Unsheltered Homelessness Drops, Denver Wildfire Concerns, and Was Casa Bonita a $50M Mistake?

Unsheltered Homelessness Drops, Denver Wildfire Concerns, and Was Casa Bonita a $50M Mistake?

From City Cast Denver by City Cast

May 22, 2026 · 57 min

About this episode

The episode discusses Denver's wildfire concerns, homelessness politics, and the controversy surrounding Casa Bonita's renovation costs.

Are wildfires a threat Denverites should be worried about? After the urban devastation the Front Range experienced with the Marshall Fire in 2021, Denver is working on its own fire evacuation plans for the first time. Politics contributor Adrian Felix joins host Bree Davies and producer Olivia Jewell Love to dig into the big environmental stories of the week, plus discuss Mayor Johnston’s approach to homelessness in the context of the 2026 point in time count report, and as always, share their wins and fails of the week! And for a special members-only bonus segment, the trio speculate about why Casa Bonita is such a sore spot for Matt Stone and Trey Parker, beyond costing the billionaires a cool $50 million to buy and renovate. Bree mentioned episodes we did on the Marshall Fire with a fire ecologist and an environmental reporter; she also talked about harm-reduction education in local schools and a Lakewood cop being investigated for alleged sexual misconduct and cybercrimes. Adrian mentioned Denver’s data center moratorium and the state Democratic Party censuring Governor Jared Polis. Olivia mentioned the JeffCo lookout alert system, a checklist for packing a “go bag,” fire…

People in this episode

Hosts: Bree Davies, Olivia Jewell Love

Guest: Adrian Felix

Topics covered

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Casa Bonita, Children’s Hospital, Taco Bell Cantina, state Democratic Party

Places: Denver, Lakewood, JeffCo, Front Range, DIA

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