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Thousands of Coloradans await rental assistance as eviction moratorium expiration looms
Colorado distributed $11.4 million in rental assistance in June — more than the previous five months combined. But thousands of households are still awaiting payments for approved rental assistance as the expiration of the federal eviction moratorium looms less than a week away. The federal eviction ban, established in September 2020, is set to expire […]
Colorado’s housing crisis touches every inch of the state. Lawmakers hope $400 million will help.
Colorado’s affordable housing crisis touches every inch of the state, whether it’s rising rents coupled with stagnant wages, limited available affordable units, or unattainable building costs. State lawmakers this session set aside $400 million in federal coronavirus relief funds to try to alleviate the growing housing pressure seen across the state. The challenge now will […]
Black Coloradans arrested at twice the rate of white people nearly a decade after pot legalization
Though the total number of arrests for adults and juveniles for pot-related crimes has gone down overall since Colorado legalized marijuana in 2012, wide racial disparities persist, a new report finds. The widest disparity is among Black Coloradans, who are arrested at twice the rate of white people for pot-related charges, according to a 180-page […]
Immediate removal of tents, propane tanks in public spaces approved by Boulder council
Boulder City Council members on Tuesday night approved an emergency rule that allows law enforcement to remove tents from public spaces without prior notice — part of the city’s months-long push to more aggressively enforce the city’s camping ban. The new ordinance is effective immediately. “Often in the process of removing an encampment, campers will […]
Are you a victim of wage theft? Denver will soon have a new investigative unit for that.
Denver’s City Attorney’s Office will soon start cracking down on employers who don’t pay their workers what they are owed. A new city ordinance, unanimously approved by Denver City Council on Monday, makes it a crime to “knowingly refuse to pay a wage or compensation to a worker or falsely deny the amount of a […]
Key to disrupting Denver’s homeless-to-jail pipeline? Permanent supportive housing, study finds.
The city of Denver embarked on a five-year experiment in 2016 to see if it could disrupt the city’s robust homeless-to-jail pipeline by providing permanent supportive housing, which couples housing with services such as substance use and mental health treatment. The results? A “remarkably successful initiative,” said Mary Cunningham, vice president of the Metropolitan Housing […]
Colorado law boosts utility bill payment assistance for low-income households
A new Colorado law boosts funding for utility bill payment assistance for low-income residents by establishing small monthly fees on electricity and gas customers. “Families across Colorado are struggling to keep the lights on, and our current utility assistance system is not funded well enough to help every family in need,” Rep. Chris Kennedy, a […]
Homeless advocates protest city’s camping ban during MLB All-Star Game
As baseball fans flocked to Denver on Tuesday for the MLB All-Star game, a crowd of homeless advocates and people experiencing homelessness gathered at a nearby park to protest the city’s continuous clearing of homeless encampments. Denver Mayor Michael Hancock has denied that the city’s recent increase in homeless sweeps are related to the historic […]
Colorado housing experts finalize formal recommendations for alleviating state’s affordable housing crisis
A coalition of housing experts across Colorado has finalized formal recommendations for how the state can alleviate its affordable housing crisis. The Strategic Housing Working Group, convened by the state’s Department of Local Affairs in the fall, presented its final recommendations to Colorado’s State Housing Board during a public meeting on July 13. Next, the […]
Denver City Council members discuss community push to reimagine public safety
Denver City Council members are inching closer to what will likely be a heated debate regarding the future of policing and public safety in the Mile High City. In May, council members were presented with a 53-page report from a group of nearly 100 community members that spent eight months compiling a “roadmap” for how […]
A wave of new criminal justice laws were enacted in Colorado. Here are the big takeaways.
A requirement that bond hearings occur within 48 hours of arrest. A push to recalibrate the punishments for misdemeanor crimes. An effort to allow more people to seal their criminal records to leave their worst mistakes behind them. Banning law enforcement from directing medical professionals to use the powerful sedative ketamine. These are a few […]
Elephants partly inspired these new Colorado laws
When an elephant goes into labor in the wild, its herd quickly surrounds her in a tight circle, standing ready to fight any threats that come her way. The births, as with humans, can extend for many hours or even days. “It’s this incredible vision of defense and protection,” said Indra Lusero, founder and director […]