For 16 years, Dar-Lon Chang worked as an engineer at ExxonMobil. Fresh out of graduate school, he was by all accounts exactly the type of person the company is known for hiring: smart, driven, diligent. From his base at Exxon’s sprawling campus outside Houston, Chang helped the company maximize production at far-flung oil and gas […]
Housing
Posted inColoradans, Economy, Housing, News
With homelessness more visible than ever, Colorado cities don’t have to count outdoor residents
Cities were granted a pass this year from a federal requirement that they attempt to count every resident who is homeless, whether in shelters, tents in the park or alone with a blanket on a sidewalk. Many of the nation’s cities, including Denver and Colorado Springs, decided that sending dozens of volunteers to the streets […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Health, Housing, News
Confusion and omissions dampen hopes for speedy COVID-19 vaccinations of unhoused Coloradans
Advocates for people experiencing homelessness in Colorado are worried and frustrated that neither homeless shelter residents nor people living on streets are included in the state’s current COVID-19 vaccination distribution plan. An October 2020 draft state vaccination priority plan didn’t mention those living on streets, but did include people living in shelters during the second phase of […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, Housing, News
A national eviction ban will help Colorado renters stay housed until March 31, but there are asterisks
State’s rental assistance programs receive $247 million in federal aid. Tenants can now apply for three months of future rent, which has property owners saying there’s no need for moratoriums.
Posted inCrime and Courts, Housing, News
Denver asks federal appeals court to stop ruling on homeless sweeps
The city of Denver is asking a federal appeals court to block a judge’s ruling that requires officials to give seven days’ notice before clearing illegal homeless encampments. Lawyers for the city made the request to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday and also filed notice that they will appeal Monday’s ruling by U.S. […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, Housing, News
Federal judge requires week notice before encampment sweeps in Denver
A federal judge has ordered city officials in Denver to give seven-day notices before clearing out illegal homeless encampments in the city. Judge William Martinez ruled on Monday that Denver must give a week’s notice before each sweep, regardless of the size of the encampments, after finding out that city officials had not done so […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, Growth, Housing, News, Politics and Government
Colorado’s stagnant budget isn’t helping the shrinking middle class, report finds
Colorado’s middle class is shrinking, and the lifestyle long associated with it — home ownership, a car, college savings and occasional vacations — is getting harder to achieve. That’s been the economic trend in the state, and across the country, for decades. But new research suggests Colorado’s public investments — or lack of them — […]
Posted inHealth, Housing, News, Politics and Government
How one block on Pearl Street represents Denver’s stubborn homelessness crisis
“I’m going to shoot him!” The man’s shouts echoed in the street at 2 a.m. as he rummaged through his belongings for a gun. Screams and yelling erupted in the encampment on Pearl Street, where about 25 people are living in tents, keeping warm with makeshift fire pits fueled by propane tanks inside blanket- and […]
Posted inHousing, News
As some Colorado mobile home parks mull selling, resident co-ops seek to become their own landlords
When Colorado lawmakers recently turned their attention to mobile home parks for the first time in decades, one particular bill inspired some residents to start thinking big — beyond the chronic battles with park owners over rising rents and questionable evictions. A new provision in the Mobile Home Park Act, which went into effect in […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Economy, Energy, Environment, Health, Housing, News, Politics and Government
Colorado is behind on targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions. How far should the state push industry to get there?
The Polis administration is set this month to complete its “roadmap” for cutting Colorado’s greenhouse gas emissions, but critics question whether the route is clear enough — and the milestones realistic enough — to get Colorado where it needs to go. In a nod to some of the challenges, air quality and energy officials are […]