Denver news in 5 minutes: What you need to know today, May 18

(Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

staff photo

Hi everybody. I’m late, but here’s the news: It’s snowing, there’s an argument over how much poor people should pay for transit passes, being a pedestrian sucks sometimes, Denver once destroyed 30 blocks of downtown and mucho más.

View south on Sherman Avenue towards Colorado State Capitol building during spring snowstorm in April, Denver, Colorado. 1913. (Louis Charles McClure/Denver Public Library/Western History Collection/MCC-1906)  historic; denver public library; dpl; archive; archival; denverite; capitol building; gold dome;

View south on Sherman Avenue towards Colorado State Capitol building during spring snowstorm in April, Denver, Colorado. 1913. (Louis Charles McClure/Denver Public Library/Western History Collection/MCC-1906)

Snow:

Mix of rain and snow today. Up to 6 inches in Denver metro by Friday morning. Could be much more in the hills and mountains. Stay safe. (Denverite)

Transit discounts controversy:

It’s looking like RTD will not add new funding for a program that provides discount passes for low-income riders via nonprofits. If funding is kept at the same level, no new organizations can join the program — and some say they’ve already run out of passes. Megan reports. (Denverite)

Ice cream:

Rocket Ice Cream will start serving Little Man’s product in Lowry, southeastern Denver, in the next few weeks. A giant rocketship is involved, as Andra Zeppelin reports. (Eater)

Rene Lima Marin:

“What was supposed to be a joyous homecoming for a Colorado man whose 98-year prison term was cut short turned to heartache when he was detained by immigration officials just as he was set to be released.” (AP)

A bridge for Swansea?

CDOT has promised some funding for a pedestrian bridge that could help Swansea Elementary students get to school on time — even when freight trains stop and divide their neighborhood. Still, they need more local funding to make it happen, as Eddie Randle reports. Streetsblog argued for the bridge earlier. (9, Streetsblog)

History of destruction:

I scratched a personal itch yesterday by compiling photos and maps of the Skyline Urban Renewal Project, which destroyed and eventually rebuilt some 30 blocks of downtown. There’s at least one eye-opening photo, I promise. (Denverite)

Where not to walk:

Megan’s at it again with the data, this time compiling five spots that Denver pedestrians hate to walk. Did I just do a meme by accident? (Denverite)

East Colfax:

A former gallery at York and East Colfax sold for $1.15 million, as Amy DiPierro reports. Sounds like they’ll keep the building and renovate for several small tenants. (BusinessDen)

Denver Beer Company in Arvada:

DBC opens in Olde Town Arvada in mid-June, per Jonathan Shikes, who has some more details on the food options. (Westword)

Durango folks mad at Fox News:

A story on Wednesday that proclaimed “Legalized marijuana turns Colorado resort town into homeless magnet,” was the “most-read U.S. story” on FoxNews.com yesterday. Today, The Durango Herald fires back. (Herald)

Overdue books:

You can no longer be denied a K-12 diploma or transcripts just for having overdue books in Colorado, as Dan Njegomir reports. (Colorado Politics)

Cruiser time:

Denver had its first Cruiser Ride this week, putting many, many cyclists on the streets on Wednesday. It will repeat again in a month. It used to be weekly, but it’s hard to get weekly sponsors, and the event costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to run through the summer. Find their Facebook page here. And Mike Tish has more. (5280)

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Denverite members have made the decision to financially support local journalism that matters to you. Ready to tell your networks why? Sharing our “About” page with your own personal comments could really help us out.