After months of delicate persuasion campaigns meant to win the hearts and rolled-up sleeves of Colorado’s coronavirus vaccine hesitant, state leaders have in the last week added new muscle to the fight against the virus. Governments, health care organizations and businesses have announced vaccine mandates for employees. Even some who vowed not to require the […]
Michael Hancock
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Littwin: Denver goes all in on vaccines. They may be the first to go quite so far, but they won’t be the last.
Denver is going all in on vaccines, and all I can say is it’s about time that someone is. Mayor Michael Hancock’s decision to order vaccines by Sept. 30 for all city workers and also for private-sector employees working on the front lines — like those in hospitals, schools, homeless shelters, jails, nursing homes, etc. […]
Posted inCOVID, Health, News, Politics and Government
Colorado governor warns “we expect it to get worse” as delta variant drives spike in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations
Gov. Jared Polis on Monday warned Coloradans to brace for a worsening COVID-19 situation driven by spread of the more contagious delta variant, which has led in recent days to a spike in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in the state. “We expect it to get worse before it gets better,” Polis said during a news […]
Posted inCOVID, Health, News, Politics and Government
Denver requires coronavirus vaccination for all city employees, hospital workers and teachers
The city of Denver on Monday announced that it will require all city employees, all workers at hospitals and nursing homes, all people who work in homeless shelters and correctional facilities, and all teachers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of September. The new order comes amid a wave of vaccination mandates, but […]
Posted inCOVID, Health, News, Politics and Government
Colorado’s coronavirus dial system ends Friday. As hospitalizations spike, it will be up to counties to respond.
Starting Friday, Colorado counties will be left to decide how to control rising coronavirus cases and hospitalizations as the statewide COVID-19 dial system, which has set public health restrictions for the past seven months, moves from a mandate to a recommendation. The state will place restrictions only on large, indoor gathering places, like sports arenas […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Health, News, Politics and Government
An Aurora doctor tried to prioritize refugees for the coronavirus vaccine. Colorado told him to stop.
In late January, Dr. P.J. Parmar, who runs Ardas Family Medicine, converted a section of an international business center in northwest Aurora into a COVID-19 vaccine clinic. He wanted to immunize refugees in the city, where vaccination rates were trailing neighboring communities. But in the first few days, he said, about half the vaccine clinic’s […]
Posted inCOVID, Health, News, Politics and Government
The behind-the-scenes story of being Gov. Jared Polis during Colorado’s coronavirus crisis
A little more than a month into Colorado’s battle with coronavirus, Gov. Jared Polis and his team reached the helpless realization that there was no end in sight. At that point, more than 8,000 people had tested positive for the disease and over 350 had died, including scores living in senior-care centers. The stay-at-home order […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: There are better ways for Denver to spend money on homelessness than on sweeps
People experiencing homelessness face a multitude of dilemmas each day, whether it’s securing a place to sleep, food to eat, or, for families, managing children and education. People experiencing homelessness in Denver experience stigma and social isolation, as well as political isolation through “anti-homeless” architecture, such as benches with an armrest in the middle to […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Ethics complaint against Denver mayor over holiday travel dismissed
The Denver Board of Ethics has unanimously dismissed an ethics complaint that was filed after the mayor of Denver flew to Texas for Thanksgiving despite urging city residents to avoid travel over the holidays because of the coronavirus pandemic. Board Chairman Joseph Michaels acknowledged that Denver Mayor Michael Hancock’s actions were concerning and disappointed or […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Denver mayor says his personal travel didn’t violate ethics
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock has told the city’s board of ethics in a letter that his trip last year to Mississippi was a mistake but not a violation of the ethics code. Hancock had made a Thanksgiving trip to visit family despite sending messages on social media and to city staff asking them to avoid […]