October is a month of change with the weather, of course, but we're also seeing upheaval all around us.

The Colorado Rockies have part ways with their GM after the worst stretch in franchise history, and the federal government shut down this week.

And to go with a baseball term, the country is kind of hovering in no man's land.

Will our leaders agree to compromise to get us out of this pickle?

And what direction will the Rockies take to get out of their rut?

We'll see how things evolve this October, but for now, let's get started by talking about the first couple of days of the month on Colorado inside out.

Hi everyone I'm Kyle Dyer.

Let me get right to introducing you to this week's insider panel.

We start with Patty Calhoun, founder and editor of Westword.

Krista Kafer, columnist with The Denver Post.

Alayna Alvarez, reporter with Axios Denver.

And Amber McReynolds, national election administration expert and former director of elections for the City and County of Denver.

The federal government, as you know, shut down earlier this week, which is alarming in itself.

But so is the reality that our leaders and our political parties can't agree on how to govern.

Some say compromising is weak, but ultimately our country and our local communities are weaker when we are not functioning on all cylinders.

In Colorado, thousands of federal workers are furloughed and federal research is on hold.

One silver lining, or should I say gold, considering this time of year with the Aspen's, is that the states for national parks are open but with minimal staffing.

And the administration has said it will keep parks open during the shutdown.

But Patty, when it comes to the larger issue at hand, it will be interesting to see how our leaders get us out of this.

I don't see how they're going to get us out of this.

Right now.

We're on day three.

No one seems to show any sign of compromising.

They still have more insults to level at the other side.

The discourse has been incredibly disappointing when we are looking at not just many of the 54,000 federal workers in Colorado being furloughed, furloughed, the ones who aren't furloughed are working without a paycheck.

Like hello FAA at Denver International Airport.

And when you talk about Rocky Mountain National Park, one of the busiest seasons of the year, to go up and look at leaves, it's going to be chaos.

Is my prediction without people there?

Unless for some reason, Estes Park and go direct traffic.

We had Georgetown closing its borders last weekend because it was so busy, so it's going to be a very strange weekend here in Colorado.

And let's not forget the people who are looking at losing health care or paying 200% more.

And that is the reality here in Colorado.

So Jared Polis is talking about that.

Also talking about keeping the national parks open.

Krista.

When was the last time the government was running on all cylinders?

Yeah.

It, it's been a while since we've had really we've had a government that works together.

I'm thinking maybe George W Bush perhaps was the last time.

Maybe Clinton I don't know.

But you have to see that both sides have something to lose.

If they back down.

And what seems to them is nothing to gain.

So if the Republicans back down, they're basically signaling that this shutdown that the government has done, that the Democrats have done works.

And then they're saying, hey, we're going to back down if you if you threaten to do this in the future.

So they'll do it again.

So obviously they can't back down.

Democrats also cannot back down.

If they back down their base, it's going to be very, very angry.

Their base is fractured right now.

They want to see an effective minority.

And the only thing I mean, nobody can do are things like this is the minority doesn't doesn't rule, but they can actually put some, roadblocks in the way.

And so they can't back down.

Our only hope really is that there are some moderates that are saying, hey, let's come to the middle, let's compromise.

We need we don't we need to govern.

We don't need to be doing these kinds of hard knuckled, plays against each other.

We need to actually keep government running.

Meanwhile, Trump has decided that he's going to go after blue states and cancel more of their funding for energy infrastructure.

That kind of hard knuckled punishment, I guess, should be expected coming from the president, because that's what he does.

We are one of those states, though, that stands to lose.

If I had my dream, if I could turn this into like a Harry Potter magic wand, we would have a government that actually compromises and does what's right for the people.

And I think in this case, with health care, having some kind of a phase out, moving to the middle so that there are still some subsidy subsidies, but perhaps not as generous as they were.

That's the way to go.

We don't need to shut down the government to make that happen.

We're picking up where Crystal left off on these Department of Energy cuts, which are huge.

So my sources tell me right now that the impact in Colorado from these cuts are going to total over $500 million, over 30 plus 34 ish, projects.

Those range from, oil and gas, methane reduction projects to investments in grid resilience for low income communities.

And the state right now is still grappling with what this even means and how they're going to address it.

It's huge.

I just can't emphasize enough how disappointing it is.

The rhetoric that's around this shutdown, particularly from Colorado's congressional delegation.

We aren't hearing solutions.

It's so emblematic of where we are as a country.

The only thing that they can agree on is that it's the other side's fault.

Meanwhile, you have 54,000, 55,000 Colorado federal workers caught in the crosshairs.

And although we don't know, you know, when the shutdown is going to end, we do know that the longer it continues, the worse it's going to get.

We're going to see longer TSA lines, flight delays, cancellations.

And as we already mentioned, national parks in disrepair.

So we need a solution and one fast.

Okay.

Now Amber, the word shutdown carries so much finality and weight.

Just that word.

But there are parts of the government that are functioning.

There are there are.

And one of them and one of the examples that I think is really important, especially for people to hear about, is, is the postal service So, the Postal Service operates by the sale of goods and services and stamps.

That's how they run their operations.

So they're not part of this appropriated funding stream from from Congress that gets in the crosshairs of, shutdown.

And there's impacts, certainly, indirectly.

But the the American people continue to get their mail, which is important as we're going into the fall season of, many things that come to voters in the mail, including ballots and other materials that are educational.

All right.

This week, Denver city leaders announced their intention to pay millions of dollars to buy and then upgrade the Denver Pavilions.

Denver's partner in revitalizing the city.

The Downtown Development Authority is the group that's wanting to make this purchase by reinvesting money generated with downtown tax revenues.

This is another example of how Denver leaders are really focused on investing in Denver and the future of Denver.

While the current financial situation is pretty tough.

Crystal, I will start with you.

Well, DDA did a great job with Union Station.

I was just down there.

I had a dinner at a restaurant called The Kitchen.

It was delicious.

There's always great restaurants, there's great places to live lofts and so forth.

And DDA was very instrumental, instrumental in, really revitalizing that part of Denver.

So bringing them to the pavilions is important because guess what, spirit.

The Halloween store is now in Pavilion and is now in the pavilions.

And everyone knows that the death knell of a mall is the appearance of a spirit Halloween shop.

So, I definitely with the vacancies, the Spirit Spirit store.

It's time to tackle the pavilions.

And I think they ought to move to kind of a mixed use model.

So do you have some some housing in there, some shops?

Because if you don't have people living downtown in that part of the area, why would they actually walk over to those shops and theater and so forth and restaurants?

once revitalized, you'll see people willing to commute in and go to those places and not simply spend their time in the suburbs.

It's good to hear that you came downtown for dinner.

I did, I it's rare, it's rare.

Very good.

All right.

Elena.

The optics of laying off a bunch of people, cutting back city services and then pouring a ton of money into downtown isn't sitting right with everyone.

But I think you'd be pretty hard pressed to find someone who doesn't agree that the Denver Pavilions needs a major revamp, considering all of the empty storefronts aside from spirit Halloween, apparently.

So this is a welcome to move, and it's also in line with what voters want.

So last November, remember, they authorized the DDA to take on 570 million of debt for downtown projects, just like this one, which are funded by the taxes, downtown.

And that same measure is what's allowing the DDA to invest roughly $100 million and ten other projects that were announced, earlier this summer, focused on downtown.

I think it's really interesting to also see the sort of evolution of DDA.

So they were founded in 2008, a little known taxing authority, you know, flying under the radar in large part other than the, you know, the big you didn't station efforts that they made, but now they're really positioned to pioneer Denver, in this downtown Denver, in this new transformational way.

And so seeing them really own that is something that's been exciting to report on.

So assuming they move quickly, you know, get this funding passed and the construction started soon, they've got a real opportunity to, you know, own this, revitalization narrative.

Right?

Because the city Council has to be the one to say yes to it, right?

Correct.

Yeah.

Okay.

Amber.

Yeah, it's interesting in a lot of just you mentioned the 2008 when it was founded.

So my office actually ran the special election to start the DDA back at that time.

And I'll never forget we were, you know, determining who were going to be the voters because it's a district, a special district.

Then you have voters.

The city actually has a number of votes because they happen to own a number of plots of land.

So the city is a big part and has it is a voting member of the, of the DDA.

I agree that Union Station, part of this was an incredible development.

Maybe now they can revitalize the pavilions.

And so it's just interesting to see kind of the, you know, this thing came about in an election back in 2008.

It's had success with the Union Station.

Now hopefully, we'll see more of that.

Across the board.

Something that'll be great to see that end of the mall come back to life.

And they've certainly looked at different things to make it work that haven't happened yet.

We still have with the DDA, an estimated over 400 million left in projects that will be announced along the way and approved by Denver City Council or not.

So there is so much more that that's going to come.

I think people will be inspired by this.

You have to apply.

This was an application from guards, which owns it and has had major financial problems, including an $84 million loan that went bad.

So this is a great deal for them to kind of move this along.

It's a great deal for Denver to move it along, but there is so much more that can still be done.

And let's people should talk to the city about what they want to see on Saturday.

Tomorrow, the 16th Street project will be done.

Allegedly, it will be all open.

You can go up and down.

It'll be a big celebration all day.

Lots of bands, lots of cool things going on.

The next day the bus will return up and down 16th Street.

So we'll see how downtown has come along and what still needs to be done.

Do you think pavilions is certainly part of it?

Is there any chance the City Council would not passes?

I think this would certainly go to City council, but I think there are others that might get a lot more scrutiny.

Okay.

All right.

Speaking of scrutiny, the board of RTD, the regional transportation District, voted this week to increase the cost of car rides for people who live with disabilities since it started back in 2021.

The Excess on Demand program offered free rides in taxis or on an Uber or Lyft rides.

This program has become super popular since its more convenient and easy than the communal vans that RTD also offers this group, and so it's costing the agency a lot.

And therefore the push was we have to raise from a free ride to a ride for $6.50.

And Elena, that meeting the other night went on for hours and hours of people saying, this is a huge increase, it's going to affect my life badly, right?

It was so emotional, hard to watch at times.

These changes drew so much attention and backlash because as you mentioned, it's such a popular service for people with disabilities.

And the word that we kept hearing used was lifeline.

People use this to go to work.

They use this to go to the grocery stores or even to, you know, see their families, friends, romantic partners.

And they have been quoted saying, using this kind of service instead of these, you know, specialized vans allows them to feel human, to feel like a regular person just like everybody else.

And so RTD ultimately did come to a compromise.

They lowered the initial hike proposal from 650 to 450, but still coming from a $0 base.

You know, that's a huge jump and people are going to feel it, not to mention the actual service cuts that they're making.

It used to be a 24 hour service.

And now it's, they're they're cutting that way back.

I'm still trying to figure out exactly by how much, but these changes go into effect in January.

And people are certainly very upset about it, even with this compromise.

The big picture is that RTD is struggling with its budget, just like Denver is just like Boulder, which actually announced this week that they're, cutting people's jobs because of their budget gap.

And so these hard times are having real effects on people's lives.

And it's, it's a tough time to be in government.

Amber.

Yeah.

And I, you know, this when I was running the elections office, a number of people would use these types of services to come, to register to vote or to come even to work, because we had a number of people that could participate that way.

So I, you know, this is an important program.

And I do also wonder about, you know, the introduction of autonomous vehicles and how that potentially affects the cost of this, perhaps bringing it down in the future.

Because you wouldn't then have drivers and the other the extra cost of that.

So it's, it's interesting to also see how much technology is going to start impacting this exact kind of service and how it could really help, a number of people as that continues to expand.

Yeah.

Okay.

Patty, talking about government agencies cutting back, this is really one of the toughest ones because RTD what they also discussed how much it would cost to finally build out the light rail systems that everyone had been thinking we would get 30 years ago, and it's well over $1 billion to even just finish constructing what was talked about to get in the northwest lines.

The North lines.

So you're looking at huge, huge problems to get to serve the areas that were supposed to serve.

But on the other hand, you want RTD to be able to serve these individuals who rely on it so much.

These people who do not have a lot of they're not they don't have a choice in this.

I mean, they either stay in or the van might not work or they go out on this.

So 450 is going to be a huge amount for them.

But you also are seeing that they're not foundations and they're not government funds that are going to be able to come in and replace what is cut by RTD because no one has any money.

Now, And Krista.

I just love the way you phrased that.

You said people who live with disabilities and and that's the thing is, people aren't disabled, people live with disabilities.

And how can we help our neighbors, our friends, our brothers and sisters below Denver rights who live with disabilities live independently.

And so this is a really important program.

One of the things that I appreciate about that RTD meeting is emotional as it was, is that there was some listening going on.

I think that perhaps, maybe Congress could learn a thing or two of what it means to listen and to compromise.

So they heard the emotional testimony.

They took it to heart.

Yes.

They're facing pretty strong, financial constraints and are having difficulty figuring out where they, you know, where they have to cut in order to pay for everything.

And yet they were willing to say, we hear you.

We hear that this is your lifeline.

Let's let's change the figure.

Let's take it back.

And maybe it's still a little too high.

Who knows?

But I like the fact that they were willing to listen and to make changes.

That's a model everyone can learn from.

I think we agree with you.

Yes.

All right.

All registered color voters should have received their blue book by now.

With the statewide election just four weeks away, ballots should be heading out, in the mail next week.

And amidst all of the lead up to the statewide election on November the 4th, there is so much attention right now on primary day at the end of June next year and the November 26th election just Wednesday night, another Republican joined the race to be the next governor of Colorado.

His name is Victor Marx and he's from Colorado Springs, so we'll see where that goes.

There are a lot of people in the race right now.

Amber, I will start with you on this election topic.

Well, I think first and foremost, the idea of elections are just as important as the even year elections, which a lot of people, often forget about.

We often focus on the Partizan midterm or presidential and the local elections and the coordinated elections that have all these really important ballot issues, or school board or other local activities on them are just so important for voters to participate in.

So I can't say enough about how important it is for people to get their ballot, researched the issues, return it, because all of these things are just incredibly important.

And we've talked about a number of the local, impacting issues, even just on this program.

Today, and it has a big impact.

So participate because it matters greatly.

And, and then in terms of next year, you know, the primary I've talked to a lot about this on on this show, more than half of voters in Colorado are now independent.

Most of Colorado voters are now declining to be a member of either party, except a lot of our races.

Over 90% are still safe seats.

And so the election is in the primary at the end of the day.

And so it's really important for people to start paying attention.

This, you know, this election is going to be here before we know it.

And the primary is the one to weigh in on, with your choices because so many safe seats still exist in Colorado.

June the 30th is the primary in Colorado.

All right, Patty.

And who knows how many gubernatorial candidates will have by then?

I think marks takes us up to 36.

One of my favorites is, what, 16 Republicans?

One of my favorites we just wrote about this week is a man who's run for many offices but only been caught by the police so far, Joshua Rodriguez, who's been arrested, for, fraud and many other things.

He's a very interesting candidate.

I predict he will not win.

He's a he's a libertarian on this.

The Republican Party, Colorado State Republican Party did at least decide to have a primary next year.

So I think that's good.

We'll see if they're able to put a competent candidate on the ballot, as opposed to some of the other issues they've had.

But we have to also remember, come November, yes, go vote, because we've got vibrant Denver coming up, the huge bond package coming from the city.

And that's one of the ones that's going to have some interesting challenges given the cutbacks and other places people don't understand why that money can't go to the other problems.

And it should be written out in different tiers.

It's in.

510.

Right, right, right, right.

And when you're talking about the Republican Party, there was some concern among Republicans in the, in the state that why should unaffiliated people be able to vote on a Republican or Democratic primary ballot?

And because we voted to let them.

Do it right?

It's the law.

Okay.

So if I have to Google your name, you probably shouldn't be running.

Just a thought.

Right?

So a bunch of these people, no one knows who they are.

You have to Google them and be like, oh, that guy.

So I'm thinking maybe getting rid of some of these also rans would be good for the party in general, because the party's going to have to make a push, at least at the statewide level, for those independents, as Amber mentioned, and having a candidate that is, moderate, pragmatic has some name recognition.

They get the last person who actually the last Republican that that that took they took the office of governor was Bill Owens.

Right.

Pragmatic, policy oriented, not fringy.

You know, no prison record.

So I think that they need to be discerning as they go forward with the primary.

As for this election, off year elections as ambassador, as important as regular elections in Littleton, we have a big election.

We're looking at a change to the charter.

Three a I'll be voting against it, but it's become such a contentious issue that you'll actually see yard signs for a small citywide measure.

So it's, it's going to be an interesting, it's going to be an interesting month.

Okay.

And, Elena.

We're paying a lot of attention to the vibrant bond package.

It's the biggest in Denver's history.

We haven't seen a bunch of materials or campaigning around it, but I've confirmed with the campaign that we're about to see a major blitz.

So they've only spent about $2,300.

They've raised 243,000.

And so in the coming days and weeks, we're going to see them on air, lots of mailers and, they're, they're actually putting 750,000 an ad by behind their commercials.

And mailers.

So a lot of force coming through.

Mayor Johnston's going to be everywhere, I've been told, just trying to pitch this thing.

And this will be really key because, again, we're about a month out from the election and the latest polling we've seen, which was, to be fair, back in early September, showed that most voters knew nothing about his bond package.

But once they were learned, once they were able to learn about it, 65% suggested they would support it.

So he's really got to overcome the hurdle of, you know, that that information gap.

But once he does, that seems like, you know, polls could go either way, but it seems like it will, work in his favor.

So watching that closely.

Okay.

All right.

Now let's go down the line and talk about some of the highs and the lows of this week.

We'll start on a low note.

Patty, with you.

The very poor sports, who are Q buffs fans who lambasted insulted the by the Brigham Young University football team.

You know, two weeks after Charlie Kirk shooting, the day before a shooting at a mormon church in Detroit, they could have behaved a little better.

And they deserved the $50,000 fine.

Yeah.

I think if people try really hard, they should be able to tie for worst of the week.

And so I'm actually going to give JD Vance and Donald Trump a tied vote for that.

And just the stupid meme with, sombrero and the mustache, put out by the white House.

And you have JD Vance defending it.

It is funny.

How about maybe do things that are appropriate to the office that you fill?

Just a thought.

Okay.

All right.

The death of Jane Goodall hit really hard.

She was such a beacon of hope and a champion for the planet and animals, both of which are deeply valued here in Colorado.

So she will be surely missed.

But her legacy definitely lives on.

My great dysfunctional politics.

We have a government shutdown now.

And so I think for me at least, that continues to be a low every time it rears its ugly head.

And unfortunately, it's also a bad example for children.

And I have I have teenagers and it's hard to, you know, it's hard to have these conversations with them because they're being taught to work together and collaborate in school, and that they don't see that, outside of school.

Yeah.

Okay.

Something good.

Patty.

The Colorado Rockies, worst season ever.

But they just got a win.

The Coors Rooftop was named the best rooftop bar in the country.

Any rooftop bar?

I. Of course you've got to go to a game to get up to the rooftop.

Yeah, but if you think about a cover charge, right, it's the price of a ticket.

It's a great bar, right?

As long as you don't watch the game.

One of the victims of the evergreen shooting has gotten out of the hospital.

So keep praying for the other victim who is still in critical condition.

Thank you.

Returning to the Rockies, they let go of general manager Bill Schmidt.

I'm not saying that itself is a high, but what I am saying is that it was a high for many Rockies fans who had hit rock bottom with this team, and his exit really offers a sign of hope that this franchise can maybe, maybe turn around with someone new at the helm.

There's always hope.

Yeah.

All right.

My high is going to come later today because I'm going to meet my new nephew.

And so congratulations to my, incredible sister in law, Sarah and my brother Michael.

Enjoy.

All right.

My high is the deserved long weekend ahead for our state employees.

This coming Monday is Cabrini Day in Colorado.

This is the fifth year that the first Monday of October is a state paid state holiday in honor of Saint Francis Xavier Cabrini, an Italian nun who came here in the early 1900s.

She founded a school in North Denver for children of Italian immigrants who worked in the mines.

And then there was also an orphanage for girls as well, and then a summer camp for those girls in Golden, which is now the Mother Cabrini Shrine, where she is considered to be the patron saint of immigrants, not only for her devotion to those children, but she also spent a lot of time up in the high country, befriending and supporting the men who came to Colorado for the grueling work of working underground in the mines.

So the recognition on, that is coming up is a great day and a great reminder that we have someplace to go that's not that far to town.

You just go up a windy road and it's a place of peace where you can just sit and be quiet in nature.

Just be all right.

Thank you, insiders, for joining us this week.

Thank you for watching or listening along to our podcast as well.

We appreciate it every week.

You joining us I'm Kyle Dyer I will see you next week here on PBS 12.

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