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Vandalism in Denver park draws ire of neighbors who say they’re ready for new direction under Mayor Johnston

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Vandalism in Denver park draws ire of neighbors who say they’re ready for new direction under Mayor Johnston


DENVER — Neighbors who live near Dailey Park in the Baker neighborhood say they are constantly dealing with homeless issues and other crime, and told Denver7 Wednesday they are ready for a new direction under Mayor Mike Johnston to address the growing crisis.

Graffiti showed up overnight all around the park, just the latest in what neighbors call a string of incidents, including vandalism and other crime.

In his first full day as Denver’s mayor last Tuesday, Mike Johnston declared a state of emergency around homelessness. As part of that declaration, he announced a plan to house 1,000 unsheltered people by the end of this year.

Johnston has already started holding community meetings and touring neighborhoods and said this week he’ll visit 78 Denver neighborhoods as part of the plan and look at hotels to place people temporarily.

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His office states it is also looking at 200 public plots of land to place tiny homes on, and he’s cutting the red tape so that the city can process permits and applications and construct these tiny home “micro-communities” very quickly.

“Tents are not real housing,” said Rebecca Stuart, owner of Erickson Monuments. “Are they better than nothing? Absolutely.”

Stuart’s business sits right across the street from the Safe Outdoor Space tent camp in Denver’s La Alma Park neighborhood.

“You get nervous when you hear that something like this is going to open next to your business,” Stuart said.

But, she said, for the most part, they’ve been good neighbors.

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Vandalism in Denver park draws ire of neighbors who say they’re ready for new direction under Mayor Johnston

“Any issues that we have, garbage, whatever, I go over there and say something, and they fix it,” Stuart said. “It’s much better than we thought. I think the activity in the neighborhood has been good for us.”

There is renewed hope now, among those like Stuart and others in the new mayor’s promise.

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“Honestly, I think everyone wants housing,” said Edward Garcia, who was homeless for four years and just found housing five weeks ago. “I haven’t had my license in years and now I have a driver’s license and a job. If the new mayor is planning to build tiny homes, I think things will only get better.”

Stuart is also hopeful.

“They’re doing something,” Stuart said. “It’s step up. It’s a step in the right direction. (Tent camps) are not a solution. And they let developers do whatever they want and say there’s going to be affordable housing when there’s not. I don’t know how you’re going to solve that in a few months without services, but there’s always hope.”


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Denver Health unveils naloxone vending machine that offers live-saving drug free of charge

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Denver Health unveils naloxone vending machine that offers live-saving drug free of charge


Denver Health unveils no-cost naloxone vending machine

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Denver Health unveils no-cost naloxone vending machine

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Denver Health unveiled a no-cost naloxone vending machine on its hospital campus on Monday. The vending machine distributes the life-saving drug naloxone, otherwise known as Narcan, free of charge. 

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Denver Health unveiled a no-cost naloxone vending machine on the hospital campus. 

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It’s available to the community through the National Institute of Drug Abuse’s VEnding machine Naloxone Distribution in Your community, or VENDY, program.    

“We really engaged our community members with substance use experience to help us build this program. They told us how this could work to build the program,” said Nicole Wagner, PhD, Assistant Professor, CU School of Medicine.

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The vending machine is located at the Denver Health Hospital Campus, outside Pavilion K, at 667 Bannock St. 

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“This machine is simple and elegant and so is the message: your life matters regardless of your disease,” said Sarah Christensen, MD, Medical Director of Outpatient Substance Use Disorder Treatment, at Denver Health.

Those who want access to naloxone can visit the vending machine at the Denver Health Hospital Campus, outside Pavilion K, located at 667 Bannock St. There are also medication and hygiene kits available for free 24 hours a day. 

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Denver Health offers free naloxone in a vending machine located at 667 Bannock St. 

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Denver area events for Jan. 27: Marty Friedman at HQ and more

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Denver area events for Jan. 27: Marty Friedman at HQ and more


If you have an event taking place in the Denver area, email information to carlotta.olson@gazette.com at least two weeks in advance. All events are listed in the calendar on space availability.

Monday

Sipping N’ Painting Hampden — “Northern Moon,” 6:30-8:30 p.m., Sipping N’ Painting Hampden, 6461 E. Hampden Ave., Denver, $35. Registration required: sippingnpaintinghampden.com.

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Lo Moon — 7 p.m., Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver, $35 and up. Tickets: marquisdenver.com.

Full Sail — 7 p.m., Dazzle at Baur’s, 1080 14th St., Denver, go online for prices. Tickets: dazzledenver.com/#/events.

Your Friend Did What? — 7:30 p.m., Comedy Works Downtown in Larimer Square, 1226 15th St., Denver, $14. Tickets: comedyworks.com.

Graduate Woodwind Quintet – Juniper Winds — 7:30 p.m., Grusin Music Hall, Imig Music Building, 1020 18th St., Boulder, pay what you can. Online streaming available; cupresents.org.

Marty Friedman — With Nikki Stringfield & Patrick Kennison, 8 p.m., HQ, 60 S. Broadway, Denver, $30 and up. Tickets: hqdenver.com.

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“Heart Strings” — Works by Lilian Lara and MCA Denver teens, through Feb. 2, MCA Denver, 1485 Delgany St., Denver, go online for admission prices; mcadenver.org.

“Dawoud Bey: Street Portraits” — Through May 11, Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway, Denver, go online for prices: denverartmuseum.org.

“De la Tierra: Reflections of Place in the Upper Río Grande” — Through May 23, History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway, Denver, go online for prices: historycolorado.org/exhibit/de-la-tierra.

“Seeds of Inspiration” — Through May 26, Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St., Denver, go online for prices; botanicgardens.org.

“Vanity & Vice: American Art Deco” — Through June 1, Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art, 1201 Bannock St., Denver. Go online for prices. Tickets: kirklandmuseum.org.

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“SUSTAINED! The Persistent Genius of Indigenous Art” — Through Dec. 31, Denver Art Museum, Denver, go online for prices: denverartmuseum.org.

CARLOTTA OLSON, The Denver Gazette



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DEA raids party, arrests nearly 50 undocumented immigrants and TdA gang members

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DEA raids party, arrests nearly 50 undocumented immigrants and TdA gang members


Federal agents interrupted a party at a “makeshift nightclub” in north Denver early Sunday morning and arrested almost 50 people of undetermined immigration status, a large number of whom are reportedly affiliated with the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. 

A spokesperson with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Division told CBS Colorado that the immigration status of all the arrestees was “questionable” and being examined. 

DEA agents, along with others from the Denver offices of Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, conducted an early morning raid. They entered a building at 6600 block of North Federal Boulevard when had been coverted into a “makeshift nightclub,” as described by the DEA in a social media post.

Federal and local law enforcement personnel enter a building early Sunday morning located at 6600 block of North Federal Boulevard. The operation targeted drug traffickers and members of the Tren de Aragua gang originating from Venezuela. Approximately 50 people were arrested, all of whom are having their immigration status examined, per a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesperson.
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U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration/X


Drugs, weapons and cash were seized. 

The operation targeted drug trafficking and members of the TdA gang, the DEA stated. 

After those 50 undocumented immigrants were taken into custody by the DEA, they were handed over to ICE, according to Steffan Tubbs of the DEA-Rocky Mountain Division.

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An ICE spokesperson contacted Sunday morning did not want to comment on the specifics of its role in the bust or speculate on how many of the arrestees would be held locally on criminal charges or immediately deported. A spokesperson with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado also declined to comment Sunday morning about potential federal charges against the arrestees.

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U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration/X


TdA gang activity partly to blame for unsafe conditions at several apartment buildings in Aurora. City officials there announced last week their intent to seek closure of the five remaining buildings in the Edge of Lowry complex at Dallas Street and East 12th Avenue. Residents have already been asked to vacate a sixth building in which a migrant couple was taken captive and beaten by alleged gang members late last year. 

Nineteen people were arrested last month by Aurora Police Department officers in December as a result of their investigation into that incident. Sixteen of the 19 arrestees were at that time believed to be TdA members. 

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A door at the rear of the building raided early Sunday morning by federal agents. 

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Aurora officials took over management of the buildings from CBZ Management. A judge appointed a new manager to oversee the sixth building as tenants seek new housing. They’ve been given a Feb. 18 deadline to be out of the Edge of Lowry apartments. 

The City of Denver announced Friday its own closure of a CBZ managed apartment building, also for reported unsafe living conditions. 

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Police tape still surrounds the building at 6600 North Federal Boulevard mid-morning Sunday following a raid by federal agents hours earlier. The building is located in unincorporated Adams County.

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An undisclosed number of officers from local police agencies supported the federal raid.

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