Today is Feb. 23, 2023 and here is what you need to know:

A candidate running to become Denver’s next mayor has come under scrutiny for saying that, under certain circumstances, people who violate the city’s urban camping ban should be arrested.

In an interview with 9News, a news partner of The Denver Gazette, mayoral candidate Kelly Brough said arresting someone who violates the urban camping ban would come as a “last resort” when that person has also declined resources, such as shelter, behavioral health treatment or relocation to a sanctioned camping site.

In the second half of a mayoral forum, state Rep. Leslie Herod and businessman Tom Wolf disagreed on the best solutions to end Denver’s homelessness crisis.

Wolf wants to house people in disused city buildings. Herod wants to utilize land owned by the city. Both agreed that housing people must be the priority, however, and agreed it’s inhumane to walk over people camped out on Denver’s sidewalks. 

Trucks from the Denver Department of Transportation & Infrastructure, Denver Police officers and an environmental hazmat cleanup company descended on a homeless tent camp Tuesday morning on the northeast side of I-25 and Broadway.

Crews removed more than 2.5 tons of trash and debris and 120 pounds of propane, according to DOTI spokeswoman Nancy Kuhn.

House Bill 1068 seeks to cap pet rents to 1% of the owner’s monthly rent and cap pet deposits to $300 on top of existing security deposits.

The bill would also prohibit homeowner insurance providers from denying policies based on specific dog breeds and would require law enforcement conducting evictions to give any pets present to the tenant or, if the tenant is not there, turn the pets over to a local animal shelter or rescue.

The bill passed its first committee vote on Wednesday, receiving 8-4 approval from the House Transportation, Housing and Local Government Committee.

Stephen Varela’s withdrawal from the state GOP chair’s race means every remaining contender for the top party position wants to close Colorado’s semi-open primaries to unaffiliated voters, allowing only registered Republicans to participate.

Additionally, without Varela in the field, there isn’t a single Republican state chair candidate who hasn’t promoted unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.