Posts tagged City
Occupy Denver upcoming events
May 12th
The Downtown Denver People‘s Partnership including organizations like the Denver Catholic Worker and Occupy Denver will conduct a series of protests leading up to the Monday night city council vote on an ordinance that will criminalize the survival act of sleeping by our homeless friends. The protests seek to highlight the business influence pushing this ordinance through city council.
Saturday, May 12th Actions:
6:00 to 8:00 pm: Protest at the Palm Restaurant, 1672 Lawrence Street, Denver, CO 80202 (map) and other members of the Downtown Denver Partnership supporting this ordinance. Meet at 5:30 pm in Lincoln Park if you’d like to march to the Palm Restaurant via City Hall.
8:00 pm overnight: Mass overnight sleep-in protest in front of the Downtown Denver Partnership, 511 16th Street, Denver, CO 80202 (Between Glenarm Place and Welton Street) (map). Bring your sleeping bags and/or blankets for an all night sleep-in.
Monday, May 14th Actions:
Noon to 5:30 pm: Bring your sleeping bags and/or blankets for a day-long rally on the City Council steps (City and County Building, 1437 Bannock St, Denver, Colorado 80202). From noon until 5:30 there will be a series of actions and speeches highlighting the injustice of this ordinance. The City and County Building will be open to the public, let your voice be heard.
4:30 pm: Rally to OPPOSE the “Urban Camping” Ban at the City and County Building (1437 Bannock St, Denver, Colorado 80202)
Corporate and business interests in downtown Denver coalesce in the Downtown Denver Partnership, an organization that believes the homeless “will drive future conventions, tourists, residents and businesses from downtown.” Partnership members control billions of dollars of assets. The opportunities to obtain funds for campaigns and city services from the corporations represented by the partnership are clearly tempting city council members away from their duty to listen to the people who elected them and to find compassionate ways to eradicate homelessness.
The Downtown Denver People‘s Partnership has information from a reliable source that the partnership has been discussing this ordinance for two years. After the ordinance emerged from “embargo” at Councilman Brooks’ office, it has consistently appeared like a “done deal.” City council insiders Shepherd and Lopez have consistently pointed this out. Before the ordinance passed first reading, Councilwoman Shepherd said, “I know the way this vote is going to go. I know it. And I think you all know how this vote is going to go too. And unfortunately, the sad thing about it, is that it has been like that from day one.”
While this ordinance was embargoed, Mayor Hancock and Councilman Brooks bypassed consulting the Denver Homeless Commission, the Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation and the homeless themselves. Little effort was made to pair adequate resources with the ordinance.
While the Bill Request specifically states that ordinances like this “are justified on the basis protecting the health, safety and general welfare of the public,” the ordinance was assigned to the Land Use committee instead of the Health and Safety committee. As Councilman Lopez pointed out, this was done so that it would advance. All amendments to make the ordinance safer have been rejected.
Mayor Hancock is already training the police on implementing this ordinance before it has even passed.
Protests
The Downtown People‘s Partnership plans to protest Palm Restaurant, the Colorado Restaurant Association and other members of the Downtown Denver Partnership that are supporting this ordinance. Colorado Restaurant Association members voted unanimously to support criminalizing homelessness. We will then conduct an all night sleep-in protest in front of the partnership itself.
Tamara Door, CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership, spoke strongly in favor of the ordinance criminalizing homelessness at the city council public hearing. Door believes that, “Unauthorized camping poses a threat to the health and safety of the city’s residents, employees, visitors and to the unauthorized campers themselves.” As the Downtown Denver People‘s Partnership conducted their first sleep-in protest last week in front of The Pavillions on 16th Street Mall, we did not notice any overwhelming health and safety issues for “unauthorized campers”. On the contrary, we appreciated the well lit, safe environment provided by the 16th Street Mall.
Public works projects run-down on The Break Room
May 7th
To listen immediately to this week’s program click here and visit www.breakroom.info to listen to past programs.
News & Notes from City of St. Augustine April 13, 2012
Apr 17th
The Old City Crit, a series of bicycle races, will be held in downtown St. Augustine on the morning of Saturday, April 14, necessitating the closing of several streets and detouring of traffic. The race course will run along Cathedral Pl., then north on Cordova, west on Valencia St., south on Seville St., east on King St., north on the loop around the Ponce de Leon statue returning to Cathedral Pl. There will be several races starting at 6:00am and continuing until approximately 11:00am. Parking along all of these streets will be strictly prohibited. For additional information, visit www.velofest.org.
Don’t miss tomorrow’s A Day in the Colonial Market
What has been called the newest “old” shopping experience in St. Augustine is rapidly catching on as one of the community’s most unique places and ways to shop for some of the city’s most unique items. A Day at the Colonial Market features local artisans, weavers, jewelers, farmers, theatre troupes, musicians, and everything in between nestled against a backdrop like no other in the city, the Colonial Spanish Quarter. And shoppers may want to bring their cameras for watching the activity of the market is as much fun as shopping. Mark your calendar now for Saturday, April 14 from 10:00am until 4:00pm. Admission is free, but donation of a dollar per person is suggested and appreciated. For parking information, visit www.vicparking.com.
Parking facility just got a lot greener
The city’s parking facility at the Visitors Information Center is not only a very popular place to park, averaging nearly 1,000 cars a day last year, but now it is a much greener place to operate. On this week’s edition of The Break Room, Todd Grant, Deputy Public Works Director, shares with host Paul Wiliamson some of the innovative energy saving programs now in place at the parking facility. The Break Room is heard on WFCF/88.5, Flagler College radio, on Wednesdays at 5:30pm and Saturdays at 8:00am. To listen immediately to this week’s program click here and visit www.breakroom.info to listen to past programs.
Concerts in the Plaza 2012 schedule announced
Concerts in the Plaza St. Augustine’s weekly free concert series, that has been called “the best way to spend a Thursday night in St. Augustine,” has released the line-up for its 2012 season. This will be the 22nd year for the series which starts with an afternoon performance on Memorial Day and continues all summer long on Thursdays at 7:00pm and concludes on Labor Day with another afternoon performance. For more information click here for the schedule announcement or here for an easy to print schedule. You may also visit www.plazaconcerts.com.
Proper disposal of medications is goal of Drug Take Back Initiative
The St. Augustine Police Department is hosting a Drug Take Back Initiative on Saturday, April 28 from 10:00am until 2:00pm at the police department, 151 King St. This is an opportunity for the public to voluntarily surrender expired, unwanted or unused pharmaceutically controlled substances and other medications to law enforcement for destruction. Often, medications languish in the home becoming susceptible to misuse or abuse, and flushing medications down the toilet or throwing them in the trash can pose both safety and environmental hazards. The public is encouraged to take advantage of this easy way to safely and properly dispose of medications that are no longer needed. For more information, call 904.209.3456.
450th email update keeps community in the loop
St. Augustine 450th Commemoration monthly e-mail update is a must for anyone interested in this significant anniversary. The update includes feature information on projects and events, reports on the day-to-day work planning the commemoration, and information on opportunities to become involved. The April edition has been distributed, but it’s not too late to have your name added as a subscriber by sending an email to jzuberer@citystaug.com.
Hydrant flow testing set for area east of San Marco Ave.
The St. Augustine Fire Department will be flow testing hydrants in the area on the east side of San Marco Ave. between Castillo Dr. and May St. during the week of April 16. These areas will be tested starting at 1:00pm and lasting approximately 2.5 hours. As always, the department works diligently to alert businesses with heavy water usage, such as restaurants or hotels, of testing in their area. The department has expressed its appreciation for the cooperative spirit the community has shown during these important equipment tests in recent weeks. Please call the department with any questions or concerns at 904.825.1098. For an explanation of the importance of these tests, click here.
Lighthouse Boat Ramp site for dredging off load
Temporary use will not affect public access
The Lighthouse Boat Ramp is currently being used to off load spoil material from a dredging project at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina, but the work will not affect public access at the ramp. The project is expected to involve less than half a dozen trucks per day hauling material, will access the ramp via Red Cox Drive and be active only on weekdays. If you have any questions, please call the St. Augustine Municipal Marina at 904.825.1026.
City Agendas
The Historic Architectural Review Board meets on Thursday, April 19 at 2:00pm. The agenda is available here.
The agenda for the City Commission’s next regular meeting, Monday, April 23, will be posted here when available.
The Planning and Zoning Board meets on Tuesday, May 1 at 2:00pm. The agenda is available here.
Agendas and minutes for all city meetings can be found at www.staugustinegovernment.com with a schedule of upcoming meetings listed under City Calendar. City Commission meetings are broadcast live via GTV (Comcast Channel 3 in St. Augustine) each second and fourth Monday at 5:00pm. Commission meetings are also recorded and rebroadcast as are Planning and Zoning Board and Historic Architectural Review Board meetings. For a current schedule of all programming on GTV, click here.
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News & Notes is published each Friday by the Public Affairs Office of the City of St. Augustine with the goal of providing useful information to the City of St. Augustine’s constituency. To contact the Public Affairs Office with comments, new subscriptions or cancellations, email info@citystaug.com or call 904.825.1004.