City Cast Denver

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Reimagining Police and Public Safety May 24, 2021

Show notes

Almost a year after George Floyd's murder, communities across the country are still grappling with police accountability. In Denver, a group of civic leaders, non-profit organizations and community members came together to address this issue, creating a Task Force to Reimagine Policing and Public Safety. They’ve spent the last year working on a massive report with more than 112 recommendations, and today city officials will get their first look at their report. Dr. Robert Davis, one of the lead organizers of the task force, says this goes beyond policing. It’s also about issues of housing, support for formerly incarcerated people and more. Dr. Davis joins host Bree Davies to dive into this ground-breaking report and talk about how the city can implement the task force’s recommendations.

Click here to read the task force’s full list of 5 strategies and 112 recommendations: http://www.denvertaskforce.org/uploads/1/2/5/5/125541169/reimagining__public_safety__recommendations_.pdf

And here’s the best place to find contact information for your City Council representative: https://www.denvergov.org/maps/map/councildistricts

Today at 4 p.m., the task force is hosting a rally outside the City and County Building in support of their 112 recommendations for change. Click here for details: https://www.facebook.com/events/4073110239378407/

Finally, sign up for the City Cast Denver newsletter for more on police accountability and other issues shaping Denver: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Preserving Family History Is More Important Than Ever May 21, 2021

Show notes

If the past year has left us with anything good, it’s a feeling of righteous urgency to make the most of the time we have with our loved ones. Enter: Mamabird Interviews, a new company founded by a local teacher and some of his students to help families embrace and preserve their histories. When we heard about the work they’re doing, we needed to know more, so we had City Cast Denver’s very own Peyton Garcia, who you know from our newsletter, try it out. Today on the show, host Bree Davies sits down with Peyton and one of Mamabird’s co-founders Areyana Proctor to talk through Peyton’s experience and the value of preserving family history.

BTW, when she’s not working with Mamabird, Areyana is kicking butt all up and down the quad. Last month, she was named Newman Civic Fellow at CU Boulder!

Learn more about Mamabird here: https://www.mamabirdinterviews.com/

And if you want, Peyton will send you an email every weekday morning with important Denver news and cool events. Subscribe here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Get more from us on Twitter: @citycastdenver

Aurora’s Mayor Defends His Camping Ban Proposal May 20, 2021

Show notes

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/Homelessness

For 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/denver

And get the tweets: @citycastdenver

Why Can't This Denver Couple Build an ADU for Their Disabled Mom? May 19, 2021

Show notes

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: @CityCastDenver

Subscribe to our newsletter for more news: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

What's at Stake in the DPS Superintendent Search May 18, 2021

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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-interviews

Also, follow Melanie on Twitter for more updates: @melanieasmar

And subscribe to our weekday morning newsletter for more Denver news and events: https://mailchi.mp/citycast/denver

Park Hill Golf Course (Part Two): The Developers Speak! May 17, 2021

Show notes

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-Meeting

If 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/denver

WTF is Happening With the Park Hill Golf Course? (Part One) May 14, 2021

Show notes

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: @citycastdenver

Get the morning newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/citycast/denver

The Distinctly Black Story of Colorado Barbecue May 13, 2021

Show notes

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.com

Head 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

The Other Side of a Famous Park Hill Gang Story May 12, 2021

Show notes

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.

Subscribe to our weekday morning newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/citycast/denver

Celebrating Denver’s Unique Japanese American History May 11, 2021

Show notes

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): @gilasakawa

Subscribe to our weekday morning newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/citycast/denver

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