City Cast Denver

Where does Denver’s power come from? It’s a deceptively complex question, loaded with all kinds of personal, political, and global implications. But one thing is certain, less and less of the electricity that powers our city is coming from coal. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, coal-fired power plants provided 36% of Colorado’s electricity in 2020, down from 68% in 2010. So this weekend on the show, we’re bringing you a little perspective from outside the city. Our friends at the Institute for Science & Policy at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science are producing an eight-part podcast exploring the transition away from coal in one of the most coal-reliant cities in the state — Craig, Colorado. This episode includes the first part in that series. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and click here to learn more: https://coalatsunset.orgHere’s their description for this first episode: There's a popular saying in Craig: "Coal keeps the lights on."But in 2020, the electrical utility Tri-State announced that it would close its coal-fired power plant and coal mines in Craig by 2030. The news was like an earthquake. Hundreds of jobs would be lost. The town now faces the prospect of massive economic disruption as its primary industry disappears.In our first episode, we travel to Craig to hear from coal workers who are bracing for change and one local business owner who's already looking for ways to reinvent the town's identity. Plus, we'll talk with the CEO at the center of the decision that changed everything. What will Craig do now?

One RTD driver recently described Union Station as a “hellhole,” and concerns with safety, drug use, littering, and public urination are mounting. The city’s response? More policing. Today on the show, Producer Xandra McMahon chats with host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi about other possible solutions to social issues that don’t involve more versions of law enforcement. Plus, the crew tackles a horrific editorial the Denver Gazette ran this week that targeted our unhoused neighbors. Oh, and we’re joined by a special guest whose voice you’ll be hearing more often on the show!A note: On the show today, we read part of a response from Benjamin Dunning from Denver Homeless Out Loud, regarding the Denver Gazette’s editorial. Here’s the full version of the statement he sent to us: “Peoples ignorance when it comes to homelessness is amazing as evidenced by the editorial 'Denver’s drifters glamp on taxpayers’ tab.' from the Denver Gazette. The article has no declared author. We take this as evidence of them being unable to accept responsibility or accountability. The shaming sentiment they put on our homeless communities with their coined word is disrespectful. Their stupidity and lack of insight is evidenced by statements like “It’s bad for the unfortunate soul who chooses that life as well as for the neighbor who has to put up with it.”No one, and I mean no one chooses to be homeless. To sit behind a locked door and call the police on folks stuck in homelessland, over and over and over only makes things worse. 70% of calls to the STAR program are for unwanted persons and not for emergencies. Apparently there is a person who alone has called emergency services 500 times. It is sicking the disrespect we show our homeless communities. And this anonymous author is no different.The SOS camps do a great job offering help with dignity and respect. So when folks are offered some help with dignity, are we to shame them as grifters? Makes you wonder what kind of grift this author is manufacturing.Here is a bit of what enduring homelessland actually looks like. Glamping my A**- Being chased from street to street by city officials week after week, month after month. No rest, never sleeping with both eyes closed. Asking for housing and being told there is none. Asking where you could go and being told an “overcrowded emergency shelter during a pandemic”. Not a safe place at all.How about housing? Efforts to address homelessness should emphasize housing. Housing ends homelessness. Shelters do not work, they never have. Is the anonymous author willing to accept housing vouchers at their properties? Trust me the anonymous author owns property. (remember the grift they were on we mentioned earlier) Many folks on the streets have housing vouchers that private landlords refuse to accept. Making a problem even worse. People who have housing being denied the right to access the housing they have been granted. Only then to be shamed by Karen's excessively calling the police on them. But then that is what stupid people do. Make their problems worse and then blame it on someone else.”And here’s the Denver Gazette’s “Denver Drifters Glamp on Taxpayer’s Tab” Find Peyton Garcia’s best of local gift guides in today’s newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/  Tell us what you thought of the Denver Gazette piece on Twitter: @CityCastDenver

A traditional holiday celebration in Spain and Latin America, La Posada has never really taken root here in Denver. But maybe that should change? Miguel Aviña certainly thinks so. He and his band, iZCALLi, put on an annual concert commemorating the event, and this weekend it’s going to be bigger and better than ever, with a jam-packed line-up taking the stage at Meow Wolf’s Perplexiplex Saturday night. Host Bree Davies sits down with Aviña to talk about the meaning of La Posada, his favorite Christmas music to perform, and what to expect at iZCALLi’s big bang of an end-of-year show. Looking for a little more local holiday music for your weekend? One of the acts joining iZCALLi on stage for La Posada, Kayla Marque, live-streamed a set of holiday tunes on PBS12 last year. Catch “How COVID Stole Christmas” here: https://www.facebook.com/PBS12.CO/videos/1357156864622162/The songs we featured in this episode include: “Corriendo Con Todo” off of iZCALLi’s 2018 album “IV” “Villain” off Kayla Marque’s 2020 record “Left Brain” We’ve got plenty more recommendations for your Denver weekend in our newsletter. All you’ve got to do is subscribe: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/We promise to send you some really good tweets today: @citycastdenver

Did you know that today is actually a holiday here in Colorado? Happy Margaret Coel Day! So we thought, what better way to celebrate than to share this audio documentary our producer Paul Karolyi made last year featuring Coel and her work? She’s best known for her Wind River mystery novels, but before she got into fiction, she published a historical biography of Arapaho Chief Left Hand, who famously uttered these famous words about Boulder Valley: “People seeing the beauty of this valley will want to stay, and their staying will be the undoing of the beauty.” Or did he? This is a story about exactly that uncertainty, as well as the nature of storytelling itself and land acknowledgements.This audio doc originally appeared on the podcast Range & Slope, where you can hear a couple of Paul’s other audio docs, like this one about Beau Jo’s so-called Colorado-style pizza or this one about Fort St. Vrain, Colorado’s first and still only nuclear power plant. 

The LoDo nightclub Beta was once one of the top EDM clubs in the country, if not the world. But after a few high-profile violent incidents over the summer, a couple of undercover police raids, and one off-the-wall Von Miller party, Beta is on the verge of losing its liquor license, which would effectively shut it down for good. So what happened? Host Bree Davies sits down with Westword reporter Conor McCormick-Cavanagh to break down the story and the self-proclaimed “made man” at the center of it all — Beta’s owner, Valentes Corleons. Plus, Producer Paul Karolyi called up Corleons to get his side of the story. For more on the Beta situation, here’s McKormick-Cavanagh’s latest for Westword.Every Thursday in our newsletter, Peyton is reviewing a Denver restaurant and sharing the inside scoop on Denver restaurants. Subscribe now to make sure Peyton’s Plate hits your inbox tomorrow morning: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Have you ever been to Beta? Let’s talk: @citycastdenver

Tay Anderson made national headlines in 2019 when he was elected as the youngest Denver Public Schools board member in Colorado history. In 2021, he made headlines again — this time for accusations of sexual assault and sexual misconduct. But then a third-party investigation concluded that the most serious of the allegations were unsubstantiated, and just last week his peers elected him Vice President of the DPS board. Host Bree Davies sits down with Anderson to talk about the ups and downs of the last year and what he sees for his future and the future of Denver Public Schools.Stay up-to-date with Denver happenings by subscribing to the City Cast Denver newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenver

Of all Denver’s great holiday traditions, there’s only one carefully crafted to drive whiskey lovers wild. Local distiller Stranahan’s started selling small batches of “Snowflake” whiskeys way back in 2007. But in the last few years, the Snowflake has taken on a lore of its own as aficionados camp out for days next to the distillery, just for the chance to get a bottle of that year’s unique, limited-edition recipe. This year, Stranahan’s decided to do things a little differently, turning the low-key campout into a full-fledged blowout at Red Rocks, complete with food trucks and live music. City Cast Denver correspondent JD Lopez — host of the Left Hand Right Brain podcast — headed over to the amphitheater’s parking lot at the crack of dawn to talk to Colorado’s whiskey tailgaters and find out what makes the Snowflake blend good enough to wait in line for. Plus, our VOICE on the Street segment is back — this time, we hear from Denver VOICE street paper vendor Brian Augustine, who talks candidly about why he loves being out in the community. Learn more about the Denver VOICE and read an online version of the paper at denvervoice.org. Donate directly to the Denver VOICE via Venmo: @DenverVOICE. We’ve got plenty more news from around the city in our weekday morning newsletter. Sign up here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Chat with us on Twitter: @CityCastDenver

It’s official: the Omicron variant has hit Colorado. As we brace for continued disruptions in our daily lives, there’s still a lot at stake — schools are short-staffed, hospitals are overloaded, and our local economy is still dealing with supply chain issues and employee shortages. So, what does this all mean for family-owned businesses in Denver? Oblio’s, a long-running pizza joint in Park Hill, has been very forthright about the pandemic’s ongoing impacts on their business. In fact, they recently launched a GoFundMe in an effort to keep the family restuarant afloat — and in the post, owner Morgan McKay candidly shared what it has been like trying to save her family’s pizza legacy. City Cast Denver Producer Paul Karolyi chatted with Morgan about Oblio’s future and the concerns she has going into what looks like another winter of suriving a pandemic. Find great stuff to do this weekend by subscribing to the City Cast Denver newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Share your fond memories of Oblio’s via Twitter: @citycastdenver

There is only one lesbian bar left in Denver. It’s one of only around 20 left in the United States. But according to a new lawsuit from three former employees, Blush & Blu owner Jody Bouffard has used that status for years to “create a culture of obligation where workers were required to accept mistreatment and brazen underpayment as a ‘service’ to the bar and broader queer community.” City Cast Denver producer Xandra McMahon sits down with one of those former employees, Jordan Feltner, to talk about what happens when power dynamics are at play within a vulnerable, marginalized community. You can read the entire lawsuit here: https://towardsjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2021.11.12-Filed-Blush-Complaint.pdfHere is the full statement we received from Blush & Blu:"Jody Bouffard and Blush & Blu deny these untrue and shocking allegations from three former off-and-on part-time staff. Bouffard has never intentionally belittled anyone in the manner described or otherwise, nor withheld rightfully earned pay. This filing is an unfortunate retaliation against Bouffard and Blush & Blu for unrelated staffing decisions, and does not accurately represent the work environment at Blush & Blu.As a lifeline and community space for LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC people alike, and one of the last lesbian bars in the country, Blush & Blu feels strongly about their responsibility to create and maintain a safe and accepting space.When the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies’ Civil Rights Division investigated Savage’s claims of discrimination, Blush & Blu fully cooperated. Similarly, Blush & Blu provided a complete response to the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment regarding Jordan Feltner's wage complaint. Bouffard and Blush & Blu exercised care and due diligence in their response to both claims, despite the limited information included in Savage's and Feltner'sComplaints.Bouffard and Blush & Blu responded to each of the complaints lodged by Ms. Savage in her CCRD charge in full, with corroborating business documents, shift records, bank statements and payment records, social posts, photos, and specific eyewitness accounts. Similar evidence rebutting Feltner's claim was provided to CDLE in the form of shift records, payment stubs, and bar receipts. Reviewing the evidence presented on behalf of Bouffard and Blush & Blu, and legal discussion of the charge, no standing of discrimination was recognized by CCRD. The CDLE complaint was pulled before it could be dismissed. Now, they have apparently opted to try their case by public opinion."Don’t miss another CCD newsletter! Subscribe now and get Peyton’s guide for your weekend tomorrow morning: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Talk to us on Twitter @citycastdenver

When Pastor Ryan Canaday confessed his alcoholism to his congregation back in 2013, he was shocked by the outpouring of love and stories from others who were on their own journeys of recovery. It was that experience that eventually led him and his wife Tami Canaday — a former climber on the corporate coffee ladder — to build their own community around coffee and recovery. Host Bree Davies sits down with the Canadays to talk about how the “gift of desperation” led them to start a non-profit, a coffee roasting company, Wagon Coffee, and now their very own coffee shop — all to help normalize and support people in recovery from alcoholism. The Canadays have been hosting support groups virtually every Saturday at 7 p.m. throughout the pandemic, and they are excited to return to in-person meetings this Saturday, December 4, at 2122 S. Lafayette St. Find all the details here.For more on the Canadays, here’s the 303 Magazine piece where we first heard about them.Don’t miss another newsletter fresh in your inbox every weekday! https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Yeah yeah, don’t worry, we’re on Twitter too: @citycastdenver