by Mark Smiley | Sep 25, 2015 | Main Articles
by Charles Bonniwell
Mayor Michael Hancock’s appointment of CRL Associates lobbyist and former councilwoman Allegra “Happy” Haynes as newest executive director of the Denver Department of Parks and Recreation has been met with widespread criticism from across the Denver political spectrum.
An expensive national search was undertaken by the city for the new parks executive director headed up by a 10 person search committee which included Haynes. Denver Mayor Michael Hancock brought the search to a sudden halt declaring that he was simply going to appoint his long-term political ally to the $139,500 position without further ado. He declared sua spointe to the surprise of the search committee that “she is going to make one dynamic, awesome director of the city parks and recreation.”
Others were less enthusiastic about her appointment. Park advocate Trish Abbott noted, “She comes in the great tradition of Wellington Webb’s first appointment to the position, Charles Roberts, who went to jail for stealing a grease trap from the parks department to put in an A&W he had an interest in over in Aurora. The appointment demonstrates how little this mayor cares what the citizens of the city think. I would like to think this is the lowest of the low but we have got many more years ahead of us with Mayor Hancock.”
Denver historian Phil Goodstein declared, “Hancock has clearly shown he has a thorough contempt for parks and quiet open space. On the contrary, Hancock demands parks become commercial ventures. Where possible, he has even been ready to sell them off.”
As for Haynes, Goodstein opined, “She has been part of the nefarious machine of CRL Associates, a lobbying firm which puts Brownstein Hyatt to shame in terms of directing city council and assuring the adoption of very bad policy . . . If anything, Haynes is the personification of old institutional Denver: smug self-centered, utterly linked to the Democrats, and having no conception that any alternatives are possible.”
Few individuals were willing to go on the record praising her appointment although City Councilman Albus Brooks, a political ally of Mayor Hancock and Haynes declared that Haynes is “a stateswoman of Denver” who is well equipped to deal with the “complexity and the politics” of the job.”
Upon assuming the job Haynes declared that the job was “an appointment of a lifetime” although at age 62 she is approaching the normal retirement age for Denver employees.
Haynes has quickly become mired in controversy as she does not wish to give up her position as president of the Board of Directors for Denver Public Schools. She is up for re-election this November.
Denver Attorney Joe Halpern indicated that “Happy Haynes was a prime mover in the destruction of the Hentzell Park Natural Area. She advocated for the land swap as a Denver Public Schools board member.”
Community activist Dave Felice was not pleased by the appointment and her desire to hold two positions noting, “How can we expect better from someone who was in favor of giving away 11.5 acres of Hampden Heights North (Hentzell) Park?”
While some individuals publicly raised the question of finding serious conflicts of interest in being both the executive director of Denver and president of the Denver School Board, Haynes does not. She said, “During
the day, I’ll devote my work time to my role in Parks and Recreation,” and her nights she would work on being the president of the School Board. She has requested an advisory opinion from the Denver Ethics Board. That Board has come under fire itself for failing to find conflicts of interest in various other cases involving members of the Hancock administration including Planning Board head Brad Buchanan and interim Parks head Scott Gilmore and his wife Councilwoman Stacy Gilmore.
Trish Abbott noted, “I don’t see a problem. Ms. Haynes is best known for doing what she is told although with no small degree of utter incompetency. I am sure she can do two jobs very badly as easy as she can one. She is after all an all purpose political hack. In either position she is simply doing whatever the mayor or the people that control him want done, so I don’t see any conflict of interest. Moreover the Denver Ethics Board has indicated by and large that conflicts of interest don’t really exist as a theoretical concept in Denver government these days under Mayor Hancock no matter how blatant.”
Some citizens in Denver have indicated that they believe the entire Parks Department is under the control of lobbyists for real estate developers. When the Parks Advisory Board opposed Mayor Hancock’s giveaway of undesignated parkland in Hentzell Park he began to replace its members with real estate lobbyists like Marcus Pachner and Happy Haynes’ sister Khadija Haynes.
Regarding the appointment of Happy Haynes as executive director of Denver Parks, Joe Halpern stated, “She is the proverbial fox in the henhouse.”
Increasingly some good government advocates in Denver see the only solution to the destruction of the Denver Parks and Recreation Department is to advocate for voter approved Charter changes to limit the powers of the mayor. Joe Felice suggested, “Perhaps it is time for an elected independent park commission to take these decisions away from the mayor’s office.”
Trish Abbott and some other park advocates indicate that they concur with Felice’s concept. Whether they can make a vote a reality is an open question according to political insiders.
by Mark Smiley | Sep 25, 2015 | Editorials
Michael Hancock’s appointment of CRL Associates lobbyist and former politician Allegra “Happy” Haynes as the head of Denver Parks and Recreation was the final straw for many Denver citizens regarding whether the municipal government of Denver can be reformed as it is presently constituted to respond to the wishes of its citizens. With the ethically challenged Brad Buchanan in charge of Denver Community Planning and Development and the citizen boards of both Planning and Parks stuffed with lobbyists and political shills, there is almost no effective citizen input anywhere in the process. At one time local neighborhood associations thought they had the ear of their duly elected city councilperson, but in many cases that is no longer true.
Citizens have fought back bringing lawsuits in the case of numerous ill-conceived projects, but lower Denver courts to date appear to believe their job is to prevent any of the cases from ever being heard by a jury of Denver citizens. Many residents increasingly believe the system most definitely does not work and the deck is stacked against the average citizen in favor of real estate developers and other politically connected groups.
Historian Phil Goodstein has queried why we even pretend that people like Happy Haynes and Brad Buchanan are anything but bought and paid for hacks of CRL Associates and Brownstein Hyatt. He has suggested, somewhat facetiously, that we monetize the process similar to Hancock’s efforts to monetize Denver parks. Under the Goodstein plan the positions of executive directors of parks and planning would be put out to bid to the likes of CRL Associates and Brownstein Hyatt “who would pay to name their puppets to office.” Would his suggestion actually be any worse than the present system?
At the spring municipal election three candidates — Wayne New, Rafael Espinoza and Paul Kashmann — upset candidates strongly supported and funded by Mayor Michael Hancock and his coterie of lobbyists and real estate developers. But as Rafael Espinoza has articulated the Denver City Charter invests enormous power in the Denver mayor. Maybe it’s finally time to take some of that power away and in turn empower average citizens of the City and County of Denver.
Concerned citizen Dave Felice has suggested that we alter the City Charter with a citizen initiative to provide for a separately elected independent parks commission that would appoint its own executive director. While we are at it, a separately elected Community Planning and Development commission would also be appropriate.
Of course Denver is not the only municipality in Colorado that has seen its planning process hijacked by real estate developers. In Aspen and Steamboat Springs the citizens got so tired of an endlessly corrupted process that they changed their city charters to require a public vote to approve certain real estate projects. You have the feeling that some truly destructive neighborhood projects now under construction in Denver would have never seen the light of day under such a system.
The City Council could hardly object to such charter changes. In 2010 they merrily gave away to the mayor any and all control of the parks in Denver. The suggested charter changes would simply in turn take it away from the mayor and give it back to the people not only for parks but also development and planning. As a practical matter what in the world do the citizens of Denver have to lose from such changes to the City Charter?
— Editorial Board
by Mark Smiley | Sep 25, 2015 | Feature Story Bottom Left
We’ve all been there in our dating lives — at the point where nothing seems to work and your self-esteem spirals like Alice down the rabbit hole. There are many variables of how and why this horrible mindset of doubt can creep in to your mind and body and start to consume you. This mojo draining phenomena will affect your ability to network in the dating world properly.
Maybe you’ve gained some weight or you’re working through health problems. Maybe you’re working through an injury or personal body image issues stemming from aging or myriad reasons. You might be getting out of a long-term relationship that took a toll on your mind and body leaving you “relationship fat,” or worse, lacking self-worth. Whatever the case is, if you’re not feeling confident about your mind and body, STOP dating!!
Better yet, I forbid you to date! Remember I always say, water seeks its own level and I believe people do too. If you are struggling with the types of things I just described now is no time to market yourself to other human beings. I am aware how difficult it is not to reach out to people when you are at your worst or struggling, but believe me when I tell you that you have to, at least in a romantic way, in order to soften the loneliness or feel better about yourself by being around someone who is as miserable as yourself. I understand misery loves company but you’re just wasting time that could be used to fix yourself, and worse yet, that miserable company may never go away.
Here’s what needs to be done. I call it dating lockdown. As painful as it may be you need to go into survival mode which is a lot like safe mode upon startup of your personal computer. Starting your computer in safe mode allows your computer to start Windows only to search for errors and prevent further damage. Dating lockdown is similar in a sense that you are allowing yourself to go into a mode of thinking that will force you to introspectively take emotional and physical inventory and disallow you from doing any further damage to an already dire situation. Let’s face it, no one is getting any younger around here. The more time you waste accumulating rings around your tree trunk being single, the less viable of a catch you become to the good ones out there.
Here are some things to keep in mind when you’re on dating lockdown…
- Dig deep and fight! There is a reason people get depressed and many time psych drugs are not the answer. The body has so many survival mechanisms in place it’s astonishing. There is probably a reason you get sad when you look down and can’t see your feet. The answer to the root of your sadness isn’t a pill; the answer is getting rid of your big fat gut so you can see your Nikes again. By no means am I asking you to be perfect, just be in the best physical shape you that you can be so you are confident about how you look and feel. Sometimes this can be a battle, but a fight worth having nonetheless. The rewards pay dividends in many aspects in your life. Not just romantically.
- Ask yourself this question… Are you a good person to be around? If you were looking to spend time with someone would you choose yourself? I’m guessing if a lot of us were being honest we’d say no. Do you have people’s best interests in mind or do you do things that only benefit you? Are people’s thoughts and feelings safe with you or do you use them to pass judgement or use them against someone at a later time?
- Do you have the ability to live for the future and learn from the past rather than having your past drive your future? This is important, I’ve spoken to countless people who are “unable” to do certain things because their past forbids whatever the present may hold, a challenge or otherwise. Just make sure you’re healed enough from your past so that when you are dating again you’re not stunting someone else’s growth because of your personally unaddressed limitations.
- Are you an overall happy person? I know it sounds cliché but no one will ever make you happy until you’re happy with yourself. How tragic would it be that by some dumb luck you did meet the love of your life but you had no idea what to do with them because you’re not happy with yourself. To me there is nothing more heart breaking than finding someone you have a mad connection with but you’re in two different times in your life.
Dating is like playing cards. It’s all in the odds. When you play cards don’t you want to make every move possible to ensure that hand you’re holding has the best odds or greatest chance of being the winning hand? Give your dating life the same odds for success and stack your deck by doing the hard things it takes to be a viable dater, or just human for that matter.
October date tip! Ask a lady to carve pumpkins with you. Women love doing fun crafty things that remind them of their childhood. Two pumpkins, one bottle of wine and a couple of candles.
Happy Halloween!
Your pal, Sheik
by Mark Smiley | Sep 25, 2015 | Feature Story Middle Left
by Brian Zabroski
Keys? Check. Wallet? Check. Phone? Hmmm. I know I had it earlier. Just then, a bit of panic consumed me. Where did I leave it? Is someone stealing my identity? Is Mrs. App wondering why I haven’t responded to her text in a timely manner? It hit me. It was lost. What to do.
I retraced my steps. First, I checked the raffle ticket table to make sure I didn’t leave it there. Nope. Just a couple of college students laughing at me as I walked away. I’m sure they were thinking, “Seriously, how could anyone put down a phone long enough to forget where they left it?” Then again, I’m not sure either of them picked up their head from their own phones to really care. I didn’t win the 50/50 raffle, in case you were wondering.
So Toddler App and I walked back to the truck. There it was on the front seat. I looked at my son, then the phone and shut the door. I was at Toddler App’s first hockey game. We walked back to the arena without the phone. We talked to the people sitting near us. Hung out at the retail store. Shared Dippin’ Dots, which were delicious and terrible at the same time. I wasn’t concerned about checking my fantasy football score, text messages or capturing the moment on my phone. Instead, Toddler App and I enjoyed an afternoon of hockey.
We’re in the final stretches of the year. Time shrinks this time of year. With the approaching holidays and kids back at school, think about putting down that phone in October. What? Am I crazy? You don’t use your phone that often? Think twice. A Kaiser Family Foundation study found kids aged 8-18 are plugged into media 7.5 hours per day. Holy cow! That’s a work day, except it is every day not just Monday through Friday. An adult spends just over 8.5 hours per day on their phone. I’m not a math genius, but these numbers bookend the average recommended amount of daily sleep, 8 hours. Studies have shown that excessive amounts of mobile phone usage are affecting our sleeping patterns. Baby App affects my sleeping pattern enough!
So, what can you do? Try something new, hard and challenging for October. Put down the phone an hour before bed. Do not check the phone during the night. Place the phone on do not disturb. Get some rest for the love of Pete! Curious as to the amount of your usage? Try using Moment. This app tracks your phone usage. You can set up daily limits, notifications for high usage, as well as tracking your family’s phone time. The concept is simple. Put down the phone and pick up your head to enjoy others.
The goal of my “being more present” topic isn’t to drive the usage to zero, rather drive from 8.5 hours to 7. It is doable. There are times when using technology can be helpful. Take the fussy baby that is soothed by the interaction of a show on a tablet. The challenge with this is the baby, or Toddler, hitting the home button, pausing the video or opening an app they shouldn’t be in (i.e. suddenly they’re responding to your email!). Instead of the tablet entertaining, you’re restarting the video every two minutes. You’re not alone!
Try locking the iPad. Under Settings, turn on Guided Access and create a four digit password. Once you’re in the application of choice, say Netflix, press the home button three times. This locks the iPad from leaving this application, leaves the movie/ show playing and you’re not restarting it every two minutes. This is a great way to share your iPad with others without worrying they’ll mistakenly delete something important. It can be a business tool for training employees.
For those venturing out to trick or treat on Halloween, check out Nextdoor’s Treat Map. Nextdoor, a neighborhood app, shares the best places for trick or treating, and planning your route or haunted houses in your area. Glad Fall is here! Don’t be a phone monster. Put it down and get up!
Do you have a favorite educational app you’d like to share? Contact Brian at brian @brianzabroski.com, on Twitter @BrianZab or LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/ brianzab.
Brian, a Corporate Account Executive with NetSuite, has spent nearly 20 years in the telecommunications and software industry. Businesses use NetSuite software to run and manage all of their business applications. It’s web-based, so businesses can access their information from anywhere; It’s flexible, which allows the software to be customized for their business; and, it is built on a single platform, which businesses appreciate since they can often eliminate multiple software solutions. Trending companies, such as Box, GoPro, FitBit and Dropbox use NetSuite software to run their business. Reach out to Brian to learn how your business can benefit with NetSuite.
by Mark Smiley | Aug 31, 2015 | General Featured
by Brent New
Writer for and on behalf of the City of Glendale
This fall the reigning champions of the Women’s Premier League will play inside the multi-million-dollar, state-of-the-art Infinity Park stadium. Looking to defend the title, the Glendale Raptors Women will play all four of their home games inside the stadium, on soft, luscious grass. Home games against the San Diego Surfers (September 12), the Oregon Rugby Sports Union (October 10), Berkeley All Blues (October 24) and Beantown RFC (November 7) will begin at 3 p.m, and will include full stadium production and will be webcast on the RugbyTown USA website.
“The team is very excited to play in the stadium,” said Taryn Brennan, the team’s co-captain. “We always enjoy having the opportunity to use the facilities at Glendale. It gives us a chance to get the community excited about women’s rugby and fill seats in the stadium.”
Where the Raptors play, however, should be only part of their increased popularity this fall — winning should be a reason too.
If you haven’t been tuned in, the Raptors’ WPL team haven’t lost a match in more than 10 months, a streak that could be extended this fall.
“I don’t know how much we focus on it, but it has been a good ride,” Rachel Ryan said. “We are proud of what we’ve accomplished but not satisfied.”
When Ryan, Brennan and their teammates look back on this accomplishment, a win streak that started with a WPL championship, and continued through an undefeated developmental season in the spring, it’s impossible to forget how it started: A controversial 13-7 semifinals loss to the Atlanta Harlequins.
A defeat that would never hold up.
In reality, the Raptors didn’t play well enough to win that day, yet the Harlequins were forced to forfeit for using an ineligible player and the Raptors moved on anyway.
Then-coach Michael Fealey said he didn’t know how to feel about it at the time.
“It feels strange,” he said.
Either way, it had the Raptors, perhaps the biggest beneficiaries in recent WPL history, moving on and winning the championship over the Twin Cities Amazons a day later.
There, of course, is still controversy surrounding it to this day.
“It’s something that fuels us. We didn’t choose for it to happen like that but we want to prove ourselves,” Ryan said.
Years from now, when looking back on the loss that never was, some of the critics will fade and some will not.
What’s undeniable, though, is that the second chance also served as the springboard moment to maybe the best year in Glendale women’s rugby history.
“Some people said we didn’t deserve it. It was frustrating. There were people hiding behind computers, telling us we didn’t deserve it,” Raptors veteran Jeanna Beard said. “We know we deserved it. We know the fight it took, we know we’re champions.”
New women’s coach Mark Bullock, meanwhile, says it is time to move on.
When asked about it in the offseason, the rugby expert downplayed the importance of the streak and said it was not what his team was focused on going forward.
“Every team is different,” Bullock said. “We’re different than the team that won last year. And we’re different than the team from the spring. From our standpoint, there is no pressure to repeat or be undefeated, or whatever. We want to get better and play at our highest potential.”
He’s right, in that the 2015 team will look far different than the team that won in 2014.
Fealey, for one, has since been replaced by Bullock, who took over after Fealey resigned last January. Jenna Anderson, Jen Montoya and Jamie Burke have since retired. And Mary Pezzulo has been moved off the active roster after she injured her ACL on the first day of fall practice.
“A lot of veterans will not be on this squad,” Bullock said. “We’ll need some players to step up in leadership roles and some already have.”
The Raptors do return Ryan, Joanna Kitlinski, Laura Miller and Sarah Chobot — who were named to the USA Eagles roster over the summer, as well as Hannah Stolba who returns to the team after she missed the spring season hiking the Appalachian Trail.
And from the spring season, they bring back breakout stars Denali Graham and Fatima Chavez, who should help the team’s overall speed in Bullock’s up-tempo pace.
“I’m super excited for the players we have,” Bullock said. “We have high expectations of how we perform.”
When asked for goal-oriented expectations, Bullock went just short of mentioning another championship.
“I guess the goal would be to get to the semifinals,” he said. “If you do that, you have a chance.”
The Raptors should know that better than anyone.
