#Jolon Clark

[reportwire]

Denver City Council Approves Pay As You Throw Trash System

Denver City Council Approves Pay As You Throw Trash System

In an 8-5 vote on June 27, Denver City Council approved the expanded waste-services ordinance, based on what’s known as the Pay as You Throw concept. While supporters praised what they consider bold climate action, opponents worry about the extra cost to residents. “We can’t continue to bury reusable and recyclable material in the ground,” said Councilman Jolon Clark in explaining his affirmative…

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from The Denver Post:

A majority of the Denver City Council supports a new tax on businesses that could raise $43 million a year for a climate change mitigation program. The proposal could go to voters for approval this fall — but Mayor Michael Hancock’s office is asking for a delay.

At least seven council members support the measure, which would introduce a “pollution tax” on electricity and natural gas used by commercial and industrial businesses.

“This is not the end,” said Council President Jolon Clark. “This is the first step in doing our part as a city to be all-in on the Paris climate accord so that we can save our planet.”

The tax would be 0.6 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity and 7 cents per therm of natural gas. The extra taxes theoretically would discourage energy usage, reducing the emission of greenhouse gases that warm the climate.

Businesses would pay more for their energy, and the city would use the money to help residents and businesses cut their use of the energy grid.

The cost to a typical small business could be about $300 per year, according to Denver Post estimates derived from Xcel usage figures. But larger businesses and industrial users could pay significantly more: The average industrial customer could see their yearly bills increase by almost $3,200, while the average commercial bill could increase almost $1,400 for the year, according to 2018 usage figures.

The tax money would pay for city grants and incentives for businesses and residents to install solar panels, improve their energy efficiency, buy electric vehicles, and train employees who are leaving oil and gas jobs. Businesses participating in Xcel Energy’s fully renewable energy programs would be exempted from the tax.

[laurendzim]

“Cardboard Kingdom,” selected for Youth One Book, One Denver 2019

Provided by Denver Arts & Venues

The 2019 Youth One Book, One Denver summer-reading program selection is from first-time author Chad Sell.

A graphic novel with an imaginative, do-it-yourself theme has been chosen as the 2019 Youth One Book, One Denver winner, Mayor Michael Hancock announced Thursday morning.

“Cardboard Kingdom,” by Chicago-based author and artist Chad Sell, will be available for free to children aged 9 to 12 who participate in Youth One Book One Denver (YOBOD), running June through August.

The summer reading program aims to “combat learning loss through events and activities tied to the book’s themes, ” according to a Denver Arts & Venues news release.

There’s no need to formally sign kids up for the program. All parents need to do is check out the book from a Denver Public Library branch and download the activity guide from artsandvenues.com/YOBOD.

Several free public events tied to the book will also be available for kids this summer, Arts & Venues said, and additional copies of the book — the city purchased 3,000 of them — will be distributed through Boys & Girls Club of America and Denver Parks and Recreation summer programs, said Amber Fochi, program manager for Arts & Culture’s marketing arm.

“(The program) really brings books and reading to life in the minds of our children, and because of it, students gain a life-long love for reading as they participate in the book-related events and activities,” Hancock said in a statement. “Chad’s wonderful graphic novel is especially appealing because it combines the visual and written art to provide a whole new literary experience for every child who will pick it up and dive into its pages.”

The pick for the program’s eighth year — and its first-ever graphic novel — takes inspiration from both the maker movement and the world of comics with activity-based stories told in bold lines and splashes of color. “Cardboard Kingdom” traces the summers of 16 diverse kids “as they transform ordinary boxes into colorful costumes and set out on adventures encountering knights, robots and superheroes in their cardboard kingdom,” Arts & Venues said.

Related Articles

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Adams 14 Superintendent Javier Abrego bows out ahead of contract expiration

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Colorado full-day kindergarten bill receives nothing but gold stars in first hearing

“This is a First Amendment violation”: Colorado State University student newspapers thrown out, police investigating

“I never could have imagined that it would be selected for something like the Youth One Book, One Denver program, where thousands of kids throughout an entire city would read these stories and share in the summer-long activities,” author Sell said in a statement, following a Thursday morning event at College View School with Hancock, City Councilman Jolon Clark and others.

Sell will stick around this weekend for the Denver Indie Comics & Arts Expo, which will be held April 13-14 at McNichols Building in downtown’s Civic Center park.

from News And Updates https://www.denverpost.com/2019/04/11/youth-one-book-one-denver-cardboard-kingdom/

[jackdoakstx]

“Cardboard Kingdom,” selected for Youth One Book, One Denver 2019

Provided by Denver Arts & Venues

The 2019 Youth One Book, One Denver summer-reading program selection is from first-time author Chad Sell.

A graphic novel with an imaginative, do-it-yourself theme has been chosen as the 2019 Youth One Book, One Denver winner, Mayor Michael Hancock announced Thursday morning.

“Cardboard Kingdom,” by Chicago-based author and artist Chad Sell, will be available for free to children aged 9 to 12 who participate in Youth One Book One Denver (YOBOD), running June through August.

The summer reading program aims to “combat learning loss through events and activities tied to the book’s themes, ” according to a Denver Arts & Venues news release.

There’s no need to formally sign kids up for the program. All parents need to do is check out the book from a Denver Public Library branch and download the activity guide from artsandvenues.com/YOBOD.

Several free public events tied to the book will also be available for kids this summer, Arts & Venues said, and additional copies of the book — the city purchased 3,000 of them — will be distributed through Boys & Girls Club of America and Denver Parks and Recreation summer programs, said Amber Fochi, program manager for Arts & Culture’s marketing arm.

“(The program) really brings books and reading to life in the minds of our children, and because of it, students gain a life-long love for reading as they participate in the book-related events and activities,” Hancock said in a statement. “Chad’s wonderful graphic novel is especially appealing because it combines the visual and written art to provide a whole new literary experience for every child who will pick it up and dive into its pages.”

The pick for the program’s eighth year — and its first-ever graphic novel — takes inspiration from both the maker movement and the world of comics with activity-based stories told in bold lines and splashes of color. “Cardboard Kingdom” traces the summers of 16 diverse kids “as they transform ordinary boxes into colorful costumes and set out on adventures encountering knights, robots and superheroes in their cardboard kingdom,” Arts & Venues said.

Related Articles

University of Colorado selects Mark Kennedy, former Minnesota congressman, as sole finalist to lead 4-campus system

Adams 14 Superintendent Javier Abrego bows out ahead of contract expiration

CU Boulder, Colorado follow national trend in higher ed’s reliance on tuition revenue

Colorado full-day kindergarten bill receives nothing but gold stars in first hearing

“This is a First Amendment violation”: Colorado State University student newspapers thrown out, police investigating

“I never could have imagined that it would be selected for something like the Youth One Book, One Denver program, where thousands of kids throughout an entire city would read these stories and share in the summer-long activities,” author Sell said in a statement, following a Thursday morning event at College View School with Hancock, City Councilman Jolon Clark and others.

Sell will stick around this weekend for the Denver Indie Comics & Arts Expo, which will be held April 13-14 at McNichols Building in downtown’s Civic Center park.

from News And Updates https://www.denverpost.com/2019/04/11/youth-one-book-one-denver-cardboard-kingdom/

[janetoconnerfl]

“Cardboard Kingdom,” selected for Youth One Book, One Denver 2019

Provided by Denver Arts & Venues

The 2019 Youth One Book, One Denver summer-reading program selection is from first-time author Chad Sell.

A graphic novel with an imaginative, do-it-yourself theme has been chosen as the 2019 Youth One Book, One Denver winner, Mayor Michael Hancock announced Thursday morning.

“Cardboard Kingdom,” by Chicago-based author and artist Chad Sell, will be available for free to children aged 9 to 12 who participate in Youth One Book One Denver (YOBOD), running June through August.

The summer reading program aims to “combat learning loss through events and activities tied to the book’s themes, ” according to a Denver Arts & Venues news release.

There’s no need to formally sign kids up for the program. All parents need to do is check out the book from a Denver Public Library branch and download the activity guide from artsandvenues.com/YOBOD.

Several free public events tied to the book will also be available for kids this summer, Arts & Venues said, and additional copies of the book — the city purchased 3,000 of them — will be distributed through Boys & Girls Club of America and Denver Parks and Recreation summer programs, said Amber Fochi, program manager for Arts & Culture’s marketing arm.

“(The program) really brings books and reading to life in the minds of our children, and because of it, students gain a life-long love for reading as they participate in the book-related events and activities,” Hancock said in a statement. “Chad’s wonderful graphic novel is especially appealing because it combines the visual and written art to provide a whole new literary experience for every child who will pick it up and dive into its pages.”

The pick for the program’s eighth year — and its first-ever graphic novel — takes inspiration from both the maker movement and the world of comics with activity-based stories told in bold lines and splashes of color. “Cardboard Kingdom” traces the summers of 16 diverse kids “as they transform ordinary boxes into colorful costumes and set out on adventures encountering knights, robots and superheroes in their cardboard kingdom,” Arts & Venues said.

Related Articles

University of Colorado selects Mark Kennedy, former Minnesota congressman, as sole finalist to lead 4-campus system

Adams 14 Superintendent Javier Abrego bows out ahead of contract expiration

CU Boulder, Colorado follow national trend in higher ed’s reliance on tuition revenue

Colorado full-day kindergarten bill receives nothing but gold stars in first hearing

“This is a First Amendment violation”: Colorado State University student newspapers thrown out, police investigating

“I never could have imagined that it would be selected for something like the Youth One Book, One Denver program, where thousands of kids throughout an entire city would read these stories and share in the summer-long activities,” author Sell said in a statement, following a Thursday morning event at College View School with Hancock, City Councilman Jolon Clark and others.

Sell will stick around this weekend for the Denver Indie Comics & Arts Expo, which will be held April 13-14 at McNichols Building in downtown’s Civic Center park.

from Latest Information https://www.denverpost.com/2019/04/11/youth-one-book-one-denver-cardboard-kingdom/

[zhongfeitongrenewableresources]

Colorado’s Ban on Banning Plastics Has Cities’ Plans to Outlaw Single-Use Bags and Straws in Limbo

Original article is from www.scrapmonster.com

A bill to prevent restaurants from offering plastic straws unless a customer requests one was put on hold indefinitely last week.

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): Apparently, there is a Colorado law that bans municipalities from banning plastics, and Denver has found out that it can’t consider a ban on disposable plastic grocery bags. This may seem peculiar in a state where at least nine communities already ban single-use plastic grocery bags, which can muck up recyclers’ sorting machines and survive for years in landfills. But there it is, in Section 7 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, 25-17-104:

Local government preemption. No unit of local government shall require or prohibit the use or sale of specific types of plastic materials or products or restrict or mandate containers, packaging, or labeling for any consumer products. Page 866 of Colorado’s laws

“We’re one of 10 states that has a municipal preemption where cities are not allowed to do this,” said Jolon Clark, president of Denver City Council. “Our attorneys were like, ‘This is great that you want to talk about it, but just know that you’re not legally allowed to do that.’ ”

There’s an effort underway to press politicians to change the 1993 statute, which is crammed into the recycling section. Other attempts this session at the statehouse to put limits on throwaway plastics, like straws, food containers and those grocery bags have so far had no results.

A bill to prevent restaurants from offering plastic straws unless a customer requests one was put on hold indefinitely last week. Another bill to let local governments regulate disposable food containers has been sitting without a committee hearing for two months. But the real hurdle here may not be about recycling, but rather, preemption and whether local governments should be able to regulate recycling within city limits.

“It’s a matter of local control,” said Morgan Cullen, legislative and policy advocate at the Colorado Municipal League, adding that all eight towns that banned plastic bags are home-rule communities. “But until the courts make that determination, there’s a gray area. Even home-rule municipalities have to give credence to the possibility of a lawsuit for enacting an ordinance that would prohibit plastic bags.”

The uncertainty caused towns like Avon to limit its own desires. The town’s disposable plastic bag ban went into effect last May and tacked on a 10-cent fee for paper bags. But it excluded polystyrene foam containers, the common to-go food containers. “We elected not to move forward with it at the time because of the uncertainty of the state statute,” said Preston Neill, Avon’s deputy town manager. “… But there seems to be support for initiatives like this based on adopted plans and the collective sentiment from comments at meetings.”

Aspen’s plastic bag ban started in 2012. Retailers charge a 20-cent fee for paper bags. Then the city was sued — but not for violating the state statute. Rather, lawyers for the Colorado Union of Taxpayers Foundation argued that the fee was a tax that required a vote by residents (as required by TABOR, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights). The case went all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court, which ruled last spring that, nope, the fee is a fee. The preemption law? It never came up, said Liz O’Connell Chapman, Aspen’s waste reduction and environmental health specialist.

Courtesy: https://wasteadvantage.com

[gordonwilliamsweb]

Tampons, Pads And Politics Mesh In New Push For Access To Menstrual Supplies

DENVER — Geoff Davis’ gray Kia sedan is chock-full of tampons and maxi pads.

Davis, 50, volunteers as executive director of Period Kits, a Colorado nonprofit that provides a three-month bag of tampons and pads to people in need. On lunch breaks from his full-time job in community relations or on weekends, he heads out to a food bank in Boulder or Civic Center Park in Denver to deliver free menstrual supplies to women experiencing homelessness or extreme poverty.

“A human being should not have to choose between food and tampons,” said Davis, who added he has heard stories of women putting newspaper, cotton balls or T-shirts in their underwear because they could not afford menstrual products.

Davis works on the front lines of the movement known as menstrual or period equity, which focuses on getting tampons and pads into homeless shelters, schools and prisons — as well as eliminating taxes on these products. Supporters argue that not having affordable access to the supplies stigmatizes the girls, women and nonbinary and transgender people who menstruate. It can keep them from attending school or jobs — and even lead to health problems such as infection, including toxic shock syndrome.

Period Kits founder Geoff Davis explains the process to a volunteer as they gather to assemble bags with a three-month supply of feminine hygiene products at Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery in Denver on Dec. 1, 2019.(Bear Gutierrez for KHN)

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia do not tax menstrual supplies, and five states do not have a sales tax at all. But Colorado isn’t among them — yet.

As with many social movements, menstrual equity activists in Colorado are finding the path to change isn’t straight. A bill to repeal the state’s tax on tampons failed in 2017. But last year, Denver repealed the city tax on tampons, and a state lawmaker pushed through legislation to provide tampons to people in custody.

So, too, are national efforts brewing ― incrementally. The first National Period Day, with rallies in the United States and abroad, took place in October. And a U.S. House bill introduced by Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) in March called for increasing the affordability and availability of period supplies, but the legislation remains in committee.

In the meantime, people like Davis are recruiting volunteers across Colorado’s Front Range to collect tampons and assemble kits. “We’re building a network of advocates,” said Davis. “It’s about awareness.”

The advocates also are dreaming bigger. Rose Grose, assistant professor at the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, said those who menstruate should not be limited in life just because they lack access to tampons. “I’d like to see more happen on the bigger picture, policy level,” she said.

Supplying Tampons To Prisons And Schools

What’s known as “period poverty”— not having sufficient supplies during menstruation cycles — may be more well-known in developing countries but it exists across the nation. Benefits under federal safety-net programs like the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, don’t cover tampons or pads.

Anne Sebert Kuhlmann, an associate professor at St. Louis University’s College for Public Health and Social Justice, is one of the first experts to quantify period poverty in America. She found that nearly two-thirds of low-income women in St. Louis could not afford period supplies at some point during 2017.

“Menstruation is not out in the public. It’s covered up. We don’t talk about it a lot,” she said. “It hasn’t entered our conversation about basic needs.”

Still, Kuhlmann said the situation is changing rapidly as more people learn about the issue.

Colorado state Rep. Leslie Herod is among those trying to shift the conversation — and the policies. She held up a tampon on the House floor last March, a video of her testimony showed, and described the lack of menstrual products and dignity for women held in law enforcement custody. The Denver Democrat detailed how women were disciplined for bleeding on their clothes and then denied access to the prison store where they could buy tampons or pads.

“Can you imagine how degrading and humiliating that is?” Herod later said.

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Subscribe to KHN’s free Morning Briefing.

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Please confirm your email address below:

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She sponsored a budget amendment and worked to pass a successful bill in the Colorado General Assembly, where more women hold office than ever before in the state. The measure provides menstrual supplies to people in Colorado prisons, jails and youth detention facilities.

Then, in January, Democratic state Rep. Brianna Titone introduced a bill to allow qualifying Colorado public schools to apply for grants to provide free menstrual products to students. High school seniors Julia Trujillo and Jocelyn Gotfred encouraged her to pursue the measure, which is pending, after they fought to get free dispensers in their school bathrooms in Arvada, a Denver suburb.

Last year, University of Colorado-Denver students pushed for free dispensers at their school. And Colorado State University in Fort Collins now has free period supplies campuswide after similar concerns.

“The conversation is changing because young, active, progressive women are standing up for each other and saying, ‘I have access to these products; you should, too,’” said Herod.

Period Kits provides a three-month bag of tampons and sanitary pads to people in need. (Bear Gutierrez for KHN)

Different styles of women's underwear are included in Period Kits donations. (Bear Gutierrez for KHN)

The Challenge Of Repealing Taxes

But repealing the Colorado state sales tax on tampons was a different story. Colorado, like many states, collects a general sales tax except on necessary items like food and prescription drugs. Tampons and pads are subject to Colorado’s 2.9% sales tax. Colorado state Rep. Susan Lontine introduced a bill in 2017 to eliminate the sales tax on those products, but it never made it out of committee.

“Tampon taxes” often trigger debate. Opponents of repealing the tampon tax cite lost revenue and suggest it could encourage efforts to repeal taxes on other necessary hygiene items, such as toilet paper or diapers, leading to even more revenue losses. Proponents argue that these taxes disproportionately penalize women, especially low-income women.

This past year, in Colorado’s capital, Denver City Council President Jolon Clark was shocked to learn from a female staffer that his city taxed tampons and pads. So Clark successfully led efforts to repeal the city sales tax of 4.3% on tampons and pads (that’s on top of the state’s 2.9% sales tax). The city treasury estimated that eliminating the tax would reduce annual revenue by $450,000.

“When we talked about it in neighborhood meetings, people started cheering,” said Clark.

But he noted that issues popular in Denver don’t always resonate with voters in the rest of the state, especially policies on taxes that can prompt battles between the red and blue parts of Colorado.

Grassroots Efforts To Fight Period Poverty

On a recent snowy Sunday afternoon at Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery in Denver, Period Kits volunteers gathered to assemble supply bags.

Davis stacked boxes of tampons, pads, liners and wipes in the middle of long wooden tables. An enormous cardboard box was filled with women’s underwear. Each cloth bag would get 40 tampons, 20 pads, 20 liners, six pairs of underwear and wipes.

“It should not be so expensive and so hard,” said Liz McGhee, 54, a volunteer from Denver, who worried that some low-income women in her community can’t afford menstrual supplies on a monthly basis. She had bought $125 worth of tampons and pads at Walgreens to help build kits.

“Period supplies are some of the least donated items to food pantries and shelters,” said Samantha Bell, director of the Connecticut-based Alliance for Period Supplies, a national network of 76 programs doing similar efforts.

Davis said he’s hoping to change that while also reducing the stigma, one Period Kit at a time in Denver. “A period is not gross or disgusting,” he said. “It needs to be treated with the respect it deserves.”

Tampons, Pads And Politics Mesh In New Push For Access To Menstrual Supplies published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

[stephenmccull]

Tampons, Pads And Politics Mesh In New Push For Access To Menstrual Supplies

DENVER — Geoff Davis’ gray Kia sedan is chock-full of tampons and maxi pads.

Davis, 50, volunteers as executive director of Period Kits, a Colorado nonprofit that provides a three-month bag of tampons and pads to people in need. On lunch breaks from his full-time job in community relations or on weekends, he heads out to a food bank in Boulder or Civic Center Park in Denver to deliver free menstrual supplies to women experiencing homelessness or extreme poverty.

“A human being should not have to choose between food and tampons,” said Davis, who added he has heard stories of women putting newspaper, cotton balls or T-shirts in their underwear because they could not afford menstrual products.

Davis works on the front lines of the movement known as menstrual or period equity, which focuses on getting tampons and pads into homeless shelters, schools and prisons — as well as eliminating taxes on these products. Supporters argue that not having affordable access to the supplies stigmatizes the girls, women and nonbinary and transgender people who menstruate. It can keep them from attending school or jobs — and even lead to health problems such as infection, including toxic shock syndrome.

Period Kits founder Geoff Davis explains the process to a volunteer as they gather to assemble bags with a three-month supply of feminine hygiene products at Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery in Denver on Dec. 1, 2019.(Bear Gutierrez for KHN)

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia do not tax menstrual supplies, and five states do not have a sales tax at all. But Colorado isn’t among them — yet.

As with many social movements, menstrual equity activists in Colorado are finding the path to change isn’t straight. A bill to repeal the state’s tax on tampons failed in 2017. But last year, Denver repealed the city tax on tampons, and a state lawmaker pushed through legislation to provide tampons to people in custody.

So, too, are national efforts brewing ― incrementally. The first National Period Day, with rallies in the United States and abroad, took place in October. And a U.S. House bill introduced by Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) in March called for increasing the affordability and availability of period supplies, but the legislation remains in committee.

In the meantime, people like Davis are recruiting volunteers across Colorado’s Front Range to collect tampons and assemble kits. “We’re building a network of advocates,” said Davis. “It’s about awareness.”

The advocates also are dreaming bigger. Rose Grose, assistant professor at the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, said those who menstruate should not be limited in life just because they lack access to tampons. “I’d like to see more happen on the bigger picture, policy level,” she said.

Supplying Tampons To Prisons And Schools

What’s known as “period poverty”— not having sufficient supplies during menstruation cycles — may be more well-known in developing countries but it exists across the nation. Benefits under federal safety-net programs like the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, don’t cover tampons or pads.

Anne Sebert Kuhlmann, an associate professor at St. Louis University’s College for Public Health and Social Justice, is one of the first experts to quantify period poverty in America. She found that nearly two-thirds of low-income women in St. Louis could not afford period supplies at some point during 2017.

“Menstruation is not out in the public. It’s covered up. We don’t talk about it a lot,” she said. “It hasn’t entered our conversation about basic needs.”

Still, Kuhlmann said the situation is changing rapidly as more people learn about the issue.

Colorado state Rep. Leslie Herod is among those trying to shift the conversation — and the policies. She held up a tampon on the House floor last March, a video of her testimony showed, and described the lack of menstrual products and dignity for women held in law enforcement custody. The Denver Democrat detailed how women were disciplined for bleeding on their clothes and then denied access to the prison store where they could buy tampons or pads.

“Can you imagine how degrading and humiliating that is?” Herod later said.

Email Sign-Up

Subscribe to KHN’s free Morning Briefing.

Sign Up

Please confirm your email address below:

Sign Up

She sponsored a budget amendment and worked to pass a successful bill in the Colorado General Assembly, where more women hold office than ever before in the state. The measure provides menstrual supplies to people in Colorado prisons, jails and youth detention facilities.

Then, in January, Democratic state Rep. Brianna Titone introduced a bill to allow qualifying Colorado public schools to apply for grants to provide free menstrual products to students. High school seniors Julia Trujillo and Jocelyn Gotfred encouraged her to pursue the measure, which is pending, after they fought to get free dispensers in their school bathrooms in Arvada, a Denver suburb.

Last year, University of Colorado-Denver students pushed for free dispensers at their school. And Colorado State University in Fort Collins now has free period supplies campuswide after similar concerns.

“The conversation is changing because young, active, progressive women are standing up for each other and saying, ‘I have access to these products; you should, too,’” said Herod.

Period Kits provides a three-month bag of tampons and sanitary pads to people in need. (Bear Gutierrez for KHN)

Different styles of women's underwear are included in Period Kits donations. (Bear Gutierrez for KHN)

The Challenge Of Repealing Taxes

But repealing the Colorado state sales tax on tampons was a different story. Colorado, like many states, collects a general sales tax except on necessary items like food and prescription drugs. Tampons and pads are subject to Colorado’s 2.9% sales tax. Colorado state Rep. Susan Lontine introduced a bill in 2017 to eliminate the sales tax on those products, but it never made it out of committee.

“Tampon taxes” often trigger debate. Opponents of repealing the tampon tax cite lost revenue and suggest it could encourage efforts to repeal taxes on other necessary hygiene items, such as toilet paper or diapers, leading to even more revenue losses. Proponents argue that these taxes disproportionately penalize women, especially low-income women.

This past year, in Colorado’s capital, Denver City Council President Jolon Clark was shocked to learn from a female staffer that his city taxed tampons and pads. So Clark successfully led efforts to repeal the city sales tax of 4.3% on tampons and pads (that’s on top of the state’s 2.9% sales tax). The city treasury estimated that eliminating the tax would reduce annual revenue by $450,000.

“When we talked about it in neighborhood meetings, people started cheering,” said Clark.

But he noted that issues popular in Denver don’t always resonate with voters in the rest of the state, especially policies on taxes that can prompt battles between the red and blue parts of Colorado.

Grassroots Efforts To Fight Period Poverty

On a recent snowy Sunday afternoon at Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery in Denver, Period Kits volunteers gathered to assemble supply bags.

Davis stacked boxes of tampons, pads, liners and wipes in the middle of long wooden tables. An enormous cardboard box was filled with women’s underwear. Each cloth bag would get 40 tampons, 20 pads, 20 liners, six pairs of underwear and wipes.

“It should not be so expensive and so hard,” said Liz McGhee, 54, a volunteer from Denver, who worried that some low-income women in her community can’t afford menstrual supplies on a monthly basis. She had bought $125 worth of tampons and pads at Walgreens to help build kits.

“Period supplies are some of the least donated items to food pantries and shelters,” said Samantha Bell, director of the Connecticut-based Alliance for Period Supplies, a national network of 76 programs doing similar efforts.

Davis said he’s hoping to change that while also reducing the stigma, one Period Kit at a time in Denver. “A period is not gross or disgusting,” he said. “It needs to be treated with the respect it deserves.”

Tampons, Pads And Politics Mesh In New Push For Access To Menstrual Supplies published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/

[dinafbrownil]

Tampons, Pads And Politics Mesh In New Push For Access To Menstrual Supplies

DENVER — Geoff Davis’ gray Kia sedan is chock-full of tampons and maxi pads.

Davis, 50, volunteers as executive director of Period Kits, a Colorado nonprofit that provides a three-month bag of tampons and pads to people in need. On lunch breaks from his full-time job in community relations or on weekends, he heads out to a food bank in Boulder or Civic Center Park in Denver to deliver free menstrual supplies to women experiencing homelessness or extreme poverty.

“A human being should not have to choose between food and tampons,” said Davis, who added he has heard stories of women putting newspaper, cotton balls or T-shirts in their underwear because they could not afford menstrual products.

Davis works on the front lines of the movement known as menstrual or period equity, which focuses on getting tampons and pads into homeless shelters, schools and prisons — as well as eliminating taxes on these products. Supporters argue that not having affordable access to the supplies stigmatizes the girls, women and nonbinary and transgender people who menstruate. It can keep them from attending school or jobs — and even lead to health problems such as infection, including toxic shock syndrome.

Period Kits founder Geoff Davis explains the process to a volunteer as they gather to assemble bags with a three-month supply of feminine hygiene products at Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery in Denver on Dec. 1, 2019.(Bear Gutierrez for KHN)

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia do not tax menstrual supplies, and five states do not have a sales tax at all. But Colorado isn’t among them — yet.

As with many social movements, menstrual equity activists in Colorado are finding the path to change isn’t straight. A bill to repeal the state’s tax on tampons failed in 2017. But last year, Denver repealed the city tax on tampons, and a state lawmaker pushed through legislation to provide tampons to people in custody.

So, too, are national efforts brewing ― incrementally. The first National Period Day, with rallies in the United States and abroad, took place in October. And a U.S. House bill introduced by Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) in March called for increasing the affordability and availability of period supplies, but the legislation remains in committee.

In the meantime, people like Davis are recruiting volunteers across Colorado’s Front Range to collect tampons and assemble kits. “We’re building a network of advocates,” said Davis. “It’s about awareness.”

The advocates also are dreaming bigger. Rose Grose, assistant professor at the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, said those who menstruate should not be limited in life just because they lack access to tampons. “I’d like to see more happen on the bigger picture, policy level,” she said.

Supplying Tampons To Prisons And Schools

What’s known as “period poverty”— not having sufficient supplies during menstruation cycles — may be more well-known in developing countries but it exists across the nation. Benefits under federal safety-net programs like the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, don’t cover tampons or pads.

Anne Sebert Kuhlmann, an associate professor at St. Louis University’s College for Public Health and Social Justice, is one of the first experts to quantify period poverty in America. She found that nearly two-thirds of low-income women in St. Louis could not afford period supplies at some point during 2017.

“Menstruation is not out in the public. It’s covered up. We don’t talk about it a lot,” she said. “It hasn’t entered our conversation about basic needs.”

Still, Kuhlmann said the situation is changing rapidly as more people learn about the issue.

Colorado state Rep. Leslie Herod is among those trying to shift the conversation — and the policies. She held up a tampon on the House floor last March, a video of her testimony showed, and described the lack of menstrual products and dignity for women held in law enforcement custody. The Denver Democrat detailed how women were disciplined for bleeding on their clothes and then denied access to the prison store where they could buy tampons or pads.

“Can you imagine how degrading and humiliating that is?” Herod later said.

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She sponsored a budget amendment and worked to pass a successful bill in the Colorado General Assembly, where more women hold office than ever before in the state. The measure provides menstrual supplies to people in Colorado prisons, jails and youth detention facilities.

Then, in January, Democratic state Rep. Brianna Titone introduced a bill to allow qualifying Colorado public schools to apply for grants to provide free menstrual products to students. High school seniors Julia Trujillo and Jocelyn Gotfred encouraged her to pursue the measure, which is pending, after they fought to get free dispensers in their school bathrooms in Arvada, a Denver suburb.

Last year, University of Colorado-Denver students pushed for free dispensers at their school. And Colorado State University in Fort Collins now has free period supplies campuswide after similar concerns.

“The conversation is changing because young, active, progressive women are standing up for each other and saying, ‘I have access to these products; you should, too,’” said Herod.

Period Kits provides a three-month bag of tampons and sanitary pads to people in need. (Bear Gutierrez for KHN)

Different styles of women's underwear are included in Period Kits donations. (Bear Gutierrez for KHN)

The Challenge Of Repealing Taxes

But repealing the Colorado state sales tax on tampons was a different story. Colorado, like many states, collects a general sales tax except on necessary items like food and prescription drugs. Tampons and pads are subject to Colorado’s 2.9% sales tax. Colorado state Rep. Susan Lontine introduced a bill in 2017 to eliminate the sales tax on those products, but it never made it out of committee.

“Tampon taxes” often trigger debate. Opponents of repealing the tampon tax cite lost revenue and suggest it could encourage efforts to repeal taxes on other necessary hygiene items, such as toilet paper or diapers, leading to even more revenue losses. Proponents argue that these taxes disproportionately penalize women, especially low-income women.

This past year, in Colorado’s capital, Denver City Council President Jolon Clark was shocked to learn from a female staffer that his city taxed tampons and pads. So Clark successfully led efforts to repeal the city sales tax of 4.3% on tampons and pads (that’s on top of the state’s 2.9% sales tax). The city treasury estimated that eliminating the tax would reduce annual revenue by $450,000.

“When we talked about it in neighborhood meetings, people started cheering,” said Clark.

But he noted that issues popular in Denver don’t always resonate with voters in the rest of the state, especially policies on taxes that can prompt battles between the red and blue parts of Colorado.

Grassroots Efforts To Fight Period Poverty

On a recent snowy Sunday afternoon at Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery in Denver, Period Kits volunteers gathered to assemble supply bags.

Davis stacked boxes of tampons, pads, liners and wipes in the middle of long wooden tables. An enormous cardboard box was filled with women’s underwear. Each cloth bag would get 40 tampons, 20 pads, 20 liners, six pairs of underwear and wipes.

“It should not be so expensive and so hard,” said Liz McGhee, 54, a volunteer from Denver, who worried that some low-income women in her community can’t afford menstrual supplies on a monthly basis. She had bought $125 worth of tampons and pads at Walgreens to help build kits.

“Period supplies are some of the least donated items to food pantries and shelters,” said Samantha Bell, director of the Connecticut-based Alliance for Period Supplies, a national network of 76 programs doing similar efforts.

Davis said he’s hoping to change that while also reducing the stigma, one Period Kit at a time in Denver. “A period is not gross or disgusting,” he said. “It needs to be treated with the respect it deserves.”

from Updates By Dina https://khn.org/news/tampons-pads-and-politics-mesh-in-new-push-for-access-to-menstrual-supplies/

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Jolon Clark takes over from Albus Brooks as Denver City Council president

Jolon Clark takes over from Albus Brooks as Denver City Council president

Denver City Council chose new leadership on Monday, naming Jolon Clark as the council’s new president and Stacie Gilmore as the president pro-tem.

Clark takes over from Albus Brooks, who served two terms as council president.

Both Clark and Gilmore were elected to the council in 2015, with Clark representing District 7 and Gilmore serving District 11.

Handout photo

Denver City Councilman Jolon…

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Denver council to consider tax hike for parks

DENVER — The Denver City Council will consider a proposal Monday to raise the sales tax by .25 percent for park maintenance and upkeep.

The proposal was strongly supported during a committee hearing in June and is now heading to the full city council for a vote. Mayor Michael Hancock will then have the final say on whether the initiative should make it onto the November ballot.

Voters will then decide whether the tax hike should go into effect or not.

The proposal would raise the sales tax in the city by 2.5 cents for every $10 someone spends in the city. That would generate about $46 million in additional revenue for parks and trails.

The council is hoping this will help cut down on the $127 million backlog on maintenance projects that are needed at parks across the city.

Councilman Jolon Clark came up with the proposal in an effort to help cut down on that backlog.

However, the city council is also considering several other proposals for tax increases for things like substance abuse and mental health treatment, healthy food programs and college scholarships among other things. The state is also considering a sales tax hike for transportation infrastructure.

That’s why some city council members are questioning whether this is the right time to ask for a tax hike for parks. 

The Denver City Council will discuss the proposal during its Monday meeting at 3:30 p.m.

from Local News https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/denver-city-council-to-consider-tax-hike-for-parks

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Denver PrideFest 2018 — The Know

Denver PrideFest 2018 — The Know

Cheer Colorado cheerleaders, adult volunteer cheerleaders that raise awareness and money for the LGBT community, do cartwheels across W. Irvington Pl. and Broadway on newly painted Broadway Rainbow Crosswalk before the annual Crosswalk Walk-Off June 15, 2018. Buffalo Exchange Colorado, the Baker Broadway Merchant Association and Denver Councilman Jolon Clark worked to raise $25,000 for two…

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Denver parks would be expanded under city councilman’s sales tax proposal that could go to voters this fall

Denver parks would be expanded under city councilman’s sales tax proposal that could go to voters this fall

If a city councilman gets his way, Denver voters this fall will be asked to increase the city sales tax rate to expand and improve the city’s park system, trails and other open spaces.

Denver Post file

Denver City Councilman Jolon Clark.

The idea of a dedicated parks tax — which would raise nearly $46 million a year — is being floated by Jolon Clark, who spent his career as a parks advocate…