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Opinion: As Denver gentrifies, urban education crisis moves to the suburbs

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:04:27 GMT

Fourteen years ago, I had just graduated from Denver North High School with big dreams, which I described in a column in these pages of The Denver Post.By some measures, it had been a challenging journey to reach that milestone and earn my Denver Public Schools diploma.My mother died when I was five, and I was raised by my grandparents in Denver’s Globeville neighborhood, which The Post had called “the state’s most polluted urban ZIP code.”I wrote in 2009:“Unfortunately, Globeville is a long way from the parks and public buildings that (Mayor) Speer helped build with his City Beautiful movement.“In our neighborhood, trees are harder to find.“So, four years ago, I took matters into my own hands and bought a little sapling and planted it in our yard. It was a skinny and bare little tree — it didn’t even reach my shoulders — but I knew that if we took good care of it, it could some day produce thousands of green leaves, with its branches reaching for the sun and shadi...

Denver office leasing on the rise but in hot spots; same with industrial space

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:04:27 GMT

The amount of office space being leased in Denver is gradually increasing, but the activity remains concentrated in hot spots like Lower Downtown and new buildings or ones that come with plenty of amenities.On the industrial side, after having a high vacancy rate nationally, new construction has slowed down, giving the sector time for demand to catch up with supply, according to JLL, a global commercial real estate company with an office in Denver.Growth in both office and industrial real estate is being driven in part by growth in such industries as aerospace, high tech and manufacturing, according to JLL.Since 2020, 52.8% of the tenants leasing office space in metro Denver have expanded their overall footprint, according to a new report by JLL.“More space is being leased than space vacated or subleased. Gradually, every quarter, it’s getting better and better from a return-to-the-office standpoint,” said Tim Bourdelais, a JLL managing director who specializes in ...

Why I can’t leave this local women’s boutique empty-handed | Opinion

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:04:27 GMT

Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems).One of my favorite necklaces has a paperclip gold chain with a pendant that looks like a raw, misshapen pearl.The statement necklace with a misshapen pearl pendant from Lady Jones. (Photo by Lily O’Neill, The Denver Post)I frequently get compliments on the jewelry, and some assume it’s a family heirloom. But I actually found it at my favorite boutique in Denver, Lady Jones.The shop opened on Tennyson Street in 2016, and has had a second location in Vail since 2021.I live in the area, so when Lady Jones’ everchanging – but always enticing – window display stopped me dead in my tracks for the first time, I knew right away that I would become a regular. (Luckily, it has a rewards program.) Its collection of Denver-based designers and s...

Hotel purchases for shelters highlight success as bridge out of homelessness

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:04:27 GMT

The Friday announcement of Denver’s new pending hotel-turned-housing project is the latest of several new projects in the works across the city to provide non-congregate shelter options for unhoused people.Abandoned hotels turned into supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness have existed in Denver for a while now, but their use during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as emergency shelters showed many community leaders their worth.Now, the city is in the process of acquiring the Best Western Central Park Hotel at 4595 Quebec St. for $26 million, which will open up the 194-room hotel as a shelter before eventually converting it into supportive housing.But the city isn’t the only one seeing the benefit of these projects.For the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, these hotel shelters have become a way to meet the needs of unhoused people in a stabilizing and uplifting environment, said Cathy Alderman, chief communications and public policy officer at the coalition.“T...

There is hope in the battle against Japanese beetles in Colorado

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:04:27 GMT

We can always use good news when it comes to dealing with problem insects in our landscapes. Anyone who has battled Japanese beetles to prevent plant carnage knows the amount of work and dollars it takes to manage them every summer.Where the Japanese beetle is native, in northern Japan, there are natural insect enemies that keep the populations manageable, and they are not a major problem as they have become along the Front Range and many other states. When the beetles were first detected in New Jersey in 1916, their natural insect enemies weren’t present. Subsequently, Japanese beetle numbers grew and spread unchecked. They had a literal free-for-all buffet table set for them with millions of acres of irrigated lawns and more than 300 favored plant species.Damage to Virginia creeper vines in Denver from severe feeding by Japanese beetles. (Betty Cahill, Special to The Denver Post)Natural insect enemies and specific pathogens are collectively called biocontrols, which can cause inju...

“Unrealistic” expectations: How Colorado’s Behavioral Health Administration has struggled to get off ground

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:04:27 GMT

With less than six months before Colorado’s new Behavioral Health Administration is supposed to take over regulating the state’s mental health and addiction treatment providers, people working in the industry are concerned that they’re running out of time.The agency, which has only existed since 2022, recently pivoted from lawmakers’ original plan of running all behavioral health programs to more of an organizational role, getting other agencies to work together. It also had to ask lawmakers for extra time to write rules this year, but providers are still worried they won’t have enough time to implement them.And the nascent BHA has seen a spurt of staff resignations earlier this year, followed by Gov. Jared Polis’ replacement of the agency’s first commissioner, Dr. Morgan Medlock, after just 15 months on the job. Since then, Medlock’s successor and the BHA’s advisory board have had a sometimes-contentious relationship.State Sen. ...

RTD’s L and R lines set to resume full service as light rail maintenance projects reach milestones

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:04:27 GMT

Two Regional Transportation District light-rail lines affected by extended maintenance work are set to fully reopen this week for riders near downtown and in the southeast suburbs.On Monday morning, the L-Line that connects downtown Denver to the Five Points neighborhood will resume service after a three-week closure. Crews since July 10 have repaired a section of track near the northern terminus of RTD’s original section of light rail, which opened nearly three decades ago.And on Tuesday, the R-Line will resume full service south of the Florida Station in Aurora. Trains have not regularly served stations between Florida and the Lincoln Station near Lone Tree, in the south metro suburbs, since April when a major maintenance project began along RTD’s southeast light rail corridor.RTD crews are inspecting and repairing coping panels, which are caps atop the retaining walls, along the north side of the tracks that run next to Interstate 25 between I-25/Broadway and Lincoln....

Violent Topanga crash leaves 2 hospitalized; street racing reported in area

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:04:27 GMT

Three vehicles were involved in a violent crash in an area of Topanga where police received reports of street racing Sunday night.The incident occurred around 11:15 p.m. in the area of Stunt Road and Saddle Peak Road, Los Angeles County Fire Department officials confirmed.Firefighters respond to a high-speed crash in the Topanga area on July 30, 2023. (TNLA)When firefighters arrived they found one vehicle fully engulfed in flames. Video showed three damaged vehicles at the scene. One had fallen nearly 30 feet down an embankment. Security guard beaten to death by mob in Hollywood identified The road winds through the canyon near the Topanga Outlook.Two people were transported to local hospitals in unknown condition. The Malibu sheriff's station said they received calls of vehicles racing in the area but could not confirm if this crash resulted from racing.No one was taken into custody following the crash. The cause remains under investigation.

Shooting on 10 Freeway closes EB lanes through East Los Angeles

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:04:27 GMT

The Eastbound 10 Freeway is at a standstill through the East Los Angeles area after a vehicle was struck by gunfire Monday morning. The shooting was reported shortly before 4 a.m. near the Campus Road offramp, California Highway Patrol officials confirmed.Officers investigate a shooting on the 10 Freeway on July 31, 2023. (KTLA)One vehicle was struck by the gunfire but there was no word on whether anyone was injured.Video showed an SUV was still on the freeway in the area where the investigation was taking place. Security guard beaten to death by mob in Hollywood identified A SigAlert was issued for the closure of all eastbound lanes.

California among 5 worst states to retire in, study finds

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:04:27 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – When it comes to retirement, where you live can greatly affect just how golden your post-career years actually are.A new study from Bankrate ranks all 50 U.S. states when it comes to affordability, overall well-being, healthcare quality/cost, weather and crime. With soaring inflation and a volatile stock market, affordability was given the most statistical weight, with the others decreasing respectively.Highrise buildings in downtown Los Angeles, California are seen on on a hazy morning on September 21, 2018. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)Iowa is the best state in which to retire, the study found, thanks to its affordability (3), quality/cost of health care (11) and crime (12).“Choosing where to retire is deeply personal, but Iowa’s affordable cost of living, inexpensive but high-quality health care and low crime make it a compelling option for retirees looking to stretch their retirement income in this economy,” said Bankrate analyst Alex Gailey. “In our over...