Your Daily Guide

The Pearl Is Officially Over 💔

Following a dramatic and rapidly evolving series of events that unfolded over the past few days, the lesbian bar, cafe, and event space announced yesterday it was closing effective immediately. Founder and co-owner Dom Garcia posted a message to The Pearl’s Instagram story sharing their side of the situation, which has devolved into a heated blame game over the beloved sapphic bar’s sudden demise.

• Quick recap: On Saturday, The Pearl announced it would be closing for good at the end of the month due to financial troubles. But within 24 hours, a GoFundMe campaign raked in more than $83,000 from loyal fans in an attempt to save the place.
• Damning allegations: Shortly after, a video surfaced on Reddit showing co-owner Ashlee Cassity’s ties to an “anti-LGBTQ+ church” in Longmont (plus, condemning anecdotes and accusations pertaining to Garcia in the thread’s comments). Cassity addressed the video in an Instagram story, saying she wasn’t aware at the time of the church’s stance and has since left.
• A glimmer of hope: Cassity told Westword the donations would be used to help catch them up on rent and payroll, promising to have receipts of where the money would go and to “be transparent with the public about everything.” Cassity also said they’d planned meetings with investors this week to help decide next steps.
• Staff condemnation: Then yesterday morning, a message purporting to be from The Pearl staff members on social media urged the Denver community to report the GoFundMe campaign as fraudulent:
  
  “The staff came together and decided unanimously that we could not in good conscience accept these GoFundMe funds with the likely chance of ending up in the exact same position in three months,” the post read, calling on the owners to return the money to the community.
  
  The staff members also said they planned not to return to work after April even if The Pearl’s doors remained open.
• The bitter end: Garcia posted to The Pearl’s Instagram account yesterday afternoon announcing the decision to close, and included screenshots to prove the GoFundMe refund process had been initiated and a formal dissolution of the business was underway.

🪧 Gov. Polis Weighs In on Sheridan Teachers Strike

The governor is urging both the union and the school district to return to the bargaining table and hash things out. “Student success starts with supporting our educators, including recognizing their right to organize,” Polis said in a statement. “However, students must not be put in the middle of this disagreement.” Teachers and other school staff have been striking since April 1. Even though schools are open, many parents are choosing not to cross the picket line, causing student attendance to plummet. [CPR]

• The details: Here’s how the Sheridan teachers strike got so heated, and everything that’s at stake. [City Cast Denver]

🚩 Is Colorado’s Business Reputation ‘Deteriorating’?

More than 230 of the state’s biggest tech and business leaders think so, and they’re sounding the alarm in a signed public letter to state leaders, including Gov. Polis, U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. Following a recent report that said companies are leaving and/or avoiding the state, the group fears Colorado is losing its reputation as a tech and innovation hub over what they think are the state’s unclear industry regulations, and they’re asking local politicians to fix it. [Axios Denver]

🗞️ Where Do You Get Your Daily News?

Last summer, TEGNA — the company that owns 9News, among dozens of other news stations across the country — was set to merge with the even bigger broadcasting giant Nexstar in a $6.2 billion deal. But several antitrust lawsuits in state and federal court have the situation on ice. It also has us wondering: Who is the audience for broadcast news in a world where social media has become a dominant source for information? [City Cast Denver 🎧]