As local hospitals found themselves consumed in responding to COVID-19 last spring, elective surgeries were suspended, and administrators scrambled to adapt budgets to their new day-to-day reality. The ripple-out effect was felt in North Denver at Bear Gutierrez Photography. Gutierrez’ health care … Continue Reading about Lifeline: North Denver Small Businesses Receive over $1 million in City Grants, Thank City and Community for Support
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Politics

Proposed Design Overlay Aims to Create “Active Centers and Corridors”
A proposal eight years in the making, Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval’s office is hoping to enact a measure they believe will preserve retail and other commercial corridors, promote mixed use (commercial and residential) development, and ensure a more pleasant experience for residents walking through … Continue Reading about Proposed Design Overlay Aims to Create “Active Centers and Corridors”

Columbus Park Officially Renamed La Raza Park
With a unanimous vote from the Denver City Council, a decades long fight has ended: the park on 38th Ave between Osage and Navajo streets will officially be known as La Raza Park. Councilwoman Sandoval’s effort to rename the park marked at least the third official, and the least controversial, … Continue Reading about Columbus Park Officially Renamed La Raza Park
Community

January 2021 News Shorts
State Legislature Delays 2021 Session Due of COVID-19 While the state legislature officially began on January 13th, they won’t have a full session right away. As of the time of publication (Jan 12), the legislature’s plan is to work for three days on priority bills and then recess and begin work … Continue Reading about January 2021 News Shorts

BookBar Releases Debut Title under New Independent Publishing Arm BookBar Press
BookBar is known for doing a wide variety of things and doing them well. As an independent bookstore with a small but well curated selection, a wine bar and coffee shop with tasty options, and as the organizer behind BookGive, a nonprofit that distributes free books to underserved locations, … Continue Reading about BookBar Releases Debut Title under New Independent Publishing Arm BookBar Press

Help for Young Adults Aging out of Foster Care Coming to Denver
Higher education – and student loans – can be a daunting prospect for any young adult. But for 18-year-olds who have just aged out of the foster care system, attending a college or university might simply feel impossible. Fortunately for Hayley Houk, she had what many young adults aging out of … Continue Reading about Help for Young Adults Aging out of Foster Care Coming to Denver

Near Northwest Area Plan Kicks Off, Needs Your Input
While Denver has large, citywide plans including Blueprint Denver and the Comprehensive Plan 2040, the Community Planning and Development Department also spearheads smaller local plans with support from district city council offices and community groups. Neighborhood Planning Initiatives (NPI) allow … Continue Reading about Near Northwest Area Plan Kicks Off, Needs Your Input

Co-Ownership Company Eyes North Denver
Jason Lewiston believes he’s building for the future while meeting a critical need in the present. “The fundamental issue is middle class people can no longer afford to buy homes in urban areas,” Lewiston explained. His solution? A newer idea known as co-ownership. The homes his business (Co-Own … Continue Reading about Co-Ownership Company Eyes North Denver
Education

Centennial Elementary School Virtual Tours and Open Houses
An invitation from Centennial: Hello Perspective Centennial Families. We invite you to come to our virtual open houses this year to learn more about Centennial. We’ll host several open house meetings via Zoom where you can learn more about our school and our programming and there will be time for Q&A as well. This year, […]

Cheltenham Elementary Gift Drive Gives Joy to Kids This Year
The North Denver community pitched in this holiday season for the gift drive at Cheltenham Elementary School organized by school nurse Mary Van Nest and school psychologist Cari Ledger. Community members, Hogan Lovells Law Firm, Dwell Church, school staff members, and Christian Riders in Faith Motorcycle Ministry all contributed to make the holidays special for […]

Learning to Incorporate Mental Health In School
Over the past 150 years, our world and our country have grown into a reality past generations only dreamed of, but our country’s approach to the school system has not seen the same change. Interestingly, it took COVID-19, and the quarantine that followed, for schools to adjust their approach. In reaction to the pandemic, people […]

Holidays in the Time of COVID
COVID has made so many dramatic changes to so many different aspects of our lives, but something that affected me more than I thought it would was the effect COVID had on the holidays. For me and my family, we normally have a simple holiday, just the three of us. We never threw any parties, […]
Dining

New Bar Sees Awakening of Sober Movement in North Denver
There’ll be a new bar in town come spring, and owners Billy and Christy Wynne want you to know that it is, in fact, a bar. “It's not a juice bar, it's not a cava bar, it's not a kombucha bar,” Billy Wynne … Continue Reading about New Bar Sees Awakening of Sober Movement in North Denver
Transportation

An Update From Your RTD Director
If you want to know what a new reality looks like, behold an empty bus. As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded over the past nine months, I observed a new landscape from my seat on Route 32: fewer people … [Read More...] about An Update From Your RTD Director
Health & Wellness

Why Vitruvian Fitness May be My New Gym in 2021
January is often the month we set goals, and let’s be honest, after 2020 many of us are looking for a fresh start. Unsurprisingly, a December 2020 YouGov poll found that exercising more or improving … Continue Reading about Why Vitruvian Fitness May be My New Gym in 2021

79 Reasons to Exercise Even if You Aren’t Feeling Resolved
We all have days when motivation fails us. Luckily, as humans we are able to talk ourselves into doing things we know are good for us even when the “don't wannas”' strike. I hope you’ll borrow these … Continue Reading about 79 Reasons to Exercise Even if You Aren’t Feeling Resolved
Welcome to The Gray Zone

Highlands’ Frances Hart encourages: “Take Care of Each Other”
A series that started with traditional senior housing at Gardens at St. Elizabeth, then home sharing, and went on to explore cohousing and ADU’s, concludes here with a look at two more living … Continue Reading about Highlands’ Frances Hart encourages: “Take Care of Each Other”
what to read

Checking Out: Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Stories about time travel frequently pose the question: if you could go back in time and change something, would you? Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s novel, “Before the Coffee Gets Cold” (Hanover Square Press, … Continue Reading about Checking Out: Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Views on Parenting

Let’s Teach our Kids About Social Media
In light of the events that happened at our nation’s capital January 6, I think it is more important than ever to monitor how we manage our time on phones and social media. With so many … Continue Reading about Let’s Teach our Kids About Social Media
Shaping Our Future by Remembering Our Past

More Than Names and Dates: Local Historians Build Community
Denver has not risen to the level of recognition of its writers to which Dublin has. As you walk along the streets of old Dublin town, a city full of literary talent, you will see that the city … Continue Reading about More Than Names and Dates: Local Historians Build Community
Public Safety

2020 Holiday Online Security Awareness
While our health and that of our loved ones is paramount, many of us will be doing more of our holiday shopping online at this time of COVID-19. Shopping online is convenient and, let’s face it, it can save us from the craziness that is the holiday season. However, do not let your guard down […]
Guest Opinion and Letters to the Editor

Why the DCTA Supports Group Living
Earlier this year the Denver Classroom Teachers Association voted to support the group living proposal currently before city council. 90 members, representing nearly 4,000 teachers, voted unanimously to support the update to the existing policy. As teachers we feel it is our duty to provide the optimal learning environment for ourselves, our students, and their […]

Jan 2021 Letter to the Editor
The Denver North Star strives to show multiple viewpoints and will publish Letters to the Editor in both support and opposition when different perspectives are sent. At times, only LTEs with one view were received and the letters published represent that. The opinions expressed in letters are the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily […]

Thank You For Your Feedback — Looking Forward to 2021
Happy New Year. Last month we sent out a community feedback survey. Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill it out; the responses have been incredibly helpful. We’re going to leave it up online, so if you haven’t sent feedback please take a few minutes to do so. We want to write […]