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What to do this weekend: A rooftop ice rink, Union Station lights, Black Friday beers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:56 GMT

Get lit!Friday. Denver Union Station ushers in the holiday season as it does each year with the Grand Illumination, which comes complete with family entertainment and activities. Things kick off at 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 24, with musical performances in the Great Hall. That will be followed at 4 p.m. by holiday songs from the Denver Dolls and Dickens Carolers, along with horse-drawn carriage rides, children’s activities and, of course, a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. In addition, there will be a holiday market with local artisans.For the adults, seasonal beverage offerings from Terminal Bar and the Cooper Lounge will be served on an extended patio with views of the station. The evening culminates at 6 p.m. with the lighting of Denver Union Station’s 40-foot-tall outdoor Christmas tree featuring more than 7,000 holiday lights. Each evening after through Dec. 31, visitors will also be able to see the Merry & Bright Lights show, which transforms “the train station’s ...

“I feel like I’ve been gaslit,” member says as Denver City Council airs frustrations over homeless, migrant responses

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:56 GMT

Denver City Councilwoman Stacie Gilmore plans to resign from her position as chair of the safety and housing committee, saying Tuesday that she doesn’t trust Mayor Mike Johnston or his administration to be forthright about his homelessness strategy.Gilmore announced her intention at the end of a tense, untelevised meeting between most of the council members and officials from the mayor’s office. As they discussed the city’s emergency response to unsheltered homelessness and the influx of migrants from the U.S. southern border, some council members’ frustrations boiled over into pointed comments.The third-term councilwoman chairs the Safety, Housing, Education and Homelessness Committee, the first stop for many contracts tied to the new mayor’s plan to move 1,000 unhoused people into hotels, temporary micro-communities and other shelters by the end of the year.“I feel like I’ve been gaslit in meetings — giving me bits and pieces, just enough...

3 breweries opened this month in Centennial, Denver and Longmont

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:56 GMT

Pint glass half full: For every Colorado brewery that closes, another one opens. Pint glass half empty: For every Colorado brewery that opens, another one closes.Either way you look at it, it’s been a big year for both — and it’s not over yet. At least three breweries have opened so far in the extended Denver metro in November.Related ArticlesRestaurants, Food and Drink | Denver-area brewery files for bankruptcy; claims financial malfeasance Restaurants, Food and Drink | What to do this weekend: Mariah Carey’s Christmas, Botanic Gardens lights, a 7-year-old fashion star Restaurants, Food and Drink | Why does billionaire Robert F. Smith’s family own a tiny craft brewery in Denver? Restaurants, Food and Drink | The Beer Spa in Five Points gets a new name and a second location Restaurants, Food and Drink | Colorado-only beer taproom opening in former brewery on 7th Avenue Beard...

Man sues Denver Archdiocese, former priests after he says he recovered repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:56 GMT

A 53-year-old man is suing the Archdiocese of Denver and two former Catholic priests, alleging he suffered extensive sexual abuse while attending Notre Dame Catholic Parish in Denver throughout the late 1970s and ’80s, but repressed those memories for decades.The Colorado Supreme Court struck down a law earlier this year that created a window during which child sexual abuse survivors could file lawsuits over decades-old abuse allegations. But attorneys representing Michael Stano argue their case is an exception because Stano only recently remembered the repressed sexual abuse.“It’s certainly rare,” attorney Charles Mendez said of the legal strategy in an interview with The Denver Post on Tuesday. “It’s been argued before both in Colorado and other states, but it is rare. The repression is a trauma response to what happens to you because it gets locked in an area of your brain.”Stano filed the lawsuit Friday in Denver District Court.The two p...

Denver-area holiday shoppers expected to spend “like it’s 2019 again”

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:56 GMT

Even with inflation still hanging around, a survey of Denver-area holiday shoppers shows they “plan to spend like it’s 2019 again.”A survey by Deloitte found that Denver shoppers expect to spend an average of $1,902 this holiday season, which is up 15% from 2022 and 15% higher than this year’s national average.Rachel Smeak, the Denver-based managing director of Deloitte Consulting, said shoppers’ anticipated spending is returning to pre-pandemic levels.“What was a bit surprising is that consumers plan to spend like it’s 2019 again,” Smeak added.Nationwide, people reported planning to spend an average of $1,652 on gifts this year, surpassing pre-pandemic figures for the first time, according to Deloitte’s survey.The National Retail Federation is also predicting a robust holiday shopping season. The survey by the organization and Prosper Insights and Analytics estimates that 182 million people plan to shop in stores and online. The numbe...

Innocent driver T-boned, killed in South L.A. pursuit crash

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:56 GMT

A driver was killed in a crash involving a pursuit suspect in the Manchester-Broadway neighborhood of Los Angeles Wednesday morning.Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were in pursuit of burglary suspects around 2:30 a.m. when the driver crashed into two vehicles near West Imperial Highway and South Broadway. Authorities investigate a fatal crash in South Los Angeles on Nov. 22, 2023. (KTLA)The suspect's vehicle T-boned one car and then struck the second vehicle. The unidentified driver of the T-boned vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. Aerial video from Sky5 showed a white canopy over the victim's vehicle. The driver of the second victim suffered only minor injuries and spoke with KTLA after the crash.The driver was surprised to find authorities arriving at the crash just seconds after she was hit. “It’s too soon,” the driver thought. “Whoever it was had to be on a high-speed chase.” Video captures $100,000 dog heist at Gardena pet shop Two suspects were taken into custod...

Traffic calming around schools will not work because of non-calm parents, architect says: Roadshow

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:56 GMT

Q: Calming traffic on Leigh in front of Valley Christian Academy by taking out lanes? Has any city traffic planner spent any time near a school at pickup and dropoff times?Schools are the worst traffic nightmares imaginable. Harried parents display absolutely no concern for the safety of others or themselves in their frenzy to deliver or pick up their precious cargo.I’m an architect who has worked on a number of schools throughout the South Bay. Trying to accommodate pickup and drop-off circulation was often the most difficult design problem of all to solve. Frequently any design solution involved compromises.There’s never enough room to accommodate the traffic flow that happens within one very specific and short amount of time. Almost always, traffic overflow impacts surrounding neighborhoods, and parents get very creative, and unsafe, in their choices of waiting areas or pickup and drop-off spots.I used to commute daily on Leigh Avenue and am very familiar with the sit...

COVID, RSV and flu on the rise in Bay Area heading into holidays, health officials warn

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:56 GMT

Winter virus season is just getting underway as millions of travelers prepare to pack into jetliners and squeeze into SUVs for that Thanksgiving trip to Grandma’s, and Bay Area health officials are urging people to take precautions as they see RSV, influenza and COVID-19 cases rise.“The bottom line is we do have a lot of respiratory virus activity out there,” said Dr. Monika Roy, assistant health officer and communicable disease controller for the Santa Clara County Health Department.Santa Clara and San Francisco county health officials both report increased signs of Respiratory Syncytial Virus — or RSV — leading to this year’s triple threat of illnesses. The highly contagious respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms can require a week or two of recovery but may be serious for infants and older adults who are more likely to develop severe infections requiring hospitalization.“We are seeing a rise in our wastewater data,...

Shanahan’s secret weapon for 49ers’ quick turnaround vs. Seahawks is a snooze

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:56 GMT

SANTA CLARA — The 49ers let the early birds catch the worms this week while they concentrate on grounding the Seahawks.Whatever problems they have in attempting to take a commanding lead in the NFC West, being sleepless in Seattle won’t be one of them by edict of coach Kyle Shanahan.Safety Ji’Ayir Brown is a rookie making his first start and has already realized Shanahan is serious about his players getting their Z’s  — especially during a short week.“Kyle don’t play when it comes to sleep,” Brown said Tuesday.As much as it’s romantic in an NFL sense to be playing on a Thanksgiving, there are few if any coaches and players who relish the opportunity to play a game on Sunday, then streamline their entire operation to prepare for a game on Thursday.“We pretty much do everything today instead of four days spread out,” 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa said Tuesday. “Everything is packed into one.”The NFL began expa...

Big San Jose retail center revamp, including new homes, heads to hearing

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:56 GMT

SAN JOSE — A huge mixed-use development with more than 1,000 homes and a Whole Foods that would revamp a high-profile San Jose retail center is headed for a key city hearing regarding an updated report on the project.The redevelopment of the El Paseo de Saratoga retail and restaurant complex in southwest San Jose has been in the works for years ever since busy Bay Area developer Peter Pau and his firm Sand Hill Property Co. paid $146.6 million for the property in 2019.At the time, a representative for Sand Hill Property described the purchase of El Paseo de Saratoga as a long-term investment.Over time, though, Sand Hill Property began to pitch a dramatic re-imagining of the center at the confluence of Saratoga Avenue, Lawrence Expressway and Quito Road as a village that would be a smaller version of the iconic Santana Row destination center in San Jose.At present, the redevelopment of the project would produce 1,100 residential units and 165,000 square feet of commercial space...