Update: After two videos showing Denver Police officers confiscating blankets from homeless individuals in freezing temperatures went viral, various groups and individuals, including the ACLU of Colorado, Mayor Michael Hancock, and the Denver Police Department, have responded to the public’s outrage.
As Tuesday night’s meeting of Boulder’s City Council kicked off at 6 p.m., constituents spilled out of the chambers and into an overflow area in the lobby, where a crowd sat tensely, glued to the live TV proceedings.
A free event called “Move Along to Where?” is being held at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 15, at the EXDO Events Center, 1399 35th street, to discuss issues pertaining to homelessness in Denver, including innovative housing solutions. The event comes as the city of Denver faces increased scrutiny for…
In Colorado, hepatitis C has long been one of the leading causes of death inside state prisons. But because of the enormous costs involved, only a lucky few inmates, around twenty a year, have actually received treatment for the disease since wonder drugs that can eradicate the virus became available a couple of years ago.
Three and a half years ago, the organizers behind the Boulder-Nablus Sister City Project (or BNSCP) first went before Boulder City Council to ask the city to establish an official Sister City relationship with Nablus, Palestine.
As our Chris Walker reported, videos of Denver police officers taking the blankets and tents of homeless people went viral, prompting a letter from the ACLU demanding that such practices end immediately — and over the weekend, Denver mayor Michael Hancock ordered the cops to cease the actions. But it…
Westword’s Chris Walker’s coverage of an issue plaguing a growing city.
Following a pair of viral videos that show Denver Police officers taking away blankets and tents from homeless people as evidence of illegal camping, Mayor Michael Hancock announced on Saturday, December 10, that he has ordered officers to stop confiscating survival gear. “We never intended to take the belongings that…
Last year, the city produced a video documentary of its “River Dance” sweep along the Platte.
“This is fucking unbelievable,” mutters Jason Flores-Williams as he observes another sweep of homeless encampments near the Denver Rescue Mission. The scene around him is chaos: police officers barking orders and cordoning off sections of sidewalk with yellow “Do not cross” tape, employees of the Denver Department of Public Works…
At the first Denver City Council meeting each month, there is a thirty minute public-comment session in which citizens are invited to relay concerns related to the city. At the latest meeting on Monday, December 5, the session was dominated by one issue: homelessness. Thirteen of the fifteen speakers, who were…
This past weekend saw a major win for the protesters at Standing Rock: The Army announced on December 4 that the Army Corps of Engineers will not grant a permit for the Dakota Access Pipeline to drill under the Missouri River. “Although we have had a continuing discussion and exchanges…
On Friday night, December 2, near the intersection of Colfax Avenue and 14th Street, a female spectator who’s watching the Parade of Lights is tapped on the shoulder by a man handing out fliers. “Thank you,” the spectator says, taking a flier. “Are you with a nonprofit?” “No, we’re just…
Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Interior – a position that hugely impacts the West, especially – is just one of a few stories we’ve followed lately about different environmental issues that are heating up as of late, from the I-70 expansion to Rocky Flats.
On Sunday, November 27, runners in the eighteenth annual Sand Creek Massacre Spiritual Healing Run/Walk and their supporters started the morning at Riverside Cemetery, where descendants honored Captain Silas Soule, who refused to participate in the action that resulted in the killing of 200 peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho at Sand…
What will happen at Standing Rock? Rumors have been flying since November 28, when the governor of North Dakota issued an executive order directing all residents of the camp to leave, saying that those who stay may be “subject to penalties as defined in law.” But thousands of people are…
When we reported on Peak Academy, a city government initiative that teaches employees at all levels of government to rethink their jobs to eliminate waste and deliver better service, we mentioned that the program has earned a number of accolades. It adds another today: Mayor Michael Hancock has been named…
On Monday, November 28, PJ D’Amico of the Buck Foundation was arrested when he refused to leave an area of the sidewalk that Denver Police had taped off with yellow “do not cross” tape.
For a guy who’s vowed not to load his administration with the usual corporate lobbyists and Washington insiders, Trump has stacked his transition team with energy moguls, climate deniers, anti-EPA crusaders, and other highly vested interests. His short list of Interior nominees reportedly includes such wild cards as Sarah Palin and multimillionaire Forrest Lucas, founder of Lucas Oil Products. Whoever gets the job, it’s likely that his appointee will be ideologically inclined to the drill-baby-drill mantra.
The local Black Lives Matter chapter recently spent some time in Standing Rock, and the American Indian Movement has rallied in support of the the Sioux at local protests.
On Wednesday, when Governor John Hickenlooper and Mayor Michael Hancock were at the Lawrence Street day shelter, serving Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless, the Denver Police Department continued its city-sanctioned sweep of the streets right outside. The contrast was stark, and the reactions of readers to this latest round of…
“For us, the same law enforcement that’s being employed to brutalize sovereign [indigenous] nations is simply an extension of the forces being used to brutalize and terrorize [black] communities.”
