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L i f e o n C ap i t o l H i l l • F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 5
Life on Capitol Hill Capitol Hill • Cheesman Park • City Park West • Congress Park • Uptown • Alamo Placita
Country Club • Cherry Creek North • South City Park • The Golden Triangle
FEBRUARY 2015
Secession in South City Park Frustrated residents form new RNO By J. Patrick O’Leary
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rustrated with the South City Park Neighborhood Association’s perceived lack of action on some neighborhood issues, about six dozen residents recently voted to form their own Registered Neighborhood Organization (RNO), Easthigh Neighbors. The new RNO, formed in December, encompasses a narrow strip bounded by 17th and Colfax running from Josephine east to the alley between Milwaukee and St. Paul. The parcel lies within northwest corner of the South City Park RNO’s boundaries, which are Colfax north to 23rd, and York east to Colorado. More than a thousand households are represented, said founding president Jim Hannifin. A handful of opinion-gauging and organizational meetings were held last fall, culminating in the formation and registration of the group Dec. 1. “We tried to get South City Park to address some of our issues,” Hannifin explained, but the previous leadership of that organization would or did not. “We felt we were getting snubbed.” He said South City Park elected a new president this year, but members of the new group felt it was a good idea to form. “South City Park doesn’t have a neighborhood plan,” said Hannifin, who has been active in neighborhood groups for more than 30 years. “It takes a long time, about a year, a lot of work. Then it has to be approved by City Council.” But it provides a blueprint for dealing with change, zoning, variances and other issues that does not change when RNO leadership turns over. Hannifin said they have a lot of issues with the city: the perceived attempt to turn East Colfax into an entertainment district (eight liquor licenses issued in the past year), needed restoration of Sullivan’s Gateway (Colfax & Elizabeth), traffic and development. Recent and potential high-density housing projects could bring up to 1,000 new households into the neighborhoods, Hannifin claims. And with more households and more pedestrians, many of whom (the elderly) may have trouble crossing intersections that have too-short crossing signals. And, he said, the stretch of Colfax from Steele to Colorado, devoid of traffic lights, has become a speedway. Hannifin recently stepped down as Easthigh Neighbors’ president, and Tony Vaida has taken the position. The board of the new RNO met Jan. 27 to set priorities for the coming year. For more information on Easthigh Neighbors, email Tony Vaida at tony@vaida.net.
Restaurant Week simplifies things
PHOTO BY JEFF HERSCH
CHRIS LOADED UP at Sprouts, 6th & Garfield. Perhaps he heard the forecast for New York City, which of course turned out to be incorrect anyway.
Colorado Bike Summit 2015: Connecting Communities By Christa T. Palmer
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he Colorado Bike Summit will be held Feb. 9-10 at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 1420 Stout. The Summit is a two-day program geared to educate and empower attendees, and identify common bicycling issues and solutions in local communities. The event is also geared to dem-
onstrate the power of a unified voice to the state legislature and set priorities for improving the future of bicycling in Colorado. The Summit features two days of breakout sessions focusing on bike lanes, women and biking, moving biking forward and communities and related topics. Gabe Klein, commissioner of the Chicago Department of
Transportation and a visionary in the US transportation scene, will be the keynote speaker. The event is sold out for 2015 but sponsorships and donations are still needed. For information about the Summit, including sponsorships, contact Amy Morfas, the Bicycle Colorado Deputy Director at amy@bicyclecolorado.org or call 303-417-1544 ext. 15.
By Jason McKinney
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he 11th annual Denver Restaurant Week will take place Feb. 20-March 1. Last year the event was split between two weeks, one in February and another in August. This year, things are going back to how they were previously. There will be one week with multi-course meals, offered at $30 per person, which is the same price that was featured last year. In the past, prices have continued to go up, so this is good news for diners. Denver Restaurant Week pricing is in line with similar events in other cities across the country. “We talked to restaurant owners and employees, diners, sponsors and restaurant week fans, and the consensus was that seven days was too short, but 14 consecutive days was too long,” said Justin Bresler, vice president of marketing for VISIT DENVER. Restaurant participation dropped by 100 eateries during last year’s August period because of the large amount of conventions that are in Denver during late summer. The menus for 2015 (which feature over 300+ restaurants) are currently available online at denverrestaurantweek.com. Diners can search by cuisine, gluten-free and vegan options, and neighborhood, including eateries in Highlands Ranch, Westminster, Castle Rock, Lone Tree and other Denver suburbs. For the price of $30 per person, diners will receive a three-course meal that typically includes a starter, entree, and dessert. Certain participating restaurants will also feature drink specials and meal add-ons.
PHOTO BY JEFF HERSCH
AN ENTERTAINER ON THE 16TH ST. MALL was accompained his vicious guard dog.
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