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.
by Charles Bonniwell | Sep 26, 2023 | Main Articles
Neighborhoods In Revolt / Cries For Recall Of Sawyer
by Charles C. Bonniwell
Aerial View: The project by DOTI at the intersection of 7th Avenue created ugly and highly dangerous conditions for automobiles, bicyclists, and pedestrians, and has residents up in arms.
The redesign of the intersection at 7th and Williams was supposed to be a neighborhood friendly effort to make it more safe and pleasant for non-automobile traffic in one of Denver’s more pleasant areas near Cheesman Park. Instead, it’s become a Rube Goldberg contraption endangering bicyclists, automobiles, pedestrians, and even children.
Instead of admitting its errors, Denver’s Department of Transportation (DOTI) and the area’s City Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer have dug in their heels and refused to remedy a highly dangerous situation exposing how government seem to be no longer responsive to its citizenry.
The project was part of DOTI’s Neighborhood Bikeway program which was supposed to improve safety for people riding bikes on city streets. Instead, according to Kitty Koch, a 7th Avenue Historic District resident, “these measures are unnecessary, unsafe, and negatively impact the beauty, character, and integrity of this historic neighborhood.”
The Intersection
A confused motorist crosses 7th Avenue and Williams Street, heading West through a Do Not Enter sign, and endangers the woman with her baby on the right.
The intersection at 7th Avenue and Williams Street is an asymmetrical four way stop where the 7th Avenue Parkway median begins. Heading east on 7th Avenue, a traveler needed to simply to move over to the south side of the median. This was not deemed a problem until DOTI intervened. It constructed a kaleidoscope of colored signs, bike lane bollards (110 in this intersection alone), street markings, and caution bumps. Bicyclists, pedestrians, and automobiles are directed every which way, sometimes into oncoming traffic.
In just standing at the intersection for an hour this reporter observed over a dozen unintentional traffic violations. Bicyclists
are confused on where to go and pedestrians are unsure where to walk. When DOTI was alerted to the dangers, it refused to make any significant changes declaring in Orwellian fashion everything they did was in the name of “safety.” The minor changes that were made have made the situation worse.
The Strange Roundabouts
Strange Roundabouts: DOTI constructed three so-called “traffic calming” roundabouts on a narrow two-way street which fire trucks, garbage trucks, and other large vehicles have extreme difficulty navigating.
Heading east on 7th Avenue from the Country Club area there are a series of three strange roundabouts. Roundabouts were first designed in Europe to help with the flow of traffic but they require space to work. On 7th Avenue DOTI built three of them on a narrow two-way street as a “traffic calming” device. But garbage trucks, fire trucks, and other larger vehicles get stuck trying to get through the intersection. Resident Natalia Ballinger indicates that there have been at least four accidents at the 7th and Gilpin intersection within a span of six weeks. There is an informal moratorium on these types of roundabouts due to criticism from the Denver Fire Department but the 7th Avenue roundabouts remain.
The Rigged Meeting
The physical work on the project in April of this year came without the city informing the 7th Avenue Neighborhood Association of the project but notifying all other uninvolved neighborhood associations. The 7th Avenue area residents only learned about it belatedly from the Capital Hill United Neighbors Association. Residents do not believe that was simply an interferant mistake by DOTI.
“They didn’t say anything to the neighborhood about this,” said Rob Brown, a cyclist and a resident in the area. “This was something that was done to us and not with us. I think you would find everybody in the neighborhood is incredibly happy to promote safety in this corridor.” As more and more residents became upset, calls were placed to Amanda Sawyer, District 5 Councilwoman, to intercede on their behalf with DOTI which was ignoring all their complaints.
Concerned Citizens: Left to right, Rob Brown, Larry DiPasquale, and Kitty Koch are three of the many residents of the 7th Avenue Parkway area that are outraged at the actions of DOTI and District 5 Councilperson Amanda Sawyer.
On July 20, 2023, she finally responded and agreed to a neighborhood meeting but two hours before it was to occur Sawyer changed it to a webinar with a panel that included herself, Sawyer’s aides, and Nick Williams, the Deputy Manager of Internal and External Affairs, being the only ones who could talk. “They were the only ones able to speak,” said Koch. “Everyone else was a call in. It was clearly staged in my opinion because they did not accept our questions [50-60 questions].”
According to those involved, which included over 180 citizens, the calls were screened so that only the questions from a small number of people who were in favor of the project were allowed.
Recall Candidate: District 5 Councilperson Amanda Sawyer’s actions regarding 7th and Williams have so outraged residents that petitions are being drawn up and funds raised for her eventual recall.
Sawyer originally got into office as a neighborhood advocate against high density apartment projects in single family neighborhoods. She was a graduate of the scandal plagued Emerge Colorado program to get Democratic women elected. The group was dissolved by Emerge America under claims of fraudulent mismanagement. Sawyer became known in the city for her haughty and contemptuous attitude to the mayor’s staff and others she comes in contact with, and she even threatened to shut down road projects in the city over a dispute with a city employee.
After the rigged webinar meeting Sawyer stopped taking calls from individuals she deemed not approving of the 7th and Williams fiasco. Rob Brown indicates that he called her seven times and never received a return call. He noted: “The reason I am here now is because I am a cyclist. I know the city is trying to promote safety. I just don’t think they got it anywhere close to right.” He went on to note: “If they want to elevate the safety of this intersection, I think they need to go back to the drawing board. As a cyclist, I consider this intersection to be dangerous.”
Natalie Ballinger agrees: “We’re all thrilled to have a bikeway. This was such an opportunity for them [the City of Denver] to reach out to the people who live here to get their input and collaboration and to build community. It is almost a textbook example of how not to roll out a bikeway. “
Sign incorrectly labels the distances to the Congress Park and Cherry Creek neighborhoods.
Automobile about to illegally take a right on Williams Street from 7th Avenue. The motorist was required to somehow know that it had to go on the right of the bollards 100 yards back.
The Recall Momentum
Many activists in Sawyer’s District 5 do not intend to let the dangerous situation go unaddressed. Sawyer was re-elected in the spring election over Michael Hughes on a campaign of championing street safety. One activist noted: “We can’t recall until six months from the time she began her second term, but we are drawing up the petitions and raising money for the fight. We have had enough of this crooked politician and her intentional endangerment of our kids and others.”
Until Then
Until Sawyer can be recalled, DOTI most likely will not do anything to make the situation any better. Residents note that accidents will inevitably happen at 7th and Williams and the roundabout come winter. Some other wonder out loud what type of horrific accident will have to occur for city officials to act.
by Valley Gadfly | Sep 26, 2023 | Main Articles
We Have Bats In Our Belfry, As The One-Day Holiday Is Now A Month Of Freakish Parties, Spooky Street People, Ghoulish Shows
by Glen Richardson
Hoot And A Scream: Spooktacular displays such as Wild Fall and Glow at the Gardens are among Halloween events that create vocal expressions of creepy feeling from attendees.
Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and shortage, life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition.
It has become a month of ghoulish, hilarious fun in the Cherry Creek Valley. An amusing, exciting month when people project their fears in a safe and playful way.
Here’s the Chronicle’s monster month list of bewitching places to go and things to do to have a “fang-tastic” time while keeping “spirits” bright:
Sweet & Scary Cherry Creek Shopping, Oct. 1-31 — The spirit of Halloween once again lurks in this popular business district, pressing families to prowl among more than 300 stores for fall fashions, home furnishings, and accessories. The district is lined with pumpkins and decorations, plus food trucks selling treats and hot cocoa. Information: 303-394-2904.
Fright Fest, Oct. 1-28 — Elitch Gardens is transformed weekly on Sat.-Sun. from a day theme-water park into a family Halloween Fright By Night escapade. Information: 303-595-4386.
Denver Horror Story Cabaret, Oct. 5-26 — The most haunted room in town presents a burlesque tribute to the characters of American Horror Story, 7-8:30 p.m. Information: 303-293-0075.
Halloween Howls: October begins a month-long list of ghoulish, hilarious Halloween events for families to celebrate the holiday in a safe, playful way.
Mile High Horror Film Festival, Oct. 6-12 — In its unlucky 13th year, enjoy terrifying tales, performances by actors and actresses, plus horror-sci-fi films at various spots around Denver. Information: mhhff.com.
Oddities & Curiosities Expo, Oct. 7 — Shop Halloween artwork, antiques, skulls, bones, and funeral collectibles at the Convention Center, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Information: 303-447-0816.
The Twi-Fright Zone, Oct. 11 — Indigo Moon & Soul Penny Circus does Science Fiction Tales, Horror Tropes, at the Clocktower Cabaret, 7 p.m. Information: 303-293-0075.
Ghosts In The Gardens, Oct. 12-15 & Oct. 26-29 — Conjure up your courage as you walk Denver Botanic Gardens’ dimly lit paths after hours and listen to haunting stories. Feeling bold, visit the Beaux-Arts style mansion, 5:30-10:30 p.m. Information: 720-865-3500.
Friday The 13th, Oct. 13 — Canadian group Aerialists entertains followed by Halloween movies at Wings Over the Rockies Museum, 6:30 to 9:15 p.m. Information: 303-369-5360.
Pumpkin Harvest Festival, Oct. 14-15 — Pick pumpkins, shop vendor market, while enjoying music and performances at Four Mile Historic Park, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Information: 720-865-0800.
Bigfoot Forward: The Denver Zoo is swapping Boo at the Zoo for Wild Fall this year. Event has Bigfoot and costumed creatures, but focus is on education and connecting guests with nature.
Glow At The Gardens, Oct. 17-22 — The Denver Botanic Gardens will once again glow in a one-of-a-kind incandescent spectacle filled with family Halloween fun. Lined with a spooktacular display of massive, glowing jack-o’-lanterns that light up the night, guests will get the full creepy feeling of the Halloween season. Bands and performing artists play classic Halloween favorites during shows which are accompanied by food and drinks, 6-9 p.m. Information: 720-865-3500.
Wild Fall, Oct. 18-28 — The Denver Zoo is replacing “Boo at the Zoo,” — celebrated since the 1990s — with a jamboree titled “Wild Fall” this year. Albeit somewhat similar, the new zoo-sanctioned event will have a stronger focus on education and connecting attendees with nature. In the spirit of Halloween, the event will include costumed creatures, Bigfoot, professional pumpkin carvings, and animal demonstrations. Children can also enjoy face painting and pumpkin decoration stations. The event, however, won’t have trick-or-treat stations. Information: 720-337-1400.
Parade On Broadway: As Halloween hoots intensify, the 6th annual Broadway Halloween Parade drums-up excitement for the holiday. Spooky floats, bands, and marchers trek from 5th Ave. to Alameda on Oct. 23, starting at 6 p.m.
Broadway Halloween Parade, Oct. 23 — Costumed spectators are again expected to line up along the stretch of Broadway from 5th Ave. to Alameda Ave. for the Broadway Halloween Parade. Hosted by the Broadway Merchants Assn., the 6th annual procession will feature assorted spooky floats, ban
ds, and marchers. The parade is expected to start at approximately 6 p.m. Once the parade ends everyone is invited to join the marchers on the street. An assortment of local merchants, restaurants, and theaters offer post events to complement and enhance the festivities. Information: 303-282-0377.
Harvest Hoot, Oct. 27-28 — Wear costume while enjoying fall activities, fang-tastic bites, and games at the Children’s Museum at Marsico Campus, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Information: 303-433-7444.
Halloween Haunt, Oct. 28 — Evening of creepy crafts, pumpkin decorating, crawly critters, and games for kids & adults hosted by Four Mile Park, 4:30-8:30 p.m. Information: 720-865-0800.
Coloween, Oct. 28-29 — The biggest among dozens of h
Fantasy And Fashion: Coloween, city’s biggest Halloween party, has a fantasy- fashion theme this year. Event moves to the 50,000-sq.-ft. Stockyards Event Center, Oct. 28-29.
uge Denver Halloween parties, this year’s Halloween Ball moves to the 50,000-sq.-ft. Stockyards Event Center, 8 p.m.-2 a.m. This year’s “Fantasy and Fashion” themed party will feature club and EDM DJs, local talents, plus mind-bending immersive installations. Dressed attendees compete to win $2,000 in costume cash prizes. Information: 720-663-1414.
Halloween Spooktacular, Oct. 29 — Concert for all boys and ghouls, features music from films & TV. Wear costumes for a ghostly-good time at Boettcher, 2.30 p.m. Information: 303-623-7876.
Protect The Hero, Oct. 31 — Ontario’s Canadian progressive metal band celebrates Halloween with the Moon Tooth band at the Bluebird Theater, 8 p.m. Information: 303-377-1666.
by Valley Gadfly | Sep 26, 2023 | Main Articles
RugbyTown Pursues Peaceful Pickleball-Tennis Court Plan; Renovated, Renamed Mir Park Will Have Four Pickleball Courts
by Glen Richardson
Glendale Gathering Place: Glendale Sports Center has three indoor pickleball courts, plus four outdoor courts. Players have access to food, restrooms, water, and lights.
Pickleball is Denver’s and America’s fastest growing sport, but as the pastime has exploded in popularity, so have sports squabbles. The pock-pock and pop of the wooden paddle against the plastic wiffle ball is jarring people in neighborhoods nationwide.
With a broad new fan base in Denver, and across the state, a limited number of pickleball courts are causing constant battles. Sleep-loving neighbors, tennis players, and schoolchildren say their courts and playgrounds are being seized by pickleball players. Shouting matches, turf wars, and worse are the result. “Pickleball Is The Wild, Wild, West,” a Sports Illustrated cover story characterized the constant bad behavior and fighting.
In March of last year, the City of Denver created a fury by arresting 71-year-old Arslan Guney — known as “the Mayor of Pickleball” — for drawing squares on the basketball court at the Central Park Rec Center. A short time later, Denver closed Congress Park courts because of noise complaints. The city also put plans for a new court in Sloan’s Lake on hold because of noise worries. Further south, Centennial imposed a moratorium on court construction within 500-ft. of homes, also due to noise unease.
Complaints, Claims
Pickleball Poaching: Like so many courts across the metro area, Glendale’s two outdoor tennis courts were dominated by pickleball players, preventing residents from playing tennis.
Accusations of “Mafia tactics” and drones sent on intelligence-gathering missions, are among the accusations made in San Diego’s pickleball-tennis war. In San Francisco, legions of pickleball players crave more space to play, claiming to be “brushed off” by San Francisco’s Parks & Recreation Department.
In New York City, community boards have taken up complaints from parents of school children who say their youngsters have to compete for public park space with pickleball players. In Florida and dozens of other states, residents who live near courts constantly complain about noise, according to press reports.
From 100-ft. away, experts say pickleball whacks can reach 70-dBA — a measure of decibels used to gauge sound level. Everyday outside background noise typically tops off at a “somewhat annoying 55,” according to accounts.
Peaceful Paddle Play
Rebirth, Revival: Rejuvenation of Mir Park will feature pickleball courts, plus a new basketball court, picnic shelter, updated restroom facilities, and landscaping.
The city that brought the pitch (playing field) and rugby to America, is now pitching-in with a plan to promote and build the sport. While municipalities in Colorado and across the nation admit that they aren’t ready to embrace the pickleball paddle battle, Glendale — the tiny 0.6-sq.-mile town surrounded by Denver — is preparing to cuddle and court both tennis and the paddle sport of Pickleball.
Glendale certainly has experience shepherding in a new, growing sport, having built the first U.S. rugby-specific stadium and earning the name RugbyTown USA. Chuck Line — Glendale City Manager — says “it’s about creating diverse opportunities” in the middle of the pickleball boom. The way he sees it, “If people want to play tennis, let them play. If it’s pickleball they want to play, they can play pickleball.”
To ensure the two games play peacefully together, Glendale is separating tennis and pickleball play by making it illegal to bring pickleball nets onto tennis courts and building new courts. A city council ordinance also bars placing chairs or stools on courts, using snow shovels or scrapers on courts, and marking courts with permanent or temporary lines illegal on both pickleball and tennis courts. High-definition cameras will be used to monitor courts. It may be the first ordinance of its kind in Colorado, or possibly the nation. Violations in Glendale can result in a misdemeanor offense.
Playmaker Park
Super Small Spot: Despite not being big and flashy, sports flourish in Glendale. Sports culture continues to be how this competitive community defines and presents itself to the world.
The “you’re more than welcome” outdoor recreation attitude in Glendale sets it apart from the surrounding larger cities. It’s a can-do spirit that makes things happen, rather than the too often tentative, indecisive approach common in surrounding Parks & Recreation sectors.
Now Glendale is renovating, redesigning, and renaming Mir Park — the hidden gem of a park off South Elm St. and East Central Ave. near a Goodwill Center — as Glendale Park.
The nearly $1.5 million rejuvenation project will feature four new Pickleball Courts, a new Basketball Court, new Picnic Shelter, updated Restroom Facilities, landscaping, and more. ECI Site Construction Management, Inc. is doing the upgrades and repair work. Completion is expected as soon as this month. Since the city’s Public Works and the close-knit Glendale-Cherry Creek community hold outdoor spaces in such high regard, both games will once again begin to be thoroughly enjoyed.
Courting Compromise
Glendale Gamechanger: Redesign and renovation of Mir Park is part of city’s pickleball-tennis peacemaking plan. Renamed Glendale Park, greenspace will be four new Pickleball Courts.
Glendale’s two outdoor tennis courts — like so many others across the metro area — have been dominated by pickleball players, preventing residents from playing tennis.
The city even drew pickleball’s smaller court dimensions at the E. Kentucky & S. Birch St. site in an attempt to allow dual-play. Tennis players, however, found the lines distracting during matches. Pickleball poaching was constant, according to Kelly Legler, Glendale Sports Center program manager. “Tennis players were regularly rebuffed,” she notes.
Glendale’s approach of segregating play between designated facilities is a “great compromise” and being applauded by both tennis and pickleball players. Neither the city nor players want tennis excluded. Followers and admirers of each game concur the sports should be splendid together, and have “got to go good together” in the future.
Sports Center Pickleball
Pickleball can also be played at the Glendale Sports Center on E. Kentucky Ave. Managed by the YMCA, there are seven acrylic courts, three are indoors and four are outdoors.
The lines on courts at the Glendale Center are permanent, but players need to bring their own net. Courts are free and players have access to food, restaurants, water, and lights.
Outfitted with modern equipment and offering extensive fitness programs for every age and fitness level, the Center has been a community resource since 2008. Information: 303-639-4711.
by Valley Gadfly | Aug 28, 2023 | Main Articles
Waste Management Struggles To Clear Garbage Glut Due To Funding, Staff, Policies, Plus An Aging Truck Fleet
by Glen Richardson
Scraping By: City Auditor Timothy O’Brien says Denver’s new trash collection program is not effectively designed to ensure stable funding, thereby worsening service and delivery to residents.
Welcome to the “Denver Dump,” where garbage and debris are overtaking our streets, highways, and neighborhoods. The city’s stunning landscapes are gasping in garbage.
What’s behind the Mile High waste management mess? Certainly, we’re all individually responsible. Coloradans create 47 tons of waste per person, ninth in the nation. Moreover, Colorado is creating the nation’s third most new waste per capita.
Cause of Denver’s growing garbage glut is complicated and confusing. It ranges from decisions such as removing dumpsters (to give police clear alleyway sight lines), to cutting extra trash collections from every four weeks to eight weeks. Lack of policies, data, funding, and staff are heightened by an aging waste collection truck fleet. Furthermore, the first citywide change in trash routes in 15 years is increasing spikes in missed trash pickups.
Mess Along Highways
Thoroughfare Trash: CDOT cleans up trash on highways and interstates around Denver, but their job focuses on debris blocking the road, not the trash. Credit: 9NEWS
In addition to Denver’s Waste Management, the Colorado Dept. of Transportation or CDOT, cleans up debris and trash along the highways and interstates around the city. Reports of trash piling up on the shoulders, medians, and off ramps are constant. The agency says their maintenance section is seeing an increase in littering based on debris calls, costs, and pickups. Workers say the most serious problem is drivers failing to secure loads. Illegal trash dumping also continues to be a top problem complicating their work.
Pickup Problems: A 21% driver vacancy rate last year may double this year due to expanded recycling-compost service. First route change in 15 years has added to missed pickups.
Debris cleanup uses 5% or more the department’s budget, amounting to $2 million or more in Metro Denver. Maintenance crews must daily prioritize their work based on road repairs and hazards to drivers. Priority is given to blocked traffic lanes, guard rail repairs, and sign replacements. Snow and ice removal during winter months moves to the top of their list.
CDOT also relies on the Adopt-A-Highway programs, which involve groups cleaning litter from small stretches of roads at least four times a year. Metro Denver residents can call CDOT customer service at 303-759-2368 or report concerns on their customer service website.
Trash Talk
Trashy Town Trek: Metro area streets and alleyways have been overflowing with trash since January. Residents fear blocked drains, flooding, and the spread of waterborne diseases.
Denver has a gargantuan waste problem. Trash cans around the metro area have been left overflowing since January of this year. Waste that goes uncollected can lead to blocked drains, flooding, and the spread of waterborne diseases. The problem isn’t new; as early as July 2021 Denver was receiving up to 1,000 trash-related complaints daily. A 2020 Solid Waste Master Plan was supposed to aid Waste Management’s staff and city leaders move Denver forward.
Beginning in January, Denver launched a new trash collection program known as “Pay As You Throw.” Approved by a split City Council, the policy was intended to motivate residents to recycle and compost more and keep trash out of landfills. The program faltered from the start — not a surprise as City Auditor Timothy O’Brien, CPA, warned the city wasn’t ready to implement the policy in November of 2022.
The city eliminated the $9.75 fee for composting, but sharply raised pickup fees based on the size of bins. Charges range from $9 per month for a small bin, $13 per month for a medium-sized bin, and $21 per month for a large bin.
Pay To Throw Blow
City Auditor O’Brien’s staff audited residential trash, recycling, and compost services late last year, releasing the report on Nov. 17, 2022.
His audit of Solid Waste Management — a Division of the Department of Transportation & Infrastructure — warned the city, the “pay-as-you-throw” program is not effectively designed to ensure stable funding or to advance Denver’s environmental goals. Furthermore, O’Brien warned, “it may worsen existing service and delivery to residents.”
At the January launch, around 30,000 residents traded in their large plastic carts for smaller ones to save on their trash bills. However, an investigation by CBS News found that 3,000 or more of the carts — which the manufacturer says are recyclable — were crushed and dumped in an area landfill by the City of Denver.
Rust Bucket Trucks
Dreamscape Dumpsite: If City gets its act together, Denver’s DADS dump site could look like Copenhagen’s waste-to-energy power plant that doubles as a ski slope and hiking trail.
The report stressed that the city is providing trash recycling and compost services using an aging fleet of trucks with a severely understaffed team.
Nearly half of the division’s fleet — including both waste collection trucks and other vehicles — have an estimated two years of useful life. Expected useful life for waste collection trucks is eight years, however, one truck still being used is 18 years old. The city spent more than $10 million between 2019 and 2021 on repairs for the aging trucks. Meanwhile, a new truck costs approximately $350,000. Drivers told auditors that equipment failures had kept them from completing their routes in the past six months.
Additionally, the city had a 21% vacancy rate among drivers as of June 2022. That vacancy rate could nearly double this year as more positions are needed for expanded recycling and compost service under volume-based pricing. Since 2021, drivers have been required to work overtime to complete routes and work voluntary overtime to clean up illegal dumping sites. Most of the drivers auditors heard from said they are looking to change jobs in the next 12 months.
Trash Route Trouble
Administrators, moreover, couldn’t explain or show documentation describing how they decided to change trash and recycling pick-up routes and schedules in 2022.
The first citywide change to trash routes in 15 years, it was intended to make collection reliable and consistent.
On the contrary, the route changes are blamed for accelerating spikes in reports of missed trash pickups. Managers told auditors the person who designed the new routes retired and the division did not keep the documentation.
Photos: Kevin J. Beaty & Ehrborn Hummreston
