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Denver homeless crisis worsens despite $274M investment; housing-first approach needed, critics say
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Denver homeless crisis worsens despite $274M investment; housing-first approach needed, critics say

By CHRISTOPHER OSHER and JENNY DEAM | Denver Gazette Metro Denver’s homeless crisis has worsened and become among the most acute in the nation despite the city of Denver contracting for at least $274 million from 2021 through 2024 to keep people off the streets. The Denver metro region has added more homeless individuals than any other metro region in the country since 2018, according to key metrics collected by the federal government. Other metro regions, including Seattle and Houston, have had greater success during that period prioritizing permanent housing rather than the quick fix solutions critics say simply perpetuate homelessness. READ THE FULL STORY AT DENVER GAZETTE
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Aurora Council to discuss ‘tough love’ approach to homelessness at Monday meeting
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Aurora Council to discuss ‘tough love’ approach to homelessness at Monday meeting

By Kyla Pearce | Denver Gazette At Monday night's Aurora City Council study session, councilmembers will discuss a new "tough love" approach to homelessness — which would harshen the city's camping ban and create a new court system for low-level offenses by homeless people. Mayor Mike Coffman has referred to the proposed approach to homelessness as "tough love" due to its cracking down on camping in the city while addressing the root causes of homelessness in court. Coffman announced plans for the approach on social media and will officially bring it to the council Monday night, with hopes of moving it forward to a regular council meeting for a vote. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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Three fallen officers added to the Colorado Law Enforcement Memorial
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Three fallen officers added to the Colorado Law Enforcement Memorial

By Sage Kelley | Denver Gazette Bagpipes playing "Amazing Grace" swept over the Colorado Law Enforcement Memorial on Friday, as three officers who fell in the line of duty last year took their place on the memorial. "This democracy was founded on the belief that people would be willing to sacrifice for others," Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said at the memorial — placed directly outside of the Colorado State Patrol Academy in Golden. "There is no more selfless act of service in this state, no more daunting act of heroism, than the decision of a law enforcement officer every morning to stand up and put on a uniform," Johnston said.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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Denver shares “Newcomer Playbook,” offering advice on handling immigration crisis
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Denver shares “Newcomer Playbook,” offering advice on handling immigration crisis

By Alexander Edwards | Denver Gazette Even as Denver cuts its budget and diverts funds in order to pay for its response to the immigration crisis that some say is self-inflicted, Mayor Mike Johnston's administration released a "playbook" that contains the "best practices and procedures for cities to welcome newcomers arriving from the U.S. southern border." The 24-page document is essentially a 15-step "how-to" guide, but its usefulness may be questionable as other metro area communities have made clear that the Mile High City is on its own. Lakewood and Aurora, the two largest municipalities within the metropolitan area, have told Denver they will not accept immigrants from the city.  Other surrounding cities like Centennial and Arvada have said they don't have resources availabl...
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Pro-Palestinian protesters occupy Auraria campus in Denver, demand divestment
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Pro-Palestinian protesters occupy Auraria campus in Denver, demand divestment

By Nicole C. Brambila | Denver Gazette More than 200 hundred protesters — many of them students — occupied the Auraria campus on Thursday night to make several demands, notably divestment from corporations that operate in Israel. The protesters, who chanted anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian slogans, also asked to meet with Michelle Marks, chancellor of the University of Colorado Denver, to discuss how to implement their demands.    The protest in front of the Tivoli Student Union is the latest in what has been a wave of pro-Palestinian rallies on campuses across the United States in the last several days and increasing worries by Jewish students for their physical safety.    READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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The votes are in and here’s what Colorado lawmakers want to spend money on
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The votes are in and here’s what Colorado lawmakers want to spend money on

By Marianne Goodland | Denver Gazette The votes are in following House Democrats' new process for determining which bills would pass, assuming the money is there. The new process, as outlined by House and Senate Democrats in early April, replaces the "quadratic" voting system that a Denver District Court ruled in January is illegal.  Once the 2024-25 state budget headed back to the Joint Budget Committee, which came with a compromise version approved by both the House and Senate, lawmakers got to work voting on their priorities for the scant amount of money, relatively speaking, that they have to spend on new programs. The "set-aside" from the Joint Budget Committee, the panel of lawmakers that drafts the state's annual spending plan, is around $22 million, but some of tha...
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Kroger plans to sell Safeway brand in Colorado to prevent merger block
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Kroger plans to sell Safeway brand in Colorado to prevent merger block

By Bernadette Berdychowski | Denver Gazette After state and federal officials put pressure on the largest potential supermarket merger in the U.S., Kroger and Albertsons announced Monday they plan to divest more stores to help the deal go through. Kroger said it will sell 579 stores across the country to C&S Wholesale — 116 more than originally planned — including 91 Albertsons-owned locations across Colorado. That’s nearly all the Albertsons stores in the state. The chain operates 105 stores under the Albertsons and Safeway banners. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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Denver schools’ Super Alex Marrero uses NDAs to prevent employees from speaking out
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Denver schools’ Super Alex Marrero uses NDAs to prevent employees from speaking out

By Nicole C. Brambila | Denver Gazette Denver Public Schools — under Superintendent Alex Marrero — has offered severance packages to employees only if they are willing to sign a confidentiality agreement that prohibits them from speaking about their experiences in the district for three years after their employment. The explosive revelation came Monday night during the time the board of education has set aside for monthly public comment. Will Jones, the former executive director of communications, said he was dismissed by Marrero in February after nearly nine years with the district. Jones was hired under previous Superintendent Tom Boasberg. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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Man given maximum sentence for killing of K-9 Graffit, other crimes
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Man given maximum sentence for killing of K-9 Graffit, other crimes

By First Judicial District Eduardo Armando Romero was given the maximum sentence of 12 years in prison for killing Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) K-9 Graffit and other related crimes from the February 2023 incident. Romero pleaded guilty earlier this year and, as a result, faced 8-12 years in prison. Romero received a total of 12 years to be served consecutively to the sentence Romero is already serving for similar crimes he committed in Denver. At today’s sentencing, the resounding message was that K9 Graffit, who was the most experienced and trained dog on JCSO’s team, was not just a dog. Deputies from JCSO spoke and submitted letters describing the profound impact that Graffit’s death has had on them, detailing what he meant to each of them and to the JCSO family. ...
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Denver imposes hiring freeze, diverts funds to come up with $90M for illegal immigration crisis
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Denver imposes hiring freeze, diverts funds to come up with $90M for illegal immigration crisis

By Alex Edwards | Colorado Politics Denver taxpayers are on the hook for $90 million this fiscal year to pay for the city's response to the illegal immigration crisis that has been spilling over into America's interior cities from the southern border.  That's the latest estimate from Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration, which earlier said the city was poised to spend $180 million on the crisis and revised that number down to $120 million. Early in the crisis, Denver officials decided the city would assume the responsibility to temporarily house, feed and transport arriving immigrants. That decision has cost the city about $68 million since December 2022 — and counting. Of that amount, the city spent $35 million just in the past four months. READ THE FULL STORY AT C...
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