robin kniech
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Denver’s $4M Target store incentive scrutinized
Several Denver City Council members have reservations about a proposed $4 million loan to help see a Target open on the downtown 16th Street Mall. The city’s budget and management office is requesting a $4 million supplemental appropriation for the Office of Economic Development’s Business Incentive Fund. That office wants to loan the funds to…
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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 officials want better approach to homelessness with new shelter
Galvanized by shortcoming in their approach to homelessness, Denver officials agreed to purchase a new, permanent building to provide emergency housing for the city’s homeless and called for a more focused, comprehensive approach to the city’s needy. The City Council OK’ed the purchase of a $4.45 million, 48,000-square foot warehouse at 4330 East 48th Avenue…
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McCann talks about her salary increase, goals for DA’s office
Denver District Attorney-elect Beth McCann will receive 2 percent salary hikes in each of the last two years of her four-year term, similar to other salary increases given to her metro-area and statewide colleagues under state statutes. Denver City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday, Jan. 3, that set McCann’s incoming salary at $219,606, the current amount…
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Building energy efficiency information may be required by city
Around 3,000 commercial and multi-family buildings in Denver would be asked to start providing information to city officials about their energy efficiency under an ordinance before Denver City Council. The information – described as similar to gas mileage stickers for motor vehicles – would help the city meet its Energize Denver climate goals. Municipal, institutional, commercial and…
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Sanctuary city? Denver officials pledge to resist Trump’s mass deportation threat
Denver and other Colorado cities stand in the crosshairs of President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to cut off federal funding to “sanctuary cities” for illegal immigrants. Sanctuary cities refer to cities that make no more than mediocre efforts to block illegal immigrants from employment or to deport them. Denver city and county officials have sought to…
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Want to give your councilperson a gift? Denver is still discussing how to handle that
Denver is “completely out of step” with other major jurisdictions in at least one key ethics code area, City Councilman Kevin Flynn told some of his colleagues in explaining some “tweaks” he is proposing to the city code. At the Tuesday, Dec. 6, Finance and Governance Committee meeting, Flynn noted most jurisdictions have a dollar…