Denver news in 5 minutes: What you need to know today, June 15

4 min. read
An aerial view of downtown Denver, with the Daniels and Fisher tower and 16th Street at center, between 1922 and 1930. (Harry M. Rhoads/Western History & Genealogy Dept./Denver Public Library)

Hi. Today's news roundup includes a big change for standardized testing, the fascinating problem with e-books, the rights of public housing residents and much, much more, including the opening of a new park today.

An aerial view of downtown Denver, with the Daniels and Fisher tower and 16th Street at center, between 1922 and 1930. (Harry M. Rhoads/Western History & Genealogy Dept./Denver Public Library)
The weather:

Mostly sunny and temperatures in the 80s and low 90s through the weekend, with only a chance of storms on Saturday.

New downtown park:

The temporary park that replaces a block of 21st Street opens today at 11:30 a.m. It's at 21st and Larimer and will have fun stuff in it through Aug. 15. (Denverite)

The next test:

Colorado will end its membership in PARCC, a multi-state testing collaborative, and move toward tests developed largely by Colorado educators, as Nic Garcia reports. (Chalkbeat via Denverite)

Hold me closer, tiny Smart car:

Car2go is getting rid of its tiny Smart cars and replacing them with four-door Mercedes-Benz models, Megan writes. (Denverite)

The problem with e-books:

In 2016, Denver Public Library recorded more than 1 million check-outs for digital materials for the first time ever. Their increasing popularity is giving new power to publishers, and it's undermining the core legal philosophy of the library, as I explain. (Denverite)

Weed addiction:

Colorado State University's new addiction counseling program will focus on cannabis use disorder, with plans to bring new research to the topic, as Thomas Mitchell writes. Check out our earlier explanation of marijuana addiction, too. (Westword, Denverite)

In related news, the weed church now reports it has 1,800 new members. It raised $40,000 in a fundraiser to fix stuff, according to Kailyn Lamb. (BusinessDen)

Drug dogs in public housing:

Corey Hutchins has an extensive breakdown of how the Longmont controversy has played out. In case you missed it: The Longmont Housing Authority brought police with drug dogs along for inspections of people's homes. Some residents were not aware that they didn't have to allow the warrantless search. (Independent)

GoBroRiNoFiPo:

A developer is referring to an 8-acre development site as the "Giambrocco Neighborhood." It's actually at the edge of the Five Points neighborhood and also is part of the River North district. We're talking 350 apartments, a bunch of office and some retail near 38th and Blake. Adrian reports. (Denverite)

Delivery:

Amazon now offers one- and two-hour delivery for certain items to Prime members around the Denver area. It's at primenow.amazon.com. There's all kinds of stuff in there, from groceries to game consoles. Two-hour deliveries are free to Prime members but it's recommended that you tip the driver. Adrian reports. (Denverite)

Oops:

Glenn Haggstrom was the top construction official in the Veteran's Affairs Department. He claims that he was never told that the cost of a new Aurora hospital had tripled to $1.7 billion. Investigations found that the costs got out of hand because the VA wasn't watching closely enough, as Dan Elliott reports. (AP via Denverite)

Electric Aspen:

Aspen and its transit authorities plan to spend $7.5 on eight all-electric buses. That's compared to about $4 million for the equivalent number of diesel buses, as Jason Auslander reports. (Denverite)

Missing bike link:

Denver plans to stripe a bike lane at West 23rd Avenue and Federal Boulevard, "one of the city's deadliest streets," as David Sachs reports. It's not a done deal yet. (Streetsblog)

Moose attack:

A moose attacked two women and a dog near a home in Jamestown, northwest of Boulder, earlier this month. They're OK, but authorities are warning that moose often see dogs as threats. If you see one, try making a lot of noise so it knows you're there, and give it lots of room. John Bear reports. (Camera)

Burger to try:

The Royal on Tennyson has changed hands and become The Royal Burger. No more shakes, but they added nachos. Jennifer Forker reports. (North Denver Tribune)

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