City Cast Denver

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DIA Hacks + Your Craziest Edibles Stories Nov 23, 2022

Show notes

It’s been a difficult week in Colorado, as the nation reels from yet another mass shooting — this time apparently targeting the LGBTQ community at Club Q in Colorado Springs. So we’re taking a break from the news to have some fun. Host Bree Davies, producer Paul Karolyi, and newsletter editor Peyton Garcia swap tips for surviving DIA this holiday season. Then, producer Erin O’Toole shares your craziest edibles stories and we pick a winner to receive a private dinner with world-class cannabis chef Jarod Farina, AKA Chef Roilty.

Programming Note: We’re taking the rest of the week off for Thanksgiving, so City Cast Denver won’t be back in your podcast feed until Monday morning.

For even more DIA hacks, Peyton rounded up a bunch of reader-submitted ideas in our newsletter Hey Denver. And don’t miss today’s newsletter to see that pic of Emily N.

You can subscribe to Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866

Bree also mentioned Westword editor Patty Calhoun’s 2017 articles about the “Interior Garden” art piece at DIA.

Learn more about DIA’s food delivery service, therapy animal program, and other things to do at DIA.

A few airport restaurant recs from the team:

Leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬

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Is a Housing Solution Hiding in Colfax’s Many Old Motels? Nov 22, 2022

Show notes

Everyone knows Denver’s got a housing shortage — but so many proposed fixes seem too expensive, too controversial, or just too out of reach. So what if we took some of the city’s existing structures and turned them into, well, places for people to live? That’s what Monica Martinez and The Fax Partnership decided to do when they bought two dilapidated old motels on East Colfax. These vestiges of a time when Route 40 was a tourism paradise have since become makeshift affordable housing — but Monica hopes her organization can bring stability, upgrades, and eventually, more housing to these properties. Monica joins host Bree Davies to explain why, as executive director of an East Colfax-centered non-profit, she chose to take on the housing crisis, one motel at a time.

Bree also mentioned this Denverite report on Denver Rescue Mission.

For the latest affordable housing developments and other news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866

As of this writing, we are (were?) still on Twitter: @citycastdenver

Leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬

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Another Mass Shooting Rocks Colorado's LGBTQ Community Nov 21, 2022

Show notes

Shortly before midnight on Saturday, November 19, a 22-year-old armed with a semi-automatic weapon entered one of Colorado Springs’ few LGBTQ+ nightclubs, Club Q, and opened fire on the crowded dance floor, killing 5 people and injuring at least 25. The attack comes after Colorado Republicans, including gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl, deployed increasingly anti-queer rhetoric in the lead-up to the midterm elections earlier this month. Journalist Heidi Beedle reports on far-right extremism for the Colorado Times Recorder and was on the ground covering the aftermath of the shooting on Sunday. She sits down with host Bree Davies to talk through what happened over the weekend and the connections she sees with the increase in anti-queer rhetoric around the election.

Our friends at CPR have put together a list of resources and ways to help out the victims of the shooting: https://www.cpr.org/2022/11/20/colorado-springs-club-q-shooting-resources-how-to-help/

Find more of Heidi’s reporting here: https://coloradotimesrecorder.com/author/heidi-beedle/

We'll be covering the aftermath of the Club Q shooting in our weekday morning newsletter Hey Denver, which you can subscribe to by texting Denver to 66866.

Share your thoughts! Just leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬

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Mental Health with Marielle

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Does Denver Hate Hip-Hop? Plus, El Chapultepec's Future and Daddy Bruce's Thanksgiving Legacy Nov 18, 2022

Show notes

When city officials threatened to shut down yet another hip-hop club late last week — this time Roo-Bar Lounge at 3480 Park Avenue West — co-owner Jugurta Tighrine made a provocative allegation: “They don’t want hip-hop.” And in a city that has never made waves on the national hip-hop stage, we take on a big question: Does Denver have a hip-hop problem? Longtime promoter and champion of the local music scene Ru Johnson joins host Bree “Coco” Davies and producer Paul Karolyi to offer an insider’s take. Then we tackle a doozy of a listener-submitted question and hear from Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca on this weekend’s annual Feed-a-Family event in honor of “Daddy” Bruce Randolph and Rev. Ron Wooding.

Wanna volunteer or donate to support the Daddy Bruce Feed-a-Family Thanksgiving drive this weekend? Here’s the link to volunteer for a shift, and here’s the link to donate.

For the latest on the Boebert-Frisch race in CD3, here’s a report from last night from the Colorado Sun.

Subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866.

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Possible School Closures Cast DPS Into Turmoil Nov 17, 2022

Show notes

With enrollment declining across Denver Public Schools and funding as scarce as ever, Superintendent Alex Marrero has thrust the highly dysfunctional DPS board into a controversial and traumatic debate over school closures. Parents, students, and activists are up in arms over his proposed “consolidations,” and for many board members, the issue is personal — past school closures motivated them to run for the board in the first place. So will the board approve his list of closures or somehow find another way out of this mess? Host Bree Davies talks to producer Paul Karolyi about how the district got into this situation; then she sits down with DPS board member Michelle Quattlebaum to talk about about why she’s approaching this vote differently than any other she’s cast before.

For more on the proposed closures, check out our friend at Chalkbeat Melanie Asmar’s recent reporting.

For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866

Leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬

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The Only Brunches Worth Waiting For Nov 16, 2022

Show notes

How long would you wait in line for a killer mimosa and huevos rancheros? What about a great bloody mary and a stack of pancakes? One of Denver’s most divisive brunch chains, Snooze, is opening a new location at 101 N Broadway this week, so we’re talking all things brunch. Host Bree Davies, producer Paul Karolyi, and newsletter editor Peyton Garcia are breaking down the best simple brunches, brunches for big groups, vegetarian brunches, and the big kahuna: What’s the best brunch in Denver?

Brunch spots mentioned in this episode:

For even more brunch, check out this piece from the Denver Post about the recent surge in brunch options around Denver. And for all the Snooze-heads out there, here’s a great article from Denver Eater on how they cracked the brunch code.

Subscribe to our weekday morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866

Leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬

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How to Make Better Edibles Nov 15, 2022

Show notes

The holidays are right around the corner. Wouldn’t it be fun if you could add a little something extra to your turkey and mashed potatoes… you know, like weed? Colorado’s decade of recreational weed has ushered in a growing movement of ambitious cannabis chefs — experts who have found new, interesting, and tasty ways to marry fine dining and fine bud. Today on the show, decorated culinary champ Jarod Farina of Chef Roilty cooks up a game-changer for the City Cast Denver crew. Farina explains how to easily make edibles at home, how to dose your meals properly, and answers our burning question: did he get Bobby Flay high on TV or what?

Plus! We’re giving away a night of in-home fine dining with Chef Farina! All you have to do is leave us a voicemail with your worst edibles experience, and you will be entered to win a private dinner for four with a decorated cannabis chef — a $500 value. Call 720-500-5418 and tell us your worst weed-eating story. Deadline to enter is midnight on November 20, 2022.

But if you don’t want to risk it, you can book Chef Farina through his website and peruse his various how-to guides there too.

Check out Hey Denver, our weekday local-centric newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

We are on Twitter: @citycastdenver

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Mayoral Candidate Terrance Roberts Is More Than ‘A Former Gang Member’ Nov 14, 2022

Show notes

“The Holly” debuted at the Denver Film Festival earlier this month and caught a lot of local attention. Based on a book by investigative journalist Julian Rubinstein, “The Holly” centers on Terrance Roberts, a former gang member who left that life behind and returned to his Park Hill neighborhood to work as a community activist. But things went sideways and Roberts found himself targeted in an alleged conspiracy involving Denver police and local government officials. The book and the documentary have generated a lot of interest over the last year, only to be made more fascinating when Roberts announced his candidacy for mayor. Regular contributor Theo Wilson also grew up in Park Hill, and met Roberts through various community circles. He joins host Bree Davies to talk about what makes Terrance Roberts such a compelling mayoral candidate.

Bree mentioned this earlier City Cast Denver episode with Terrance Roberts himself and author Julian Rubinstein.

Subscribe to Hey Denver, our kickass morning newsletter, by texting “Denver” to 66866

Hi, we’re on Twitter: @citycastdenver

Leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬

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Boebert on the Brink, Legal 'Shrooms, and Native Comedy Nov 11, 2022

Show notes

Election day might be over, but Colorado’s still reckoning with some big decisions voters made this midterm, annnnd we have questions: What’s going to happen with Congressional District 3, where MAGA darling Lauren Boebert is in a shockingly close race with Democrat Adam Frisch? And what about the decriminalization of psychedelics? This is the beginning of what could be a massive industry, but will it even be commercialized in the first place? And does our back-to-back NBA MVP Nikola Jokić have a role in our electoral outcome? Producer Paul Karolyi, host Bree Davies and Westword editor-in-chief Patty Calhoun tackle all these questions and more, plus some special hot takes from some of City Cast Denver’s favorite contributors.

Paul mentioned the city’s new Business Facade Improvement Program, the Colorado Sun’s oral history of the fight for legal weed ten years ago, and Westword’s interview with indigenous comic Josh Emerson about the Native Comedy Showcase at the Hi Dive this Sunday.

Get more deets on the City Cast Denver official “maybe” event of the week (as in maybe we’ll be there!) in editor Peyton Garcia’s newsletter, Hey Denver! You can also subscribe by texting DENVER to 66866.

We are definitely still on Twitter, ‘til that ship sinks: @citycastdenver

Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

Denver Film Festival (11/2 - 11/13)

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EMERGENCY POD: Is Lauren Boebert Losing? Nov 11, 2022

Show notes

Like so many other Coloradans, we are watching with bated breath as the race for Colorado’s Congressional District 3 goes down to the wire. We never saw it coming, but it seems like MAGA celebrity congresswoman Lauren Boebert could actually lose. Ballots are still trickling in from across the southern and western Colorado, so host Bree Davies called up Pueblo Chieftain politics reporter Anna Lynn Winfrey, who has been camped out at the Pueblo Clerk and Recorder’s office reporting on what could turn out to be the upset of the year.

Check out Anna Lynn Winfrey’s coverage of the CD3 race for the Pueblo Chieftain.

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