Serving the community since 1926
WEEK OF MAY 16, 2024
VOLUME 97 | ISSUE 24
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Warren Village celebrates 50 years of providing education opportunities, housing and economic mobility
BY MICHAEL BOOTH THE COLORADO SUN
BY BRUCE GOLDBERG SPECIAL TO THE DENVER HERALD
At some point along the way, Lauren McCoy — short on resources but loaded with moxie — made a vow to her oldest child. “I made a commitment to my daughter so she could have anything that any other child has,” said McCoy, 40. McCoy previously studyed nursing while working at a children’s psychiatric hospital in New Mexico. She moved to Denver in 2006, got a job at an adolescent treatment center in Denver and changed majors to earn a degree in special education. “I enjoyed helping kids that a lot of people are a little more in fear of working with,” she said. “I was good at it and could build a rapport with them and their families.” She was close completing her studies when she got pregnant with Lanaya, who is now 16, and McCoy fretted over being able to handle both student teaching, a requirement of earning her degree, and the cost of raising an infant — one cannot student teach and work at the same time, McCoy said. A friend told her about Warren Village, and McCoy and her daughter found a home there in August 2008. Warren Village is a nonprofit that offers transitional housing to single parents in need. SEE VILLAGE, P3
Years ago, Lauren McCoy saved all of her money to get professional photos of her and her first-born daughter, Lanaya, who is now 16, because it was a memory she wanted the two of them to have. McCoy lived at Warren Village for about two years while she was in school, and today holds a master’s degree and will become an assistant principal at a loCOURTESY PHOTO cal school next year.
VOICES: 8 | LIFE: 10 | CALENDAR: 13
The University of Denver’s push for national name recognition in sports has proven wildly successful, with another hockey championship in 2024 and top programs in lacrosse, soccer and gymnastics. Now the southeastern Denver anchor is doubling down on becoming a green energy leader for its peers. DU, with partner Pivot Energy, plans to build enough new solar panels on campus and at dedicated solar farms in surrounding counties to completely offset university electricity use within about three years. The push to install 23 megawatts of panels dedicated to DU’s energy use is a key part of the institution’s commitment to become net zero in carbon emissions by 2030, said Lynn Bailey, director of energy and sustainability for the southeastern Denver campus. Next up on the green energy list: cutting way back on natural gas used to heat DU’s buildings and hot water. DU started its solar era in 2019, working with Pivot to install 2.2 MW of panels on 18 campus buildings. In the next phase, Pivot will add 1.2 MW more on campus, with a new array on the expansive rooftops of the Ritchie Center sports complex. (Home of the hockey Pioneers, who last month won their 10th national championship and second in three years, accumulating more trophies than storied schools from Minnesota, Michigan and Massachusetts.) SEE SOLAR, P2
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What’s behind Colorado’s undecorated license plates? P10