🍽️ Who wants to fight over restaurant wages now?

📅 Your Mile High Guide to March

The City Cast Denver crew is back with our monthly recommendations for the best things to do, eat, see, and celebrate around the city. Catch a sneak peek right here, then tune into today’s podcast episode to get even more fun ideas for your March!

• ⚽ Denver Summit FC Kickoff Game: Tickets (starting at $31) are still available for the home opener of Denver’s new professional women’s soccer team at Empower Field at Mile High on Saturday, March 28. With more than 45,000 tickets already sold, crowds are expected to shatter the record for single-game NWSL attendance.
• 🥾 Bluff Lake Wildlife Refuge: If you’ve been waiting for an excuse to visit this escape to nature in the middle of Central Park, the time is now. The 123-acre wildlife preserve fully reopened last month sporting an $8.5 million revamp. The center is free and open to the public 365 days a year. (Psst, hear our other recs for outdoor adventures close to home!)
• ☕ The New Dozens: Following the 2022 kitchen fire that destroyed the popular Golden Triangle breakfast joint, Dozens rose from the ashes and officially reopened down the block at 323 14th St. last year. We’re just here to give it the City Cast Denver stamp of approval and report that the “new” Dozens is just as charming and delicious as it ever was.
• 🎉 303 Day: It’s that time of year again for those of us Denverites who feel oddly patriotic about our area code to unleash our hometown pride in full force. Be sure to patronize your favorite local shops, restaurants, and cultural institutions, and do something extra Denver-y.

🎧 Get even more for your March on the podcast ⬇️

🍞 Denver Gears Up For Another Restaurant Wage Debate

Visit Denver, the Denver Economic Development Office, and the hospitality tech company inKind released a new report on the restaurant industry on Friday, concluding that the city has 15% fewer full-service restaurant jobs now compared to 2020. In response, City Councilman Darrell Watson said he plans to propose a change to the tipped-wage policy, which is sure to spark a hotly contested debate at City Council, though he says he favors a “balanced approach.” [Denver Post 🔒]

• What is a tip credit? We broke down all the complicated terms when the tip credit debate heated up at the state legislature last year.

📜 Gov. Polis Backtracks on ICE Compliance Order

The governor is reversing a decision he issued last year when he instructed state officials to go against Colorado law and comply with a subpoena from ICE for personal data of undocumented children with regards to a human trafficking investigation. The move drew backlash from civil rights activists and fellow Democrats. Now, he’s asking a judge to permanently prohibit the release of information in this case. [Axios Denver]

🚍 RTD Has Been Paying For Trains That Never Run

Data recently reviewed by The Denver Post shows that RTD has paid more than $414 million since 2019 to Denver Transit Partners, a private rail operator, in part for services that the contractor never provided. Specifically, the operator has been running the G and B service lines at half the frequency its contract requires. Beginning in June, train frequency for those lines will double at no extra cost to the agency. [Denver Post 🔒]

• Worth noting: RTD is currently grappling with a $250 million annual budget deficit. Agency leaders have proposed service reductions and job cuts to save money. [CPR]

🧑‍⚖️ Convicted Former State Senator Refuses to Apologize

Former State Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis has been ordered to complete 150 hours of public service and slapped with a $3,000 fine after she was found guilty of forging documents while being investigated by a Senate Ethics Committee. All four of her felony convictions carried the possibility of prison time. [CO Sun]