💉 Where to get a COVID booster right now

🚻 DPS Responds to Federal All-Gender Bathroom Directive

Denver Public Schools sent a letter Sunday to the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights pushing back on an order to convert East High’s all-gender bathrooms back to single-sex facilities. DPS accused the Trump administration of “weaponizing” Title IX, but said it is open to finding a resolution and requested a 90-day negotiation period. [Denverite]

• Related: What’s up with Trump’s East High bathroom obsession and how did DPS get here? [City Cast Denver 🎧]

🧐 Mayor Johnston’s Growing Unpopularity

A recent Colorado Polling Institute poll shows an increasing number of Denverites hold an unfavorable view of Mayor Mike Johnston, even as many report feeling safer and more optimistic about the city’s future (and about the same number have a favorable view of the mayor). We spoke to Westword editor Patty Calhoun, who thinks some recent stories are swaying how people feel about the mayor. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

📉 A Blue Bruise for Colorado Democrats

Voters are souring on Gov. Jared Polis and Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, according to a new poll showing each of their approval ratings dipping below 42%. The poll found that voter disapproval is also growing for Republicans, and Democrats still have an edge going into the 2026 elections. [Denver Post 🔒]

• Some local advocates are floating a ballot initiative for so-called retaliatory gerrymandering measures that would help elect more Democrats in Colorado as a counter against Republican-led redistricting efforts like the one in Texas last month. Will local Dems take up the cause? [Westword]

🍗 Downtown Loses Another Restaurant

Mono Mono Fried Korean Chicken shut down its LoDo location last week after four years, citing declining sales, rising minimum wage, and the added impacts of tariffs. Owner J.W. Lee, who runs other restaurants in Colorado and New York, expressed serious disappointment with Denver, calling it “a nightmare” to work with. He says he plans to l avoid the city in the future and open any new spots in Fort Collins and Colorado Springs instead. [BusinessDen 🔓]