by Valley Gadfly | Aug 28, 2023 | Main Articles
Waste Management Struggles To Clear Garbage Glut Due To Funding, Staff, Policies, Plus An Aging Truck Fleet
by Glen Richardson
Scraping By: City Auditor Timothy O’Brien says Denver’s new trash collection program is not effectively designed to ensure stable funding, thereby worsening service and delivery to residents.
Welcome to the “Denver Dump,” where garbage and debris are overtaking our streets, highways, and neighborhoods. The city’s stunning landscapes are gasping in garbage.
What’s behind the Mile High waste management mess? Certainly, we’re all individually responsible. Coloradans create 47 tons of waste per person, ninth in the nation. Moreover, Colorado is creating the nation’s third most new waste per capita.
Cause of Denver’s growing garbage glut is complicated and confusing. It ranges from decisions such as removing dumpsters (to give police clear alleyway sight lines), to cutting extra trash collections from every four weeks to eight weeks. Lack of policies, data, funding, and staff are heightened by an aging waste collection truck fleet. Furthermore, the first citywide change in trash routes in 15 years is increasing spikes in missed trash pickups.
Mess Along Highways
Thoroughfare Trash: CDOT cleans up trash on highways and interstates around Denver, but their job focuses on debris blocking the road, not the trash. Credit: 9NEWS
In addition to Denver’s Waste Management, the Colorado Dept. of Transportation or CDOT, cleans up debris and trash along the highways and interstates around the city. Reports of trash piling up on the shoulders, medians, and off ramps are constant. The agency says their maintenance section is seeing an increase in littering based on debris calls, costs, and pickups. Workers say the most serious problem is drivers failing to secure loads. Illegal trash dumping also continues to be a top problem complicating their work.
Pickup Problems: A 21% driver vacancy rate last year may double this year due to expanded recycling-compost service. First route change in 15 years has added to missed pickups.
Debris cleanup uses 5% or more the department’s budget, amounting to $2 million or more in Metro Denver. Maintenance crews must daily prioritize their work based on road repairs and hazards to drivers. Priority is given to blocked traffic lanes, guard rail repairs, and sign replacements. Snow and ice removal during winter months moves to the top of their list.
CDOT also relies on the Adopt-A-Highway programs, which involve groups cleaning litter from small stretches of roads at least four times a year. Metro Denver residents can call CDOT customer service at 303-759-2368 or report concerns on their customer service website.
Trash Talk
Trashy Town Trek: Metro area streets and alleyways have been overflowing with trash since January. Residents fear blocked drains, flooding, and the spread of waterborne diseases.
Denver has a gargantuan waste problem. Trash cans around the metro area have been left overflowing since January of this year. Waste that goes uncollected can lead to blocked drains, flooding, and the spread of waterborne diseases. The problem isn’t new; as early as July 2021 Denver was receiving up to 1,000 trash-related complaints daily. A 2020 Solid Waste Master Plan was supposed to aid Waste Management’s staff and city leaders move Denver forward.
Beginning in January, Denver launched a new trash collection program known as “Pay As You Throw.” Approved by a split City Council, the policy was intended to motivate residents to recycle and compost more and keep trash out of landfills. The program faltered from the start — not a surprise as City Auditor Timothy O’Brien, CPA, warned the city wasn’t ready to implement the policy in November of 2022.
The city eliminated the $9.75 fee for composting, but sharply raised pickup fees based on the size of bins. Charges range from $9 per month for a small bin, $13 per month for a medium-sized bin, and $21 per month for a large bin.
Pay To Throw Blow
City Auditor O’Brien’s staff audited residential trash, recycling, and compost services late last year, releasing the report on Nov. 17, 2022.
His audit of Solid Waste Management — a Division of the Department of Transportation & Infrastructure — warned the city, the “pay-as-you-throw” program is not effectively designed to ensure stable funding or to advance Denver’s environmental goals. Furthermore, O’Brien warned, “it may worsen existing service and delivery to residents.”
At the January launch, around 30,000 residents traded in their large plastic carts for smaller ones to save on their trash bills. However, an investigation by CBS News found that 3,000 or more of the carts — which the manufacturer says are recyclable — were crushed and dumped in an area landfill by the City of Denver.
Rust Bucket Trucks
Dreamscape Dumpsite: If City gets its act together, Denver’s DADS dump site could look like Copenhagen’s waste-to-energy power plant that doubles as a ski slope and hiking trail.
The report stressed that the city is providing trash recycling and compost services using an aging fleet of trucks with a severely understaffed team.
Nearly half of the division’s fleet — including both waste collection trucks and other vehicles — have an estimated two years of useful life. Expected useful life for waste collection trucks is eight years, however, one truck still being used is 18 years old. The city spent more than $10 million between 2019 and 2021 on repairs for the aging trucks. Meanwhile, a new truck costs approximately $350,000. Drivers told auditors that equipment failures had kept them from completing their routes in the past six months.
Additionally, the city had a 21% vacancy rate among drivers as of June 2022. That vacancy rate could nearly double this year as more positions are needed for expanded recycling and compost service under volume-based pricing. Since 2021, drivers have been required to work overtime to complete routes and work voluntary overtime to clean up illegal dumping sites. Most of the drivers auditors heard from said they are looking to change jobs in the next 12 months.
Trash Route Trouble
Administrators, moreover, couldn’t explain or show documentation describing how they decided to change trash and recycling pick-up routes and schedules in 2022.
The first citywide change to trash routes in 15 years, it was intended to make collection reliable and consistent.
On the contrary, the route changes are blamed for accelerating spikes in reports of missed trash pickups. Managers told auditors the person who designed the new routes retired and the division did not keep the documentation.
Photos: Kevin J. Beaty & Ehrborn Hummreston
by Valley Gadfly | Aug 28, 2023 | Main Articles
Sold-Out Crowds Swing Open Dazzle’s New DCPA Digs; El Chapultepec Comeback To Host Fall Piano Bar ‘Late Set’
by Glen Richardson
Dazzling Virtuoso: Plucking and strumming guitarist Steve Kovalcheck dazzled and delighted the sell-out opening crowd at Dazzle’s new DCPA digs. Photo: CBS
Stellar Star: Entertainment at the sold-out gala opening starred Grammy nominated jazz vocalist-songwriter René Marie. Photo: Daniel Trujillo
They were genuine blood-pumping magical moments at Dazzle Jazz’s opening in the Denver Center for Performing Arts (DCPA) downtown. Owing to history, performers, and atmosphere, the joint swelled with followers, fans, and fanatics of all ages who were there to be swooned.
Denver night life has found its rhythm in the serendipitous new space. The club opened to two sold-out shows each night on Aug. 4-5, in Dazzle’s new digs on the corner of Arapahoe and 14th St. Stellar entertainment at the gala opening starred Grammy nominated jazz vocalist-songwriter René Marie.
In the traditions of Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, and other leading ladies of jazz, Marie dazzled the first-time DCPA crowd with her imaginative way of performing jazz music. Her original material — including songs curated especially for the grand opening of the new location — explored the joy and the depths of human emotion in an elegant, energetic, expressive performance. Her weekend musical group included Dawn Clement, piano; John Gunther, sax; Steve Kovalcheck, guitar; Seth Lewis, bass; and Dru Heller, drums.
Jazzed By Art
Serendipity Space: What Dazzle’s new space at 1080 14th St. looks like. There are no blocks in anyone’s sightline in the venue that seats 143 people, with 23 seats in the bar area. Photo: David Rossa
A Denver jazz venue staple for 19 years — and ranked one of the Top 100 Jazz Clubs in the World — Dazzle’s newest and third location in the Arts Complex features a space honoring Colorado’s diverse jazz legacy with the highest caliber of talent on the stage plus visual art on the walls.
The stage was a black box in the initial location at 930 Lincoln Street, while the cozy atmosphere at Dazzle in the historic Baur’s site was due to the building’s craftsmanship. Now walls in Dazzle at the Arts Complex are adorned with visual artwork produced by local artists. Together, the artists and artwork create a relationship with the music and community. Furthermore, each artist shares a connection with the musician represented in their artwork.
The space showcases murals of famous musicians including opening night entertainer Rene Marie by Jasmine “Jazz” Holmes, resident artists at Denver’s RedLine Contemporary Art Center. Everyone who helped bring Dazzle to life in the Arts complex is an artist in their particular field. They included ArtHouse, who provided the overall design plans, to ADCON fabricator Anthony Jimenez, who built the stage; and Dave Mathews, who did the cabinetry.
Theatre-Music Scene
The DCPA complex where Dazzle is now located is owned and operated by the City & County of Denver’s Arts & Venues. Dazzle’s lease agreement makes it a tenant of the City of Denver. The compound is a mix of Broadway tours, Tony-winning theatre, long-running cabaret shows, immersive plays, and theatre for young adults. The three largest theaters are the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Buell Theatre, and Boettcher Concert Hall.
Last season the DCPA entertained more than one million visitors, generating a $193.4 million economic impact through ticket sales alone.
“Dazzle is a vibrant addition to the Arts Complex,” says Denver Arts & Venues’ Ginger White, executive director. “The venue looks fantastic. They have been so thoughtful with the design, highlighting the legacy of Jazz in Denver.” Furthermore, she adds, “Dazzle’s location enlivens the entrance to the Arts Complex, a special part of downtown Denver.”
City Collaboration
“Dazzle’s new space was built by artists from many different fields to create a space of community where Jazz, Blues, and other forms of improvised music can thrive for years to come,” explains owner-president Donald Rossa.
El Chapultepec Comeback: Dazzle is partnering with El Chapultepec jazz-blues venue that closed in 2020. The Pec Piano Bar will host “The Late Set” on Thursday-Saturday nights. Photo: CBS
Working with the city-owned arts complex affords us a chance to collaborate with Denver Arts & Venues resources, as well as continuing our role in the Mile High City’s music scene. “Jazz is produced by artists within the community, reflecting the sounds of the time,” Rossa adds. “This is Colorado’s Jazz at the Denver Arts Complex where everyone is invited.”
Finally, he notes that “As a private business that provides so much to the cultural fabric of Denver, we are really grateful to the city for working with us to help us open the space and make it so beautiful.”
Pec Plans Night Caps
Dazzle is also partnering the historic El Chapultepec jazz-blues venue that closed at the end of 2020 after 87 years. When the Pec — where legends like Ela Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra performed — closed it was a gut-wrenching blow to Denver’s music scene. Reopening this fall will give it a second wind.
The El Chapultepec Piano Bar will host “The Late Set” from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Thursday-Saturday nights. “The partnership will elevate the best that both clubs have to offer,” is how Dazzle’s Donald Rossa depicts the partnership.
Pec owners Angela Guerrero and Anna Diaz have launched the “El Chapultepec Legacy Project,” an effort to preserve the club’s historic heritage while raising money to fund the Dazzle partnership project. Bands and artists will perform live with no cover charge. “It will be a great space to get a night cap after Dazzle shows, Arts complex performances, or other gigs downtown,” suggests Dazzle’s Marketing Director Kelley Dawkins.
by Valley Gadfly | Aug 28, 2023 | Valley Gadfly
You soon begin feeling the shift from summer to fall in the air. September is a month where change feels inevitable. This is the month when the leaves begin to change colors.
It’s still summer, but the days are getting shorter. It’s still warm, but the sweltering afternoons of August are past. You likely won’t need your jacket, but could take it with you.
As you await the fall season, here are our choices for shopping, dining, and entertainment “to help you remember the kind of September when life was slow and oh so mellow”:
Support Denver families experiencing food insecurity by attending the 12th annual Fill A Plate For Hunger at Reelworks Denver, Sept. 7, 5:30 p.m. You’ll enjoy a fun cocktail hour, and multi-course dinner. Information: 303-388-6022.
Enjoy food, wine, and spirits during the Denver Food + Wine Festival including a Grand Tasting on Auraria’s Tivoli Quad, Sept. 7-9. Information: 303-830-2972.
Help the Denver Zoo care for and provide emergency animal support by attending the Flock Party with music and eats, Sept. 9, 5-9 p.m. Information: 720-337-1401.
Star Wars In Concert features the Colorado Symphony playing film’s musical scores at Boettcher, Sept. 9-10, 7:30, Sun. 2:30 p.m. Information: 720-865-4220.
Stop at Boris’s Home Decorating Services to add color, style to your home for the holidays. Custom cushions, decorative pillows, drapery, window treatment, more. Showroom: 1402 S. Parker Rd., Unit A-102. Information: 303-751-2921.
Make sweet September even sweeter by enjoying chocolate entrees, cocktails, and desserts at the Chocolate Lab at E. 3rd & Holly St. Chocolate combined in every dish, cocktail. Enjoy indoor-outdoor seating. Information: 720-536-5037.
Fund home-apartment fire losses at the Our Front Porch dinner-drag show fund drive at Clocktower Cabaret on Sept. 15, 5:30 p.m. Information: 303-293-0075.
Take swing dance classes, enjoy contests, and social dancing at Lindy On the Rocks in the Curtis Hotel, Sept. 15-18, 7 p.m.-12 p.m. Information: 303-883-6691.
Hear artist Patrick Marold, Denver’s Public Art Manager, at Lowry Speaker Series in the Eisenhower Chapel, Sept. 21, 6 p.m. Information: 303-344-0481.
Bi-annual Latino Suave Fest has a lineup of musicians and performers plus food and drinks at Raices Brewing, Sept. 30, noon-6 p.m. Information: 720-295-2437.
Despite the speed at which summer comes and goes, it’s still such a fun season. Rain plus cold-hot snaps somewhat impeded us; hence, Infinity Park is wrapping up the season with the Colorado Music Experience on Sept. 23. Originally from Denver, Nashville-based indie rock band Wildermiss entertains. Their headline shows have sold out since 2017. Emma Cole sings and plays synth, Joshua Hester plays guitar, and Celeb Thoemke is on drums. Information: 303-692-5799.
It’s the time of year when you don’t need to run the furnace or air conditioner. A chance to recoup, redeem. It’s a return to the routine and back to normal. Or maybe a new normal. The kids are in K-12 or college and the football season is off and running. How many times have you heard a coach proclaim, “This will be our year!” In September, that is possible.
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
by Valley Gadfly | Jul 20, 2023 | Main Articles
The Valley Comes Alive With Summer Art; Shows Capture Beauty, Colorful Leisure Feeling
by Glen Richardson
Sun Driven Dreams: DAM’s Lowrider show includes this 6 x 17 ft. acrylic by Nanibah Chaco titled What Dreams Are Made Of. Artwork is a silhouette of her ’60 Chevy Bel Air with roses. The flowers, like her dreams, grow beyond the body itself.
Summer Seascape: This Judy Gardner one-of-a-kind creation is in the Niza Knoll Gallery Code Blue exhibition on Santa Fe Dr. Show has artwork of ocean, marine life, and coral reefs.
Splendor Of Summer: This summer beauty by Cheryl St. John is on display at Saks Galleries in Cherry Creek North. The 14 x 18 oil on canvas is titled Lilacs and Spring Flowers.
Summer, with its warm sun, vibrant colors, and lavish nature, radiates a sense of stillness and quiet contemplation, reflecting the slower pace of summer days.
From serene landscapes to joyful depictions of leisure activities, artworks inspired by summer capture the essence of its beauty and evoke feelings of relaxation and joy.
To practice the art of staying cool this month, dive into the rich tapestry of summer-inspired images on display at Saks Galleries and Masters in Cherry Creek North, the Niza Knoll Gallery on Santa Fe Dr., plus at the Denver Art Museum.
Joy & Tranquility
Summer is a time of reflection, connection, and the simple pleasures found in the company of loved ones.
Anna Rose Bain, represented by Saks Galleries in Cherry Creek North, is one such artist. A Signature member of the Oil Painters of America, she is also a member of Plein Air Artists of Colorado and the International Guild of Realism. Her award-winning work transports us to idyllic summer moments and evokes a sense of joy and tranquility. Family owned by Michael and Catherine Saks, the showroom on East 2nd Ave. has been the shopping district’s premier gallery for more than 50 years. Information: 303-333-4144.
Summer art shoppers can also find artwork capturing the essence of summer at Masters Gallery on East 3rd Ave. in Cherry Creek. An AD Gallery — with a longtime presence in Aspen, Beaver Creek, and Vail — you’ll find unique artists, styles, and techniques presented in a relaxed atmosphere. Information: 303-221-2449.
Recipe For The Road: Mexican paintings, lowriders, and nachos are transformed into this Pinata-Inspired Sculpture installation by Justin Favela at the Denver Art Museum.
Catch Art Wave
With warm sand and gentle waves, the ocean has a soothing summertime ambience that nothing can beat. So, allow yourself time to breathe, relax, and enjoy yourself viewing “Code Blue: The Ocean,” at Niza Knoll Gallery on Santa Fe Dr. through Aug. 13.
Ladies Of Sunshine: Anna Rose Bain’s sensational summer flowers painting transports us to idyllic summer moments. Titled Lilies and Ranunculus, the 12 x 15 oil is at Saks Galleries.
The show is a group exhibition by more than a half-dozen artists. Attendees will view artwork portraying the ocean, marine life, and coral reefs. Code Blue is the term communicated during cardiac or respiratory arrest. Signaling immediate and lifesaving care required, it is increasingly a way to describe the state of the world’s oceans and marine life. “The heart and lungs of our planet are in a state of emergency,” experts say.
Located in the Art District on Santa Fe since 2009, Niza Knoll Galley participates in First and Third Friday plus Saturdays. Information: 303-953-1789.
Lowrider Summer
Lowriders are a source of artistic self-expression. The passion and artistry that goes into every car is incredible and, like a painting, are works of art. Moreover, this summer the lowrider car culture has taken the summer spotlight at the Denver Art Museum (DAM).
Like the head-turning rides that cruise the streets, the show running through Sept. 24th, showcases the amazing work of state and southwest lowrider artisans. Included are works by popular area artists Tony Ortega, Carlos Fresquez, Juan Fuentes, and Daniel Salazar. Arranged by the Phoenix Art Museum and curated by the DAM’s Victoria Lyall, the show explores Colorful Colorado and the Desert Southwest’s connections between transportation, landscape, and identity.
The exhibition is inspired by counterculture developments during the 1960s, epitomized in films like Easy Rider, which occurred simultaneously with civil unrest events. During this time, images of customized vehicles racing through the wide-open landscapes of the U.S. Southwest became symbols not only of freedom and liberty, but also rebellion and nonconformity.
Chrome & Color
Colorado and Southwest lowrider artists express identity, pride, and a sense of community by transforming vehicles associated with the American West. Their artwork challenges stereotypes while embodying hope.
Mile High City, Colorado, and Southwest regional artists explore the sociopolitical realities and imaginative interpretations of automotive subcultures through the diverse works on exhibit. The Desert Rider show focuses on Latinx and Indigenous perspectives that have long defined the identity of the Southwest.
A pleasant, festive, and fun event in eye-popping chrome and color, the exhibition ties creativity and customization together with history, place, resistance, discovery, and empowerment. Entry to the DAM is included with general admission, which is free for members and all visitors 18 and under. Information: 720-865-5000.
by Valley Gadfly | Jul 20, 2023 | Main Articles
Scandal Ridden Anderson Drops School Board Reelection Bid; DPS Releases Final Safety Plan Bringing Armed Police Back
by Glen Richardson
Anderson Bids Adieu: School Board VP Auon’tai Anderson is dropping his reelection bid. April poll showed just 9% planned to vote for Anderson. Photo: Denver Gazette
Baldermann Bid: Board’s Scott Baldermann, who proposed bringing police back, is seeking reelection. Elected in 2019, he represents District 1. Photo: Baldermann Website
Shootings, safety, and a bungling-inept school board pulled news of violence on Denver’s school campuses onto the front page of the nation’s largest mailed circulation newspaper, The Wall Street Journal.
The article by a trio of Dow Jones reporters — with a two-thirds page jump and five photos — recounted the 2020 Denver School Board removal of 17 Denver Police Officers from 18 middle and high schools, followed by this April’s East High campus shootings. The June 27th article detailed East’s student march to the Capitol, and the plea by East High teachers for the School Board, “to do something.” The Journal then recounts the harshly written reply by School Board Vice President Auon’tai Anderson, “School police aren’t coming back to East or any campus.”
The article also quoted School Superintendent Alex Marrero, and Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas, concluding with the School Board’s decision one-week later to return police to campuses.
Reckless Results
The article didn’t, however, reveal that the school board meeting was closed to the public and press. A violation of the Colorado Open Meetings Law, it was yet another example of the board’s recklessness. Not as foolish, however, as the board’s decision to
kick cops off campuses while keeping high-risk kids in class.
Cops On Campus: Denver police encircled East High after two administrators were shot by a student. U.S. News & World Report’s Best High Schools Rankings lists East 18th within Colorado. Photo: Andrew Miller, New York Times
Chronicle readers will recall that the East High student shooter was already on probation for a prior gun charge, and was being frisked for weapons when he shot the two administrators.
Equally alarming, neither the School Board or the Denver Public School system have any idea how many kids like the East High shooter will return to class with criminal records when fall classes begin August 22. Neither tracks them.
Lightning Bolt Leaving
With Denver police beginning to restore security in DPS schools, Vice President Anderson is dropping his reelection bid, brightening the beginning of the fall school term this month.
A lightning rod criticized for infighting, his exit will create a sudden, meaningful change to the board’s dynamics. He was a part of the historic 2019 school board flip, backed by the teacher’s union. A poll taken in April revealed that just 9% planned to vote for Anderson. More than half said it was “time for someone new.”
Parents and teachers are optimistic that new members will restore credibility to the DPS Board. The two announced candidates seeking Anderson’s spot suggest the change will rebuild and restore reliability and integrity. They are: East High grad Kwame Spearman, who ran for mayor, and is CEO of Tattered Cover, who says he would focus on school safety and educational excellence; and Security Consultant Paul Ballenger, a Denver father who served in the military, and is concerned about school safety. Former East High principal John Youngquist reportedly is considering a run, but hasn’t yet decided.
Election Update
Two board members, Charmaine Lindsay and Scott Baldermann, are up for reelection. Lindsay — representing District 5 — was appointed to fill a vacancy in 2022. When appointed Lindsay said she wouldn’t seek another term.
Baldermann — who represents District 1 and was elected in 2019 — is running for reelection. He proposed and supported bringing police officers back to Denver schools. The change, opposed by
Student Scare: Shootings and lockdowns on and off campuses at Denver public schools have created fear, frustrations, and calls for sweeping change. Photo: Wandy Cross, Associated Press
Anderson, won by a 4-3 vote. Baldermann supports smaller class sizes, flexibility, and backing for teachers.
Credit for bringing police officers back to schools in Denver was driven by parents who mobilized after the shootings. Remember, East High student Luis Garcia, 16, was also shot near the East campus back in February.
Reelection In 2025
The four other school board members will be up for reelection in November 2025. Xóchitl Gaytán who represents District 2 is the current board president. She was elected in 2021.
The other board members, Olson, Quattlebaum, and Esserman, were the trio that most often allowed Anderson’s antics to constantly slide, according to critics, by repeatedly offering excuses encouraging Anderson’s shifty, scheming behavior.
Scott Esserman is an at-large member elected in 2021; Carrie Olson represents District 3 and was elected in 2017 and re-elected in 2021; and Michelle Quattlebaum represents District 4 and was elected in 2021.
Final Safety Plan
DPS’s final school safety plan has armed police officers returning to Denver schools.
The final version made public July 1st by Denver School Superintendent Alex Marrero, returns officers to the same 13 large high schools — including East High School — where police were re-stationed this spring. The district is still considering school resource officers or SRO’s at secondary schools.
Unlike previous policy, Marrero will now have the power to remove officers who do not follow best practices. Denver’s Police Department will be required to monitor citations and arrests, requiring “corrective action” if citations disproportionately affect marginalized groups. Initial plan details do not specify the number of officers at each school or their exact responsibilities.
Seeking Common Roles
During the plan’s development (July 1 was third-final), Marrero has pursued a collaborative approach with the Denver Police Department. The final version has the DPD developing strategies and standards, though that likely hinges on the mayoral transition.
The superintendent has constantly indicated that guns and violence are not just a DPS problem but a “city problem.” With little or no consequences, Denver has been dealing with both since his arrival, he says. Swiftly adding, “And I’m sure before that.” DPS hopes a new memo of understanding can be developed between Mayor-elect Mike Johnston and DPD Chief Ron Thomas, albeit thus far Johnston has remained unresponsive.
The plan calls for added security support when conducting student searches, plus a safety audit of school building. A weapons detection system plan will be considered following “extensive community engagement.” Finally, the plan provides for three mental health screenings of students during the school year.
