Free marijuana makes debut at Civic Center Park

THIS IS NOT ‘BLIGHT’—THIS IS NATURE

by Dave Felice

Hentzell Park Natural Area - photo by Ray Ehrenstein

Denver Clerk and Recorder Debra Johnson thinks there’s nothing she can do about her suppression of a popular vote on giving away nine acres of Hentzell Park Natural Area.

Johnson commented at Mayor Michael B. Hancock’s latest “Cabinet in the Community” at Teller School Saturday morning. About 15 members of Friends of Denver Parks attended the meeting in a continuing protest over Hancock’s decision to give the park land to the school district.

“I had no choice,” said Johnson when one of the Friends told her she should be ashamed of rejecting petitions to put the measure on the ballot. Her response implicitly refers to an opinion from the City Attorney’s office saying the park decision cannot be put on the ballot by petition.

The Friends supporter responded, “You should have sought independent legal counsel instead of relying on the opinion of the Mayor’s bought-and-paid-for City Attorney!”  Tersely, Johnson responded: “That’s how the system works,” and turned away.

Johnson is independently elected. Although the Clerk’s office is officially nonpartisan, Johnson is a nominal Democrat. Former City Councilwoman Cathy Donohue has repeatedly reminded city officials that the city attorney only represents the interests of the mayor.

The park supporters, many wearing the Friends’ signature green T-shirts, lined the back wall of the auditorium and vigorously waved their protest signs during the hour and a half program, while the Hancock and his appointees warily eyed the protesters from the main table.

Some of the slogans on the protest signs read:  “LET THE PEOPLE VOTE ON WHETHER THE CITY SHOULD DESTROY HENTZELL PARK NATURAL AREA;” “PARKS ARE NOT FOR SALE OR TRADE—SAVE HENTZELL PARK NATURAL AREA;” and “MAYOR HANCOCK: 

THIS IS NOT ‘BLIGHT’—THIS IS NATURE!”

Denver School Board candidate Meg Schomp also stood in solidarity with the Friends group.   By contrast, most City officials, including all of Hancock’s appointees, studiously avoided acknowledging or speaking with the park supporters.

When making introductions of School Board at the beginning of the program, Hancock did not acknowledge Schomp. She stepped forward, raised her voice and said, “Excuse me, I am Meg Schomp and I am a candidate for School Board from District Three.”

At the end of the main program, Hancock and other city officials sat at tables lining the school’s hallway to meet and greet citizens and answer questions. Many citizens stopped to chat with the park supporters, and overwhelmingly offered support for the Friends’ position. 

“We got a lot of questions from people who were curious about the green t-shirts and signs,” says Friends President Renee Lewis, a resident of the area also known as Hampden Heights North Park.  “We were able to do education on many fronts. (Deputy Parks Manager) Scott Gilmore again gleefully informed me that he will be killing the prairie dog colony.”

Lewis also spoke directly to Hancock. “The mayor told me that ‘we (city government) have the correct legal position.’ I told him that this situation could very well show up at the ballot box.  He did seem to hear what I said. It is surprising how some people will hold tightly onto an anchor rope even when they are told that the ship is sinking.” 

Veteran trial attorney John Case, also a resident of the Hampden Heights North Park area, is representing the Friends of Denver Parks pro bono. In a case scheduled for court next May, Case challenges the city decision to destroy the natural area which should have been designated as a park decades ago, as well as Johnson’s refusal to accept petitions. 

Friends of Denver Parks Make a Big Impression at the Cabinet Meeting

Report from today's Cabinet Meeting in the Community, by email

Good Day to Friends of Denver Parks, Thought there would be an interest in how things went at the Cabinet Meeting.   We had great group of folks show up and hold signs, also many known supporters in the audience.  It was so nice to see everyone's smiling faces again. Joe's new sign was the best. Joe was a bit naughty and let Deborah Johnson Clerk and Recorder know how he felt about her not seeking independent council before denying us the right to vote. . We got a lot of questions from people who were curious about the green t-shirts and signs. We were able to do education on many fronts.   I did get the chance to speak with many of the politicians involved.  Scott Gilmore again gleefully informed me that he will be killing the prairie dog colony.  Of course, our conversation was not entirely cordial.  Not sure I'm so keen on our Parks and Recreation Dept leadership. The Mayor told me that" we have the correct legal position" (referring to city government).  I told him that this situation could very well show up at the ballot box. He did seem to hear what I said. It is surprising how some people will hold tightly onto an anchor rope even when they are told that the ship is sinking. Even when it would be a better decision to let go and swim away from a lost cause. Well,at least I tried to tell him. Also I heard  that many of the city worker bees thought we had lost the case.  One of them on the Mayors Cabinet. Wow!  Wonder who spread that lie.  I made sure that they understood that our lawsuit has not been heard in court yet, and we have appeal rights too! We were treated with the utmost respect and no one attempted to impede our right to protest. We also remained respectful.   There was a substantial law enforcement presence, but I did not feel threatened in anyway and most of the officers were there to speak about neighborhood issues. All in all, our presence at this Cabinet Meeting was important and meaningful.  We received many encouragements by thumbs up and thank you's from community members as they walked by us holding our signs. I think it is very important that we keep this issue in the public eye in order to keep up the pressure on this situation. I believe we did make a substantial impact in this area.  In the meantime, be looking for a very important public announcement from Friends of Denver Parks in the next day or two!!! Real Life and Real People is the most fun. Renee Lewis President -Friends of Denver Parks

MAYOR MICHAEL B. HANCOCK IS COMING TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD!

Please join Mayor Hancock, his Cabinet and department heads as they come together for their quarterly neighborhood Cabinet meeting. Hear a first-hand account of what is happening in your community and around the city. Following the meeting, all attendees will have the unique opportunity to engage in a one-on-one dialogue with the Mayor and his leadership team.

WHAT:       Mayor Hancock’s Cabinet in the Community 
WHO:         You and Mayor Hancock
WHERE:    Teller Elementary School, 1150 Garfield St.

WHEN:      Saturday, September 7, 2013 
TIME:         9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Free continental breakfast!

For questions or to request that a specific municipal issue be addressed at this meeting, email or call Michael.Sapp@denvergov.org, 720-865-9024

Boasberg’s Policies: Inequity and Mediocrity (DPS)

by Ed Augden

Retired Denver Public Schools and Community Activist , reprinted with permission

Superintendent Tom Boasberg

In the November Denver Public Schools Board of Education election, voters have a clear choice between candidates that favor the status quo authoritarian policies of Superintendent Tom Boasberg and those who believe in innovative democratic reform that begins with teachers, parents, students and community activists.    

As a retired Denver Public Schools (DPS) teacher, husband and parent of DPS graduates, I still maintain an interest and passion for education, particularly what I perceive to be the inequity and mediocrity resulting from the policies of Boasberg, and his predecessor Sen. Michael Bennet, and the majority faction on the board of education. 

In 2005, Michael Bennet was appointed DPS superintendent where he remained until 2010 when appointed by former Gov. Bill Ritter to his current position.  He then won election that same year.  In 2006, the Harvard Civil Rights Study Project, Denver Public Schools:  Re-Segregation, Latino Style was published.  The report concluded that DPS has, since 1995 when court ordered busing ended, through action and inaction, contributed to the re-segregation of DPS especially Latino students and the poor.  Inaction certainly occurred first because no real concerted effort was made to alleviate the circumstances of those students attending segregated neighborhood schools (before Bennet and Boasberg).    Bennet left to become a U.S. Senator without ever publicly acknowledging that inequity based on poverty and ethnicity exist in DPS and, further, that mediocrity also exists for those students because they lack the opportunities offered to the privileged and the lucky in select charter schools and in more affluent neighborhoods.  To date, Tom Boasberg has not publicly acknowledged the existence of the Harvard study.   

Another study by the UCLA Civil Rights Project, “E Pluribus…Separation:  Deepening Double Segregation for More Students,” this year reveals an alarming rate of segregation based on race and poverty.  What does that mean for DPS students?  Mr. Boasberg has been silent on this study as well.   

Nor, has he acknowledged his own policy failures, for example, the “redesign” of North High School.  Following a period of slow, but steady progress this “reform” resulted in declining student achievement, increased dropout rate and a decline in North’s student population.  Yet, similar turnarounds in far northeast Denver were initiated this year apparently without either assessment or accountability.   

Another of his policies is co-location, placing two, or more, schools on the same campus.  Smiley Middle School, now slated for closure and re-opening as another school, was an early example.  No sooner had the announcement been made to co-locate Venture Charter School at Smiley than did local parents begin choicing out.  Now, without recognizing that failure, another choice is made for Smiley with little community input and with no assessment or accountability.   Co-location also means two administrative teams for each campus.  That’s additional administrative expenses by the same DPS administration that promised reduced administrative costs.  

 A glance at the 2012-2013 District Map reveals a growing number of charter schools.  Do they contribute to the common good or cater to the privileged and the lucky thus accelerating the re-segregation of all schools? 

Many of these policies – standardized testing, charter schools, etc. – are not unique to DPS.  They’re part of a nationwide trend sponsored and funded by what Diane Ravitch calls the Billionaire Boys Club including Rupert Murdoch, Bill and Melinda Gates, Eli Broad, the Koch brothers, Michael Bloomberg and other corporate reformers.  Aligned with Arne Duncan, Michelle Rhee, etc., these individuals donate money to organizations such as Stand for Children (SFC) and Democrats for Educational Reform (DEFER), American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and to political candidates who also believe in corporate reform.   Boasberg’s sister, Margaret, was a SFC board member. 

In the upcoming DPS Board of Education November election, political observers expect money to flow freely and abundantly to certain candidates, already endorsed by the real status quo establishment.  Former Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien, running at large against Michael Kiley will likely benefit from deep corporate coffers.  So will Landri Taylor against Roger Kilgore in northeast Denver, Rosemary Rodriguez against incumbent Andrea Merida in southwest Denver and Michael Johnson former DPS bond attorney against Meg Schomp, longtime neighborhood and school activist running for Jeanne Kaplan’s seat.  She’s term limited and has endorsed Schomp.  Incidentally, Johnson has been quoted as favoring a 7-0 majority.  Wouldn’t that be convenient for Boasberg? 

The importance of this election is underscored by events transpiring in Chicago.  Current Sec. of Education Duncan, while superintendent of Chicago Public Schools (CPS), instituted many of the reforms in vogue among the corporate reform set.  Following years of Duncan’s policy failures, organized resistance began to develop from teachers, students, parents and community activists.  Unrest among teachers appeared headed for a strike.  So, SFC successfully lobbied the Illinois legislature for a law requiring teachers’ unions such as the Chicago Teachers’ Union (CTU) to secure the support of seventy-five percent of membership before striking.  Despite that onerous law, when the time came this year, ninety-two percent of CFU’s members voted to strike.   When the strike ended, Mayor Rahm Emanuel failed to gain his major goal, teachers’ evaluations based upon student test scores.  So, with a forty percent approval rating, Emanuel appears to be closing as many neighborhood schools as possible and converting them to corporate controlled charter schools before his term ends.  Unrest continues in Chicago.  Will similar unrest come to Denver as a result of Boasberg’s policies? 

Denver voters have ample reason to be attentive to this DPS board of education campaign.  If the majority changes, DPS will return to neighborhood schools that include a comprehensive education with art, music and physical education.  If the current majority faction prevails, it will continue to support Boasberg’s policies.  I truly believe this will mean continued inequity, mediocrity and fiscal irresponsibility.  Taxpayers should ask Tom Boasberg, “ Who owns East High School and why is it no longer owned by DPS?”  More importantly, they should ask, “If academic success has been achieved in DPS, why do increasing numbers, now sixty percent, need remediation before being ready for college study?”  And, “If corporate reform is good enough for DPS students, why aren’t Boasberg’s children enrolled in DPS?”  Isn’t the choice clear, inequity and mediocrity or equity and excellence? 

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Tune in at 6:00 pm today. (Public Banking)

Stop TPP

Our own Dave Felice has been trying to get our attention with regard to TPP, yet another outrageous corporate takeover of worker's rights.

Thanks Dave, for your continuing efforts.

The corporate and political leaders of the Pacific Rim nations are meeting in cities across America such as Chicago, Dallas, San Diego, and Leesburg to turn the Pacific Ocean and its peoples into a giant privatized corporate lake characterized by non-union workers, Wal-Mart supply chain feeders, poisoned, landless agricultural laborers, a dying biodiversity, and rising, drowning sea levels. We cannot and will not let this happen.

 Read more...

THE DENVER HISTORY INDEX by Phil Goodstein

Phil Goodstein.  The Denver History Index.  Denver:  New Social Publications, 2013.  vi + 444 pp.  ISBN 0–9742264–8–3.  $29.95.  illustrations, index. 

The Denver History Index is the ultimate book on the Mile High City’s past.  It is a listing of the terms, people, themes, and events which have made Denver what it is from the founding of the community during the Pikes Peak gold rush in 1858–59 into the 21st century.  The volume provides an instant source of reference about such key issues as the Sand Creek Massacre, the impact of the Ku Klux Klan, the city beautiful policies of Mayor Robert Speer, and the campaign for the 1976 Winter Olympics.  The reader can also learn about how such traumatic national events as World War II and the Panic of 1893 have impacted the Queen City of Mountain and Plain. 

This is but the beginning of the numerous layers of this rich reference work.  While ostensibly it is nothing more than a compilation of the indexes of the many volumes of Denver’s foremost historian, Phil Goodstein, it is something of a barometer of community passions and aspirations.  More than that, it includes a fascinating introductory chapter, “The Quest for an Alternative Denver,” in which Goodstein discusses how he became involved in probing all aspects of the Mile High City.  The essay tells how his books were written and received. 

Though there is undoubtedly an element of ego in The Denver History Index, it also is a place where Goodstein confesses the many mistakes he has made in writing about the city.  He points to the various errors which have plagued his volumes.  Additionally, he tells how he came to issue The Naysayer, a monthly two-page sheet giving a dissident view of contemporary Mile High developments.  A chapter outlining that publication is a reflection of the hopes and turmoils which have been at the center of Denver and Colorado since the mid-1980s.  There is nothing comparable to it is in print. 

Finally, The Denver History Index contains a street index.  This not only provides a reference to the origins of street names, but indicates where a student can go for more discussions about the ups and downs of Colfax, Broadway, Federal Boulevard, and the highways cutting through the community.  That chapter further pinpoints specific locations where crucial events have occurred.  In a word, it and The Denver History Index as a whole reflect Goodstein’s overall writings in providing information about what had made Denver what it is and how residents can work to assure the destiny of their community. 

For more information, contact Goodstein at 303-333–1095, or see his Web page at WWW.LeonardLeonard.com/neighborhoods/walkingtours.  Information on his books is also at capitolhillbooks.com. 

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THC WEEKLY NEWS - with Jessica LeRoux - September 2, 2013

Hey Now, 

Jessica LeRoux at the Capitol

Its been a big holiday weekend and our community is going through a needless tragedy due to alcohol. As most of you already know Denver Moms for Marijuana founding member and cannabis activist was struck and killed saturday when a drunk driver going the wrong way in the HOV lane hit the car being driven by Jenny & Rev Jeremy head on. She is survived by 4 young children and her loving partner Rev Jeremy was also in the accident. Worst of all the young woman who killed Jenny had a history of repeat DUI even though she was only 27 years old. We must use this opportunity to educate people to the fact that Cannabis is much safer than Alcohol and easier to use responsibly. And because of the new DUID laws any incident where there is injury results in all parties having their blood tested, where there is strong probability THC will be found in both Jenny & Jeremy's blood. We must remain alert to any potential spin doctoring of this tragedy as being in any way related to Jenny and Jeremy's use of cannabis, we must set the record straight at every opportunity that Jenny's murder is 100% due to a drunk getting on the wrong side of the highway, period. Click here for Jenny's memorial fund,https://www.wepay.com/donations/jenny-kush-memorial-fund?utm_campaign=shops&utm_medium=link&utm_source=facebook

This Thursday the 5th is Juror Rights Day, please do your part to educate your patients on their rights to deny implementation of unjust laws. THe best way for "we the people" to change things is to push the expense of enforcement back to LEOs and off of the backs of citizens whose only "crime" is the choice of intoxicant they prefer by using juror nullification to point out the hypocrisy of the Drug war. 

    

Jury Rights Day 2013 Events | Fully Informed Jury Associationfija.orgJordan Elliot, Jessica Perkins, Mike Angelos, and Michael D. Elliot. Looking for a Jury Rights Day event? Check below! Are you hosting a Jury Rights

You can find out more about what I feel are serious concerns for the industry regarding the State's MITS or Marijuana Inventory Tracking Solution program as well as Intellectual Property Rights, Consolidation, and the november tax proposals...Video Media ‹ Clover Leaf www.cannabisbusinessinfo.com

and you get some opinionated quotes from me also in this Story from KUNC

Ahead Of Vote, Colorado Marijuana Taxes A Source Of Debatewww.kunc.orgThis fall voters across Colorado will decide how recreational marijuana should be taxed.

Read more »

Proposed 5-story apartment building at 22nd and Marion

The PR firm (The Pachner Company) and the owner presented their proposal to a group of about 20 neighbors onsite at the lot where they want to build a 5-story apartment building. Although there was no vote, it appeared to me that most were in favor of building on the site, but not a 5-story building. The zoning currently allows a 3-story building, which the owner says is not "economically feasible", meaning "we won't make enough money". Additional meetings will be scheduled.

TECH NOTE:
The video was "live streamed" using my cell phone (Galaxy S3) and Ustream.com (free version). The original was an .flv file which was downloaded, converted to .mp4, edited using Pinnacle Studio 15, and posted on YouTube. Looks slightly "underwater" but will suffice for important real-time coverage.