by Ashe in America | Oct 20, 2023 | Feature Story Bottom Left
ASHE IN AMERICA — OPINION
Last month, I published “Winter is Coming for Vulnerable Navajo Communities Near Cortez, Colorado,” about the Democrat City Council of Cortez wedging itself in between a life-and-death agreement between two indigenous parties. As politicians signaled virtuous support for indigenous peoples on October 9, their incompetence is creating a double energy crisis for some of the most vulnerable indigenous people in the region.
And they’re calling it an environmental win.
Tony Moore and Mary Lancaster, owners of Industrial Log Company (ILC), attempted for over two years to relaunch their log home manufacturing business in Tony’s hometown of Cortez, Colorado. Local ignorance of city officials and old baggage with local activists created headaches for Tony and Mary, including lost revenue and false allegations. Read the full story here: https://asheinamerica.substack.com/p/winter-is-coming-for-vulnerable-navajo.
When the city rejected the ILC zoning, the Cortez Journal and The Four Corners Free Press claimed the decision was a victory in environmentalism.
What Is A Double Energy Crisis?
The Navajo community on the reservation, the Dine’, live traditionally, with the land. They use seasoned firewood for heat in the winter. They used to use coal until the environmentalists succeeded in getting the local coal mine closed some years back. Firewood must be seasoned, or aged, and then gathered, split, and delivered to the many communities on the reservation.
But for many on the reservation, transportation is also an issue. The lack of access to fuel (wood) combined with transportation limitations, is what researchers refer to as a “double energy crisis.” Many elderly Dine’ don’t have family to manage the wood deliveries, making them some of the most vulnerable residents of the region. According to locals, it’s not uncommon to see elderly woman by the side of the road in mid-winter, gathering twigs for their primitive stoves.
When some indigenous U.S. veterans joined Tony for a tour of his operation, these two stories collided.
Byproduct Or Commodity?
ILC’s log home manufacturing yields an important byproduct: Firewood. The product is already seasoned, and ILC has the operational capabilities to split and deliver enough wood for all 20 Chapter Houses, meeting the critical needs of the vulnerable Dine’ elders.
Tony is a registered tribal Cherokee, and he and Mary know the struggles for the Navajo created by the double energy crisis. They had been working on contracting with the Chapter Houses to deliver their byproduct as firewood, and both sides were excited about the deal.
There was only one problem. The white City Council members demanded that, since the byproduct was now going to be considered firewood, that Tony and Mary’s property needed to be rezoned as industrial. So, why they can’t just re-zone the property and get on with it?
City zoning often results in unintended consequences, but this zoning dispute is creating a humanitarian crisis. Tony and Mary planned to fulfill the contract with the Navajo as a tax-deductible nonprofit activity delivered through Tony and Mary’s for-profit company. They cannot run the firewood distribution charitably since the zoning fiasco; public notice timelines for permits now prevent it.
Deprivation Of Rights Under Color Of Law
Section 242 of Title 18 makes it a crime for a person, acting under color of any law, to willfully deprive a person of a right or privilege. One such protection is “use by right,” and it applies to the normal course of business activities between ILC and the Navajo. Title 18, Section 242, is a federal law, but it explicitly applies to local governments. It’s a matter of civil rights.
Rachel Marchbanks, a City of Cortez staff member, filed a police complaint against ILC on April 29. This was a Saturday, outside of working hours, and she used her official title. It also appears that there are two co-conspirators, also acting under color of law to obstruct the native’s use by right.
Marchbanks used her official authority, outside of business hours, to interfere with “use by right” protections of two indigenous parties engaging in the normal course of business. She acted under the color of law — her official authority — with catastrophic winter consequences for those on the reservation.
But I’m sure they had lovely virtue signals on indigenous people’s day.
Ashe Epp is a writer and activist. You can find all her work at Linktree.com/asheinamerica
by Valley Gadfly | Oct 20, 2023 | Valley Gadfly
Valley Gadfly
The charm of November is folks streaming back to homes and families. It’s the insulator month between the opposing but weirdly harmonious feasts of Halloween and Christmas.
November is known for Thanksgiving, Veteran’s Day, and being the last full month of the fall season. An anthem to the leafless, frostbitten, and dreary days as winter approaches.
Here are our choices for shopping, dining, and entertainment as you grasp all the things this year has offered while enjoying a tasty Thanksgiving meal with family and friends:
Begin the month by taking the family to see Mamma Mia. The Greek island paradise story of love, friendship, and identity is beautifully told in this timeless hit playing at the Buell Theatre, Nov. 1-5. Information: 720-865-4220.
See new premieres, attend red carpet events, and meet film industry guests at the Denver Film Festival at Sie Film Center, Nov. 3-12. Information: 720-381-0813.
Enjoy music, kids and family activities, plus see military displays at Veteran’s Day Festival in City Park Nov. 11, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Information: 303-263-8160.
View streetwear, active, lifestyle, kids, and high fashion during Denver Fashion Week at York Street Yards, Nov. 11-19. Information: denverfashionweek.com.
For banking you can rely on, look to MidFirst Bank. Strong, stable, and private, it’s nation’s largest privately owned bank. Offices at 101 Cook St. and 2805 S. Colorado Blvd. provide a special brand of banking. Information: 303-376-3807.
Add Hana Matsuri Sushi in Glendale’s CitySet to your holiday dining plans. Enjoy fab food, service, and atmosphere with great wine-sake selection. Treat your holiday guest to chef’s rare seasonal dishes. Information: 303-600-8477.
Entertainment, a Chanukah party, plus Holiday Market in tree-lit Cherry Creek Winter Wanderland, Nov. 16-Dec. 24, 6 to 8 p.m. Information: 303-394-2904.
Don’t miss a chance to see comedian, actor Paul Reiser as he films a rare stand-up special at the Newman Center Nov. 17, 7 p.m. Information: 303-871-7720.
Join United Way’s 50th annual Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 4-mile walk-run or 1-mile Lil Gobbler run at Wash Park Nov. 23, 9 a.m. Information: 303-433-8383.
Singer Kat Edmonson’s Holiday Swingin’, a blend of jazz, pop, and cabaret, is at the Lakewood Cultural Center Nov. 30, 7:30 p.m. Information: 303-987-7845.
Join the Colorado French Chamber’s 25th Anniversary, a celebration that transcends time and promises an unforgettable experience. Beaujolais & Beyond is not just a celebration of the finer things in life, but also the art of making a difference. Live and silent auctions showcase exquisite items to support a noble cause. You’ll enjoy live music, fine wines, gourmet delicacies, and entertainment at Reelworks Nov. 16, 6 p.m. Information: 720-447-7961.
The heart and hearth of this month is Thanksgiving, which stimulates the grocery, restaurant, and travel economy. The sun slowly turns traitor on us as the month draws to a close. For some, it only heralds winter and seasonal depression. For others, it brings the winter-holiday season that features: friendship, family, and the camaraderie of the festive season.
Thanksgiving is a good time to recommit our energies to giving thanks and just giving. What’s the best thing to put into your pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving? Your teeth.
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
by Valley Gadfly | Oct 20, 2023 | Main Articles
Eateries Open For Thanksgiving, Plus Fun Things To Do In Legs Up Guide By Neighborhood For A Bountiful Holiday
by Glen Richardson
Hot To Trot: Plan to join United Way’s 50th anniversary Thanksgiving 4-mile Turkey Trot or 1-mile Lil Gobbler family run at Wash Park Nov. 23, 9 a.m.
November is the month to celebrate happiness and home as we prepare for Thanksgiving. The popular holiday falls on Thursday, Nov. 23, this year. If laboring in the kitchen doesn’t sound like your idea of a holiday, let chefs and professional restaurant staff prepare and serve your Thanksgiving meal.
Many restaurants are opening their doors to serve up a variety of gourmet dishes. Reminiscing with friends and kin will touch your Funny Bone as you enjoy the annual Wish Bone holiday. Choices range from Monaco Inn Restaurant’s flavorful fare, to the buffet at FIRE in the ART Hotel.
Here’s the Chronicle’s leg up Thanksgiving guide to restaurant options and fun things to do to make your holiday bright and bold:
Dining Out Options
Listed by neighborhoods, these restaurants have signified they will be open for Thanksgiving. Many, however, had yet to announce menu choices.
Glendale-Cherry Creek
Blue Island Oyster Bar, Seafood
Del Frisco’s Grille, Steakhouse
Bar-grill on St. Paul annually offer a three-course turkey dinner, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Information: 303-320-8529.
Gyo-Kaku, Japanese
Hapa Sushi Grill, Sushi
Hana Matsuri, Sushi
Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar, Seafood
Kini’s
La Merise, French
Little Ollie’s, Asian
Local Jones, American
Bistro-bar in Halcyon Hotel annually offers dine in or advanced notice to-go orders. They often feature a one-of-a-kind Pumpkin Basque Cheesecake dessert. Information: 720-772-5022.
Locanda Del Borgo, Italian
Mehak India’s Aroma
Monaco Inn Restaurant, Greek
Though it’s known for its Greek cuisine, this cozy holiday dining institution always offers a Thanksgiving feast. Eatery is serving classic roast turkey with stuffing and all the trimmings, noon to 6 p.m. Menu items are also available, all accompanied by classic sides. Information: 303-320-1104.
Narrative
North Italia
Quality Italian
Toro Latin Kitchen, South American
True Food Kitchen
Viale Pizza & Kitchen, Italian
Downtown
801 Fish, Seafood
Family & Friends Feast: Experience the quality and service of the Monaco Inn Restaurant this Thanksgiving. Family run Monaco Square eatery has been serving Denver for over 30 years.
Corinne, American
Restaurant in the Le Meridien Hotel is serving from 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Choose from roasted turkey, bourbon glazed ham, tofurkey as an entrée. Limited a la carte options from menu also offered. Information: 720-996-1555.
Corner Office Restaurant, American
Eatery in downtown Curtis Hotel annually offers a Thanksgiving buffet. Information; 303-825-6500.
EDGE Restaurant, Steakhouse
Steakhouse in Four Seasons Hotel downtown is serving a Thanksgiving buffet featuring “savory delicacies and decadent desserts,” from noon to 8 p.m. Information: 303-389-3050.
Guard & Grace, Steakhouse
Ship Tavern Brown Palace, American
STK, Steakhouse
Three Saints Revival, Tapas, Small Plates
Venice Restaurante & Wine Bar, Italian
Water Grill, Seafood
Eatery on Market St. is working on a Thanksgiving menu and will also offer an a la carte menu. Information: 303-727-5711.
Talking Turkey: Donate time, turkeys, and funds for Denver Rescue Mission to feed the hungry at shelters. Mission also provides Thanksgiving Banquet-in-a-Box to needy families.(Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Highlands
Acova, Italian
Ash Kara, Israeli
Mizu Izakaya & Sushi, Japanese
Spuntino, Italian
Williams & Graham, Small Plates
LoDo
Ocean Prime, Larimer Square, Seafood
Rioja, Mediterranean, LoDo
Make reservations early at this popular eatery that often serves turkey two ways and often sells out. A Thanksgiving menu for pickup is also usually offered. Information: 303-820-2282.
Tamayo, Contemporary Mexican, LoDo
The Capital Grill, Steakhouse, LoDo
Wash Park
Carmine’s On Penn, Italian
Mister Oso, Latin American
Que Bueno Suerte, Mexican
Diverse Locations
Blue Bonnet, Mexican (Baker)
Light Your Fire: Thanksgiving buffet being served at FIRE, the restaurant in the ART Hotel, will light your fire. Buffet is from 11:30 to 6 p.m., with live music from 1 to 4 p.m.
FIRE, American (Golden Triangle)
Restaurant in the ART Hotel is serving a Thanksgiving buffet from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with live music from 1 to 4 p.m. Menu includes roasted white-dark meat, whipped potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, country gravy, and sourdough stuffing, Information: 720-709-4431.
To Go Option
Nosh Catering, Scratch Cat
Thanksgiving To Go: Nosh Catering is offering a to-go Thanksgiving dinner that feeds 6-8 people. The dinners will be available from Nov. 21 through 24.
erer
Offering a to-go Thanksgiving dinner that feeds 6-8 people, from Nov. 21 to 24. Information: 303-426-4534.
Thanksgiving Doings
Thanksgiving Preparation, Nov. 5 — Side dishes and the Art of Roasting, Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, 10:45 a.m. Information: 877-249-0305.
Denver Fashion Week, Nov. 11-19 —View holiday streetwear, activewear, lifestyle, kids, and high fashion at York Street Yards evenings, kids show 3 p.m. Information: michelle@halsports.net.
Thanksgiving Doings
Great Candy Run 5K, Nov. 12 — Get your youngsters moving for a sweet reward at run-walk event for kids, school groups, and teens at Wash Park, 9 a.m. Information: michelle@hallsports.net.
Cherry Creek Holiday Market, Nov. 16-Dec. 24 — Shop 50+ local makers on Fillmore between 1st & 2nd Ave., Sun.-Wed. noon to 7 p.m., Thur.-Sat. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Information: 303-394-2904.
Turkey Trot, Nov. 23 — Join United Way’s 50th anniversary Thanksgiving 4-mile walk-run or 1-mile Lil Gobbler family run at Wash Park, 9 a.m. Information: 303-433-8383.
Harvesting Hope, Nov. 23 — Participate in 5K at Stapleton Central Park on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 7 a.m. to noon. Information: harvestinghope5K.com.
Holiday Swingin’, Nov. 30 — Singer Kat Edmonson blends jazz, cabaret, and pop to get you swinging into the holidays at the Lakewood Cultural Center, 7:30 p.m. Information: 303-987-7845.
by Valley Gadfly | Oct 20, 2023 | Main Articles
by Glen Richardson
Finish Line Finale: The $233 million Colorado Convention Center expansion is projected to finish by year end. Project will add an additional 200,000-sq.-ft. of space to be maintained.
As the $233 million Colorado Convention Center expansion nears completion, the agency responsible for the facility warns that the current 2.2 million-sq.-ft. structure is in horrendous shape and in danger of becoming a catastrophe.
Furthermore, despite an increase in convention center meeting volume this year (2023), of the more than 180 conventions booked in the U.S. by mid-Sept. for 2024, the only one reserved at the Convention Center by that date was the July 4-7 Fan Expo.
The city is more than $62 million behind in deferred maintenance costs, and Denver Arts & Venues guestimates that the amount has ballooned above $70 million.
Trash & Turnover
The crux and reality are that the sources of funds for capital improvement are not keeping up with what’s needed for a building of this magnitude, was how Denver Arts & Venues Executive Director Ginger White explained it.
Fantasizing to solve the problem, new Denver Mayor Mike Johnston ended her 18-year career by firing her at the end of September. He has not named a replacement or put a deputy in charge of the 100-employee department. Deputy Molly Wink has subsequently taken a job at DIA, increasing the convention center crisis.
Arts & Venues also manages Red Rocks, DCPA, the McNichols Bldg., and the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, potentially placing those venues into a crisis comparable to that of the Convention Center. Combined, those venues generate $90 million in annual revenue and attract three million people yearly.
Swept Under Carpet
Seedy Sight: Colorado Convention Center’s Big Blue Bear looks in on rundown, dirty conditions in current space. City lacks funds for maintenance of building’s huge space.
Led by the new mayor, the city has tried to keep the Convention Center crisis a clandestine hush-hush secret. Arts & Venues’ Ginger White did not leak the convention complex maintenance problem; the information was obtained through an open records request by NPR’s online news site Denverite.
Ending homelessness — seemingly the mayor’s only priority — is a factor in the decline of city conventions. So is reducing crime downtown and finishing the 16th Street Mall and Larimer Square. Safety remains downtown’s chief flashpoint. Large city hotels say potential tourists, travelers, and business guests continue to say safety is a top priority when choosing whether to stay downtown.
The city’s Convention Center marketing has also slipped. Travel publications play an important role in tourism and conventions. Aurora and Colorado Springs still market in trade publications such as Meetings Today. Denver has done nothing in 2023. Furthermore, online convention material doesn’t appear to have been updated in months.
Maintenance Mess
Crowd Collapse: In 2016 the Convention Center recorded 967,543 attendees, the most ever. Six years later in 2022, the center’s 140 conventions drew a meager 547,526 attendees.
Denver spends among the least in the nation for convention center maintenance among similar sized sites. Using 2019 as a comparison to other convention centers, Denver’s operating gap — revenue less expenses — is the lowest in its competitive set.
For a decade, Denver allocated just $1 million a year for maintenance. In 2023, the city raised the figure to $5 million, albeit the new mayor may not approve the funds. Fixing escalators doesn’t have political sex appeal.
Nevertheless, the Convention Center is a crucial component for maintaining Denver’s financial well-being. If the Convention Center isn’t functioning, it reduces the amount of money the city can spend on daily operations and addressing residential issues.
Expansion Elements
Expected to be completed by the end of this year and open in 2024, the massive Colorado Convention expansion project will add an additional 200,000-sq.-ft. of space. The expansion will bring the facility to 2.4 million sq.-ft. It includes a 30,000-sq.-ft. back-of-the-house area, an 80,000-sq.-ft. ballroom, a 20,000-sq.-ft. terrace, and new pre-function areas.
When complete the ballroom will be the largest in Colorado. The space can be divided into 19 configurations. Leading out of the ballroom is a 20,000-sq.-ft. terrace with views of downtown and the mountains.
The southwest portion of the existing Convention Center, closest to Speer Blvd., featured an 80-ft. ceiling and glass curtain wall. As part of the expansion, a second level is going in, which will be used as pre-function space. It requires attaching the new floor to the existing structure and will include a set of long escalators.
Seesaw Saga
Classy Curtain Wall: Expansion along the southwest portion of the existing Convention Center — closest to Speer Blvd. —will have an 80-ft. ceiling and glass curtain wall.
The largest number of events in Denver was 246 back in 2010. Six years later in 2016 the Convention Center recorded the most attendees at 967,543. In 2022 the number had dropped to 140 conventions with 547,526 attendees.
The city’s image has been a factor in the decline in number of conventions and attendees. U.S. News & World Report rated Denver as the second-best place to live in 2020. In 2023 the city had dropped from second place to 99th.
Owned by the City & County of Denver, the Convention Center has been privately managed by ASM Global since 1994. Expecting a post-pandemic uptick, the City Council approved a new 10-year, $250 million contract for ASM Global, commencing Jan. 1, 2024.
Turbulence Threat
Big Ballroom: DenverInfill photo shows construction underway at the Convention Center’s 80,000-sq.-ft. ballroom. When completed it will be the biggest in Colorado.
A decade of limited maintenance by the city at the original convention center structure has turned a dust devil into a violent whirlwind, creating turbulence and instability as the new $233 million expansion nears completion. Moreover, the rotating updraft is a foreboding threat to downtown Denver’s comeback.
Trying to sweep the crisis under the carpet, the new mayor’s firing of Arts & Venues Executive Director Ginger White — followed by the quick exit of Deputy Director Molly Wink — has created a supercell. The sudden change in direction without warning now threatens the Denver Center for Performing Art and Red Rocks Amphitheatre, as the crisis swirls into a severe storm.
Amid the small whirls of dust, the landlord for the city’s Convention & Visitors Bureau is converting the space into residential units, forcing Visit Denver to move for the first time in 30 years. Richard W. Scharf Jr. — Visit Denver CEO and now the city’s only veteran convention person — may be caught in the atmosphere of chaos and also fired, turning the Convention Center crisis into a cyclone.
