The item I am the most excited about right now is the new organic dog bed I ordered from Doggy Archy located in our own backyard of Vail. I got myself a natural bed, why shouldn’t I get one for him. The reason I got turned off on memory foam and all the other artificial material beds, both human and canine, was the ongoing discussion in so many reviews about the lingering release of chemical odors. Don’t believe me.. google it.

My pup is getting a bit older now, he walks a little slower and I always want him to have the benefit of comfort.  After all, he’s always been there for me.  So if he’s getting a bed it’s going to be organic because I guarantee his nose is a great deal more sensitive than mine is.

Doggy Archy makes their beds using eco friendly materials.  The covers in stuffing are made from natural materials such as hemp and organic kapok fiber.  They say pass it on… so here are the details on the materials:

Your Doggyarchy organic kapok dog bed is unique! Let me tell you why it’s so special.

A naturally healthy choice for you and your dog. Hemp is naturally antimicrobial and withstands heat, light, mildew, and insects without the addition of harmful chemicals. Unlike other hemp dog beds, which have a hemp cover but are filled with polyurethane foam and polyfill stuffing derived from petrochemicals, your hemp dog bed is filled with organic kapok fiber. This fiber creates a natural, soft cushion for your dog, without harmful chemicals and dyes. Among other things, there is no polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE)–a flame retardant that is added to polyurethane stuffing. PBDE has been linked in animal studies to thyroid and reproductive problems, suppression of the immune system, and disruption of the development of the fetal brain. Every time your dog flops on a foam bed, a little puff of PBDE may be released, inhaled by your dog, and accumulated in its tissue. (And when you dispose of the bed, these chemicals are released and accumulated in the environment.) This also means your organic kapok dog bed is not treated with harmful chemical flame retardants.

Handcrafted in the USA and in limited supply! The cover of your organic dog bed is designed to be washed. Keep it clean by washing it regularly.

• Cover care instructions. The top of your Doggyarchy dog bed cover is made from 100% hemp or hemp/flax blend fabric and the bottom and sides of your dog bed cover are made from ultra-durable 18 oz. hemp canvas. These fabrics are machine washable (cool) and dryable (cool). Soaps and detergents are not required. Remove the cover first and then machine wash/dry the cover (not the insert).
• Kapok bed insert care instructions. You can clean the kapok bed insert by hand rinsing it (or lightly hosing it off) and then air drying it or machine drying it on cool. It is ok to get the kapok-filled bed insert wet. The organic kapok is naturally water repellent and difficult to soak (kapok was used for years to stuff canvas life vests) and will air dry quickly (of course, sunshine will speed up the drying). The cover should first be removed and machine washed/dried.
• A zipper you can use. Your dog bed is especially easy to clean because of its large zipper. Alas, there is not a hemp zipper, so we have gone for durability. Your DoggyArchy dog bed incorporates an extremely durable YKK nylon zipper. Don’t worry; you can use it–over and over again. After washing your cover, re-load the stuffed insert into the cover by folding the bed in half and inserting it through the large opening created by the zipper.

Eco-chic, healthy comfort for your dog. And of course, your naturally healthy dog bed is also eco-friendly. It’s made from biodegradable materials derived from sustainable sources that respect the well being of our fragile environment.

The bed selected for Bear (my pup) was the Lodo Loft Bed. I liked the color and more importantly the Kapok fiber stuffing will allow it to handle moisture.  I made sure the first item to be moved into the house was a Bear treat.  This items was just ordered yesterday online and both Bear and I look forward to its arrival.

DNC Update

8-18-08

Dear Riverfront Park Residents:

Last Thursday evening, the City of Denver held an open forum for local residents to discuss the move of the Tent State University (“TSU”) group from City Park to Cuernavaca Park. The meeting was positive and informative and was well attended by local residents. Also, in attendance were several representatives from the Mayor’s Office, Councilwomen Judy Montero, representatives from the Parks Department, Public Works, the Police Department, and the Secret Service. In addition, two representatives from the TSU were present.

City officials explained that TSU obtained a permit for use of the park through a permit lottery process, when a group previously permitted for the park during the DNC, decided not to use the park. TSU will be using the park from August 24-28. TSU representatives said they expect 5,000 attendees per day, although there could be more. City representatives say they plan to enforce all regular park rules and the 11:00 pm park curfew.

A representative of TSU spoke at length about their schedule of events:

TSU will occupy the park during the day and early evening up to the 11:00 pm park curfew. They will set up tents for educational classes, lectures and activities.
They will be camping at the Coliseum or the Pepsi Center protest area.
There will be a small stage (16 feet wide) for music and other activities. The stage will face west towards the highway.
There will be exhibitions by creative artists as well as ongoing seminars on “non-violent” means of protest.
They will have green teams set up working on keeping the park in order and recycling efforts.
They encouraged all neighbors to visit the park during the activities and also visit their website at www.tentstate.org
With regard to parking and access for the TSU participants and local residents, City officials told us the following:

TSU is encouraging their participants to park at outlying “park and rides” and take the bus in.
TSU participants are being encouraged to use 20th Street and then Lodo streets to access the Pepsi Center protest site. TSU concurs because they feel there will be more publicity along this route as opposed to Little Raven Street.
The City will enforce all existing parking restrictions on Little Raven Street (mostly 2 hour parking).
All streets including Little Raven, Platte Street, 20th Street, 19th Street, 15th Street, and 23rd by the Aquarium will be open. It is likely that 15th and Little Raven will be the preferred exit from Riverfront Park as opposed to 20th and Little Raven.
The Denver Police representatives could not be specific as to their plans for security relating to TSU; however, they said that they will have adequate personnel on duty.

Both the City and TSU appear to be organized and ready to move forward in a peaceful manner. Having said that, there may be some individuals that do not want to follow the plan, and, there are several protest groups coming to Denver not related to TSU whose plans have not been made known. DNC events, schedules and activities seem to be in a constant state of flux, too much at times to stay up to date with the changes. The best way to stay informed is through official websites:

www.DenverGov.org

www.DowntownDenver.com

www.DenverConvention2008.com

and 3-1-1.

The Denver Police still plan to have a command post and officer rest station in the plaza at Riverfront Park, located in suite 170 of the Riverfront Tower building. Should you have the need for assistance, please call 911 for emergencies of life and limb, or 720-913-2000 to report suspicious activity or general police questions.

For those of you who have ideas of what the list should be, and there are quite a few of you, please visit the forum and make your suggestions. Your opinions do matter. The way to be helpful is to share what you think the list SHOULD be, not what it shouldn’t be. Then folks can comment back and forth and maybe we will improve the list a bit. In the meantime, here is the poll revised. Happy voting!
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

It was emotional to see the memorial, perhaps it made it more real in comparison to reading it in the newspaper or watching TV.

It is just so senseless, so sad, and a rare and tragic event for Denver. What are our solutions to fighting crime and violence in this wonderful city? In my opinion the growth in the number of urban dwellers downtown will certainly help contribute to this. More eyes on the street is one helpful item, but more than that the increased density of folks living downtown will promote the number of people working to protect the peace whether by ideas or tax dollars for our police force. I’m no criminologist and this isn’t my forte so I hope others out there have some good ideas. The key is to make sure discussions are happening to get those ideas presented and find solutions.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Originally designed to look beautiful, which it did, the bridge also collected water on the stairs causing a rust. Over the past couple years it has been repainted, and repainted, and repainted.

Well now it is getting a full overhaul with some beautiful granite stairs. It will be looking beautiful!

Here is that schedule for those of you who live or use the bridge regularly. The good news is that only one side gets the face lift at a time so you don’t have to worry about going around. Schedule from Riverfront Park.

DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Weeks beginning:

* 8/6 – Close Bridge Stairs and open temporary stairs for pedestrian access
* 8/6 – Remove center railing on Bridge Stairs
* 8/6 – Set up supports for bike ramp
* 8/6 – Begin removal of treads

* 8/13 – Continue removal of treads/landings/decking

* 8/20 – Continue removal of treads/landings/decking

* 8/27 – Remove outside railings/decking/structural support angles
* 8/27 – Start installation of new steel angles and tube steel

* 9/4 – Continue installation of new steel angles and tube steel

* 9/10 – Continue installation of new steel angles and tube steel

* 9/17 – Continue installation of new steel angles and tube steel
* 9/17 – Start installation of granite treads

* 9/24 – Sand blast existing white/rust colored structural steel
* 9/24 – Painting of existing steel
* 9/24 – Continue installation of granite treads/landings

* 10/1 – Continue installation of granite treads/landings

* 10/8 – Continue installation of granite treads/landings

* 10/15 – Continue installation of granite treads/landings

* 10/22 – Continue installation of granite treads/landings

* 10/29 – Completion activities/demobilize/punchlist

Which means it will be open just in time for Halloween. Lets all have a spooky celebration there.

And for those who don’t know the exact details of this famous Denver bridge here is the quick scoop…

Denver Millennium Bridge Opens

Date: 26/04/2002

The Denver Millennium Footbridge was officially opened by the Denver Mayor, Wellington Webb, on Monday 22 April at a ceremony attended by city and state dignitaries as well as engineers, architects, and local residents.

Arup provided civil and structural design services from the beginning of 2000, and were present on site throughout the construction phase. The design team overcame the significant challenges presented by the complex geometry of the cable-stayed structure’s 200ft (61m) tall steel mast and unusually wide deck (80ft / 24m) to produce this spectacular structure.

and…

Millennium Bridge in Denver
One of the greatest hurdles architectural engineers faced in creating this beautiful bridge in LoDo was developing a clear span across 125 feet of railroad track while keeping the vertical elevation gain at less than 30 feet. They decided to develop a unique “cable stayed” solution using a tall mast to hang the deck. The mast was placed on the city side of the bridge visible from downtown. The cables to both the bridge deck and grade were arrayed from there. To make the structure as thin as possible a steel frame that derives its stiffness from tension applied to the thin structure of the deck was conceived. This “post-tensioning” was achieved by installing beams with engineered sag, then using the mast as a lever to pull up the deck with the cables into a shallow bow while the opposite end of the bridge is held down by two steel rods. Concrete was then applied pushing down the deck and applying tension to the cables. The combination of tension in the cables and the rods form a thin, stiff and stable deck assembly. The Denver Millennium Bridge was the first cable stayed bridge in the world to use this post-tensioned structural concept.

But I don’t wanna leave downtown… and I have no plans to. We love living downtown, we love the people, the food, the lifestyle, the events, the activity, the energy, and on and on and on…

But the conversation I hear with many of our friends is centered around an upcoming departure from downtown to raise children. Let’s face it, the lodo and CPV scene is not rich with family life (but that is quickly changing). We always hear about our dear friends who moved to the burbs to have better schools, to raise their children, and to have the white picket fence. But what is also going on is those of us who are starting families want to stay downtown. That can make all the difference in our future.

Well I am tired of this scenario. I don’t want my friends to move away. I don’t want to visit them in the burbs. What I would like is to change this problem. And why shouldn’t it change? Those of us who choose to live downtown are smart, educated, with either good jobs or darn fun ones. And we have numbers and can effect change. There are so many new babies downtown, it is only the school age that sends people flying to the burbs. I see this path and I want to choose otherwise. I want to have a family down the road and still live the urban lifestyle downtown. But lets face it, we need some assistance to make this possible.

The good news is cities are recognizing this. The Urban Land Institute recently did a survey to look at why families weren’t living downtown in cities (any city, not just Denver) and it was overwhelmingly the schools. Cities like Chicago are looking at ways to get families to stay or move downtown, and they know schools are the key. Now we just have to figure out how to use the key. Here is an article on that story.

Below: What are the barriers to Families living downtown survey

From across the whole USA

So how do we improve the schools and address the biggest issue that scares away families and encourages people to move during this phase of their life? If you have an idea share it, because I like my urban lifestyle. I also think there is more community here in the city, and especially in Riverfront Park than in any burb. Here I know my neighbors, see them in the street, greet them in the coffee shop than I ever would in any burb.

But since this survey was done across the USA, now let’s do one just for little old Denver

[Poll=19]

November 17, 2006
Westfield Development Co. plans a $150 million, 22-story, 500,000-square-foot office tower at the edge of lower downtown.

The 1800 Larimer building, the first new high-rise office building downtown since 1999 Broadway opened in the mid-1980s, will be the most energy-efficient high-rise in downtown Denver, said Rich McClintock, president of Denver-based Westfield.

The building is expected to receive a silver LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. The council today is ending its three-day Greenbuild 2006 conference at the Colorado Convention Center, which attracted more than 12,000 people.

“If it is not a sustainable building, it is outdated,” McClintock said.

Increasingly, companies are demanding that their office space be in a LEED-rated building, which not only lowers utility bills for them but increases worker productivity, he said.

The building will include numerous energy saving features, including a subfloor air distribution system; 9-foot, 6-inch floor-to-ceiling windows; a state-of-the-art health club for tenants; and almost a half-acre parklike environment on a terrace 20 feet off the ground.

“It just made sense to us to only ‘condition’ the air around people, rather than the entire volume of space, especially as tenants demand higher ceilings,” said Don Slack, executive vice president of Westfield. “Basically, we’re cooling two-thirds of the space we would with a conventional system. And an added benefit of the system is that the tenants can manually control the temperature immediately around them.”

The architect is Denver-based RNL Design. In addition to the blue and grey glass facade, a design feature will be a 30-foot high “wall of water” inside the lobby. The lobby will have trees inside and immediately outside a large glass wall.

Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp., said he is courting a Fortune 500 company, which is considering moving its headquarters to either Denver or two East Coast cities.

“If they choose Denver, they want a building in the LoDo area,” Clark said. “And it is important for them to be in an energy-efficient building.”

McClintock said that the overall office vacancy rate in LoDo is about 5 percent but in Class A buildings it is 2 percent.

There are about a half-dozen office buildings planned for LoDo, but McClintock isn’t worried about competition.

He notes the site is a block from the Ritz- Carlton hotel under construction, two blocks from the Tabor Center and Coors Field, and four blocks from Denver Union Station.

It also is on the route of a future circular bus system that will serve downtown and Denver Union Station.

Construction will start in the spring with an opening in 2009. He already is close to inking deals with some tenants that will take at least 20 percent of the building. They’re speaking with law firms, energy companies, financial institutions and others.

Keep posted on this building by watching it at…
Urban Brain Wiki Entry for 1800 Larimer