There is a distinct before and after the night of Nov. 1, 1955, when a United Airlines flight exploded over a sugar beet field near Longmont, killing all 44 people on board in one of the deadliest mass murders in Colorado history.

There is before Susan Morgan lost her parents, Stewart and Anne, at 12 years old because a Denver man, Jack Gilbert Graham, put a homemade bomb in his mother’s suitcase.

Graham bought a life insurance policy as he escorted his mother, Daisie King, to the gate for United Airlines Flight 629 at Stapleton Airport. She unknowingly carried 25 sticks of dynamite, timed to explode after the Portland, Oregon-bound flight took off.

There is before Dave Benedict learned, at 3 years old, that he would never meet his grandparents, James and Sarah Dorey, because they were killed when a bomb exploded on their flight to visit him for the first time.

Now 70 years after the bombing of Flight 629, families of the 44 victims gathered at the former Stapleton control tower for the unveiling of Colorado’s first memorial to the tragedy.

“Today’s commemoration is not just about what happened in 1955, it’s about who we became because of it,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek told hundreds of people gathered at the FlyteCo Tower on Saturday morning.

It was also about healing, Benedict said. He thought this weekend would include a dinner, maybe, and was at a loss for words to describe what the ceremonies and events organized by the Denver Police Museum and dozens of other organizations and volunteers meant to him.

“The ability to listen to other people’s stories and to hear what carrying 70 years of unspoken pain has been like… we’re hearing that over and over again,” he said. “Very few of the victims’ children or spouses had any context in which to talk about this, to work through it or process it, so that’s happening now.”

In the decades after losing her parents, Morgan came to realize she also had lost her life as she knew it and who she thought she would become, she said.

But even knowing the darkness that became part of her life, Morgan told the crowd of families, first responders, investigators and court officials, she cannot wish that it never happened. That she had never created her “second family,” or viewed the world with clear eyes.

“I’m among a large group of people whose lives have been scarred by the same tragedy as mine,” Morgan said. “That sense of something shared is a remarkable thing.”

It’s not clear why it took so long to create a memorial to the bombing, although some officials on Saturday speculated the scattered nature of the victims’ families – only one, Daisie King, was from Colorado – played a part.

But each one had a story, former Denver Police Department Deputy Chief William Nagle told the crowd. Nagle read out name after name, describing the life behind each one.

DENVER — A Denver woman turned her backyard into an emergency food pantry on Halloween, hoping to fill a need while federal food assistance remains uncertain.

Joanna Rosa-Saenz organized the grassroots food drive after hearing about food insecurity in her northwest Denver neighborhood.

“We live in America. We shouldn’t be hungry, we shouldn’t be hungry,” said Rosa-Saenz. “And I don’t want anyone on my block to be hungry.”

Federal judges in two separate cases ruled Friday that the Trump administration cannot suspend Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during the government shutdown.

The Massachusetts ruling came after about two dozen states sued the federal government, arguing the Agriculture Department’s plan to halt all SNAP payments starting Nov. 1 would unlawfully cut off aid to millions of low-income families.

The Agriculture Department had argued it could not legally tap contingency funds to keep the program running. But the judge disagreed and ordered the agency to report back by Monday on how it will fund benefits. Under the ruling, payments could still be temporarily reduced depending on available funds.

Around the same time, the Massachusetts decision was issued, a federal judge in Rhode Island delivered a similar ruling from the bench. That case was brought by cities and nonprofit groups, and the court likewise found the administration must use available funds to continue providing benefits.

President Donald Trump indicated his administration would comply with the rulings, but accused the courts of issuing conflicting opinions and is seeking more clarity on how SNAP should be funded.

Despite the rulings, it’s unclear when and how much assistance will be given out for the month of November.

With the need still there, Rosa-Saenz opened her backyard to the public Friday afternoon and asked the community to drop off canned goods while trick-or-treating.

The emergency food pantry now holds essential items like canned and dry goods, personal hygiene products and baby items.

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Rosa-Saenz, a single mother of three, told Denver7 she understands the challenges many families are facing today because she is a former SNAP recipient.

“I remember having to stand in line for a food box, things like that,” Rosa-Saenz said.

But to get the food drive up and running, Rosa-Saenz knew she needed help. Several nonprofits joined the effort, including Lacy McDonald, executive director of Outer Haven, a nonprofit working to reduce youth inequities.

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“One phone call can turn into this,” said McDonald. “And this is just a little snippet, so think what we could do together as a whole city.”

Before trick-or-treating started Friday night, more than 900 pounds of food had been collected for Rosa-Saenz’s backyard.

“That’s what community is,” she said. “Community is stepping up, working together and really making unity in the community.”

Scripps News Group contributed to this report.

If you would like to donate, below is a list of donation locations:

• 4229 Irving St. in Denver.
  • Open from Nov 1 through Nov. 10
  • Donations can be dropped off from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily
• 5123 Chase St. in Denver
  • Open from Oct. 31 through Nov. 2
  • Please place donations at the end of the driveway
• Moonflower Coffee, located at 4200 W Colfax Ave. in Denver
  • Open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily

These are the most needed items:

• Ramen, pasta, rice, cereal
• Canned tuna, chicken, beans, soup
• Canned fruits & veggies
• Peanut butter & jelly
• Baby food, formula, diapers & wipes
• Menstrual products, toothpaste & soap
• Denver7 Gives has created a campaign to help Coloradans struggling with food insecurity. Click on the form below and select “Help Fight Food Insecurity“ to donate.

DENVER — When a driver behind the wheel of a City and County of Denver truck slammed into vehicles stopped in traffic in 2024, two of the injured individuals did not realize they may be entitled to compensation from the city. Now, Evelyn Blackman and Ty Delaney wonder when they’ll ever receive a settlement after their attorney was allegedly told the City and County of Denver did not have enough money left for such claims due to budgetary issues and settlements related to the 2020 George Floyd protests.

On April 11, 2024, a white Ford truck driven by a city employee “carelessly struck” a line of cars that were stopped in traffic, according to the crash report.

“It was kind of a really big deal,” Blackman said. “Somebody wasn’t paying attention.”

“We just rear-ended one car. That car rear-ended another, and so on and so forth,” Delaney explained.

Police body-camera footage captured Blackman being put onto a stretcher and taken into an ambulance.

“I was personally sitting in the backseat with my dog at the time, and I ended up flying forward,” Blackman said. “My back was really messed up.”

After the crash, Blackman said she was not able to return to work full-time and lost her housing while she was pregnant.

“I could not pay my rent. I ended up losing my apartment. I was homeless for a good majority of this past year, just waiting on this little guy to be born,” Blackman said, patting her baby on the back. “Being pregnant and homeless and not really being able to do anything about it really was hard.”

Blackman and Delaney reached out to attorney Eric Faddis, who filed settlement demands in both cases this year. Delaney’s was filed in July, while Blackman’s was filed in September.

“These cases can take some time to sort of come to a conclusion,” Faddis said.

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Delaney’s claim is for $60,000, while Blackman’s claim is for $95,000. Both of their settlement demands detail their injuries, which include spine issues for Delaney and constant pain in Blackman’s neck, back, and shoulder.

“The city is going to have their own interpretation of the claim value. But one thing that they did communicate to us was that they were accepting liability,” Faddis told Denver7. “In August, the city attorney called my staff, and they reported to us that due to all the settlements they paid out in the George Floyd incident and the protests that followed, that for all the people they hurt, they had to pay a lot of money to those folks.”

Faddis said the Denver City Attorney’s Office gave him a shocking figure for how much money was left in the city’s Liability and Claims Fund.

“According to the city, they only had, as of early October, $12,000 left in their reserve fund to pay claims for people that they have injured,” Faddis said. “We heard that in October, and basically what they told us was like, ‘Hey, your clients are out of luck. Sorry, we didn’t handle our funds properly, and now you’re just going to have to hang out until 2026, and then maybe at that time, they will submit some kind of offer of settlement…’ It’s absolutely ridiculous. I’ve never seen this happen.”

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Before publication of this article, Denver7 reached out to the City Attorney’s Office on Thursday with a number of questions and a request for an interview. It was the most recent inquiry from Denver7 to the City of Denver in over two weeks about Faddis’ claims.

In response, a spokesperson told Denver7, “That is incorrect,” but did not specify which figure was incorrect in the original email request. The spokesperson said “there is still money in the fund for settlements” and asserted, once again, that Blackman and Delaney’s claims have not been settled due to other claimants involved in the incident, along with “other factors.” The budget was not mentioned as a factor.

“Regardless of the amount of dollars in the fund, we negotiate fair settlements that we are legally required to pay. The city has always paid our settlements — and we do not intend to change that,” the spokesperson said at the end of their response.

Denver7 replied to the email within three minutes, again asking about different figures connected to the Liability and Claims Fund. Denver7 also called and texted the spokesperson’s cell phone, but did not receive any further clarification, despite alerting the City Attorney’s Office that the story would air Thursday evening.

Faddis provided Denver7 with email correspondence between himself and Denver’s City Attorney’s Office related to Blackman and Delaney’s settlement demands.

On Aug. 27, Faddis’ team checked on the status of Delaney’s settlement demand. They received a response from the City Attorney’s Office, which said, “I am waiting on our civil litigation director to respond to me with a settlement approval limit. Because of the recent changes the City has been making this last month, all settlements were set aside, but I am hoping to have a response by the end of next week.”

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Then, on Sept. 24, another email from a claims adjuster with the City Attorney’s Office told Faddis’ team that “at this time, due to the budget restrictions, I was not able to obtain a settlement offer approval from our litigation director. This may change once the attorney reviews all your documents, but please keep in mind, there are 2 other claimants included in this incident and this is considered to be part of a global settlement.”

Denver7 first asked the City Attorney’s Office for an interview in mid-October. Denver7 referenced Faddis’ claim about the amount of money left in the fund.

A spokesperson with the City Attorney’s Office replied via email that the “City and County of Denver allocates $2 million each calendar year from the General Fund to its Liability and Claims fund to pay legal settlements and judgments.”

They continued to say that any remaining funds from prior years roll over into the next year. If the cost of settlements exceeds the available balance, the Denver City Council could vote to approve a supplemental appropriation to ensure those payments are covered.

However, the City Attorney’s Office insisted that Blackman and Delaney’s claims were under review, adding that “funding is not the issue.”

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When Denver7 presented the spokesperson with portions of the emails that Faddis received from the office, the spokesperson said that each settlement offer is based on the facts and circumstances of the individual claim. The spokesperson acknowledged that settlement payments can be affected by the City of Denver’s budget and available funds, but again said that the city is “waiting on additional information to evaluate these claims as part of an incident involving multiple other parties.”

On Oct. 13, Denver7 submitted a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request to the City Attorney’s Office, asking for the dollar amount the city has left to spend on settlements through the end of 2025. A spokesperson with the City Attorney’s Office said they “do not maintain a list with the data” requested, and pointed Denver7 to Denver’s Department of Finance.

So, we asked the same question to the Department of Finance, which directed us to the budgeted amounts for liability claims within Mayor Mike Johnston’s 2026 budget proposal. On page 267, it shows $8,524,996 was appropriated for the Liability and Claims Fund for the 2025 budget.

Denver7 also learned that $5,734,443 had been paid out of the fund this year as of early October, according to the Department of Finance.

Based on those figures, Denver7 inferred that $2,790,553 should be remaining in the fund. When asked to confirm if that figure was accurate, the City Attorney’s Office did not directly answer the question.

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The City Attorney’s Office has asserted that Blackman and Delay’s claims have not been settled due to other claimants and the need to evaluate all of the claims. Attorney Steven Mandelaris represents one of the other claimants and submitted a settlement demand in July 2024.

“She’s been victimized. She’s been victimized by the city. They’ve refused to provide any sort of settlement offer. They’ve refused to engage in any kind of meaningful negotiations,” Mandelaris said about his client. “She’s stuck in a situation now where she has an inoperable vehicle. The city won’t fix it. She has mounting medical bills. She still has pain and residual effects from her injury.”

Similar to Faddis, Mandelaris provided Denver7 with email correspondence between his office and the city attorney. After many back-and-forth emails about the status of the claim, an Oct. 1 email from a claims adjuster with the City Attorney’s Office said in part, “because of the recent budget cuts, we have not been able to obtain approval for a settlement offer at this time.”

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Mandelaris claims he was also told the city only has $12,000 left in its Liability and Claims Fund.

“There have been representations from my colleagues at the City Attorney’s Office that they have $12,000 left in the civil liabilities fund,” Mandelaris said. “That’s absurd, $12,000 for the City and County of Denver being left in this fund? I was shocked. I’m absolutely shocked… They’ve told us that we’ve got to wait until next year, until the budget resets.”

Denver7 asked Mandelaris if he and Faddis had discussed that figure prior to their interviews.

“I don’t know Mr. Faddis,” Mandelaris said, adding that he only spoke with Faddis on the phone once last week. “We haven’t met in person. We’ve never discussed this claim in any context whatsoever.”

Mandelaris also submitted a CORA request regarding the City and County of Denver’s General Liability Fund, asking for the “numerical fund-balance amount reflecting the actual, unencumbered balance currently available for disbursement toward new or unresolved liability claims as of the most recent accounting period.”

In an emailed response from the City Attorney’s Office on Oct. 29, he was told that the balance is “currently $175,673 of available budget” remaining in the Liability and Claims Fund.

Mandelaris was left with more questions than answers.

“Where’s the money? How’s it been allocated? You should be settling claims for taxpayers,” said Mandelaris. “She shouldn’t have to be victimized by a negligent city employee who crashed into her, and then victimized again by the City and County of Denver for refusing to promptly evaluate and pay claims.”

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Meanwhile, Blackman and Delaney are left wondering when they could see compensation from the City of Denver.

“I really don’t want to be in debt,” Delaney said. “It’s hard to live when you’re in debt.”

“I can’t really go back to work full-time, obviously, because I have a little one, and I’m here by myself. And so I can’t really, I don’t really know how the next three months are going to go as far as rent and paying bills and being able to sustain myself and my kid,” said Blackman. “It’s just getting really tedious trying to trust a city that doesn’t really see the value in actually taking it seriously.”

Denver7 again asked the City Attorney’s Office for an interview about the differing figures regarding the Liability and Claims fund. If that interview, or any update about how much money is left or unaccounted for in the fund, is provided, Denver7 will update this story.

Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Colette Bordelon

Denver7’s Colette Bordelon covers stories that have an impact in all of Colorado’s communities, but specializes in reporting on crime, justice and issues impacting our climate and environment. If you’d like to get in touch with Colette, fill out the form below to send her an email.

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