Hickenlooper Announces Appointment Of Director For Greenprint Denver
Mayor John Hickenlooper announced today that Michele Weingarden is joining the Administration as its new Director of Greenprint Denver, the City’s action plan for sustainable practices. Mayor Hickenlooper's visionary Greenprint Denver initiatives showcase Denver not only as a green and sustainable city, but as a model for the rest of the country.
As Director of Greenprint Denver, Weingarden, will oversee a department of five part- and full-time staff who are responsible for providing policy support and outreach on sustainability issues and positions. Weingarden will be the primary spokesperson and point of contact for Greenprint Denver and will manage communications support and oversee program marketing, fundraising and partnership development with state and federal agencies, area cultural institutions, universities, businesses and nonprofit organizations. Weingarden will also organize the annual Green Cities Forum with national experts and manage Mayor Hickenlooper’s Greenprint Council, a high-level group of City government managers, civic and business leaders who serve as program advisors. As Director, she will also administer grants and other funding resources as needed, lead outreach and implementation planning to meet the City's carbon dioxide emissions reductions goals, and coordinate other key sustainability initiatives.
Historic Filling Station in Dearfield Being Prepped for Restoration
Last month volunteers from Colorado Preservation, Inc., the Black American West Museum, the Colorado Brownfields Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency removed siding and other materials from an historic filling station in Dearfield, Colo., only one of three structures left standing in the abandoned African-American community. The site of Dearfield is significant because it represents the National Black American Colonization Movement that contributed to the settlement of the West. In 1999, this historic town was listed on Colorado Preservation, Inc.’s list of Most Endangered Places. African-American entrepreneur, Oliver Toussaint Jackson, founded the Dearfield Colony early in the 20th century to promote the ideals of economic independence and self-sufficiency. The community began as a group of subsistence farmers who eventually attracted other professions and lifestyles. The Great Depression and drought-induced Dust Bowl drove many of the settlers away, and by 1940 only 12 people remained, one of which was Jackson, who stayed in Dearfield until his death in 1948. The filling station and Jackson’s restored home are owned by Denver’s Black American West Museum. Designating the filling station to the National Register Historic District gives it eligability for funding to help with stabilization and restoration.
For more information, call 303-893-4260 or visit www.coloradopreservation.org.
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Denver Earns Preserve America Award
The City of Denver and Historic Denver, Inc. recently received a grant from the Federal Preserve America initiative to begin work on the creation of Denver’s own heritage trail and heritage tourism program. The project is a public/private partnership, with support from the City of Denver through the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs, the Denver Metro Visitors and Convention Bureau, Historic Denver and each of the lead historic sites, which include the Black American West Museum, the Byers-Evans House Museum, Four Mile Historic Park, the Kirkland Museum, and the Molly Brown House Museum. Denver is known as the Queen City of the Plains as well as the Gateway to the Rockies. As a frontier outpost, industrial capital and center of transportation, the city has a rich history. The City of Denver and local non-profit group Historic Denver, Inc. have initiated a city-wide effort to design a heritage tourism system to highlight this history, to attract local tourism and visitors to the city’s historic neighborhoods and to promote a strong preservation ethic in the city.
“Mompreneur” Gives Back To Children’s Hospital
 Olivia Omega Logan, owner of Aurora-based infant apparel company Baby Candy, donated baby clothes that were sold at The Children’s Hospital Gift Shop in July. All proceeds from the sale of the items went directly back to the hospital. Logan’s desire to give back to The Children’s Hospital comes from her personal experience at the hospital in January of this year after her 11-month-old son Gabriel was diagnosed with RSV and had to spend five days at The Children’s Hospital in Parker. Logan left her full-time job to begin a new career as a stay-at-home mom and to launch Baby Candy. Baby Candy is family run and offers designer and customized baby and toddler t-shirts in a variety of styles, personalization options and candy colors.
For more information, visit www.BabyCandyStore.com.
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Colorado Black Chamber Creates New Non-Profit Foundation
The Colorado Black Chamber of Commerce has formed a new non-profit foundation to oversee its leadership and scholarship programs. The first Chamber Connect class of 30 business owners graduates Sept. 20 and a $4,000 scholarship will be awarded to Denver resident Dianna Butler this month, said Chamber President Wellington Webb. The foundation will be chaired by chamber board member Roland Thornton of Qwest Communications and include chamber board members Dale Mingilton, Kayleen Hollines, Vanecia Kerr, Odell Barry and Webb.
Community leaders who will serve as outside foundation directors include attorney Steve Farber of Brownstein Hyatt & Farber; lobbyist Maria Garcia Berry, president of CRL Associates; Tom Clark of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce; and Tami Door of the Downtown Denver Partnership.
Purple Martini Responds to Allegations of Discrimination
The owners of the Purple Martini responded to the allegations made by Ishmahd Shabazz, a local DJ who occasionally works at the club, that the manager of their DTC location discriminated against Black patrons. “In response to the claim that black patrons were overlooked in the line to get in the club, there have been recent changes at this location regarding entrance. Because this is an extremely popular nightclub in the Denver Tech Center, we fill to capacity quickly; therefore our regular customers have had trouble getting in. The management decided to create two lines for entry—one for VIPs and reserved private bottle service parties and the other line for general admission. We created a VIP list, without consideration of race, so that our faithful customers and those who have made reservations could enter the club more quickly,” said Coleman.
SBA’s Colorado District Office Receives Award from National Lenders Organization
The American Western Lenders Conference Award Committee has presented the SBA’s Colorado District Office with its “Best Practices in Partnering with Small Business Lenders in Region Eight” award. Patricia Barela Rivera, SBA’s Colorado District Director accepted the award at the group’s annual conference held in San Diego this July. During the entire Fiscal Year 2006, the SBA approved 207 guaranteed loans in El Paso County. As of July 18, the SBA has approved 228 guaranteed loans.
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