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Denver’s mayor frets the wrong exodus | DUFFY

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Denver’s mayor frets the wrong exodus | DUFFY







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Sean Duffy


Mayor Mike Johnston is confused. 

Denver’s mayor wants to stand athwart the city’s boundaries to stop people from leaving. His problem is he’s focused on the wrong people. 

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Apparently seeking to bolster his progressive bona-fides, Mayor Mike recently staged a public hissy fit about the incoming Trump administration’s plan to deport illegal immigrants. In a bizarre rant he had to walk back, he said he would deploy the already understaffed Denver Police Department to stop federal immigration agents. 

If his goal was to get national attention as a pro-illegal immigrant warrior, it worked. 

Badly. 

He managed to shine the spotlight on the widespread failures of Colorado’s capital city to reverse its decline. He also reminded citizens the massive influx of migrants has stretched the municipal and school district budgets beyond the breaking point. 

Quickly realizing he was over his skis, he said well maybe citizens would rise up and he would lead the resistance.

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Resist what? 

Deporting the 1.3 million illegals for whom the federal government, under President Joe Biden, has already issued final orders of removal? Or fighting the departure of the minority of migrants who commit crimes?

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It would be nice if Mayor Mike had as much passion to resist — and reverse — the steady decay of the city he was elected to lead. 

Mike Johnston’s problem isn’t preventing illegals from leaving. It’s bringing back workers, diners and shoppers who have already left — and aren’t eager to return.

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A study by the Common Sense Institute (CSI) looked at downtown Denver’s recovery from the pandemic.

What will not surprise anyone who has been downtown recently — Denver has the lowest foot traffic of 16 major cities studied by the University of Toronto. One reason is Denver has the highest office vacancy rate among Front Range cities, with one-quarter of offices sitting empty — and, oddly, the highest office lease rates. 

And worse, the state of Denver’s downtown also discourages people who do not live or work in the city from venturing out for an evening. 

This is what makes Johnston’s assertion he would deploy Denver cops to stop the deportation of illegals even more out of touch. Crime in Denver is sky high and that’s where the mayor needs to focus his police force. 

The CSI study showed there were 1,150 crimes in the third quarter of 2024, the highest of any third quarter since before the pandemic. This tracks with a Downtown Denver Partnership survey, which CSI cites, that says a major issue afflicting downtown is a lack of a sense of safety and security. 

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As disturbing as these facts are, downtown’s decline wasn’t caused by the pandemic. COVID merely hastened and deepened it.  

Those of us who worked downtown pre-pandemic experienced the rise in homelessness, vagrancy, drug use, aggressive panhandling and more. 

Years before the pandemic struck, a leader in the business community told me about how he was excited to show off Denver as a destination for meetings and conventions. He said he was going to bus site selectors from the convention center Hilton at 15th and California to Guard and Grace restaurant at 18th and California. 

Driving them three blocks?

“Well I can’t take the chance of having them walk and encounter who knows what by the 16th Street Mall,” he said. 

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The city then was so bad it had to hide the dysfunction on display downtown — like hanging a picture in a weird place in your living room to cover a gaping hole in the wall. 

Wouldn’t something that bad be a wake-up call for the city?

The elected leaders hit snooze. 

Others, like the Downtown Denver Partnership, have sincerely fought to reverse the continually rising tide of decay. But there is only so much one organization can do.

Denver, like too many American cities governed by naïve progressives, has been rendered unworthy of good people who want to live, work and play in Colorado’s capital city.  

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Decades ago, Denver Mayor Frederico Peña challenged citizens to “imagine a great city.” Now people who make a great city thrive are rejecting downtown in droves because they can’t even imagine a decent city anymore. 

Sean Duffy, a former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Bill Owens, is a communications and media relations strategist and ghostwriter based in the Denver area.



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Denver, CO

Bo Nix’s footwork is “a lot better” as he plays under center more. Coincidence?

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Bo Nix’s footwork is “a lot better” as he plays under center more. Coincidence?


On the first of Bo Nix’s four touchdown passes against Green Bay, he did what he does more frequently than any quarterback in football.

Nix escaped from the pocket and took off running. He moved up and to the left before hitting Michael Bandy for a 20-yard catch-and-scamper.

The next three touchdowns, though, are where the Broncos offense can dream about a deep postseason run or even more.

Nix, operating from the gun, delivered strikes of all shapes and sizes and did so with clean footwork in the pocket.

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He identified coverage, took a short, one-step drop and fired a perfectly placed low ball to Lil’Jordan Humphrey. Then a three-step drop to get the ball up and down with beautiful pace and timing to Courtland Sutton one-on-one up the right sideline.

Nix polished off the fourth touchdown when he five-step dropped, hitched up in the pocket twice and uncorked a rocket up the seam for Troy Franklin on a motion and route concept the Broncos have made hay on most of the year.

The Packers game represented a breakout as Nix completed 23 of 34 passes for 302 yards and the four touchdowns, but his game’s been heating up more broadly over the past month.

He had an efficient day in a much different style against Las Vegas, completing 31 of 38 passes and engineering three battering-ram touchdown drives. He threw for 616 yards in the two weeks before that in wins over Washington and Kansas City.

In those four games, Nix has completed 69.5% of his passes for 282.5 yards per game and thrown five touchdowns and an interception. Before that stretch, he completed 60.9% and averaged 212 yards per game.

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What’s changed? Start from the ground up.

“I think his footwork has got a lot better,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said Thursday. “And the way he handles himself in the pocket, trusting the protection. We’ve talked about it all year and the last four games he’s done a really good job of that.

“He’s moving when he needs to and he’s hanging in there when he needs to.”

Head coach Sean Payton earlier this season said the quarterbacks get some specific footwork drilling done during a normal game week but not a ton. They’ll work a particular concept or drop between periods, but for the most part, the work is plan-specific.

Nix, though, has been working on his own pocket presence in his own ways in recent weeks.

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“I think he’s probably one of the best … at learning from mistakes, and looking in the mirror and seeing what his weaknesses are,” tight end Evan Engram told The Post.

“He’s sitting in there, he’s trusting the protection, he’s letting it rip. And that’s something that he saw. And he worked on. And like – I can’t say how hard that is. I’ve never done it in my life. You’ve got freakin’ monsters rushing you, every play. And credit to the O-line, too.

The staff also appears to be doing a better job of helping get Nix into good rhythm. Part of that is by playing more frequently from under center. The touchdowns outlined above came out of shotgun, but one commonly held belief is that playing from under center helps keep footwork clean because a quarterback is forced to do it coming back from the center.



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Nikola Jokic passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most assists by center in NBA history as Nuggets beat Magic

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Nikola Jokic passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most assists by center in NBA history as Nuggets beat Magic


For his latest trick, Nikola Jokic dribbled into oncoming traffic and escaped unscathed.

Sometimes after he reels in a defensive rebound, the Nuggets center prefers to launch an aerial attack with one of his long outlet passes. This time, he brought the ball with him up on his usual route up the middle of the floor. Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. trailed him by a step. Up ahead, Tyus Jones veered into his lane from the left, sensing an opportunity to pick the pocket of a lumbering big man.

But Jokic is nimble. Before Jones could cut across his front side, he anticipated the attempted swipe and transferred his dribbling hand with a behind-the-back move that shouldn’t have looked so graceful. Jones whiffed. Carter caught up, but Jokic decelerated to allow him to pass. Then the newly minted best passing center of all time went behind the back again — this time, a dime to Jamal Murray, who finished the play with a lefty floater.

Denver’s stars were just showing off at that point in the third quarter of a 126-115 win over the Magic that wasn’t always so smooth-sailing.

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DENVER , CO – DECEMBER 18: Nikola Jokic (15) of the Denver Nuggets passes behind his back as Tyus Jones (2) of the Orlando Magic watches during the third quarter at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Thursday, December 18, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

It was a monumental night. At 30 years old and 302 days, Jokic passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Thursday for the most assists by a center in NBA history. Coming into the game, all he needed was six to match Abdul-Jabbar’s career total of 5,660. He finished the evening with 13, highlighting a 23-point, 11-rebound triple-double.

“For those of us that love the history of the game, that one should be wrote about and talked about, and that should be a national story,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “Because that’s passing a guy that you could argue — if you just want to go by generations and not, ‘Who’s the best player of all time?’ and all the talk-talk stuff — Kareem is in the conversation. Look at his MVPs. Look at the winning. And our guy tonight from Denver just passed him in a category.”

“This is a time that I can be able to look back and appreciate all the years I’ve had to play this game with him,” Murray said. “It’s special. Passing Kareem in anything is pretty cool. So I think it just speaks to his greatness and how unselfish he is.”

Jokic has also passed other Hall of Famers including Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson on the all-time list this season, now ranking 50th overall in career assists. Next up for him to catch is another legendary passer, Larry Bird. Jokic is 28 away from tying him.

“I always say the assist makes two people happy (instead of one). My coach ‘Deki,’ he always said that,” Jokic said Thursday, paying homage to the late Golden State Warriors and Mega Basket coach Dejan Milojevic.

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“Maybe it’s not a splashy pass or whatever,” the three-time MVP continued, “but I think when you make the right play, you’re going to feel good about yourself.”

Adelman was especially adamant about the historical significance of the occasion. He gave Jokic the game ball in Denver’s locker room after the win.

“It’s such a cool thing, because it’s Kareem, who was passed by LeBron (James) as the all-time leading scorer, which puts in perspective who Nikola passed,” Adelman said. “So it’s a celebration of both people. It’s somebody that completely changed the game. The sky hook. The longevity. … I feel like in the modern era, we talk about Tom Brady and all these people. But go look at Kareem. The guy changed his name while he played. The guy plays 20-plus years and, until the very end, was impactful on teams that went to the Finals. So for Nikola to pass him, I think, says a lot. And if we’re going to celebrate what LeBron did, (we should celebrate this also). And I know it’s a different kind of thing because it’s a center, it’s a position. I’ll just keep saying it. Just don’t get tired of this, because it’s unique.”

Jokic is also closing in on Oscar Robertson for second all-time in triple-doubles. Thursday was his 177th, bringing him within four of the iconic guard. He became the first center in league history to average a triple-double last season, and he’s on pace to do so again this year with 29.8 points, 12.4 rebounds and 10.8 assists per game.

Orlando called a timeout after Jokic and Murray combined for that saucy transition bucket in the third quarter. As they sauntered to the huddle, Nuggets assistant coaches Ognjen Stojakovic and JJ Barea could only laugh at the duo’s skill and panache.

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DENVER , CO - DECEMBER 18: Assistant coach Ognjen Stojakovic laughs as the Orlando Magic take a timeout during the fourth quarter of the Nuggets' 126-115 win at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Thursday, December 18, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
DENVER , CO – DECEMBER 18: Assistant coach Ognjen Stojakovic laughs as the Orlando Magic take a timeout during the fourth quarter of the Nuggets’ 126-115 win at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Thursday, December 18, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

“That’s how kind of we made our staple in that second unit growing up, was just the give-and-go,” Murray said of Jokic’s passing. “… A lot of give-and-go, and you could see his court vision and his fluidity.”

The Nuggets did most of their work Thursday during an astonishing second quarter. They flipped a 47-33 deficit with a 35-7 run that only took the last 6:26 of the first half. Murray scored 20 of his 32 points in the frame. Reserve point guard Jalen Pickett ignited the comeback and was a plus-26 in eight minutes of playing time that quarter.

Both teams were short-handed at Ball Arena. Orlando was fending without Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs. Denver was down three of its best defenders with Peyton Watson (right trunk contusion) ruled out shortly before tip, joining Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon on the shelf.

In Watson’s place, Bruce Brown started his first game as a Denver Nugget since April 9, 2023. David Adelman used 10 of his 11 available players, including Julian Strawther, who was cleared to play earlier this week after missing a month with a back injury.



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Things To Do In And Around Denver This Weekend – 12/17-12/21 – 303 Magazine

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Things To Do In And Around Denver This Weekend – 12/17-12/21 – 303 Magazine


When: Dec 7, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Where: Fight Club – 1959 16th St Mall Denver
Cost: Price varies
The Lowdown: 

Guests have the option of $39 bottomless flatbreads, which includes the price of their oche reservation for Social Darts®. The bottomless flatbread menu features Smoked Salmon Flatbread, Four Cheese Flatbread, Breakfast Flatbread, or Garden Vegetable Flatbread. Guests can also order off the á la carte menu, which includes a fresh-cut fruit plate, breakfast sliders,, avocado toast, and Flight Club’s famous churros.





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