Sumner Vision
Cherry Creek Barista Wins National Coffee Competition
by Lisa Marlin
David Ellis
A coffee shop in Cherry Creek North has earned bragging rights thanks to a determined employee and a perfect blend of Wisconsin maples and coffee beans. David Ellis recently won the top prize in the Peet’s Coffee Barista Competition, beating out several hundred other baristas from the company who competed nationwide.
A plaque commemorating the win is now on display in Peet’s Coffee & Tea on 2nd Avenue in Cherry Creek North where Ellis has been making and serving beverages for the past two years. “Our team at Cherry Creek has done so much to help with the competition as well, so having the plaque in our store this year is awesome,” he said.
Now in its 10th year, the competition is a chance for Peet’s baristas to enrich their handcrafted beverage skills through preparing and serving espresso, cappuccinos, and developing a personally designed specialty beverage; all while being appraised by judges on their overall preparation abilities, including latte art.
Following months of district and regional competitions, Ellis was among three baristas who were invited to company headquarters in Alameda, California, in October to present their personal beverages to company Roastmaster Doug Welsh and the coffee department.
“My signature beverage was a blend of maples that I sourced directly from a Viroqua, Wisconsin, farm,” said Ellis, who has worked as a barista since 2007 and doesn’t plan on stopping. “I absolutely love coffee, so being able to perfect my craft and passion is great. My barista skills really are just my passion for coffee and craft mixed with my passion for customer service.”
This year’s win is especially sweet because although Ellis had progressed to the finals in 2016, he didn’t bring home the prize. “After getting so far and so close last year, I put a lot of work into practice this year, so it means a great amount to take the win home to Colorado,” Ellis said.
His win also means a corporate donation to the charity of his choice. “I chose to honor Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention because of a personal connection to the topic and the organization,” he said, adding that he has participated in training there to learn more about suicide and crisis intervention.
Finally, his prize includes a trip to Costa Rica in 2018. “Traveling to or
igin with Peet’s Coffee is such an exciting opportunity,” he said. Origin is a single farm or a specific collection of beans from a single country. In this case, it applies to the farmer communities in Peet’s People and Planet initiative. Los Cafeteros Blend, which is a part of this line, is sourced from Costa Rica as well as Nicaragua. Ellis said he is looking forward to the chance to learn more about how Peet’s Coffee delivers social and environmental benefits while there.
A bonus to that trip will be the opportunity he’ll have to explore another passion. “I’m hoping for the chance to take some amazing pictures and broaden my experience as a professional photographer,” he said.
Asked how his passion for coffee and cameras might compare, Ellis had this to say, “Like my role as a barista with the Cherry Creek coffee bar team, as a portrait and wedding photographer I’m often interacting with people from all walks of life. As such, it’s really important to know how to talk to people and make them comfortable. You really have to hone that skill and build it over time.”
The same could be said for the patience he put into crafting the winning cup of coffee out of a shop in Cherry Creek. And there is a plaque there to prove it.
Shopping Script At The Bookies Brings Happiness Home For The Holidays
More And More Shoppers Bookmark This Independent Bookstore As Tranquil, Helpful And Bursting With Gift Ideas
Hey holiday shoppers, are you feeling overwhelmed? Are kids and chaos erupting from your shopping cart? Feel like collapsing on the couch with a glass of wine and waving the white flag of defeat?
As holiday shopping peaks in the big chain stores and begins to combine with parking headaches, road closures and congestion, much of the Cherry Creek shopping district is expected to reach paralysis. This year more than ever shopping is experiencing more than its share of killer plot twists. That’s why Glendale’s 45-year-old independently owned bookstore The Bookies is such electrifying news: It’s filled with stories, games, craft kits, gifts, plots and twists in all the store’s fun nooks and crannies.
For decades The Bookies has been the byword for inviting, comfortable and relaxed shopping during the holidays or any season. Like a good book, customers keep coming back to make sure they’ve read the last bit correctly. Or maybe missed something special. Regular shoppers tell the Chronicle, “Once you’ve been to the store it’s like getting to the end of a book and wanting to flip it over and start at the beginning again.”
Helpful Staff
After not being greeted and unable to find help in the Valley’s growing list of corporate stores, it’s the helpful, hands-on approach of The Bookies’ staff that’s so exceptional.
As we perused the aisles along with a multitude of customers and kids in tranquil, relaxing surroundings, it is the selection and incredibly helpful staff that is so noticeable. The staff is respectful to everyone who walks through the door and enjoys helping both kids and adults. Moreover, beyond being knowledgeable and quick to provide assistance and advice, they seem to enjoy what they’re doing. Nowhere else will you find comparable or as consistent customer care and concern.
As the Valley’s street and store traffic started to clog with befuddled customers, the employees took the Chronicle on a walk through The Bookies shopping intersections to give shoppers a peak at the dazzling gift options:
Jaw-Dropping Gifts
The Bookies is much bigger than it appears on the outside and they seem to have everything from puzzles and toys to games and books. They have stickers and crafts projects and neat little gizmos, not to mention the newest pens, pencils and coloring utensils.
To get the season started be sure to pick up a supply of Table Topics for when holiday guests arrive or to keep holiday parties and family gatherings going. They’re wonderful discussion starters for all ages.
To help speed up your holiday shopping and be confident in the purchase, gift-giving ideas are arranged by age so the gifts won’t be abandoned shortly after they’re opened. Your idea list is fine-tuned by age and so you won’t forget toddlers, older children or the old timers:
Ages Three & Up
Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty: Great for stocking stuffers with names like Evergreen, Ornament, Icicle and Gelt.
Twister Tracks: Youngsters can design their own track and send their LED racecar cruising. Kids can easily change the direction and shape of the raceway.
Ages Four & Up
Snow White: This fairytale puzzle game introduces young children to logical thinking and can be played in two different ways. Best as gifts for ages four and five.
Soggy Doggy: Kids race around the board washing Soggy Doggy in the bathtub. But they have to be careful; if he shakes water it’s back to the start.
Ages Six & Up
Roller Coaster Challenge: Single player game in which the player twists and turns their mind in an attempt to solve 40 different roller coaster challenges of varying difficulty. When the player believes the challenge is solved they give the car a push and watch it glide down the track to the finish line. Has easy, medium, hard and super hard levels of play.
Bellz!: Compact travel pouch game that can be taken anywhere. Players use the magnet wand to pick up the 10 bells in their color. The first person to complete the task wins. Fun but tricky!
Ages Seven & Up
Whipple Craft Creations: Youngsters have fun decorating a two-tier cake, cupcake, ice cream, macaroons and other yummy treats. Everything needed to craft your own fancy collectibles. You’re your own pastry chef but remember they are for display only.
Ages Eight To Adult
Kingdomino: Game of the year winner in Germany. Players build their 5 x 5 Kingdom connecting dominoes and crowns. Strategy and luck make every game different.
Slapzi & Snapzi: A fast matching, card slapping picture game that now has an ex-tension. Snapzi will make the original game even more fun and challenging.
Cat Crimes: Using logic players try to figure out which cat committed the crime. There are 40 quick mysteries culminating in an “expert” level challenge.
Sock It To Me: Fun and funky socks for kids and adults that make fun gif
ts. Cool designs including holiday choices to unleash the person’s inner super hero.
I Love Colorado Puzzle: A holiday gift the entire family will enjoy putting together. The 1,000 pieces feature iconic Colorado scenes from the past.
Book Ideas For Kids
Yak & Dove: A funny, charming book about complete opposites written by Kyo Macleak and beautifully illustrated by Esme Shapiro. Yak has fur and Dove has feathers. Yak is polite. Dove is ill mannered. Story whimsically captures the highs and lows of friendship through three interconnected tales of two very different friends.
Her Right Foot: A splendid nonfiction picture book for kids by Dave Eggers that casually conveys a powerful message about the Statue of Liberty. About more than history or art, what the book discovers in the Statue’s right foot is a message of acceptance. Book conveys an important, timely message for the times in which we currently live in a fun and fascinating way.
Wishtree: By Newbery Award author Katherine Applegate, this is a moving friendship story that tackles anti-Muslim bigotry. The instance of hate is when a boy carves the word “leave” into their tree. The author crafts it into a sweet story laced with factual information about trees and animals in short chapters with illustrations.
Turtles All The Way Down: Another young adult classic from author John Green that will resonate with today’s teenagers. In the beginning this novel seems like a conventional mystery. But as you continue it’s clear the author’s main focus is the teenage friendships and love interests, but with a twist in the telling.
Prisoner Of Azkaban: This is the third installment in the Harry Potter series and is darker, more complex and thus will appeal to older kids. Harry is back at Hogwarts Scho
ol of Witchcraft & Wizardry with Ron and Hermione. JK Rowling’s words improve with each book while her characters remain funny and realistic.
A Journey Through A History Of Magic: For aspiring witches and wizards or any Harry Potter fan this 20th Anniversary book is a perfect gift. Created to support the British Library’s Potter exhibition, it is a romp through the history of magic from alchemy to unicorns, ancient witchcraft to Harry’s Hogwarts.
Adult In Season Books
The Rooster Bar: Former attorney and bestselling author John Grisham’s newest legal thriller takes the reader inside a law firm that’s on shaky ground. A trio of students are attending the for-profit law school seeking to escape debt by exposing a ba
nk and the law school scam but will have to leave the school short of graduation.
Code Girls: Research and interviews by journalist and bestselling author Liza Mundy bring to life the fascinating story of how 10,000 young women recruited by the Army and Navy cracked the German and Japanese military codes. Riveting reading reveals the courage, service and accomplishment of these women during World War II.
Milk Street: For chefs, foodies and those who enjoy good food on your holiday list this book is the perfect gift. It has more than 125 recipes arranged by type of dish. They teach a simpler, bolder, healthier way to cook. Moreover, cooking will become an act of pure pleasure rather than a chore.
Grant: For those on your holiday list that love history this is an ideal gift, bringing to life one of the most underappreciated presidents. Prizewinning author Ron Chernow gives a rich and sensitive portrait of Grant from West Point cadet to civilian failure to triumphant general, written with honesty.
Gift-wrapping is complimentary at The Bookies during the holidays and throughout the year. Located just two blocks east of Colorado Blvd. on Mississippi, this is your perfect shopping script for bringing happiness home for the holidays. Information: 303-759-1117.
Racial Profiling Lives On: Denver Police Refuse To Implement Audit Recommendations
by Glen Richardson
Denver Police have not implemented any recommendations from a 2016 audit meant to help officers avoid racial bias in patrol duties, a follow-up report in September 2017 finds. Denver Auditor Timothy M. O’Brien, CPA, made his original recommendations in a January 2016 audit of police operations, including updates to biased policing policies and demographic data collection.
“It’s important for Denver Police policies to protect and serve all people equally,” explains Auditor O’Brien. “There is no way to tell if officers are stopping people without bias regarding race, gender or age if officers choose not to document demographic data.”
According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): Racial profiling refers to the practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual’s race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. Criminal profiling, generally, as practiced by police, is the reliance on a group of characteristics they believe to be associated with crime. Examples of racial profiling are the use of race to determine which drivers to stop for minor traffic violations or
the use of race to determine which pedestrians to search for illegal contraband.
Secret House Surveys
The previously agreed-upon recommendation involved communicating with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services for options on how to utilize the Community Policing Self-Assessment Tool (CP-SAT). This tool could help officers evaluate the effectiveness of community policing efforts over time. Instead, Denver Police said it conducted other surveys to get input from staff. The Denver Police Foundation also conducted an independent community survey. Auditors were unable to see these survey results or the contents of the survey. Denver Police shared no information regarding the independent survey, which the Denver Police Protective Association (PPA) keeps for internal purposes.
“We cannot assess whether either survey met the spirit of or captured content similar to the CP-SAT survey,” the follow-up report says. “As a result, we consider this recommendation as having not been implemented,” the report concludes.
Other recommendations the department previously disagreed with included updating its Biased-Policing Policy to include an annual assessment of collected demographic data, and requiring officers to collect data for all pedestrian and traffic self-initiated contact. Currently, officers only collect this data for encounters that lead to a citation, arrest or street check.
Double Standard?
Within weeks following the auditor’s report, an overwhelming majority of Denver police officers say they have no confidence in the ability of Chief Robert White to lead the department. In a news conference on Oct. 24 Denver Police Protective Assn. President Nick Rogers announced than a survey of 582 union members yielded a 94 percent “no confidence” vote.
The vote, according to PPA, reflects a perception by the rank and file officers that there exists a lack of transparency within the police administration and a double standard applies to conduct of high-ranking members of the police administration,” Rogers told the conference.
When asked if the union had ever issued a “no confidence” vote before. Rogers replied, “Never.”
PR Policing Policy
The police department has long touted its community-oriented policing philosophy. Denver Police first incorporated community policing into its operations in the 1980s. However, without demographic data from police encounters there is no way to ensure community-policing efforts are effective or equitable. The department says it has communicated with stakeholders, including community leaders, about ways to collect more information. However, there is no plan in place at this time for collecting personal data from individuals about interactions with police.
The Department of Public Safety has not implemented any of the recommendations made in the Police Operations — District Patrol audit report. Accordingly, Auditor O’Brien has determined that the risk associated with the audit team’s initial findings has not been mitigated.
Auditor Timothy M. O’Brien, CPA, has more than 40 years of auditing and accounting experience and strives to bring greater clarity, transparency and accountability to Denver’s city government for its residents. Elected in 2015, he is distinguished from his predecessors by being an actual professional auditor. He is a licensed Certified Professional Accountant and holds the designations of Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Global Management Accountant.
