🎨 Does art have a future in the RiNo Art District?

🔬 CDPHE Lab Director On Leave Amid Investigation

Emily Travanty, the lab director for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, has been placed on paid administrative leave amid an ongoing two-year investigation into the lab for oversight and quality-control failures. Specifically, the investigation is looking at data manipulation within the agency’s food and water testing programs, which has led the EPA to revoke some of the lab’s federal certifications. The CDPHE says the problems do not pose an imminent public health threat. [CPR]

🎨 Is There a Future For Artists in the RiNo Art District?

This weekend the RiNo Art District is celebrating its 20th anniversary. But this area of Denver known as the place “where art is made” has changed a lot in two decades, including the loss of many of the artist residents who made it what it is. So, where does Denver’s most famous neighborhood for the arts go from here? The district’s new leader has some ideas. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

💸 Council OKs More Aid Funds for East Colfax Businesses

Denver City Council approved an additional $640,000 in funds (now totalling $1.5 million) meant to aid East Colfax businesses feeling the financial strain of the Bus Rapid Transit construction by way of stabilization grants. The city hopes to wrap up the $280 million project in 2027. [Denver Business Journal 🔒]

With Thanksgiving coming up, we’re remembering one of Denver’s most beloved and influential residents who, for decades, utilized this holiday to feed his neighborhood and beyond. “Daddy Bruce” Randolph was a model for community-level philanthropy, offering his cooking skills and humble barbecue restaurant as an outpost for families in need across the Mile High City.

His Legacy Today: Feed-A-Family 2025

One November in the 1960s, Daddy Bruce hosted his first community Thanksgiving, dishing up free meals for anyone who needed it. The event became a yearly tradition that has continued for nearly 60 years (even after Daddy Bruce’s passing) with the annual Feed-A-Family project. Hosted now by The Epworth Foundation, volunteers assemble and deliver Thanksgiving baskets with enough food to feed a family of eight to Denverites who might not otherwise have a holiday meal.

With SNAP benefits currently in jeopardy, even more Denver families are potentially facing food insecurity this month. You can support this year’s Feed-A-Family event by donating money directly to the cause or signing up to assist with meal prep and delivery on Saturday, Nov. 22.