Denver Direct: The Mayor’s Little Reader


Monday, March 29, 2010

The Mayor’s Little Reader

by Dave Felice

Mayor John W. Hickenlooper and his wife, Helen Thorpe, call their son, Teddy, “our little reader.”  Fortunately, Teddy does not have to depend on the Pauline Robinson or Athmar Park Branch Libraries, both located in economically disadvantaged and ethnically diverse neighborhoods in northeast and southeast Denver.  In the mayor’s budget slashing campaign, Pauline Robinson and Athmar Park are both closed on FRIDAY, SATURDAY, and SUNDAY.  Teddy’s Park Hill Branch, in a more affluent neighborhood, is open on Friday and Saturday. 
The Byers Branch, which also serves a disadvantaged population in near south-central Denver, is being closed entirely because the mayor thinks the historic library isn’t needed.
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  1. garbanzito3:20 PM

    this is a fascinating blog for getting the "other side" (which is sometimes my side), but i'm sorry, i'm going to triple bad on ya ...

    1) when you drag the mayor's kid into your argument i think you cross the line; if you had simply mentioned "the mayor's child" and omitted the picture and some of the snark your point would be stronger

    2) please note that the DPL Byers branch is not closing; this has been noted numerous places, including here:

    http://judymontero9.com/2009/10/19/byers-library-into-the-future/

    http://www.denvergov.org/CityofDenverHome/NewsandEvents/tabid/435569/newsid97029/2999/Final-City-2010-Budget-Revised/Default.aspx

    also, the Athmar branch is still open Fridays 10am-6pm, as noted on the main library hours page and on the library's description of what to expect from budget cuts:

    http://denverlibrary.org/locations_hours/2010_hours.html

    3) the Denver Daily News is the last place i'd use for citations of fact -- i've seen many significant factual errors and few correction notices there; well, there was the apology for "Jew Jersey", which made national news ...

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  2. Anonymous11:11 PM

    Re: "Using" the mayor's kid. Y'know, Hickenlooper and his wife have chosen to trot out their son whenever it's convenient for their image. The publicity photo here is a good example. After all, it's not as if some blogger ambushed the family to take that shot.

    If Mayor Hickenlooper has deemed his child a convenient prop for making political points, he can't complain when others do the same.

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  3. garbanzito3:39 PM

    Anonymous wrote: "If Mayor Hickenlooper has deemed his child a convenient prop for making political points, he can't complain when others do the same."

    just wanted to point out a flaw in that reasoning: Hickenlooper is not the one who is complaining here ...

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  4. Dave Felice3:50 PM

    There are two points of clarification:
    1) The Hickenlooper campaign organization prepared and distributed the photograph;
    2) Athmar Branch is open on Friday, closed on Monday. (Both Athmar and Robinson Branches are closed on SATURDAY.)

    ReplyDelete