by Valley Gadfly | Apr 17, 2026 | Main Articles
They Are The Quiet Designers Of Our Bravest Moments, Our Steady Hand. This Month Is For Them.
by Glen Richardson
Activity Whirlwind: Mom’s juggle never-ending laundry, family schedules, and the chaos of kids. A test of patience, they are the strength of family.
This is the month to celebrate your first best friend and the person you turn to when you need advice. In 1914, Congress and a Presidential Proclamation established the second Sunday in May — May 10 this year — as Mother’s Day.
A day to honor mothers has existed for as long as, well, there have been mothers. They are like glue. Even when you can’t see them, they’re still holding the family together.
Here’s the Chronicle’s guide for showing your mother, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, and friends how special they are:
Brunch
Brunch on Mother’s Day is a classic, and it’s made even better in Cherry Creek North featuring some of Denver’s top brunch spots. For moms who like to keep it classic, the district also has many restaurants serving dinner. For moms who like to switch it up, there’s beers and burger eateries too.
Here are a few of the many restaurants to consider:
Blue Island Oyster Bar & Seafood: Offering an array of brunch and coastal inspired dishes.
Le Bilboquet: A little corner of Paris at Third Ave. and St. Paul St. featuring French fare in an elegant setting.
Local Jones: Brunch and dinner favorites in the Halcyon Hotel including crab cakes benedict.
Sam’s No. 3: Take your mom and the family to the Glendale, or downtown diner with a huge menu, big portions, and great service.
Toro Latin Kitchen: Hotel Cleo eatery has brunch, a made-to-order crepe station, plus a Bloody Mary bar.
Urban Egg: Restaurant on East 1st Ave. has weekend brunch, including a Lump Crab Cake Benedict.
Garden Experience: Treat mom to a slow-paced day at the 24-acre Denver Botanic Gardens this month to celebrate Mother’s Day.
If you’re thinking of treating mom downtown on Mother’s Day, there are lots of restaurant choices. Mother’s Day Brunch at Dazzle is a great choice because it includes live music. This Mother’s Day features jazz vocalist Baily Hinkley Grogan. FIRE Restaurant in the ART Hotel near the Denver Art Museum is another popular choice.
Shopping
Go-To Diner: Sam’s No. 3 in Glendale and downtown are well-liked options for family celebrations such as Mother’s Day.
Cherry Creek North is Denver’s premier destination for a Mother’s Day shopping experience. There are more than 200 shops. Moreover, it has the city’s highest concentration of locally owned boutiques. It gives mom a day that practically plans itself.
Wash Park
The Wash Park Home Tour & Mother’s Day Market Street Fair takes place in the picturesque park May 9, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Attendees can explore stunning homes showcasing innovative designs and exquisite decor. The market features local artisans, gourmet food vendors, and various craft stalls.
It’s the major annual fundraiser for Steele Elementary. Information: steelewashparkho metour@gmail.com.
Botanic Gardens
For the mom who finds peace in the petals, skip the crowded restaurants and opt for an afternoon of botanical discovery.
Treat her to a slow-paced wander through 24 acres of world-class flora at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Start by getting lost in the humid greenery of the tropical conservatory before finding a quiet, sun-drenched spot on the lawn to lay down a blanket.
Whether you pack a gourmet spread or grab a light bite from the Hive Garden Bistro, the gardens provide a peaceful backdrop for mom to enjoy. Information: Denver Botanic Gardens Mother’s Day.
Oakwell Spa
Home Tour: The Wash Park Home Tour May 9, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., is an opportunity to see innovative designs and exquisite décor.
For a Mother’s Day that is truly fueled by rest and relaxation, book a session at Denver’s Oakwell Beer Spa.
A truly unique experience, it was rated by Time magazine as one of the “World’s Greatest Places.” The downtown location is at 3004 N. Downing St. Information: 720-810-1484.
RiNo Street Fair
For the ultimate “early Mother’s Day” treat, wander down to the RiNo Street Fair to find your mom that one-of-a-kind treasure. Event is May 9 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The RiNo Art District has been named by USA Today as the Sixth Best Arts District in the United States, rising three spots from ninth place in 2025.
Located in the creative heart of Denver, meander down Larimer Street to shop from local artisans. It’s the perfect place to let her pick out her own gift or for you to find a unique, handmade surprise. With live music echoing off the neighborhood’s iconic murals and a vibrant community energy, it’s a great way to celebrate the spirit of Denver before the Sunday Mother’s Day rush begins.
Flowers & Candy
Shopping Spree: With more than 200 shops and the city’s highest concentration of locally owned boutiques, Cherry Creek North is a popular Mother’s Day destination.
Started in 1917 as a “Say it with flowers,” marketing campaign, the tradition of gifting blooms on Mother’s Day continues today. Flowers symbolize love and gratitude, and make a perfect gift for mom.
Newberry Brothers Florist in the Leetsdale Shopping Center — with a design staff and using only blooms straight from growers — is one of the most popular. Bouquets, and The Perfect Petal are other local favorites.
Enstrom Candies on the west side of University Blvd. between 2nd and 3rd Ave. in Cherry Creek — known for its almond toffee and chocolates — is among the most popular. The Cioccolatier in the Cherry Creek Shopping Center is another favorite.
More To Do
From films to fashion, there are a variety of unforgettable shows and events this month that mom would enjoy. Here’s a can’t-miss guide to more ways to treat mom this month.
The SeriesFest — an award-winning festival dedicated to showcasing the best and boldest in episodic storytelling is at the Sie FilmCenter and other venues, May 6-10.
Paper Fashion Show, May 7 in the Stockyards Event Center. Event features 56 original designs created entirely of paper by local designers, a runway show, with awards honoring creative craftmanship.
Denver Potters Spring Show & Sale, May 7-10, at the Sixth Avenue United Church. Top local artists sell ceramics, glass, wood, fiber and personal care products.
by Mark Smiley | Apr 17, 2026 | Main Articles
by Mark Smiley
Family Owned: The Conoco at the corner of University Blvd. and Exposition in the Bonnie Brae neighborhood is for sale. The Wilson family has owned the station since 1942 and the land since the late 1970s.
A familiar fixture in one of Denver’s most charming neighborhoods may soon be changing hands. The Bonnie Brae Conoco, long a staple at the corner of University Boulevard and East Ohio Avenue, is officially up for sale, raising questions about the future of the site and sparking conversation among residents.
For decades, the small gas station has served as more than just a place to fill up. Nestled at the entrance to the Bonnie Brae neighborhood, the Conoco has been a recognizable landmark for locals commuting through the area or stopping in for a quick snack, coffee, or last minute essentials.
For Sale: The sign on the Conoco station at 724 S. University Blvd. has the words “For Sale” below the gas prices. Ken Wilson and his two sisters signed with a real estate agency in February. The Wilson family has owned the gas station since 1942.
A Neighborhood Touchstone
Bonnie Brae is known for its tree lined streets, historic homes, and tight knit community feel. Within that setting, the Conoco has played a quiet but consistent role, providing convenience while becoming part of the neighborhood’s identity.
“It’s one of those places you don’t think much about until you realize it’s always been there,” said a longtime resident. “You pass it every day. It’s part of the rhythm of the neighborhood.”
Its location at a prominent intersection has made it both highly visible and strategically valuable, factors that are likely to attract strong interest from potential buyers.
Prime Real Estate, Uncertain Future
With Denver’s continued growth and rising property values, small parcels like the
Bonnie Brae Conoco site have become increasingly attractive for redevelopment. The listing has fueled speculation about what could come next, whether the property remains a gas station, transitions to a different retail concept, or is redeveloped entirely.
Real estate observers note that corner lots in established neighborhoods often draw interest for mixed use or boutique commercial projects, particularly in areas with strong foot traffic and nearby residential density.
Still, no official plans for the site have been announced.
Community Reaction
News of the sale has prompted a mix of curiosity and concern among neighbors. While some welcome the possibility of new investment, others worry about losing a familiar piece of the neighborhood fabric.
“There’s always a balance,” another resident said. “You want to see the area thrive, but you also don’t want to lose the little things that make it feel like home.”
Old School: The Wilson family-owned gas station also features an old-school auto service garage, where oil changes, tires, and repairs have kept cars, and a neighborhood, running for generations.
The conversation echoes broader trends across Denver, where redevelopment has brought both revitalization and debate about preserving neighborhood character.
What Comes Next
As the property enters the market, all eyes will be on who steps forward and what vision they bring. Whether the Bonnie Brae Conoco continues in its current role or evolves into something new, its next chapter will likely reflect the ongoing transformation of Denver’s neighborhoods.
For Glendale and Cherry Creek readers, the story serves as a reminder that even the most familiar corners of the city are not immune to change, and that community voices will play an important role in shaping what comes next.
by Mark Smiley | Apr 1, 2026 | Main Articles
Glendale nightclub pioneer helped launch iconic Colorado Boulevard club in 1979 and remained active manager for decades.
by Mark Smiley
Cowboy At Heart: George Miller poses with his horse.
George Miller, one of the original founders and longtime managers of the Glendale nightclub Shotgun Willie’s, died March 10, 2026. He was 87.
Born on September 25, 1938, for more than four decades, Miller was closely tied to the well-known club at Colorado Boulevard and East Virginia Avenue, a business that has been both a prominent Glendale landmark and a lightning rod for debate since it opened in 1979.
Miller helped launch Shotgun Willie’s with three friends who shared a love of country western music. The group opened the establishment as a country western bar at 490 South Colorado Boulevard, then the site of the Rondo Bar and the Bavarian Inn Restaurant. The club took its name from Willie Nelson’s 1973 album “Shotgun Willie,” and Nelson, who lived in Evergreen at the time, granted permission for the name and visited the bar in its early years.
Originally a country-themed nightclub, Shotgun Willie’s began featuring female dancers in 1982 and eventually grew into one of the region’s best-known adult entertainment venues.
Stanley Cup: George proudly hoists the 1996 Stanley Cup. Colorado defeated Florida in a four game sweep to win their first Stanley Cup.
Miller grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, where his father was a physician and his mother a registered nurse. Although his father encouraged him to pursue medicine, Miller chose a different path.
“I never saw a man work harder in my life than my father,” Miller once said, noting that doctors in that era often worked long hours without significant financial reward.
After graduating from Colorado State University, Miller joined the Army Reserve during the period surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Berlin Crisis, and the Vietnam War. He later built a successful drywall contracting business before entering the nightclub industry with the opening of Shotgun Willie’s.
Although he was an original owner, Miller began working as a manager at the club in the early 1990s and remained involved in its day-to-day operations well into his seventies.
Known for his enthusiasm for the club and its patrons, Miller often described Shotgun Willie’s as more than a nightclub.
“From the beginning it has been, and continues today to be, essentially a friendly neighborhood bar,” he once said. “That’s why people who come in once return so often.”
Miller was also remembered for moments that linked the club to Colorado sports history. One of his favorite memories was when members of the Colorado Avalanche brought the Stanley Cup to the club after their championship victory, allowing Miller to raise the trophy overhead.
Outside of the nightclub business, Miller remained a dedicated horseman and dog trainer, interests he pursued regularly during trips to Texas for hunting and riding. Friends described him as a lifelong cowboy at heart.
Miller was married for more than 50 years and had two daughters and four grandchildren. One of his grandsons, Kelly, is a classical musician who has performed multiple times at Carnegie Hall, with Miller proudly attending the performances.
Even in his later years, Miller showed little interest in retirement. When Shotgun Willie’s celebrated the opening of a new building on adjoining land in 2013, he remained actively involved in the club and its future.
At the time, he said he hoped to be present for the club’s 50th anniversary, a milestone that would mark half a century since the Glendale establishment first opened its doors. That celebration will take place in 2032.
A celebration of life took place on March 25, 2026.
by Mark Smiley | Apr 1, 2026 | Main Articles
Flowers Are Blooming Early, And Trees Are Starved For Water As The Mile High City Endures Historic Drought
by Glen Richardson
Dry Spells: Drought is not new to city, as shown in this photo of Denver Water’s Cheesman Reservoir during the 2002 drought.
Snowpack as of early March 2026, was at or near record lows: The Colorado River Basin within Denver Water’s collection system was at 71% of normal. The South Platte River Basin within Denver Water’s collection area was 55% of normal.
In Denver Water’s decades of records for its watershed collection areas, as of March 9, Colorado River snowpack ranked the fourth-worst on record, and the South Platte River snowpack remained ranked as the worst. The wet overnight March 15 snowstorm — 3.2 inches in metro Denver — was welcome, however, our hot and dry weather pattern will limit those gains and keep Denver’s water supply situation challenging.
Why it matters: Denver Water depends on mountain snowpack for 90% of its water supply, which serves 1.5 million people in Denver and the surrounding suburbs.
Concern Rising
North Fork Of The Snake River: Melted snow is the primary source of drinking water for the 1.5 million people who rely on Denver Water every day. Photo: Denver Water
Nearly 80% of the county’s landmass is in severe drought, a dramatic increase. Denver hasn’t been free of drought since July. Portions of Weld, Arapahoe, Adams, Douglas, and Jefferson counties are also experiencing severe drought.
Since 2000, Denver Water’s response to dry conditions in previous years included issuing a Drought Watch (voluntary restrictions) in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2012, and 2013. In some of those years (2002, 2003, 2004, 2013), Denver Water levied additional drought restrictions as part of declaring a Stage 1 level response, which required mandatory reductions in outdoor water use.
Conditions remain highly concerning. Poor snowfall combined with warm temperatures have left us roughly 4 feet to 5 feet of snow short of where we’d prefer to be in the Denver Water collection area at this time of year. To reach the normal spring snowpack peak — which typically occurs in April — we need to see an additional 7 feet to 8 feet of snow this spring.
Water Restrictions?
Reservoir storage conditions are below average, but in reasonably good shape. As of March 9, 2026, the reservoirs were 80% full versus an average of 85% full at this time of year. Those levels are also temporarily affected by the need to keep Gross Reservoir low during construction to raise the dam, a project designed to increase the storage capacity of the reservoir.
Reservoir Release: Water is released from Strontia Springs Reservoir located 6 miles up Waterton Canyon southwest of Denver. Photo: Denver Water
As we enter spring. We ask our customers not to get lulled into thinking they should turn on irrigation systems with the warming weather,” says Greg Fisher, Planning & Efficiency Manager for Denver Water.
“Customers need to prepare for outdoor watering restrictions this year and plan on waiting until late May or June to activate irrigation systems. In fact, it’s a good time to consider landscape changes to your yard, with plants and grasses that require far less water and are far more adapted to Colorado’s dry stretches.”
Finding Balance
For Mile High residents, there’s a fine balance between keeping trees and plants alive through the dry winter conditions Denver has experienced this year, and conserving water. Both are important, and both can cause potential ripple effects.
Snow Samples: Ben Morgan and Rick Geise take snow samples on Shrine Pass Feb. 25. The snow depth averaged 34 inches. In 2025, the snow depth averaged 61 inches at this site. Photo: Denver Water
“We’re still experiencing the worst snowpack that we’ve ever seen on record,” says Greg Fisher, the Manager for Planning & Efficiency at Denver Water. “So, we’re actively preparing for supplies that won’t fill our reservoirs and ready to start conserving.”
It’s something that’s been said all season long. But you don’t need to hear it from the experts; Denver has been feeling the effects of dry conditions for months.
Effect On Trees
“March and April tend to be some of our wettest months,” Fisher notes. “So, we’re going to keep watching, but we are preparing for a drought response.”
That makes the likelihood of water restrictions in Denver in the coming months nearly inevitable. However, the effects on trees can’t be ignored, and therefore, Denver’s tree canopy.
“It’s really important that we continue to increase our tree canopy in Denver,” Fisher says. “At least parts of Denver have a low tree canopy. So that’s the thing that keeps us cooler, shades us.” That means the dry conditions could be the start of a ripple effect, making it important to keep them watered, while still conserving water.
May For Sprinklers
National Drought Mitigation Center Drought Map: The U.S. Drought Monitor Map in mid-January with Denver Water’s collection system outlined in green.
“The lack of precipitation in the form of rain or snow is resulting in a lot of our trees coming out of winter with not enough water,” warns Karim Gharbi, a horticulture specialist with Colorado State University. So, they’re going to be coming out of winter already drought-stressed, and that can lead to a variety of bad things, like increased pest pressure. These trees may be leafing out, not as quickly, maybe producing smaller leaves. If they bloom, maybe they’ll bloom for a short time.
“While the recent wet snowstorm was welcome, our hot and dry weather pattern will limit those gains and keep our water supply situation challenging as we enter spring. We ask our customers not to get lulled into thinking they should turn on irrigation systems with the warming weather,” warns Greg Fisher, Planning & Efficiency Manager for Denver Water. “Keep sprinklers off and limit hand watering. This recent storm provided trees and plants with a good dose of moisture.”
Additional drought restrictions, voluntary or mandatory, will depend in part on how the rest of the snow season shapes up and will be aimed at preserving water supplies in case this unusually dry stretch deepens into a multiyear drought.
by Mark Smiley | Apr 1, 2026 | Main Articles
by Mark Smiley
Sunrise Service: Worshippers gather at Red Rocks Amphitheatre before dawn for Easter sunrise service, an annual Colorado tradition that draws thousands to the iconic venue. As the sun rises over the Front Range, the natural sandstone formations frame a service of music and reflection to mark the holiday. Photo Credit: CBS Colorado
As spring returns to the Front Range, Easter Sunday on April 5, 2026, is shaping up to be one of the city’s busiest brunch days of the year. From elegant hotel spreads to family-friendly breakfasts with the Easter Bunny, Denver offers a wide range of ways to celebrate the holiday.
A City Of Brunch Traditions
For many Denverites, Easter brunch is as much about the experience as it is the food. Classic hotel dining rooms and chef-driven restaurants are once again rolling out special menus and buffets.
Brown Palace: Guests gather beneath the historic atrium at The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa in downtown Denver, where elegant surroundings and live music help define one of the city’s most enduring Easter brunch traditions. The landmark hotel has hosted refined dining experiences for generations.
At The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa, Autograph Collection, a longtime downtown landmark, holiday brunch is a tradition, with refined settings and multi-generational appeal. Nearby, Corinne Denver offers a more contemporary take on brunch, with a menu that blends comfort food and seasonal ingredients.
Steakhouses are also leaning into the holiday. A special Easter buffet at Urban Farmer will feature made-to-order omelets, a waffle bar, oysters, and roasted lamb, with seatings running throughout the morning and early afternoon.
For those willing to venture just outside the city, The Greenbriar Inn in Boulder plans an expansive buffet with prime rib, salmon, quiches, and a wide dessert spread, an example of the indulgent, all-you-can-enjoy format that remains popular for Easter celebrations.
More casual brunch-goers can still find festive options at neighborhood favorites like Bacon Social House — Sunny Side, where hearty breakfast plates and cocktails keep things lively, or Gaetano’s, known for its Italian-inspired weekend brunch.
Beyond The Buffet:
Music And Experiences
Easter Bunny: Families pose for photos with the Easter Bunny during holiday events at Denver’s Downtown Aquarium, where annual brunches and egg hunts draw crowds each spring. The event combines a buffet breakfast, children’s activities, and discounted access to exhibits, making it one of the city’s most popular family-friendly Easter traditions.
This year, several venues are pairing brunch with entertainment. At Dazzle in the Denver Performing Arts Complex, guests can enjoy a chef-curated brunch accompanied by live bossa nova from guitarist Alex Trujillo and his quartet — an option that blends dining with a concert atmosphere.
These hybrid experiences reflect a broader trend in Denver’s dining scene, where restaurants increasingly offer immersive events rather than traditional seated meals.
Family-Friendly Festivities
Easter in Denver isn’t just for adults lingering over mimosas. Families will find plenty of kid-focused events across the metro area.
At the Downtown Aquarium, a “Breakfast with the Easter Bunny” invites children to dine, take photos, and explore marine exhibits at a discounted rate afterward.
Buffet: Buffet stations featuring pastries, fruit, and made-to-order dishes are a hallmark of Denver’s Easter brunch scene, with hotels and restaurants offering expansive holiday spreads designed for leisurely, multi-course dining.
Hotels are also embracing the family market. The Ritz-Carlton, Denver, will host a holiday breakfast featuring pastries, made-to-order stations, and appearances by the Easter Bunny — offering a more upscale but still kid-friendly experience.
Across the region, community egg hunts and spring festivals remain staples of the weekend, often paired with food trucks, games, and live entertainment.
Reservations Strongly Recommended
If there’s one consistent piece of advice from restaurateurs, it’s to plan ahead. Easter brunch is one of the busiest dining days of the year, and many venues operate on fixed seatings or require prepaid reservations.
Buffet-style events in particular tend to sell out early, especially those offering extras like bottomless mimosas or live entertainment.
Sunrise Service
Beyond brunch, many in the Denver area will begin Easter Sunday with a sunrise service at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, one of Colorado’s most iconic settings. As the sun rises over the sandstone formations, thousands gather for a non-denominational service that blends music, reflection, and sweeping Front Range views. The annual tradition offers a quieter, spiritual start to the holiday before the city shifts into a day of brunches, egg hunts, and celebrations.
A Holiday That
Blends Food And Celebration
Whether it’s a jazz-filled brunch downtown, a lavish buffet in a historic hotel, or pancakes with the Easter Bunny, Denver’s Easter offerings reflect the city’s broader dining culture: diverse, experiential, and family-friendly.
For many, the holiday is less about a single meal and more about how that meal fits into a day of celebration, one that marks the arrival of spring in the Mile High City.
by Charles Bonniwell | Feb 19, 2026 | Main Articles
by Charles Bonniwell
Divider: Critics say Channel 9 News anchor Kyle Clark has instigated class warfare over Alameda Avenue in order to boost his slumping ratings.
Unlikely Hero: Jill Anschutz, daughter-in-law of Colorado’s richest man, has become a surprising popular advocate for many everyday Denverites.
Denver’s hard progressive left and its media advocates, headed by Channel 9’s Kyle Clark, have decided to flex their increasing muscle to go after and try to crush the middle-class homeowners, small businessmen, and everyday commuters who once were important voices in the city, all over a relatively short one-mile, 10-block stretch of East Alameda Avenue in the East Washington Park area.
Opposing Clark and his powerful allies is an unlikely voice for the middle class, Jill Anschutz, the daughter-in-law of Colorado’s richest man, Phil Anschutz. Although she married into a rich family, she herself did not come from a wealthy background.
She graduated magna cum laude with a journalism degree from Taylor University, a small Christian liberal college in Indiana, before moving to Denver, where she met Christian Anschutz around 2015. They have several children together.
Repurposing Project
“While my name might stand out, this is not about me,” Anschutz has indicated. “It is about hundreds of neighbors and businesses who are concerned about negative unintended consequences from the initial design of the Alameda Lanes Repurposing Project.”
The war between the two sides relates to the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) “Alameda Lane Repurposing Project” for Alameda Avenue between Franklin and Downing streets.
On November 7, 2025, DOTI came out with its plan for public comment, with implementation to begin in late 2026. The existing road has two lanes in each direction. It acts as a major thoroughfare for east-west traffic in that portion of the city. The plan would have cut the street down to a single lane each way. It would add dedicated left-turn lanes at various intersections and install medians and bollards at others to eliminate left turns altogether.
DOTI declared the goals of the plan were to reduce crashes, provide pedestrian safety, and improve accessibility, and of course no one believed them. Critics of the city administration believe that many, if not most, of the city’s plans have a real purpose hidden behind politically correct bromides.
Busy Traffic: The one-mile stretch along Alameda Avenue that is subject of DOTI’s repurposing project has many fender bender accidents but no reported fatalities or serious injuries.
The idea that “safety” is the overriding concern of Kyle Clark or his adherents is somewhat ridiculous. Given the number of lights and stop signs on this one-mile track of roadway, cars drive very slowly. While there are various accidents reported, they are overwhelmingly fender-bender-type accidents; there have been no reported fatalities or serious injuries.
The real fight is about competing visions of what kind of city Denver should be.
Ideal Choked-Up City
Some members of the Denver City Council and the City Administration believe cars are a baneful influence on a city. By reducing cars and car traffic, they believe it would help in fighting climate change and create a more egalitarian society where everyone is made to ride bicycles, walk, or take public transportation in the form of buses or trains. That would create an idealized “15-minute city.”
But what about middle-class families for whom cars are an enormous benefit to their lives, along with small businesses that depend on car traffic? To the hard progressive left, they are what the “kulak” farmers were to Stalin’s Russia in the 1920s — an impediment to true progress that needs to be liquidated.
If given their druthers, the hard left would simply ban cars within the confines of the city, but that is not politically viable at the present time. Instead, in the name of “safety,” “sustainability,” “accessibility,” “affordability,” etc., driving in Denver must be made as unpleasant as possible to get people to cease using cars.
One method is making parking as difficult as possible, so Denver did away with an all-parking requirement for any new project. Another method is making driving as unpleasant as possible by creating as much traffic congestion as can be imposed.
On many major thoroughfares in Denver, including Colfax Avenue, Federal Boulevard, and Colorado Avenue, DOTI and/or CDOT have ongoing projects whereby the number of traffic lanes is to be reduced and substituted with bus or bike lanes.
Pitch Battle: Admirers of Jill Anschutz have come to view her as a modern day Molly Pitcher in Anschutz’s battle against what they view as the Godless mercenary hords of Kyle Clark. Shown above is Molly Pitcher in the revolutionary war battle of Monmouth in 1777.
For other thoroughfares such as Alameda Avenue, in the name of “safety,” the number of lanes is reduced to create a left-turn lane and create congestion on the remaining lanes.
Opposition Arises
After the city’s proposed plan was issued in November 2025, a group headed by Jill Anschutz entitled Act for Alameda was formed, representing homeowners in the area, small businesses along Alameda Avenue, and commuters who used Alameda as an east-west corridor to get across the city.
The group sent a letter to Denver Mayor Mike Johnston opposing the plan, indicating that the project would potentially create massive traffic congestion, pouring cars onto residential side streets where families and children would be walking. Moreover, to the extent that safety was actually a concern, there were less disruptive ways to lessen the fender-bender accidents on the road.
Jill Anschutz, who owns a home just off Alameda Avenue, was a logical person to lead the group. She had been a long-time marketing, public relations, and messaging consultant, and was now a freelance communicator and project director. She even hired a lobbyist for the group with experience dealing with DOTI.
Anschutz and Councilmember Kevin Flynn were able to point out that in 2012 the exact same lane reduction was implemented by DOTI and was so disastrous that the road was quickly adjusted back to its present configuration.
Plan Modification
DOTI then came up with a modified plan that kept all four lanes but converted some spans into “turn pockets” for drivers turning left. Advocates indicated the modified plan would provide less congestion while still making the road “safer.”
Normally that would have been the end of the matter, but Channel 9’s Kyle Clark latched onto the fact that Act for Alameda was headed up by Jill Anschutz, a born-again Christian and the daughter-in-law of Colorado’s richest man, Phil Anschutz.
Kyle Clark Weighs In
Channel 9 was for many years Colorado’s leading television station and was dubbed “mommy news” for its female-oriented soft news orientation. But over the last decade, ratings for local television news have dropped precipitously, particularly for Channel 9 News.
In 2016, NBC affiliate KUSA-TV decided to stop being “mommy news” and go hard left, with long-time employee Kyle Clark being the anchor not only for the 9 o’clock and 10 o’clock news but also for his own weeknight show, Next with Kyle Clark. With a hard-left agenda, the station and Clark attracted national attention, appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Clark was featured and interviewed on MSNBC by Rachel Maddow and on CNN.
But in recent times, Clark and Channel 9 News fell significantly behind FOX31 KDVR in ratings. Clark reveled in being called “a virulent anti-Christian bigot” and a “commie.” Clark, in order to regain ratings, had to return to his progressive hard edge, and evoking class warfare over Alameda Avenue seemed like a perfect avenue to do so.
His virulent attacks on Anschutz and her use of a lobbyist to plead the homeowners’ case caused a media frenzy. The Denver Post, in an article with a headline “PR Nightmare for Mayor Mike Johnston,” revealed that Clark and Alameda Avenue helped “trigger a maelstrom of critical media coverage, the resignation of a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Advisory Board and, late last month, a formal letter of protest from a majority of the City Council.”
Official Under Fire: DOTI Executive Director Amy Ford seen here at a recent contentious city council meeting in Denver.
But the ugly onslaught on Jill Anschutz did not make her back down as Clark had expected. Her friends indicate that, growing up in a strong Christian family, she was taught that when you stand up to a powerful bully like Clark, you can expect to be persecuted.
One More Plan
Clark, by trumpeting that the city, in coming up with a revised plan, had bowed to Jill Anschutz because she had married into a rich family and therefore the city was “lifting certain voices over others,” used a class warfare tactic that worked to cause DOTI to announce in January that it would backtrack again into demonstrating one, if not both, of the proposals.
But testing the “safety” of both of the proposals is, of course, somewhat useless since safety was never the actual issue. The Alameda Avenue controversy is a clash of political wills between the hard left, who ultimately want a car-free Denver to the greatest extent possible, and middle-class homeowners and small businesses that want a livable city for families, particularly those with children.
For the hard left, Clark is their champion. For everyday Denverites, they finally have their own hero, Jill Anschutz.
