As we look back on the last twelve months, two words, ‘Whew’ and ‘Wow’ come to mind—though I’m certain we use them at this milestone each year. Indeed, 2023 has been the latest version of ‘the year of living dangerously.’ So, let us review.
As December wound down, Colorado’s Supreme Court issued an epic and historic ruling. In just sixteen words—“A majority of the court holds that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president” —the court removed the ex-president from the state’s primary election ballot. In essence, the court ruled Donald Trump an insurrectionist.
Citing the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, the court determined that the ex-president’s actions on January 6th, 2021, when thousands of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol protesting the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election, rose to the level of insurrection, a word defined as a violent uprising against the government. (Since then, the state of Maine has followed suit.) The U.S. Supreme Court will make the final determination on Trump’s right to be on the ballot.
In 2023, the University of Colorado-Denver celebrated its 50th anniversary as a downtown presence. Beginning as a modest satellite in 1973, the institution has grown to a 126-acre operation offering thousands of students nearly 80 areas of study.
As Spring 2023 approached, the world marked the one-year anniversary of the Ukraine-Russia war. Since Russia launched this conflict, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed or wounded. In a war that Russian President Putin thought would be a ‘three or four-day affair’, the battle rages on.
The holiday Russian volley was a massive aerial attack on eastern Ukraine. The assault killed nearly 20 civilians and injured at least 130. While Putin has signaled a desire to end the war, though with certain assurances, including the right to keep captured Ukrainians territory, this latest bombardment seems to be a desire to continue to carnage.
February began with the shooting of a Denver East High School student and soccer team member, Luis Garcia. The 16-year-old died on March 1st. Also in March, two administrators at the same school were shot and wounded. The suspect, a student at the school, was found dead in Park County of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.
Also in March, the first woman to represent Colorado in Congress, Pat Schroeder, died. The Denver Democratic Congresswoman represented the city in Congress for 24 years. In her time in Congress, Schroder became famous for both her wit and her accomplishments.
In April, Denver held an election for Mayor. When the dust settled, two names remained, Mike Johnston and Kelly Brough. Johnston ultimately won the June run-off and now is the city’s chief executive.
May began with a media shocker. Fox News talking head and most watched face on cable television, Tucker Carlson, was abruptly fired. Carlson routinely unleashed anti-immigrant and antisemitic attacks on his nightly show. His ‘great replacement’ theory—that new immigrants were being allowed in the country to replace White voters—was his stock-in-trade. He likened it to eugenics, a tool employed by the Nazis. Carlson was also mentioned in a court ruling that fined Fox nearly $800 million for spreading malicious information about a Denver-based voting machine company.
In June, LaVozColorado wrote about the Colorado River. The river is the giver of life to more than 40 million people along a 1,450 mile stretch of land that begins in the Rocky Mountains at La Poudre Pass and, after a long and meandering journey, drains into the Gulf of Mexico. But, as it slowly and dangerously ebbs, it has become one of the West’s most glaring symbols of climate change.
In July, an expected Supreme Court ruling killed Affirmative Action. Court watchers were neither shocked nor surprised with the 6-3 decision to erase any consideration of race in college admissions and hiring. Alongside three new conservative justices now on the Court, Justice Clarence Thomas took the unusual step of reading his opinion, including a passage that included reference to his own benefit of Affirmative Action.
Also, as July came to an end, legal troubles for the ex-president continued with a Special Counsel indictment for surreptitiously taking and then hiding classified documents at his Mar a Lago residence. The disgraced ex-president still faces 91 felony indictments for crimes in Georgia, New York and Washington, D.C.
In August, ‘Barbie,’ the movie—not the doll—debuted. Barbie’s ‘mother’ and creator, Ruth Mosko Handler, began her life in Denver. Handler, whose company, Mattel, also invented ‘Mr. Potato Head,’ and a number of other iconic toys, unveiled and unleashed Barbie on the world in 1959. Since then, in all her incarnations, from nurse to astronaut, more than 90 million Barbies have been sold. Handler died in 2002. Her company, Mattel, is estimated to be worth $7 billion.
Labor Day 2023, the day we celebrate the contributions of working men and women, was marked by strikes—labor impasses. Among those on strike were auto workers and television and movie writers. Both strikes came to success- ful endings with workers winning significant concessions and higher wages.
October arrived with a shock as Hamas conducted an early morning surprise attack on an Israeli kibbutz. Hamas commandoes killed an estimated 1,200 men, women and children and captured another 250, some of whom remain in the hands of Hamas.
The October 7th strike has resulted in a non-stop bombardment on Gaza with an estimated 20,000 Palestinians killed and a vow from Israel President Netanyahu to continue the war until Hamas is eliminated. The war has resulted in a deepening division over the decision with both international condemnation of Israel as well as support for the war.
Rather than pinpoint a specific month—it has been a twelve-month challenge— Denver has wrestled with a steady flow of immigrants crossing the border. The year ends with more than 35,000 immigrants coming to Denver. Mayor Mike Johnston said the new arrivals are straining the city’s budget with an estimated ten percent of it already spent on the surge. He has called on the federal government for help and to address an immigration policy long overdue for updating. Johnston, along with mayors in Chicago and New York, has also condemned Texas Governor Greg Abbott as cruel and indifferent to these men and women for his unyielding practice of shipping immigrants to cities across the country to keep them out of Texas.
As the sun set on 2023, a celebration of life was held for longtime healthcare and arts advocate Lucille Ruibal Rivera. Ms. Ruibal Rivera was honored in December at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts by more than 250 people. Ms. Ruibal’s death was one of more than an estimated 45,000 domestic violence deaths around the world in 2023. She was remembered as a person who sacrificed her personal needs for the betterment of others.
Last but not least and with great respect and admiration, LaVozColorado celebrates 50 years of continuous weekly news. Owned by Richard and Pauline Rivera since 2008, LaVozColorado has provided the state of Colorado with an award-winning weekly bilingual publication and website. Publisher Pauline Rivera adds, “LaVozColorado steps into five decades of printing news and information in both English and Spanish available to Colorado’s communities. We are proud of the vision instilled many years ago that reflect a bilingual population that relies on and enjoys information in two languages. Look for a full story in next week’s LaVozColorado.
