Author: ALAYNA ALVAREZ

On Monday, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock – who for months has called on Congress to provide more coronavirus relief funding – was one of thousands of mayors across the country celebrating President Donald Trump’s signature on a massive new stimulus package that will help cities stay afloat in the face of a coronavirus-addled economy.  “This is…

Denver International Airport reached another “significant” contractual milestone in the scaled-back $770 million plan to complete its Great Hall terminal renovation, airport officials announced Monday.  The latest project development is part of Phase One of the Great Hall terminal renovation and the second milestone to be completed ahead of schedule since DIA’s costly split with…

Former Denver planning director William “Bill” Lamont, Jr., who worked under former Mayor Federico Peña’s administration, was honored by the Denver City Council this month after passing away in October.  “Please recall, back in the 1980s, we had a major recession,” Peña said during the council meeting Dec. 14. “Our unemployment rate was 2% above…

The Denver Clerk and Recorder’s Office has partnered with MapLight, a civic technology firm, to build out a replacement for the city’s “outdated” campaign finance reporting application.  MapLight is a nonprofit based in Berkeley, California, that “reveals the influence of money in politics, informs and empowers voters, and advances reforms that promote a more responsive…

After nearly four months of deliberations, the Denver City Council’s Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced a “softer” proposal on Tuesday that will change the city’s zoning rules to raise the number of people who can share a home.  Over seven presentations between Sept. 1 and Dec. 22, city planners worked with LUTI members…

After more than 50 years in the making, a beloved space in northwest Denver is now officially recognized as La Raza Park, a name it’s long been dubbed by those who’ve known it best. The Denver City Council on Monday unanimously approved the renaming of the Sunnyside neighborhood’s Columbus Park, formerly named in 1931 for…

The oldest-standing church in Denver’s Westside neighborhood will become the city’s 350th landmark, local lawmakers decided Monday.  Smith’s Chapel at 910 Galapago St., was built with Castle Rock-quarried rhyolite stone and completed in 1882 in the Gothic Revival style of architecture, which was typical for the period. The church towers among one of Denver’s longest-surviving…

The board of an influential advocacy group, All In Denver, is calling on Mayor Michael Hancock to end homeless sweeps and provide a report accounting for all associated costs of breaking up encampments as they compare to the costs of providing temporary housing.  “We can think of no issue that holds greater urgency than the…

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock’s office announced Friday that Murphy Robinson will be the city’s deputy mayor in 2021.  Robinson, a Denver native who Hancock appointed in May to lead the city’s safety department, will wear his dual title beginning Jan. 1.  Robinson served as deputy mayor in 2019 for roughly eight months before transitioning to…

A new report from the Office of Denver Auditor Timothy M. O’Brien scolded Denver International Airport managers for pursuing a large-scale renovation project after finding that many of the airport’s capital assets weren’t properly tracked and maintained.  Denver’s airport managers, according to the audit, have “resorted to taking a reactive – instead of proactive –…