The contract between the city and Forest City will be complete as soon as the City of Denver sells the final pieces of airport land to Forest City, which could come as early as 2018. At that time, any agreements between the city and Forest City will be completed. “It’s really an exciting time for us,” said Forest City Spokesperson Janelle Ayers. “We have been dealing with this 500 pound gorilla known as affordable housing for a long time now. Of course, the city has put some pressure on us, and certainly the Stapleton residents and its committees have put pressure on us, so we have been dodging questions for a long time now. So, to know we may only have one year left of this is really gratifying. We’re on the home stretch.” Once the land is transferred, and all of Stapleton is built out, the City of Denver will evaluate Forest City’s performance in regards to the original plan.

[Read more…] about Forest City Almost Done Having to Lie About Affordable Housing

Tom Pecenka has been a Stapleton resident for eight years and considers himself environmentally conscience. “We recycle what we can and try to not be wasteful with water,” said Tom. ”We don’t compost yet, mostly because I’m too lazy to learn about what it takes to compost. But I’m sure we’ll get there.” Pecenka has also long considered getting solar panels, but until recently, hadn’t had the time to sit down and discuss it with a representative. “We had a guy knock on our door one afternoon, we were both here, so we decided to talk to him,” said Pecenka. “And now it looks like we are going that direction.” Pecenka is aware of the basic advantages of going solar, such as adding value to his home, getting less expensive and eventually free energy, and being environmentally responsible. “All those things are definitely great,” said Pecenka. “The tax credit is also nice, as far as timing, because when administrations change, that could go away. But the truth is, the main reason I am going solar is that it is probably the easiest way to get solar companies to stop knocking on my door,” said Pecenka. “Yes, we are excited about the benefits, but I knew until I went solar, that knocking wasn’t going to stop. Where do those solar reps get all of their energy? Probably the sun. Anyway, I’m excited the knocking will finally stop, or I will just be able to say, ‘sorry, under contract.’” Pecenka suggests his neighbors “stop the knocking and go solar.”

The day before Thanksgiving can be a crazy time to grocery shop, especially if you shop at the Stapleton King Soopers. Hundreds of shoppers seem to converge at the store around the same time looking for the exact same items last minute. Jennifer Beatty was one of those shoppers. “It was absolutely crazy,” said Beatty. “People speeding through the aisles, grabbing for items that weren’t even there, fighting over every last condiment. It was scary. Really, really scary,” said a tearful Beatty. The Stapleton King Soopers can always be a little frightening, but last minute holiday shopping there can be downright dangerous. “I saw a man, he must have been somewhere in his mid-60’s, fall down while reaching for a box of stuffing,” said Beatty. “It was the last box, so instead of helping him up, someone just grabbed it and ran off. It was just horrible.”

[Read more…] about Twenty-Four Injured at Stapleton Soopers Day Before Thanksgiving

A few weeks ago, vandals spray painted hateful graffiti on playground equipment and the school at Isabella Bird in Stapleton. Along with the hateful graffiti, the vandals painted a swastika. Yes, they actually spray-painted a fucking swastika. “Someone told me about a painting of a swastika on the school and I didn’t believe them,” said Stapleton resident Kelly Shannon. “I actually went over there to see it. And sure enough, some complete douche painted a swastika on a school door. Unbelievable.” Seth Crosley also went to go see the vandalism at the school. “Yeah, there was a swastika,” said Crosley. “And it was painted on a school. Not sure what they were trying to accomplish with that. My only guess is that it was the only way they could prove to themselves they are a complete waste of oxygen. It’s really sad that people like this exist.” Amanda Propp is in such disbelief, she feels it must have been some sort of mistake. “Maybe they aren’t sure what the symbol stands for,” said Propp. “Or maybe they were trying to draw something else and it ended up looking like that but was totally intended to be something else. It’s clear these delinquents aren’t Banksy.”

[Read more…] about Vandalism at Izzy B Shows World Still Full of Dickbags

The recent election has brought to the forefront the growing trend of fake news sites and highly skewed news reporting. In fact, of stories posted on Facebook, almost 40% of right-leaning stories were fake and about 20% of left-leaning news stories were made-up. Many political scientists believe these stories ultimately affected the outcome of the presidential election. This disturbing trend is not unique to the national landscape. Hyper-local environments have gotten into the act as well with our Stapleton community being a target over the last several years. This false reporting or fake news has caused controversy and conflict among Stapleton residents all at the expense of those posting these stories. It is unclear of the motives of those who post this nonsense, but it is clear Stapleton is being targeted. These stories are then shared through social media where members of the community engage in passionate discussions about something which was never true in the first place. Here are some examples of comments on false news stories which we found with a very simple search. [Read more…] about Stapleton Residents Must Be Wary of Fake News

The Galbraith family recently had a birthday party for their five year old son. They invited several friends over to celebrate at their newly purchased Stapleton row home. “We love our new place, and definitely were excited for people to come over, especially those who hadn’t seen it before,” said Christina Galbraith. “It has so much space, and we finally decorated it and have made it feel at home.” Although many of the Galbraith’s friends had never seen their new place, some had. “We have had a few couples over when we first moved in,” said Christina. “But not many.” One of those couples, the Cofrins, was set to come over for the party. [Read more…] about Row Home Owner Deeply Offended by Friend Saying, “All Row Homes Look Alike”

The new DPS SPF (School Performance Framework) report cards are out, and the only thing that is clear is that they are pretty confusing and show some inconsistencies. As expected, the Stapleton elementary schools all received positive overall ratings. What’s not clear is what that means. “What we are saying is that those schools are meeting or exceeding expectations in our specified framework,” said DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg. “The schools are passing the areas we are focusing on, which include a list of areas which are somewhat ill-defined.” [Read more…] about DPS SPF School Rating System Shows NE Denver Schools Doing Well…I Mean Bad. Wait…Good, I Guess…Hold Up, I Guess Not so Good…I Think?

For some weeks now, there has been speculation that the Eastbridge King Soopers opening would be delayed until June. The disappointing news has recently been confirmed by King Soopers. “We had things come up at some other stores unexpectedly,” said Soopers spokesperson Kaela Gordon. “So, we are simply shifting money away from the Eastbridge project and moving it towards the projects where that money is needed. Thank you so much for your understanding.” Gordon went on to dumb down the explanation further by putting it in terms residents could understand. “It’s exactly like a household budget,” said Gordon. “Sometimes, your water heater breaks, so now you have to get it fixed. But now, that $2000 can’t go towards another project you were considering. It makes sense, right?” Sort of. Except King Soopers is a subsidiary of Kroger, which has revenues of about $110 billion and a net income of about $2 billion. So, in the “household budget” comparison, it would be as if the person who had a water heater go out, also had wealthy parents who could easily afford to help pay for the water heater and simply ask the money eventually be paid back free of interest. The explanation isn’t sitting well with Eastbridge residents. “I guess I feel like if they really wanted to, they could have found the money somewhere,” said frustrated Eastbridge resident Owen Kurtz. “Kroger is a huge company. They could have figured something out.” Jim Townsend agrees. “They have to just be jerking us around, right?” said Townsend. “No way they don’t have the money or don’t have a way of figuring it out. It doesn’t make any sense.” Gordon is assuring residents the Eastbridge store, originally supposed to open this fall, will be completed, most likely early this summer. However, residents are convinced there will be more delays. “Honestly, I am looking forward to their next dumbed down excuse of an explanation,” said Kurtz. So are we.]]>