Author: John C. Ensslin
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Denver mayoral candidates spar over urban camping ban
The signs on the lawn leading up to Denver’s South High School on Tuesday night suggested the mayoral debate inside would be dominated by issues of growth and development. They read like a series of the old roadside Burma Shave signs. “What is Denver?” “Not Sprawling Houston.” “Not over-built New York.” “Not smoggy Los Angeles.”…
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‘Yes’ vote on Denver magic-mushrooms measure now narrowly leading
A measure to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms in Denver has eked out a narrow lead in the final unofficial results from Tuesday’s municipal election, officials reported Wednesday. The Denver Elections Division’s count – which is not yet certified and does not include all the overseas and military ballots – showed Initiative 301 leading with 50.56% of…
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Avalanche, Nuggets to stay put to 2040
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DENVER • Denver reached a deal with the Colorado Avalanche and the Denver Nuggets to keep the two teams in the city through 2040. Mayor Michael Hancock announced the tentative agreement Thursday in a pep-rally-style event on the steps of the Denver City and County Building complete with high school cheerleaders and bands and the…
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2 Denver pro sports teams staying put with new deal, says Mayor Michael Hancock
Denver has reached a deal with the Colorado Avalanche and the Denver Nuggets to keep the two teams in the city through 2040. Mayor Michael Hancock announced the tentative agreement Thursday in a pep-rally-style event on the steps of the Denver City and County Building complete with high school cheerleaders and bands and the mascots…
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ON THE DENVER CAMPAIGN TRAIL | Penfield Tate III, candidate for mayor
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This is the second in a series of stories on Denver mayoral candidates in their last days on the campaign trail ahead of the May 7 city election. Inside Denver mayoral candidate Penfield Tate III’s campaign office, the small white board sign on field operation manager Emily Curtis’ desk sends a daily jolt of urgency…
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Magic mushrooms: Medicine or mayhem?
Denver voters will head into uncharted territory when they decide whether to decriminalize possession of small amounts of psilocybin, better known as “magic mushrooms.” Initiated Ordinance 301 on the ballot mailed to city voters this week would make use and possession of psilocybin mushrooms “the city’s lowest law-enforcement priority.” And while the mushroom referendum is…
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As homelessness grips Denver, voters ponder scrapping camping ban
Stroll any street in downtown Denver, and you’re likely to come face to face in vivid and sometimes tragic detail with the city’s grinding and intractable homelessness problem. A man sprawls unconscious on a sidewalk outside the Denver Performing Arts Complex. Another man reaches into a trash bin on 17th Street, pulls out a container…
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Denver at-large council candidates debate development, gentrification
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Denver’s two at-large council members sometimes play a different role than their colleagues who represent a district. They’re not on the speed dial of their local neighborhood activists and they can spend more time addressing broader policy issues than some of their colleagues. So, it made perfect sense that Tuesday night’s debate between the six…
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Denver City Council approves measure granting city contractors $15 hourly wage
Employees working under some 300 Denver city and county contracts will be entitled to a $15 per hour minimum wage under a measure approved unanimously on Monday night by the City Council. “The wage gap has kept people in poverty and threatens the ability of working families to meaningfully participate in the economic prosperity cities…
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Veteran prosecutor bows out after putting killer away
The guilty verdict Friday in the first-degree murder trial of Martin S. Mendiola was the last hurrah for veteran prosecutor Diana K. May. After trying 17 homicide trials in 17 years, May has resigned as chief deputy district attorney for the 4th Judicial District to take a job with the El Paso County Attorney’s Office…