debbie ortega
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Denver liquor, pot license hearings to see changes
Proposed changes to the City and County of Denver’s hearings for liquor, live music and entertainment and marijuana licenses — described as chaotic under current procedures — include requiring more signatures to hold evening hearings, time limits for those hearings and formal training for hearing officers. The changes were recently explained to the Denver City…
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Denver Council argues over extending marijuana store hours
Instead of a sought-after additional five hours of business, Denver’s recreational marijuana dispensaries seem likely to be allowed three extra hours, and city coffers could see between $664,000 to $1.3 million in extra revenue if all those dispensaries decided to take advantage of the extra hours that may soon be allowed under a City and…
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Denver Council remarks explode over moratorium debate
Comments from two Denver residents against a two-month extension of the City Council’s moratorium on small lot parking exemptions led to some heated responses from a few councilmen and an apology from one if he had gone too far. City Council held a public hearing on the moratorium extension at its March 20 meeting, which…
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ICYMI: Buckle up time again, Denver overuses software and pays more, Aurora open records dispute
? Heads up, Pueblo County drivers. Or better yet, buckle up, and anyone in a truck statewide might want to heed that advice, as the Colorado State Patrol and Department of Transportation began one of those “Click It Or Ticket” enforcement campaigns. As the Gazette reported, drivers in Pueblo County had the highest non-compliance rate…
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Denver pot stores cite safer roads, extra city revenue with more hours
Denver’s marijuana dispensaries are seeking longer hours to have a level playing field with other city businesses and competitors in neighboring communities. City Council listened to mostly supportive arguments for extending the closing hours from 7 p.m. to midnight at a recent Special Issues Committee hearing. Currently, Denver’s hours of operation for both medical and…
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From ethics stories to ethics code for Flynn
Kevin Flynn has written about ethics battles on city councils and other local governing bodies, now he’s writing an almost-new code of ethics for the Denver City Council. The former longtime reporter was elected in District 2, the southwestern part of Denver, in 2015. Several months after he took office, Flynn said a task force…
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Denver taxi, limo licenses to end
Close to 2,200 taxi, shuttle and limousine drivers will likely face fewer regulations in the New Year, when the City and County of Denver is expected to stop requiring them to qualify for and get “Herdic” licenses. Such licenses were named for the Herdic cab, a horse-drawn carriage invented by Peter Herdicin in 1881. Herdic…
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Denver GO bonds size, tax question TBD
As Denver officials began listening to citizens this week about the next round of general obligation bonds to help address city amenity needs like roads, parks and buildings, the size of the bond issue and whether it could include a tax hike to present to voters are unknown. A City Council committee heard an update…

