Author: Alayna Alvarez
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Denver voters will decide this November whether to raise taxes in the fight against climate change
Denver voters will be asked on the November ballot to decide whether sales taxes should be raised to fund efforts to reduce the city’s climate footprint. If approved, the city beginning in January would impose a 0.25% sales tax. That funding would be dedicated to renewable energy efforts, including “steep reductions” in fossil fuel consumption…
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Denver school board member’s alleged assault by police under investigation
Denver Public Safety Director Murphy Robinson said an altercation involving police Wednesday that resulted in the hospitalization of Denver Public Schools board member and activist Tay Anderson is under investigation and if anyone who used inappropriate force they “will be held accountable.” The scuffle with police happened during the dispersal of a large homeless encampment across the…
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Denver Mayor Michael Hancock announces new think tank to target systemic racism, bias
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock on Monday announced a new initiative to tackle institutional racism and bias in the Mile High City. “Racism is a public health crisis,” Denver’s second Black mayor said during the annual State of the City address. “Like any disease or virus infecting our society, we need to urgently deploy the best minds…
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Ivanka Trump visits Colorado daycare, touts administration’s affordable child care efforts
Ivanka Trump, daughter of and special adviser to President Donald Trump, wrapped up a two-day tour in Colorado by visiting a child care center near Denver on Friday to highlight the administration’s affordable child care efforts. Next to her, from a safe, 6-foot distance away, was Colorado’s U.S. Republican Sen. Cory Gardner, who helped pass…
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Fentanyl overdose deaths in Denver are skyrocketing, health officials warn
Denver is experiencing a surge in overdose deaths related to fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that’s 50 times more potent than heroin. Between January and May, the city saw a 282% increase in fentanyl-related overdose fatalities compared with the same time period last year, the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment reports. “Overdoses caused…
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Charges filed against Colorado woman who hit George Floyd protester
The woman who struck a protester in Denver with her vehicle May 28 has been charged with misdemeanor and traffic charges, the Denver District Attorney’s Office announced Monday. Jennifer Watson, 37, is charged with one count of assault in the third degree “for knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury to a protester,” a misdemeanor that…
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Denver extends restaurant outdoor expansion program, as city braces for second wave of COVID-19
Denver is extending its outdoor patio expansion program through Halloween to allow restaurants to expand into adjacent streets, sidewalks and parking lots while the coronavirus pandemic rages on. The city’s initiative was first announced in mid-May and was scheduled to expire on Sept. 7. As the city and state brace for the onset of a…
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Denver Coliseum parking lot ‘under serious consideration’ as sanctioned camping space for homeless
The parking lot of the Denver Coliseum is “under serious consideration” as the site for the first “Safe Outdoor Space,” a sanctioned and managed camping space for people experiencing homelessness during the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Michael Hancock’s chief of staff, Evan Dreyer, confirmed Thursday. On July 1, Hancock announced “with some reluctance” his support of…
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Denver DA is considering charges against driver who hit a George Floyd protester
Denver District Attorney Beth McCann has been handed the Denver Police Department’s investigation into a driver who struck a protester with her car on May 28, and is considering what charges, if any, will be filed, a DPD spokesman told Colorado Politics on Tuesday. The incident occurred on the first day civil unrest erupted in…
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Third federal lawsuit filed against Denver for police response to George Floyd protests
The third federal lawsuit against Denver was filed Wednesday on grounds that police used excessive force during George Floyd protests in late May. The lawsuit represents seven plaintiffs who argue that the Denver Police Department used “constitutionally unlawful crowd control tactics, including kettling (also known as containment or corralling), indiscriminate and unwarned launching of tear…