⁉️ Is it time to rename César Chávez Park?

💸 Who Profits From ‘Captive Pricing’ at the Airport?

The power went out for a couple hours at Denver International Airport yesterday, prompting new questions about DEN’s infrastructure and putting delayed travelers in the position of weighing higher-than-street prices for a snack. So, why are prices at the airport so high anyways? We’ve been talking about Rep. Yara Zokaie’s bill regulating “captive pricing,” which failed at the legislature last week, and now investigative journalist David Sirota of The Lever joins the City Cast Denver podcast to drill down on the mysterious and lucrative world of DIA’s concessions contracts.

• Why did the power go out? DEN officials reported a “power incident” at 9:20 a.m. on X yesterday, but it was unclear if that incident was connected to the “equipment outage” that led the FAA ordering a temporary ground stop. Power was restored by 11 a.m. [Denver Gazette]
• How high are the prices? Steve Staeger at 9News recently bought more than 80 items at airport vendors and reported more than 73% of them were marked up beyond the 15% increase DIA allows vendors to tack on to street prices. DIA officials said they reviewed prices in response and found 93% in compliance. [9News]
• Why are they allowed to charge more? Staeger reports that airports across the country implemented street pricing policies post 9/11 as the federal government was mandating additional security procedures, because these procedures made it more costly to operate a business near the gates.
• Who’s making all this money? According to the Denver Post, the airport takes a cut of gross sales between 15% and 18%, depending on the concessionaire. These concessionaires increasingly license the brands and menus from local restaurants, who reportedly get back between 2% and 7% of the gross sales. [Denver Post]
• What else do you need to know? Sirota joins host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi to dissect the whole pricing model and how we got here on today’s podcast.

🪧 Chicano Movement Icon Allegations Rock Denver

The New York Times published details of a years-long investigation alleging that César Chávez, co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America union and prominent leader of the Chicano Rights Movement, sexually assaulted two underage girls in the 1970s. UFW co-founder and labor activist Dolores Huerta also accused Chávez of sexual assault on two occasions in the 1960s. [🔒 The New York Times; Medium]

• The local conversation: Denver has observed César Chávez Day on the last day in March since before it became a national holiday in 2004. City Council President Amanda Sandoval says this year’s march and celebrations will be canceled in light of the allegations. Councilwoman Jamie Torres added that the city should rename the holiday and the Berkeley neighborhood park bearing Chávez’s name. [🔒 Denver Post]

🍄 The Cafe Serving Lattes and Psilocybin

Colorado’s first licensed “microdosing cafe” is open in Denver, and it's hard to miss. Vivid Minds Cafe is located at 1545 S. Broadway and is brightly painted like a blue sky with mushrooms. The cafe/healing center seems like a normal coffee shop during the day, but after hours offers psychedelic sessions where customers can experience psilocybin mushrooms legally. [Denver Post 🔒]

🚌 What Happens If RTD Can’t Balance Its Budget?

RTD directors found out this week that they must correct a $215 million budget deficit by next year in order to avoid a downgrading from the ratings agency S&P Global (a lower credit rating would mean higher costs for future infrastructure projects). That means reduced services and job cuts are highly likely, unless RTD officials can find a whole bunch of quarters under the couch cushions. [Denver Post 🔒]

🚨 11-Year-Old Charged with Murder

An 11-year-old boy in Centennial has been charged with first-degree murder after being accused of killing his 5-year-old brother last week. Along with the murder charge, the child received an aggravated juvenile offender sentence enhancer, which enables prosecutors to sentence outside of the normal allowed range for juveniles. [KDVR]