Mayor Mike Johnston characterizes his relationship with Denver Auditor Tim O'Brien as open and productive. The auditor calls it cordial. To the public, it appears contentious.

• "I've had mayors who have called me to say, 'Don't worry, my relationship was much worse with the auditor when I was here,'" Johnston tells Axios Denver, declining to name names.

Why it matters: The auditor serves as City Hall's financial watchdog, a key counterbalance to ensure taxpayer dollars are tracked and spent responsibly, especially during a rocky budget period.

Yes, but: It's a dynamic that's frequently tested.

Case in point: An audit released last month found that Johnston's signature housing initiative overspent by $20 million.

• The mayor's office fired back, describing the report as "willfully misleading" in some instances. Weeks later, in an exclusive interview, O'Brien called the mayor's response "not normal."

How it works: Audits typically involve months of meetings with agency staff, ongoing updates and draft reports shared with the department before publication.

Zoom in: Each audit includes recommendations for improvement, but agency pushback has recently increased, O'Brien said, without specifying why.

• For instance, the All in Mile High audit included 12 recommendations, but five were rejected because Johnston said the city had already taken those steps.

Reality check: The auditor doesn't have the authority to enforce those recommendations.

• Still, there are instances when an agency implements a recommendation after initially rejecting it, O'Brien tells us.

What they're saying: "When we conduct an audit, we spend a lot of time gathering data. … We don't get things that wrong," O'Brien tells us, referring to the $20 million gap between his findings and the mayor's retort.

• "We were not a single dollar over budget, and there was no dollar spent that wasn't accounted for, so that did not happen," Johnston tells us.

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The much-anticipated Front Range passenger train is now known as the Colorado Connector, or "CoCo" for short.

Why it matters: The quirky moniker, unveiled yesterday, could help win over Front Range voters ahead of a possible November ballot measure to fund a Trinidad-to-Fort Collins rail line.

Driving the news: The winning name emerged from a shortlist curated by consultants and put to an informal public vote.

• Of more than 25,000 votes counted, CoCo won 37%, besting second-place Front Range Express Destinations, or "FRED."
• Other options included the Colorado Ranger and RangeLink.

What they're saying: "Colorado Connector describes very well what the service does," Gov. Jared Polis said in the announcement. "It really connects our state from north to south along the major population centers."

If you ask Peri Rigler, a sugary treat and death are a perfect pair for conversation.

Why it matters: The Erie resident's Death and Donuts events create a welcoming space for people to openly discuss an often-taboo topic.

How it works: It's less about grief or what comes next and more a rumination on death itself.

• The cafes bring together a dozen or so people at virtual and in-person events, mostly in Boulder County, to learn and connect.s
• Today, her organization hosts a free online session on Colorado's medical aid in dying law.
• A week earlier, a group gathered at Natural Funeral Home in Lafayette to discuss environmentally friendly burial practices.

Between the lines: The donuts "lower the intensity," says Rigler, who also hosts the podcast "Mostly Death Stuff."

What she's saying: "There's just a lot of folks searching for meaning and to have an impact in the world. And so it's kind of natural to think about your death when you think about those things," Rigler, 47, told us in an interview.

Zoom in: Rigler, who works full-time in advertising, said Death and Donuts grew from her own curiosity and quest for community.

• "You know that we can talk a lot about how we disagree and we're divided as people, especially in the United States right now, but death is something that we all have in common," she says.

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🚨 About 14,000 Colorado kids are on the waitlist for subsidized child care, even as the program is on the brink of collapse. (Colorado Sun)

🍎 Sheridan School District reopened four of its five campuses as teachers continue to strike. (Denver Post 🔑)

👶 Weld County is the fastest-growing county in Colorado, surpassing Douglas County and overtaking Larimer County in population by just more than 1,000 people. (9News)

🏀 The University of North Carolina is hiring former Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone as its next head coach. (ESPN)

✍️ The governor signed an updated red flag law, effective immediately, allowing more people to seek court orders to temporarily prevent people deemed a danger from possessing firearms. (Denver Post 🔑)

Presale tickets are now available for the Underground Music Showcase's July debut in the River North Art District.

Why it matters: It's a new era for Denver's largest and longest-running music festival, as organizers hope to turn its cultural capital into financial viability.

State of play: Tickets for the three-day general admission event start at $75 plus fees.

• Discounted four-packs run $65 plus fees.

If you go: Running July 24–26, UMS boasts more than 200 live performances across 12 stages and venues throughout RiNo, including 150+ local acts expected, organizers say.

• $5 from each ticket will support creatives and programming in RiNo.

What's next: The full lineup drops next month.

Tell a music fan