👀 Is Brown Palace going downhill?

👏 CO Closing the Gender Pay Gap

Since Colorado enacted its Equal Pay for Equal Work Act in 2021 — reportedly the most stringent law of its kind in the country — the Centennial State has leaped to the top of the nation’s leaderboard for gender pay equity. Go us! [Denver Business Journal 🔒]

• Support Denver’s working women: Check out the local women-owned businesses we’re spotlighting for Women’s History Month, and send us the businesses you want to see get a shoutout! [Hey Denver]

👀 Brown Palace Dumps Devoted Staff

The Brown Palace Hotel, one of Denver’s oldest and most iconic institutions, has let go all of its doormen and bell staff without severance. HEI Hotels & Resorts — the third-party, out-of-state management company that’s been running the Brown Palace since 2018 — cites “poor economic conditions” as the reason for the layoffs. HEI suggested the terminated employees re-apply for a position with the valet company that will be replacing them, but they’d lose seniority, benefits, and take a pay cut. [Westword]

🇺🇸 Did the Fair Elections Fund Work?

In last year’s local election for City Council and mayor, candidates got to tap into the voter-approved Fair Elections Fund (FEF) for the first time. For a refresh — this is a program that provides funding to candidates from taxpayer coffers with the idea that less wealthy candidates could then stand a fair chance against wealthier opponents. A review of the program’s first run by Denver Clerk and Recorder Paul López shows that all but 3% of distributed FEF funds were used. López believes the program has “undeniably reshaped Denver's electoral landscape.” [Denverite]

🅿️ Less Parking = More Housing?

As Colorado continues to struggle with a lack of housing, lawmakers are looking toward innovative solutions — like parking reform. What does parking have to do with housing? One urban planning professor explains. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

The Case for Radical Parking Reform

What if downtown Denver had less parking? As state legislators look to address housing issues with a focus on density in cities across Colorado, the need for parking has come into question. Ken Schroeppel, founder of the Denver InFill blog and professor of urban planning at CU Denver, explains why he believes fewer places for people to store their cars could actually be a really good thing for the Mile High.