Denver’s Finance and Governance Committee unanimously sent two measures that make about $45 million in budget cuts on for full council approval. The cuts, including a hiring freeze and some service reductions, will help fund Mayor Mike Johnston’s immigrant sheltering program.
The program, which is estimated to cost $90 million, seeks to assist immigrants — including those who crossed into the United States illegally — in settling in Denver or moving on to other cities. At last count, the city has helped almost 41,000 immigrants, roughly half of which have moved on to different cities with transportation tickets purchased with taxpayer money.
However, city officials are struggling to accurately track those who have stayed. This is largely due to the sheer volume of people, roughly 20,000, who remain in Denver. This dwarfs the mayor’s earlier “House1000” program, which sought to house 1,000 homeless people. It has since been renamed “All in Mile High” and has a dashboard tracking specific outcomes, but the city immigrant response does not.
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While the mayor was able to find about $45 million to fund the program off the bat, including $8 million that rolled over from last year and a federal grant, that only paid for roughly half of the new program. Previous cost estimates were as high as $120 million, and higher.
City agencies were asked to find money in their budgets to pay for it. Through various means, including a hiring freeze and delay of capital projects, the money was found — but still needs to clear the full city council. Previous budget cuts saw curtailed Department of Motor Vehicles hours, recreation center(s) open hours cut, and no flowers planted in city parks this year.
After roughly an hour of questions and reports from city staff, the FinGov committee unanimously approved sending a rescission of $5.8 million in capital costs and $36.4 million in budget reallocations to the full city council.
In many ways, the process has mirrored the way the city creates its annual budget, but done so on an emergency timeline.
“We really took a similar approach to what we do every year as part of the budget as we worked with agencies as we evaluated the reductions that they were proposing,” Stephanie Adams told the committee. “We worked with agencies and really talked to them about their core services and mission and tried to mitigate any reductions we thought would have a significant impact on either of those things.”
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One important aspect touted by both the mayor and the Department of Finance was their commitment to ensuring Denverites won’t notice any of the proposed cuts. Resident-facing services should not be impacted, and those that have already been impacted will be back to normal operation by Summer, they assured committee members.
But cuts are still being made, and several projects — like the Alameda Avenue underpass — are being delayed. The underpass concerned District 7 Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez who said the current underpass is in “terrible condition.” But the $2 million found by Department of Finance comes from a city match for a federal grant that was not received, Adams said. The project will also still be funded through money from the Denver Regional Council of Governments.
Other concerns revolved around the longevity of the so-called “newcomers” program and how it will be funded next year. Some of this is still up in the air, Adams said, since some money for this year’s project was found from one-time sources. But actions this year may be applied to 2025, such as the airport paying for a public safety recruit class and using the 911 trust fund to pay 911 operators.
“It just depends on the funding source,” Adams said. “If it’s a one-time source that we had the unique opportunity to use in 2024 or if there are some additional things we’ve learned and continue to have as part of 2025.”
The budget process for 2025 is slated to begin in less than two weeks, with initial planning discussions beginning on April 29. The formal process will begin in earnest in late summer and early fall, with a final budget typically approved in November.
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The Los Angeles Lakers fight to keep their season alive yet again against the Denver Nuggets in Game 5 tonight. There are some new names listed on the report and a very important one for Denver.
The Denver Nuggets have three players listed on their injury report: Jamal Murray, Reggie Jackson, and Vlatko Cancar. Jamal Murray is questionable due to a left calf strain, he has never been listed on an injury report throughout the entire series until now. Reggie Jackson is probable with a left ankle sprain. Vlatko Cancar is out due to left knee surgery. Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon are both listed as available against the Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers have five players listed on their injury report: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Cam Reddish, and Jarred Vanderbilt. LeBron James is probable with left ankle peroneal tendinopathy, Anthony Davis is probable with a left wrist sprain, Jalen Hood-Schifino is out due to lumbar disc surgery, Cam Reddish is out due to a right ankle sprain, and Jarred Vanderbilt is questionable with a right midfoot sprain. Christian Wood has been upgraded from out to available, and Jarred Vanderbilt has been upgraded from out to questionable.
The sooner that the Nuggets can finish this series, the better – especially, with Jamal Murray’s new and sudden calf strain.
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The Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers face off at 10:00 p.m. EST tonight.
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Randi Kleiner felt like an 8-year-old at her birthday party as she fretted inside the Sie FilmCenter. It was 2015, the opening year of the SeriesFest TV festival and, as with a birthday party, there was no guarantee people were going to show up.
” ‘Is anyone actually coming?’ ” the festival co-creator recalled wondering as she unlocked the doors at the theater on East Colfax Avenue. “I was anxious.”
Not only did people show up that first year, they’ve also continued to blow past her expectations. Now in its 10th year, the nonprofit SeriesFest draws more than 12,000 attendees annually and commands a $2.7 million budget. Kleiner expects attendance to grow by another 2,000 this year, based on current ticket sales for the public event.
SeriesFest, co-created by Kleiner and Kaily Smith, returns for Season 10 May 1-5, with dozens of screenings, panels, awards and even a “Cowboy Carter”-themed Beyoncé dance party at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on May 5, featuring Grammy-winning Young Guru (Jay-Z’s tour DJ). Past SeriesFest events there have featured performances from Stevie Wonder, Lady Antebellum (now Lady A), Chelsea Handler, En Vogue and Common.
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SeriesFest co-founders Randi Kleiner (left) and Kaily Smith pose for a photo at the 2018 event. (Provided by FerenComm)
This year’s anniversary event takes place mostly at the Sie, with another high-profile slate of guests and programming, including its first-ever gala and honors for actor Minnie Driver, SAG-AFTRA, Shonda Rhimes’ Shondaland company, and a celebration of 20 years of “Grey’s Anatomy” (with cast members James Pickens Jr., Kevin McKidd, Caterina Scorsone and Kim Raver).
The fundraising soirée bolsters SeriesFest’s reputation as a reliable, innovative spot to gather in an industry beset by head-snapping change. As prestige TV continues to move almost entirely to streaming, and the industry grapples with the staggering effects of the pandemic, last year’s Hollywood strikes and artificial intelligence, SeriesFest continues to look smart by marching boldly into a complicated, uncertain future.
“Certainly since the strikes last year, and with the IATSE (film-crew union) strikes looming on the horizon, there’s been a slightly pervasive sense of doom and gloom in my industry,” said British-Nigerian actor Chiké Okonkwo, who returns this year for a live table read of “Grave Affairs” and as a juror in the Drama category of the Independent Pilot Competition. He’s lately been seen in the last three seasons of NBC’s “La Brea,” and is a past award winner at both SeriesFest and the Denver Film Festival.
“I for one don’t subscribe to that doom and gloom,” he said. “We always need stories in a communal setting, but we also love to dig into stories at home and on TV, so this offers different ways of seeing those stories. I’m in awe of the drive and creativity to get these things made against all odds. It makes me optimistic that these people can find audiences.”
Streaming networks and production companies have snapped up independent pilots that premiered at SeriesFest, including “Cooper’s Bar” (AMC+); “Everyone Is Doing Great” (Apple TV+); “Dreaming Whilst Black” (BBC and Showtime); and “Generation Por Qué” (acquired as a short on Max). Creator Emil Pinnock, for example, also signed a blind-script deal with Blumhouse Television and has been tapped to pen an untitled Daymond John project (he’s one of the sharks on “Shark Tank”), Kleiner said.
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That’s the result of hard work and a commitment to support new and diverse voices, SeriesFest veterans say. Even with the annual celebs and major title launches — the Paramount+ hit “Yellowstone,” starring Kevin Costner, officially premiered at a SeriesFest screening at Red Rocks Amphitheatre — SeriesFest is a nonprofit that supports young and upcoming women, BIPOC and other directors with mentorships and education.
John Leyba, Denver Post file
Chike Okonkwo pauses for a photo on the red carpet on opening night of the Denver Film Festival, Nov. 2, 2016, in Denver.
Kleiner praised the Shondaland production company for taking on SeriesFest luminaries such as Tamika Miller. She won SeriesFest’s highly competitive Women Directing Mentorship with Shondaland and went on to direct three episodes of the acclaimed “Station 19.”
Alysia Reiner is a SeriesFest veteran who’s returning this year for “The Methods of Multi-Hyphenates” panel, along with actors Christy Carlson Romano (“Kim Possible”) and Michelle Hurd (“Star Trek: Picard”). For other veterans of the industry, the festival is essential for reaching new creatives and executives, given that it draws from a fast-growing, global pool of talent flowing from India, China, South Korea, Mexico and other U.S.-crossover markets, she said.
“You have a spectacular mix of people in front of and behind the camera,” said Reiner, who has appeared in seminal prestige-TV shows and streaming hits such as “Orange Is the New Black,” “Better Things,” and the Disney+ series “Ms. Marvel.” Her instantly recognizable face joins Jane Seymour (“Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”); Mark Duplass (“The Morning Show”); Jocko Sims (“New Amsterdam”); closing-night comic Hasan Minhaj (“Patriot Act”); Patrick Macmanus (“Dr. Death”) and many more.
Alysia Reiner, who has co-starred in shows such as “Orange is the New Black” and “Ms. Marvel,” will take part in SeriesFest Season 10, May 1-5 in Denver. (Provided by SeriesFest)
“The truth is, our industry has contracted a little bit post-COVID and post-strike,” Reiner said. “Less is being made on that big-budget level … we’re in a real reshuffle of streamers and networks. So it’s deeply empowering when artists are reminded by SeriesFest that they don’t have to wait to create. They can make their own content. … It wasn’t like that when I was a baby artist.”
Plenty of film festivals now offer TV sidebars, Kleiner said, but SeriesFest was one of the first and only to focus exclusively on television. She’s seen the lines between TV, film and various digital media get thinner in the last decade. But her event isn’t just “the Sundance of TV,” as SeriesFest boosters have called it over the years, but an industry leader whose example is increasingly followed (including at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, and Sundance Film Fest in Park City, Utah).
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And yet SeriesFest remains one of the only places to see new TV pilots — network or independently produced — and mingle with industry types ranging from actors to soundtrack supervisors, costumers and directors, said Britta Erickson, a SeriesFest board member and film producer who formerly directed the Denver Film Festival.
“I’m proud of the fact that it came to Denver,” she said, noting that the co-founders shopped around before deciding on the Mile High City. “It was something that was missing in this market, and it felt like the right place, since we’ve been called the cable capital of the world. Now there’s this TV development pipeline that never existed and it’s launching careers and exposing new talent. The ecosystem really does start here.”
“Many networks have moved away from the traditional pilot season, so this is an incredible platform to discover new talent,” Kleiner said. “We’re showing 45 independently produced pilots, and with an audience in attendance, you can really do that litmus test right away.”
Kleiner said charitable giving is down, presenting a challenge for the festival’s continued growth, since it makes up a good portion of the budget. Resources are constantly being divided between fast-growing concerns, such as emerging crossover TV markets in Asia and Spain, prestigious competitions, and live events. But the emphasis remains on new and untested talent that proves itself worthy of national-level attention.
“We’re a small staff of six full-timers, though it grows to many more during the festival, so any programs we do always have an underlying thought to diversity, participation and social initiatives,” she said. “Most executives in industry leadership are white men, and that’s just the way it’s been. SeriesFest can’t change that, but we can show people some other ways of doing things, because we’re not just a festival. We’re a year-round arts organization now.”
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The Denver Nuggets welcome the Los Angeles Lakers to Ball Arena for Game 5 of the Western Conference 1st-round series Monday. Tip in the best-of-7 series, which the Nuggets lead 3-1, is set for 10 p.m. ET (TNT). Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Lakers vs. Nuggets odds and make our expert NBA picks and predictions.
The Nuggets are 2-2 against the spread (ATS) after losing 119-108 on the road in Game 4 Saturday, closing as a 3.5-point road favorite. Denver was 3-0 ATS and straight up against the Lakers during the regular season. C Nikola Jokic has averaged a triple-double throughout the 4 games, notching 29 points, 15.3 rebounds, and 10 assists per game.
The Lakers started their postseason with a 110-106 win over the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tournament. The Lakers are 3-2 ATS in their 5 postseason games this season and ended the regular season 38-44 ATS. F Anthony Davis is averaging 30.5 points and 15.8 rebounds per game.
Lakers at Nuggets odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:05 a.m. ET.
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Moneyline (ML): Lakers +245 (bet $100 to win $245) | Nuggets -300 (bet $300 to win $100)
Against the spread (ATS): Lakers +7.5 (-114) | Nuggets -7.5 (-106)
Over/Under (O/U): 217 (O: -108 | U: -112)
Lakers at Nuggets key injuries
Nuggets
G Jamal Murray (calf) questionable
Lakers
F Anthony Davis (wrist) probable
F LeBron James (ankle) probable
For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.
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Lakers at Nuggets picks and predictions
Prediction
Nuggets 110, Lakers 106
Moneyline
PASS.
The Nuggets (-300) are 6-1 against the Lakers (+245) this season and 3-0 against them at home. Expect Denver to come out on top and close out the series, but there’s no value in betting the Nuggets to win.
Against the spread
BET LAKERS +7.5 (-114).
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Los Angeles has the talent to keep this close and has impressed when its back is against the wall. In the in-season tournament final against the Indiana Pacers, the Lakers won by 14, closing as a 3.5-point favorite. They also beat the Pelicans to get into the playoffs.
Both of those could’ve been seen as must-win games, much like this one. Los Angeles has had multiple quarters in which it has outscored the Nuggets by double figures. The Nuggets are 2-2 ATS in the series and are 1-2 ATS as a favorite.
Expect the Lakers, given their experience and close-game performances, to keep things close. Back LAKERS +7.5 (-114).
Over/Under
LEAN UNDER 217 (-112).
The Under has been hot in this series, going 3-1, and there has yet to be a game in which both teams have scored more than 108 points.
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The Nuggets play at one of the slowest paces in the NBA, ranking 26th in the league during the regular season. On the other side, the Lakers sat 29th in offensive rebounding rate.
There aren’t going to be a lot of 2nd-chance opportunities coupled with a slow pace of play. The regular season series was 1-2 O/U as well, making the entire season series 2-5 O/U. Put it all together and back UNDER 217 (-112).
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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