April 2021 News Shorts

Sloan’s Lake Neighborhood Org Leader Receives INC Award

Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation, the overarching organization for neighborhood groups, honored Sloan’s Lake resident Larry Ambrose with a lifetime achievement award for “his longtime work in the interests preserving and enhancing the quality of life in Denver’s neighborhoods.” 
Larry, a Colorado native, has been involved in the formation and advocacy of Denver neighborhood groups since 1973, when he and his wife, Jane, started one of Denver’s first RNO’s, Northwest Neighbors. In the early 1980’s he was a co-founder of Sunnyside Highland Jefferson Park Neighborhood Association. In 2004, he and Jane became founding members of Sloan’s Lake Neighborhood Association, where he serves today as Vice President.
Larry co-chaired a citywide building height control initiative that was on the ballot in 1985. He was a leader in saving historic buildings in the Highlands and getting power lines buried in Highland Square business district. He was also instrumental in creating the Viking Park entryway into NW Denver and establishing Denver’s system of dog parks.
Larry was a co-founder of INC Parks Committee and also served on the INC board for nine years to include offices of Secretary, Vice President, and President.

Laurvick Plans Community Meetings For Colfax Elementary

Colfax Elementary School’s enrollment has dipped and at the same time the district has announced an interim principal for the school, raising concerns from some parents about the school’s future. While DPS’ enrollment has dipped across the district, the combination of factors discussed above prompted parents to ask whether the school might close. Denver Public Schools board member Brad Laurvick, who represents North and West Denver, said the district has no plans to close the school and interim principals are not uncommon. Laurvick, who said he’s heard from concerned parents and is trying to keep the community updated, is planning a series of community meetings to discuss the school’s future, but stressed that nothing will be changing for the 2021-2022 school year. Parents will be contacted as meeting dates are sent and The Denver North Star will keep our online community calendar updated as information becomes available.

Odell Brewing Opens Sloan’s Lake brewhouse

Odell Brewing, which started in Fort Collins and grew to be one of the largest independent breweries in Colorado, opened their Sloan’s Lake location at 1625 Perry Street earlier this month. The taproom features a full menu of appetizers, salads, and pizzas with a focus on local sourcing and ingredients that are made in-house, from scratch. The brewhouse is in the Kuhlman Building, which served as a convent, nursing school, dormitory, and administrative offices for the St. Anthony’s Hospital before the site was redeveloped.

La Raza Park’s Sign for a Day

Things can move quickly in Denver, but after decades of fighting to change the name of Columbus Park on 38th Ave to La Raza Park, a sign declaring the new name was expected to last more than a few hours. The morning of April 7th, a contractor working with Denver’s Parks and Recreation Department installed a sign with the new name. Community members quickly descended on the park in celebration, taking photos with the sign, posting them online, and word spread. The problem? The full installation was an accident: the city intended for the contractor to install the posts and backing, cementing the sign in place but not install the name plates yet. The name plate was removed, prompting questions. A Parks official told The Denver North Star that the company understood the importance of the name to the community and was excited to install it quickly, but both they and the department intended to wait in order to hold a ceremony in celebration. The name plate was removed so it can be more ceremoniously installed at a future celebration coordinated by the Parks Department and Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval’s office. Due to the error and the relatively minor change, the Parks department said there is no cost to taxpayers to remove and reinstall the name plate.

We’ll update The Denver North Star’s community calendar when the event is announced.

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