City Cast Denver

With 2023 state legislative session almost over, the race is on to get these bills outta the house — but what will our lawmakers focus on with their final week? The fact that our property taxes are going through the roof? Or that the Suncor oil refinery continues to emit toxic chemicals? Or are they just focused on fighting their own trolls on social media? It’s Tuesday, so host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi are breaking down all the local stories that matter this week. Plus, of course, the latest on Casa Bonita. Paul mentioned how Colorado stacks up to other states when it comes to property taxes on residential real estate and the reasons Colorado voters repealed the Gallagher Amendment back in 2020. Bree mentioned a Zillow listing in West Colfax that touted the home’s proximity to Casa Bonita. Give us a ring on the Always-Open, Always Hot, Casa Bonita Hotline! Text or leave us a voicemail: (720) 500-5418‬For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverOr instagram: @citycastdenverChat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenverLearn more about the sponsors of this episode: Backyard Pitmasters of Colorado The North Face Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Nuggets are having a history-making season, and — knock on wood! — Denver could be on its way to our first NBA Championship in franchise history. But sports teams are so much more than the athletes. Coaches, scouts, analysts, trainers, and many many more work together to get those wins — like today’s guest, Kyle Speller. He’s a PA announcer now in his 18th season with the Nuggets, and his voice, energy, and excitement are crucial to getting 20,000 fans on their feet and cheering at Ball Arena every game. Host Bree Davies talks with Kyle about how he came up with his now-infamous “To the window/to the wall!” call-and-response, the call Nikola Jokić asked him to stop, and other secrets for driving Nuggets fans wild.(And if you’re curious, Bree also asked Kyle about his homage to Guy’s “Teddy’s Jam.”)Bree mentioned the settlement in the Coffee at the Point dispute and Colorado’s new gun laws. For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverOr Instagram: @citycastdenverChat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenverText or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: The North Face Backyard Pitmasters of Colorado Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s Friday, and we’re rounding up the stories that caught our eye this week. Housing has been top of mind for Coloradans and finally, Governor Jared Polis was poised to do something about it — in the form of a massive housing and land-use bill. But SB213 was gutted this week, thanks to Republicans and Democrats standing up for “the Colorado Way,” as they put it. So what went wrong? Producer Paul Karolyi is joined by host Bree Davies and returning favorite Jo Ann Allen to chat all things housing, along with a rousing round of Two Truths and a Lie inspired by Denver hosting the inaugural Cities Summit of the Americas this week. Then newsletter editor Peyton Garcia has some sweet recs for your weekend!For the full backstory behind Governor Polis’s big push for housing density, catch up with all our coverage of housing at the Capitol this year: What You Need to Know About the ‘More Housing Now’ Bill (4/13/23) Does Denver Need Rent Control? (2/15/23) Can Governor Polis Fix Our Housing Problem? (1/30/23) Paul mentioned Nick Campion’s concession video in the D7 City Council race, and Bree mentioned an editorial in the Aspen Daily News about the supposed “Californication” of Colorado.Check out Jo Ann Allen’s podcast, Been There Done That!Follow our weather guy for all your weekend weather needs: Rain or Shine, it's Andy Stein!Here are the events we discussed happening this weekend: REI Pancake 5k and Nutrition Fair (Sat) Denver Astronomical Society open house at Chamberlin Observatory (Sat) Día del Niño (all weekend) Healthy Kids Day (Sat) We are so sad to be saying goodbye this week to our producer Erin O’Toole. Erin helped us uncover the mystery of Denver's lost tunnels and took us inside Denver’s many sex rooms. We’ll miss you, Erin!For even more weekend event recs and local stories that matter, subscribe to our weekday morning newsletter Hey Denver online or by texting “Denver” to 66866Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverOr instagram: @citycastdenverChat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenverLearn more about the sponsor of this episode:The North FaceLooking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are the stars more beautiful from Denver? We are one mile closer, after all. But seriously, after the surprise Aurora Borealis sighting in Colorado last weekend, we are determined not to miss another epic cosmic show. So we posed that Mile High query and all our other starter stargazing questions to Ron Hranac of the Denver Astronomical Society. Producer and certified star-liker Paul Karolyi sat down with Ron to get to the bottom of the altitude question, some insider tips to find the darkest skies (including one inside city limits), and his best bets for the next cosmic event you don’t want to miss. If you cant make the DAS’s open house this Saturday, check out their whole list of upcoming events. You can also join to gain access to the DAS’s own dark sky site east of the city. Or, you can “Just Look Up”!Paul mentioned the fate of Rep. Javier Mabrey’s rent control bill and our topsy turvy housing market. Now we want to hear from you! There are lots of dramatic headlines, but only you know what it’s really like trying to find a good place to live in Denver. What are the real problems you’re dealing with? Send us a text or leave us a voicemail at (720) 500-5418‬, and you might hear your crazy housing story on the show soon.For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverOr Instagram: @citycastdenverChat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenverLearn more about the sponsor of this episode:The North FaceLooking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gardening in Colorado comes with a unique set of challenges. Between our clay-heavy soil and our seriously dry climate, getting anything other than weeds to poke up out of the ground takes some special know-how. Host Bree Davies sits down with gardening enthusiast Ann Marie Awad to answer Denver’s most pressing gardening questions directly from you, our listeners! Ann Marie covers everything from from how to raise tomatoes in plots surrounded by concrete to where to get free and cheap supplies to keep your urban gardens healthy year-round. A few places & things Ann Marie mentioned:  Wompost: Women-Owned Composting City of Denver mulch giveaway happening May 6 Nick’s Garden Center CSU Extension guide to ground cover For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverOr instagram: @citycastdenverChat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenverText or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬Learn more about the sponsor of this episode:The North FaceLooking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s Tuesday, and we’re looking at all the important stories shaping Denver this week. With only a few weeks left in the legislative session, the Democrats in power at the state Capitol are still divided on new gun laws. So host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi are talking about the politics of guns, a new lawsuit over “abortion reversal” drugs, and why Bandimere Speedway is closing this year — its 65th season. Plus, we have an exclusive story about a new social impact program for the local cannabis industry, which prompts a bigger discussion about how entrepreneurs are pushing up against our weed laws. We discussed the City of Denver’s new Cannabis Cares program. For more details about the planned May 4 launch, check out their website. Bree mentioned a few sources for better understanding the “abortion reversal” conversation — Bente Birkland covered the latest ruling for CPR; NPR explains the origins of the abortion pill Mifepristone’s approval in the U.S. more than 20 years ago and also covered the dangers of the study conducted on the controversial “abortion reversal” treatment.  For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverOr instagram: @citycastdenverChat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenverText or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬Learn more about the sponsor of this episode:The North FaceLooking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Way back in 1981, a humble New York transplant named Jimmy Lambatos opened an innovative toasted sub shop at the corner of 13th Avenue and Grant. Denverites quickly fell in love with Quiznos, fueling the rise of a sandwich empire to more than 5,000 locations around the world by the mid 2000s. But now, as Westword’s food editor Molly Martin reported last week, Quiznos is on the ropes, and that first location has been shuttered due to non-payment of taxes. So today, Molly returns to the show with producer Paul Karolyi and newsletter editor Peyton Garcia to talk through the rise and fall of Quiznos and the surprisingly Denver story of founder Jimmy Lambatos. We discussed Molly’s interview with Quiznos founder Jimmy Lambatos and Peyton’s deep dive into the fall of Quiznos. Paul mentioned the recent auditor’s report on Denver’s response to the homelessness crisis. All the other great local sandwich places we mentioned: Subculture (Cap Hill) Snarf’s (Various) Cheba Hut (Various) Carmine Lonardo’s Meat Market (Lakewood) Spinelli’s (Park Hill) Little Arthur’s Hoagies (Food Truck) Olive & Finch (Uptown and Cherry Creek) Marczyk Fine Foods (Cap Hill, Hale) Curtis Park Deli (Curtis Park, Cherry Creek, Boulder) Leven Deli Co. (Golden Triangle) For even more local sandwich goodness, we settled the great Snarfs vs. Cheba Hut debate on the show last fall. Do you have nostalgia for Quiznos’ early years? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear your story on the show: (720) 500-5418‬For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverOr instagram: @citycastdenverChat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenverLearn more about the sponsor of this episode:The North FaceLooking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s time for the thrilling conclusion to Cherry Creek Week!All week long, we’ve been talking about one of Denver’s most divisive neighborhoods: Cherry Creek. How will the community deal with the vexing problems brought by an imminent wave of development? Can it find a solution to the ongoing fight — and current impasse — over transportation infrastructure? As the historians taught us, change is inevitable. So how can we make the most of all this interest in Cherry Creek? At the annual Transportation Solutions conference Wednesday morning, host Bree Davies talked through some real solutions with a panel of experts, including SEIU Local 105 political director True Apodaca, the City of Denver’s city-wide manager for transit-oriented development Chris Nevitt, and the man Westword dubbed “the good developer” David Zucker of Zocalo Community Development. We’ll be back with our usual Friday news round-up next week!For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866.Follow our weather guy for all your weekend weather needs: Rain or Shine, it's Andy Stein!Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverOr instagram: @citycastdenverChat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenverGot thoughts or feelings about Cherry Creek Week? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬Learn more about the sponsor of this episode:Transportation SolutionsLooking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s Cherry Creek Week, Day Four!The story of Cherry Creek is the story of big dreams, yet with each exciting new project, the clash of old vs. new continues. Today, we’re examining what one developer has planned for that abandoned sea of parking lots just to the west of the mall. Amy Cara talks with host Bree Davies about her vision for Cherry Creek West — what could be multiple towers of offices, housing, retail, and some needed green space. Then we (virtually) travel all the way to the outskirts of Washington D.C. to check out Tysons — a suburban mall formerly surrounded by parking lots, much like our beloved Cherry Creek. Tysons is well on its way to becoming a true 15-minute city, where thousands of people can live, walk, ride, roll, and take the train anywhere they need to go in no more than 15 minutes. Bree talks to an insider with the Tysons project, Justin Schor, to get some insight on how density can be done right. For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverOr instagram: @citycastdenverChat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenverText or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬Learn more about the sponsor of this episode:Transportation SolutionsLooking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s Cherry Creek Week — Day Three!When Denverites talk about Cherry Creek, the conversation often goes to the neighborhood’s multi-million dollar homes and high-end shops like Hermés, Louis Vuitton, and Neiman Marcus. But what about the people who make the community, well, work? As one of the largest private employers in the city, Cherry Creek Shopping Center and neighboring Cherry Creek North couldn’t function without the salespeople, janitors, hotel clerks, hairstylists, restaurant hosts, and valets who come to work every day. Today, host Bree Davies — a former mall employee of 17 years — talks with her friend and former coworker David Casados about why workers just like them are a crucial part of the Cherry Creek story. Got a question or comment about what’s going on in Cherry Creek? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬You may have recognized David Casados’ voice from a previous City Cast Denver episode — he joined us for a meal at Fuel & Iron, a downtown Denver bar that was Pueblo-themed.Bree mentioned Dominion Voting Systems’ high-profile settlement with Fox News. For more on the local angle to the Dominion story and misinformation surrounding the 2020 election, check out our interview with Westword editor Patty Calhoun from last November. For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverOr instagram: @citycastdenverChat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenverLearn more about the sponsor of this episode:Transportation SolutionsLooking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices