🎛️ Denver’s dueling music fest drama, explained

🍀 Denver Gears Up for St. Patrick’s Day

Get out your best greens! The city’s 64th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade is scheduled for this Saturday, March 14. Here’s everything you need to know:

• Where and when: Step-off is at 9:30 a.m. — rain or shine — from 19th and Wynkoop near Tom’s Watch Bar and revelers will wind their way to Blake, which will be painted green and unofficially renamed Tooley Street for the occasion.
• Best View: Organizers say the corner of 20th and Blake streets will offer the ideal view, and recommend arriving early to grab a spot.
• Parking: The Coors Field parking structure will be available for free parking on a first-come, first-served basis. (The Denver Gazette also has some other nearby options.)
• What to expect: Hundreds of festive performers and displays, including floats, pipe bands, step dances, equestrians, and more. This year’s parade theme is “Stars, Stripes and Shamrocks.” You can vote for your favorite float or performance group at denverstpatricksdayparade.com.
• The after-party: Here are five other spots hosting St. Patrick’s Day events this weekend to keep the good times rolling. Plus, the five local Irish pubs that just ranked among the best in the country. [Denver Gazette 🔒; Westword]
• Can’t make it? The parade’s official Facebook page will livestream the event.
• Pack layers: According to the National Weather Service, Saturday should be mostly sunny, but windy. Temps are expected to drop as the day wears on with a chance of rain and snow overnight.

🇮🇹 Does Denver Need a “Little Italy”?

One hundred years ago, about 20 percent of Coloradans claimed Italian heritage, including many living in north Denver. Some leaders of the Italian community who still live there today are organizing an effort to designate a thematic cultural historic district to protect the Italian character of the area – possibly including the Potenza Lodge, Leprino Foods, and the home of notable architect and stone mason Frank Damascio. [Westword]

• Leprino who? One of Denver’s wealthiest individuals before he died last year, James “Jim” Leprino built a billion-dollar company supplying pizza cheese all over the world after working at his dad’s neighborhood grocery on the Northside as a teen. That was before all the family drama and lawsuits. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

🧑‍⚖️ Polis Delays Tina Peters’ Clemency Decision

Gov. Jared Polis informed lawmakers he plans to wait to make a decision on whether to commute Tina Peters’ prison sentence until after the Colorado Court of Appeals rules on her case. (No firm timeline has been announced about the ruling.) The former Mesa County clerk is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence for election tampering. [Denver Post 🔒]

• The context: The governor has faced pressure both for and against clemency for Peters in recent weeks after signaling he was considering the idea. All 66 Democrats in the state legislature signed a letter urging Polis not to give her leniency. [Colorado Sun]

🎭 Yates Theater One Step Closer to Reopening

Restoration of the Berkeley theater space cleared a hurdle this week with the city’s Board of Adjustment approving a zoning change, allowing the venue to operate as a 300-seat theater. Some neighbors showed up to oppose the theater’s plans but many more were supportive, and the Yates’ owners signed a good neighbor agreement with the Berkeley Regis RNO. [Denverite]

🎸 Will Dueling Music Festivals Divide Fans?

A new DIY music festival, Blucifer’s First Rodeo, is taking over South Broadway this July – the exact same weekend as the Underground Music Showcase, formerly a South Broadway staple, which will now go down in its new home in RiNo. Is Denver big enough to draw music fans to competing fests on the same days? [City Cast Denver 🎧]

🚨 Turnover and Drama at Scandal-Rocked City Department

Amid a string of controversies over bike lanes, safety plans for Alameda Ave., and surprise changes to traffic patterns on 13th and 14th Avenues, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure has reportedly seen 10 percent of its top leadership positions turn over in the past six months. While Executive Director Amy Ford rejects the charge of “brain drain,” she says there has been “quite a bit of change” recently. [Denver Post 🔒]

• The intrigue: Ford reportedly called a DOTI staffer whose family member had left the department to talk about the Denver Post’s reporting and asked for the former staffer’s contact information.