City Cast Denver

Denver’s urban camping ban has been controversial to say the least. Though it has remained popular with a majority of the voting public since it was implemented in 2012, the ban has led to the near-constant sweeping of encampments and displacement of the people living in them. The ban has stoked distrust and exacerbated the precarious nature of life for our unhoused neighbors. So when Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman announced plans earlier this week to propose a similar ban for Colorado’s third largest city, it came as a surprise. Today on the show, host Bree Davies, a vocal opponent of Denver’s camping ban, sits down with Mayor Coffman to hear how he came to this proposal and how his week-long stint pretending to be homeless back in December informs his approach to Aurora’s growing homelessness problem.Mayor Coffman’s proposal will need the support of Aurora’s City Council, where it has already received some strong criticism.The City of Aurora is currently reviewing a variety of alternative housing options to address their growing homelessness population. Residents are invited to review the options and provide feedback here through May 31: https://engageaurora.org/HomelessnessFor more on the effects of Denver’s camping ban, make sure to listen to our episode from last month with David Gordon, in which he discusses his personal experience living in fear of a sweep: https://pod.link/citycastdenver/episode/36ef60a78752e3b83ba090e2bbc1c40a Looking for a little more City Cast Denver in your mornings? Subscribe to our newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/citycast/denverAnd get the tweets: @citycastdenver 

It seemed like a simple request to the city: Shawn Johnson and his husband Ben wanted to build an ADU, or accessory dwelling unit, at their Sunnyside home so Shawn’s disabled mother could live close. But little did they know, this plan would send them down a rabbit hole of bureaucracy and bring them face to face with an inconspicuous board that holds a lot of power when it comes to zoning — the city’s main tool for managing our explosive growth. Today, host Bree Davies sits down with Ben and Shawn who say their struggle with the Board of Adjustments for Zoning Appeals reveals a system rooted in implicit bias. Read the piece by Kathryn White in The Denver North Star that tipped us off to Shawn and Ben’s story! We have included more of the BOA’s response to our story on Twitter: @CityCastDenverSubscribe to our newsletter for more news: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

After less than two years on the job, Denver Public Schools superintendent Susana Cordova resigned last fall. She said it was because she got an amazing job opportunity in Dallas, Texas, but some think she was pushed out by a school board that disagreed with her vision. At the center of that conflict? Education Reform, a nationwide movement that found a fertile testing ground here in Denver about 15 years ago under then superintendent Michael Bennet (Yes, that Michael Bennet). So what is Education Reform? How did it get so controversial? And what does the board’s search for a new superintendent say about the future of the reform movement here in Denver? On the show today, host Bree Davies sits down with Melanie Asmar, who covers DPS for Chalkbeat and has reported extensively on the reform movement. Melanie breaks down the reform movement’s history in Denver, how the superintendent search plays into it, and what it all means for Denver as a whole — not just parents and kids. For more on the superintendent search, here’s Melanie’s latest on the three finalists: https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/5/14/22436681/denver-superintendent-finalists-student-teacher-interviewsAlso, follow Melanie on Twitter for more updates: @melanieasmarFollow us @citycastdenverAnd subscribe to our weekday morning newsletter for more Denver news and events: https://mailchi.mp/citycast/denver

Basically no one wants to keep a golf course on those 155 acres of open space in Northeast Park Hill, but that poses a big question: What do we want? Should we restrict development, as former mayoral candidate and open spaces advocate Penfield Tate argued on the show last week, or should we aim for a new kind of people-first development? That’s the case today’s guests are here to make. In part two of our series on the PHGC development fight, host Bree Davies sits down with the developers who own the land: Kenneth Ho, principal with Westside Investment Partners, and Norman Harris, co-founder and managing partner with The Holleran Group. If you want to make your voice heard after hearing from Penfield, Kenneth, and Norman, we’ve collected a bunch of good links for you:Tomorrow, Tuesday May 18, the Department of Community Planning and Development is hosting a public comment period at the end of the PHGC Steering Committee meeting (5:30-7:30 p.m.). You must register for the zoom meeting AND sign up to speak if you want your turn. Do all that here: https://denvergov.org/Government/Departments/Community-Planning-and-Development/Community-Engagement/CPD-Calendar/Park-Hill-Golf-Course-May-Steering-Committee-MeetingIf you can’t make it, you can submit your thoughts on the future of the PHGC site at any time to the Department of Community Planning and Development: https://us.openforms.com/Form/68f78400-f89a-4450-ac8a-93eecf6c865c To learn more about Kenneth and Norman’s plans for the site, here’s Westside Investment Partners’ site about the project: https://www.parkhillgolfcoursereimagined.info/If you’re interested in Penfield’s YES on Open Space Campaign, you can read more here: https://yesopenspace.org/And here’s a link to the site for Save Open Space Denver, the community group pushing to maintain the old golf course as some kind of open space: https://sosdenver.net/Did you know City Cast Denver has a newsletter? Subscribe right now for a friendly weekday morning roundup of Denver news and events: https://mailchi.mp/citycast/denverFollow us on Twitter: @citycastdenver. 

There will come a time this summer when you’re hanging out in a park or walking around downtown, and someone with a clipboard is going to approach you about the future of the Park Hill Golf Course. They’ll talk about the need for more open space in the city or maybe they’ll allude to the Big Bad Developer coming in to change a historic neighborhood, and they’ll ask for your signature. What are you going to do?City Cast Denver is here to help. In this first episode of a two-parter on the PHGC site (and the extremely contentious/complicated debate over its future), host Bree Davies speaks with former mayoral candidate Penfield Tate about his personal connection with the old course and his work to wrench the future of those valuable 155 acres out of the hands of developers. Oh, and on Monday, we hear from the developers themselves who give their side of the story. For more on Penfield’s ballot initiative, go to yesopenspace.org. Get the tweets: @citycastdenverGet the morning newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/citycast/denver

When it comes to barbecue, Colorado tends to get left out of the national conversation. But it turns out, we have our very own barbecue story to tell, and our Black community is at the center of it all. James Beard award-winner Adrian E. Miller has that story and more in his new book, “Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue.” He joins host Bree Davies on the show today to talk about everything Colorado barbecue, from the 1898 barbecue riot to the legacy of “Daddy” Bruce Randolph and his son Bruce Jr. Learn more about Adrian and his new book at adrianemiller.comHead over to our Twitter @citycastdenver for a recipe straight from Adrian’s book for pork belly burnt ends!Subscribe to our weekday morning newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/citycast/denver

There’s a new book out about gang violence in Denver, and it’s causing quite a stir. Award-winning journalist Julian Rubinstein spent seven years reporting the story of Terrance Roberts, a former gang member turned anti-gang activist who shot someone before a peace rally he himself had organized on September 20, 2013. Julian says Terrance’s story has been widely misunderstood, and he hopes to correct the record with his new book, “The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun, and the Struggle to Save An American Neighborhood.” They both join host Bree Davies on the show today to talk about that day in 2013, the nature of gang violence in Denver, and what it all means for Terrance’s neighborhood, Northeast Park Hill. Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverSubscribe to our weekday morning newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/citycast/denver

It’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! And we’re celebrating with a look into Denver’s fascinating Japanese American history with journalist and community leader Gil Asakawa. Host Bree Davies speaks with Gil about his personal connection with Sakura Square, the lasting legacy of former governor Ralph Carr, and special meaning of AAPI Heritage Month this year. Plus, Gil shares a local restaurant recommendation if you're looking for a good bowl of ramen. Follow Gil on Instagram for more Asian American food tips (and some sweet cat pics): @gilasakawaFollow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverSubscribe to our weekday morning newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/citycast/denver

Denver City Council is deciding the fate of the Denver7 building on Speer tonight. Will they side with the owners, paving the way for a sale and demolition? Or will they decide it’s a landmark worth preserving? Host Bree Davies speaks with art and architecture critic Mary Voelz Chandler, who wrote for the Rocky Mountain News for many years, about the architectural merits of the building, the origins of Brutalism, and Denver’s contentious relationship with its own history. Plus, Amazon responds to our report on an alleged lack of Spanish-language COVID safety communications at their warehouse in Thornton. Read Mary’s writing on Denver architecture and more at her blog: http://chandlerindenver.com/Follow us on Twitter: @citycastDenverSubscribe to our newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/citycast/denver

What happens when a worker at an Amazon warehouse sees something concerning and speaks up? Today on the show, we bring you the story of Linda Rodriguez, a local grandmother who got a job at the Amazon fulfillment center in Thornton right before the pandemic started. Host Bree Davies speaks with Linda’s attorney David Seligman, who portrays her as a woman caught in an impossible situation, compelled to stand up for what she thought was right. We also hear from Linda herself about the conditions inside DEN3, the Amazon fulfillment center in Thornton where she says Amazon neglected to communicate important COVID safety information with its Spanish-speaking workforce.David Seligman is also executive director of the local legal nonprofit Towards Justice, which you can learn more about here: https://towardsjustice.org/If you want to read more about Linda’s case, here’s a link to the formal complaint David and his colleagues at Swain Law LLC filed with the Department of Labor and Employment on Thursday: https://towardsjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/5.6.21-amazon-final.pdfGet the tweets: @citycastdenver Get the newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/citycast/denver