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Mile High mess

‘Eye on News’ campus news snippets

By Leigh E. Rich

Mile High mess.

At least that’s what Eye would say. For those of you not in the know, the current parting of Auraria Parkway à la Moses isn’t merely another malevolent plot conjured by those nefarious T-Rex officials—it’s an evil ploy concocted by none other than Mayor Wellington E. Webb, who signed agreements early last fall with the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach to bring the car race back to the streets of Denver Labor Day weekend after a decade-long sabbatical.

Unlike the 1990-91 Grand Prix, which garnered lukewarm success at best, this car-tastrophe will be completely privately funded—well, except for “the repairing of Auraria Parkway to bring this street up to standard city code,” according to press releases from the official Web site at www.grandprixofdenver.com.

Hmm … Eye would like to know who, then, will be responsible for mending this little side street that dumps Pepsi Center, LoDo, and Auraria campus visitors into our fine city.

Any complaints, of course, should be directed to the Denver City Council which, via a unanimous vote, granted the Grand Prix Association the exclusive right to operate the 1.65-mile, nine-turn circuit that winds around “The Can” and has already left its mark at Ninth Street and Auraria Parkway.

Eye, however, would like to congratulate the Auraria Board of Directors who found constraint in the midst of such blatant capitalistic wet dreams and refused to allow the powers-that-be to re-landscape our adequately foliated inner-city campus. According to meeting minutes from last November, Grand Prix organizers “will not put stands on the Auraria (parking) lots because we would not agree to cut down our trees.”

With this in mind, it’s hard to figure out what exactly Colorado businessman George Gillett means when he says, “We will work with the citizens and business organizations in order to create an exciting week of activities that will benefit all of Denver.”

Well, except Aurarians.

Stay turned in the weeks ahead as Eye promises more unbiased news coverage of the Grand Pricks.

Rich, L. E. (2002, June 12). Mile High mess. CU-Denver Advocate, p. 2.

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