By Marcia Johnson, District 5 City Councilwoman
The FAX Partnership has been hosting “1st Tuesdays on The FAX” for nearly a year, and month after month, it becomes more popular. These happy hours are a great opportunity to mix and mingle with local business owners, and to sample the food and drinks at different neighborhood establishments. We’ve recently visited, and had a wonderful time at, the 9th Avenue Grill (at 9th & Jersey) and the Mozart Lounge (at 14th & Krameria) in the Mayfair neighborhood. I look forward to exploring many new neighborhood establishments with you in the coming months!
Events
On May 17th, the spotlight shone on Colfax Avenue as runners from around the world participated in the 4th annual Denver Post Colorado Colfax Marathon. Every year, this event brings together athletes, businesses, residents and volunteers to showcase Denver’s main street. I’d like to extend my thanks to AARP for hosting a water station outside my office and for cheering on the runners! We have so much fun at this event every year.
This summer, the Denver Municipal Band will once again be playing at Mayfair Neighbors’ annual Concert in the Park at Mayfair Park on August 22. Thank you to Gerald Endsley for his work with the Denver Municipal Band, the oldest professional concert band in the U.S. The DMB will be playing at several other free concerts throughout the summer. To see the schedule please visit www.dmamusic.org/dmb.
Mayfair Liquors, in the King Soopers plaza at 14th & Krameria, is celebrating their 50th anniversary this summer. Congratulations on this milestone!
Please feel free to contact my office with your thoughts, questions or concerns any time at 303-355-4615 or marcia.johnson@denvergov.org.
Have a safe and fun summer!
By Doug Linkhart, City Councilman At-Large
“When the going gets tough, the tough get smarter.” This is one of the hopes of the Economic Prosperity Task Force, a group that has met for the past year to develop strategies for helping Denver residents be more prosperous, whether the economy is in decline or expansion.
Denver resident Cheryl Jenkins reflects the potential success of changes being recommended by the Task Force. Cheryl has two kids and was on welfare until a financial education program of the Denver Community Credit Union helped her become self-sufficient. Now Cheryl has a job with a local nonprofit agency and a bank account to help her save money and develop credit.
Financial education and access for adults is one of five recommendations emerging this month from the Economic Prosperity Task Force. The group was appointed a year ago and was co-chaired by me and André Pettigrew, the city’s Economic Development director. More than 30 people from business, government agencies and nonprofit groups participated in the process.
Implementation of the recommendation to improve financial education and access is beginning even before the ink is dry on the full report. Denver has been selected by the National League of Cities as one of eight cities to participate in a program aimed at helping people learn more about managing money and connecting with banks.
Improved financial literacy for kids is also important, so the second recommendation is to work with Denver Public Schools to help implement state legislation requiring financial education in schools and to help infuse financial education into after-school and summer programs for kids.
The third and fourth recommendations are to be more strategic in the delivery of public assistance services and to change eligibility standards to prevent the “cliff effect.” The cliff effect results in people losing public assistance when they earn slightly more money. A family earning $4,000 more per year, for example, may lose $9,000 in benefits.
The final task force recommendation is aimed at helping people and businesses pursue economic and educational opportunities. Particularly in the present economic climate, we want to ensure that both residents and business owners are aware of opportunities for education, job training, and new business opportunities to improve their economic situation.
Implementation of the Economic Prosperity goals will involve the collaboration of many different interests. We welcome people who have experience or knowledge that will help us move forward, and are beginning the implementation process with an open summit in May.
The current recession highlights the need to help people weather economic storms. Nevertheless, the recommendations of the Economic Prosperity Task Force are aimed at helping people improve their financial security in both good times and bad.
By Jeanne Robb, District 10 City Councilwoman
The Denver Preschool Program (DPP) is the result of a voter-approved initiative to provide tuition credits for parents, and quality improvement grants to preschools. DPP is open and voluntary for all Denver children the year before they are eligible for kindergarten. A Denver family may use the tuition credit with any preschool provider licensed by the state and enrolled with the Denver Preschool Program, regardless of the preschool’s location. We anticipate that sales tax revenue will generate approximately $11 million per year for DPP to support children and families.
In the first 16 months of the program, Denver Preschool Program (DPP) has enrolled more than 5,000 children and more than 115 preschool providers into the program. The recent economic downturn has affected Denver families from all income levels, and, as a result, DPP has become even more important in the lives of thousands citywide.
Participating DPP preschools in Mayfair
To learn more about the Denver Preschool Program or to enroll your child, please visit www.dpp.org.
