Denver, CO
City Park’s new Nature Play project is finally moving toward completion
Visitors to City Park will soon be able to explore the long-awaited, $7.9 million playground that simulates the box canyons, beaver dams and other wild features of Colorado.
The Nature Play project, which is scheduled to open later this year, has been a construction fence fixture at the park ever since it broke ground in January 2023 — 20 months ago.
Project leaders at the time said it would open in late 2024, but about eight months ago, a Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS) staffer mistakenly shared a notice saying it would be open this summer, prompting DMNS leaders to publicly reassert the original timeline.
“We always said it would open in fall 2024, so at the moment we still have to close out permits and are in the process of making sure all the plants we selected are going in,” said Jacqueline Altreuter, director of strategic planning at DMNS, and leader of Nature Play.
“When I saw that (false opening date) over the holidays I was like, ‘Oh no!’ so we tried to take that down pretty quickly,” she added.
Nature Play is a complex project that digs much deeper than the grassy expanses typically seen at Denver’s largest park. Its goal is to simulate miniature versions of the alpine tundra, grassland prairies, wetlands and other distinct environments that cover the state.
One of the templates was set 75 years ago, when Denver Botanic Gardens first opened in City Park. “Some of the areas in the southeast part were theirs before they moved to York Street, so there are lots of leftover plant species still growing,” Altreuter said. “Restoring those waterways, which were originally designed by Dutch architect Saco Rienk DeBoer to mimic mountain streams, is a big part of this.”
Nature Play brings together Denver Parks & Recreation and the DMNS for a project that’s been six years in the making. Situated just outside the museum, the 4-acre, gently hilly strip offers interactive chances for kids and students to learn how they work. That includes the process of carefully restoring natural ecosystems, museum officials said.
“Since Nature Play will be landscaped with native Colorado plants, we are hoping that we will see a return of insect species that aren’t currently found in City Park right now,” said John Demboski, senior vice president of science at the DMNS, in a statement.
Animal footprints from Colorado wildlife lead visitors into different areas, whether it’s a wooden swing set or the path of the waterway that connects the mini-ecosystems.
“When we asked people to tell us about experiences they had in nature that were memorable and meaningful and really lasted for them, 98% described something with water,” Altreuter said. “Now, we’re in an arid state, but we’re all connected by and reliant on water, so we wanted that to be a big component.”
As such, the project was designed to amplify the sounds of splashing water by narrowing the restored waterway at points and adding rocks to create the illusion of a larger stream or river. Nature Play uses very little water, however, and is fed by a diverted storm drain. The same water source irrigates Washington Park and feeds City Park’s Ferrill Lake, and it all eventually filters into the South Platte River, according to Denver Parks & Recreation.
So far, the only Nature Play impression for visitors has been the construction fences concealing the playground, plus a new, winding sidewalk that’s meant to discourage cyclists from barreling down a pedestrian path. But inside, they’ll soon see hundreds of new trees and plants, a 20-foot-tall Bighorn Sheep sculpture and play structure (it’s Colorado’s official state animal), a slide, climbable beaver dam, native pollinators, carven-wood benches, and tableaus inspired by the museum’s dozens of dioramas in its Explore Colorado gallery.
Many of the features in the playground spring from the 800 people surveyed about it in 2021, and crews had to change gears at times, as when researchers discovered a native bee colony they didn’t want to disrupt or move. Staying nimble through the project, which broke ground last year, has allowed designer Dig Studios to adapt to changing conditions, officials said.
About 70% of the space featured existing trees, which they needed to work around, but only one tree was removed, Altreuter said (and that’s because it was dead). Seeing squirrels, falcons, foxes, and bunnies frequent the construction site reassured workers at ECI Site Construction that they hadn’t disrupted the habitat — at least not too much.
“There’s a lot of thoughtfulness and artistry inside the space,” Altreuter said, noting that the Loveland artist known as Chainsaw Mama created custom wooden benches for the project. “We want to connect the museum and its mission to the park, and this brings together so many ways to do that.”
Originally Published:
Denver, CO
Denver 16th Street Mall stabbings suspect charged with first degree murder
Elijah Caudill, the suspect in a series of random knife attacks last weekend in Denver, is now facing first degree murder charges.
The Denver District Attorney’s Office announced the formal charges on Friday. Caudill, 24, is facing two counts of first degree murder, two counts of attempted first degree murder and two counts of assault.
Three of the stabbings happened in the area of the 16th Street Mall downtown on Saturday night and one happened on Sunday. Caudill was arrested soon after the fourth attack and first appeared in Denver court on Monday.
Two people died — Celinda Levno, 71, and Nicholas Burkett, 34. The other victims haven’t been identified.
In announcing the charges Denver District Attorney Walsh said his office will “prosecute this case to the full extent of the law.”
“Our thoughts are with the victims of these terrible attacks and their families,” he said in a prepared statement.
While the crimes were apparently random in nature, Denver police said after the attacks that they have added additional security along 16th Street for added security presence.
Denver, CO
Nuggets Journal: Will Russell Westbrook stay in starting lineup when Denver is healthy?
As Aaron Gordon’s calf heals, Michael Malone faces what can only be described as a good problem.
The Nuggets have been steadily trending in the right direction, even while dealing with a variety of injuries to starters, most notably Gordon. During the most recent nine-game stretch that he spent on the sideline, Malone went small with his starting lineup, opting to start Russell Westbrook instead of Peyton Watson and repurposing Michael Porter Jr. as a power forward.
The results have been successful enough to raise the question of whether Westbrook should remain in the starting lineup with Denver at full strength.
“We’ll jump off that bridge when we get to it,” Malone said this week in Dallas. “We’re gonna take a really cautious approach with Aaron Gordon. … Everything’s on the table. We’re gonna do whatever’s best for our team.”
Gordon is currently on a tight minutes restriction, which allows Malone to bring him off the bench and delay any lineup decisions. But the fact that Malone has not ruled out the possibility of a change to the starting five is, of course, an indication that he’s considering it.
It’s a problem because none of Denver’s five regular starters have done anything to warrant what risks coming across as a demotion. It’s a good problem because having more than five players worthy of starting is ultimately a refreshing situation for a team facing broader concerns about its depth.
So how should Malone navigate this? First, someone has to be identified as the most sensible player for Westbrook to replace. Jamal Murray is firmly off the table. His efficiency as a secondary scorer has improved throughout the season, and even if that wasn’t the case, he has meant too much to the franchise to consider benching. Michael Porter Jr. should be off the table as well. He has been far too good, and his floor spacing is far too essential.
There’s more of an argument that can be made for Gordon coming off the bench permanently — he’s versatile and selfless enough to be effective in any lineup, and Denver’s starters excelled while he was out. But again, overall cache within the organization should be taken into account. Gordon, Porter, Murray and Nikola Jokic make up the “core four” responsible for a championship.
That leaves Christian Braun, a third-year player and first-year starter who often operates as Denver’s lead defensive guard — a role Westbrook also occupies occasionally.
Malone has consistently praised the 23-year-old Braun throughout his transition into the starting five, where he’s replacing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. At the 40-game mark. the Nuggets’ status-quo lineup — the core four plus Braun — had a 5.1 net rating in 220 minutes of playing time.
When it’s the core four plus Westbrook, Denver’s net rating is 16.9, albeit in a much smaller sample size of 48 minutes.
Crucially, Jokic looms over all analytics. He is the constant variable. When he is on the floor, the net rating is always going to be in the black, almost regardless of how Malone builds the lineup around him.
Jokic’s rest minutes are more fraught with danger. Malone described them earlier this season as “man’s search for meaning.”
So which player is better equipped to handle minutes without the MVP?
When Braun and Jokic are on the floor together and Westbrook is off (499 minutes), the Nuggets have a 10.6 net rating. Westbrook on the court, without Jokic and Braun, is a minus-13.9 (233 minutes).
Now flip it around: When Westbrook and Jokic are on the floor and Braun is off (217 minutes), the Nuggets have a 6.1 net rating. Braun, without Jokic and Westbrook, is a plus 4.4 (144 minutes).
Those numbers illuminate the nuance of the situation. Both players benefit from playing alongside Jokic, but Westbrook lineups in particular have thrived with Jokic and struggled without. Westbrook’s greatest strength in Denver has been his chemistry with the center. When Jokic has the ball, Russ looks to cut. When Russ has the ball, he looks to feed Jokic. They’re the No. 3 assist duo in the NBA, and they’ve played 100 fewer minutes together than the top two combos.
Regardless of whether Westbrook is starting or coming off the bench, then, Malone will want to keep maximizing the veteran point guard’s minutes with Jokic.
But there’s a delicate balance between optimizing that combo and empowering Braun, who represents the long-term future of the Jokic-era Nuggets. Entering the starting lineup has been a key stage in his development, allowing him to play through shooting slumps; prosper as a top-three fast-break scorer in the league; and learn from his increased defensive reps against star guards and forwards.
There’s also a spacing dynamic to consider once Gordon is back in the starting lineup. He’s 42% from the 3-point line, which has been a massive boost for Denver’s short-on-shooting roster, but opponents may still feel inclined to sag off Gordon when he plays on the perimeter. The NBA is and always will be a reputation-based league. And Westbrook’s infamous reputation as a 3-point shooter has been etched in scouting reports for years. Teams will always dare him to fire away.
Like Gordon, Westbrook deserves credit. He’s making 33% of his 3s in Denver, his highest clip since the 2016-17 MVP season. But with him and Gordon on the floor together, the Nuggets are still asking for a clogged interior.
When Jokic, Gordon and Westbrook are on the court and Braun is off, their net rating is minus-6.4 (74 minutes). Most of that damage is done when one of Murray or Porter is also on the bench, accentuating the need for two shooters to be on the floor with that three-man lineup.
Braun is still trying to establish his own reputation as a 3-point threat. But when he, Jokic and Gordon are on the floor and Westbrook is off, the team’s net rating is 5.9 (265 minutes). The defensive metrics are almost identical between those lineup variations; the offensive gap is 11 points per 100 possessions.
You could keep going down the rabbit hole of combinations from there. The layers to a decision like this are endless, and it’s possible there is no wrong answer — only pros and cons for Malone and his staff to weigh.
“We’ll evaluate as a staff when we are fully healthy what lineup gives us the best chance to go out there and win games at a high level,” he said. “I like how we’re playing right now. Our defense is much improved. Our 3-point defense is much improved. But whether we continue to bring Russ off the bench when we’re healthy or he starts, those are conversations that we’ll continue to have internally.”
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Denver, CO
Family of downtown Denver stabbing victim advocate for solutions for a safer city
The family of one of the two victims killed in last weekend’s series of stabbings in the 16th Street Mall area of downtown Denver says he struggled with mental health and was living on the street. Still, she never could have imagined something like this would happen to him.
It’s images from Nicholas Burkett’s childhood that remind Carol Cortez and Wayne Burkett of a time where all their son had to worry about was being a kid.
“Always a hyper fun kid. He always was busy doing something or trying to be. He always loved the spotlight,” said Carol. “He’s not an angel, but, you know, he was my baby.”
Nicholas was a young boy who loved art, music and hanging with his sister, but his struggles with mental illness took over as he got older. Eventually, he landed in jail, became addicted to drugs and wound up on the streets of downtown Denver.
“He wasn’t a threat to anyone by any means, and he was frail from the drug abuse,” said Wayne.
“I was 17 when I had him. So, we struggled as young parents getting through it,” said Carol. “I was hoping he would be looking to get clean soon and he would get that chance.”
The Arvada family say this chance was taken away from Nicholas when the 34 year old was stabbed and killed by a suspect police have identified as 24-year-old Elijah Caudill. It was one of three stabbings police say Caudill was responsible for on Saturday and Sunday.
“It’s really shocking. The best way I can describe it is it feels like a weird fever dream, and you don’t know how to process,” said Maxine Burkett, Nicholas’ younger sister. “You kind of just go through the motions, I guess.”
“I mean, I assumed he had OD,’d” said Carol. “I was kind of preparing myself for that for a while.”
Though, nothing could have prepared them for their son becoming the victim of a homicide.
“What this has deprived us of is the ability to make anything up to him in the future or to ever apologize for anything we might have done,” said Wayne. “We couldn’t. We can’t right the wrongs now he’s gone.”
Nicholas’ family say they feel for the other victims hurt and killed during this violent spree. The other person who was killed was 71-year-old Celinda Levno.
“This shouldn’t even happen. This should never happen,” said Carol.
They say there needs to be changes in the community that better address mental health and homelessness while preventing crimes like this from happening to anyone.
“See some kind of a better way to manage the homeless people instead of just providing them with shooting galleries and places to put their tents,” said Wayne. “They’re not throw away people. Their lives matter, and we care about them.”
The Burketts are crowdfunding to help financially support their son’s funeral, and they are also advocating for a safer Denver and justice for all the families impacted from the weekend.
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