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Denver Council approves controversial zoning change despite low-income health clinic’s objections

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

The owners of a southeast Denver clinic serving refugees, immigrants and other groups that struggle to afford medical care say they are at risk of shutting down after the City Council changed the land use rules governing their property and cut the maximum building height on their land in half.They feel singled out over the way the rezoning of their property was handled.Homeowners in the surrounding neighborhood — and some of the councilmembers who approved the changes — referenced an active development plan that proposes replacing the clinic with a seven-story apartment building when supporting the controversial rezoning. Nearby residents say they welcome the clinic in the University Hills neighborhood and want to see it succeed.Ramin Vatan, CEO of the Evans Medical Center, dismissed that sentiment. The previous zoning, which allowed buildings as tall as 75 feet, factored into the value of the building that he and his wife Dr. Sara Vatan moved their clinic there in 2020....

Letters: Slumping Colorado Rockies need big change at the very top

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

Rockies need change at the very topStan Kroenke owns the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, the Mammoth and the Los Angeles Rams. Those teams have all won championships in their respective sports. If you ever want the Colorado Rockies to win a title, Kroenke will have to buy them from the Monfort brothers.Leroy M Martinez, DenverThe Rockies are mired in last place in a five-team division, not quite yet eliminated from postseason competition, but almost.Players are being blamed, but anyone who knows baseball knows that’s only part of it. Team ownership, scouting, and player development are very important, and, in this franchise’s case, all three are failing the team and, therefore, the community.Some teams that did poorly in the past turn things around. This year, Arizona is a good example. The Rockies have been sub .500 for years. When the Broncos go south, ownership and management do something about it.None of this is manager Bud Black’s fault, although he does leave starters in t...

A guide to Denver’s best LGBTQ bars to hit in June (and beyond)

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

Simply placing a Pride flag in the window does not an LGBTQ bar make, but it’s heartening to see the rainbows winding their way into more and more mainstream establishments.For queer bars, Denverites often have to dig a little deeper, as the LGBTQ cultural scene is not always matched by the prominence or number of clubs. In the past year, the city lost two of its newer spots, Fusion and Lucid, despite a thriving post-pandemic LGBTQ scene.At the end of June, some establishments will take their rainbow flags off the walls, but Denver’s queer bars will keep them flying all year long. In that spirit, here’s a quick roundup for Pride month and in advance of Denver PrideFest (June 24 and 25), including legacy bars and some new(er) names, so you don’t have to do all the work yourself.Tracks DenverIndisputably Denver’s largest and most important LGBTQ club, Tracks has, over the last 17 years, made its name with national-quality drag performances, touring artist...

These 9 abandoned Colorado ghost towns will give you the chills

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

In 1858, prospectors struck gold on Cherry Creek, and in an instant a generation of Americans and fortune seekers from abroad was bound for what would become Colorado. It worked out OK for Denver, which became the largest and most influential city in the Rockies. Thousands of other towns in Colorado weren’t so fortunate.From 1858 until the silver crash of 1893, towns popped up almost overnight where gold or silver was found. Just as quickly, the vast majority were abandoned when the ore ran out, often in places so difficult to reach even today that you’ll wonder how the miners managed daily life.Most of these hamlets are gone, but the mountains are littered with their crumbling remains – cabins, bunkhouses, stores and mining structures. They stand as a testament to the pioneers’ ingenuity and monuments to their often-broken dreams.Visiting these places is akin to stepping back in time. Some you can reach on dirt roads passable in the family sedan. Others require a four-w...

Enamored with this season’s wildflowers? You ain’t seen anything yet

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

Yes, you’ve been seeing and hearing about gorgeous eruptions of wildflowers, thanks to the exceptional moisture Colorado has received this year, but it sounds like the best is yet to come.Maggie Gaddis, executive director of the Colorado Native Plant Society, says peak wildflower viewing along the Front Range and in the high country has not arrived, and will be later than usual, for different reasons.Provided by Ellen MackeyWildflowers in bloom at Herman Gulch in Dillon, Colo. on July 5, 2022.“A lot of the rain that fell in town was snow in the mountains, so everything’s late in the high country,” said Gaddis, who lives in Colorado Springs. “Pikes Peak has more snow on it now than it’s had all winter. We were already at like 124% snowpack before we had these intense spring rains.”Front Range wildflowers and gardens have benefitted from all that rain, of course, but Gaddis says flowering has been delayed because we’ve had so many overcast day...

At the Colorado Tiny House Festival, small spaces are a big deal

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

From DIY converted school buses to Home Depot’s new line of right-to-your-door micro-homes, tiny dwellings are a big deal. This weekend, there’s one place to see and learn all about them.Back for its sixth year, the Colorado Tiny House Festival, June 24-25 at Riverdale Regional Park in Brighton, showcases everything that the spirit of tiny living has to offer. The festival includes professional tiny home builders, as well as contemporary designs from DIY builders and so-called “glamping” experts. From aspiring millennial van-lifers to soon-to-be retirees, there’s something in it for everyone, according to festival organizer Art Laubach.“There’s a subset of the market that are looking for a more sustainable, minimalist lifestyle, and then there’s a subset that’s looking for something more affordable,” he said. “And then there’s another market of people who are getting older and they want less home to take care of.“It’s different f...

In or out? When it comes to moving, more people are “in” on Denver

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

Brooklyn, Phoenix and Austin residents this year are researching moves into the Denver area way more than Denver residents are looking the other way.  And when it comes to getting out of Denver, the scale tips in favor of Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Colorado Springs.Online moving platform moveBuddah looked at the ratio of people researching moves into and out of Denver between 2020 through early 2023 to try to better understand where the population flowed. Metro Denver remains a popular destination overall, but movers are now more interested in the suburbs than they are in the core city.“Search interest nationwide in moving to Denver was consistently high from 2020 to early 2023. But if you scratch the surface, you’ll see that most all the interest was outside Denver’s city limits and in the suburbs,” Nick Pipitone said in a blog post.If one person is looking to move to a given city and one resident from that city is looking to move out to that place, then that represents...

Colorado’s best distilleries for whiskey, gin and tours, according to USA Today

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

Colorado’s craft beer scene has earned a reputation as one of the best in the U.S., but USA Today is making the case that the local distillery scene should have notoriety as well.Craft spirits makers landed on multiple lists in the publication’s recurring series, USA Today 10Best, in which experts nominate noteworthy businesses by category before the public votes on winners.Readers rated Denver’s Deviation Distilling as one of the country’s best craft gin makers (No. 7) and as one of the best spirits tasting rooms (No. 9). Breckenridge Distillery – which, at 9,600 feet in elevation, is “ known as the highest distillery in the country,” USA Today said – joined the latter list, coming in as the No. 5 best spirits tasting room in the U.S.“Here, in the elevated surroundings, you can enjoy complimentary sample tastings of any two of their foundational spirits, like Espresso Vodka or Spiced Rum,” the pub wrote of Breckenridge Distillery, “or you can opt for their private guided flight tas...

UK Chinese Dragon Boat Festival makes a splash in Manchester

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

Paddlers racing to the finishing line at UK Chinese Dragon Boat Festival. /Murray Job/CGTNEurope's biggest dragon boat race has paddled its way back to Manchester. This year's UK Chinese Dragon Boat Festival (17-18 June) involved around 40 amateur teams and a dozen professional teams taking part in the two-day event, writes Wang Qiwei in Manchester, UK.This fun-filled race saw teams of paddlers and drummers racing along the waters of Salford Quays – in the adjoining city of Salford – to the beat of the drum. It requires teamwork and staying in sync to win the race, but for the amateur paddlers – many of them first-timers – the trophy may not be the main aim.A poem to mark the Dragon Boat FestivalHow is the Dragon Boat Festival celebrated around the world?Ganzhou residents gear up for dragon boat racing"It's the first time for all of us on the boat to participate in the race. We could hear the crowds cheering and it was really brilliant," said Esme Ward, Director of Manches...

Body found 10 feet from doorway in South L.A. building fire

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:17 GMT

A man was found dead following a fire in the Broadway-Manchester neighborhood of South Los Angeles Wednesday morning. The blaze erupted in the 60 x 80 metal-clad, commercial building around 11:40 p.m. Tuesday.More than 80 firefighters went into a defensive operation but extinguished the blaze in about 40 minutes. While conducting a search, firefighters located a man inside the building who was beyond medical help, Los Angeles Fire Department Spokesperson Margaret Stewart stated in a news alert. One person was found dead in a building fire in South Los Angeles on June 20, 2023. (OnScene.TV)At one point crews were concerned about the building collapsing. “We knew there were some homeless people living there because we’ve been here before … So, we’re always going to be thinking of search right away but we wouldn’t advance because of the type of building … because of the amount of fire, and it is not a safe building to go in,” said LAFD Capt. Ivan Carmona.The unidentified man, who was l...