Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2018 i 5280 Magazine

It’s not often that the editor of a city and regional magazine has to decide whether to send one of his staffers to Afghanistan, but that scenario landed on my desk earlier this year when features editor Kasey Cordell asked to embed with a field artillery unit from Colorado’s Fort Carson. It was a compelling proposition: Cordell would be witnessing some of the first gender-integrated howitzer crews the U.S. Army had ever deployed to a war zone. ¶ From a journalistic perspective, green-lighting the trip was an easy call. From just about every other perspective, it was not. The logistics of sending a reporter into a combat zone are complicated and sobering. Cordell needed approval from the U.S. military and the Afghan government; she had to secure body armor and…

WHAT WE’RE EXPLORING THIS MONTH The Poudre River Trail Corridor DRIVE FROM DENVER One hour WHY WE LOVE IT Immerse yourself in the Cache la Poudre’s winter beauty (without, you know, actually immersing yourself) by hiking the eastern section of the Poudre River Trail Corridor. The 21 miles of paved path between Greeley and Windsor have multiple trailheads. Our favorite is the Oxbow-Overland entry point, where the trail ascends and offers an overhead view of the snowlined banks.…

Sylvia Hoffman was 12 years old when doctors noticed a 39-degree curve in her spine—almost 30 degrees more than the top of the normal range. The diagnosis, scoliosis, left the active kid wondering whether her nascent sports career was already over. Seventeen years later, the Colorado Springs resident is on the brink of becoming an Olympic athlete. Sports fans (and anyone else near a TV) will find out whether Hoffman makes one of eight U.S. teams when the two-part documentary Scouting Camp: The Next Olympic Hopeful airs on NBC November 24 and 25. In its second season, the program follows 90 people who auditioned to try out for the Olympics through a partnership between 24 Hour Fitness and the U.S. Olympic Committee. Finalists undergo a week of training, and Olympic…

If you think hummus is a cold, dense chickpea paste that comes in a plastic container—or that pita is stale and crumbly by default—you need to dine at Safta, the two-month-old modern Israeli restaurant inside the Source Hotel & Market Hall in RiNo. There, chef-owner Alon Shaya’s sublime renditions, precisely executed by chef de cuisine Jessica Nowicki, are shattering those stereotypes, one bowl and tender round at a time. How do they do it? The cooks remove as much of the skin as possible from the dried chickpeas that form the base of the ethereal, ultra creamy dip. The simple tahini version, infused with garlic, lemon, and Aleppo pepper, “takes me straight to Israel,” Shaya says. “It’s like the margherita pizza of hummus.” Other iterations are generously topped with buttery…

One sunny morning this past summer, Governor John Hickenlooper and I had breakfast at Sassafras American Eatery, the funky-cool Southern spot on East Colfax Avenue, a block east of the Capitol. The governor was running a few minutes late; even so, he was ebullient and relaxed, joking as he sat down. Wearing a jacket but no tie, the wiry 66-year-old ordered pecan pancakes, gave me a hard time about my health-conscious yogurt and granola, and then spent the next 30 minutes talking about his time as governor, the issues his successor will have to negotiate, and his potential run for president of the United States. At the end of the meal, I picked up the check. On the receipt, our server had written in blue ballpoint pen: “Thank you for…

Many would label outgoing DPS superintendent Tom Boasberg’s tenure—during which he embraced innovative models for school autonomy and shared campuses—a success. But how, after 10 years, does he grade himself on bringing equity to public schools, which he calls “the civil rights issue of our generation”? 5280: When you became superintendent, you said fixing urban public schools was this generation’s civil rights battle. Did you mean closing the achievement gap? Tom Boasberg: What I meant was the opportunity for every kid to get a great education is the fundamental mission of public education. Because education is the most important driver of opportunity. It’s the most important driver of equity in our society. If we’re going to close gaps we see in our society—in terms of opportunity, in terms of social…

CALEB ALVARADO Photographer A Denver-based photographer who previously studied architecture, Caleb Alvarado relies on setting to illustrate each subject’s true nature. “I use my background as an architect to compose each shot,” Alvarado says. “I try to find the space that makes my subjects feel most connected to themselves.” His strategy led to a surprising decision when photographing the students, teachers, and administrators featured in “Deep & Wide” (page 114), an examination of the achievement gap in the Mile High City’s education system: School wasn’t always the best location. “For me, education is not limited to the classroom,” the photographer says. “Their homes and places of reflection are extensions of their learning spaces.” Alvarado is also currently shooting a documentary about mariachi culture. KASEY CORDELL Features Editor To pen “13…

Whether Coloradans will make history by electing Congressman Jared Polis as the first openly gay governor in America. At press time, the Democrat was seven points ahead of Republican candidate Walker Stapleton. If the GOP’s oneseat majority will hold up in the state Senate. Beth Martinez Humenik and Tim Leonard, representing Senate Districts 24 and 16, respectively, are thought to be in the greatest danger of losing their seats. Which, if any, of the ballot initiatives (Education? Health services? Parks and recreation?) voters care about enough to raise sales taxes. How pundits are claiming U.S. Representative Mike Coffman, a Republican, is facing his toughest challenge yet, from former Army Ranger Jason Crow—but they say that every time he’s up for re-election. The ramifications of Amendment 74, which would require that…

Over the years, 5280 has reported on the brand-new attractions Colorado’s ski areas debut each winter many times. But this season, we’re paying tribute to the time-honored but lesser-known features of our beloved Rocky Mountain resorts: in other words, all the things locals love too much to tell tourists about. From the most effective hangover cure to the baddest tree skiing, this could be Colorado’s most coveted classified information. Use it wisely. RAD RATING JAM CAPACIT Y Aspen Mountain Wait for a red gondola (one out of every five cars). These luxury vehicles are outfitted with Bluetooth speakers, so everyone inside can bump to your new “Winter Jams ’18” playlist. HANGOVER, BEGONE Arapahoe Basin Ski Area The $10.50 bacon Bloody Mary at the on-mountain 6th Alley Bar and Grill is made with…

When budgeting for their nuptials, Colorado couples spend anywhere from $500 to $5,000 on wedding planners alone. Now, just in time for the holiday engagement season, there’s a website for that. University of Denver grad Caroline Creidenberg launched Wedfuly in 2017 after realizing that, technologically speaking, the wedding industry was living in the Dark Ages. Wedfuly connects overwhelmed brides and grooms with certified and vetted planners through a messaging platform (although the union always starts with a 30-minute phone call). For $250, these organizing experts help clients create prewedding checklists, choose local vendors, and make schedules for the ceremony and reception—all without ever meeting face-to-face. (In-person help on the big day runs an additional $650 to $1,300, depending on the planner’s experience.) Overall, the service saves a typical couple about…

In March, Impact Locally, which provides resources like guidance counseling and free haircuts to those experiencing poverty, launched a clothing store with an unusual conceit: Everything is free. The Five Points shop, called Humanity, serves customers facing homelessness who visit Tuesday through Thursday or Sunday to try on and take coats, sweaters, or business outfits. The enterprise survives on donations, so drop off clothes—everything from casual wear to suit-and-tie ensembles—plus gear like sleeping bags and backpacks, for a different spin on supporting small business.…

What does a 36-year-old former bartender living in Elizabeth have in common with a 27-year-old Hotchkiss pig farmer and orchard hand? Both craft custom knives as stunningly beautiful as they are razor-sharp—and both want to make your favorite cook the kitchen tool of his or her dreams. Their paths to bladesmithing and their forging techniques are where the two knife makers diverge. After 15 years behind the bar (most recently at the RiNo Yacht Club), Heather J. Haas ditched the hospitality industry in April to follow her blade-making obsession, born of her desire to create a more functional wine key. Using the training she received at an American Bladesmith Society workshop, Haas established her new label, H.J. Haas. In a metal shop she’s building out inside her cousin’s barn in…

You know you’re in a fastmoving business when your tattoos can’t keep up with your career developments. So it goes for Hope Frahm, corporate chef at Love’s Oven, a Denver-based cannabis bakery and confectionery with a growing line of edibles, drinkables, and, yes, powerful smokables. In 2014, the now nine-year-old company offered roughly eight baked goods. Today, the outfit sells more than 50 edible vehicles to get you high, soothe your aches, or simply chill you out. The swift uptick in offerings is part of the company’s effort to cater to a more discerning clientele and differentiate itself from other purveyors in town. That’s where Frahm comes in. It’s her job to make sure that no matter what delivery method you choose—a turtle brownie, a salted caramel, a red velvet…

WHAT IS THE GIG ECONOMY? FROM THE LYFT AND UBER DRIVERS zipping along our thoroughfares to neighboring homes morphing into Airbnb rentals to a vibrant startup culture that inspired Amazon to rank Colorado fourth on a list of the top 10 states for entrepreneurial-ness, the gig economy seems to be everywhere in the Centennial State. That really shouldn’t be a surprise: The flexibility associated with gig work fits snugly with our lifestyle, a spontaneous, get-outside-whenever-you-can, work-to-live-don’t-live-to-work modus vivendi that’s recently drawn so many transplants inside our rectangular borders. It wouldn’t be far-fetched, then, for the typical 9-to-5er, procrastinating in a cube in an office tower downtown, to feel that everyone else is living—and loving—the gig life. It’d be difficult to tell him he’s wrong. But it’d be equally challenging to…

COURT DECISION PROVIDES CLARITY ON WHAT MAKES SOMEONE AN EMPLOYEE As the gig economy grows and shifts, questions about how to classify workers are going to become more prevalent. In April, a California Supreme Court decision made it more difficult for companies to label workers as contractors—a decision with potentially outsize impacts. According to the New York Times, employees cost businesses 20 to 30 percent more than contractors. Colorado addressed similar confusion in two 2014 state Supreme Court cases, which provided more wiggle room to employers in determining who’s an employee and who’s not. ARE PORTABLE BENEFITS THE FUTURE OF WORK? As traditional employment evolves, the age-old method of distributing benefits should too. Or so say supporters of the concept of portable benefits: a system in which workers can access…

Ask teachers and education activists about the achievement gap, and some will cringe at the term. It’s not an achievement gap, they’ll say. It’s an opportunity gap. The former suggests people of color simply aren’t matching white people’s successes. The latter recognizes that minorities aren’t matching white people’s successes because they often aren’t afforded the same opportunities—such as tuitionbased preschool classes that give learners a head start on reading. (Colorado doesn’t have universal preschool.) But Zenzel Cobb attended preschool. She fared well at the Goddard School of Aurora, where she displayed a love of reading and learned to sing songs in Mandarin Chinese. It wasn’t until Zenzel, who is African-American, enrolled in the Cherry Creek School District that opportunities began to skip over her. When Zenzel entered Black Forest Hills…

FRANCISCO BRAVO MEDICAL MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL Location: Los Angeles, California Grades: 9 through 12 Strategy: When students aren’t in class—whether because of illness or ill behavior—they fall behind. By refusing to send students to the principal’s office unless absolutely necessary, this Los Angeles Unified School District institution has seen its Hispanic population shrink the math gap and nearly erase the gaps in English exams. How Denver Is Duplicating: Skinner Middle School (pictured) in north Denver has already implemented similar restorative justice practices. When students act out, instead of removing them from the classroom, educators initiate restorative dialogues to allow the students to resolve conflicts. SUCCESS ACADEMY COBBLE HILL Location: Brooklyn, New York Grades: K through 4 Strategy: This charter school emphasizes literacy—not only the ABCs, but also thinking critically about…

PROMOTIONS | EVENTS | SPONSORSHIPS Project Angel Heart’s Pie in the Sky NOW–NOVEMBER 15 Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder. Looking for a fun way to give back during the holiday season? Order your Thanksgiving pie from Pie in the Sky and help Project Angel Heart provide medically tailored meals for neighbors in need. Every pie ordered provides meals for a Coloradan living with a life-threatening illness. Information and tickets at pieintheskycolorado.org. Denver Arts Week NOVEMBER 2 –10 Metro Denver. Celebrate all things art in The Mile High City! Be inspired by the creative people and places throughout Denver. From film, visual arts and theater, to live music, dance and museum exhibitions, Denver’s art scene is thriving! Information at DenverArtsWeek.com. Rock-A-Belly Fundraiser: Benefitting Food for Thought Denver NOVEMBER 3, 5–9:30 P. M.…

Vail’s 2018-’19 ski season will only be 156 days long—perhaps shorter, if the warming climate gives us another year of bad snowpack and early resort closures. No powderhound wants to miss out on any of those days because of a broken arm and itchy cast, and now they don’t have to. Pueblo’s ActivArmor makes waterproof casts that just might salvage your winter. Founder Diana Hall conceived of the revolutionary design in 2014 while mentoring disadvantaged kids, who often wore damp and dirty casts to the program she ran. So the former software developer 3Dprinted a version made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene—the material Lego bricks are made out of—which allows patients to play in the snow without getting their casts soggy. ActivArmor’s designers use scans of breaks and strains to shape…

President Woodrow Wilson won a second term in 1916 by promising to keep the nation out of World War I. So when, in 1917, he reneged and asked Congress to declare war against Germany, Wilson had to convince the nine million people who’d voted for him that combat was necessary. Afraid critical news stories might stoke anti-war sentiment, Wilson considered following his generals’ advice and censoring the press. Then he received a letter from a fervid supporter. George Creel was a Denver Post reporter before moving to the editorial pages of the Rocky Mountain News. He left journalism in 1916 to drum up Coloradans’ enthusiasm for Wilson, even writing a book backing the incumbent. (He praised Wilson’s support for labor rights and higher taxes on the wealthy.) Upon hearing the…

Jefferson County, Colorado 5.74 +/- Acres Last AG Acerage in Golden Domestic Well and City Taps Uninorporated Jefferson Co. Surrounded by Open Space Easy Access to Light Rail Situated at the western origin of the longest street in America lies the last agricultural acreage in Golden. At the intersection of W. Colfax Avenue and Heritage Road sits the remainder of the original 720-acre Bachman Farm dating back to 1937. Over the years the Bachman family sold off pieces of their farm to make way for housing in Golden. The subdivisions of Heritage Dells and Eagle Ridge can be thankful for that. The farm stretched from the foothills all the way to the C-DOT Station at the intersection of W. Colfax and 6th Ave. This remaining 6-acre parcel exemplifies the most…

NOV. 19–MARCH 3 HIGH FASHION New York City and Los Angeles may have more cachet than Denver when it comes to posh clothing, yet it’s the Denver Art Museum that has the honor of hosting the Western Hemisphere’s first major retrospective of legendary French fashion company House of Dior. (You can thank the museum’s contemporary design, which fits the exhibit’s avant-garde aesthetic, for the privilege.) Dior: From Paris to the World ($12 to $29) will examine the brand’s seven-decade history through more than 170 couture dresses, oodles of rare accessories, and years of archival footage, all of which detail iconic moments in fashion history. Christian Dior, for example, was the first designer known for pieces that emphasized female silhouettes instead of hiding them. denverartmuseum.org NOV. 20 YOUR LOCALLY GROWN DINNER…

When loved ones visit, it’s impossible to show off all of Denver’s great restaurants—unless they stay longer than considerate guests should. But what if you could pack multiple venues into one afternoon? You can, thanks to Savor Denver Food Tours, an 11-month-old culinary crawl company started by local foodie Jessica Baumgart. “It’s such a fun way to see a city,” she says. “Our tours include more than just food; you’ll also learn about Denver history and architecture and see local landmarks.” Baumgart and her merry band of guides recount stories from Denver’s past as they lead you on mile-long strolls across LoDo and the Ballpark neighborhood. (Did you know that the cost of a room at the Oxford Hotel when it opened in 1891 was just $1 per night? For…

Super Mega Bien is a great name for a restaurant—exuberant and funny, promising dinner without sous vide pretension, which is exactly what you’ll get. There’s whimsy in the seven-month-old RiNo restaurant’s decor, too, with lucha libre and Charo posters on the walls and thousands of long wooden dowels dangling overhead, like something from a woodworker’s fever dream. A woozy, wavy tilework design dominates the bar area; two cocktails in, staring at it for too long might cause you to wobble off your stool. Among a crowd of Larimer Street restaurants trying to be fun, Super Mega Bien delivers. This is chef Dana Rodriguez’s second restaurant with partners Tony Maciag and Tabatha Knop. The trio’s first, Work & Class, across the street from Super Mega Bien’s location inside the Ramble Hotel,…

1 Orvis. The Orvis Hybrid Wool Fleece Vest—wool blended with fleece for improved wicking performance, dry time, breathability, and insulating properties. Locations in Denver and Lone Tree // orvis.com 2 Birdsall & Co. Add a biophilic touch to your holiday decor with these colorful stoneware trees. Choose from among ceramic and wood styles. $4.95–$34.95. 2870 S. Broadway, Englewood, CO 80113 //303.722.2535 // birdsallgarden.com 3 Delicious Gifts from Le Creuset. Serve holiday treats on this delightful stoneware Christmas Tree Platter available in Metallic Cerise (shown here), White, and Juniper ($50). Available at the Le Creuset Signature Boutique in Cherry Creek North. 158 Fillmore St., Suite 110, Denver, CO 80206 // 720.287.2181 // lecreuset.com/signature 4 VIVE Float Studio +. Offering Float, Cryo, Infrared Sauna, Vibroacoustic, and Halo Therapies. Give the gift of…

CONTINGENT WORKFORCE Labor hired by companies or organizations on an on-demand basis. The work is typically part time, and payment is made on a per-project basis. ALTERNATIVE WORK ARRANGEMENTS Government-and economistspeak for almost any work setup that doesn’t encompass fulltime employees. Independent contractors, freelancers, on-call workers, and temps can fall into this category. SHARING ECONOMY A form of commerce in which resources or services are shared between individuals, usually via digital means (e.g., Etsy, Airbnb, Car2Go, and ThredUp). Also called the collaborative economy or peer economy. WORKPLACE PROTECTIONS Laws and benefits—like the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, minimum wage, overtime, and workers’ compensation—that are afforded to typical full-time workers but that do not apply to most gig work.…

The laundry is done, the bed is made, and the dishes have been cleaned. Even my email inbox is under control. Tomorrow’s deadline, however, remains unchecked on my to-do list. When I worked full time at this magazine, I cherished the days when I was diving into a big project and could steal away from the office to work from home. There, I could toil without distractions. I’d breeze through my tasks and feel a sense of accomplishment. I thought getting to do that every day would be one of the biggest benefits of freelance life after I shifted my career two years ago. I was wrong. Yes, the lack of commute, flexible schedule, and no-makeup-and-sweatpants dress code are undeniable perks, but now that WFH is my MO, I’ve discovered…

CHOSEN BY : Laura Medicus How You Know Her: Owner of Denver interior design firm Laura Medicus Interiors “I love the furniture that New Collar Goods has been producing. They are a really sweet, young couple out of Denver that make minimal, elegant yet affordable furniture with a little bit of a midcentury vibe.” 1 The duo behind New Collar’s sleek custom furniture designed this powder-coated steel planter to add a pop of color to a back porch or sunny living room. $99; New Collar Goods, newcollargoods.com 2 Thomas Althaus first made jewelry out of tin cans for his wife; five years later, his Denver team is still transforming the upcycled metal into gleaming accessories, like this two-tone bracelet. $42; Canned Goods, cannedgoods.net 3 The Sneerwell’s patinaed, sixounce stainless-steel flasks may look like they…

Jordan johnson’s math teacher was trying to connect with the seventhgrader, trying to understand why his student kept disrupting class. Jordan believes they were talking near the entrance to DSST: Conservatory Green Middle School, while the educator says they were having lunch in the cafeteria. But the teacher says he posited a few theories to his pupil. Maybe Jordan didn’t enjoy math? Or was it that Jordan didn’t like the teacher? Finally, the teacher wondered if perhaps their discord stemmed from him being white and Jordan being black. Jordan says he hadn’t seriously considered race a factor in their relationship until hearing his math teacher’s remark. But the comment crystallized the divide Jordan and his brother, Noah, a year ahead of him, felt inside the school. How teachers, nearly all…

Rebecca McKinney, DPS’ director of gifted and talented education, concedes the numbers don’t look good. Over the past three years, the proportion of students of color the district has identified as gifted and talented has dropped precipitously. DPS could be doing better, but the state, McKinney says, has played a role in the nosedive: As part of its 2015 update of gifted identification, the state mandates that—in order to use a cognitive, creativity, or achievement exam in their bodies of proof—students’ scores must rank in the 95th percentile, according to McKinney. Before then, DPS maintained a 90th percentile threshold. Consequently, the number of kids identified has fallen from 3,107 in 2013-’14 to 963 last year—with minorities taking the brunt of the hit. In response, though, DPS has implemented a workaround.…

At first glance, Adreana Tarango seems like the archetypal student success story. Her mother emigrated from Mexico to Denver at the age of 18 and later, as a single parent, held two jobs at a time to support her four kids. With her mother working, Adreana, the eldest daughter, cooked and cleaned for her older brother and two younger sisters yet still was one of those precocious kids who finished their homework right after school. A gifted and talented student at DPS’ Columbian Elementary School and Skinner Middle School, Adreana became the first member of her family to get a high school diploma (from North High School). Following graduation came another first when Adreana headed to college at Metro State University of Denver. “[My mom] gave up so much and…