🫏 Could Gov. Polis be impeached over Tina Peters?

Homelessness on the Rise for Denver Youth and Families

Youth and family homelessness is on the rise in metro Denver, according to the Denver Metro Homeless Initiative's "State of Homelessness Report 2025." While the total number of people experiencing homelessness went down slightly between 2024 and 2025, youth homelessness in the metro area increased by 9.5% last year, and families-with-children homelessness also increased by 7.5%. The number of people in these groups accessing homeless services went up significantly as well.

• More takeaways: According to the report, 82.1% of Coloradans served in permanent housing programs were still housed by the end of the year. More housing units are needed for these programs to continue to grow. COHMIS also identified prevention programs such as the Right at Home initiative and rental assistance programs as key factors in reducing homelessness. [COHMIS; Denver7]
• Growing housing instability: Eviction rates have been on the rise since 2023, with more than 15,000 eviction cases in Denver County Court last year. According to a 2024 report from the Colorado Judicial Department, nonpayment of rent is the leading cause of eviction in Colorado. We spoke with the Community Economic Defense Project last year about why evictions were rising when rents in the metro area were going down. [Denverite; Colorado Courts; City Cast Denver]
• More shelters in the metro area: The City of Lakewood opened its first overnight “navigation” center earlier this spring, and are in the process of scaling up operations so they can serve 100 people a day. This center and others in Denver, Aurora, Englewood, and Boulder are the result of a 2022 state grant program. Meanwhile, another permanent supportive housing project in Denver has stalled. [Westword; 9News]

🗯️ CU Regent Sues Other CU Regents

CU Regent and dispensary owner Wanda James, who is also currently running for Congress, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against seven other members of the Board of Regents, according to a press release from James. The lawsuit stems from a dispute over her criticism of a university-funded public health campaign that she described as racist. The board voted 7-1 on July 2 last year to censure her over the way she leveled her critique. They also stripped her committee assignments, which she now alleges was a violation of the First Amendment. [Colorado Public Radio]

💰 Major Step Forward for Historic Hotel Redevelopment

Once a landmark jazz venue and cultural hub, the Rossonian Hotel building in Five Points has been vacant since the 1990s as multiple groups of hopeful developers have struggled to bring it back to life. The current owners, Palisade Partners, bought the building in 2017 for $6 million, and they are now asking City Council to approve $15.5 million in tax-increment financing through the Denver Urban Renewal Authority for a mixed hotel-office project that is projected to cost $100 million. [BusinessDen]

🫏 Polis Faces Growing Backlash over Tina Peters

After Gov. Jared Polis commuted former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters’ prison sentence on Friday, more than 400 Democratic Party members, candidates, and elected officials have signed a formal complaint calling for the state party to formally censure him and suspend him from speaking at party events. Denver congressional candidate Melat Kiros took the criticism one step further, calling for Polis to be investigated and impeached, while attorney general candidate David Seligman also suggested a possible impeachment or censure and speculated that Polis waited to make the announcement until after the legislature adjourned last week. [KDVR; Axios Denver; CPR; Colorado Politics]

• Could Polis be impeached? Under the Colorado Constitution, two thirds of the state legislature would need to agree to hold a special session to consider articles of impeachment. The Colorado Democratic Party is reportedly scheduled to meet today to respond to the call for a censure.
• Polis responds: A spokesperson for the governor told CPR that he appreciates that many Democrats are disappointed, but that Polis made the decision he felt was right.

🏗️ No New Data Centers for One Year

Denver City Council voted unanimously Monday evening to approve a one-year moratorium on the construction of any new data centers, effective May 21. The moratorium will not affect data centers under construction, like the CoreSite facility at 4900 Race St. [Denver Post 🔒]

• Talking it out: Earlier this month, state lawmakers agreed to table dueling data center bills until next year’s session. So, while Denver City Council takes a year to better understand the issue and debate regulations, Colorado’s state government will be doing the same.
• Not just a Colorado issue: The Lever’s David Sirota joins the podcast to discuss a new Gallup poll that found seven in 10 Americans oppose data centers in their communities.