The Denver North Star August 15 2023 Online Edition

POLITICS

Three Seek Open Colorado House District 4 Seat PAGE 5

POLITICS

Residents Look to Shape Future of 44th Avenue Corridor

Jamming on the Jetty Returns

Sept. 16 to #SaveSloansLake

By Basha Cohen

The eighth annual Jamming on the Jetty music festival will take place from 2-8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Sloan’s Lake Boat House and Jetty on the north side of the park (Byron Place and Utica Street).

What started as a tiny jam on the jetty with a few neighbors in 2016 has turned into one of the premier summer music events in northwest Denver, with a serious mission to accomplish. This jam-fest is more than just a kick-up your-heels and hang-out-to-music event; it is a community fundraiser hosted by the Sloan’s Lake Park Foundation (SLPF) whose mission is to help #SaveSloansLake.

By Eric Heinz

As the stretch of 44th Avenue from Tejon to Federal Boulevard continues to change, Sunnyside United Neighbors Inc. (SUNI) is trying to establish a district in which groundfloor retail would be preserved.

The area hosts numerous small businesses, but after a small convenience store closed on Tejon to make way for a planned townhome development, the SUNI members started to take a harder look at the street section.

Trupti Suthar, the president of SUNI, recently hosted a walkthrough of the corridor and is conducting meetings to create an overlay for the area.

“The lights and all these things don't just magically happen,” Suthar said. “We want this whole corridor to … make it enjoyable for people to walk down, whether it's benches, trees, that’s kind of what we're kind of thinking about.”

Suthar said mixed-use development would be ideal, if it works in the context of the neighborhood.

cy in there gives some leverage to the neighborhood because when we all come to the city and say we want to do something, then they can go back and look at the plan,” Parezo said.

The idea of establishing an overlay would not be exactly like Tennyson, which requires groundfloor retail in addition to housing along the street from roughly 38th to 46th avenues, SUNI members said the corridor has a bit of a different dynamic. But they said it would be nice to get more walkability in the area and to brighten it up.

“The lights and all these things don't just magically happen.” We want this whole corridor to … make it enjoyable for people to walk down, whether it's benches, trees, that’s kind of what we're kind of thinking about.”

– Trupti Suthar, the president of Sunnyside United Neighbors Inc.

“We have alleys and lots of streets coming in. We have a mix of square and rectangular blocks,” said Chris Parezo, who is helping SUNI with the overlay process. “So the development parcels are not consistent. It’s sort of an individual-by-individual block (situation).”

Parezo said it would benefit the effort to have the 44th Avenue corridor added to the Near Northwest Plan, as that will cover the Sunnyside neighborhood and three others.

“Having that poli-

“We want to activate the lake through beautification projects, monthly cleanups, educational forums and exciting events like our recent Sloan’s Lake Wide Open putt-putt beer crawl that will engage our community to protect and defend one of the most beautiful natural assets in north Denver.”

–Glenn Witman,

chairman of the SLPF board

One person who said they lived near a planned development said he was recently offered money for part of his land in order for a developer to create an apartment complex, but he turned it down.

“It's easy to get caught up in the zoning and trying to decipher the zoning code for this versus that overlays and that stuff,” Parezo said. “What I said to the city was, ‘Why don’t we have a conversation about what (the neighbors) are looking for, what they expect, what they would like to see.’”

Suthar said the group is looking for the right way to go about the overlay, but she said the more people who give their opinions on the future of the corridor, the better.

“I think collecting what people want is the start,” she said. “So when you say, ‘How can we influence?’

I think this is the start of the conversation (involving) more people. There are 30 of us (during the recent walk-through) and there are 1,000 households. So we need more of this.”

More information on SUNI meetings can be found at sunnysidedenver.org.

Glenn Witman, chairman of the SLPF board said, “We want to activate the lake through beautification projects, monthly clean-ups, educational forums and exciting events like our recent Sloan’s Lake Wide Open putt-putt beer crawl that will engage our community to protect and defend one of the most beautiful natural assets in north Denver.”

The SLPF board wants to bring back the days when swimmers frolicked in the lake, an amusement park graced its shore and competitive water skiing was a regular event. Once upon a time, in the not-toodistant past, the lake was 18-20 feet deep. It is now an average of 3 feet.

It takes a village to bring about a change of this magnitude, but concerned neighbors, both old-time Sloan’s Lake residents and newbies alike, alongside Denver Parks and Recreation, and City Councilwoman Amanda P. Sandoval are taking up the challenge to restore the jewel in the crown of northwest Denver.

The event is open to all, but It never hurts to donate a bit when a free, family friendly event includes yoga, live bands, a kids sing-along and a kids zone. New this year, Cycling without Age of Littleton will provide trishaw bike rides around the lake for elders and those infirmed who want to feel the wind in their faces in one of the most beautiful, mountain-framed lakefronts in

Trupti Suthar, president of Sunnyside United Neighbors Inc., leads a group of people down 44th Avenue between Tejon Street and Federal Boulevard.

PHOTO BY ERIC HEINZ

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Sunnyside Laundromat Aims to Re-Open After Break-In

By Ernest Gurulé

It’s a late Sunday morning in Denver’s Sunnyside neighborhood and the sound of the church bells rings through the trees announcing another mass.

So far, traffic flow is light, but as the day goes on, it will grow. West 44th Avenue, long ago, was a mostly Italian immigrant neighborhood that has sprouted into a bustling east-west corridor with a potpourri of shops, offices and restaurants lining each side.

These days you can as easily get your muffler repaired on the avenue as you can dine al fresco any time of the day.

Quiet today is a place that used to bustle on weekends with folks looking to not just do their

laundry but also catch up with friends or read a book or the newspaper at the Sunnyside Laundromat. But a late spring break-in shut the place down and changed all that. At least for now.

Thieves, deciding the laundromat was easy pickings, said co-owner and Bryan Murillo, “pretty much stripped it clean.” In April, the assailants “backed up their pick-up truck into the building,” taking whatever they could, an ATM being the big prize.

“It looked like they put some chains around it and pulled it out.” When Murillo showed up in the morning, he saw the crooks’ handywork.

Sunnyside Music Festival Aims to Unite Community

By Tony Tresca

On Sept. 9, the Sunnyside Music Festival will host its annual event at Chaffee Park. The event is free and family friendly.

From noon to 7:15 p.m., there will be performances by Buffalo Commons, Extra Gold, Lazy Summer Home and Mono Verde, and A Colorado Blues Revue featuring The Delta Sonics, Lionel Young, Erica Brown, Jack Hadley and Ken Saydak.

“We don’t have a theme for the festival other than community and accessibility. That’s one great thing about it being free — everyone is invited,” said Erin Shumaker, president of the Sunnyside Music Festival. “We are super excited about the artists this year; they are amazing musicians who have been around for a while. This started as a bluegrass festival, so we want to have roots in that. Along with having bluegrass flare, we love to highlight musicians who live in the neighborhood.”

Since 2000, the Sunnyside Music Festival has offered an all-inclusive day of free music, enjoyable entertainment, tasty local food, plenty of beer and kid-friendly activities to the greater Sunnyside neighborhood of northwest Denver.

A local couple wanted to host a free music festival in their backyard for their friends and neighbors, with two bands, two kegs, 50 attendees and about 20 dogs. This was the beginning of the then-named Sunnyside Bluegrass Festival.

The couple gave up on the festival around 2004 after being unable to move it to Chaffee Park (not the neighborhood). Even though Sunnyside's music festival appeared to have died before it truly began, locals still applied for two grants to revive the festival.

Over the years, the Sunnyside Music Festival has become a tradition, taking over Chaffee Park on the Saturday after Labor Day. Since 2016, the nonprofit has generated enough revenue from the festival to give out small grants to regional organizations that promote music education among the children in our community.

“We try to have a few different events, but the festival is the big to-do,” Shumaker said. “Our

nonprofit’s goal is to host a music festival that unites the locals, promotes small businesses and creates lasting relationships in the community.”

Shumaker has served on the event's all-volunteer board for the past six years. She is serving in her inaugural year as board president and chief organizer of the festival. This is the Sunnyside Music Festival’s first year partnering with Avant-Garde Event Services.

“They are amazing and helping us elevate the festival with our community and financing,” Shumaker said. “Avant-Garde Event Services handled getting our permits, renting the stage and that operational stuff. We handle the fun part of the event, like picking the music, working to get sponsors, getting the kids' area (sponsored by Zaga Design Group) set up and designing the merchandise.”

If you want to take a break from the concert, you can go to the vendor station. Along with the on-stage performers, there will be 33 artisan vendors, food trucks, beverages and ice cream.

“We have a great shopping area set up for people,” Shumaker said. "People told us they wanted more options, so we assembled a fantastic lineup of diverse artisans to meet that demand."

The organizers ask that you bring a sense of neighborly spirit but leave any outside alcohol at home. Not only does their liquor license prohibit outside beverages, but drink sales help fund the event and provide thousands of dollars to local youth through their grant program.

The Sunnyside Music Festival takes place from noon to 7:15 p.m. on Sept. 9.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AARON SNYDER/ CABIN DOOR MEDIA

PHOTO COURTESY OF BRYAN MURILLO

Apartment Complex Planned for West Colfax Will Continue to be Income-Restricted

By Gannon Rothman

Development for a five-story apartment complex is in the works in the West Colfax neighborhood, at least on paper.

The property located at 1465-1497 Knox Court, owned by GAO Homes Partners, is currently occupied by 10 rental rowhomes. The proposed development will continue to be income-restrictive, with 67 units for families making up to 50% of the area median income; the units are a mix of one- to three-bedroom residences, with most being two- to three-bedroom units. A structured onsite parking garage is also planned with potential office space for Girls Inc. on the first floor.

The project, Menola Homes, will cost nearly $35.6 million. The site was recently rezoned to keep it consistent with the rest of the Colfax Main Street district, where five stories is the maximum height for the building.

Denver-based developer The Burgwyn Company is seeking a low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) allocation of just over $1 million from the Colorado Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) to provide funding for the project, as well utilizing HUD funds. Once credits are awarded the development team will start the plan application to the city.

LIHTC provides developers with a tax incentive to construct low-income households or affordable rental housing by offering a 10-year tax credit for projects.

The project is dependent upon the LIHTC award when the application process starts soon. LIHTCs are typically awarded in early November, with a development plan starting next January, according to Alisha Hammett, a planner with Shopworks Architecture, which is designing the building.

Residents who do become displaced during construction will have the opportunity to relo-

Waldschänke Recovering After Scaffolding Incident

By Eric Heinz

cate to other properties owned by the developer or anywhere that accepts a housing voucher. They will have first right of return into the new building once completed, should they choose and qualify.

Hammett said they anticipate the entitlement process to take six to nine months and construction to take 18 to 24 months.

“Best case scenario the building will open (near the middle of the year in 2026),” Hammett said.

“This development proposal wasn’t based on a market study,” she added. “The city of Denver is in a housing crisis and has been for some time. This location is well-served by transit (both bus and light rail), has a public park, library, elementary school, after-school programs and grocery all within walking distance of the site, ensuring affordable living not just affordable housing.”

Hammett said that the qualities of the location makes it a competitive site to win the LIHTC award according to the Colorado Housing Finance Authority’s (CHFA) qualified allocation plan.

In recent years, Denver’s effort of channeling growth in certain areas has been adopted through Blueprint Denver, a plan to reimagine the city’s growth for the next few decades. The Menola Homes project is focusing on the plan in West Colfax that has seen an increase in population growth in recent years by staying consistent with Blueprint Denver and the West Colfax Plan.

The property is deed restricted by HUD through December 2027, making it necessary to deliver an income-restricted development, Hammett said. Should a LIHTC be awarded, the site will continue to be deed restricted for a minimum of 40 years with the new building.

Staying open has been touch-and-go with Waldschänke Ciders + Coffee in recent weeks after a large piece of scaffolding crashed into the roof of the local business on July 23.

Heavy winds during the day caused the scaffolding from an adjacent apartment building that’s being developed to fall over and nearly topple onto unsuspecting customers.

Co-owner Kelley Dufresne said there could be temporary closures to repair some of the damage, but no one was injured in the incident.

“We were able to reopen sort of temporarily,” Dufresne said. “Most of the damage is to the exterior of the building and our attic space. But the interior of the tap room area is totally fine. Our coffee shop area got a little bit banged up, but nothing too

structurally terrible.”

Around 4:30 p.m. on the fateful day, Dufrense said the wind picked up to intense speeds.

“We had all of our garage doors open, so we went to close them all,” she said. “One of our bartenders … as he was turning the misters off, the wind really picked up, and he decided to get everyone on the patio inside because it was getting a little intense. Maybe 3 to 5 seconds later, it just came crashing down. It’s incredible no one was hurt.”

A pile of twisted metal and wood was left in its wake. Crews from the construction company were onscene the next day collecting the materials and inspecting the building.

Updates about the business and the incident have been posted to the Waldschänke Instagram page.

Scaffolding lays asunder on Waldschänke’s deck after it fell on July 23.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WALDSCHÄNKE

Incumbent Faces Two Challengers After Deciding to Run for DPS District 5

By Eric Heinz

For a little more than a year, it wasn't clear who was going to run for the seat on the Denver Public Schools Board of Education previously held by Rev. Brad Laurvick, who moved to Fort Collins.

Charmaine Lindsey, who was appointed to fill the vacancy, had previously said she wasn't going to run for a full term, but since then she has changed her mind, and two other candidates have now joined the race as well. Former elementary school teacher Adam Slutzker and full-time school volunteer and nonprofit leader Lacy McDonald are challenging her for the seat. District 5 includes all of the neighborhoods covered by The Denver North Star “I started getting the hang of everything and really understood how (the board) worked,” Lindsay said. “It felt like I didn’t have enough time to finish some things. I really want to see some more focus on literacy because the kids got so far behind in the pandemic.”

Lindsay said she wants to continue working to provide more opportunities for after-school tutoring to help children who fell behind during distanced learning.

Although she said she was reluctant to go through the campaign process, she had people in her corner who cheered her back into the electoral ring.

Slutzker is a father of three, ages 8, 6 and 3, who he said will all attend DPS schools next year. He served as chair for the collaborative committee for Columbian Elementary School for two years and said following the potential school closures issue along with having children in school has given him a strong understanding of the local education system.

“I really feel like I've been closely following and directly impacted by district-level decisions for the last 15 years as both an educator and as a parent,” Slutzker said. “I’ve considered serving as a school board member for over a decade now. I did not want to wait until my kids were out of the district to take that opportunity to make an impactful change.”

Lacy McDonald is a former member of the U.S. Army and currently leads the nonprofit Outer Haven. He is also a commissioner of the Health For for Kids Denver, and he volunteers full time at West Colfax Elementary and Lake Middle, the latter of which is where his wife is the principal.

“I have such a unique perspective working with students, and I’ve been doing that for the past eight years,” McDonald said, adding he wanted to run for the school board after extensive school closures were scheduled for D5. “It wasn’t until we actively let the rest of the city know what was going on with the school closures and how it affected our community … that we finally started to get the district to see what the heck we were talking about.”

Slutzker said it will be important to work with the Denver Police on how to address school safety, and he said he understands why the DPS board recently voted to bring back student resource officers (SROs) back to certain schools after two shootings at East High School this academic year.

“However, I personally do not believe that

having SROs in schools is going to necessarily make our students safer,” Slutzker said.

“I think the unfortunate reality in America is if somebody wants to harm students in our school buildings, they will probably be able to do that regardless of how many officers are placed inside a building.

“I personally believe the best thing we can do for our students is to put resources toward social workers, mental health professionals to try to help our students,” he added.

Lindsay, in contrast, addressed the issue in the July edition of The Denver North Star, defending her supporting vote to allow SROs back on campuses.

“For every child that carries a loaded gun to school there is a story that started long before the symptoms of sitting in a classroom with a loaded gun,” she wrote.

“SROs need to be there because of the symptoms, not the underlying inequities, unfair punishments, and lack of advocacy, resources and mental health services.”

Lindsay continued by stating the officers can be a possible deterrent to violence and develop trust with students, as they are “often the people who students turn to when they are facing abuse inside and outside the school environment.”

McDonald said in order to really act like an equitable school district, the school board needs to continue to look at case-by-case issues of where to put SROs and where they would not be appropriate.

“I think that it’s a multilayer thing,” he said. “I don’t think the solution is going to be just putting SROs up in the building. That's not it. That is a layer of security, but other than that it's like how are we building bridges with the community? How are we addressing mental health within our classrooms? What type of authentic resources do we have available?”

Slutzker said DPS needs to address its declining enrollment problem immediately, and he said there are going to be some “tough choices” in the near future with regard to possible closures.

He said the district probably opened too many charter schools over the years, and that the district needs to amend its “school of choice” policy, which allows for students to more flexibly choose where they attend.

“I do think there's … some path forward to limiting class sizes and spreading our resources more evenly across the district,” he said. “There are certain schools in which there is not necessarily going to be enrollment numbers that will allow for them to remain financially solvent over the coming years and consolidations will be necessary.”

Lindsay was part of the process when the board was considering a handful of schools to consolidate or close, many of which were in D5. She said she’d like to try to recruit as many children who live in Denver back to the district as possible, but it’s not been an easy task thus far.

“We’re gonna have to do some unpopular things regarding (declining enrollment) because there are three or four schools that have only a handful of kids signed up for kindergarten,” she said. “I mean, literally,

See DPS, Page 10

Charmaine Lindsay

Adam Slutzker

Lacy McDonald

Bowl of Gazpacho & glass of house-selected Rose’ = $15

Five Candidates Seek At-Large Seat for DPS Board

By Eric Heinz

Five candidates are vying for the seat that will be left vacant by current Denver Public Schools (DPS) Board of Education Vice President Auon’tai M. Anderson. The election is Nov. 7.

ULCCA HANSEN is a former classroom teacher who became a lawyer and led several nonprofit organizations. She said right now is the time DPS should be envisioning a 10- to15-year plan that will most benefit students.

“I started school as an English language learner. I'm the first in my family to go to college and graduate school,” Hansen said. “This issue of equity and what it means to provide every student with a high-quality education in our public system is deeply personal to me.”

Hansen said there needs to be context taken into consideration as the district continues to pull a plan for bringing student resource officers (SROs) back to certain campuses, after Superintendent Alex Marrero made the decision to do so last spring.

“I would be really curious about what the district has (for security),” Hansen said. “I’ve been in tons of conversations with families, and my general stance is we shouldn't ban SROs. I think that should be a decision that's made at the school level.”

Hansen said by increasing opportunities for students that make schools look competitive to alternatives is a way the district could try to shore up its declining enrollment issues.

“I think we as a district need to have a vision for what an equitable, high-quality education is for every single student that is aligned with that broader reality,” Hansen said. “It's where the world is going with artificial intelligence and technology. It’s what employers are saying they need from young people. I think we've got to think about how we broaden that definition.”

PAUL BALLENGER, a military veteran and security consultant, has worked in government at city, state and federal levels, and he has sat on a several civilian boards.

He said his experience as an executive in his company gives him the knowledge needed to navigate the district.

Ballenger said as a father raising his daughter the last 11 years on his own, he’d discussed plans for learning during the COVID era, but was disappointed by the execution of the plans.

He said when his daughter would describe classroom environments that were not conducive to education, he was further concerned.

He also said he was “alarmed” by the move to remove SROs from schools.

“The discipline matrix in DPS is really a serious constraint on having effective discipline in our schools, and we’ve raised concerns … up the chain of command and nothing has really been responded to. We’ve not received any additional support,” Ballenger said.

After the shootings at East High School, Ballenger said he got involved with a parent group that wanted to figure out what the district should do regarding security.

“I would want to make sure that our superintendent is not only developing good operational policies, but implementing them properly,” he said. “I think it’s accountability, transparency and great communication. The board should be looking at the horizon.”

KWAME SPEARMAN grew up attending DPS schools and eventually worked for former Sen. Mark Udall’s senate campaign. He then went to work for a consulting firm in New York. Locally, Spearman is known for being part of a group that purchased the Tattered Cover book store, and he recently ran for Denver mayor but dropped out before the municipal election.

“The district is at an inflection point right now. And what we need more than anything is a new voice, a new generation, but a generation that understands where we have been,” Spearman said. “I’m deeply concerned that we are on a path that is going to hurt student outcomes, hurt our teachers and overall hurt the district.”

Spearman said one of his main goals is to get all third-graders at reading proficiency, and he said when it comes to security measures, he would like to see a renewed agreement with Denver Police Department (DPD), but he said the district needs to be mindful of places where people feel less safe with armed officers.

Regarding declining enrollment, he said the district needs to try to get students in the area to choose DPS, adding that there are 400,000 students in the immediate area.

“The flight to Cherry Creek Schools, the flight to Littleton, that's got to end and it's got to be reversed,” Spearman said.

SEAN GALLEGOS is making his first foray into politics. He said he would like to see security reformed throughout the district by instead of hir-

ing police officers, giving the job to retired military veterans.

“I’m a big fan of police officers; I have no issues with police officers, but when it comes to security, they come at it from a law-enforcement perspective, which sometimes means getting arrested for some of dumb stuff,” Gallegos said.

Gallegos said he’s not sure the school district can do much in terms of retaining families to stem declining enrollment, but he said if they offered more after- school programs and recreational opportunities at minimal to no costs, that could help keep some families within DPS.

Gallegos said his 10 years of hotel maintenance experience gives him the background in interacting with people and listening to their concerns, particularly as he’s spoken with visitors from around the world.

That experience allowed him to see “everything as a business structure,” he said. “If you make (something) engaging, people will engage. We also have to be more transparent with the parents. In order to bring about effective reform or change, you have to be upfront with the parents.”

JOHN YOUNGQUIST is a former principal of Denver East High School. He said he supports bringing back SROs to campus, but he wants a reasonable way to do that.

“We need a plan to secure the safety for our students and our staff members in our school buildings,” Youngquist said, “There isn't the plan that was ever implemented and that has been of great frustration to me. So I believe it was the right thing to do to bring (SROs) back because we don't have another way …that we're securing safety in our schools for students and staff.”

Youngquist said when it comes to declining enrollment, he wants to see the school district flourish through transparency.

“We need to ensure that people see and understand that our schools are strong and you should be confident in bringing your students to our schools and that has to be authentic,” he said. “People ... need to see and feel that it is a strong experience for their students.”

Youngquist said his experience as an administrator helps his candidacy.

“We have not had an assessment plan in place the last few years that allows us to know what the trends really are,” he said.

Youngquist said, “We have not been good at identifying assessments, which let us know how students are growing in classrooms.”

Three Seek Open Colorado House District 4 Seat

By Eric Heinz

Since the departure of Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez from the Colorado House District 4 seat after she won an at-large seat on Denver City Council, three people have filed to replace her.

In Colorado, vacant state legislature seats are filled by a group of party officers from the party who held the seat and not by special election.

A selection process is set to take place for the three Democrats on Aug. 26 at Regis University’s Claver Hall. The doors open at noon with the vacancy committee meeting at 2 p.m., which will also be available on Zoom. Delegates from the party will choose the successor to Gonzales-Gutierrez.

CECELIA ESPINOZA is a former immigration attorney and judge who has participated in local politics for years, and after she retired from the Department of Justice, she became involved in the Denver political scene. She has also served as the Denver Democrats HD4 captain.

“I want to continue to work on gun safety, and I also believe that it's important that we continue to work on the housing crisis that we have and the state,” Espinoza said. “Immigration would probably be a third issue because we have a large population of vulnerable immigrants.”

Espinoza said she worked for years enforcing the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and providing transparency in government is something she’s been “very committed to personally.”

“I have the background and experience, and my political commitment has been demonstrated by my work in the party, and my knowledge of northwest Denver,” she said.

TIM HERNÁNDEZ is a teacher who worked at North High School until his contract was not renewed, sparking a walkout by students in 2022. He is currently planning to work with Urban Peak.

Hernández said his background in education as well as his work with Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office in Washington, D.C., gave him the necessary tools to be a qualified replacement.

“I know exactly what's happening in our schools and how significantly underfunded we are,” he said. “When we talk about the is-

See DISTRICT 4, Page 8

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Bambinos All-Star Makes U.S. Team at Dominican Republic Tournament

By Eric Heinz

Picked among a handful of players throughout the United States, Jason Fogle of the North Denver Bambinos baseball club was selected for the 12-and-under team to play in the Latin American Baseball Classic in the Dominican Republic.

Fogle and his U.S. team went 2-1-1 in pool play before losing in the semifinals 1-0 on a walk-off home run by the host Dominican team. Fogle played catcher, his favorite position, in two of the games.

The tournament featured various teams from Latin America, the U.S. and Canada. To make the team, Fogle had to try out among 50 other children in his age group for the region.

Coach Nathan Aguilar of the Bambinos was the person who encouraged Fogle to try out for the team. The Bambinos play in a league where the rules are the same as the major leagues, even for middle-schoolers, such as allowing stolen bases at any time and using wooden bats.

Fogle admitted the trials were “pretty difficult.”

“You went through like three or two rounds of hitting, so you didn't have many opportunities,” he said. “You had to be good.”

Fogle started playing when he was 5 years old in the north Jefferson County leagues T-ball category, and from there he progressed to coach pitch. He started playing with the Bambinos through the COVID pandemic era.

“They were so good,” Fogle said of the team and the coaches. “They helped me build my skills and everything up to now. Next year, I will be playing 14U for the Bambinos.”

Fogle’s father, Jamie, said the trip is more than just about baseball.

“It’s also intended to be kind of a goodwill trip because we're taking down old gear and equipment, stuff to donate to the Dominicans,” Jamie said. “We’re going to take old children’s baseball gear that they just can’t get down there.”

“It’s a great opportunity for Jason to get to represent both the USA as well as north Denver to go down to the Dominican Republic,” Jamie added. “I think it’s one of those opportunities that he is afforded that hopefully will help him grow and experience and get more exposure to baseball.”

Fogle said he hopes he can play collegiately, but he’s got his eyes set on playing for North High School in the near future.

“That's what my main goal is for now,” he said. “But if I could go play in college, that would be good.”

More information about the Bambinos can be found at facebook.com/NorthDenverBambinos or bambinosbaseball.com.

Study Shows Segregation Prevalent in DPS Schools

By Eric Heinz

Denver Public Schools (DPS) has seen a backward trend in the way schools are segregated among students of economic situations and racial backgrounds, according to a study recently published by the Latino Education Coalition (LEC).

Key findings from the study included that schools segregated by race (with predominantly students of color) have above-average rates of students in poverty, English learners and special education students, with below-average rates of what are known as “gifted and talented” students.

Meanwhile, schools segregated by race (with predominantly white students) have above-average rates of gifted and talented as well as wealthy students, with below-average rates of students in poverty, English learners, and special education students.

Economic status was tracked by using the percentage of each school’s students who opt in for a reduced-cost lunch program.

“These findings indicate that school segregation is a pervasive problem in Denver Public Schools, impacts a majority of certain student populations such as Latino and English learner students, represents disparate and at times inferior resources and designations and reflects reduced student outcomes,” the study noted.

DPS Superintendent Alex Marrero told The Denver North Star a subsequent study is being prepared with the LEC, and based on those results he said he will look at bringing a presentation and possible policy suggestions to the Board of Education.

“In the meantime, when we engage in a deeper study, we need to have everyone in the DPS community to look in the mirror to ask if our own actions have contributed to re-segregation,” Marrero said, adding there are other studies the district has been compiling with regard to demographics.

“How much evidence do we need?”

When asked whether the district’s school of choice program, which allows students more flexibility in choosing where they attend, contributed to re-segregation, Marrero said subsequent studies that are planned with the LEC will need to confirm whether that’s the case.

“We can’t just make assumptions,” Marrero said.

A 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Keyes v. School District No. 1, found that DPS had engaged in discriminatory segregation practices and ordered the district to be proactive in desegregating schools.

In 1995, a federal judge ruled DPS had complied with the desegregation order. But it only took two years after the Supreme Court mandate was lifted for schools to start to become more segregated again, LEC member and study co-author Craig Peña told The Denver North Star

“What happened was DPS effectively stopped busing by race and ethnicity, and the state passed legislation to prohibit busing by race,” Peña said. “So, the guardrails were lifted. There was no more intentional integration occurring.”

“DPS has found itself to effectively be more segregated now than when Keyes was first addressed,” a note from the study added.

Whether you are in the planning stage of your dream pursuit or you’re looking to safeguard all that you’ve accomplished, I will meet you wherever you are in your journey. Let ’s talk about your plans, and how I can help you protect them

Abbie Tanner, Agent

Jason Fogle recently played for the U.S. 12U team in the Dominican Republic for the Latina American Baseball Classic.

PHOTO BY ERIC HEINZ

No ‘Offseason’ for Election

By Paul Lopéz

First and foremost, thank you, Denver. It is my honor to continue serving as your clerk and recorder. In my role, I am the lead elections official and oversee other essential functions like issuing marriage licenses, recording land documents and administering bank foreclosures.

It is important that we innovate where we can, especially as processes like elections and records management become more technical and digital. We have replaced outdated ballot-sorting equipment which will increase efficiency and optimize signature verification and counting.

Currently, 84% of voters use secure drop boxes as the primary method of casting their voted ballots, and I am proud to have protected and expanded Denver’s reputation for accessible, fair and secure elections by increasing the number of ballot drop boxes across the city, well beyond the mandated minimum.

During my first term, I launched the agency’s first Civic Engagement Team to work directly with community partners and neighborhoods to increase voter participation in every part of Denver.

Over the past four years, we have partnered with Denver Public Schools to promote civic participation among young people with the goal of registering every eligible high school student to vote.

Our agency has also worked with Ball Arena, the Denver Broncos and more to get the word out. With our partners at the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition and the Denver Sheriff’s Department, our agency has

improved ballot access for eligible voters who are incarcerated, and our presence at activations like Mutual Aid Monday specifically engages those experiencing food insecurity and homelessness.

We regularly report to and collaborate with the Election Advisory Committee and the Acceso Board for accountability and support, so I encourage any interested community members to join one or both groups.

There is no such thing as offseason in elections, and our agency is preparing for the Nov. 7 coordinated election for Denver Public Schools Board of Education. Candidates will not be eligible for the Fair Elections Fund until municipal elections in 2027, so we likely will not see the same volume of candidates. That said, I am hopeful that Denver voters engage in every election, not just the ones with lots of money or star power.

Speaking of money, my agency modernized Denver’s campaign finance system and launched the Searchlight Denver database to make it easier for the public to track money spent in Denver elections, lobbying and other transactions.

Our agency administered the citizen-led Fair Elections Fund for the first time, and over 19,000 Denverites contributed to candidates — the most of these kinds of contributions ever in an election — signaling a high level of participation from our fellow neighbors and friends. As part of our agency’s due diligence, we will issue a report on the administration of the Fund later this year.

Summer is a busy season for marriages, and

we are fully committed to protecting marriage equality for all of Denver’s lovebirds. We made it easier for couples to get married remotely, and our model has been adopted at the state level. For those wanting an in-person experience, we remodeled our counters and are excited to expand our language-access options.

Prior to my administration, many of the county’s physical records were not properly maintained or stored, and our partners in the Auditor’s Office have laid out the work plan to remedy this. Our agency is in the process of moving and preserving the city’s physical records, and we are digitizing over 18 million records dating back to the 1800s, so they are just a click away for every Denverite.

I oversee the foreclosure process for Denver and continue to ensure public oversight and transparency. Our top priority is empowering residents with information on this potentially intimidating process, and our team is focused on connecting residents to support. As a recession-era council member, I have seen how foreclosures impact Denver communities, and our agency closely monitors trends.

My whole life I've worked block by block to empower our residents in every part of Denver and improve our city. My agency has become more efficient, improved oversight of our operations and honored our fiduciary responsibilities, with a strong focus on creating a healthy, professional environment for our employees and serving our constituents honorably.

There is always more work to do. Denver is a vanguard of democracy, and together we can make Denver the best place to live and vote in the country.

Paul Lopéz is the clerk and recorder for the city and county of Denver.

Making Music for Healthy Benefits

Last year, after Carmen Messina Janneck helped plan a retirement party for Denver's departing police chief, she was inspired.

She had secured the jazz band from North High School, the departing chief’s alma mater, to provide music, and being her charismatic, connected self, she struck up a conversation with the kids and their band leader, John Jonas, during the event.

In talking with them, Carmen uncovered the kids’ desire for more opportunities to make music, space to learn from other musicians, especially those who were already making music professionally, and connection.

So why not create an intergenerational band that would bring older and younger musicians together? A few weeks later, Carmen and her husband, Larry, himself a blues musician (and a retired New York firefighter), formed the Special Blend Intergenerational Musical Showcase, recruited students from the North High music program and started securing gigs, including opening for the Denver Municipal Band's concerts in their summer park series.

Let’s go back to one of the the list of things Carmen discovered the kids needed

See MUSIC, Page 10

ERIKA TAYLOR

Man

Cyclist Recovering After Being Struck By Driver on West 41st Avenue

On July 15, Dana Fells was riding her bike to work at StrechLab on 38th Avenue and Lipan Street. But she didn’t show up to work on time that day.

Fells was biking down the new West 41st Avenue neighborhood bikeway when a driver headed north on Irving Street ran a stop sign and hit her.

Her coworker, Emily Kennel, said she was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery due to internal bleeding. Kennel said that Fells has since been moved out of the ICU, and had three surgeries.

“It’s just scary, things like that can happen to anybody. It doesn't matter how fit you are, how much you stretch or how much you can lift,” Kennel said. “It doesn't matter your condition, anybody can be hit by a car. It’s just kind of scary knowing someone so personally that it happens to.”

Kennel started a GoFundMe for Fells, who had just moved to Denver a couple of months ago from California.

Come

As a close friend, Kennel said she started the GoFundMe to help out Fells with the massive medical expenses as well as loss of income from not being able to work.

“It’s hard to see a friend going through this,” she said. “The physical burden is so high, and the financial burden I know would just put her in debt for the rest of her life.”

Kennel said that Fells doesn’t drive, and

Jetty

Continued from Page 1

Denver. Of course, barrels of beer, cocktails, margaritas, food trucks and four live bands will fill the air with the sound of music all in the spirit of #SaveSloansLake.

Jamming on the Jetty will celebrate the lake that was once the home of the Manhattan Beach amusement park in the late 1800s and early 1900s. SLPF looks forward to bringing back those days when swimmers graced the waters and dogs dared to frolic in the wake of its shores.

The Sloan’s Lake Park Foundation is seek-

District 4

Continued from Page 5

sues of school funding, I’m intimately aware of what's happening in our schools and what we need to change.”

Hernández said he also wants to focus on housing issues as well as gun control measures.

He said he wants to expand “things like an assault weapons ban and making sure that we can actually tackle the cultural issue and the root cause of gun violence, which is often housing and education. I think there are a lot of ways that we can have intersectional conversations of gun violence that lead into issues of community safety as well.”

ROCHELLE GALINDO is a former state representative from Weld County who moved to the north Denver area in the last few years.

Galindo said

when she first moved to Denver she was walking to work every day, and it would take her a long time.

“She just got this bike and she has been super excited about it,” Kennel said. “It is her primary form of transportation. She is someone that lives pretty minimally and doesn’t contribute to our climate crisis going on.”

Denver Police Department Public Information Technician Jay Casillas said that the driver of the vehicle was issued a citation for careless driving as well as driving without a valid license and driving under restraint.

Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) spokesperson Vanessa Lacayo said that homeowners are responsible for keeping traffic signs on their property visible for drivers by trimming back trees and bushes.

“Per municipal code 57-21, property owners must maintain trees and other vegetation on the public right of way adjacent to their property, which includes making sure traffic signs are visible,” she stated.

Lacayo said any resident can report obstructed signs by calling 311.

Anyone wishing to donate to the GoFundMe named “Dana’s Road to Recovery After Tragic Accident” can do so at gofund. me/3e57aa15.

Allen Cowgill is the City Council District 1 appointee to the DOTI Advisory Board where he serves as the Board Secretary.

ing donations, volunteers and support. Be part of the movement to #SaveSloansLake by contacting the foundation at sloanslakeparkfoundation.org or email info@ sloanslakeparkfoundation.org.

one of her main accomplishments in her first tenure in the Legislature was sponsoring the creation of the Office of Just Transition, which helps communities try to transition from coal burning as an energy source.

“I tend, though, not to focus on the past but instead on all of the other policies,” Galindo said. “I still want to drive forward to advance racial, gender, climate and economic justice. There’s just so much work yet to be done.”

Galindo said she also wants to work on issues related to helping immigrants and help tenants stay in their homes, as well as continue to advance racial and gender equity issues.

“I hope that I might continue to advance our shared progressive values in the halls of a capital that too often shies away from them with inaction and half-measures that fall short of the justice that all of our people need,” she said.

More information about the vacancy selection process can be found at denverdemocrats.org.

Jamming on the Jetty takes place

PHOTO COURTESY OF PATRICK GUBITOSE

ALLEN COWGILL

ZONE:

Angela Lee Sends Joy, Feels Great Writing Letters

When a CBS News survey came out in 2021 about letter writing in the U.S., it surprised few to learn that the trend sloped downward.

KATHRYN WHITE

Americans have come a long way since the “Great Age of Letter Writing” in the 18th century. The survey found 37% of 1,717 adults surveyed hadn’t mailed a hand-written letter in more than five years, and 15% had never sent one.

Data held constant across multiple age bands. Adults over age 65 were no more likely to be sending hand-written letters than 20-somethings.

One nonagenarian in the West Highland neighborhood is bucking the trend. I met her last month just after wrapping up my column on Letters Against Isolation (LAI). Angela Lee has developed several pen pal connections through LAI and eagerly to points out she doesn’t feel isolated.

“I love receiving letters. That’s what started it all,” Lee said. “I write to older people and younger people. I can relate to both of them really well.”

“My mother used to write to her sisters in Spanish,” said Lee. “I was curious about that. And so she taught me to write in Spanish. I’ve never forgotten that. Sometimes I write letters in Spanish to my daughters, and then I quiz them afterwards. I ask, ‘What did I say?’ They always know.”

DaySpring Villa, where Lee lives, sets the letters they receive through LAI in a basket on a table where residents can sit and read them. Lee passed by the table one day and was intrigued.

“It amazed me,” Lee said. “They took the time to write those letters. So, I think, if they took the time, I shall take the time to answer them.”

Lee writes letters almost every day and has received letters from as far away as France. Her granddaughter supplies her with stamps and stationery. Lee showed me her hands and said that writing is good exercise for them.

“It’s getting hard for me to write, but people don’t seem to mind my messy letters,” she said.

One of Lee’s devoted pen pals traveled from Abiquiu, New Mexico, last year to visit her in Denver, bringing along some red chili to share.

Another, Lee said, “wrote to me about her garden and little bunnies that happened to live in her garden. She started writing me tiny letters from Bunny, because we had started a conversation about how the bunnies were doing. Bunny became a part of our lives. She was crazy for her gardens.”

When Lee stopped hearing from this pen pal, she grew concerned. She knew the woman had retired and was living with her sister. So, she wrote to her sister.

The sister wrote back, sharing that Lee’s pen pal had died. “What if I take her place?” asked

the sister. And she has. She’s been writing to Lee ever since.

For Lee’s 90th birthday, LAI orchestrated a flood of dozens of birthday cards and letters, including one that unfolded into the shape of a large bouquet of flowers. Lee wanted to write each person back, but the task was overwhelming. Instead, she took to Facebook to thank everyone.

What would Lee’s life be like without all the letter writing?

“Well, it makes me feel good,” Lee said. “Writing to all these people makes me feel good.”

Lee’s enthusiasm was contagious. Since meeting her, I’ve vowed to write more letters. I went online and bought a profusion of Forever stamps. I have a soft spot for stamps featuring interesting people from history. I ordered Toni Morrison, Eugenie Clark and George Morrison.

There were dozens of other options, from waterfalls, blueberries and tulips to skateboard art and women cryptologists of WWII.

If, like me, you’re inspired to get back into letter writing, check out to Letters Against Isolation at www.lettersagainstisolation.com. Or write to me with your ideas for The Gray Zone. Send them to Denver North Star, P.O. Box 11584, Denver CO 80211. I’ll write you back, using one of my cool new stamps.

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 Elementary. She’s raised two children in the neighborhood, worked at several nonprofits and volunteered with the Alzheimer’s Association Colorado Chapter.

/// POLITICS /// Denver District Attorney Beth McCann Will Not Seek Re-Election

By The Denver North Star Staff

Denver District Attorney Beth McCann issued the following statement announcing that she will not seek re-election in 2024. She will pass the torch to the next elected DA at the end of her second term in January 2025.

“After much deliberation and agonizing, I have made the decision to not seek re-election in 2024,” McCann said. “It has been the honor and privilege of my life to head up the Denver District Attorney’s Office and the amazing team of committed dedicated employees for the past several years. This was the most difficult decision I have made about my career and future, and it came with a great deal of thought, weighing of options, and consid-

eration for the future of the Denver District Attorney’s Office.”

McCann went on to say she had accomplished the goals she set out to achieve, albeit there is more work to be done.

“I look forward to continuing to work over the next year and a half to seek justice and public safety for the Denver community,” she stated. “My goals for the office for the future are to focus on issues that continue to plague our community: The ongoing amount of juvenile violence in Denver, the continued increase in fentanyl and the many repercussions of its use and the increase in the use and prevalence of guns especially in the hands of juveniles.”

PHOTO BY KATHRYN WHITE

Angela Lee pictured with correspondence from pen pals.

Laundromat

Continued from Page 2

“A big hole in the wall.”

The damage also put another big hole in Murillo’s and his partner’s plans. He and Rita Tsalyuk had hoped to modernize and repurpose the laundromat, transforming it into a real 21st century venue.

Had things proceeded on schedule, they envisioned a half laundromat and dry cleaner, half cannabis dispensary. Perhaps a strange marriage but one the pair thinks has possibilities.

At first blush, the duality of the planned venture might seem odd, but Murillo doesn’t and neither, he said, do the long loyal single-purpose laundromat customers. Reaction, at least from those who’ve shared their opinions with him and in public hearings, seemed positive.

“When I talked with some people,” Murillo said, “they loved the idea. Some even suggested that we allow people to smoke at the laundromat,” he chuckled.

Tsalyuk, while more than a bit upset about the break-in—it still gnaws at her—is keeping her head high about the plans to get the venture off the ground.

“Discouraged?” she asked. “Not me. We’re doing fine.”

What is bothering, she said, is the time it’s taking.

“It takes forever with the city of Denver,”

DPS

Continued from Page 4

they’re not gonna have enough kids to have a kindergarten class.”

Lindsay said establishing better partnerships with Denver City Council could help DPS figure out how to retain families that may be leaving the area.

McDonald said he is working on programs at Lake Middle School that would serve students in the mornings and afternoons, particularly as the district changes its start times next year. He said at Lake, they’ve been doing gardening and other

Tsalyuk said.

A building permit taped to the window may reinforce Tsalyuk’s stance. Except for a single check-off and signature, the entire official permitting document remains essentially clean.

Tsalyuk is not new to the cannabis industry. The Ukrainian native, whose base is Denver, rolls off the locations of successful ventures, including cannabis dispensaries, that she owns in other states, including West Virginia and Michigan. None of the businesses she runs in other states, she said, have been the target of crime.

In order to hang the Murillo-Tsalyuk shingle in Sunnyside, the pair had to qualify for the city’s social equity program, for which Murillo qualified.

For now, the 60-plus year-old building is the quintessential work in progress. A quick peek through the stained windows that look out on 44th shows a skeletal interior waiting for “meat on the bones.”

Looking farther back, you can also see a few washers, circa early 21st century. The pair, a Northsider and Ukrainian entrepreneur, are looking to the future and the launch of a unique operation: Cannabis dispensary, laundromat and dry cleaning under a single roof.

An opening date remains uncertain. But when it happens, said Murillo, he’s planning a grand opening. Full service for duds and suds and a no-waiting, fully staffed cannabis dispensary.

programs to broadly engage students.

He said Lake went from about 150 students five years ago to about 650 today.

“We have multiple ways and programming that we’ve attracted students to come here,” he said. “If we have better housing programs, I know that DPS may not directly influence what happens with housing in Denver, but it doesn't have to stand by while gentrification is happening.”

McDonald continued by saying if the district, “god forbid,” has to close a school, that land could be used as a resource to house educators and families without overburdensome rent.

Continued from Page 7

in talking to the group of young musicians at the beginning of this story. Connection.

In 2021, the CDC reported that more than 42% of high school students felt persistently sad or hopeless and that one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older are socially isolated. The same study shows social isolation is associated with a 29% increased risk of mortality and a 59% increased risk of functional decline.

In May, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy published an advisory asserting loneliness, isolation and lack of connection are a new public-health crisis.

The good news is that humans are resilient, and we know what works to support mental health: for one thing, feeling connected.

While many types of connection can mitigate the negative effects of isolation, one recent study really caught my attention. A team of scientists in Japan devised a study called, “Integration in Community Building to Improve Mental Health.”

They made four groups of mixed-age people and brought them together repeatedly over time.

One group worked on an assigned task independently. The second, a task of their choosing independently. The third, an assigned task in collaboration with the group. And the fourth, a task of their choosing collaboratively. Can you guess which groups scored higher on measures of improved mental health during their exit interviews?

Yep, the ones who worked on projects collaboratively.

With the highest marks of satisfaction and health benefit concentrated in the group that worked on a project they chose together. They called those last groups examples of “cross-generational interaction.”

Interaction in which groups of people of different ages work together, for example, at work, school or play.

Does that sound like a group we met ear-

lier in this article? Sure does to me. Not only are they an excellent example of cross-generational interaction; they are habit-stacking the heck out of it.

They are learning new skills, which we know is a key factor in maintaining wellness, and they work hard practicing what we know indicates compressed morbidity. Music itself is a health promotion rock star, giving both halves of the age equation a sense of purpose. It also allows band members and their fans chances to build relationships with people who hold different perspectives and bring different ideas to the table.

If you want to be inspired by the possibilities of what it's like to bring generations together, check out Special Blend live at 6 p.m. on Aug. 26 at Mayfair Park.

And look around your own life. What opportunities for cross-generational interaction can you find? It doesn’t have to be a whole band! Do you know a young person who likes to bake? Set a monthly meeting and see what you can create.

Like to paint? I bet there’s a senior living center that would welcome a team of teens leading a painting club. Maybe it’s gardening at your closest high school, or puzzles or calligraphy or nature walking.

You have interests that aren’t bound by your age. Be like Carmen Messina Jannek and her inspired Special Blend Intergenerational Musical Showcase. See a need for connection and be willing to foster those connections.

Erika Taylor is a community wellness instigator at Taylored Fitness, the original online wellness mentoring system. Taylored Fitness 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.

Ground-level ozone is invisible and the Front Range’s biggest air quality issue. Created from pollutants like car exhaust, ozone is a leading cause of respiratory problems.

Ground-level ozone is invisible and the Front Range’s biggest air quality issue. Created from pollutants like car exhaust, ozone is a leading cause of respiratory problems.

Improving our air quality takes all of us, and there are many ways to help. We encourage you to #JustSkipTwo car trips a week, mow your lawn after 5 p.m., don’t idle your car, telework a few days each week, and take the bus, bike, or walk.

Improving our air quality takes all of us, and there are many ways to help. We encourage you to #JustSkipTwo car trips a week, mow your lawn after 5 p.m., don’t idle your car, telework a few days each week, and take the bus, bike, or walk.

Sign up for air quality alerts and learn more about the simple steps you can do to help.

SimpleStepsBetterAir.org

Sign up for air quality alerts and learn more about the simple steps you can do to help.

SimpleStepsBetterAir.org

If you could see Colorado’s air, you would want to improve it.

If you could see Colorado’s air, you would want to improve it.