In March, four Occupy Denver protesters were accused of robbery and second-degree assault during an incident at the 1500 block of Broadway. According to the police report, the four allegedly knocked down a skateboarder and stole his board. Yesterday, however, the city dismissed robbery charges against three of the arrestees,…
Today, after the Commission on Homelessness called for an additional four weeks to consider an urban camping ordinance, Denver City Council moved its final consideration date to May 14, one week later than previously scheduled. The decision came with a final vote of four to three. If approved, the bill…
Residents who live around City Park got a bit of a surprise — and a little mystery — on Sunday when five massive military helicopters landed inside the park around 10:30 a.m. near Duck Lake. The copters, which all appeared to be Marine vehicles, hung out for a bit before…
The first thing Amy Smith has to explain to skeptics is that she isn’t a Scientologist. You don’t have to belong to an oddball religion to question American medicine’s heavy reliance on psychoactive drugs to treat everything from mild depression to schizophrenia. In fact, members of a growing consumer revolt,…
In this week’s cover story, “Medic!,” we featured the Colorado Street Medics, an international network of activists with more than forty years of history. Much of that history is recorded in Denver, where the community’s first street medic museum will be launched inside the 27 Social Centre. Click through for…
Last year a federal review panel heard some amazing excuses from corrections officials about why their jails and prisons have exceptionally high rates of sexual assault. One sheriff even claimed inmates were faking stories of rape in order to get cookies from researchers…
If you’ve ever heard an “Occupy your mom” joke, you’ll know that Occupy memes have gone just about as far as the national movement’s politics. But the University of Denver has jumped on the bandwagon: The twenty or so members of the school’s Young Americans For Liberty took on wealth…
The details are in about President Barack Obama’s visit to the CU-Boulder campus at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The venue? The Coors Events Center, where he’ll be speaking only days after today’s Wyclef Jean concert, which will probably need a good airing-out due to what could be a truly astounding amount…
Ted Nugent’s comment that if Barack Obama is re-elected, the Nuge will “either be dead or in jail by this time next year” has elevated the Motor City Madman to the status of talking point/progressive whipping boy in this year’s presidential race. Which is amusing to yours truly, given that…
Colorado Street Medics, subject of this week’s feature, “Medic!,” are protected by Good Samaritan laws, but their practice only goes so far: They will rinse out your eyes post-pepper spray, bandage your cuts, offer you sun-screen, keep you awake for your concussion and splint your limbs, but they will not…
Last night, Denver’s future Independent Monitor and two other candidates spoke at their first community forum before the selection is whittled down. While Eddie Aubrey hails from Washington, Stephen Connolly and Julie Ruhlin live in Califonia, and all three boast experience from the Golden State. Within the next month, one…
An ethnic Nepali, Sher Mizer fled the violence of his country, Bhutan, when he was twelve years old. His family ended up in a refugee camp, where a tarp and some bamboo became their home. Mizer yearned for education, and thanks to a scholarship, he was able to study in…
The urban camping ban, currently scheduled for a May 7 city council vote, is moving too quickly for Denver neighborhood leaders. On Saturday, the Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation urged the council to push its decision back until past May 12, when the group will discuss it internally. But councilman Albus Brooks, chief…
Catholics are pushing back against a decision by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development to cut off funding to an immigrant advocacy group in Durango because it has ties to an LGBT advocacy group that supports the legalization of civil unions. The progressive national nonprofit Catholics United has started a…
This morning, the ACLU of Colorado requested a formal investigation of the Denver Police Department’s conduct with Occupy Denver during the past six and a half months. The complaint, delivered to Police Chief Robert White and the Office of the Independent Monitor, cites both First Amendment freedoms and evidence of…
Destined for Deportation begins with the personal. Jeanette Vizguerra, a mother of three children who are United States citizens and is now facing deportation, explains that she came to America not for money, but for safety. Her husband drove a bus in Mexico and was hijacked at gunpoint three times…
When Tia Jones got the call yesterday, she was elated. The Family and Senior Homeless Initiative reached its goal three and a half years early when it helped its 1,000th family transition into permanent housing on February 8. One month and sixteen more families later, it’s time to celebrate. As…
In February, Catholic Charities testified that if Colorado lawmakers legalize civil unions, it may stop providing adoption and foster care services. Now, it seems that another Catholic organization, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, has cut off funding to an immigrant advocacy group in Durango because it belongs to a…
The Denver Housing Authority did not stand on authority. Yesterday, the latest phase of Denver’s newest city housing community broke ground with passed-out pinwheels, high school drummers and speakers ranging from Mayor Michael Hancock, Representative Diana DeGette and councilwoman Judy Montero to the Flobots’ Jonny 5. Named after the Spanish…
When House Bill 1156 was killed last month before even making it to the full chamber, its supporters started immediately on a stronger effort to add transparency to the state’s foreclosure processes. But the tactics have changed: Instead of creating another bill, they created a constitutional amendment targeted at requiring…
Although Denver’s proposed urban camping ordinance is not scheduled for final consideration until May 7, the sides for and against it are already preparing for battle. Last week, the ACLU of Colorado organized an online petition against the ban, with Occupy Denver taking a stance this weekend. In a letter…
As city council continues to consider Denver’s proposed urban camping ban — and constituents continue to debate it — the Denver Rescue Mission continued a twelve-year tradition yesterday by dispatching a crew of staffers and homeless people to collect trash in and around Coors Field before the Rockies home opener…
