debbie ortega

  • 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…


  • Finances may have improved at RMHS after negative 2015 audit

    Just over a year after a Denver auditor’s report found a nonprofit provider of services to the mentally and developmentally disabled residents of the City and County of Denver had mismanaged city funds, the picture is much better, City Council members were recently told. Rocky Mountain Human Services, formerly called Denver Options, serves over 6,000…


  • 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…


  • 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…


  • 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…


  • 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…


  • 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…


  • Denver outlines marijuana social consumption plan

    Permit applications from Denver businesses interested in allowing social consumption of marijuana can be filed Jan. 21, but it could be next summer before those applications are approved or rejected. The delay is needed so rules, regulations and other steps can be completed by city attorneys and staff and City Council approval is gained. A…


  • 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…


  • 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…


Welcome Back.

Streak: 9 days i

Stories you've missed since your last login:

Stories you've saved for later:

Recommended stories based on your interests:

Edit my interests