Courtesy of Tim TiptonFor two days, the additional presence of police officers and Parks and Recreation maintenance workers has occasionally dwarfed the numbers of actual occupiers at Civic Center Park. Since Saturday’s riot, officers have increased their numbers at the occupation in efforts to monitor the group, but Public Works…
The number of late-night attacks and robberies on the streets of Capitol Hill is up significantly over last year’s pace, raising questions about the safety level in the city’s core and whether police are cutting back on patrols of the area to deal with Occupy Denver protesters and the weekend…
The term “Obamacare” was originally conceived by opponents of President Barack Obama’s health-care reforms as a way of hanging what they saw as a political albatross around his neck. But now, a group of Colorado activists have embraced the word with ThanksObamacare.org, a website that celebrates the legislation by way…
Daniel Garcia’s Saturday night ended with an unwanted surprise. While driving downtown after the night’s police raid on Occupy Denver, Garcia chose to publicly support the group by honking his horn. This, he would quickly learn, is technically illegal. Thanks to “either two or three honks,” he says, Garcia was…
Pueblo Democrat Sal Pace is giving up his post as minority leader of the Colorado House. But he’s not resigning as representative for House District 46, and neither is he making a break with politics. Far from it: He plans to run against Scott Tipton in the 3rd Congressional District…
In the wake of the largest upheaval in the occupation since its eviction from Lincoln Park, Occupy Denver’s focus is firmly on taking the steps necessary to guarantee a safer and more permanent future. One option the group recently voted to support is taking steps toward financial security by establishing…
At noon today, Civic Center Park held a meager 12 protesters. It is the second home of Occupy Denver, and chances are it might not be the last, but it is this park where Charles Howe and Barbara Gawlowski are watching their 6-year-old daughter Jezebel pick up a “staple” she…
An early morning phone call with John (“J.T.”) Sexton reveals two things: He is good with mornings, and he is elated. For the past two weeks, an investigation for felony assault on a police officer has trailed the Occupy Denver protester like a minor plague, and it has ruined both…
While neither Occupy Denver nor its donors have been getting much love from the Denver Police Department, at least OD dog leader Shelby is generating good publicity nationwide. Last night, the pooch scored airtime on Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC program courtesy of a photo and quote from Kelsey Whipple’s coverage. And…
To give to Occupy Denver, a movement that depends considerably upon large and frequent donations, you have several options. The easiest is simply to drive by the occupation between 14th and Colfax on Broadway and put on your hazard lights for about two minutes while protesters help you remove whatever…
With 23 arrests related to Occupy Denver this weekend, the group’s legal team is constantly adapting. This includes a new decision to request that arrestees go through the public defender’s office instead of receiving volunteer counsel, as well as frequent reflections on precedents. At this weekend’s arraignment, occupation legal strategist…
In the wake of twenty new Occupy Denver arrests made Saturday, three more were added to that list when Civic Center Park grew tense again last night. During an attempt to remove a newly established table from the curb, about thirty officers visited the park and dispensed pepper spray on…
Update, 8:44 p.m. November 12: According to Occupy Denver’s website, sixteen arrests have been confirmed so far. The group remains mobilized downtown. While both Civic Center Park and Lincoln Park have been closed, protesters will be allowed to camp outside again in the future, but will not be allowed to…
Yesterday morning, 22 people woke up sweating against each other in the same Occupy Denver fort. The situation was better than that one time they forgot to build in ventilation and woke up without air, but it reinforced the need for a second entrance. In the week that Occupy Denver’s…
Last night, Occupy Denver sleepers were greeted around midnight by police officers who asked them to clear the sidewalks. Although a few people did so, the group as a whole remained in the same space, and it’s unclear whether the warning comes with future action. It should be noted, however,…
For all intents and purposes, Shelby, Occupy Denver’s new canine leader, appears to be a polite and demure, if strangely food-focused, politician. The three-and-a-half-year-old will lead the group’s march against corporate personhood this weekend, and all of her actions to date have been as sure-footed as someone with four paws…
Today is a warmer one than the last few, but it’s still a little chilly for bare feet. Kenny White missed that memo. Seated on the sidewalk in front of Lincoln Park, the nineteen-year-old occupation security guard is shoeless, smiley and currently located less than three blocks from the college…
Recent divisions inside Occupy Denver have led to the ideological creation of Liberate Denver, a related but completely separate entity much like the Thunderdome. Although the idea has spread through the ranks for a while, it solidified on Sunday afternoon during a general assembly devoted to how the group handles…
As part of their plan to regularly occupy the governor’s office, a small group of Occupy Denver protesters made a second trip to the Capitol today. About ten people have rotated in and out of the building since 11 a.m. this morning, and while a few have been removed on…
One of the main tricks of any newly developing occupation movement lies in making it as permanent as possible. This tactic includes, but is not limited to, occupying the same park for more than a month, establishing regular assemblies and rallies and making it through the winter. Although many suspected…
Whether they know it or not, David “Beard” has spent the last month sleeping in Civic Center Park for the kids. Although he describes the time as a “giant, unorganized camping trip,” he keeps coming back to the same motivation: a hope that today’s children, some of whom are currently…
Occupy Denver’s Shelby, a Border Collie mix who’s the first official (and only canine) leader of an occupation movement, has already achieved an Internet milestone — a post in Gawker. Nonetheless, her head honcho status has sparked debate among those who think her election ridicules the movement — a claim…
