2 Life on Capitol Hill
February 1, 2024Fe
A record year of crashes: Why are Denver streets more dangerous than ever?
D
enver just ended another record year for traffic crashes. As of Dec. 31, Denver recorded 422 serious bodily injury crashes in 2023. That’s more than any year since 2013, when the city’s Vision Zero — a multi-government attempt locally to eliminate all pedestrian and cyclist deaths — data begins. Alongside serious injury crashes, the city reported 83 fatal crashes, which could surpass the 2021 record of 84 once year-end data is updated. By comparison, there were 292 serious injury crashes and 47 fatal crashes in 2013. While Denver’s 20% population growth since that time might be one factor behind the increase, it doesn’t explain it all. Serious injury crashes have increased nearly 45% over
the same period. Pedestrians made up a disproportionate share of those fatally killed by drivers in 2023. Recent surveys estimate about 5% of Denverites are walking commuters, yet pedestrians made up nearly one-third of all people killed in crashes last year. Another factor might be the decrease of Denver Police traffic enforcement. Between 2018 and 2022, there has been a significant decline in the number of speeding tickets given out. In 2018 there were 44,905 speeding tickets issued, according to Denver County Court. In 2022, that number dropped to 15,268 speeding citations. As of midDecember, the 2023 numbers were
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similar at 15,661 speeding tickets. Jill Locantore, executive director of the Denver Streets Partnership, a nonprofit coalition advocating for peoplefriendly streets, asserted that this is a predictable outcome from public policy over the last few decades, and that everything from vehicle design to the way streets are made has contributed to a rise in injury crashes. Locantore also noted that in the last few years there has been a big change in travel patterns due to more flexible work models like remote and hybrid jobs. “Traffic is distributed more evenly throughout the day,” Locantore said, “and our street system was designed to accommodate rush-hour traffic. And so a lot of our arterial streets are way overbuilt for other times of the day. And now that traffic is more evenly distributed throughout the day, and not so much congested in those rush-hour times, it just makes it that much easier for people to speed and drive recklessly when they have these huge streets that are overbuilt for the volume of traffic.” Locantore added that new-vehicle design is another contributor to crash severity. Many new vehicles, including some EVs, are larger and heavier than their older counterparts and have tremendous acceleration. “It’s just not surprising at all that people are driving faster and faster and are less attentive to the safety of people outside of their vehicles,” she said. “We are all feeling that and experiencing that on our streets.” Locantore didn’t feel there is good evidence that police officer-initiated traffic enforcement impacts safety. She noted that the sporadic nature of enforcement and lack of consistency means that driver behavior doesn’t change on the aggregate. She called increasing officer-initiated enforcement a “knee-jerk reaction” given the design of our streets invites drivers to speed. “We know (increasing officer-initiated enforcement) is going to have the biggest impact on people of color and low-income communities, and exacerbate injustices there,” she said. She said there is good evidence for more automated enforcement, or the use of speed and red-light cameras, to improve driver behavior and long-term impacts on safety, since these are in use at all hours of the day every day of the
year. “There is no reason that in the next year the city couldn’t stand up an automated speed-enforcement program focused on the high-injury network, again with equity in mind,” said Locantore. “So there is lots of communication and advanced warning, and they start by just issuing warning tickets bfore they start issuing real tickets that charge money.” In 2014, New York City launched a speed camera program around schools during weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. to increase safety. In 2022, the city expanded that program as it found that speeding happens the most on nights and weekends. The expanded hours of the speed cameras resulted in a 30% decrease in speeding and a 25% decrease in traffic fatalities along the corridors where cameras were installed. New York City also saw a 20% decline in pedestrian deaths citywide in the first seven months of 2023. Locantore said that Denver can focus on changing the design of streets in the longer term to prevent speeding. She said she was very pleased that CDOT is adding bus rapid transit to streets like East Colfax Avenue, Federal Boulevard and Colorado Boulevard as that will help change the design of those streets for the safer. In addition, she mentioned that Denver can do a much better job of adding speed tables, or speed bumps, and diverters to residential streets to increase safety in neighborhoods. “If they can start putting them more consistently throughout neighborhoods, that’s how you start getting the behavior change … and that makes it impossible to go 50 mph down these streets,” said Locantore. Locantore said that DOTI could be more efficient at building out trafficcalming measures if it had an internal team dedicated to neighborhood traffic calming, instead of relying on external contractors. Similar to how Denver has a dedicated city team that fills potholes. “The city does a great job of planning and design work,” she said, “but actually building stuff, that is where the bottlenecks often happen.” Allen Cowgill is the City Council District 1 appointee to the DOTI Advisory Board, where he serves as the board secretary.
Life on Capitol Hill 3
February 1, 2024
A place where people come together to share in the music and arts Swallow Hill Music brings on Jessy Clark as new CEO BY BRUCE GOLDBERG SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Jessy Clark brings an impressive portfolio of experience to her new role as chief executive officer of Swallow Hill Music, a nonprofit based at Yale and Broadway in Denver. And Clark fits right in. She’s been playing piano since she was 4 and has taken many Swal-
low Hill classes, including ukulele, bass guitar and acoustic guitar. “In addition to learning a new instrument, I’ve made some very good friends, people who are still students here,” Clark said. “I had the opportunity to experience what our students know. And to learn new things when you’re an adult is so important.” Clark has helped run Swallow Hill since July 2017 as its chief operating officer. In that role, she was responsible for the organization’s strategic vision, capital project operations and oversaw several departments.
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She was promoted to CEO in January. “Jessy (Clark) brings decades of experience in our arts and cultural community. I couldn’t be more excited for anybody to take over as the new CEO of Swallow Hill,” said Paul Lhevine, who formerly served as Swallow Hill’s CEO for about six years, and for the past two, has served as CEO for the Colorado Association of Nonprofit Organizations. “Jessy is a tremendous leader with a tremendous background, matched only by her passion for people and the music.” SEE TOGETHER, P12
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4 Life on Capitol Hill
February 1, 2024F
Beguiling audiences with storytelling Denver’s Wonderbound reimagines ‘Sleeping Beauty’ with a forceful princess, live tango music
Wonderbound’s theater is located at 3824 Dahlia St. in Denver. To learn more or purchase tickets, visit wonderbound.com.
wall of thorns. Her castle will have a distinctly mid-century modern feel. Ammon choreographs while in rehearsal with the dancers. Often, he said, the characters take on a life of their own. “Sometimes things I thought were … pivotal … won’t make any sense in the rehearsal process.” He compared it to writing a novel. “You discover things as you go along.” To create the ballet, Ammon said he read many coming-of-age stories about young girls entering their teenage years. He also looked backward in time. The name Talia, he said, comes from an earlier — and much grimmer — 17th-centuryItalian version of the fairy tale. Wonderbound’s retelling will also lean toward the dark side. “This is not Disney,” declares a press release.
BY KIRSTEN DAHL COLLINS SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
At Wonderbound ballet’s performance of “Wicked Bayou” this past fall, a zombie band played funky rock-and-roll on stage, while two children lost in the bayou tried to evade a snapping, 20-foot-long alligator. There were no tutus or pointe shoes in sight. That’s nothing unusual at Wonderbound. The Denver dance company — which was honored with the 2013 Denver Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Arts & Culture and a major grant from the National Endowment for the Arts — is nudging ballet into the 21st century with dramatic storytelling, live rock and pop artists, and powerful ballerinas who sometimes lift their male partners instead of vice versa. After relocating 10 times in 10 years, Wonderbound recently settled into permanent headquarters: a cleverly renovated 1920’sairplane hangar in Denver’s Northeast Park Hill neighborhood. New features include retractable seating, which allows the troupe to transform its enormous theater into two spacious practice studios. In the company’s new, onsite scene shop, production manager Eleanor Moriarty can hammer and saw to her heart’s content — since a six-inch thick freezer door blocks all noise from the stage. Led by husband-and-wife team Garrett Ammon and Dawn Fay, who live in Adams County, the 12-member troupe is Denver’s second largest dance company. As former principals with Ballet Memphis, both Ammon and Fay are accomplished dancers in their own right. Both are retired from the stage but if anything, their explosive creativity has only increased – enlivening the local arts scene with full-length, original story ballets, often in collaboration with local musicians, visual artists, poets and even a local magician. In a way,
A beehive of creativity
Wonderbound Artistic Director Garrett Ammon poses with the mid-century modernstyle sets he designed for “Beauty Awakening.” A retired ballet dancer, Ammon is primarily involved in choreography and draws on a life-long love of visual arts to PHOTO BY TIM COLLINS create the right setting for each of his ballets.
their collaborative approach evokes the birth of contemporary ballet in turn-of-the-century Paris, when impresario Sergei Diaghilev gathered dancers, composers, artists and writers together to form the legendary Ballets Russes. A mid-century modern fairy tale
On Feb. 22, Wonderbound will raise the curtain on “Awakening
Beauty,” a new ballet created by Artistic Director Ammon and Denver musician Tom Hagerman, known for his Grammy-nominated band, DeVotchKa. The story draws on Peter Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet, “Sleeping Beauty.” In Ammon’s version, the young heroine, Talia, will take charge of her own journey to adulthood instead of snoozing while Prince Charming hacks his way through a
In addition to creating the story and choreography for “Awakening Beauty,” Ammon also designed the striking, geometric sets. “Here we wear a lot of hats,” he said. Fay, who serves as Wonderbound’s president, also wears many hats. As a classically trained ballerina, she has danced many a Sugar Plum Fairy — and when she isn’t fundraising, writing grants, working on the budget or meeting with the board, she teaches classical technique and rehearses the dancers. She also designs all the costumes. As Ammon develops the story for each ballet, Fay works with him closely to make sure the costumes are a good psychological fit. Music from the bordellos
In setting this dark fairy tale to music, Hagerman said he used some of Tchaikovsky’s familiar themes, while creating a score that is largely new. His quartet, Grande Orquesta Navarre, will play tango-inflected melodies complete with the sensual wail of the bandoneon. SEE STORYTELLING, P15
Life on Capitol Hill 5
February 1, 2024
Their souls into soles Shoeshining and repairs bring purpose to local craftsmen BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
In 1838, photographer Louis Daguerre captured what is often cited as the first-ever photograph of a person. The black-and-white image shows buildings and trees lining a cobblestone street in Paris. Although it was a busy street, the length of the photographic exposure rendered the passersby and horse traffic invisible in the final image. But on that spring day more than 185 years ago, two individuals remained still enough to show up in the photo. In the bottom left-hand corner, on the sidewalk near the street, one person polishes another’s shoes. The photograph unexpectedly became a time capsule of the ageold tradition of shoeshining, which although less common than it once was, continues to be an indispensable part of some people’s personal and professional routines. From Denver to Centennial, several shoeshine and shoe repair craftsmen aim to make their customers’ lives sparkle by providing service, beauty and powerful interpersonal connections. The skill of shoe repair
For Edward Koinov, the owner of Re-Nu Shoe Repair in Centennial, business is buzzing. Over the course of an hour one Friday in December, customers entered Koinov’s shop in a continuous stream — asking him for advice, getting quotes or picking up their shoes. In addition to shining, Koinov changes soles, replaces heels, adds stitching, makes color corrections and sometimes even adds embellishments. And because he knows what he’s doing with leather, people often bring in other items, like purses and bags. “I’ll never say no,” he said, unless
Vincent Robinson started his own business after falling in love with the art of shoeshining while working at the Denver International Airport shoeshine stand. PHOTO BY NINA JOSS
a customer requests an impossible repair. “Most of them, I fix.” Koinov’s space reflects the popularity of his service, which seems to have bounced back after a lull during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of shoes sit on shelves, awaiting repairs and pickups. And despite rising costs of supplies, Koinov is making things work. He said he works on about 25 pairs of shoes per day, and business is especially busy in the winter. “People love shoes,” he said. Koinov, who grew up in Russia, learned to make shoes from scratch in a factory when he was 17 years old. In 1989, he moved to New York City and later relocated to Colorado for the weather and the mountains, he said. Previous to his shoe shop, Koinov opened a car dealership and a Russian restaurant in the metro Denver area. He said he lost money from both of these endeavors and decided to go back to his roots in the shoe business.
When asked why shoes are interesting to him, Koinov joked, “What am I going to be, a lawyer?” He said that people are good at different things — and for him, it’s always been shoes. “This is not one year, two years to learn this job,” he said. “This job is years (and) years. You need to know how to fix the shoes. You need to know this job.” The ‘secret recipe’
North of Centennial, another tenured shoe professional, Vincent Wayne Robinson, owns his own shoeshining company in Denver. Like Koinov, Robinson fell into the shoe business as a teenager. He was working with a carpenter on converting a grocery store into a nightclub in Oklahoma City in the 1970s. At 17 years old, Robinson wanted to attend the nightclub once it opened — but he knew he was too young to get in. So when chatting with the club owner one day during construction, he had what he
calls a “vision.” Out of the blue, he asked the owner if he had ever considered having a shoeshine stand in the club. “The thought came from me, out of nowhere,” he said. “I felt like something spoke through me, because it was nothing I was conscious of. I know that’s crazy, but that’s the way it was.” Robinson had no experience in shining shoes, but he told the club owner that he could provide the service. He asked his cousin, a reliably confident person, to join him in the endeavor. With little to no experience, the two of them started a gig shining shoes at the club. “I started figuring it out — it became a nice little hustle,” Robinson said. “But it didn’t come to a business until I moved to Colorado.” In the early 2000s, Robinson started working at the shoeshine stand at Denver International Airport. There, he said, he learned how to shine professionally. “I learned so much from the owner,” he said. “And that’s where the love began.” After that, Robinson decided to open up his own company, Vincent’s Shoe Shine of Cherry Creek, which now operates out of a space on Ogden Street in Denver, among other locations. The process of shining a shoe, Robinson said, is a “secret recipe” of cleaning, conditioning, waterproofing and “spit-shining.” In the past, people would use saliva for the shining part of the process — but these days, Robinson said “spit-shining” involves using a water mist and a specific motion with a rag. He said shoeshining is an art, and that it’s an important process to add longevity to leather shoes. “Some people, they may have a pair of shoes that they can’t really find again,” he said. “We come in a situation where it’s their grandfather’s shoe, it’s their mom’s shoe … it’s just an item that they really love and cherish.” Robinson said the way a person looks at the shoeshining business is important, and people who look at it wrong may struggle to stay afloat in it. SEE SOLES, P7
6 Life on Capitol Hill
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if we reframed it to realize we don’t actually have to do it all, and that asking for help is OK. 2. TO-DO lists are long for everyone, but especially for families and working parents. Don’t compare what’s on your list, or how much you
ebruary is the time of year that there’s just a lull. The weather is cold and we still have roughly a month before we ‘spring forward’ to longer, warmer FROM THE days. But there is one EDITOR thing that brings a little sweetness to this month – Girl Scout cookies. I love Girl Scout cookie season for a couple of reasons. First, I don’t think a cold Friday or SatChristy Steadman urday night can be better spent than snuggling up with some warm throw blankets – and my cats – and streaming a beloved movie while munching on some yummy cookies. Secondly, it’s fun to support local Girl Scouts because I know that every purchase goes to a good cause. Cookie season is when the Girl Scouts have an opportunity to apply and practice lifelong skills. These include – but are certainly not limited to – goal-setting, decision-making, money management, people skills and business ethics. All of the proceeds stay local, too. Girl Scouts can use their cookie sales revenue to fund individual troop needs. For example, they can use their cookie money to purchase supplies for a community project, or to pay for each troop member’s admission to a museum. Of course, they can also use the money for fun things like a day at Elitches or to send each troop member to summer camp. But any way that they choose to spend their cookie money will provide an invaluable life experience and priceless memories for them.
SEE DUO, P7
SEE STEADMAN, P7
LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com
MICHAEL DE YOANNA Editor-in-Chief michael@coloradocommunitymedia.com
CHRISTY STEADMAN Editor csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com
LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com
ERIN ADDENBROOKE Marketing Consultant eaddenbrooke@coloradocommunitymedia.com
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Columnists & Guest Commentaries Columnist opinions are not necessarily those of Life on Cap Hill. We welcome letters to the editor. Please include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone. Email letters to csteadman@ coloradocommunitymedia.com Deadline 5 p.m. on the 20th of each month for the following month’s paper.
Girl Scout cookies can make cold February days a lot sweeter
“Honoring Cleo Parker Robinson” This mazetorial pays tribute to Cleo Parker Robinson and her nonprofit dance company, which has been inspiring movement in Denver and beyond for 53 years. To solve, start at either ‘S’ found in the top left and lower right corners, and maze-out to the ‘W’ for win located above the portrait.
Ask for help already Life is busy. There aren’t enough hours in the day, yet we feel the need to do it all. But do we have to? In the three years since we found our small business, TULA – which is an app-based personal assistant service – we’ve learned why people need to ask for help and how we can support our amazing clients. This list is by no means everyone’s Top 10, but we would guess it might feel pretty relatable to many. 1. There just isn’t enough time in the day to do it all. We’re starting with the obvious here. But beyond that, what
LIFE BALANCED
Megan Trask and Cody Galloway
Life on Capitol Hill 7
February 1, 2024
SOLES FROM PAGE 5
“I choose to look at it from the same point of view that I learned from somebody who understood the fiber of just having a shoeshine in their business,” he said. “They know it’s for a certain customer — it won’t be for everybody — but that certain customer is definitely going to be a person who has a lot of pride in what they do.” Connecting across a shoeshine stand
Even more than an art form, shoeshining is a valuable social experience for some in the business. Starting as close family friends, Robinson trained Dominick Martinez in shoeshining. They started working together after Martinez
DUO FROM PAGE 6
get done, to others. Instead, focus on crossing things off that serve you the most, look for opportunities to outsource others and eliminate or cross off the things that don’t serve you. 3. Dividing up TO-DOs can be stressful and overwhelming in a partnership. If you haven’t already checked out Eve Rodsky’s “Fair Play,” we highly recommend you do so. She has created tools and systems to foster communication, active partnering and mental load management. 4. Doing it all with no partner levels up the stress and can be over-
STEADMAN FROM PAGE 6
In turn, cookie customers can be assured that they are purchasing a quality product. None of the Girl Scout cookie varieties contain trans fat, and every cookie ingredient and other nutritional information can be found on littlebrowniebakers. com. Some cookies even adhere
finished high school, and it’s been an important part of Martinez’s life since then. “I’m a person that’s capable … of doing anything,” Martinez said. “But I kinda never left this situation … It’s always come back around full circle to this.” For him, the purpose of shoeshining has little to do with shoes. Instead, it’s about the people. “Sometimes, some people like that one-on-one kind of interaction,” he said. “It’s refreshing. It’s not about what you pay for, it’s about what you get in the process.” He compared the shoeshining experience to going to a barbershop or a beauty salon — where people come partially for the service itself, but largely for the connection with the person providing it. He said this human connection is something that artificial intelli-
gence can’t take away. “There’s a reason why you need that interaction,” he said. “It don’t matter what’s going on behind that interaction — but our problem is we don’t let that interaction happen anymore, and this lets the interaction happen. You can’t put a price on that.” Robinson, who also said the customers are his favorite part of the job, said he hopes his company can help share the tradition of shoeshining. At his shop in Denver, he teaches courses to train the next generation of shiners. “I started out with my kids, we started out with (Martinez’s) kids,” he said. “Now, we’re gonna manufacture it into a classroom situation.” Martinez added that shoeshining is a trade that can help young indi-
viduals get on their feet and support themselves. “We always need those trades and those personal interactions,” he said. Robinson said shoeshining is a great way to teach kids about creating things and making money at a young age. “At the end of the day, we want to see fathers and sons sitting in their garage, doing these things together, and just keep putting (relationships) between people,” he said. “Everybody has to walk around with shoes.” When reflecting on the tradition, Martinez referenced the early French photograph of shoeshining. “This came a long time before us and it’s gonna be here a whole lot longer,” he said. “And there’s a reason for that … The interactions are something different.”
whelming. We’re looking at you, single parents and primary caregivers. Give yourself grace, take inventory of what you can actually accomplish, prioritize what matters most, and focus there first. 5. Sometimes we just do not want to spend time doing the things on our TO-DO list that are a real drag, and that is OK. Laundry, meal planning, scheduling appointments, finding a handyman, etc. Do these things ever really get checked off? Outsource whatever you can and move on. 6. If we do manage to find ways to do all of the things on our list, it can come with a significant risk of burnout, resentment and mental overload that is simply not sustainable. Pay attention to those feelings creeping in and take note.
7. Allowing our lists to drive our priorities means we will often miss out on doing the things we love, need and want to do. Kiddo activities, family time, and the one we often sacrifice the most: self-care. Exercise, meditation, creative outlets, passion projects, rest – all these things support us as we support others. It is so important to keep those things on the list. 8. Your time is worth the most, and that’s simple math, really. If what you’d pay to outsource something on your list outweighs the value of your time – in both dollars and relief – you should outsource. 9. Because you can! And you shouldn’t feel guilty. It doesn’t mean you have to pay for help either. Ask a friend, swap time – swap doing the things you like better and vice versa.
10. Shifting your mindset to realize that doing less actually means doing more – more of what matters, more of what lights you up, more of what serves the life you aim to have. Realizing this is an absolute game changer and that realization is both empowering and freeing. Asking for help is the ultimate life hack – a flex of your confidence to know what you can and can’t do, self-care while you care for so many others. So, start shifting your mindset away from that feeling of having to do it all, say goodbye to the guilt and lean into what matters most. Megan Trask and Cody Galloway are Denver residents and co-founders of TULA Life Balanced. Learn more about their business at tulabalanced.com.
to dietary needs – Thin Mints are vegan and Toffee-tastics are glutenfree. Speaking of being a quality product, Girl Scout cookies remain affordable – while everything else seems to be affected by inflation, Girl Scout cookies still cost $5 or $6 per package. And all of your favorites will be available. This year’s cookie season runs from Feb. 4 through March 10, and there are two ways to get cookies.
1. The tried-and-true booth sales: You will probably see Girl Scout booths set up at various retailers, but there is a mobile app or the Cookie Finder online to help you find them. To use the latter, visit girlscoutsofcolorado.org, and select Find Cookies. Enter your zip code and a new window will provide you with a list of dates, times and locations of a local Girl Scout cookie sales booth. 2. The Digital Cookie: If you know a Girl Scout, this might be the most
direct way to get your cookies. Your Girl Scout might send you an invite to purchase cookies from her Digital Cookie site, but you can also ask her for her Digital Cookie link. Through Digital Cookie, you pay online and cookies can be shipped. If you are local to the Girl Scout you are ordering from, you can also inquire about delivery. Happy Girl Scout cookie season, Denver. I can’t wait to get my hands on some Thin Mints and Samoas!
8 Life on Capitol Hill
February 1, 2024F
Denver looks to establish comprehensive homelessness solutions
Before and after photos of an encampment near a downtown Denver post office that was recently cleared. PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE DENVER MAYOR’S OFFICE
BY NATALIE KERR SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
T
wo weeks after the City of Denver’s House1000 initiative ended — which aimed to get at least 1,000 unhoused individuals into shelter by the end of 2023 — Denver experienced some of its coldest temperatures in the past century. Between Jan. 12 and 16, the low hit negative 19, and adding in the wind chill, made it feel as cold as negative 30. At these temperatures, frostbite can set in within 30 minutes and hypothermia risks rise dramatically. For someone experiencing street homelessness, a freezing weekend like that can be deadly. “We’re just completely thrilled that (more) people are not having to stay outside in the cold,” said Cole Chan-
dler, who serves as Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s senior advisor on homelessness resolution. “We don’t believe that people should have to sleep on the streets of our city, and so we’re going to continue to do everything we can to bring people indoors, and then help get them into long term permanent housing outcomes.” The House1000 initiative surpassed its goal of sheltering 1,000 individuals by Dec. 31. As of Jan. 29, of the 1,181 total people who moved indoors, 24% are in permanent housing while the remainder are in temporary shelter. The Point-in-Time count, an annual 24-hour count of unhoused people living both unsheltered and in temporary shelters, recorded 5,818 homeless individuals in Denver County on Jan. 30, 2023. The 2024 Point-in-Time count oc-
curred on Jan. 22 and numbers are expected to be released later this year. Denver has faced dramatic increases in homelessness in the last decade. As part of Denver’s efforts to reduce chronic homelessness, the House1000 initiative sends street outreach teams to encampments across the city and offers every individual a path to housing if they choose to participate. Approximately 95% of offers were accepted, Chandler said. “We were really thrilled with the outcome of so many people accepting that offer,” Chandler added. Prior to House1000 and Mayor Johnston’s State of Emergency declaration on July 18, 2023, due to homelessness, encampments were cleared after a seven day notice, often just moved down the street with no one
obtaining indoor shelter. In years prior, the Denver Street Outreach Collaborative, the longest running street outreach program in the city, was able to house 265 people annually. Mayor Johnston’s new program brought four times as many people inside in less than six months. Denver Street Outreach also utilized Safe Outdoor Spaces, which are supervised and staffed outdoor campsites with sanitation and other services, which the city no longer regards as shelter, Chandler said. The new model uses micro-communities and converted hotels which can shelter individuals, families and pets while they work with Denver’s housing and other basic needs services to identify a permanent housing solution. SEE HOMELESS, P9
Life on Capitol Hill 9
February 1, 2024
HOMELESS FROM PAGE 8
Micro-communities are a huband-spoke model, in which a person lives in a private bedroom – the spokes – but uses communal bathrooms, kitchens, offices and community spaces – the hub – for their other needs. Converted hotel rooms include private bathrooms and may have a kitchenette. Residents at both shelter types are offered three meals per day and both shelter types also include wraparound services, such as individual case management, to identify permanent housing, and physical and behavioral health care. The city currently operates 1,173 units in five converted hotels – three being in north Denver and one in southeast Denver – and three micro-communities, which are located in the Central Park, Overland and Golden Triangle, respectively. Permanent housing options differ based on an individual’s needs, Chandler said, but can include supportive housing, which means every person in the building has experienced homelessness; the home of a friend or family member who can support them; or subsidized housing. House1000 Progress Dashboards
The city has been making its progress on House1000 available to the public on its House1000 Progress Dashboards on its website. However, one caveat to the success reported on the dashboards are factual errors that occurred in late 2023. On Dec. 14, 9News reported that the dashboards showed the total number of people who moved indoors for any length of time, even if they later returned to homelessness, thus inflating the success of the initiative. “There was never a discrepancy between the number of people moved indoors on the dashboard and the possibility that some of those individuals may have returned to homelessness,” the mayor’s office wrote in an email. “During the early days of the initiative, the administration set a 14-day ‘internal measure of success.’ That timeline was set after referencing the federal guidelines of one day. The dashboard has consistently shared correct data. However, the issue arose when we learned the
numbers on the dashboard didn’t reflect the 14-day timeline.” House1000 is far from over, Chandler said. Denver will continue this initiative in 2024 and is adding additional services to improve outreach, create more shelter units and transition more people to permanent housing, he said. “The primary piece of our strategy is that all 800 people that have come indoors during encampment resolution will … get into permanent housing,” Chandler added. Housing is out of reach for many
The city is also investing in the socioeconomic factors that contribute to people entering the homelessness cycle. These investments include eviction protection, rental assistance and extended unemployment. Creating more affordable housing is also a top priority for the city. The Colorado Sun reported that Colorado is the eighth most expensive state to rent or purchase a house in. The cost of living in Denver is 5% higher than the state average and 11% higher than the national average, according to RentCafe, which compiles data from the annual Cost of Living Index. Many people end up homeless because they’ve lost their home and can’t afford to be rehoused, which often requires an upfront payment for the first and last month of rent and a security deposit, as well as proof of income and the cost purchasing furniture, said Cathy Alderman, chief communications and public policy officer for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. “Housing is extremely out of reach for most folks, especially those living on lower incomes, fixed incomes or who are currently experiencing homelessness,” Alderman said. “There’s just not enough housing available to those households, either.” The coalition operates about 2,000 units of housing in Colorado and also provides health care services, education and advocacy outreach programs. People experiencing homelessness often can’t meet their health needs, and street homelessness typically exacerbates a mental health condition or substance use disorder, Alderman said. Denver’s Department of Housing Stability, or HOST, engages individuals who may be at risk for becoming unhoused, those in temporary shelters and those currently un-
housed to help meet their individual needs and pull them out of the cycle of homelessness. Those needs can vary from shortterm rent or utility assistance to comprehensive support, said Lana Dalton, interim deputy director of Housing Stability & Homelessness Resolution at HOST. “It’s really important that when we’re looking at how we make sure that folks are staying in their homes – and they’re staying stable where they’re living – that we are making sure that we’re providing the appropriate resources for those individuals,” Dalton said. This kind of support is also crucial in ensuring people who come into contact with housing services don’t fall back into housing instability, and the city’s investments in permanent, affordable housing and homelessness prevention are integral to the long-term success of House1000, Dalton said. “This was just a first step, now we’re really trying to work on those permanent housing solutions,” Dalton said. “We provided a life-saving measure, particularly around cold weather months, to get people into non-congregate shelters and micro-communities. But now is really the time to start working on – and ramping up – getting people into a permanent solution.” For some, this support may need to be extensive, or even lifelong, to maintain stable housing, health and basic needs. The ability to provide this kind of long-term support often relies on what resources are available locally or federally, Dalton said. Currently, resources available to provide this kind of care in Denver don’t match the existing needs in the community. “We don’t have permanent supportive housing available for everybody that needs it right now, that’s active in our community, and that’s really unfortunate,” Dalton added. But affordable housing is increasing with new programming. HOST helped open 61 new affordable apartments in the Cole neighborhood in January, all of which are income restricted to up to 80% of the area median income, which is $66,300 for a single-person household. One-third of the apartments serve households earning less than 30% of the area median income, according to a Denver press release. A total of 2,131 affordable units
that have received city financing are currently under construction at 29 sites throughout Denver, according to HOST. An additional 291 income-restricted units are in the planning stage. Often, supportive housing and wraparound services are less expensive to provide than relying on emergency services like hospitals, jails and temporary shelters, Alderman, with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, said. Ideally people can access these services as long as they need until they can graduate away from needing them, she added. For example, the coalition helped found the Denver Social Impact Bond program in 2016 to provide housing and supportive case management services to homeless individuals who frequently accessed emergency services. The program saves the city an average of $29,000 per resident in emergency-related costs, and only requires half as much money to house them and provide support services. This kind of service is a “housing first” model, which relies on the concept that without stable housing, it is difficult or even impossible for an individual to address any other challenges contributing to their homelessness. But this can’t be “housing only,” because without supportive services, many people will fall back into the cycle of housing instability, Alderman said. “We’re always going to have higher-need individuals in our communities,” Alderman said. “It’s our responsibility to take care of them, especially if they can’t take care of themselves.” Johnston’s commitment to solving homelessness in Denver is a symbol of the dramatic shift in how the state is addressing housing and homelessness, Alderman said. “This really is a new approach to bring people off the streets indoors to safer places, and it is going to save people’s lives,” Alderman said. The city is hopeful that this comprehensive approach will not only help get more individuals into stable, permanent housing, but also prevent others from entering the homelessness cycle. Though the mayor’s office is proud to have reached its 1,000 person goal by the deadline, it only marks the beginning of its intentions to end homelessness in Denver, Chandler said. “We will keep working until every single person on our streets has a safe place to be,” Chandler said.
10 Life on Capitol Hill
February 1, 2024F
Love is in the air, but that’s not all that’s happening in Denver this month. From learning how to repair a clock to running around in your underwear, February has some fun and interesting things to do. site. There are some school performances on various dates, with the public performances being offered at 10 a.m. on Feb. 10, 18 and 25 at the JCC Denver’s Elaine Wolf Theatre, 350 S. Dahlia St. Tickets cost $11.50 and can be purchased online at jccdenver.org/denver-childrens-theatre. Cupid’s Undie Run Denver
Orchid Showcase
While chatting with one of my neighbors in early January, I found out that she volunteers with the Denver Botanic Gardens. When I mentioned that I’m a journalist and the York Street location is within my coverage area, she wanted to make sure all my readers knew about the Denver Botanic Gardens’ Orchid Showcase. So, here are the details: The Orchid Showcase runs through Feb. 19 at the gardens’ York Street location in Denver. It features hundreds of orchids, including some rare ones from the gardens’ collection. On Feb. 3, 10 and 17, Fantasy Orchids of Louisville will be onsite with orchids available for purchase. Entry to the Orchid Showcase is included with general admission to the Denver Botanic Gardens. For more information, visit botanicgardens.org. Photo: The Denver Botanic Gardens’ Orchid Showcase runs through Feb. 19. Photo by Scott Dressel-Martin/courtesy of Denver Botanic Gardens.
Don’t be surprised if you see a bunch of people running around Denver in their underwear on Feb. 24 – they are participants of the annual Cupid’s Undie Run. Cupid’s Undie Runs are taking place across the nation to raise money for research to help end neurofibromatosis, a rare genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body. The Denver event begins at noon at Stoney’s Bar and Grill, 1111 Lincoln St., with drinking and dancing, followed by a jog/run for about a mile. The event culminates with a dance party. Registration is $45 per participant. To register or learn more, visit cupids.org/cupids-undie-run.
Honor a loved one with flowers at Civic Center Park
A play just for kids
I promote local theater a lot in this column, but mostly they are performances that teens and adults would enjoy. Now it’s time to mention one just for kids. The Staenberg - Loup Jewish Community Center’s Mizel Arts and Culture Center’s Denver Children’s Theatre is performing “Tomás and The Library Lady,” a play adapted by Jose Cruz Gonzalez from the book with the same name written by Pat Mora. It is about a boy who is the son of migrant farm workers who meets a librarian who introduces him to the wonderful world of books. It is suitable for children in grades 1-8, according to the JCC Denver’s web-
called DIY for the Homeowner. It will cover topics that a homeowner would need to know for a variety of DIY projects – electrical, carpentry, plumbing and even safety and tool basics. This class also runs for eight weeks and takes place on Saturdays beginning on Feb. 17. Both classes take place at Emily Griffith Technical College’s Branch campus at 1205 Osage St. in Denver. Enrollment costs $395. To apply for these classes or any others visit,emilygriffith.edu/apply/. Photo: Emily Griffith Technical College is bringing back its popular Clock Repair class this February. Photo courtesy of Emily Griffith Technical College.
Take a class at Emily Griffith
Emily Griffith Technical College is bringing back a community favorite continued education course, and adding a new one this month. The community favorite is Clock Repair, which according to a press release, has been offered at the school since just after World War II ended. In this eight-week course, students will learn the disassembly, cleaning, adjustment and rebuilding of the most common types of mechanical clocks available today. It is being offered on Fridays beginning on Feb. 16. The new course is
The Civic Center Conservancy is offering an opportunity to have flowers planted in Civic Center Park to honor a loved one. With a minimum $25 dollar donation, Civic Center Conservancy’s volunteer program, Civic Center SPARKLES, will plant the flowers in the park and the designated recipient will receive an eCard on Valentine’s Day letting them know that flowers are being planted in their honor. Proceeds benefit the SPARKLES program, which engages community volunteers with a focus on horticulture. Visit tinyurl.com/ CivicCenterFlowers to fill out the designation form. To learn more about the Civic Center Conservancy or its SPARKLES program, visit civiccenterpark.org. Photo: Civic Center SPARKLES will plant the flowers in the park in honor of loved ones this Valentine’s Day. Courtesy photo.
Life on Capitol Hill 11
February 1, 2024 cert, The Maestro and His Maestro, which takes place on Feb. 24 at Central Presbyterian Church, 1660 Sherman St. The concert will showcase the synergy between Maestros Lawrence Golan and Robert Spano, and conductors from the orchestra’s International Conducting Workshop will compete for a chance to return and conduct the orchestra at a future concert in the 2024-25 season. Tickets range from $12 for students to $30 for adults. As an added bonus, the orchestra is also inviting everyone to attend a special free pre-concert performance that does not require ticketing. So if you’d like to attend both performances, plan to arrive early because doors open at 5:45 p.m. for the pre-concert. Learn more or purchase tickets at denverphilharmonic.org. Photo: Maestros Lawrence Golan, left, and Robert Spano will be showcased at the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra’s upcoming concert on Feb. 24. Concert art designed by Ligature Creative. An adults-only night at the children’s museum
The Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus’ annual adults-only fundraiser, Joy on Tap, takes place from 7-10 p.m. Feb. 22 at the museum, 2121 Children’s Museum Drive. This 21+ craft beer event will allow guests to enjoy beer from local breweries and snacks, and experience the museum’s exhibits. Tickets cost $55 and all proceeds support the museum’s educational programming and initiatives. It is recommended to purchase tickets early, as this event sells out. To purchase tickets, visit mychildsmuseum.org. Photo: An attendee of a previous year’s Joy on Tap pours a beer from a local brewery. Photo courtesy of the Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus.
Stories on Stage: A Colorado Collection
Stories on Stage and Lighthouse Writers have teamed up to present A Colorado Collection. This event will showcase Colorado writers from across the state. The event takes place at 2 p.m. Feb. 18 at Su Teatro Cultural & Performing Arts Center, 721 Santa Fe Drive., in Denver. Cost is $26. To purchase tickets, visit storiesonstage. org. Stories on Stage and Lighthouse Writers have teamed up to present A Colorado Collection on Feb. 18. Courtesy photo.
Get ‘Footloose’ with MSU
Celebrate mentorship with Denver Philharmonic Orchestra
The Denver Philharmonic Orchestra is celebrating mentorship with its upcoming con-
Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Department of Theatre and Dance is presenting the musical, “Footloose,” by Dean Pitchford, Walter Bobbie and Tom Snow, and directed by Stephanie Faatz-Murry. Dates for the performances are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22-24, Feb. 29, and March 1-2; and 2:30 p.m. on March 3. All performances take place at the MSU Denver Courtyard Theatre at the King Center, 855 Lawrence Way, on the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver. Tickets cost $21 for adults of the general public, and $11 for seniors, students and MSU Denver faculty/staff. MSU students are free with ID. Children younger than 5 are not permitted in the theater. To purchase tickets, visit msudenver.edu/theatre-dance/ events-calendar. Photo: Image courtesy of Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Department of Theatre and Dance.
PLAN AHEAD: Live Irish music at Eugene Field library
Denver Public Library is inviting the community to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day early this year. The Eugene Field Branch Library, 810 S. University Blvd., is hosting McGurn’s Wake, a local band which will perform traditional Irish music, from 11 a.m. to noon on March 2. Denver City Council District 6 will be providing snacks. This event is free and family-friendly. To learn more, visit denverlibrary.org/event/live-irishmusic-mcgurns-wake. Photo: McGurn’s Wake will be performing at the Eugene Field Branch Library on March 2. Photo courtesy of R. Filipcazk.
12 Life on Capitol Hill
February 1, 2024Fe
TOGETHER FROM PAGE 3
A resident of Wheat Ridge, Clark’s background includes serving as senior vice president of operations at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, and involvement with the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, more commonly known as the SCFD. She holds a master’s degree in nonprofit management from Regis University, and is a graduate of the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation’s Leadership Denver. Clark’s new role as CEO of Swallow Hill keeps her busy as there’s plenty to do as the staff works to repopulate its programs after COVID forced Swallow Hill to put much of its programming on pause. Today, the organization’s membership has grown to about 950 people, up from 800 at the end of 2023. It was at about 1,000 pre-COVID.
“My fondness for Swallow Hill is the community building,” Clark said. “It’s unlike anything that I’ve done in any other job I’ve ever had. It’s just such a fun and dedicated community.” Swallow Hill is the nation’s secondlargest acoustic school; Chicago’s Legendary Old Town School of Folk Music is the biggest. Swallow Hill turns 45 this year. Clark’s biggest challenge is trying to balance the bottom line with community work, she said. “Our track record shows that we build community here,” Clark said. “Our students, in particular, take classes over and over. People just stick with us.” Swallow Hill offers classes for all ages, and highly values introducing music to children, and has built strong ties to the community through the years. It continues to do so, presenting music programs for local schools, particularly the most underfunded ones.
It has also steadily rebuilt its concert list, now presenting about 300 concerts annually. Swallow Hill and the Denver Botanic Gardens have partnered to produce summer concerts at the latter location. That program is five years old and will have 10 concerts this summer. These are in addition to the Evenings Al fresco, which features smaller acts around the gardens. “It’s been a great partnership,” said Jennifer Riley-Chetwynd, director of marketing and social responsibility at the Denver Botanic Gardens. “She (Clark) has a super degree of organization and communication in any relationship that she oversees.” Also in the summers, Swallow Hill holds Wednesday night concerts featuring local talent at Four Mile Historic Park, and has done so for years. “At its core, Swallow Hill is a place where community comes together to share in music and to share in the arts,” Lhevine said. “But it’s more than that. When you see people in-
Jessy Clark on the job at Swallow Hill Music. Clark was named CEO of the organization in January. PHOTO COURTESY OF SWALLOW HILL MUSIC
teracting in the lobby, see the group class interaction, it goes beyond music. It’s a place where social capital is being created.”
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Life on Capitol Hill 13
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Life on Capitol Hill 15
February 1, 2024
STORYTELLING FROM PAGE 4
“I call it my ‘little devil box,’” said Hagerman, who finds the bandoneon tougher to play than its cousin, the accordion. In a nod to tango’s risqué origins, he named his quartet in honor of Denver’s Navarre Building, once home to a 19th-century brothel. A prolific musician who plays many instruments and operates two different bands, Hagerman said he especially enjoys working with Wonderbound. “When you write music for dance, there’s a storyline, there’s richness,” he said. “It’s definitely more fun when the focus is on these amazing dancers.”
In turn, Fay said working with musicians onstage is “a magical thing” that allows dancers to be in conversation with the music. Dancers drawn to the unconventional
Danielle Lieberman, who will dance the leading role of Talia in “Awakening Beauty,” started her career in competition hip hop. Ballet won her over when she was cast as a mouse in the Nutcracker at age 10. She was first drawn to Wonderbound by its nonconformist style, including the chance to leave her pointe shoes behind. “I felt dancing in pointe shoes held me back a little bit,” Lieberman said. Minus those stiffly reinforced soles, she said she felt more freedom of movement. “I discovered I could do a lot of
things I didn’t know I could do,” said the California-born dancer, who now lives in Denver’s Cherry Creek. “Our partnering requires the woman to handle the men just as much as they handle us. It’s very different from classical ballet which requires women to be light and dainty. This has taught me a lot more about being powerful,” Lieberman added. She also enjoys the company’s informal style, which encourages performers to connect with the audience. “We go out in the lobby and talk to people after the show. They’re so receptive. I just love that,” she said. In “Awakening Beauty,” she will dance a love scene with Nathan Mariano, who is also in his sec-
ond season with the company. He too enjoys Wonderbound’s kinetic style of partnering. “We’re not just hoisting women. Sometimes we’re on the floor, all tangled up together, using arms, legs, core — the entire body,” Mariano said. Growing up in northern Minnesota, Mariano was active in community theater. Now a resident of Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, he relishes the chance to dance in full-length dramatic works instead of the short, abstract ballets more common in contemporary dance. In fact, that’s what motivated him to audition for Wonderbound in the first place. “I love theater,” he said. “I love telling a story.” And that seems to be what Wonderbound does best.
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16 Life on Capitol Hill
February 1, 2024F
Filling seasonal gaps for availability of fresh, locally grown food Denver’s PineMelon partners with indoor growing vendors, delivers food year-round
To learn more about PineMelon, visit pinemelon.com. To learn more about Uller’s Garden, visit ullrsgarden.com.
BY MERYL PHAIR SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Despite near zero temperatures and heavily falling snow, two shipping containers at Uller’s Garden sprout vertical panels of lettuce, arugula and basil. Equal to five acres of land and using 95% less water, the hydroponic system feeds the growing rows of plants with essential nutrients from a constantly circulating water system while high efficiency LED lights supply them with all the sunshine they could need. “With this system we can maintain the same quality and consistency 365 days a year through the rain, snow, hail and whatever the future can throw at us,” said Nick Millisor, founder and CEO of Ullr’s. With a hyperlocal delivery zone of just five miles in central Denver, the hydroponic garden’s mission since its launch in 2022 has been to feed the local community and promote sustainability – including pursuing net zero operations – from their small niche on South Broadway in the Overland neighborhood. Originally from Breckenridge, naming the garden after the Norse god of snow was an easy choice for Millisor, as Uller’s strives to build community even in the middle of winter. In working to expand their impact while maintaining their local mission, Ullr’s recently partnered with online grocery platform PineMelon, a Denver-based organization that partners with local farmers, ranchers and producers to deliver quality products at fair prices. The garden’s romaine and butterhead lettuce, arugula and living lettuce heads are currently listed on the site’s app. Founded by tech entrepreneur Alexey Lee, PineMelon is modeled after sister company, Arbuz, which means watermelon in Russian –
Nick Millisor of Ullr’s Garden tends to hydroponic lettuce sold through PineMelon. PHOTO COURTESY OF PINEMELON
Kazakhstan’s most widely spoken language. With apt naming, a pinemelon is a distant cousin of the watermelon. Launched in Denver in 2022, their first day in business they received just over 10 orders. Now, with 3,000 membership subscriptions, PineMelon offers same-day delivery seven days a week, and delivers groceries in a roughly 30-minute radius of their 30,000-squarefoot warehouse located in Denver’s north side. With the convenience of their app, customers can select items that will be delivered in a twohour window between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. “We connect the local marketplace to consumers,” said Emma Alanis, local partnerships lead at PineMelon. “It’s a way for people to have the farmer’s market experience of meeting their community, meeting local artisans and farmers, and then having a convenient way to continue to purchase and support those people.” Previously a farmer herself, Alanis understands some of the unique challenges facing producers today. For every dollar spent at the grocery store, the farmer’s share is less than 15 cents as the often-complex chain of middlemen – from transportation, packing, cooling, buyers and
sellers – all need to get paid. “With PineMelon, we’re guaranteeing our farmers are going to see 85 cents of the dollar,” said Alanis. “We have a fair pricing model and a fair marketplace guarantee.” Farmers price their products and determine what they sell, while PineMelon takes 15% for fulfillment, last-mile delivery and card processing services. Currently, the grocery delivery service works with 12 family farms across Colorado. In addition to local products, the more than 6,000 items PineMelon offers include conventional options from wholesalers that provide staple items year-round. Farmers have also been using the service to sell small bouquets from extra flowers on their fields. All excess food is donated directly to Denver Food Rescue and the company uses sustainable packaging in the form of returnable totes, recyclable paper bags and limiting plastic in transportation. As PineMelon has grown, it has adjusted to fill the needs of the communities it serves. After a push by customers to source halal-certified meat options, PineMelon partnered with a couple of ranches to make those products available. While areas like Washington Park, Capitol
Hill and Central Park have been popular for grocery delivery, interest has been growing from customers outside of Boulder, so a Boulder delivery window will be opening in March. With Colorado’s short growing season – which is just about 100 days – Alanis said PineMelon is also starting to work with more local vendors growing in greenhouses and hydroponic containers that can source fresh products like chard, lettuce and kohlrabi year-round, especially during the winter months. For a new hydroponic farm like Uller’s Garden, Millisor said PineMelon has been a huge asset. After leaving a career in real estate in 2021 following a wave of climate disasters across the globe, Millisor was looking for a way to meaningfully contribute to the climate space. With his brother Luke Millisor and cousin Ian Randall on board, Ullr’s Garden was born. “They’ve helped us get a lay of the land,” said the hydroponic farmer. “There is no one size fits all solution to any of this. I’m always trying to think of not necessarily how to create a perfect world but how to make small adjustments, which PineMelon is all about.” In addition to working with the grocery delivery platform, Uller’s sells its produce to restaurants and through its Community Supported Agriculture program. Millisor said another benefit of the delivery service is that it saves the pollution created by people driving to grocery stores. “PineMelon is a way to get educated, but also to connect with different community members – from local farmers and nonprofits – who are working to fix our broken food system,” said Alanis. PineMelon’s new slogan, Act Like A Local, is all about encouraging people to participate, volunteer and understand where the food on their plates is coming from.