Occupy Denver clashed with the Denver Police Department again last night over a recently built cardboard shelter in Civic Center Park. Later dubbed “the Thundercube” because of the symbol the Thunderdome has become regarding the group’s rights, the small, ceiling-free fort was built from about 25 cardboard boxes that had…
In the beginning, Chad Duffy was a cynic. He still is, especially during the particularly hectic moments of his morning shift at the Thunderdome. But the 23-year-old politely promoting hand sanitizer used to be much worse. Only five months after Duffy moved to Denver from Orlando, a 180-degree turn finds…
Update, 1 p.m. October 24: We now know the names of the four Occupy Denver participants arrested in a Denver Police Department raid on a squat over the weekend, and two of them were recently featured in this space: Amelia Nicol, who saw murder charges against her dropped earlier this…
Mayor Michael Hancock and several Denver City Council members are talking up a potential overnight camping ban in public places, including the 16th Street Mall. Given the brouhaha over camping by Occupy Denver, which has been joined by numerous homeless protesters, is this notion a preemptive strike against a possible…
Update, 11:20 p.m. October 22: The close of tonight’s Occupy Denver concert was a completely different scene from only one week ago. Although it ended with police presence, the number of cops left is the same 10 to 15 who stayed from last night until about 5 a.m. to monitor…
Concerns about public education and the need to improve communication between city officials and citizens about everything from parking to park usage were hot topics this morning at Mayor Michael Hancock’s first community forum. Comments such as “City personnel need to be more available” drew applause from the more than…
Update, 4:28 p.m. October 21: The Denver Police Department has released the cost incurred by the DPD and the Sheriff’s Department to monitor Occupy Denver, particularly over last weekend’s demonstrations: approximately $365,000. The number also includes the costs of other city agencies that provided assistance to the two…
The first time Mike heard about the Occupy Wall Street movement, he was in the hospital. Due in large part to a slow heart rate — only about twenty beats per minute — he had recently undergone surgery to insert a pacemaker. Two months after his surgery and three weeks…
Last week, No On 300 announced the release of the first television spot focusing on the Denver Paid Sick Leave Initiative. The video stars Mayor Michael Hancock and directs attention to the toll the ordinance could have on the city’s budget. In contrast, the clip from pro-300 Campaign For a…
Today, President Barack Obama, who’s due back in Denver next week after a visit late last month, announced the end of the Iraq war, more or less, with the vast majority of U.S. troops due out before 2011 bids adieu. Colorado Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet quickly released statements…
Last night’s 7 p.m. Occupy Denver general assembly proved to be an important one as the group further develops its own democratic system, but it was likely the movement’s most aggressive and divisive yet. In it, several issues about the group’s financial structure came to a head, with one member…
During the two days of police-attended demonstrations last weekend, the last thing most people at Occupy Denver were thinking about was their stuff. A week later, this has created confusion among many who lost their belongings, which were later collected by the Colorado State Patrol while officers worked to clean…
To hear him tell it, Chris Bidwell’s trench coat is a black wool guardian angel. Last year, it prevented third-degree burn from a firecracker gone off course. Today, it serves as both picnic blanket and protector against wet grass at Civic Center Park. Bidwell’s black, military-style boots weigh ten pounds…
Occupy Colorado Springs has become a burgeoning political force in its own right of late, and the group is aligned in solidarity with Occupy Denver. The groups have united online and at general assemblies, where reps have traveled to visit each other. Last night, the Colorado Springs group gathered for…
There are plenty of differences between the Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party movements, as cartoonist Kenny Be pointed out in his post “Occupy Wall Street vs. the Tea Party: A visual guide.” But their members’ shared sense of dissatisfaction inspired The Daily Beast to use them as a barometer…
There are many faces to Occupy Denver’s protests, and some of them are legitimately funny. As further proof that not all civil disobedience is illegal or even ultimately that serious, last night the occupation debuted the protest tent. It is exactly what it sounds like, if it sounds to you…
At eight in the morning, solidarity is more than just a word. In the cold, it’s a necessity. Scianda Long’s thermal blanket looks like a giant Hershey bar wrapper, but inside a sleeping bag and a Batman blanket, it is how she slept through the night. The next morning, there’s…
This weekend, in a crowd estimated between 2,000 and 4,000 people, Susan Shepherd managed to stand out. The Denver City council member represents District 1 in an official capacity, but in the few days since her first rally with Occupy Denver, she has stepped out as a staunch supporter of…
After yesterday’s meeting between Occupy Denver reps and Michael Hancock, in which the Denver mayor reiterated his opposition to letting protesters camp, relations between the city and the 99 percent are decidedly chilly. And they got even colder overnight, after those braving the temperatures were reportedly doused by sprinklers…
Update, 5:18 p.m. October 18: When asked to describe Occupy Denver’s meeting with Hancock this afternoon, protester Al (full name withheld) went with, “It was neutral.” The less-than-exciting introduction matches the results, which take neither side any further toward agreement than before the meeting. Attended by Al, Paula Fedyk and…
Jonathan Shepard knew he would be arrested last Friday morning while defending the Thunderdome at Occupy Denver’s previous home across the street from Civic Center Park. Today, he proffers his left arm: On his wrist is a small cut where police officers had to cut into his skin slightly to…
The long-awaited, much-debated Bureau of Land Management plan for oil-and-gas drilling on public lands in northwest Colorado has something in it to annoy everybody. In other words, it’s the kind of classic, middle-of-the-road, concessions-to-all-sides-and-favoritism-toward-none compromise we’ve come to expect from the Department of the Interior under Secretary Ken Salazar –…
