Colorado police oversight bill advances, propelled by whistleblowers

Former Edgewater police officer McKinzie Rees hopes to serve and protect again, but first she must get her name removed from a so-called “bad cops list” maintained by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. It landed there, she said, as retaliation after she reported sexual assaults by a supervising sergeant. That sergeant went on to work … Read more

East Colfax communities in Denver and Aurora seek help staying in area

Photographs line the walls, plants sit on windowsills and a Buddhist altar is arranged atop a dresser. Nearly every surface of the living room is covered by an item or memento collected by Thin Soe, Ye Ye Thin and their five children over the years in their three-bedroom apartment in Denver’s East Colfax neighborhood. Since … Read more

Dân Dã Vietnamese opens next door to Banh & Butter in Aurora

An Nguyen mentored under her mother in the kitchen of their family restaurant, New Saigon, for roughly 15 years. Last week, Nguyen and her mom, Ha Pham, danced around the kitchen of Nguyen’s new restaurant – Dân Dã – preparing for the opening ahead of the weekend. Rather than mother teaching daughter this time, the two … Read more

Colorado lawmakers aim to protect gender identity in hate crimes law

Transgender and nonbinary people would receive more explicit protections in Colorado’s anti-bias and harassment law if a newly introduced bill becomes law. Advocates characterize the bill as a simple legislative fix to ensure gender identity and expression are protected across state law, while also sending a message about Colorado’s values. “(The bill) ensures nonbinary and … Read more

Spinelli’s Market opening third deli on Aurora Anschutz campus

Spinelli’s Market will soon be serving salads, Italian sandwiches and take-n-bake meals to staff, patients, students and neighbors at the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus. The Italian market and deli is opening its third location this May in a standalone 3,800-square-foot building at 12955 E. Montview Ave. in Aurora next door to The Benson … Read more

Daughters of longtime New Saigon owners opening new restaurant

Growing up, the back alleyway of New Saigon Restaurant was a playground for the five Nguyen sisters. They napped on restaurant coolers, while restaurant employees helped them with their schoolwork. “It was our home,” said An, the second-oldest daughter. Their parents, Ha Pham and Thai Nguyen, ran the Vietnamese restaurant for nearly 30 years, from … Read more

Craft breweries tap suburbs south of Denver

Since the founding of Parker’s Downhill Brewing in 2017, owners Jake Minturn and Doug Hyndman always planned to expand to multiple locations. By then, the craft beer market had matured enough the duo felt they couldn’t rely on the production and distribution model. Instead, they tried to build a welcoming space — and one with … Read more

Nikki Haley rallies hundreds at Colorado stop to vote in GOP primary

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley told Colorado voters at a rally Tuesday that this year’s presidential election is about getting the country “back on track” — from securing the border and focusing on the basics in education to preventing wars. The Republican hopeful characterized herself as the best chance to do that during her … Read more

Sushi-Rama closing locations in DTC, Aurora, Lone Tree, Broomfield

After chef and restaurateur Jeff Osaka opened Sushi-Rama’s first restaurant in RiNo in 2015, “we grew pretty quickly,” he said, “maybe with less experience than what was required.” Osaka opened four more Sushi-Ramas in the Denver Tech Center and Lone Tree in 2018, Aurora in 2019 and Broomfield in 2022. On Valentine’s Day, Osaka closed … Read more

ICE arrests 19 in Colorado during national sex offender operation targeting immigrants for deportation

Early on a mid-February morning, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in unmarked vehicles gathered in an empty parking lot in Denver, nearly a quarter mile from the workplace of a man they had been tracking. In a briefing, the officers described how they planned to arrest the 25-year-old, who was born in Mexico, as … Read more