Two former city councilmen share their thoughts on long-term impacts of the pandemic, particularly on economic development and housing. Proposed zoning changes for group housing and allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in single-family zoning have raised concerns among some homeowners, as evidenced by this yard sign.
Community Issues
The ordeal of College during Covid-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended many normal routines and traditions, but perhaps nowhere more than the annual fall ritual of heading off for college.
Norman Rockwell: Imagining Freedom
Norman Rockwell fans will see his most famous paintings at the Denver Art Museum, through Sept. 7. But the show goes deeper, exploring his later scenes of racism and violence in America. The presentation resonates with current events and invites reflection and discussion.
Why Reparations? Paying for Our Nation’s “Original Sin”
Harold Fields says of reparations: “We have pipes that are deep underneath these buildings and underneath our streets. The pipes are decaying, they’re old. They’re leaking, and they are only distributing resources to certain places. You’ve got to be able to dig up those pipes and re-do the system. It’s not a matter of changing the washers on faucets or putting in a new shower head, but changing the system.”
Back to (Home) School
If you were listening carefully on July 17, you could almost hear the city-wide moan as DPS announced its decision to postpone in-person learning until at least after Labor Day.
Changing a Neighborhood’s Name
Stapleton United Neighbors announced in a Zoom meeting on Aug. 1 that 63% of the final vote favored Central Park for the new name. This is the story of how that name came to be.
Stapleton’s Name Will Change. What Will Be the New Name?
Seeing the massive change in community awareness of racism after George Floyd’s death, representatives of neighborhood groups and the city quickly started on the path toward a new name for the Stapleton neighborhood. At the same time, individuals in the community, through rallies and yard signs, are showing their support for the protests and for Black lives.
Covid-19 Denver Update
Though Denver was on target for hospitalizations, testing and positivity rates as of June 24, officials stated strongly that masks need to be worn “for the foreseeable future.”
CO Among First in Nation to Enact Legislation Law Enforcement Integrity Act
With Gov. Polis’ signing of the Law Enforcement Accountability and Integrity Act on June 19, Colorado became the first state in the nation to implement comprehensive police reform since the brutal killing of George Floyd ignited nationwide protests.
Q&A with Chief Pazen
Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen held a virtual town hall on June 3 to listen to community concerns and respond to questions. The Front Porch transcribed questions from that session and edited for length and clarity.
Talking to Children About Race & Racism
Children are not colorblind. Even infants recognize differences we ascribe to race.
Covid’s Long-Term Impact on Medicine
“For 30 years we’ve been talking about tele-medicine and thinking around the edges, but there’ve been policy barriers to really doing it on a broad scale, and Medicare and Medicaid pay only for very limited things; this pandemic really opened the floodgates to tele-health and tele-medicine, and we’ve learned very quickly how to scale this work up.”