Healthcare Workers?: The pictures of two persons blocking the “Operation Gridlock” protestors became international news. They identified themselves as Covid-19 nurses at a local Denver hospital. Others have claimed they were allegedly workers at a strip club in Adams County.
Balancing Act: Governor Polis has a difficult job trying to balance safety from the Covid-19 virus with the economic well-being of the state. He has been giving regular press conferences on the Covid-19 pandemic in Colorado, from the Governor’s Mansion.
Commercial and social life is slowly opening up in the Cherry Creek Valley from downtown Denver to the dam. Governor Polis issued his stay at home order on March 26, 2020, which was largely obeyed, but on Sunday, April 19, 2020, a large rally attended by over 1,000 people protested the restriction at a rally at the State Capitol titled “Operation Gridlock.”
The next day Governor Polis declared that stay at home order would not continue past its revised ending date of April 26. Curbside delivery for retail could also open that day and other retail on May 1. Large businesses would be allowed to open May 4 at 50 percent capacity while restaurant, bars and clubs are anticipated to open mid-May with various restrictions.
Restaurants in the Cherry Creek Valley worry that the restrictions may be so onerous that they cannot make a profit, thus making it unwise to hire back workers until they understand what the regulations entail. David Peterson, owner of the Bull & Bush Brewery on Cherry Creek Drive South, stated that he does not expect restaurants to return to pre-pandemic revenue levels for at least a year, if then.
Normal Or Bygone Era?: It is not clear whether what was once a normal scene prior to the Covid-19 pandemic will ever return totally.
Jeff Allen, COO of the Greater Glendale Chamber of Commerce noted: “The problem is that the restrictions/regulations will be made by those who do not own and operate the businesses. Alternatively, those businesses with political connections will influence the decisions to benefit themselves and hinder their competitors.” Others fear once the most draconian restrictions are lifted, businesses will play fast and loose with the remaining constrictions and risk the re-spreading of the COVID-19 virus.
Nurse Or Stripper?
In a presidential election year, virtually any controversy quickly becomes political, and the COVID -19 Pandemic is no exception. At the aforementioned Operation Gridlock protest held on April 19, a man and a woman dressed in nurses’ scrubs blocked a crosswalk at 12th and Grant Street where protestors were trying to drive through. A freelance photographer took pictures that some people claimed were staged. The photographer, Alyson McCaren, denied the allegation by controversial Channel 9 anchor Kyle Clark whose reporting is generally viewed by some with great suspicion. The pictures went around the world and the two nurses/physician assistants were lionized in much of the world press.
Another Clark Hoax?: Controversial 9News Anchor Kyle Clark has been accused by some of possibly being part of a hoax to portray the counter protestors at the Capitol as healthcare workers.
The counter-protestors told a Westword representative that the two of them worked at a Denver hospital with COVID-19 patients. They indicated that they wanted the Operation Gridlock protestors to know that they were the ones on the front line fighting the pandemic. The man has been identified allegedly as a disc jockey at a strip club in Adams County, Colorado, and the female purportedly is his girlfriend and a stripper at that club as well as in Denver. The pair has also been purportedly involved in harassing recall Polis petitioners.
Regardless of who people were or were not, the political parties have lined up on either side of the debate. Democrats have stressed public safety and minimizing the spread of the virus with less regard to the immediate economic impact. Republicans have noted that severe economic impacts also have their health risks including increase in drug and alcohol abuse as well as spikes in suicide rates. It is unlikely either side will convince the other to see it their way.
Rally At Capitol: Over 1,000 protestors showed up at the Capitol on Sunday, April 19, 2020, to protest the strict economic lockdown by Governor Polis. The following day, the Governor announced a gradual lifting of the economic lockdown.
Long Term
The long-term questions are whether COVID-19 will return stronger than ever this fall without a vaccine being developed and what are the permanent economic consequences of suddenly shutting down a once booming economy. No one has an answer to those questions on which the lives and livelihoods of so many will depend.
Under the current Denver Zoning Code 11.12.2.1.B.2 (DZC), the number of people who can live together as a household (who are not related by blood) is limited to just two. While this does not include blood relatives or persons under 18, it places tangible parameters on what is commonly known as a “single-family home.”
Flop Houses Of Yesteryear: Rooming house dynamics of yore have come to the fore.
After a series of public hearings about how to best accommodate growth in Denver over the next 20 years, residents in several neighborhoods are voicing their displeasure with City Council’s proposal to update its residential use rules in order to increase density in neighborhoods.
A Civic Dilemma
As the housing crunch continues to tighten, community leaders and other influencers are looking for ways to address the needs of vulnerable populations who face difficulty finding viable housing but does not cost the city any government money. These include persons at risk of becoming homeless, college students, people overcoming addiction and special needs individuals who must reside near service facilities — among others.
The Group Living Project (a City of Denver initiative) seeks to update the DZC’s definition of “household” and regulatory policies which would extend from single family homes to assisted living facilities, shelters and group homes. This initiative aims to amend the current Group Living Code to “increase flexibility and housing options for residents, to streamline permitting processes for providers while fostering good relationships with neighbors, and to make it easier for those experiencing homelessness, trying to get sober or who have other special needs [to] access services with dignity.”
Proponents argue that the plan would allow Denver to address its affordability problem by building non-traditional housing. Critics say that while the city does have an affordability problem, fixing it should not come at the expense of current homeowners.
This policy proposal is a key element of Blueprint Denver 2019, a 300-page document that outlines the city’s plans to accommodate growth through 2040. While it is not regulatory in nature, the hefty document serves as a supplement to a similar plan passed in 2002 and is meant to guide local government decision making into the future.
A Significant Change
The proposed amendment would increase the number of unrelated adults who can live together from two to eight in a property of up to 1,600 square feet in size. The provision would also allow another adult for every additional 200 square feet of finished floor area in larger properties. The breadth of proposed revisions to the DZC include more conservative recommendations of just four to six unrelated adults per property, yet all proponents of the amendment are championing the impending positive impact.
If the above parameters of eight adults in one home were amended into law, the new “household” definition would be applicable to 42% of single and two-unit properties. Similarly, nearly 58% of detached residences and duplexes could house up to nine unrelated adults and approximately 41% could house 11 or more adults unrelated by blood. While the new parameters would mildly affect “household” living in single-unit and multi-unit properties, they would greatly expand the potential for group living facilities — the number of which could rapidly increase — seemingly overnight. These could include properties that, after a quick remodel, could be repurposed into homeless
shelters, community corrections facilities (halfway houses), special care facilities, transitional housing, assisted living, nursing and hospice, co-ops, sober living, elderly care and student housing.
Questionable Motives
The Group Living Code Amendment is being proposed and supported by the Group Living Advisory Committee (GLAC). An insider of the group (wishing to remain unnamed) recently divulged that, curiously, over 75% of members and stakeholders in the GLAC have ties to for-profit group living businesses and organizations. Aside from household living, the above list of group living distinctions does one thing: it opens residential districts to dynamic, overlapping sectors of highly lucrative commerce. While increasing the number of people landlords can legally charge rent to, the amendments could potentially make Denver a prime target for corporate investors and foreign interests. The changes could cause yet another spike in residential property values, but then, as the rooming houses fill up, values could quickly decline due to lack of parking, noise, overcrowding, safety issues and sanitation concerns.
Tight Quarters: Would you pay $140 a week for this?
In recent years, measures similar to what the GLAC is proposing for Denver have been passed in Seattle, Atlanta, and Chicago. While Seattle’s housing crunch is well documented, perhaps it is not common knowledge that many homes in the city were bought by investors who divided up living rooms and garages to turn multi-bedroom homes into dormitory-like dwellings for up to 12 renters. In Atlanta, the loose definition of “household” is being exploited by outside and foreign investors who are turning neighborhoods into districts full of by-the-room renters with little stability and no protections. These units go for an average of $140 per week in properties with scant common areas and in many cases — one bathroom for the entire domicile. Meanwhile, a similar trend in Chicago dubbed “upzoning” has rendered an opposite effect city planners hoped it would have. In January of last year, Citylab .com reported: “A new study of zoning changes in Chicago finds that they led to higher, not lower, local home prices, while having no discernible impact on local housing supply.”
Follow The Money
Critics of GLAC assert that the GLAC’s plan was conceived via tunnel vision, because it contains various glaring instances of considerable oversight. The critics point out that the amendment includes no measures ensuring that new facilities are evenly spread throughout the city. It does not limit the opening of more facilities in communities that already have a concentration of such. It includes no stipulations for specific distances between facilities and it does not restrict for-profit homes in neighborhoods where no demand exists. For opponents, the bottom line remains that rental income on a single- family household unit could go from charging one family, to collecting week-to-week and month-to-month rent from eight to 12 residents. That’s a hefty incentive for landlords and investors in for-profit group living organizations.
Rules: Residential Use rules have pushed many low-income service providers to the outskirts of Denver.
“I just don’t see any positive things about it whatsoever,” said longtime Denver resident Jerry Doerksen. “There are already several houses in our area where four or more unrelated individuals are living together and the appearance of the home and yard reflects the lack of personal interest,” Doerksen said. “Four inhabitants, four cars. There is no enforcement of current code regulations, and it seems improbable that there would be any enforcement of regulations under the proposed plan.”
“Denver is a diverse city and the planners should take account of all the different characteristics of each neighborhood and the wishes of the residents,” one Washington Park resident who wished to remain anonymous told the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle in an emailed statement. “Further, Denver needs to assess all related impacts of such zoning changes.”
While Denver’s affordability issues live on, some homeowners see themselves as stuck in a no-win situation. They’re going to be forced to give up ownership of their property or their stake in a neighborhood, or both.
“Yes, there is a problem with the high cost of housing in Denver but it’s certainly not fair or appropriate to place the solution of the problem on the backs of homeowners who have chosen to live where they do in order to avert the very situations this proposal would create,” said Doerksen.
Whether the proposed amendment to the DZC will work is still a matter of speculation. At best, it could offer relief to the lack of affordable housing and at worst, it could convince reasonable people to not want to live In Denver at all. Either way, the GLAC is pushing to make group living property investors a lot of money.
Advice On Testing, Seeing A Medical Provider From Home; Tips To Stop Mass Anxiety And Panicky Behavior From Spreading
by Glen Richardson
Seemingly facing a widening coronavirus pandemic tagged as COVID-19, dark spirits are transfixing Valley residents as authorized restrictions have ignited a near-shutdown of all activity and is upending daily life. The contagion is the perfect storm of an unknown threat mixing in with social media and news channels to generate hysteria.
World Unravels: The coronavirus is an unknown threat that is spreading mass anxiety and panicky behavior at home and worldwide.
Like everyone, the Chronicle takes the virus seriously but also recognizes it should be seen in perspective. Consider these facts: As of March 18 there had been 154 coronavirus deaths nationwide. During the same period there were 2,900 flu deaths in the U.S. The number of COVID-19 cases nationwide was over 10,000 compared to between 30 and 40 million flu cases with 30,000-50,000 hospitalizations. In Colorado there have been 216 coronavirus cases compared to 3,391 hospitalized flu cases.
Despite reports coronavirus is a greater threat to the elderly, Colorado’s new COVID-19 website reveals as of March 18 that 44.34% of cases were age 50 and above versus 55.66% under 50 years of age.
What To Do?
The virus outbreak should, of course, be taken seriously. Nevertheless, the exaggerated response created by the current panic is having negative consequences for our health and the health of community businesses. To get answers, we turn to UCHealth medical providers for information and guidance. Moreover, is this mass anxiety and panicky behavior real and what should we do about it?
Virtual Health: Medical providers at UCHealth’s Virtual Urgent Care are trained to help you figure out if you need additional help or tests for symptoms of coronavirus. Photo: Cyrus McCrimmon for UCHealth
Foremost, medical providers can help you figure out if you need to be tested for coronavirus. UCHealth’s Virtual Urgent Care is open to anyone in Colorado including those who don’t have insurance. What should you do if you have symptoms like a fever, cough or shortness of breath? For those who have general questions about coronavirus, or want information about testing, the best place to get help is through Glendale-based Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment at 303-389-1687 or email cohelp@rmpdc.org. For patients who want to see a medical provider from the privacy of home, an online visit through UC-Health’s Virtual Urgent Care can be one of the easiest, safest ways to get help.
“COVID-19 is quite infectious, so if you can stay home and get medical advice, that gives you two advantages. First, if you’re sick, you’re not going to be bringing your illness into a doctor’s office or a hospital. Second, you won’t be exposed to other patients,” explains Dr. Chris Davis, an expert in emergency medicine and infectious diseases, and Medical Director for UCHealth’s Virtual Urgent Care.
Is A Test Needed?
“If you’re worried and you have any risk factors, you can see a provider. If you need a test, then we can tell you what to do and the closest place to get tested,” Davis adds.
Terror Testing: Fearing they needed to be tested for coronavirus caused long lines of cars at drive-through labs. This initial site was in the Lowry neighborhood. The National Guard was called-up to direct traffic.
Patients using Virtual Urgent Care do not need to be a current UCHealth patient and don’t need insurance. Anyone in Colorado, including visitors to the state, can use the service. Insurance typically covers the visit, but for those who don’t have insurance,
there’s a $49 flat fee. Moreover, the Virtual Urgent Care providers are now trained on how to help patients determine if they are at risk for COVID-19.
“We’re looking for symptoms and also for a travel history. Have you recently been to the five countries where the outbreaks are the worst: China, Italy, Iran, South Korea or Japan? Or, have you been to California, Washington State, Florida, New York, places that have ongoing cases of community transmission?” Davis states.
Same Day Appointment
Many patients won’t need additional care beyond their online visit, Davis indicates. But for those who do need to be tested for COVID-19 or to go to an ER for immediate follow-up care, the fee for the Virtual Urgent Care appointment will be waived. Davis points out that it’s reassuring for patients to get same-day appointments with Colorado health experts.
“This is a pretty fast-moving situation. It’s nice to have a dedicated group of providers who are keeping track of this coronavirus outbreak on a daily basis,” Davis continues. There’s no referral necessary.
Anyone in Colorado can create an account through My Health Connect and request an appointment online for an appointment. “What makes this so great and convenient is the setting. When you’re dealing with a pandemic, you can get your questions answered without having to leave your home,” Davis continues. “If you’re worried about being exposed or exposing others, this is a great option.”
Anxiety Attack
Coronavirus anxiety has spurred people to hoard everything from toilet paper to canned tuna. Hand sanitizer has been sold out for weeks, spurring nervous neighbors to share tips on Nextdoor about how to make their own sanitizer, only to discover on fruitless trips to the pharmacy that the key ingredient — alcohol — is also sold out. Add worries about the tanking stock market to spookily empty store shelves and we are witnessing a full-blown case of coronavirus anxiety.
Anxiety Attack: UCHealth Psychologist Justin Ross says the coronavirus outbreak is feeding the three key ingredients that cause anxiety: Unpredictability, lack of control plus it’s a threat to the people or things we value. Photo: Getty Images
According to Psychologist Justin Ross, it’s no surprise that mass anxiety and panicky behavior are spreading. Ross, who has a doctorate in psychology and practices at the UCHealth Integrative Medicine Center in Stapleton says anxiety is a natural response now because the coronavirus outbreak is feeding the three key ingredients that cause anxiety: Unpredictability, Lack of control, plus it’s a threat to the people or things we value.
Ross said anxiety can be a healthy response during times of stress. “In many ways anxiety serves an adaptive, healthy response when something we value dearly is threatened or perceived to be threatened,” Ross explains. “The problem is when the anxiety response runs amok and spins out of control. That’s when it can cause a lot of problems for people.”
Simple Stress Steps
Ross says it’s clear that anxiety about the coronavirus outbreak is causing problems for many. “The current level of uncertainty and a felt sense of lacking control with this virus has led us to buy things unnecessarily and excessively checking news and social media. We want to feel like we have the ability to control our lives. We want information and we want products that align with our vision for safety and control,” he explains.
While it’s not very helpful during legitimate times of stress to give people pat responses like: “calm down, don’t panic,” or “don’t worry,” Ross suggests these simple steps: Limit
your exposure to news and social media. Plan to check your news sources or social media feeds just twice a day. Ross strongly recommends limiting exposure to social media since a friend’s post — which may not even be accurate — can trigger worries for you. Anxiety essentially can be contagious. Reduce the contagion by skipping the updates.
Focus on controlling what you can control, he urges. A person cannot control how widely the coronavirus outbreak will spread. We can’t control if our child’s school will close or if an important work conference will get canceled or if our 401K retirement savings shrinks. So, he advises people to focus on the simple powers we do have. “We can wash our hands. We can take precautions,” he says. “We can give ourselves the best chance of staying healthy.”
Denver’s Hale neighborhood is an historic
community tucked between Colorado Boulevard and Holly Streets to the west and
east, respectively, and Colfax Ave. and 6th Ave. to the north and south. This
relatively quiet area is fairly unique in that the north/south grid is
diagonally distinguished by a tree-lined, two-lane, median-separated stretch of
picturesque road called Hale Parkway.
Redesign: The Hale Redesign Project would rip up westbound lanes of the parkway and render them permanently unusable.
Gone But Not Forgotten
Development in the area began in the 1930s
and, as geography would have it, a creek flowed on a northwest/southeast angle
through marshland along the path where Hale Parkway now exists. The creek was
part of the Upper Montclair Basin runoff system, directing rainwater toward the
Platte River basin to the northwest. By the 1940s, the area was developed, and
the old riverbed was wiped away and soon-to-be forgotten by residents, but not
by topography. When heavy rainfall hits the area, the one-time natural waterway
can be quickly transformed into a saturated urban thoroughfare with flood
levels up to three feet high.
A Diagonal Asset
Today, the marshlands have been replaced by
mostly residential structures along with the significantly large Rose Medical
Center and University of Colorado Hospital campuses. Hale Parkway is a local
treasure, boasting a series of lush, park-like medians that are home to a total
of 80 large, mature trees and 40 smaller trees and shrubs. Hale Parkway is one
of just 35 designated parkways and boulevards across the Mile High City recognized
as such by the Denver City government. This stretch of road gives the community
a distinctively quaint feel, as its diagonal trajectory works as a cohesive,
common feature which unites the neighborhood.
Neighborhood Amenities: Hale Parkway runs adjacent to neighborhood amenities, including Lindsley Park.
An Extreme Scheme
The redesign project proposed by the Urban
Drainage and Flood Control District (now the newly-branded Mile High Flood
District [MHFD]) holds drastic measures for the parkway. These initiatives
which would effectively diminish the purpose and function of the roadway and
the appeal of the area at large. The plan calls for the permanent removal of
the two north lanes carrying traffic west from 8th Avenue to Colorado Blvd. The
removal of features would also include the grassy park-like medians, all flora
and foliage therein as well as several dozen parking spaces (65 total) for area
residents. A series of large drainage pipes would replace the lanes, spaces and
medians while east/west traffic would be funneled to side-by-side opposing
lanes in place of the two existing eastbound lanes. Local property owners are
highly upset that the redesign would severely diminish real estate values.
Meanwhile, the explosive growth of the area has residents at large concerned
with an imminent traffic congestion problem. As the number of inhabitants is set
to increase, the redesign would decrease the area’s ability to effectively
accommodate all the new traffic.
Violation Of Internal Rules
Further, the proposed measures are in
blatant breach of the Denver Design Guidelines published by the City and County
of Denver in 2005. Page 14 of the guide pledges to “Respect and preserve the
historic or original design of the parkway or boulevard. Components of the
original design usually include the street cross section, tree lawn, median (if
appropriate), adjacent street pattern, building setback and private yard,
building siting, topography and plantings.” Also, a subsequent section claims
that the city will “Preserve the spaces and relationships that are part of the
original or historic parkway or boulevard construction including the continuous
open space created by the building setback.” Clearly, the MHFD is proposing to
infringe on the very rules set by its parent authority — the Denver City
Government.
Colfax View: The view on Colfax Ave eastbound heading toward the Hale neighborhood.
Plausible Alternatives?
With the Cherry Creek waterway located just two miles to the south and flowing northwest to the Platte River, it would seem that returning an unassuming one mile stretch of road in Hale to its former watershed function is inconsequential. Some residents are imploring MHFD to consider alternative means of managing rainwater overflow in the area. Others are outraged, seeing the beauty-sacrificing redesign as a grossly lopsided and ultimately futile misappropriation of taxpayer funds. Aligning with this viewpoint is not difficult. Driving through Hale trying to visualize the proposed measures put into place is like imagining a jagged, diagonal tear through the cross stitchings of a gorgeous tapestry; unsightly, unnecessary, and utterly without purpose.
Paula Bovo: Glendale City Council member and Mayor Pro Tem from 2010 to 2016. Partner in prominent Glendale law firm Bovo Law.
Todd Bovo: One of the top litigators in Glendale with Bovo Law.
Paula and Todd Bovo are one of Glendale’s
most prominent power couples. She was a council member and then Mayor Pro Tem
of the city from 2010 to 2016, with a publicly expressed aspiration to become
the governor of Colorado. He started one of the city’s most well known and
aggressive personal injury firms with offices in the penthouse of the Cherry
Creek Plaza at 650 South Cherry Street. They were married in 2009. Paula was
also an attorney and she became his legal partner in the Bovo Law firm. She
helped prepare cases for trial and he usually acted as lead counsel in court.
The couple were frequent guests at civic, social and charitable events in Glendale
and Denver.
Marriages, of course, can turn sour and the
circumstances can be greatly aggravated when the couple are also business
partners. For the Bovos it is now full out warfare in and out of court. She
publicly and in court pleadings alleges that he is a domestic violence
perpetrator against both her and the couples’ two children. He in turn
vigorously disputes those claims and asserts that she is a serial liar and
person who regularly betrays the trust of those around her.
Their allegations and counter allegations
have spilled over into public and professional arenas.
Court Documents
Public records show the Arapahoe County
Sheriff’s Department has responded to the Bovo home twice on domestic violence
calls. Both times officers left without arresting anyone, an unusual result in
these kinds of cases.
In a May 2017 incident Paula Bovo called
911 claiming her husband was destroying property inside their home. The report
indicates that she videotaped Todd “yelling and cussing” but adds “she stated
at no time did he threaten her or the kids and did not physically touch her… .”
Deputies left without making any arrests.
According to another Arapahoe County
Sheriff’s Report, Paula Bovo called 911 again in March 2019, saying, “She is
scared he (Todd) will hurt her.” Reporting officers say Paula told them Todd
said, “I’m going to kill you” and that he was “going to burn the house down.”
Officers say they talked with Todd on scene who denied making any such threats.
Officers noted the Bovos “both had conflicting stories” and that neither could
be confirmed. Responding officers wrote, “We could not substantiate that a
crime had occurred” and once again left without making any arrests.
Abuse allegations rose again in divorce
proceedings when Paula Bovo sought a restraining order against Todd Bovo. But
that was thrown out in a May 2019 decision by an Arapahoe County Judge who
ruled, “Based on the evidence and testimony presented to the court …. the court
hereby dissolves the temporary protection order as to all parties.” The judge
also cancelled a second hearing that had been set on the same allegations.
It is in those proceedings where the
accusations shift into Paula Bovo’s public and professional life. The Glendale
Cherry Creek Chronicle has obtained two subpoenas issued by Todd Bovo, one to a
prominent Denver attorney and the other to KCNC Investigative Reporter Brian
Maass for them to appear at the May restraining order hearing that was
subsequently dismissed by the Judge. In court filings, Paula claims the subpoenas
are Todd’s efforts to harass her. But he claims they go to the heart of her
credibility issues.
Alleged Assault On Boat
Boat At Cherry Creek Reservoir: Pictured is the boat owned by the Bovos which is at the center of the sexual assault allegations.
The attorney, who the Chronicle is not
naming, consulted with the Bovos’ law firm on a civil case in 2018. Todd says
in August of that year Paula told him she was meeting the attorney at the
couple’s boat docked at Cherry Creek Reservoir. She apparently bought several
bottles of wine for the rendezvous and the two of them cruised on Cherry Creek
Reservoir. Todd claims when she came home, she was extremely upset and crying
and claimed the attorney sexually assaulted her. Todd said she did not want to
call police but in later months frequently mentioned the alleged assault to
other people.
Mike Smith, a paralegal litigator who works
with both Paula and Todd Bovo at their law firm, said she had also told him the
attorney sexually assaulted her on the boat in the Cherry Creek Reservoir. “It
was a few days after she met (the attorney) at the dock at Cherry Creek State
Park and she was upset and finally expressed she had met (the attorney) there
and that things were okay for a moment but that he approached her and forced
himself on her, specifically sticking his tongue down her throat,” said Smith.
Smith continued and indicating that Paula told him she pushed the attorney away
adding that she appeared very upset as she told the story. “Emotionally you
could tell she was distraught, something was clearly bothering her, weighing
heavy on her,” said Smith.
Both Smith and Todd Bovo say Paula talked
about the alleged assault on other occasions and even told an investigative
reporter. KCNC’s Brian Maass interviewed Paula Bovo as a legal expert on an
unrelated story that ran January 31, 2019. Todd claimed Paula told him that
after the official interview ended, she told Maass the attorney sexually
assaulted her. Smith said she told him the same thing. “After the Brian Maass
interview, she said she had discussed it with Brian Maass and he now knew the
situation,” said Smith. “Just that she had told him the same story as far as
what happened at the dock, that Brian Maass now knew the story.”
Ceremony: Former Mayor Pro Tem Paula Bovo cuts the ribbon at Doctors Express on Colorado Blvd. (now called AFC Urgent Care) when it first opened.
Paula denies ever making such a claim. She
said, “(The attorney) never sexually assaulted me and I never said that to
anyone.” She adds, “And if anyone says I did they are not telling the truth.”
When the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle
contacted reporter Maass he said, “I’m not going to be able to help you out on
that.”
But Todd Bovo and Smith stand by their
stories, adamant that Paula made the sexual assault allegations on numerous
occasions.
Todd Bovo says it’s not right that someone
with Paula’s stature in the community can keep making what he calls false
allegations with potentially devastating consequences to him and others.
Show Cause Hearing
Paula Bovo’s professional credibility has
been questioned before. In a July 2019 Federal Court order by Judge William
Martinez regarding a civil case Paula was involved in, the judge took the
unusual step of threatening to sanction her. According to the court document,
Judge Martinez identified at least four instances in which Bovo “willfully
misrepresented the Complaint, either by making false assertions about the
contents of specific paragraphs or by asserting, without citation, that certain
things had already been alleged.” The Judge ordered Paula to “show cause why
she should not be sanctioned” for misrepresenting what was in the Complaint.
In September 2019 the Judge decided not to
sanction Paula, writing, “Ms. Bovo accepts responsibility for her actions and
displays what the Court finds to be genuine and appropriate contrition.” Ms.
Bovo withdrew from the case on February 17, 2020, along with Mr. Bovo.
The FBI
Collusion: A picture taken October 6, 2015, at Panera Bread on Colorado Boulevard north of Yale. At the back of the booth, left to right, are FBI Special Agent Kimberly Milka, and FBI Special Agent Jonathan Grusing; at the front of the booth, left to right, are the owners of Authentic Persian & Oriental Rugs, Nasrin Kholghy, Mohammad Ali Kheirkhahi, and Saeed Kholghy.
Todd Bovo asserts not only was Paula a
confidential source for negative stories about Glendale by Brian Maass while
she was the Mayor Pro Tem she also was a source for the FBI in connection with
an apparent FBI investigation involving the City of Glendale in early 2016.
An undercover FBI agent using the fake name
of “Charles Johnson” showed up in Glendale. He was posing as a private
investigator and knocking on the doors of citizens who made public comments
about a proposed development at Colorado Boulevard and Virginia. The residents,
who felt threatened and harassed reported “Johnson” to Glendale Police. Johnson
was carrying multiple motor vehicle licenses from different states. The police
arrested Johnson for failure to have a required private investigator license
but the charges were dropped when the FBI intervened demanding all charges be
dismissed. Johnson was apparently a top undercover agent who was outed during
the Bundy trial in Nevada where he claimed to be a documentary film producer
obtaining incriminating statements from the Bundy family members. The case
against Cliven Bundy was thrown out by Federal District Court Judge Gloria
Navarro for “flagrant prosecutorial misconduct.”
It was never clear what the FBI was
investigating in Glendale. However, Jonathan Grusing, a top special agent for
the FBI, was photographed with the principals of the Authentic Persian and
Oriental Rug Company who were demanding and suing the city to be able to build
a massive apartment building on the land on Colorado Boulevard and Virginia
Avenue. Todd Bovo says unbeknownst to other City Council members, Paula was
regularly meeting with the FBI during this time. He says he does not know what
she said but notes Paula was eventually forced to hire a criminal defense
attorney to represent her on the matter. According to a Fee Agreement dated
February of 2016 the attorney was hired to “provide legal representation of
Paula Bovo… in the pending investigation by the state and federal authorities
in the State of Colorado… pertaining to the investigation and any pending
charges related to Glendale municipal government activities.”
KCNC Investigative Reporter Brian Maass: Two people claim Paula Bovo says she told Maass about the alleged sexual assault on the boat at Cherry Creek Reservoir.
Whatever the FBI was looking into, the
investigation seems to have ended and the only person ever arrested was the
undercover FBI agent Johnson.
Reaction
Jeff Allen, COO of the Greater Glendale
Chamber of Commerce, who was on the City Council with Ms. Bovo, stated: “If the
former Mayor Pro Tem Bovo was acting as a source for Brian Maass for his
negative and unfair stories about Glendale and while secretly meeting with the
FBI without informing the City Attorney or her fellow council members, she
utterly betrayed our trust and I am, for one, ashamed of her.”
The Chronicle reached out to Ms. Bovo for
her response to the allegations and any other information she wished to
provide. In response she sent the following statement: “As a victim of domestic
violence and a mother of young children, I find it reprehensible that my
ex-husband and the Cherry Creek Chronicle have chosen to inflict more harm upon
me and my children by sharing my private life and story for the benefit of
revenge; due to ongoing lawsuits I cannot comment further.”
Todd Bovo noted: “It breaks my heart to see
the mother of my children and soon to be ex-wife continue to make allegations
that couldn’t be further from the truth. Paula’s claims are insulting and
offensive to the true victims of domestic violence. “
The next court date on the dissolution of the marriage of the Bovos is a four-day hearing for permanent orders scheduled to start June 23, 2020.
One of the Cherry Creek Valley’s longest
continually owned and operated family businesses is about to become history.
The long-running Bonnie Brae Tavern that opened in 1934 with an old-school
ambiance, dishing out red-sauce Italian and American dishes, is likely to be
scraped-off by redevelopment.
End Of Era: One of the Valley’s longest continually owned and operated family businesses, the Bonnie Brae Tavern will likely close later this year. It will be replaced by a three-story building with condos on the top two floors plus ground floor retail.
Early-stage development plans submitted to
the city indicate that the 0.76-acre site at 740 S. University Blvd. will be
replaced by a 40-foot, three-story building with 43 apartments plus, in theory,
16,500-sq.-ft. of retail on the ground floor. The development would also have
one level of below-ground parking. At this point there is no guarantee that the
plot will in fact be sold or exactly what any development will look like. Some
anticipate that the retail will be jettisoned as it has been in other so-called
“mixed use” projects and the entire development will simply be one more
apartment/condominium project. The property owners have obtained a non-historic
designation for the building and demolition certificate which is valid until
May 1, 2024.
Plans are listed under the name Joe Jundt
who is developing the project with two local partners. Jundt reportedly envisions
one of the floor-level retail units as a higher-end restaurant, noting the area
is surrounded by pricey Belcaro and Wash Park homes. A Bonnie Brae Tavern
rebirth is unlikely, however, as there have been no discussions of the Tavern
reopening in the project.
Changing History
The east end of the Tavern building is
leased to In & Out Cleaners. The Tavern property also includes the building
at 750 S. University. Formerly a Bank of the West site, the building now is
home to Wish Gifts. Both businesses would be demolished according to plans for
the new project.
Celebrated Spot: This is what the Bonnie Brae Tavern looked like when Carl and Sue Dire opened the eatery in 1934. An early 9030s photo shows Carl Dire behind the bar.
Carl and Sue Dire bought the block of land
in 1933 when University Boulevard was a dirt road. The Dires opened a gas
station on the corner and Bonnie Brae Tavern was opened at its current location
in 1934, the same family still runs it. Looking east was sagebrush as far as
the eye could see until Colorado Boulevard, interrupted by a dairy farm or two.
To the west, instead of today’s pop-tops of prime real estate, there were
modest bungalows of a young neighborhood named Washington Park.
The tavern’s lack of pretentiousness made
it a favorite hangout for those in Glendale who viewed themselves at the time
as far more agrarian than urban. Well into the 1950s Bonnie Brae Tavern was
considered by many as part of greater Glendale rather than Denver.
Carl Dire – he died in 1982 – invested
every dime he had in the weeds and dirt along the east side of the street. With
prohibition out, Dire had decided to open a bar in what was one of the driest
neighborhoods in Denver. Dire and his wife Sue – she passed away in 2002 –
named the business after the housing development Bonnie Brae that surrounded
it. Like the restaurant, the neighborhood took time to grow into its name,
which is Gaelic means “pleasant hill.” In 1934, it was nothing more than a
scandal-ridden development that had gone bankrupt a few years earlier.
High Property Taxes Drive Sale
The impetus for the proposed sale has been the steep rise in property taxes for commercial property in the City and County of Denver. The last tax bill increased the levy by $30,000 for a $73,000 total. The owners noted that some businesses in the area are paying as much as $10,000 a month, which he finds would be prohibitive for many small independent businesses. It brings into question for some, can the Bonnie Brae commercial area on University survive? The old “Campus Lounge,” long a popular hangout like Bonnie Brae Tavern, is on its third proprietor in just a few years. As many small businesses are fleeing Denver, some do hang on as highlighted in the article on Page 1, “Old School Holdouts.”
