Good Day, INCers!

June was a busy month for those of us still in Denver. Many have departed for the mountains and some are in foreign lands. But, for those of us still here, it was a month filled with drama, good advice and inspiring political action.

We at INC have begun renting an office at SouthWest Improvement Council (SWIC) and President Ambrose is delighted and so am I. We had our May 9th INC Delegates meeting at SWIC and many were inspired to support and offer assistance to this worthy Denver non-profit. INCers have responded both as individuals and as a body to bring healthy non-perishables for SWIC’s senior lunch program and food bank for needy folks in southwest Denver. Can goods and other items were solicited by Margie Valdez to be brought to the next ZAP meeting.

On Saturday, June 6, 2015, SWIC hosted a Town Hall for U.S. Congresswoman Diana DeGette. SWIC offers meeting rooms to any organization…and it is hoped that an appropriate fee was paid by the Congresswoman for the Hall rental.

Congresswoman DeGette spoke to nearly 100 Denver citizens on topics ranging from her opposition to the Obama administration backed TPP Fast Track to local issues regarding flooding and our veteran hospital’s disfunction. Questions from the audience were solicited in writing and answered by the Congresswoman.

Veterans with mental health issues was dramatically illustrated at the meeting’s close, when one man with issues attacked one of the Congresswoman’s associates. The man then fell to the floor in the hallway and seemed to have a sort of writhing fit with loud cries. There was a DPD Commander present and Police Officers who quickly took the gentleman into custody and we hope got him the help he needed for his condition.

SWIC Director, Jan Marie Belle had noticed the man earlier, who was loudly talking to all around him and seemed unusually agitated. She took appropriate action in informing the police who were present and gave a stern warning about civility and proper decorum before the meeting began and the Congresswoman arrived. The man subsided during the meeting, but erupted as the Congresswoman was leaving the hall.

The good advice came at the regular INC Delegates meeting on June 13th. Architect Jeffery Sheppard gave us all a photo presentation and talk on Denver’s oftentimes atrocious building developments. He had written an op-ed in the Denver Post which had got Denver folks talking and gained him a featured spot on our INC agenda.  Mr. Sheppard demonstrated how easy it is to attain permitting for boxes of buildings with little to offer in design (or durability), but which are easy to get permitting for under our loosey goosey new code. All that basically differentiated one box from another was a minimal exchange of window placements and moving colored surfaces about the facades. Of course, parking and close accessibility to transit seems to be of little concern to these quickie builders. Jeff advised us to complain and write our new and existing council members, if we did not wish to witness a further accumulation of banal buildings on our boulevards.

There were other interesting committee meetings in June which I will not cover. There are Co-Chairs of the ZAP and Public Safety who will doubtless inform us on their gatherings.

But, I will close with politics and mention an exciting meeting Jim and I attended at the Ritchie Center (Hamilton Gym) on Saturday, June 20, ’15, which was attended by a large contingent of young folks with a sizable contingent of older people like ourselves.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) spoke to an overflow crowd of 5,500 on his candidacy for U.S. President. There were people from every persuasion (including Conservatives, Independents as well as the young gentleman who was sitting next to me, who turned out to be President of the Denver Young Democrats. (His dad informed me proudly of this fact.) The parents had driven down from Lone Tree, Co. at their son’s behest to hear the Senator. I heard nothing but loud approval and much cheering at Bernie Sander’s appearance and speech and think Americans should look seriously at this man as a possible Presidential contender, in spite of the many well financed and ballyhooed campaigns of the major Republican and Democratic headliners.

Thanks for your activism.

Ray Ehrenstein

Denver INC VP