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WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
VOLUME 97 | ISSUE 42
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Denver Bake Fest returns for second mouth-watering year
City council sends multiple questions to Nov. 5 ballot BY LONDON LYLE SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Denver voters will face many key ballot initiatives this November, a number of them brought forth by Denver City Council. Opening city positions to noncitizen legal residents
al new additions including live music, baking and cooking demonstrations and tours of the Rebel bakery. Tickets to try samples from the competitors will benefit Culinary Hospitality Outreach and Wellness, or CHOW, an international nonprofit started in Denver that supports the mental health of those working in the food, beverage and hospitality industries. CHOW’s programs are free to access, and support like what Rebel is doing through Bake Fest helps keep those programs available and spread the word to people who might benefit from CHOW’s support, said Jas ParksPapadopoulos, CHOW’s chief growth officer.
Council Bill 24-0849, a measure to remove the citizenship requirement for Denver police officers and firefighters, would open these highly understaffed positions up to noncitizens residing legally in the U.S. Currently, these positions are restricted to U.S. citizens, a limitation that supporters argue is doing a disservice to a city with a significant immigrant population. On July 15, the City Council voted to send the measure to November ballots. Key supporters of the bill include Council President Amanda Sandoval and Councilwoman Jamie Torres. Torres has made the argument that barring noncitizens from these public service roles not only harms the community, but also violates employment discrimination laws, citing a Denver Sheriff Department $10,000 settlement agreement in 2016. People who would become eligible for employment as firefighters or police officers, should 240849 pass, are legal permanent residents in the United States. They are not undocumented, and there is a significant distinction between the two under Colorado law. However, there has been misinformation surrounding the bill, something that Torres is eager to clear up before Denverites cast their votes on Nov. 5.
SEE BAKE FEST, P5
SEE BALLOT, P4
Kids can participate in any of the contest’s six categories. Prizes will be awarded separately for kid participants.
Rebel Bread’s annual festival supports mental health in food and hospitality industries BY NATALIE KERR SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
When Zach Martinucci discovered bread baking, it was in a college apartment at UCLA. He would mix, knead, fold and bake by himself, sharing the finished product with friends who loved his baking so much they encouraged him to enter in a campus baking competition.
Martinucci found himself surrounded by dozens of other student bakers, and even more surprising to him, his bread won a prize. “Baking often just happens in your own kitchen, it can be lonely, or at least not a natural source of connection,” said Martinucci, owner of Rebel Bread in the Baker neighborhood. “To be a part of a community and to get this validation from other people that they loved what you were doing really gave me the push to make this my career.” Rebel is both a bakery and a bread school, hoping to foster connection throughout the process of bread making and enjoying. Its food festival, Denver Bake Fest, returns for its second year on Oct. 5 with familiar offerings like the baking competition, and sever-
VOICES: 10 | LIFE: 12 | CALENDAR: 14
PHOTO BY EB PIXS
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SCULPTING SOLIDARITY Artists find city collections a safe space P12