken with several. And they say that, universally, for participants, their cohort in the program becomes the single most beneficial com ponent. It’s the discussion with people in the same stage of life, asking the same sorts of questions.”

Mendelle Elit, whose primary career has been accounting, is asking those questions.

“How do I go on to that next step?” Elit said. “What will it look like?”

Elit is looking forward to becoming an in augural Change Maker fellow in January.

“I’m hoping to make connections. And gain the skills,” said Elit. “I’m an accountant. But I know a lot of the needs more globally are going to be around food insecurity, housing insecurity, business development. I want to make that leap from what I’ve done up to this point, supporting businesses and supporting my family financially for many years. I’m transitioning to supporting other people and my community.”

Visit ucdenver.edu/change-makers to apply or to learn more.

Kathryn has lived in North Denver since around the time the Mount Carmel High School building was razed and its lot at 3600 Zuni became Anna Marie Sandoval Elemen tary. She’s raised two children in the neighbor hood, worked at several nonprofits, and vol unteered with the Alzheimer’s Association Colorado Chapter.

Do you have story ideas for The Gray Zone? Email thegrayzone.denvernorthstar@gmail.com.

Centennial Elementary celebrates the end of a three-week fundraiser by pouring “slime” on Principal Laura Munro, Assistant Principal Emily Volkert, kindergarten and first grade teacher Chris Christoff, and second grade teacher Raychel Lafontaine. The school raised $45,525 and completed 1,700 acts of kindness for their surround ing Denver communities

PHOTO COURTESY OF TAMI NOONING

By Eric Heinz

TO Northwest Denver Schools Likely Off The List for Closure

By Eric Heinz

expertly seminars with audit CU applied "in enterprise, areas of an action in a new, Third Quarter their own executive She par recent stra the same programs like for her: CU her own. communications into recruiting for the fellows. programs are pos I’ve spoken universally, the program beneficial com people in same sorts career has questions. step?” Elit becoming an in January. connections. And accountant. globally are insecurity, housing I want to up to this supporting years. I’m people and ucdenver.edu/change-makers to apply

Denver since Carmel High lot at 3600 Sandoval Elemen neighbor nonprofits, and vol Association

Gray Zone? thegrayzone.denvernorthstar@gmail.com.

Denver Public Schools has been mulling the consolidation of several elementary schools in the wake of declining enrollment, but the superintendent decided to delay a vote on closing or combining several in the north part of the city before the board of education takes a final vote.

Denver Discovery School, Schmitt Ele mentary, Fairview Elementary, International Academy of Denver at Harrington, and Math and Science Leadership Academy are still be ing considered for consolidation as of Monday, Nov. 14.

The schools in Northwest Denver that were being considered for consolidation included Fairview Elementary and Colfax Elementary, which would have unified with K-5 grades at Cheltenham and early childhood education at Colfax. Columbian Elementary would have unified with Trevista at Trevista. On Nov. 10, DPS announced those schools were off the chopping block.

Other schools for consolidation consider ation were Palmer Elementary and Eagleton Elementary, which were also removed from the list on the 10th.

“The other five schools are still under con sideration and will continue to be supported as we more closely engage with those respective communities,” DPS Superintendent Alex Mar rero said in a recent announcement.

Columbine Elementary will accept some of the students from the International Academy of Denver at Harrington, while others will go to Swansea Elementary. The DPS board of ed ucation was scheduled to vote on the school consolidation plans on Nov. 17, after this edi tion of The Denver North Star went to print.

As DPS has seen significant declines in en rollment, the board of education supported a

committee to examine which schools could be consolidated. The criteria was based on addressing schools with a “critically low” en rollment of fewer than 215 students and “each school’s unique context.”

The 10 schools originally slated for consol idation are subsidized by the other schools in the district by about $5 million each year, and Marrero said instead of subsidizing the smaller schools, DPS could fund the yearly salaries and benefits for more than 50 full-time employees.

Marrero said the consolidations are expected to include staff and principals who will move over to their respective consolidated school.

“We’re gonna do a process to make sure that we have a leader (at each school), and it's go ing to help also with the unification and the culture,” Marrero said. “That’s what makes our approach very different than everyone else's. I can't think of one consolidation, even if they call the closure, that is allowing for this amount of nuance and flexibility. I'm guaran

teeing professionals are not only gonna land on their feet, they're gonna land where other students are headed.”

Marrero said some of the factors that have contributed to school consolidations are the rise in the cost of living and home prices in the area, as well as declining birth rates and the expansion of the number of schools in the Denver area.

According to DPS, in the past five years, ele mentary and middle school enrollment has de clined by more than 6,000 students, resulting in a loss of $61 million annually in taxes.

DPS stated an additional loss of about 3,000 elementary and middle school students over the next four years is expected, resulting in an additional loss of $36 million in funding.

Note: This is a rapidly changing story and some details may be out of date when this paper arrives in your mailbox or news rack. Visit us online at DenverNorthStar.com for updates.

Therapy, healthy social connection, self care (eating well, exercising, sleeping), vagal nerve stimulation, breathwork, and many other treat ments help. If you wonder if you may be expe riencing this type of dysfunction, please reach out to a health professional. And even if you are neurologically healthy, I hope you will take the time to try this technique to show your nervous system some love:

• Start with an extended exhale breath.

• Sit or lie down as comfortably as possible.

• Slowly inhale and exhale for several rounds until it feels natural.

• Start to extend your exhale to twice as long as your inhale. For example, breathe in for two seconds and out for four seconds.

• Gradually extend both the inhale and ex hale while maintaining the 1:2 ratio. For example, if you work up to a four-sec ond inhale, your exhale should last eight seconds.

Cultivating gratitude for our bodies is one of the best ways to inspire us to care for them. Let’s add our nervous systems to our gratitude list this Thanksgiving season.

Next month: The best holiday gift I can think of, “Living Safe and Sound.” We will talk more with Clark, who is the founder of Northwest Denver’s Shine Integrated Therapy, a certified safe and sound protocol provider. This pro tocol is a non-invasive listening application of the polyvagal theory shown to regulate the autonomic nervous system to help you regulate your emotions, build resilience, think more clearly, and connect more easily.

Erika Taylor is a community wellness in stigator at Taylored Fitness, the original on line wellness mentoring system. Taylored Fit ness believes that everyone can discover small changes in order to make themselves and their communities more vibrant, and that it is only possible to do our best work in the world if we make a daily commitment to our health. Visit facebook.com/erika.taylor.303 or email erika@ tayloredfitness.com.

Josephina is grateful for

Bienvenidos Food Bank.

“Food is so expensive these days. This is such a blessing for us.”

Columbian, pictured, Colfax and Fairview elementary schools, were among several schools considered for consolidation in the 2023-2024 school year, but the Denver Public Schools superintendent decided to take them off the list.

PHOTO BY ERIC HEINZ

The Evolution of the Town of Highlands

hat became the town of Highlands grew out of two earlier neighborhood develop ments, Potter Highlands and Highland Park. This month I will give you the history of Highland Park and the origins of the town of Highlands.

HIGHLAND PARK AND POTTER HIGHLANDS

In the 1870s, there was a new urban plan ning trend that envisioned and built neigh borhoods designed to bring in specific demo graphics. Cities like Chicago and New York began to create the first subdivisions aimed at those who had a common culture based on Anglo-American, upper and middle-class eco nomic status and values.

When William Jackson Palmer and William Bell created Colorado Springs, they planned for their neighbors to be those who came search ing for an elite community with homes with a mountain view. These founders and financial leaders of the newly developing Rocky Moun tain Front Range, felt that they deserved to choose where, how and with whom they lived.

In Denver, in 1874, Palmer and Bell teamed up with David Moffat, Roger Woodbury and others to create a middle-class development modeled on a romantic Scottish Highland village. It resembled other projects in Colo rado including the Fifth District in Colorado Springs and Pueblo’s Corona Park. Highland Park was a romantic style neighborhood mod eled on Riverside in Chicago.

The idea was to make the elevated dry plain seem like a sylvan oasis, especially when com pared to its down and dirty Denver neighbor.

WHighland Park streets had names like Fife, Dunkeld, Caithness and Argyll. It ran from Gallup (Zuni) across Boulevard (Federal) where it went diagonally up to 38th Avenue. East of Federal it covered the area from 32nd to 29th Avenues.

The western part of Highland Park was lat er redeveloped. The remaining intact portion of Highland Park got federal historic district status and has since been rebranded as Scot tish Highlands. In the 21st century, this com bination of single-family and row houses in multiple styles with nearby commercial stops is known as “new urbanism.”

There is also a persistent rumor that the wealthy residents of Potter Highland built it to house their Scottish servants. Sorry to burst a bubble here, but there was not a pool of Scottish servants in the neighborhood.

THE TOWN OF HIGHLANDS

“She is upon a high eminence, proudly over looking her smoky neighbor, the city of Den ver, her atmosphere untarnished by factory or smelter smoke, but as pure and fresh and sweet as the God of Nature ever gave Man.”

That quote came from the program written for the new town of Highlands at its formal dedication. Incorporated as a village in 1875, it covered the hilltop from West 38th Avenue on the north to 24th Avenue on the south, from Sheridan Boulevard on the West to Zuni on the east. A number of modern neighborhoods now encompass Highlands. They include West Highland, Highland and part of Jefferson Park.

Highlands was the brainchild of Owen LeFe vre and a group of visionaries who saw the hills west of Denver as the same kind of intentional community that the developers of Highland Park had created. Lefevre gave Highlands a

special benefit when he discovered and devel oped an artesian well that delivered pure, clean water for the residents.

Highlands was just the boost needed to en courage large homes in Potter Highlands and in West Highland. And new people flooded into the new homes. In 1885, LeFevre and his friends applied to Arapahoe County to upgrade the village to a town. A set of ordinances, ad opted in 1889, laid out the rules for living in Highlands and read as such:

“No person shall permit to run at large any chickens, ducks, geese, guinea hens, turkeys, rabbits, cows, horses, cattle or other fowls with in the Town of Highlands. No person shall drive, toss, knock, or play ball, marbles, pitch pennies, quoits, or fly any kites within the Town of Highlands.

No person shall engage in any quarrel or fight or ask or invite or defy any other person to fight or quarrel. No person shall within the

limits of the Town of Highlands use any com mon vulgar, indecent, abusive, foul or improp er language. No person shall perform any inde cent, immoral or lewd play or behavior within the Town of Highlands. A liquor license shall be issued at the prayer of twenty-five residents of said town attesting to the good moral char acter of the applicant.”

By the 1890s it was clear that the police and fire departments, good water, schools, librar ies, paved streets and sidewalks promised to residents, were expensive to maintain. In 1896 Highlands merged with Denver. Next time we will take a look at West Highlands.

Dr. Rebecca A. Hunt has been a Denver resi dent since 1985 and a resident of the Northside since 1993. She worked in museums and then taught Colorado, Denver and immigration his tory at the University of Colorado Denver until she retired in 2020.

Giveaway

Continued from Page 3

bike shop Framework Cycles, also had three bikes that were available to be donated.

Morales also got staff members from the Aztlan Rec Center as well as the Denver Dream Center, two teams that are connected in the community, to be at the event.

She also went to a local residents meeting at Quigg Newton to get their feedback, and found out that lots of kids had bikes that weren’t in good repair. Morales again con nected with local bike shops SloHi Bike Com pany and Framework Cycles, and they had staff come to the event to repair bicycles for free all day.

Word spread in the neighborhood that the bike giveaway was going to happen, and on the day of the event, kids came out early with excitement. There was food from local favor ites Pochito Tortilla Factory and Tamales by La Casita.

The giveaway included 62 bike locks, doz ens of bike helmets (that were properly fitted by volunteers), numerous bike accessories, and 11 bicycles. Team members from SloHi Bike Company and Framework Cycles spent the entire day not only repairing bikes, but also teaching neighborhood kids how to re pair bikes on their own.

“People were very excited, they immediate ly started doing test rides,” Morales said. “It was really exciting, one of the kids said that all of her siblings had bikes, and she didn’t. They wouldn’t let her borrow their bikes because they were theirs, and now she finally had a bike."

She spent all day with a huge smile on her face.

“It just felt like the reason we were there was to make people happy, and to fill a need,” she said. “Even if a kid just thinks, ‘I have a bike,’ that is super fun, a bike can be such a tool for freedom for autonomy, I just loved seeing their faces light up.”

Any Denver resident interested in applying for a CALC micro-grant can learn more at: denvercalc.org/microgrants.

These houses on Dunkeld Street were some of the original homes in Highland Park. They were torn down in 2022, and replaced with mid-century modern infill.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE HISTORY COLORADO, OFFICE OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION.

REBECCA A. HUNT

PRESERVATION.

Sunnyside Residents Seek More Retail at 44th and Tejon Development Area

By Eric Heinz

M ore housing is needed in Denver, and while some of the residents near 44th Avenue and Tejon Street say they under stand that, they also want to preserve and enhance the area’s inviting commercial spaces.

The property at 4358 N. Tejon is owned by a corporation called Canwest Invest ments LLC and Glen Wood is listed as its registered agent, according to records from the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office.

A recently started petition compels the owner of the lot to put in at least groundfloor retail space in a planned two-story apartment complex that is slated to have 15 units, the design for which have been ap proved by the city.

any com or improp any inde behavior within license shall twenty-five residents moral char police and schools, librar promised to maintain. In 1896 Next time we

Denver resi Northside and then immigration his Denver until

Sam Axelrath, who started the petition, told The Denver North Star that they won’t be able to stop the development from go ing forward, but he was hopeful the owner would reconsider their plans.

The petition, started in early fall, has gathered 420 online signatures as of early November.

“The long-term hope is that we get a zon ing code overlay, similar to what was done on Tennyson Street,” Axelrath said.

The Tennyson Street overlay strives to activate streets and commercial centers by reducing the amount of street-level resi dential uses and increasing the amount of street-level commercial uses. It includes several commercial areas in the Berkeley neighborhood, including Tennyson Street between 38th and 46th Avenues.

“However, the problem is that there’s a very good chance this apartment building and others could get built before that zoning

Baths

Continued from Page 1

comed nearly every customer by name.

Ethyl and Harry Hyman founded the business in 1927. Their youngest child, Joe Hyman, eventually took over, with his wife Gertie handling most day-to-day operations. Joe and Gertie’s son Hannon Hyman took his own turn running Lake Steam, together with wife Amy.

When Hannon died in 2015, Amy Hyman was left to carry on the business. She was at the helm in 2019 when Lake Steam was awarded Westword’s “Best of Denver” honor for Best Service on Colfax. And she carried the storied iconic business through the chal lenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, its last years in the Hyman family.

Lake Steam Baths makes an appearance in local historian Phil Goodstein’s “North Side Story: Denver’s Most Intriguing Neighbor hood” for its significance in the bath house scene of early 20th century Denver.

Intermountain Jewish News profiled Lake Steam on Oct. 20 in its “From the Archives” blog, reminding readers that “the baths brought the traditions of Mother Russia to Denver’s West Side Jews, many of whom were Russian Jews. The ‘shvitz’ was a legendary lo cal hangout, where men would gather to un wind and shmoos.”

Decades later, neighbors can still gather and unwind, in the nude (bathing suits rare ly seen), at Lake Steam Baths. For $27 you receive access to the steam baths, sauna and hot tub. Additional fees apply for reflexology sessions and exfoliating scrubs. Book a mas sage in advance or stop by the desk to inquire about availability.

Men's days are Wednesday, Friday and Sat urday from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Women’s days are Monday from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

“With any change comes trepidation,” Brown said, referring to the beginning of the months-long sale process. “But things have settled down now. It’s a new day, a new dawn.”

overlay is completed,” Axelrath said.

In 2019, the owner of the former conve nience store on the lot was granted an ex tension to his lease after he filed a lawsuit in Denver County Court against Glen Wood, who bought the roughly 15,000-square-foot property in 2018 for $1.4 million.

That ruling was remanded to the lower court after a Denver District Court judge ruled the owners did have the right to ter minate the old owner’s lease as early as he’d tried to. In 2020, Wood’s company Canwest Investments was granted a certificate of demolition from the city.

Wood did not respond to The Den ver North Star ’s request for comment by press time.

“I think to have a little convenience store there would be amazing,” Axelrath said.

“Maybe a little ice cream shop, something for people at the park to kind of come over and enjoy.”

The property is located across the street from Chaffee Park and close to The Mon key Barrel bar and The Radiator coffee shop. It is currently zoned for a maximum of two stories.

Trupti Suthar, the president of Sunny side United Neighbors Inc. (SUNI), said her neighborhood organization has not tak en an official stance on the redevelopment plans, but they are keeping a close eye on it.

She said she’s not opposed to more hous ing, either, but there could be ramifications of losing commercial space that is easy to walk to.

“The problem is once commercial space is lost, it’s not coming back,” Suthar said.

Checking Out: ‘A Haunted History of Invisible Women’

Spooky season may have come to an end, but that doesn’t mean you can’t curl up with a good book and indulge in some frightening tales as the weather gets colder.

Leanna Renee Hieber and Andrea Janes’ “A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America’s Ghosts” (2022, Cit adel Press) is a great candidate to do just that with, especially since it has a fun local tiein—Goldspot Brewing Company, 4970 Low ell Blvd., currently has an Invisible Women blonde stout on tap, as well as copies available for purchase to peruse while sipping.

Written by two ghost tour guides, “Invis ible Women” presents the topic of hauntings from a perspective of belief while still ac knowledging and grappling with skepticism.

Janes admits, “When you’re dealing with ghosts, determining what is true is a near

See BOOK, Page 15

Where a convenience store once stood is slated to become a multifamily complex, but a petition was started opposing the build after no commercial space was planned for the ground floor.

PHOTO BY ERIC HEINZ

HANNAH EVANS

Former Sloan’s Lake Church Turned Into Coworking Space

By

Tucked into a residential area of Sloan’s Lake, a former house of worship is now a place where people pray to meet their deadlines.

Lance Nading, the owner of Merritt House CoWork, has repurposed a former church as a coworking space with various amenities.

“My opinion is that demographic is every thing,” Nading said regarding why he chose the church as the property for a coworking space. “The average occupant in Sloan’s Lake owns their own home or they pay a pretty significant amount of rent for their home. If they’re going to leave their home (for work), they want an office.”

Nading bought the property at 2246 Ir ving St. in 2016 for $700,000, according to city records, which includes both the church and annex building on a 0.38-acre lot. The annex building has been repurposed, but the old church could potentially be turned into more coworking spaces or something else, Nading said.

Currently there are two churches using that space four times a week.

Merritt House opened in the fall of 2021. Now that more people are going back to work on site, if not still working from home, Nading said the market for coworking has been better than it is currently.

“I’m just surprised at how difficult it is to fill the desks because that’s the main difference-maker for the business, by far,” Nading said.

Memberships Merritt offers include pri vate offices starting at $600 a month, ded icated desks starting at $300 a month, and mobile desks starting at $200 a month, or customers can pay $30 per day or $200 for a 10-day block. There are currently 13 offices in the building that vary in size. Members

can also come in on weekends once they’ve been given a security code.

Nading said the office rentals help the business come close to breaking even. He said Merritt’s largest office, which goes for $1,200 a month, was among the first to be rented, but the offices are also not yet at 100% occupancy.

“We're very boutique, we’re very small, and we’re not in a natural hub of activity as you would be on South Pearl or Tennyson,” Nading said, adding that it wasn’t social media or other advertising that’s brought in more than half his members so far. Instead, it was the tall banners with “CoWorking” emblazoned on them that are situated out side the church building.

According to the business’s website, Mer ritt House is located in the former Merritt Methodist Church, which is within the Wit ter-Cofield Historic District, and was built in 1905. The auxiliary building was built in 1956 and served the church’s operations for Sunday school and church-related events through 2016.

Lizzie Nelson, the membership manager and marketer for Merritt House, said they hope to use the parking lot and other areas for community events in the future.

“Just in the past couple of weeks and months, we’re really seeing a lot more mem bers come in and we’re giving a lot more tours, a lot more free trial days, that kind of stuff,” Nelson said.

Merritt House is also finishing up some of its interior decorating and adding to its amenities.

“We're trying to bring a lot more local fo cus and sort of bring in artwork that's local artists,” Nelson said. “Coffee, tea that’s local, even the bathroom soaps are local products.”

New Chief Ron Thomas Addresses Concerns at Forum

By Sara Martin

Ron Thomas, who was recently sworn in as Denver’s new police chief, faces numerous questions as he takes on the mantle of the city’s arm of public safety.

A town hall was recently hosted by Task Force to Re imagine Policing and Public Safety with Chief Thomas to offer a chance for commu nity members to ask ques tions about the future of the Denver Police Department (DPD) and the practices he envisions.

One of the organizers of the event was Alex Landau, who was assaulted by DPD of ficers in 2009 and is now a law enforcement reform activist. Two years after the incident, Landau received a $795,000 police-brutality settlement from the city of Denver.

Before the event, the Denver-based task force compiled questions to be asked to Thomas. Questions of concern included ongoing excessive force lawsuits from the George Floyd protests in 2020, de-escalation concepts, sexism in the DPD, and officer-in volved shooting investigations, which often times find officers did not break the law but occasionally deem they violated the depart ment’s policies.

“I intend to be very steadfast about enforc ing violations of policy. If you shoot a moving vehicle, that may not be against the law, but it certainly violates our policy,” Thom as said. “If some one does something else that violates a policy or should be consistent with our commitment to de-escalation, to the decision-making model that we've instituted, then certainly I will be inclined to discipline those officers.”

fied with Thomas’ answers at the town hall. One wom an who came to the mic to ask a question expressed doubt in the chief’s response to handling sexism within the department.

“I am somewhat disap pointed in the lack of depth in some of your answers, for one, the issue of sexism with in the Denver Police Depart ment,” she said. “This is not a new issue. It’s been going on for years,” she said. “In fact, there is a Black woman sergeant who filed a complaint that is ongoing. To just say that sexism will not be tolerated, doesn’t tell us a plan that doesn't acknowledge the problem, especially for women of color in the department.”

In September, a 24-year veteran of the de partment, Sgt. Carla Havard, filed a lawsuit claiming that the agency cultivates a culture of racism, discrimination, and sexism.

One goal Thomas said he has is to contin ue promoting accountability of officers in the field, including with the help of national pro grams such as Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement, or ABLE.

“We need to make sure that they are well-trained so that they understand where the lines are and then hold them accountable when they crossed the line,” Thomas said

“We need to make sure that they are welltrained so that they understand where the lines are and then hold them accountable when they crossed the line,” Thomas said in an interview with The Denver North Star. “There's a cou ple of things that I think that we have done most recently that I think help hold officers accountable, one is called ABLE, and it's provided to all officers in the city of Denver.”

In June, six bystanders were injured after a DPD officer shot at an armed man near a bar in LoDo. The police didn’t tell multiple wounded bystanders that officers were the ones who shot them. A grand jury will decide if the officers broke the law.

According to Thomas, the department has engaged in talks with the University of Den ver to create a leadership training academy to enroll groups of officers in.

“It's going to train them to be better offi cers today and posture them for leadership positions in the future,” he said. “Lastly, we have incentivized higher education because I understand and believe very strongly that better educated officers are better officers.”

Some people in attendance were not satis

The ABLE program launched in 2021 and was developed by the Georgetown University Law Center, which was created in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. ABLE teaches officers effective ways to step in when they witness misconduct and help agencies build a culture of peer intervention that prevents harm.

Serving 33 years in the department and son of former public servants, Thomas is taking over an agency that has seen strug gles with recruitment, shortages of almost 200 officers, heightened violent crime, and safety issues.

Thomas was nominated by Denver May or Michael Hancock after Paul Pazen an nounced his retirement as chief after serving four years at the head of the department and with a total of 28 years in the force.

Eric Heinz

PHOTO BY ERIC HEINZ

Lizzie Nelson, left, the membership manager and marketer of Merritt House, and Lance Nadig, owner of the coworking space, are looking to increase membership since people went back to working in person after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Driver in Fatal Lowell Crash Deemed to Have Had ‘Medical Issue,’ Not Intoxicated

By Rachel Lorenz

The 51-year-old man who had a medical episode while driv ing on 32nd Avenue and Lowell Boulevard and crashed into a car that left one dead and a young girl injured in 2021 recently had his license revoked for a year, but he will not serve jail time.

Patrick Layden pleaded guilty Oct. 24 to one count of careless driving resulting in death and one count of careless driving causing bodily injury in the April 10, 2021, crash in West Highland.

The incident killed 46-yearold Bradley Brubaker and sent his young daughter to the hospi tal with serious injuries. Layden received 12 points against his driving record, and his license was immediately revoked for one year, the Denver District Attor ney’s Office reported.

The DA said evidence indicated that Layden was experiencing an unforeseen medical issue at the time of the accident and that neither drugs nor alcohol were a factor. It is the DA office’s policy not to dis close medical information, DA spokesperson Carolyn Tyler said.

Layden was originally charged with two counts of first-degree assault, one count of vehicular homicide, and one count of ve hicular assault. Prosecutors alleged that be fore hitting the vehicle driven by Brubaker, Layden was speeding, crossed double yellow lines, and ran a red light, the DA’s office said in a release dated April 27, 2021.

The impact of the crash moved Layden and Brubaker’s vehicles out of the intersection and down West 32 Avenue where they then

struck seven other vehicles, according to the arrest affidavit for Layden.

Based on sentencing ranges for the origi nal charges, Layden could have faced signif icant jail time if he had been found guilty on all counts. But the DA’s office did not think they could get a jury to reach a guilty verdict on those charges.

“We have an ethical obligation to only pur sue cases if we believe a jury will convict,” Ty ler told The Denver North Star. “In this case, we did not believe we could meet that thresh old because of the unforeseen medical issue Mr. Layden was experiencing.”

Instead, the DA reached a deal in which Layden pleaded guilty to lesser charges. Careless driving, according to Colorado law, is driving in an “imprudent manner, with out due regard for the width, grade, curves, corners, traffic, and use of the streets and

highways and all other at tendant circumstances.”

In a statement reported by Fox 31, the Brubaker fam ily said: “The explanation of why a plea was accepted was oversimplified. Patrick Layden was observed hav ing a medical emergency by first responders five min utes after the crash. It is un clear if the crash caused the medical emergency, or if it started in advance of the 80 mph impact. Our family and community will never know the truth.”

Some local residents said the sentencing was too lenient.

“I think everyone thinks it’s a miscarriage of jus tice,” said Annie Mullens, who witnessed the accident while walking to work on that Saturday.

Three days after the settlement was an nounced, Cassidy Hobon, manager at Hap py Bake Shop on West 32nd Avenue, re membered the day of the accident. A fellow employee’s car parked on the street outside of the store was hit and the business shut down for the rest of the day, she said.

Hobon said she was frustrated that Layden will not serve any time in jail.

Hobon said she would like clarification on the role Layden’s medical condition played in the crash. According to court re cords, Layden has one DUI arrest on his Colorado record from March 2000.

Layden’s attorney did not respond to re quests for comment.

impossibility,” but this interesting read cer tainly does its best.

Packed with historic research and a crit ical eye toward the ways these stories are told, “Invisible Women” reads a bit like a college text with its wealth of cited sources, but don’t let that fool you into believing it might be dry—Hieber and Janes translate their tour guide talent to the page with eas ily digestible sections on a plethora of sto ries, while peppering in personal accounts along the way.

Investigating hauntings all over the coun try, some tales like that of Lizzie Borden’s estate and the Winchester Mystery House will be familiar to many, while collections of larger topics like “Dark Academia: Ghosts of College Campuses” and “American Suc cubi: Soiled Doves of the Frontier” analyze a variety of “ghostlore” stories under a broader theme.

“Invisible Women” searches for the hu man tales behind a given location’s haunt ing, delving into the common tropes of female ghosts as well as the noticeably gen dered interest in hauntings—the introduc tion points out that by and large, many more women seem to take ghost tours than their male counterparts.

Believer in spirits or not, anyone inter ested in history or cultural context will find “Invisible Women” full of fascinating back story as well as a very human mission to bring voices to the deceased, many of whom faced tragedy in life and in death (but not all—stories of lighthearted hauntings are included as well, such as the “celebrated, beloved, trailblazer of a woman” Ma Greene and her beloved steamboat she is thought to keep a watchful eye over).

Check out “Invisible Women” at your closest Denver Public Library location.

Hannah Evans is the senior librari an at the Smiley Branch of the Denver Public Library.

PHOTO BY RACHEL LORENZ

A memorial for Brad Burbaker is located near the intersection of Lowell Boulevard and 32nd Avenue.