Monthly Archives: February 2010

As part of the National Literacy Day celebration (March 2), Academia Maria de Sandoval is holding a Community Book Exchange this Sunday, February 28, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. The public is invited to this event, where families can exchange unwanted, very gently used books for someone else’s used books. Bring your books to the Sandoval cafeteria (3655 Wyandot Street) between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m., then shop and check out between 3:30 and 4:30 pm. You get one ticket for each book you turn in, then use the tickets to purchase the books you want. The price of admission is one used book — these will be donated to charity.

All books are accepted: books for adults, books for children (infant to teens), fiction and non-fiction, Spanish or English. If you have questions, email Nicole Sullivan at sullivanic@yahoo.com. Hope to see you there.

District 9 resident Jessica Congdon is launching an organization called Kiddo — short for “Kids in Downtown Denver Organized” — to advocate on behalf of children and families. She is looking for people to join her and sends in this note:

I love Downtown Denver …who doesn’t? I’m a mother, wife and professional that proudly calls Downtown my family’s home. As a world traveler and foodie, I can honestly say we have one of the most amazing cities in the world. I love everything about Downtown — the questionable sections of the 16th Street Mall, running the South Platte River, riding the pedicabs on a late night, and so on.

Until the birth of my daughter, I thought Downtown residents had it all. Shifting gears led me to reevaluate what the city has to offer a family — more specifically, my family. Obviously, Downtown has an extremely vibrant, diverse environment, which I hope will ignite exploration, creativity, and compassion in my daughter, as it has for me. But as I make a list, I start to realize that we, as a community, have some work to do. Sure we have a great playground around the corner on Speer, thanks to Councilwoman Montero, and Santa comes to visit Larimer Square every year. But we are lacking early childhood education programs, school options, additional play areas, and a kids’ voice in our community.

I believe there’s a strong need for an organization comprised of parents, grandparents and residents that can advocate for our littlest residents and visitors. Together, we can help make our community better for families. I’m in the midst of creating an organization that can serve this need, properly called Kiddo (Kids in Downtown Denver Organized). If you are interested in helping Kiddo, please contact me, Jessica Congdon, at 303-885-4477 or poligoddess@hotmail.com.

If you were downtown yesterday, you may have noticed that early construction activities at Denver Union Station are underway.

For the next few weeks, traffic will be redirected on Wewatta to one lane in each direction on the southbound side. Traffic will then move to one lane in each direction on the northbound side. These traffic changes will require RTD bus stops to be relocated slightly either to the north or south on Wewatta. Additional pre-construction activities will be occurring over the next few weeks, in preparation for the commencement of major construction at Denver Union Station.

All construction activities are weather-dependent and subject to change. For complete up-to-date information on upcoming construction activities, access the Construction Details Page on the Denver Union Station Web site at www.denverunionstation.com or call 303-209-9822.

LoDo District, Inc., has a couple of events coming up on the calendar. Thursday evening of this week, February 25, the group will host the first Economic Forum of 2010. The topic of discussion will be BID: 101, an introduction to the Business Improvement District. The featured speakers are John Desmond of the Downtown Denver Partnership, Ed Blair BID Board Member and GM of the Oxford Hotel and Josh Comfort, BID Board Member and Architect. The event is free to members and $15 for non-members. It starts at 5:30 p.m. and will be held in the Sage Room at the Oxford Hotel. RSVP online at lodo.org., via e-mail at info@lodo.org, or by phone at 303.628.5428.

The other event takes place on March 10, but the RSVP deadline is coming up next Monday, March 1. That’s the 20th Annual LoDo District, Inc., Annual Meeting and Limelight Awards. It’ll take place at the Seawell Ballroom beginning at 5:30 p.m., with 9News meteorologist Ashton Altierithe presiding over festivities that include

• catering by Epicurean Catering
• live music by Mistura Fina and the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestr
• a silent auction
• awards to recognize LoDo’s leaders and achievers of 2009

RSVP by March 1 at www.lodo.org., via e-mail at info@lodo.org, or by phone at 303.628.5428.

Nominations close tomorrow for the 9th annual Latino Community Service Awards, sponsored by the Denver Public Library. The Lena L. Archuleta Community Service Award honors a Colorado resident of Latino descent who has made an impact on the cultural life of the community through involvement with the Denver Public Library or another civic institution. The Cesar Chavez Latino Leadership Hall of Fame Award inducts two Coloradans (one male and one female) of Latino descent who have made a major contribution in a particular field that has positively impacted Denver ’s Latino community.

Nominations can be faxed (720-865-2081) or e-mailed (ccosio@denverlibrary.org) to Consuelo Cosio.

If you have any ideas about how to use the old Carnegie Library (now called the McNichols Building) at the north end of Civic Center Park, come to lobby of the Webb Building tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. The Civic Center Conservancy, Denver Office of Cultural Affairs, and Council president Jeanne Robb are hosting a listening session to gather input about possible uses for the building.

Tomorrow night (Wednesday, Feb. 17) the Denver Planning Board will host an information session on the New Zoning Code. This will NOT be a public hearing, as previously anticipated. Instead, the meeting will be the first in a series of review sessions that will allow the Board to comprehensively discuss the proposed New Zoning Code and map.

The session will begin at 3 p.m. in the Webb Building, 201 W. Colfax Ave., in conference room 4.F.6. Planning Board chair Brad Buchanan said the expanded review process will give the board and the public more opportunity to fully understand the New Code prior to the Board’s public hearing, which is now planned for April. Buchanan also noted the Board will accept public comment at each review session in addition to testimony at the Board’s public hearing.

Citizens will also have the opportunity to comment at the City Council public hearing, now anticipated to take place in June.

RiNo Neighbors will be electing new officers tonight at 5:30 p.m. Some new blood is needed, so if you’re interested in nominating someone or running yourself, please come to the meeting or email info@rinoneighbors.org. The meeting will be held at:

Pink Fog Studios
3309 Blake Street #111
Denver CO 80205
303-339-0742

Denver Homeless Outreach is working with volunteers and Common Ground, a non-profit dedicated to ending homelessness, to launch an innovative approach to identify and house Denver’s most vulnerable homeless individuals. The approach of prioritizing the most vulnerable individuals — those most at-risk of dying — for housing and services has been incredibly successful in New York , Washington D.C., Los Angeles and other communities across the country.

Homeless outreach workers from the St. Francis Center, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and Urban Peak will use an index to identify the most at-risk homeless individuals. The index ranks individuals’ vulnerability by verifying that the person has been on the streets at least six months and evaluating eight risk factors, which include:

• End Stage Renal Disease
• History of Cold Weather Injuries
• Liver Disease or Cirrhosis
• HIV+ / AIDS
• Over 60 years old
• Three of more emergency room visits in prior three months
• Three or more emergency room or hospitalizations in prior year
• Combination of mental illness, substance abuse and chronic disease

Denver is one of the cities at the vanguard of utilizing this innovative new approach. Denver hopes to use information gathered to house 280 homeless individuals over the next year, with a focus on the most vulnerable and the chronically homeless.

Time is running out to get your free street tree from Denver Digs Trees. Applications are due February 15.

This program, a Denver staple now in its 19th year, adds trees to the public right of way — 40,000 and counting. The trees are free for residents of Baker, Chaffee Park, Elyria-Swansea, Globeville, Lincoln Park, Sunnyside, Sun Valley, Valverde, and West Colfax. Varieties include: Harvest Gold Linden, Musashino Zelkova, Prospector Elm, State Street Maple, Turkish Filbert, White Oak, Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry, and Indian Magic Crabapple.

This program is sponsored by The Park People, Esurance, Xcel Energy, and the City and County of Denver. For applications, visit www.theparkpeople.org or call 303-722-6262.