🧐 Will Elon Musk build a tunnel in Denver?

What Will Denver Take From the César Chávez’s Revelations?

Denverites are still grappling with the revelations of labor leader César Chávez’s alleged sexual assault of girls and women – including Dolores Huerta, his counterpart in decades of activism as a labor and civil rights leader. After allegations were published last week, a statue at the Northside park named after Chávez was covered up and a portion of the park was vandalized. The César Chávez Peace and Justice Committee of Denver also canceled an annual celebration, slated for April 11. But what else should be done? [New York Times; Aurora Sentinel; CBS News]

• The Future of César Chávez Day: The City of Denver plans to mark March 31 as Sí Se Puede Day this year. Four-term City Council member and the first Latina council president Ramona Martinez spearheaded the effort to make César Chávez Day an observed holiday in Denver back in 2001, and she is on the podcast with us today to talk about it: “There was a big movement in this country to give César Chávez the national recognition we thought he deserved … I look back at it and I remember telling Dolores [Huerta] that I was able to get that done and she didn't say anything. She didn't say congratulations. She just started talking about something else.”
• A community reckoning: We spoke with Martinez and our green chile correspondent Justine Sandoval about ongoing conversations the Chicano and Latino community is having about women’s roles in the past, present, and future of Colorado’s own labor and civil rights movement, which have long existed in Chávez’s shadow. Sandoval said of the allegations: “How many of us have grandmas who have held these secrets?”

💸 Lawsuit Against Culinary Creative Group Dropped

Former Kumoya server Marianna White initially alleged that CCG stole tips, reduced her wages, and refused her regular breaks. Now she has agreed to drop her lawsuit and enter arbitration with the restaurant group that’s also behind Mister Oso, A5, Tap & Burger, and more. . [Denver Post 🔒]

• What is a “service charge”? The semantic difference between service charges and tips was reportedly central to White’s case. Here’s our breakdown of what those terms mean.
• Interesting timing: Culinary Creative Group’s CEO Juan Padro stepped down last month. He was one of the most vocal proponents of restaurant wages reform at the state legislature last year. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

⚖️ Does Colorado Need Another Prison?

Gov. Jared Polis’ office told lawmakers this week that the state must open a new prison to accommodate the projected growth in inmate numbers, and they might even need two. Despite efforts in recent years to reduce the prison population, lawmakers have been told it’s still increasing due to delayed sentencing from a jump in crime after the pandemic started. [Colorado Sun]

• But … where will the money come from? That’s what members of the Joint Budget Committee are asking since they are already cutting Medicaid and other social services. . The Governor’s Office reportedly estimates a new prison would cost $150-200 million, and the state budget deficit reportedly grown to more than $1.5 billion. [Colorado Sun]

🧐 Denver Could Be Getting a New Tunnel?

Denver is one of 16 finalists in the competition to get a free tunnel built by Elon Musk’s company, The Boring Company. The proposed tunnel would be a 330-foot pedestrian tunnel to connect Ball Arena to the RTD light rail station. The two are currently connected via a pedestrian bridge over the train tracks. [Denver Gazette]

• Musk has built tunnels that are up and running in cities like Las Vegas and Austin. Check out some reporting from ProPublica in conjunction with our sister podcast, City Cast Las Vegas, to learn about how that’s going.