The Denver North Star October 15 2023 Online Edition

Your Guide to Community, Politics, Arts and Culture in North Denver DenverNorthStar.com

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Volume 5, Issue 1

| October 15, 2023-November 14, 2023

Get Your BOO-Ya On!

PUBLISHERS NOTE North Star Nights and other updates from publisher David Sabados PAGE 2

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ALWAYS FREE!

Slutzker and De La Rosa Challenge Incumbent Lindsay for District 5 School Board Seat

By Kathryn White

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oters in a C-shaped swath of the city making up Denver Public Schools (DPS) District 5 will cast votes starting this week through Nov. 7 deciding between incumbent Charmaine Lindsay and two challengers, Marlene De La Rosa and Adam Slutzker.

Lindsay was appointed by the DPS board in June 2022 to serve the remaining 17 months of Rev. Brad Laurvick’s term when he moved out of the district.

The Denver North Star interviewed each candidate, asking questions about how they keep in tune with stakeholders (students, teachers and parents), how they work with people whose ideas differ from their own, what ideas they have for addressing declining enrollment across the district, and what insights and values they bring to conversations about bilingual education. We also asked who supports them, including financially, and why.

TRANSPORTATION Denver’s New Sidewalk Fee Delayed Six Months PAGE 3

ELECTION

ELECTION 2023 Read about candidates for school board and Denver ballot question 2P PAGES 1, 6-8

NEWS Big Wins for North and West Denver and The Denver North Star PAGE 11

GUEST COLUMN Steve Lysaker on the value of local journalism PAGE 12

HEALTH We Need a Carrot.

Sometimes It’s Candy PAGE 13 Postal Customer

Highland House Haunt.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMY BERGLUND

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 25 ANNUAL PUMPKIN CARVING Edgewater Beer Garden, 2508 Grey St., 5-8 p.m.

Pumpkins and carving kits will be provided free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis. Take your finished jack-o’-lantern home with you or leave it dis-

Incumbent Charmaine Lindsay, a family law attorney, lives in the Baker neighborhood and has had children and grandchildren in over a dozen DPS schools, including grandchildren now attending Stedman Elementary and McAuliffe International School.

Lindsay, a certified mediator, believes that skillset helps her get along with all six board members and bring people together for votes.

She said she’s had positive relationships on the board, until her yes vote to bring school resource officers (SROs) back into the district put her at odds with fellow board members Auon'tai Anderson, Michelle Quattlebaum and Scott Esserman.

To keep in touch with district stakeholders, Lindsay has visited all of the schools on the school closure list, schools that would open their doors to new students as a result of a closure and most of the schools in District 5.

She said she’s tried to maintain connections with those she’s met and that she meets with people in the community whenever they’ve asked, “unless they’re hostile or unreasonable.”

“I try to keep informed by talking to my constituents as much as I can,” Lindsay said.

She also leans on resources from the district, like data and conversations with fellow board members.

When it comes to working with people she disagrees with, Lindsay said she does that all the time as a lawyer. She said she doesn’t hold people’s opinions against them.

“My approach is more of a logical one,” she said. “This is my reasoning. What is yours?”

Lindsay responded to our question on declining enrollment with an answer focused on

See HALLOWEEN, Page 4

See SCHOOL BOARD, Page 6

By Basha Cohen

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he Halloween season is in full swing with ghoulishly good times. Festivities run the gamut from family friendly, sweet trick-ortreat events where candy and costumes collide, to pooches on parade and pumpkin carving taken to a new art form.

The Santa Fe Arts District will celebrate its first Día de los Muertos parade, and other bewitching Day of the Dead celebrations will occur under the glow of otherworldly candlelight.

Whether you are a big ghoul looking for adult bar crawls and haunted houses filled with howlingly spooky creature features or a baby goblin just looking for candy, here are The Denver North Star’s hyper-local top picks. You will need a supersonic broom to get through all of these spook-tacular happenings!

FRIDAY, OCT. 20 AND 27 FREAKY FRIDAY FRIGHT NIGHT FLICKS Little Man Ice Cream, 2620 16th St., 6:30-9 p.m.

Little Man will send shivers up your spine with family friendly, fright night flicks. Bring a blankie and prepare to be spooked. Oct. 20, “Ghostbusters;” Oct. 27, “Coco;” free.

FRIDAY, OCT. 20 SAVE OUR BOO-TIFUL LOCAL PAPER Little Man Ice Cream, 2620 16th St., 5-9 p.m.

Little Man wants to help save our community paper, The Denver North Star. A portion of sales will be donated to keep it alive. And you can enter to win a North Denver gift basket worth over $200! You’ll be automatically entered to win these scarily good goodies when you donate. The world would be a scary place without community journalism. Don’t let it become an apparition of the past.

PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

Denver, CO Permit No. 2565 EDDM

SATURDAY, OCT. 21 COLORADO LADIES OF LOWRIDING TRUNK OR TREAT Joshua Station, 2330 W. Mulberry Place, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

For an offbeat trick-ortreat experience, don your costumes, decorate cars and

CHARMAINE LINDSAY

go lowrider to lowrider for goodies galore. Bring an unwrapped toy to donate to the Santa Cruz. Trickor-treating begins at 12:30 p.m.

PUMPKIN CARVING & COSTUME COMPETITION Little Man Ice Cream, 2620 16th St., noon-3 p.m.

Want to win a $200 grand prize for your spook-tacular pumpkin? Buy a pumpkin in the patch or bring your own. Little Man has the carving tools, but bring your own carving knife if you choose. Costume competition begins at 2:00 p.m.

Winners for best pumpkins, people and pets (spookiest, most creative, cutest and best family or group) announced at 2:45 p.m. Free.

SUNDAY, OCT. 22 BOO-TIFUL COOKIE DECORATING PARTY Little Man Ice Cream Factory, 4411 W. Colfax Ave., noon-2 p.m.

Come in costume and express your artistry with Halloween cookie decorating. Win ice cream prizes for the best cookies (spookiest, cutest, most creative and ugliest). Four cookies/$5; includes all decorations; RSVP is required for cookie decorating at info@littlemanicecream.com.

MONDAY, OCT. 23-FRIDAY, OCT. 27 POTTER HIGHLAND HOUSE HAUNT Amy Berglund presents the Highland House Haunt. Decorate your home in the freakiest, shriekiest way your cold, cold heart desires to win. Entries must be received and houses must be completed no later than Fri., Oct. 27, at 5 p.m.. Sign up on Facebook, https://vid.us/jth8yk. Top three winners will be announced Oct. 28 at 11 a.m. at the Highland HUNIween parade at Recess Beer Garden, 2715 17th St. No. 103.

/// PUBLISHERS NOTE ///

The Power of Community

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720-248-7327 P.O. Box 11584, Denver CO 80211 DenverNorthStar.com PUBLISHER: David Sabados EDITOR: Kathryn White ART DIRECTOR/ GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Melissa Levad-Feeney ADVERTISING SALES: David Walsh, Jill Carstens and Danielle Medina BUSINESS MANAGER: Emma Donahue 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.

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DISTRIBUTION: The Denver North Star prints over 34,000 copies each edition and is mailed free of charge to homes and businesses in North Denver.

Additional copies can be found at local businesses in the community.

New editions are published on the 15th of each month.

Tosca!

From your friends, Louie, Dixie & Violet

LET’S BE SOCIAL @De n ve r N o r th Sta r

ast month I penned a note about the paper struggling with decreased revenue and increased costs. The community response has been amazing. We received $5 DAVID SABADOS to $500 contributions from individuals who wrote to us about how important the paper is to them. You sent over $3,000 to help cover our short-term costs while we figure out longterm solutions. Thank you!

We are talking with prospective advertisers who see both the direct and indirect value of advertising in the community. Our readers consistently support local businesses, whether through shopping, dining or services. Our hope is that you will see more of these local companies in our pages very soon. If you’re a business interested in options, email me at David@DenverNorthStar.com. We’re revamping both print and digital ad offerings and would love to talk about options that benefit you.

To keep a community paper going in a digital age requires innovation too. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. We’re excited to explore new ways to partner with businesses and community. Please join us at our first “North Star Night,” which we hope becomes a regular occurance. Little Man Ice Cream is kicking us off with a North Star Night in LoHi (2620 16th St.) on Friday, Oct. 20, from 5-9 p.m. That night 15% of sales will go to The Denver North Star. You can support the paper just by eating delicious ice cream. Bring a blanket and stay for “Ghostbusters” at 6:30 p.m. And get more ice cream, of course. The more you buy, the more you help the paper. We’ll be there if you

want to chat. For more information, check out Little Man’s ad on page 12.

We’ll also be at the HUNIween parade afterparty on Saturday, Oct. 28. Come by our booth at the Recess Beer Garden Trick-orTreat Street (2715 17th St.) to share thoughts on what we should be covering or ideas for sustaining the paper. For more information on the parade, check out the ad on page 4.

Stop by Little Man on Oct. 20 or HUNIween on Oct. 28 and enter to win a North Denver gift basket worth over $200! If you make a direct donation at either event, you’ll be automatically entered.

Also, we’re looking again at nonprofit options and talking with other community newspaper groups about collaboration. Our sister paper, The G.E.S. Gazette, has received grants from both Denver and Google to help in the short term.

Finally, we’d love your support in December, when a $5,000 matching grant becomes available. We’ll let you know when the opportunity to double your support for local journalism goes live.

From all of us at The Denver North Star, thank you for your donations, offers to help, and kind words of encouragement. We cherished every email and handwritten letter and every donation that came in. It truly is amazing to see how much this community cares about keeping our community paper alive and thriving.

Thank you, Dave P.S. If your business would like to host our next North Star Night, get in touch with me at David@DenverNorthStar.com.

/// LETTER FROM THE EDITOR ///

Let’s Keep Discovering Together

By Kathryn White

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Page 2 October 15, 2023-November 14, 2023

started writing for The Denver North had been left behind.

Economic change has meant people and Star shortly after its first issue landed on doorsteps in 2019. My column, The businesses and other things we once loved are gone from us, Gray Zone, was ingone from here. I’ve tended to ensure the had kiddos in Denlives of older adults ver Public Schools for didn’t get lost in the 23 years. If the words hustle of a changing of Dr. Martin Luther community. I wasn’t King Jr. are true, that much of a writer back “the arc of the moral then. Discovering my universe is long, but it community turned me bends toward justice,” into one. then our schools and I first rented a school district have room in North Denmore bending to do. ver back in the early Someday I will grad’90s. I bought my first uate from newcomer home across the street status. For now, I am from Skinner Midhappy with a perennidle School a few years al “just arrived” label. later. On weekends I I learn something new drank my morning coffee watching, from PHOTO BY JAN PELTON about the community every day. Did you my kitchen window, a know you can pick up group of men play bocce ball on the patch of dirt “There is no power for “rolled dough” at Carl’s Pizza for a few bucks, to and gravel that is now the change greater than a take home for a pizza on school’s baseball field.

The Northside had community discovering your grill? Do you know about the secret bridge to become one of the first what it cares about.” bypass I-70 and I-25 to get areas outside of Capiover to Elyria-Swansea? tol Hill where LGBTQ+ – Margaret Wheatley I look forward to being people felt welcome, The Denver North Star’s where we felt safe. Perhaps this was because other groups who new editor. I’ve covered city business, centehad settled here over the generations under- narians and psychics. I’ve gone from sitting stood how important a sense of belonging is at Common Grounds in 1995 watching the to community. North Denver had respond- Honorable Dennis Gallagher do the people’s ed to changing demographics, it seemed, by work over coffee and bagels to writing about deepening its respect and curiosity toward him for The Denver North Star when he died people who came to call it home. At least it last year.

A favorite author of mine, Margaret felt like home to me.

And yet, North Denver hasn’t always, and Wheatley, has written, “There is no power to everyone, extended a generous sense of for change greater than a community discuriosity and welcome. Our history is com- covering what it cares about.”

Let’s keep discovering together. plicated. It’s downright bad in spots. Arrivals to the area have brought everything hu- Kathryn mans bring, including some baggage I wish kathryn@denvernorthstar.com

The Denver North Star

/ / / T R A N S P O R TAT I O N / / /

Denver’s New Sidewalk Fee Delayed Six Months

By Allen Cowgill

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he start of fee collection for Denver’s Ordinance 307, also known as Denver Deserves Sidewalks, will be delayed six months.

Councilwoman Amanda P. Sandoval, representing Northwest Denver’s Council District 1, first proposed the delay on Sept.

12 at a meeting of the City Council’s Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (LUTI).

City Council passed the proposed delay by a vote of 13-0 on Oct. 2. Council members voiced urgency about addressing the safety and quality of Denver’s sidewalks, but supported the delay as a pathway toward a more equitable fee structure than what is presently reflected.

Ordinance 307 passed in November 2022, with 56% of voters supporting the measure.

The new law initiated an annual fee for property owners based on the linear square footage of sidewalk on their property.

Originally, the city’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) was to begin fee collection in January 2024.

Fees will go toward building out Denver’s missing sidewalk network over the next nine years. They will also fund a longterm maintenance plan for repairs, as well as upgrades to sidewalks that do not currently meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) specifications.

Previously it was the responsibility of property owners to maintain their own sidewalks and pay for any needed repairs.

After the passage of 307, a task force was formed in late summer 2023 to come up with a recommendation to address the concerns raised by some residents around the collection of the sidewalk ordinance fee.

Councilman Kevin Flynn and Councilman Paul Kashmann serve on the task force, along with members of the commu-

PHOTO BY ALLEN COWGILL

Worn pedestrian trail where there is no sidewalk on Sheridan Boulevard between West 49th Avenue and West 52nd Avenue. nity who were either advocates for Ordinance 307 or who had concerns about the funding structure.

Councilwoman Sandoval wants to afford the taskforce more time to develop recommendations for an equitable funding structure.

“I’m responding to concerns about the current fee structure from my constituents and from other residents in Denver,” Sandoval said. “And to give time for property owners to be able to save for some of the fee structures as they come forward.

“When we passed the fee for trash,” Sandoval added, “we had an opt-out fee based on how much you made. We don’t have that in this ordinance. For seniors aging in place, we don’t have an opportunity for them not

Page 3 October 15, 2023-November 14, 2023

to pay a fee. The equity concern for me was really also a driver for me bringing this ordinance forward.”

Council President Jamie Torres said that a delay is helpful, knowing the task force will likely recommend changes to the fee structure.

“We should know what it is going to change to before we start implementing it, so folks know what to expect. … This was approved by the voters, it is still going forward. This is a way for us to open a window for that task force to do its work.”

Councilman Chris Hinds expressed concerns about delaying the implementation, noting that one-third of residents in his district, in neighborhoods around Capitol Hill, don’t own cars and rely on sidewalks

to get around, many of which are in a state of disrepair.

“All the people I talked to were unified on the end goal of having pedestrian-friendly sidewalks throughout our city. The controversy was how to pay for it,” Hinds said. He ultimately supported the delay, given the fee structure is likely to change, but expressed the need for urgency on repairing and building out the idewalk network.

Sandoval left the door open for fee collection to begin earlier if the task force comes to its final recommendation prior to January, and if the recommendation is in alignment with the changes council is hoping to see in the billing structure. She thanked proponents of the sidewalk ordinance for bringing forward the measure and added that she wants to make sure the fee structure “has equity baked into it.”

Councilman Kashmann also noted the urgency to fix the sidewalk network, mentioning that Denver has 300 miles of streets without sidewalks, and over 1,000 miles of nonstandard sidewalk not wide enough for wheelchairs or strollers.

“But I think you are 100% right,” Kashmann said, “that we need to have a plan in place before we start charging our residents.”

When asked about the delay, DOTI Deputy Chief of Staff Jason Gallardo said that it is an opportunity lost in the short term, but a smaller impact when factored against consequences for Denver residents for generations to come.

Allen Cowgill is the City Council District 1 appointee to the DOTI Advisory Board, where he serves as the board secretary. Cowgill also serves on the Denver Ordinance 307 Task Force.

The Denver North Star

Halloween Continued from Page 1

played at the beer garden for a chance to win gift cards.

THURSDAY, OCT. 26 HALLOWEEN PROV OR NO PROV The Bug Theatre, 3654 Navajo St., 7:30-9 p.m.

The Parker Players' annual Halloween Costume Show, in which the improvisers will perform in costume and in character for the entire show; $10. Come in costume for a chance to win $100.

FRIDAY, OCT. 27 ‘ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW’ Historic Elitch Theatre, 4550 W. 38th Ave., 8 p.m.

Don't miss this historic, first-time showing at a historic Denver theatre; $15. Info and tickets: https://historicelitchtheatre.org/event/ rocky23/

Protect our Rivers and Odell Brewing Co. are wrapping up the Lake Love Cleanup Series this season. Come in costume, clean the lake and enjoy a free beer at Odell’s Sloan's Lake brewhouse for your good deed. Free. Sign up: https://www.protectourrivers.org/events DAY OF THE DEAD PARADE Denver Arts District, Parade from 7th and Santa Fe to La Alma Lincoln Park, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

New in 2023, local artist Norberto “Beto” Mojardin introduces the first parade celebrating the Day of the Dead. The Mexican-born artist created the largest Dia de los Muertos altar in the state. The parade and after-party at Civic Center Park will celebrate the spirit of those no longer with us. Mojardin said, “You are invited to bring a photo of your loved one and place it on the altar so that together we can remember them.” Info: vivacolorado.org DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS FESTIVAL Civic Center Park, 101 14th Ave., noon-8 p.m.

The party continues at Civic Center Park at this family friendly community event where

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Little Man Ice Cream Pumpkin Patch.

SATURDAY, OCT. 28 HIGHLAND HUNIWEEN PARADE Gardens at St. Elizabeth, 2835 W. 32nd Ave., 9:30-11 a.m.

Family friendly parade begins at 9:30 a.m.

Kids walk down 32nd Avenue to Erie Street for a trick-or-treat street and after-party at Recess Gardens including face painting, food, crafts and more. Free.

SAVE OUR BOO-TIFUL LOCAL PAPER Recess Gardens, 2715 17th St.,9:30-11 a.m.

HUNI wants to save The Denver North Star. Meet the publisher after the parade and donate to keep it alive. Enter to win a North Denver gift basket worth over $200! You’ll be automatically entered to win these scarily good goodies when you donate. The world would be a scary place without community journalism. Don’t let it become an apparition of the past.

TENNYSON FALL FEST & PET PARADE 41st-43rd Tennyson St., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Eighth annual trick-or-treat with local businesses from the Tennyson Berkeley Business Association. Start your day with a stretch of yoga from Ohana Yoga & Barre. Then put on the dog and dress up with your fur-ever friend for the pet costume parade. Live music, beer, artisans and more. Free.

SLOAN’S LAKE CLEAN-UP IN COSTUME 1646 Perry St, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

every culture, race and religion is remembered through music, culture, arts, ballet folklorico, “Coco” characters, lowriders and more.

THE DENVER WITCHES BALL Highlands Masonic Lodge, 3550 Federal Blvd., 5 p.m.-1 a.m.

Get on your broom for the 31st annual Denver Witches Ball, Denver’s premier pagan Halloween masquerade ball. Magic, music, shopping the occult and more. Bring the kids in the early hours. Ages 10 and under free; 11-15, $5; adults, $31. Info: https://thedenverwitchesball. com/event/denver-witches-ball-2023-celebrating-31-years/ ELKS CLUB HALLOWEEN COSTUME PARTY 2475 W. 26th Ave., 6 p.m.-1 a.m.

Denver No. 17, the “Northside Adult Playground,” presents the 6 Million Dollar Band, the ultimate ’80s experience. DJ spins in the club room plus Dos Gringos is slinging tacos. Tickets are $45-$50 and are available at Eventbrite; ages 21+.

SUNDAY, OCT. 29 HIGHLANDS HARVEST FESTIVAL West 32nd Avenue, Lowell to Perry, 2-5 p.m.

Round out your month of Northside BOO-tiful happenings in the Highlands.

Trick-or-treating, a parade, bouncy castles, pumpkin carving, and a costume contest for people and pets. Free. Info: https://www.visitdenverhighlands.com/events-1 WEDNESDAY, NOV. 1 CANDLELIGHT, DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS St. Cajetan’s, 101 Lawrence Way, 6:15 p.m.

Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multisensory, musical experience. Discover the music of Día De Los Muertos under the gentle glow of candlelight; $35-60.

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PHOTO BY TIFFANY RAMOS

Tennyson Pet Parade.

Page 4 October 15, 2023-November 14, 2023

PHOTO BY HARRY WARTERS

FRIDAY, NOV. 3 DAY OF THE DEAD CELEBRATION Pirate Contemporary Art, 7130 W. 16th Ave., 40 West Arts District, 6-10 p.m.

Celebrate the Day of the Dead with Pirate. This contemporary art show honors the artistic celebration of Mexican culture and includes Aztec dancers, a procession and piñatas. The show opens on Oct. 27 and culminates in this celebration.

The Denver North Star

/// ENVIRONMENT ///

Suncor Pollution Violations Taking too Long to Enforce? Local groups say ‘Yes’

By Trish Zornio fter a spree of highly publicized pollution violations, the Suncor refinery in Commerce City now faces at least three ongoing compliance advisories with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).

But according to local leaders, state regulators are taking too long to seek justice.

The debate over whether the state is moving quickly enough to address pollution violations is based on evidence showing the process can take years to fully investigate and remedy incidents. In the case of Suncor, the last three compliance advisories issued

by CDPHE include June 1, 2023, May 25, 2022 and Aug. 3, 2021.

However, as Ian Coghill of Earthjustice argues, compliance advisories are not where the enforcement clock starts or ends as they primarily put a company on notice of investigation. For example, he said the 2021 compliance advisory by CDPHE seeks to investigate violations that date as far back as February 2019, yet it’s still open. In his book, that means the state’s enforcement process is taking more than four-and-a-half years and counting for that incident.

Asked why the state would take years to

A

address company violations, a spokesperson for CDPHE offered the following statement: “Enforcing air quality laws is a legal process — it takes time and requires due diligence. The length of time needed to resolve an enforcement action varies depending on the complexity of the case. To prevent a violation’s recurrence by legally requiring a facility to make changes, the division must use the enforcement process as established by state statute.”

Similar enforcement timelines by CDPHE are seen via the state’s settlement agreements with Suncor. The last three settlements with the oil-and-gas refinery occurred on March 6, 2020, June 24, 2019, and April 19, 2018, with alleged incidents dating back to at least August 2017, October 2016 and September 2015 respectively.

This puts an average of over two-and-ahalf years from each incident to resolution and makes the most recent settlement more than three-and-a-half years from multiple publicly reported violations by the company since March 2020.

For CDPHE, it’s possible the ongoing investigations could lead to more fines or settlements. But Coghill and others say these

delays by state regulators are a big part of the problem for residents.

“Suncor’s permit is only meaningful if violating it has consequences,” asserted Coghill. “The longer the state takes to enforce permit violations, the more Suncor will violate the permit. If Suncor knows that a violation today may not be enforced for five years, if ever, it has no incentive to take action or make investments to avoid violations; it will be cheaper to continue violating. And that means Suncor keeps pumping more pollution into North Denver and Commerce City.”

Records suggest that federal regulators can also take years to enforce environmental violations. For example, last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a $300,030 settlement with Suncor to resolve alleged toxic chemical violations.

But again, local leaders are asking why it took so long given the alleged violations were found during a September 2020 inspection of the facility regarding a December 2019 incident.

A statement from an EPA spokesperson read similarly to CDPHE’s: “EPA strives to take timely actions to ad-

/// PUBLIC COMMENT ///

dress noncompliance … For more significant violations, these can take some time to resolve as we work to identify the specific actions we need the facility to take to return to compliance, mitigate the impacts of the noncompliance on the surrounding community and/or the environment, and pay an appropriate penalty. While some enforcement actions can take significant time to resolve, these settlements are meant to act as a deterrent to future non-compliance.”

Ean Tafoya of GreenLatinos said that when it comes to pollution by Suncor and delays in enforcement, the community has had enough. He also implied that enforcing the refinery’s permits had clearly proven not to be feasible while calling for full closure of the site.

“Suncor has continued to have permit violations every couple of days,” Tafoya said.

“The long enforcement process that consistently results in insignificant financial settlements, which empowers Suncor's payto-play attitude and therefore regular toxic releases that cumulative harm the health of the people of North Denver. It's time to plan for a just transition, full closure and remediation of Suncor.”

/ / / T R A N S P O R TAT I O N / / /

Public Comment: Knowing Denver by Hearing from Neighbors North Denver very Monday from 5-5:30 p.m. Denver DPS School District and both have graduated.

I’m supposed to be saving for retirement. I City Council holds a general public I’m a small business owner on Tennyson have two kids in college. I am super concerned Awaits Remaining comment session. Any Denver resi- Street certified as a WBE (Woman Business about this. I don’t understand who at the city is I-70 Sound Barrier dent can sign up to make remarks during this Enterprise), SBE (Small Business Enterprise), monitoring this.

E

session, and anyone can attend the session to listen in. Council members do not respond during the session.

Speakers are allotted three minutes and can make their remarks via Zoom or in-person at the council chamber at 1437 Bannock Street, fourth floor.

Sign-up is on a first-come, first-served basis and opens every Friday at 11 a.m. (for the following week’s session). Sign-up closes Mondays at 3 p.m.

Speakers can sign up at https://www.denvergov.org/citycouncil or by calling 720-3372000.

The Denver North Star will periodically print remarks given by residents in the area we serve. Opinions expressed at the general public comment session are entirely those of the speaker.

Good evening and thank you for allowing me to speak tonight.

My name is Heather Noyes Gregg, and I live in District 1. I have a degree from UCD (University of Colorado/Denver). I’m a property owner.

I own a house. I’ve raised two kids through the

DBE (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise), EBE (Emerging Business Enterprise) and ESB (Emerging Small Business).

I’m sharing this with you as a way to communicate to each of you that I and my family are invested in this city.

I’m now going to share with you things that, most of them, you are aware of: • In 2023, my property tax assessment increased significantly and my property tax will increase proportionally.

• I’m now paying for solid waste removal: Pay As You Throw. We all are paying between $100 and $250 annually for this service. I agree with this new fee and I support it and I think it’s fair.

• I just received my sidewalk assessment. I own a house on a corner so my annual assessment will be close to $500.

• In July I received a notice from the City Forester to remove two mature trees at a cost of $3,500 each.

I am here tonight to ask who at the city is tracking the cumulative fiscal impact of all of these increases and assessments on me and families like mine?

I believe in the betterment of this city. I’ve supported every City/County of Denver and Denver Public Schools Bond Initiative. I believe that it is a responsibility that I have and that we all share.

As you know, the current bond is quickly coming to an end. And as this city starts to explore opportunities for a new bond and asks me for my support, I will be asking myself whether or not I can offset the cost of all these new assessments by voting against the bond?

You each need to understand that as a direct result of all of the new assessments, my automatic support for future bond initiatives is now in question.

This past weekend, I received a survey from the city asking if I would support another new assessment for tree pruning. You are looking at someone who supported and voted in favor of the Parks Legacy Tax. We are quickly and rapidly reaching a maximum threshold here on what Denver families can afford. It would be nice to know whether or not someone at the city is monitoring the fiscal impact of this on people like me.

By The Denver North Star Staff

F

unding for concrete sound barriers along I-70 between Pecos Street and I-76 was approved in 2021.

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) completed part of the project, a 5,500-foot segment between Tennyson Street and Lowell Boulevard, in 2022.

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According to CDOT, construction on the remaining 3 miles of sound walls, as well as new guardrail, is expected to begin in January 2024 and end in spring 2026. The project requires CDOT to obtain temporary easements near the west limit of the project, between Marshall Street and Harlan Street.

A contractor will be hired this fall and a project schedule will be made available when construction begins in January.

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Elizabeth Clayton 303.506.3448 EClayton@NostalgicHomes.com Page 5 October 15, 2023-November 14, 2023

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JeanSunn@NostalgicHomes.com The Denver North Star

ELECTION School Board Continued from Page 1

school closures.

“I think we need to look at each situation and talk to everybody that’s affected to try to come up with solutions,” she said. “Because the reality is that there’s schools that barely have enough kids to run kindergarten and first grade.”

And yet Lindsay would like to see factors beyond numbers considered in developing a proposed closure list.

“They solely went by a number and a location as opposed to looking at whether or not the school was functioning,” she added.

Lindsay said the board didn’t do a great job in the last round of conversations about closures.

“I think that in areas like the Colfax corridor, where there’s a high concentration of schools and enrollment is going down, that we’re going to have to bring all of those school leaders and communities together to say, ‘What do you suggest we do?’,” she said Lindsay referenced cuts to programs like art and gym. “They’re sharing classes that should be individual classes, because they don’t have the resources,” she explained. “Because of the funding model.”

DPS adopted what it calls “student-based budgets” in 2009. Schools receive a base per-pupil allotment, with additional per-pupil funds added, for example, for English language learners (ELL), students in poverty, and students classified as gifted and talented. A school’s district funding, no matter its demographics, is driven by the number of students enrolled.

Schools can supplement per-pupil district dollars by raising funds through parent groups and grants. This happens most often at schools attended by middle- and high-income families, where fundraising can exceed $100,000 a year.

Lindsay has been on a learning curve, she said, in her year on the board when it comes to bilingual education. She cited board President Xóchitl Gaytán and fellow board member Dr. Carrie Olson, who are bilingual, for their guidance.

For example, she attended a recent Multilingual Education Districtwide Advisory Committee (MLE-DAC) meeting at Bruce Randolph High School. She attended workshops with families and was able to learn about what they’re having trouble with and what is going well.

Lindsay has been endorsed by the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA).

Her campaign is running on individual donations and fundraisers held by longtime family in the area.

People support her, Lindsay said, “Because I make well-thought-out, informed decisions and I listen to the community. I’ve fostered good relationships with board members in the short time I’ve been on the board. Even given the chaos, we’ve done a lot this year.”

MARLENE DE LA ROSA

Marlene De La Rosa says she lives in the Zuni Park neighborhood and has also had experience, via her children, with several DPS schools. They include Denison Montessori, Denver Center for International Studies (DCIS), Denver North High School, Denver East High School and CEC Early College.

De La Rosa said she brings a perspective that reflects deep community involvement. She currently serves as a mayoral appointee to the Den-

ver Latino Commission as well as on the Denver Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB).

She cited involvement on the Collaborative School Committees (CSC) and in parent groups at her children’s elementary and high schools, and in district-wide advisory councils.

The state requires all schools to have a school accountability committee. In DPS, the CSC — typically comprised of staff, parents and community members — fulfills this requirement.

CSCs provide guidance on school priorities, evaluations and improvement plans. They are not involved in school operations.

De La Rosa keeps abreast of the concerns of district stakeholders by reading articles in various newspapers and listening to what people are saying when she is out in the community. She keeps in touch, for example, with students she got to know as team mom for the Denver North boys basketball team.

If elected she would like to establish some consistent way to have meaningful community engagement. “I think it’s important to hear from everybody,” she said.

In her role on the PRAB, for example, she has visited recreation centers across the city to learn from staff and participants. She said she hopes to apply new methods used by the PRAB for obtaining and addressing community feedback on the DPS school board.

When it comes to fostering productive relationships with fellow board members, De La Rosa said, “We need to remind ourselves why we are there. What is our purpose, jointly? And then, listening to each other, to understand what each of our views are on a certain topic. Many people would say I’m a collaborator.”

On the subject of declining enrollment, De La Rosa would like to start first with reviewing data and data projections on district population and enrollment.

“If the need arises that we need to combine schools,” De La Rosa said, “what is the best way we can meet the needs of all of those involved?

That community input is something so crucial to these conversations. And families should know about this well in advance, so that they can make plans if they are going to be affected.”

On the subject of bilingual education, De La Rosa pointed to her first years in college studying how to become a bilingual elementary school teacher. A career in the federal government took her on a different path.

“I’ve spent thousands of hours volunteering with many nonprofits, with DPS, focused on education,” she said. “Because that really is my passion.”

“I’m absolutely in support of multilanguage learning models like at Valdez, like at Sandoval,” she added. “We need to find ways to engage parents in their language. We need to welcome them into the school. This is an entirely different culture, a way of doing things, than what they come from. So I think making them feel welcome is extremely important.

“I think I have a lot of community support because I have been involved in the community,” she continued. “People trust in me. They have confidence that I’m doing this for the success of kids, focusing on student outcomes.”

De La Rosa said the most meaningful donation to her campaign came from a former North student she got to know when she was team mom.

De La Rosa has been endorsed by Denver Families Action.

According to reporting by Chalkbeat, “Denver Families Action is the political arm of the nonprofit Denver Families for Public Schools.

Denver Families launched in 2021 with the backing of local charter school networks and gets funding from The City Fund, a pro-reform national organization.”

Page 6 October 15, 2023-November 14, 2023

ADAM SLUTZKER

Adam Slutzker, a former teacher in Jeffco Public Schools, lives in Berkeley. His three children attend Columbian Elementary, where Slutzker has chaired the CSC for two years.

Slutzker described himself as a practical problem-solver.

“Our current board is too often in the news, for a variety of reasons,” he said. “I think school boards should be boring. I think it should be people coming in to serve their communities and advising the central office on what we'd like to see them do. And working with them to make sure those goals get accomplished.”

Slutzker distinguished himself from Lindsay and De La Rosa by saying, “I’m the only one with a master's degree in education who has spent time serving in classrooms as a classroom teacher. I'm also the only one who currently has children in the school district.”

Slutzker views partnering with teachers, students, school staff and the district central office as key ways for keeping abreast of stakeholder needs and experiences.

“The board's job,” Slutzker said, “is to create general governing policies that the district will work within. And then just doing our best to audit everything that they're doing and maintain a partnership with them so that we're helping them to meet those goals.”

When it comes to working with people whose ideas differ from their own, Slutzker said he has firm ideas of his own on some issues but that he is willing to be convinced and is open to a variety of proposals.

“I really think that we should be open to hearing from various constituencies around ideas and policies that may make sense in our schools,” he said. “And then making sure we revisit our approaches, asking, ‘Are these actually working?’”

Slutzker shared two ideas for responding to declining enrollment. Because money follows students in the current district funding model, he would consider balancing enrollment across schools.

“We have schools that are bursting at the seams. I think we need to set some policies in place that limit class sizes, so that teachers don't get burned out and are able to do their jobs effectively,” Slutzker said. “We can redistribute some of that student population more equitably across the district to make sure funding dollars are ending up in a variety of schools.”

Slutztker referred to the district’s school choice system as broken. Though well-intentioned, he said, data about its use shows the program advantages “relatively affluent families that have the ability to drive their kids across town or to do research on schools to meet their individual student’s needs.”

“I'd like to revisit our school choice policy so that that first round of open enrollment goes specifically to lower income families as well as students with documented educational needs, IEPs and 504s and ELA students, etc.,” he said.

“They would be getting first dibs to meet their specific needs. I think that would allow for a redistribution, so to speak, of student populations back more towards neighborhood schools.”

Slutztker cited his involvement as chairperson of Columbian’s CSC as an example of his advocacy for students and families whose first language is not English.

“We need to be extremely conscious of how we're using our resources,” he said. “In Northwest Denver, where we have a high number of Spanish-speaking students, as well as other lan-

guages, we need to make sure we're providing ELA-trained staff in every building. That we're working to recruit and retain teachers in these schools that are BIPOC teachers, that are duallanguage proficient.”

At the time of our interview, Slutzker said his campaign was entirely self funded.

“I am a newcomer to politics,” he said.

“Truth be told I was a bit terrified of the idea of having to figure out how to run a campaign. But I believe my background and skill set make me well suited to serving on the board.”

The Denver North Star’s previous coverage included candidate Lacy McDonald. McDonald will not appear on the ballot because he did not meet the requirement to be a registered voter in the district he would represent for 12 consecutive months prior to the Nov. 7 election.

DISTRICT 5 CAMPAIGN DOLLARS RAISED The following is compiled from publicly available information on the state campaign finance database and is current through the Oct. 3 reporting period. The next report from candidates is due Oct. 16. More information on a candidate's fundraising and spending are at tracer.sos.colorado.gov.

In past years, the majority of spending on school board races has not come directly from the campaigns, but independent expenditure (IE) committees, which often report spending late. Information on IE spending was not available when this edition of The Denver North Star went to press.

MARLENE DE LA ROSA Total Raised: $24,129 Donors giving $1,000 or more: $1,250: Maria Garcia Berry, founding partner of CRL Associates, a prominent municipal lobbying firm (Roger Sherman, $250, and Kim Kucera, $100, are also partners at CRL) $1,000: Catherine Loya-Abarca $1,000: Marti Awad, Merrill Lynch Investments $1,000: Leslie Jacobs $1,000: Margaret Choi, attorney at Lau & Choi $1,000: Patrick Donovan, Revolution Foods $1,000: Lola Salazar Other Notable Donors: • City Councilwoman Jamie Torres • City Councilwoman Serena GonzalesGutierrez • Elaine Berman, former state board of education member • Anne Rowe, former school board member • Theresa Peña, former school board member • Rosemary Rodriguez, former school board member • Josh Hanfling, lobbyist • Bruce Hoyt, Colorado Education Initiative board member • Gene Lucero, Prominent North Denver Businessman • Nola Miguel, Project Voyce / G.E.S. Coalition • Dusti Gurule, president and CEO Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity & Reproductive Rights • Nita Gonzales, prominent resident and activist CHARMAINE LINDSAY Total Raised: $6,875 Donors giving $1,000 or more: $2,000: Lance Lindsay, self-employed - trucking and warehousing $2,000: Bretty Lindsay, self-employed trucking $1,000: David Keefe, self-employed food services ADAM SLUTZKER No reported contributions or expenditures

The Denver North Star

Three Remaining Candidates Vie for School Board At-Large Seat

By Kathryn White

D

enver voters will decide Nov. 7 which of three remaining candidates will take the at-large school board seat currently held by Auon'tai Anderson.

In June, Anderson announced he would not seek re-election to the school board and would instead run to represent House District 8 (HD8) in the Colorado House of Representatives. Leslie Herod, who currently represents HD8, is term limited.

Directors on the Denver Public Schools (DPS) Board of Education serve four-year terms and are restricted by Colorado statute to a maximum of two terms.

The DPS Board consists of seven directors. Five represent specific areas of the city.

Two serve in the at-large capacity, representing residents across the district. Three board seats are open for election this Nov. 7. The other four will be decided again in 2025.

Three candidates remain in the race for the at-large seat vacated by Anderson.

KWAME SPEARMAN

Kwame Spearman lives in the Whittier neighborhood and attended Montclair Elementary School, Smiley Middle School and East High School.

He left Denver for college and a career in business, moving back in 2021 to join investors buying the Tattered Cover bookstore. He remains co-owner.

Spearman said he is the right candidate for the board at this time because of his experience, vision and leadership.

His mother worked for 38 years in DPS schools, which Spearman said surrounded him with the concerns of educators over the course of his upbringing.

“We asked ourselves the questions we are asking ourselves today,” said Spearman, “which are, How do we improve student outcomes? How do we support our teachers? And how do we have great schools in every neighborhood?”

Spearman described what he called a school district that’s working, and a school district that’s not. His DPS experience worked for him.

“But as a Black male, I also see the other side where we are failing our Latino and Black students,” he said.

Spearman said his aspirations for the district include schools where 100% of students feel safe, 100% of third-graders are reading at grade level and where 100% of students graduate from high school.

Spearman pointed to his leadership in business as “an opportunity to bring everyone together. I fundamentally believe that if you're serving on the board you want what's best for students, you want what's best for teachers. We can use that North Star to come together to bring decorum back, to focus the conversation on students and teachers.”

When asked about keeping abreast of stakeholder concerns, Spearman cited his time volunteering on three educational boards: the Denver Public Schools Foundation, the East Angels (East H.S) Friends and Alumni Foundation and the Colorado Education Initiative.

In these capacities, he said he spends time in schools and participates in conversations about what will make schools work better for students.

“We need to do more listening than talking.

I've traveled to every neighborhood in this wonderful city, either via the mayoral campaign or listening to issues for this race,” he said. “I think representation matters. You are in a majority minority district and so I think my ability to go into our communities, that are the majority of our school district, and really

listen and connect and inspire amongst those constituents. That's how I'll get my news.”

In dealing with people with whom he disagrees, Spearman said it is important “to have a North Star” that everyone is aligned toward.

“The second thing you've got to do is find common ground,” he added. “We spent so much time talking about the areas in which we disagree and so little time talking about the areas where we agree.

“One of the huge failures, I think, is this SRO [school resource officer] debate, where we have somehow manufactured a situation in which it feels like we are so polarized on this,” he continued. “We are not. Every Denverite wants our schools to be safe, period, full stop … Every single person wants to decrease the Black and Latino school-to-prison pipeline.”

Spearman would like to see declining enrollment in the district as an opportunity. He cited 8% of eligible students who leave the district for schooling.

He said he’d like to see greater choice in neighborhood schools run by the district to attract students back to DPS. For schools seeing declining enrollment, he said, “We've got to figure out what is going on at those schools, we need to go into the community and see what's happening. And then I think we need to make changes to those schools. Once again, I think those need to be neighborhood schools. I think they need to be run under DPS.” Spearman would also look to DPS schools currently attracting students from outside the district for ideas to do this better across the entire system.

“The other thing we've got to figure out is when we've got these really small schools, what's the best use of their space?” he added. “I don't think that we have to close a school just because it's small.

Spearman said one of the reasons he’s running “is because we haven't faced declining enrollment like we're seeing in the district for a really long time. We're going to need innovative ideas. We’re going to need new leadership that can come to the table and think through creative strategies.”

When asked about bilingual education, Spearman said we need to change the metrics used for viewing the success of bilingual students.

“What I mean by that is testing,” he explained. “Schools that have high percentages of bilingual students are, quote unquote, testing at worse rates than students in schools that don't. It creates a perception that these schools are not doing their job, which creates flight from their school, which creates declining enrollment.”

Spearman would also advocate for more resources and support for schools serving high numbers of English language learners.

“I like the changes that the district has made over the past 15 to 20 years, to lead with Spanish and then to introduce English into the conversation. I think we need to continue to do that and continue to innovate.”

Spearman has been endorsed by the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA), the local chapter of the AFL-CIO, Sheet Metal Workers Local Union No. 9, the Communication Workers of America (which represents, among others, custodial workers in DPS) and others listed at www. kwamefordenver.com.

“We are proud to endorse a leader like Kwame Spearman in his election for the DPS Board At-Large,” said Rob Gould, special education teacher and president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association. “Kwame comes from a three-generation family of educators and deeply understands that when educators have the vital support that they need, students are able to reach their full potential.”

Page 7 October 15, 2023-November 14, 2023

JOHN YOUNGQUIST

John Youngquist lives in southeast Denver and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School.

His experience with DPS includes teaching at a number of schools and serving as a principal at Smedley and Newlon elementary schools, and at East High School.

While at Newlon, in 2000, Youngquist was awarded Colorado Principal of the Year by the Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE).

Youngquist served as DPS area superintendent for northwest, southwest and northeast Denver schools.

Youngquist said he has brought the values of integrity, equity and synergy to the roles he has had in education.

“For me, integrity is simply that I do what I say and I take responsibility and am accountable for my actions,” he said. “And that will include the actions of our board.

“The simple frame that I use for equity is that every person gets what they need, when they need it,” Youngquist added. “In my experience in schools and districts, when we're not trying to give people what they want, but instead giving them what they need, when they need it to be successful academically. And that includes principals, teachers and certainly students.”

Youngquist said that what sets him apart as a candidate is his experience with elementary schools, middle schools and high schools, as well as experience at the district level with DPS, Cherry Creek, Summit County and Aurora school districts.

For Youngquist, keeping abreast of the concerns of district stakeholders “is all about being present. In listening deeply. As a white man that has worked primarily in communities of color, my understanding is that my job is to be present and to listen deeply and closely to understand the interests and the needs of the students and parents that I'm serving in communities, and the teachers and principals that I'm serving in schools.

“And then responding, always responding to what it is that I'm hearing,” he continued.

“And letting people clarify, so that we can move forward together making the right kinds of decisions for our students and teachers and community.

When asked about working relationships with those he disagrees with, Youngquist said that you rarely get to choose who you work with. He said that educators don’t choose who is in their classroom each school year.

“I get the people that are coming to my classroom, and I find the value, and I find the experience, and I find the worth, in each one of those people,” he said. “As chief academic officer, the same. As a board member, the same. My experience has been that when I’ve entered into places, especially those that have experienced conflict in the past, or recently, I need to listen even more deeply, to find the value that is there.”

On declining enrollment, Youngquist wanted to acknowledge the trend of declining birth rates.

“What we need to be able to do is not exacerbate that trend by representing a school district that does not have its act together,” he said.

“We need to be able to represent that we are a community focused on the right efforts.

That we’re focused on teaching and learning.

That we are investing in our schools in the right way,” he added. “That we are valuing our leaders and our teachers so that they stay here with us. And we are representing we're a safe community of schools where children are learning.”

Of school closures, Youngquist said the cur-

rent board and superintendent are challenged, in part, because they address it year by year, with attempts to make decisions in one or two meetings.

“My belief, through experience and in watching other districts and ours work in the past with school closure,” he said, “is that it has to be an ongoing conversation that includes a 12- to 18-month decision making process, when you have transparency into the budget that allows you to understand where are we now and where we are likely to be in the next three to five years.”

He said that deliberations need to engage communities “in conversation about who they are, what they are about. The interests that are present in each of those communities.

“Until the school board demands that the superintendent engage a process like that,” he added, “we will continue to have the difficulty that we're having with conversations around school closure.”

When asked about bilingual education, Youngquist said he brings experience both as a principal of bilingual schools and the chief academic officer in Aurora Public Schools, where the needs of English language learners were a priority.

He said he would focus on having the right teachers in place “to teach our children in the native language, with the system that we have. And to teach them the English language, distinctly, in the system that we have. And to embed language supports throughout the day.

“We need to elevate the priority of interest for multi-language learners in our district, supporting their families as the primary supporters of their students as multi language learners,” he said.

Youngquist has been endorsed by the Denver Metro Association of Realtors, Denver Families Action, a public schools advocacy organization backed in part by charter school networks, and others listed at www.youngquist4dps.com.

Of the Denver Families Action endorsement, Youngquist said, “I think about it as a spectrum of union to charter, harder core reform space, they're in the middle toward innovation and charter and reform, and support neighborhood schools. Where the union is more in the middle — there are some union members that are innovation status school teachers — to the district-run school space.

“My interest,” Youngquist said, “is having the most broad range of support so that we can engage that conversation fully together over the course of our work as a school board.”

BRITTNI JOHNSON

The Denver North Star, reached out to Brittni Johnson several times by phone and email for an interview, but we did not hear back. Information about Johnson’s candidacy can be found at www.brit-

tni4dps.com.

Johnson, a DPS parent and doctoral student, has been endorsed, her website states, by DPS at-large board member Scott Esserman, at-large City Councilwoman Sarah Parady and former city councilwoman for District 9, Candi CdeBaca.

The Denver North Star's previous coverage included candidates Paul Ballenger, Ulcca Hansen and Sean Gallegos.

Ballenger announced in a Sept. 29 Chalkbeat interview that he had exited the race and was endorsing Youngquist. He said, “I’m proud we made sure safety was a top priority this election.”

Hansen dropped out of the race in late August citing concerns about the impact of “soft side spending,” also known as outside spending or independent spending.

Gallegos did not obtain the required number of signatures to appear on the ballot.

The Denver North Star

Ballot Measure Seeks to Make Denver Preschool Program Permanent

By Talia Traskos-Hart ext month, Denver voters will decide whether to make permanent the current 0.15% sales and use tax funding the Denver Preschool Program (DPP).

Since 2006, the tax has increased from the initial 0.12% and expanded access to preschool for 65,000 children. Some students from the first DPP cohort will graduate from college this year.

The measure, Denver Ballot Question 2P, would not raise current taxes, but it would remove the current Dec. 31, 2026, expiration date on DPP funding. DPP CEO Elsa Holguín said that making the tax permanent would allow the program to target Denver’s childcare deserts and increase rates of access to preschool, which is in line with the state’s work expanding early childhood education programs.

DPP’s continuation has twice been approved by voters in its 17-year history. In 2006, the program began with 0.12% funding. It was reauthorized by voters in 2014 and increased by 0.03 percentage points to 0.15%. In 2016 voters extended the program, at 0.15%, to 2026.

Ballot measures in 2014 and 2016 passed with wide margins, which Holguín said she is optimistic to see this fall. She emphasized that voters will not see sales and use tax rates increase. There is no organized opposition campaign to Ballot Question 2P this fall.

“I hope we have the same support, now we have modeled how we can provide ser-

N

vices for children. Our last ballot initiative was very successful … and I am hoping that continues to be the case,” Holguín said. “This is a continuation of what we have already been funding.”

“I hope we have the same support, now we have modeled how we can provide services for children. Our last ballot initiative was very successful … and I am hoping that continues to be the case,” Holguín said. “This is a continuation of what we have already been funding.”

– Elsa Holguín, Denver Preschool Program CEO Since DPP began, it has expanded the number of high-quality providers in the city from 42 to 270. Holguín emphasized that DPP aims to meet communities where they are, providing childcare in Spanish, certifying religious and secular providers, and allowing home schooling and models of alternative education. A number of providers have been trained and certified in North Denver, such as Family Star Montessori.

ELECTION OCTOBER 31

• Ballots mailed out this week • 24-hour ballot drop-off boxes open

• Last day to send your ballot back by mail • Last day to register to vote and receive a ballot by mail • All other vote centers open

OCTOBER 23

NOVEMBER 7, ELECTION DAY

OCTOBER 16

• Webb Building vote center opens OCTOBER 30

• All vote centers open

ELECTION WHAT’S ON THE BALLOT

CASTING YOUR VOTE Courtesy of Denver Elections Division www.denvergov.org/elections

“The Elyria-Swansea community is one of the communities considered a licensed childcare desert because they don’t have enough centers for the high number of children under 5,” Holguín said. “These are exactly the communities where we need to come in and provide these high levels of support.”

Currently, DPP funds enable 60% of 4-year-olds to attend Denver preschools, Holguín said. Through pandemic challenges, the program worked to keep these rates high.

“During the pandemic, more than ever we learned that without high-quality childcare parents aren’t able to go to work and our economy suffers,” Holguín said. “We also know that childcare is the largest expenditure that a family faces each month. So for us to be able to come and support the families that in the long run are also the workers in the community … it’s a very good return on investment model.”

Holguín noted that extending the tax permanently may allow DPP to expand programs to younger children. The program currently has a limited capacity to support 3-year-old students.

“More than anything, we will have the ability to really continue to do this high-quality support of a preschool at a time when it is the most needed, when parents need stability,” Holguín said.

If Ballot Question 2P passes, the sales and use tax will be in place “until such authority is altered or repealed by the Denver City Council or Denver voters.”

• Mail ballots must be returned by 7 p.m., or • Voters must be in line by 7 p.m. to cast a ballot in person

DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD OF EDUCATION

• Director At-Large • Director District 1 • Director District 5

TWO STATE OF COLORADO BALLOT QUESTIONS

Information about these can be obtained at leg.colorado.gov/ bluebook • Proposition HH • Proposition II CITY COUNCIL-REFERRED BALLOT MEASURE

• Referred Question 2P (Denver Preschool Program)

ELECTION

AT-LARGE CAMPAIGN DOLLARS RAISED The following is compiled from publicly available information on the state campaign finance database and is current through the Oct. 3 reporting period. The next report from candidates is due Oct. 16. More information on a candidate's fundraising and spending are at tracer.sos.colorado.gov.

KWAME SPEARMAN Total Raised: $71,474 Donors giving $1000 or more: $2,500: Communication Workers of America $2,500: Erin Teague, Google $2,500: Katherine Gold, Goldbug $2,500: Andrew Klein, Westside $2,500: Jennier Hopkins, Caire INC $2,500: Geoffrey Smart, G.H. Smart and CO $2,500: Kristen Richardson $2,500: Adam Goldberg $1,500: Frannie Matthews, science/technology $1250: Maria Garcia Berry, CRL Associates (Kim Kucera, $100, also a partner at CRL) $1,000: Pete Marczyk, Marczyk Fine Foods $1,000: Andrew Feinstein, Exdo Management $1,000: Russell Hedman, Hogan Lovells $1,000: Jerry Glick, real estate $1,000: Andre Rouget, business owner, former mayoral candidate $1,000: Chris Watney, therapist $1,000: Mike Zoellner, ZF Capital $1,000: Tamara Leech, social scientist $1,000: Christopher Belelieu, attorney $1,000: Russell Hedman, Hogan Lovells $1,000: Dritan Nesho, consultant Other Notable Donors • Donna Lynee, Former Lt. Governor • Rick Enstrom, Former state legislator • Elaine Berman, Former State Board of Education • Elbra Wedgeworth, Former Denver City Councilmember • Josh Hanfling, lobbyist JOHN YOUNGQUIST Total Raised: $70,378 Donors giving $1000 or more: $2,500: Carol McDermott $2,500: Suzanne White $2,500: Frank Bingham, self-employed $2,500: Sachin Talusani, Colorado Imaging $2,500: Jim Kelley, Colorado Impact Fund $2,500: Megan Zeiger $2,500: Barbara Grogan, consultant $2,500: Ryan Zeiger $1,000: Steven Halstedt, Centennial Ventures $1,000: Leslie Jacobs $1,000: Steven Weigler, attorney $1,000: Michael Fries, Liberty Global $1,000: Damion Leenatali, consultant $1,000: Jerry Glick, real estate $1,000: Jerry Wartgow Other Notable Donors • Jeanne Kaplan, Former DPS School Board Director BRITTNI JOHNSON Total Raised $736 Notable Donors: • Scott Esserman, DPS School Board Director At-large • Shontel Lewis, Denver City Council District 8 • Sarah Parady, Denver City Council At-Large • Candi CdeBaca, Former Denver City Council District 9

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The Denver North Star

/// STREET SEEN ///

Jamming on the Jetty Brings Rising Tide of Consciousness to #SaveSloansLake

By Basha Cohen

T

he 8th annual Jamming on the Jetty music festival took place at Sloan’s Lake Boat House on Sept. 16, and what a jam it was. Sloan’s Lake Operations Supervisor Roxanne Vigil and her team made the entire jetty sparkle on the glorious summer day. An estimated 3,000-3,500 guests came through the gates of this once-upon-a-time sleepy music jam that first welcomed around 20 people in 2016.

The cross-section of entertainment featured four live bands including extemporaneous jazz by DAES, pop punk with The Worn Outs, bluegrass with NoGo Gillbillies and funk-soul fusion with Hand Turkey. Plus, two interactive dance sets had the crowds on their feet learning how to hula with Kalama Polynesian Dancers and soul line dance with Chicago Edmonds. One particularly impressive 86-year-old, Beatrice Clark, danced the entire day from 1-8 p.m. She was undoubtedly the show-stopper of the party.

Alex Whittier, a founding member of The 87 Foundation who is putting a renewed spotlight on music at El Chapultepec and helping to revitalize Denver’s night-time economy commented, “It was such a great mix of music, and no one thinks about activating band breaks. The dancing added so much to the energy.”

The Dragon Boat Festival provided rides on the lake, and Trishaw Bikes from Cycling without Age pedaled elders around the lake showing off the beautiful mountain-framed lakefront. Little Man’s bouncy castle kept the action in high gear in the Kids Zone, as did neighborhood bluegrass favorite, Clare Allen Vardaman from Old Fuss & Feathers and Rocky Mountain Aardvarks. She wowed the kids with a collaborative hootenanny.

The notable difference between 2016 and 2023 was heightened awareness and involvement from concerned neighbors that Sloan’s Lake needs saving. Once 18- to 20-feet deep, the lake is now a precarious 3.5 feet deep on average and requires remediation efforts. This year’s Jamming on the Jetty continues to support Sloan's Lake Park Foundation’s (SLPF) mission to #SaveSloansLake.

Close to $50,000 was raised by the community, which goes directly toward heightening education and activation that will bring Sloan's Lake back to its former glory. A music festival can’t pay the bills for the foundation’s ultimate mission to dredge the lake, but it brings the need for community involvement to the forefront.

“Activities regarding the lake are ramping up,” Dennis Ryerson, secretary of SLPF, said.

“The education committee is preparing a monthly newsletter updating residents about lake issues, and activities of the foundation.

“The committee is also planning a private educational lake walk for a local business, and future walks for other organizations and interested residents,” Ryerson continued.

During the walk-and-talks, attendees will learn about the lake’s history and natural and human-made structures affecting the lake.

Ongoing lake clean-ups are also ingrained in the foundation’s programming.

“The city has done a preliminary analysis of sediment in the lake showing the absence of toxic materials,” Ryerson noted, “and if further analysis confirms those results, the cost of future dredging of the lake could be greatly reduced as dredged material could be disposed of more easily.”

Ryerson emphasized, “The only goal of the foundation is to restore the lake’s condition so it can better support recreational activities such as fishing and water sports, and ensure that this treasured resource can serve residents and lake habitats far into the future.”

SLPF works to educate residents about the lake’s history and water-quality issues, and to build public support for expensive but necessary steps to restore Sloan’s Lake to health.

SLPF works in partnership with Denver Parks and Recreation (DPR). The foundation, DPR, Councilwoman Amanda P. Sandoval, city and state politicians, and a triage unit of water engineers and sediment specialists are working to find solutions.

Jessica Andersen, DPR urban ecology supervisor, enlightened Jamming on the Jetty

The Worn Outs.

attendees about current plans including the re-introduction of more native grasses to the park. She noted some of the ways people can help repair the lake.

“The Sloan’s Lake Park Operations team practices lake-friendly maintenance by limiting mowing and maintenance of native landscapes around the lake to ensure healthy buf-

PHOTO BY HARRY WARTERS

Jamming on the Jetty founder AJ Steinke (left) with Sloan's Lake Park Foundation board members and friends (from left: Lauren Ris, Stuart Miner, Dennis Ryerson and Sarah Secrist).

Kalama Polynesian Dancers.

PHOTO BY HARRY WARTERS PHOTO BY BASHA COHEN

Beatrice Clark, 86 years young, dances the day away.

Girls just wanna have fun.

Page 9 October 15, 2023-November 14, 2023

PHOTO BY BASHA COHEN

PHOTO BY BASHA COHEN

fers to filter nutrients at the source. This team also eliminated phosphorus from all park fertilizers,” she said. “DPR would like to remind neighbors that Sloan’s Lake receives a large amount of stormwater runoff from across the watershed that covers parts of Denver, Lakewood, Edgewater, Wheat Ridge and unincorporated Jefferson County. All residents of this watershed are encouraged to eliminate the use of phosphorus in lawn fertilizers, clean up and compost your yard trimmings, and remember to pick up after your pets.”

DPR launched the Sloan’s Lake Environmental Assessment earlier this spring. Their first community meeting on May 18 began the discussion surrounding the lake’s health. Currently, DPR has contracted an environmental consulting firm to assess Sloan’s Lake. This analysis includes bathymetric mapping (a topographic map of the lake floor), water-quality sensor installation and analysis, and sediment sampling. Water quality sensors were installed in the summer of 2021 to collect real-time data on the water conditions within the lake.

Analysis of this data will assist in understanding the existing conditions along with changes over time to guide decision-making on how to best manage the lake. DPR is also coordinating with the Mile High Flood District to analyze the quality of water entering the lake. This study includes the watershed outside of the city and county of Denver in Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, Jefferson County and Edgewater.

Andersen said, “Now that we have a full picture of the lake’s existing conditions the consultant team will start to develop recommendations on how to achieve the community’s recreation and environmental goals for the lake. The next community meeting will be held later this fall.”

The Sloan’s Lake Park Foundation is seeking donations, volunteers and support. Be part of the move to #SaveSloansLake by contacting the foundation at Sloan's Lake Park Foundation or email info@sloanslakeparkfoundation.org.

Basha Cohen is the vice chair of the Sloan’s Lake Park Foundation and a frequent contributor to The Denver North Star.

Little Man Ice Cream’s bouncy castle anchors the Kids Zone. PHOTO BY HARRY WARTERS

The Denver North Star

/// COMMUNITY ///

Prodigy Globeville Serves up Greatness (and Coffee)

By Kathryn White was sure right away,” Malinda Medina-Johnson said. “I liked the whole frame of spiritual hospitality. I liked the atmosphere. I liked how they greeted people.”

Medina-Johnson knew she’d belong at Prodigy Coffeehouse because belonging is, well, their business.

“Spiritual hospitality is welcoming with open arms, without judgment,” Medina-Johnson said.

“Anyone could walk through the doors, you're not going to be judged, from your race from your class, we're gonna treat you as human.”

Medina-Johnson started at Prodigy in 2020 and is now a manager-in-training. Through Prodigy, she’s obtained a number of certifications, including one from the DU Frontline Manager Leadership Program.

At the Prodigy Coffeehouse in Globeville, and at their other location on Colorado Boulevard, Medina-Johnson has tackled everything from daily operations and staffing to inventory and customer problem solving.

In her work now, Medina-Johnson focuses on training new apprentices.

Prodigy’s paid apprenticeships guide young people from northeast Denver through a 12-18 month series of levels and certifications that incorporate the technical aspects of producing high-quality coffee drinks, as well as workflow skills for keeping the operation stocked and running smoothly throughout a shift.

Painted on the coffeehouse wall is a word, followed by its definition. Prodigy: A person, especially a young one, endowed with exceptional qualities or abilities.

Coffee making at Prodigy is rivaled, even overshadowed, by the program’s other components: developing leadership mindsets, learning that becomes deep enough to teach to others, and a healing and supportive culture that, in the words of its mission, creates “a new generation of thriving, healthy, community leaders who have

I

Rafael Marco welcomes customers with open arms. activated their inherent greatness.”

Medina-Johnson learned about Prodigy from a Denver Kids mentor while she was wrapping up high school at GALS Denver.

Deago Martinez found out about Prodigy through a friend. He joined when the Globeville location opened last year. He lives in Berkeley and was looking for a job after he graduated from Bruce Randolph High School. His sister works at Prodigy now too.

“When I first started here,” Martinez said, “I was very quiet, I wouldn't really talk to nobody but, over time, I've really grown.”

The concept of spiritual hospitality was a draw for Martinez too.

“We all get treated the same,” he said. “Everybody has a smile. Everybody has a good vibe.”

Martinez pointed out that he could obtain a barista certification that would allow him to work in a coffee-roasting operation or in places around the world.

PHOTO BY KATHRYN WHITE

His favorite thing about Prodigy?

“The diversity. Whether it’s the apprentices or customers. There’s different ethnicities, different types of styles. It’s cool to see people interact with each other,” Martinez said.

Rafael Marco learned about Prodigy a year ago from his cousin, who said he was going to look into a job at the new coffee shop opening down the street from where he lives in Globeville. Marco went to the grand opening and took it from there. He’s finished the first part of the Prodigy apprenticeship program and is continuing.

Prodigy feels like a new beginning for the area, Marco said.

“Globeville was known for being a bad area that no one really wanted to go to,” he said. “But since they opened the coffee shop, it's bringing the community together. We have a place that we could go to, and just like, have a place that could be accepting.”

Apprentices have learned also that, like

any business with customers, they’ll be faced with people who are having a bad day. Who aren’t nice.

“I’m gonna still do my job,” Marco said. “You don't know if they're going through something in their life. I’m still going to be nice, I'm still going to be kind, because that's what we represent here.”

The Globeville location has a quieter feel than Prodigy’s first location that opened seven years ago on East 40th Avenue near Colorado Boulevard. Apprentices work shifts in both locations, learning the fast-paced setting catering to morning commuters, including a drive-thru, and the more relaxed environment in Globeville, tucked into the corner of East 45th Avenue and Broadway, near Garden Place Elementary School.

Within months of opening last year, neighborhood groups started using the coffeehouse to gather, sometimes in its “learning lab,” a room that seats up to 20 people.

Prodigy’s Director of Learning Brady Grant said the room is free to reserve during business hours, 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, and that people can submit a request through reserve@prodigyventures.org. The same email can be used to inquire about after-hours rentals.

If you haven’t visited yet, stop by and ask for the “Rafael Special.” Marco calls it a Cinnamon Delight Latte. Between Medina-Johnson, Martinez and Marco, they say it tastes something like Captain Crunch cereal. Or a Snickers bar. Or a cinnamon roll.

Delicious coffee drinks aside, Martinez welcomes the community to “come in to get to know the people.”

“There’s more to the business than coffee,” he said. “You’ll see self-development and selfgrowth. Come into the shop and see how apprentices communicate with each other.

“Every day,” he added, “people are learning and growing.”

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The Denver North Star

/// COMMUNITY ///

Big Wins for North and West Denver

By The Denver North Star Staff flurry of awards have been bestowed on North and West Denver groups in recent weeks, including a handful for this hyper-local newspaper.

Denver Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation (INC) recognized Registered Neighborhood Organizations (RNOs) in West Colfax, Villa Park, Sun Valley, Barnum, Barnum West and Valverde for their active involvement in the city’s West Area Plan.

INC quoted The Denver North Star coverage from the podium during the Sept. 13 ceremony held at Raíces Brewing Company: “The West Area Plan is the first area plan to itemize and address historic and present inequities; and it is the first to address the role of water (gulches, ponds, streams and the South Platte River). Council President Jamie Torres, whose district includes several of the neighborhoods in the plan, em-

phasized the significant role the community played in shaping it.”

Harkness Heights resident Thomas Mobely was recognized at the annual INC awards for his work on a conservation overlay that now helps to preserve his neighborhood’s Craftsman Bungalow homes.

Historic Berkeley Regis (HBR) and Raíces Brewing Company have been selected to receive Community Preservation Awards at Historic Denver’s annual gala and awards dinner in November. Historic Denver bestows annual awards, according to its website, to “celebrate the individuals and preservation projects uniting Denver’s past with the 21st century.”

Historic Denver described Raíces Brewing Company as “an open concept taproom, brewpub, and brewing facility located where the Sun Valley and Lincoln Park

CLASS 8

CLASS 8

A

PHOTO BY BERNARD GRANT

West Colfax, Villa Park, Sun Valley, Barnum, Barnum West and Valverde neighborhoods honored for their work on the city’s West Area Plan.

EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL

First Place

First Place

BEST EDITORIAL SPECIAL SECTION

BEST POLITICS REPORTING

2022 ELECTION: YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE

CITY COUNCIL MOVES TO BRING ZONING DEPARTMENT’S BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT INTO MODERN ERA

Eric Heinz, Sara Martin, Talia Traskos-Hart, Corbett Stevenson

Kathryn White

THE DENVER NORTH STAR

THE DENVER NORTH STAR

2022

Presented at the Colorado Press Association Annual Conference on September 23, 2023

2022

Presented at the Colorado Press Association Annual Conference on September 23, 2023

The Denver North Star's coverage “2022 Election: Your Vote is Your Voice” and “City Council Moves to Bring Zoning Department's Board of Adjustment into Modern Era” won First Place awards from the Colorado Press Association.

neighborhoods meet. The 6,000-squarefoot bow truss building on the 3.2 acre mixed-use STEAM on the Platte campus is a rare Latino-centered space in the craft brewing industry, where only an estimated 3 percent of brewery owners identify as Hispanic or Latino.”

HBR is being recognized for the role it played in the preservation and subsequent reuse of the Howard Berkeley Park Chapel. The Chapel, located at 46th Avenue and Tennyson Street, is now a designated Denver Landmark housing Redemption Church Denver and Midtown Montessori Academy.

The Denver North Star took home eight awards from the Colorado Press Associa-

tion’s Better News Media ceremony on Sept.

23. The newspaper won six Second Place awards in categories including Best Education Story, Best Sports or Sports Event Story and Best Editorial Special Section. The coverage “​​2022 Election: Your Vote is Your Voice” and “City Council Moves to Bring Zoning Department's Board of Adjustment into Modern Era” won First Place awards.

To top off the season of recognition, Rawa Abu Alsamah, a middle-school special education teacher at Rocky Mountain Prep in Sunnyside, has been selected as one of seven finalists for 2024 Colorado Teacher of the Year.

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The Denver North Star

/// GUEST COLUMN ///

The Prospect of No Local News is Not Good News

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here are few true loves-at-first-sight in life: your soulmate, perhaps, or a pet or Reese’s peanut-butter cups (the latter of which I adore so much I named STEVE LYSAKER my first pet after, much to the chagrin of my soulmate).

For me, The Denver North Star was another.

My partner and I had lived in the Sunnyside neighborhood for about a year when one autumn day in 2019 I found what I assumed was a flier rubber-banded to our home’s front door. I was about to toss it in the recycling bin when the cobalt banner and golden compass caught my eye; it resembled another of my loves-at-first-sight, the newspaper.

I fell in love with newspapers as a kid in the 1980s. They collectively delivered enlightenment and empowerment in a lucid package.

My household subscribed to two newspapers: a robust, metropolitan daily that contained state, national and world news (not to mention comics), and a suburban weekly focused on local communities. The daily was expansive and appealing, with departmentalized sections and bold design, but the weekly — if lacking polish and comics — was no less significant; information, discourse and accountability are also vital at local levels.

By high school, I was a news junkie, and I sated my addiction by writing for my school and hometown newspapers. Little did I know as a journalism major in the 1990s that the newspaper was enjoying its last golden age and the Fourth Estate itself was in peril; when I graduated in 1996, even the tiniest newspapers in the most remote corners of the least populous states had ample staff with dedicated beats.

Then came the internet. And the Great Recession. And social-media outlets owned by ethically bankrupt, rich narcissists who need a Constitutional lesson in the “free speech” they profess to propagate.

As newspapers gutted workforces and shuttered in droves, misinformation spread faster than COVID-19 (another stake in the heart of print publications). Multiple studies conducted since the Great Recession, which sparked thousands of newspaper closures, found that civic engagement declined and became more volatile with reduced access to local news and increased exposure to opinion-based media (like Fox “News”) and unverified information (circulated on platforms including Facebook and the cesspool formerly known as Twitter).

No newspaper was safe. Denver, once home to two mighty dailies, lost The Rocky Mountain News in 2009, and The Denver Post now functions with a fraction of its former reporting resources.

Thirty-three Colorado newspapers ceased operations between 2004 and 2019, according to the Colorado Media Project; in 15 years, the Centennial State lost approximately 20% of its newspapers. I went through so many mergers, sales and closures that when I left my previous newspaper job in 2016, I vowed to never work in journalism again.

Then came The Denver North Star. Surely, I thought as I unrolled the first edition, no one would launch a new newspaper in this dystopian age, especially a free, hyper-local one.

But I held tangible proof in my hands.

There were stories about my community, about neighborhoods and issues and people not being covered by other Denver media organizations.

The Denver North Star routinely introduces me to businesses and nonprofits and events I wouldn’t otherwise know about. It provides insight into North Denver’s economic development; social matters; and city, state and federal representation that other metro news sources can’t equal. It offers compelling columns about local history, institutions and public affairs.

When the opportunity arose earlier this year to join the slight but passionate team at The North Star and its sibling publication, The G.E.S. Gazette, I didn’t hesitate despite a career full of heartbreak. Alas, as you know if you read Publisher David Sabados’ column in the September issues, The North Star and Gazette are struggling to survive amid rising costs and declining advertising revenue.

Objective journalism is crucial to democracy. “The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right,” wrote Thomas Jefferson in 1787, “and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”

Yet as our nation nears its 250th birthday, access to equitable, localized news has never been more in jeopardy. More than 2,000 U.S. community newspapers went out of business between 2005 and 2021, according to a Washington Post report about local-news deserts; the same article noted that between 2008 and 2020, the number of American print journalists declined by more than half.

Research has linked the rampant reduction of local news coverage to increases in wasteful government spending, political polarization and the nationalization of local elections, as well as decreases in political competition and voter turnout. The situation is so dire that in 2017 the venerable Washington Post added the portentous slogan “Democracy Dies in Darkness” to its masthead.

The Denver North Star shines a light on our shared parcel of this democracy. While I don’t expect everyone to cherish The North Star the way they love their soulmate or pet or favorite junk food, I hope those who value access to local news will consider supporting The North Star and G.E.S. Gazette.

If you’re a reader, please tell local businesses and organizations that you learned about them through the papers. If you can afford a donation, monetary contributions may be made to The Denver North Star via mail at P.O. Box 11584, Denver, CO, 80211 or online at denvernorthstar.com/support-the-denvernorth-star-and-local-journalism.

If you’re a business, nonprofit, government agency or other party with advertising needs, think about spreading your message via The North Star and G.E.S. Gazette. Advertising with local news sources is targeted, timely, trustworthy and affordable; it also powers the indispensable beacon of community journalism.

Steve Lysaker is an award-winning journalist and copyeditor for The Denver North Star and G.E.S. Gazette. He lives in North Denver with his partner and their two dogs.

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Page 12 October 15, 2023-November 14, 2023

The Denver North Star

/ / / H E A LT H A N D W E L L N E S S / / /

COMMUNITY WELLNESS INSTIGATOR

We Need a Carrot. Sometimes It’s Candy

E

xercise and eating well are as “me” as anything I know. “The Jack LaLanne Show” played in the background on ERIKA TAYLOR summer vacations at my grandma’s. Mom took me to Jazzercise and water aerobics, made yogurt from scratch and grew sprouts under the kitchen sink.

First real job? Aerobics instructor. I’ve been a certified personal trainer since I was 22. I’ve done every fitness studio job from floor staff (which means I cleaned the equipment) to owner (which also means I cleaned the equipment).

Rehabbing from COVID last year, I encountered the first challenge in my life I couldn't exercise my way out of. My physical therapy called for slow-paced, consistent, painfully moderate, progressive exercise. It sucked. And it wasn’t working for months, partly because I wasn't really working it.

Last October, Facebook rescued me.

It displayed Halloweens gone by: My kids in custom Power Rangers suits. Parties with my husband. My brother and I as kids in the ’80s.

And then, a kid in a neon green T-shirt lying on the floor clutching a baseball bat bridged above him between two chairs.

It was 2016. Just out of the shot, I was lying on the floor near him, my favorite client of all time. I was watching him struggle to do a modified pull-up on an apparatus we’d constructed. He asked me, probably to mask needing a rest, if I would demonstrate it one more time. With some clients, I’d have called them out, told them (lovingly) to buck up and get the set done.

But Cooper was 12. And he was dying.

His parents had enlisted me between

treatments. He and Seeing that photo I chatted at the belast fall, I could hear ginning of each sesCooper’s determision. Cooper would nation, “Halloween’s choose a goal, I'd close. I got it.” design a workout What was going to to fit. Many days it inspire my own dewas baseball. We'd termination? lob a ball as hard as I thought I knew. we could at the stop To regain function sign closest to his lost to COVID. To house, relishing the enjoy the things I metallic thud each love doing. To be a time he hit the tarbetter parent and get. Or we’d practice partner. To feel betcovering a 90-foot ter. Look better. distance as fast as Those are all good his legs would go. carrots, right? But Most goals includthey weren’t enough. ed being outside with They were theoretPHOTO BY AMY HUDSON ical, nebulous confriends doing something active. The one Cooper’s modified pull-up that helped cepts that weren’t we had been working save Halloween 2016. getting me to stick to on that day promised a bonus reward: can- my difficult, tedious physical therapy plan. dy. Halloween was coming up.

I needed something real. Something close.

We measured the distance of his trick- Something worth fighting for. Like the or-treating route. Cooper was driven to promise trick-or-treating is to a 12-year-old build endurance and balance so he could boy. I needed candy! join his friends in this annual pursuit of I looked back at my list and chose the one childhood joy. thing that felt like a truly definable concept.

I was happy to keep up the facade of his Lose the weight I'd gained since getting sick. not remembering the exercise. As much as But even that still didn’t feel immediate.

I like to push my clients toward a mean- What was the extra weight robbing me of, ingful goal, I worried about him overdoing that I was willing to fight for? it. He was a competitive kid, frustrated by It hit me. One of the things Cooper hated his body's stubborn refusal to perform. As most of all about cancer was losing indeI rolled under the makeshift pull-up bar I pendence. He missed hanging out with his asked him if he wanted to cut the workout friends, playing baseball and going to the short. Cooper glared and fastballed it right bathroom on his own. back, “No! Halloween’s close. I got it.” EnerThe bathroom! An alarming image gized by my silly suggestion, he triumphant- formed in my mind: I could remain menly knocked out the remaining repetitions. tally sharp, but someday be unable to per-

Page 13 October 15, 2023-November 14, 2023

form that basic function. I DID NOT like it.

Which was great! I had my candy.

I am training so that I can take myself to the bathroom until my last breath.

Life throws curveballs. Like Cooper, I can't know for sure I will achieve it. I cherish having had the privilege of helping several loved ones perform this basic human function. There are still days when the “fitting into my jeans” carrot takes precedence. But we must be willing to redefine our goals when life demands it. Examples of life worth living, regardless of mobility, are abundant in my life. But for now, the bathroom goal is real to me and it is worth working for.

If you are having trouble making time to move your body in ways you know support your wellness goals, maybe it’s time for a new carrot. What are your goals? Things you want to do. Relationships you cherish. Places you want to go. If you are having trouble talking yourself into a wellness practice you know you need in your life, maybe it’s time for some candy.

Wishing you wellness and a happy Halloween, Erika P.S. Cooper did go trick-or-treating in 2016. He walked his route with friends, and he got that candy.

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.

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Mother Francis Xavier Cabrini: Denver Social Innovator and American Saint

N

orth Denver’s Italian community lived in Lower Highland, North Denver and REBECCA A. HUNT Sunnyside. The immigrants, coming from both Northern and Southern Italy, often had different ideas about how the colonia should be run. But they could come together to deal with social problems.

One of those was providing Catholic schools for the community. AnPHOTO COURTESY OF REBECCA HUNT COLLECTION other was caring for orphans and children who were temporarily with- Michael Notary donated his house on out parental support. This sometimes Quivas Street to Mother Cabrini for a nuns happened when a mother died and the residence and orphanage. age. To do that she recruited North Denver’s hard-working father found it impossible to care for his children. While Den- Italian residents to assist in her efforts.

Michael Notary was a builder who had ver had orphanages that would care for the children, the Italians wanted one that a large stone house in North Denver. He would keep them within Italian Catholic donated it to Mother Cabrini to use as the culture. One way was to reach out to the order’s residence and as the orphanage. His church and to the broader Italian commu- donation gave them a place to live and work nity in the United States. This brings us to but not the money to feed the nuns.

Under the auspices of the parish, the Mother Cabrini.

Who was Mother Cabrini? She was Sisters organized and opened Mt. Carmel born Maria Francesca Cabrini in 1850, in School in the St. Rocco chapel before openSant’Angelo Lodigiano, Lombardy, Italy. ing in a new building on Navajo Street beHer religious work began early, but she did tween West 35th and 36th. Later, the parish not become a nun until her 20s. Instead of opened Mt. Carmel High School.

Mother Cabrini spent much of her time allowing her to go to work in China, the Pope sent her on a mission to the Italian im- raising funds and getting food for her sismigrants in the Western Hemisphere. She ters. Fortunately, the Southern Italians, concentrated on the United States, arriving short on money but long on ingenuity, could in New York City in 1889. She also got per- provide pasta from their kitchens and bread mission to create her own order, the Mis- from their bake ovens to sustain both nuns sionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. and orphans. Catholics from other parts of The order established a hospital, a school the area could donate money. Mother Cabrini even reached out to Irish immigrants livand an orphanage in New York City.

In 1902, Mother Cabrini and some of her ing on farms near Aurora for donations.

In 1905, some of those funds allowed the nuns arrived in Denver. Initially most of her order stayed in the Mother House in New order to purchase a farm at West 48th and York City, although later Mother Cabrini Federal. On that site they built the Queen moved them to Denver. She and the other of Heaven Orphanage, which ran until 1967 sisters created two schools and an orphan- when Colorado set up a foster parent program that lessened the need for orphanages. Until then, Queen of Heaven and Mount St. Vincent Orphanage at 4159 Lowell Blvd. served the Italian and Catholic communities.

Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini was canonized in 1946, becoming the first American saint.

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Queen of Heaven orphanage at West 48th and Federal.

Dr. Rebecca A. Hunt has been a resident of North Denver since 1993. She worked in museums and then taught museum studies and Colorado, Denver, women’s and immigration history at the University of Colorado Denver until she retired in 2020.

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THE GRAY ZONE: STORIES CONNECTED TO NORTH DENVER’S OLDER ADULTS

The Second Summer of Life

Y

ou can trek to child-rearing, but before frailty and decline. the mountains to It has since been given many names, includcatch the chang- ing second adulthood, middlescence, encore ing aspen, but there’s re- years, third quarter. ally nothing better than Whatever the label, it’s relatively unchartwalking around a Sloan’s ed territory. No wonder Laslett described this ANNE BUTTON, Lake transformed into stage as “a world entirely unknown to all preGUEST COLUMNIST an autumn kaleidoscope of vious Americans.” gold and amber, with the satisfying crunch of For nearly 100 years, we’ve followed a faleaves underfoot. miliar script: learn, work, retire at 65, then reThe bursts of warm weather that have lax for a few years and wait to die. This made punctuated fall this year feel like an addition- sense in the 1930s, when Social Security was al, unexpected gift. established and people lived on average to 61.

Our “second summer,” a term the American Less so today.

Meteorological Society recommended in 2020 Many of us in our 50s and 60s, having gotto replace the outdated “Indian Summer,” is ten through the ultra-busy years of midlife a bonus. When it hits, careers and raising our we feel the urge to hike, kids, are now looking picnic, go to the farmer’s Many of us in our 50s and up and realizing we market – all the things have extra time and 60s, having gotten through space in our lives, surwe thought in May we’d get to over the summer prising new assets we the ultra-busy years of but never did. thought much midlife careers and raising hadn’t It brings to my mind about in advance. our kids, are now looking the second summer We’re realizing that of our lives: the extra the additional years up and realizing we have time we are getting brought by increased because most of us are extra time and space in our longevity aren’t tacked living longer. lives, surprising new assets on to the end of our Thanks to a variety lives, when we may we hadn’t thought much of factors, life expecbe frail or declining, tancy in the U.S. has inthey’re right now. about in advance. creased 20-30 years over And they open a new the last century, from 48 window to do the things in 1900 to 79 today. These extra decades don’t we may have wanted to in our earlier years but just change the length of our lives; they change for whatever reason (mortgages, carpools, colthe map of our lifespan. lege tuitions and caring for aging parents, to A whole new stage of life is appearing be- name a few), we didn’t. tween adulthood and old age.

Another bonus: At this stage we no longer British historian Peter Laslett first identi- have to do what people expect of us. Freed fied in the late 1980s what he called the “third from the tyranny of caring so much about age,” the time after childhood, careers and what others think, we’re able to take risks and

be a beginner again. But thanks to our accumulated knowledge and experience, with the more insightful and integrated “crystallized” intelligence that comes with age, being a beginner usually comes with a shorter learning curve.

We can’t ignore the fact that living longer also means our money needs to last longer.

The Bell Policy Center’s 2022 State of Aging report found that one-third of Coloradans age 60 and older want to find meaningful paid or unpaid work. Really, who wants to play 30 years of golf? And who can afford it?

But most people want to work differently.

Maybe it’s part time, or in a consulting role.

Maybe it’s starting some new venture with a partner. Or, like Dr. Anthony Fauci said when he stepped away from government service at age 81 to “pursue the next chapter” of his career, it could be to use what they’ve learned to “inspire and mentor the next generation” in addressing new challenges.

Like the unexpected pleasure of a balmy October day in North Denver, the second summer or third age of life, in whatever shape it takes, presents a golden opportunity to do things differently, on our terms.

As Mick Jagger, now 80, sings in the new Rolling Stones album due out Oct. 20, “You think the party’s over/when it’s only just begun.”

(Pro-tip on soaking up the last of summer: The Highlands Farmers market ended Oct. 15, but others, like South Pearl Street, Cherry Creek, Boulder and Longmont, continue through November.)

Anne Button has lived in North Denver for nearly 30 years and raised two kids in the neighborhood. She is the founding director of the CU Denver Change Makers program, which helps older adults chart new paths. Learn more at ucdenver.edu/Change-Makers.

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‘Advika and the Hollywood Wives’ by Kirthana Ramisetti

W

hile bartending at a post-Osca rs event in Hollywood, Advika Srinivasan meets the man who sweeps her off her feet. She doesn’t yet realize it, but Julian WENDY THOMAS Zelding is a Hollywood legend with five Best Picture Oscars and a lavish lifestyle. All she sees is a handsome and charming man who sees her not as the “help,” but as an attractive and desirable woman. Impulsively, she abandons her workstation to get dessert with Julian at a late-night cafe. “Advika and the Hollywood Wives” by Kirthana Ramisetti starts off like a real-life, fairy tale romance.

Dealing with the recent and tragic death of her twin sister and her parents’ move back to India, 26-year-old Advika is ready for some romance and ease. Despite their more than 40 year age difference, Julian brings vibrancy and joy to her grief-filled life. In the aftermath of ditching work to hang out with Julian on the night of the Oscars, she loses her job and her financial situation becomes tenuous. Julian offers to let her move into his mansion, and shortly after they get married.

As an aspiring screenplay writer, Advika is dazzled by Julian’s connections and flattered by his enthusiasm about her career. He arranges meetings for her with influential people and finds a studio for the screenplay she wrote to process her sister’s death. But lavish gifts, romantic getaways and Hollywood connections can only get a marriage so far. When Julian’s first ex-wife dies and stipulates in her will that Advika will get a generous bequest if she leaves Julian, Advika sets out to discover the reasons behind the unexpected offer.

Not your usual romance, this novel combines elements of mystery and suspense with wish fulfillment. Stellar character development and intriguing plot points make this a true page-turner. Check it out at the Denver Public Library branch near you.

October is Digital Inclusion Month at the library. Check out denverlibrary.org or visit the Smiley Branch Library to learn more about our resources and programs to promote digital literacy and technology access for all.

Wendy Thomas is a librarian at the Smiley Branch Library. When not reading or recommending books, you can find her hiking with her dogs.

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Compass is a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Nothing herein shall be construed as legal, accounting or other professional advice outside the realm of real estate brokerage.