"The Bum's Rush," Kelsey Whipple, April 26
Denver City Councilman Albus Brooks's proposed ordinance to ban "urban camping" in Denver is partially predicated on his yearly visits to Kenya — where, as Mr. Brooks points out, there is 86 percent unemployment. The councilman says it's the poorest country he has visited and "you don't see anyone on the corner." I assume this means he didn't count one homeless person, compared to the one hundred to two hundred he has counted in Denver firsthand (a stat Westword has proven inaccurate). First, Kenya's unemployment rate is and has been 40 percent since 2001. Of the population (39 million), 3.9 million live in slums. So if Denver moved to more of a slum-like city existence, this might alleviate the "urban camping" problem? It is difficult to follow the correlation in the councilman's stats and the ordinance only he will write and, more important, his outlook on the homeless and his own human compassion.
David Torch
Denver
I am glad a lot of points were brought up in this article. I liked the message of the Occupy movement, although it seems their ability to find the off switch has just made them a pointless mob.
Shooing away the homeless won't work. I live in Curtis Park and can say we already have enough bodies sleeping in it. I think passing laws of this nature will be a slippery slope. There's always gonna be an area where the homeless sleep. There's always gonna be someone who does not want them there.
Gregory Roh
Denver
Herr Hancock shows such clarity
When dealing with the poor,
He's simply declared poverty
To be against the law.
Yes, he'll free us from the lowly kind
Without shame or consternation,
They'll be out of sight and out of mind,
While they enjoy incarceration.
Let them idle wasted lives and time
In special jail cells meant for keeping,
Those who do commit the heinous crime
Of homeless sidewalk sleeping.
So let the word go forth now to the tramps,
A new order there shall be:
Soon they'll be showering at Denver's labor camps,
Where work shall set them free.
Jeremiah Michael Attridge
Denver
"What's in Store?," Drew Bixby, April 26
There are not enough superlatives in the world to describe Wayne and Eva Adams. As a very longtime customer of Kelly's Superette, I am mourning the passing of a true neighborhood place. Each morning I find I almost head off on autopilot to go to Kelly's. Old habits die hard, and it was a very good habit to have. Ron was also a delight, always, and a very talented photographer. I shall miss all of them very much.
Kate Sharpe
Denver
