Hello! The weekend is over, but the next one will come quicker if you just get really busy right now. Anyway, today's update includes a downtown protest, the R Line's opening, the NYT on I-70, new terrain at A-Basin and a story that explains the surprising connection between a dark moment in our history and a downtown Denver neighborhood.
Downtown protest today:
The Not My President's Day Rally starts at the Colorado State Capitol at 5 p.m. (Facebook)
What the R Line means for Aurora:
RTD's latest line debuts on Friday, yet another piece in an extensive transit expansion over the last two years. It will open eight new stations east of Denver, four with parking lots, and also will give more people access to the A Line. Ridership is expected to reach 12,000 people per weekday next year, as Cathy Proctor reports. (DBJ)
Another RTD fatality:
Aurora police say a refugee from Myanmar walked past a pedestrian gate, ignoring or overlooking warning lights and signs, before he was fatally struck by a test train on the R Line. The man reportedly was hard of hearing, as Bruce Finley reports. (DP)
A-Basin's new lines:
Arapahoe Basin is opening some pretty gnarly terrain next year. Bonus: photos of master outdoors reporter Jason Blevins in action. (DP)
Rinaldi reviews the RedLine's latest:
Skillful execution, but Ray wants art that says more. (One Good Eye)
I-70 makes the Times:
Julie Turkewitz has the NYT take on the I-70 rebuild through North Denver. "We are trying to fix the sins of our fathers and mothers ... But I can't fix -- I can't go back to 1950 and not put a highway through here. What I can do is, I can mitigate to the extent possible," says the head of CDOT. (NYT)
Inside Denver's oldest church:
"Built in 1888, nearly every part of the church is original and designed down to the smallest detail." Megan McNeil and Austin Cope take you inside the lovely old church pictured at the top of this post. (303 Magazine)
How the Japanese internment policy of World War II reshaped downtown Denver:
Kevin lays out the story of how one of the country's darkest moments led to a surge of Japanese-American culture and business in the “Larimer Corridor” of downtown. (Denverite)
The latest on construction defect reform:
Builders say that they can't build more condos because it's too easy for buyers to sue over defects in the construction, and they argue that this keeps housing prices higher. Attempts to change the law have failed for years, so lawmakers now will look at a piece-by-piece approach. Erica's got the details. (Denverite)
