Arvada Press April 3, 2025

ARVADA CENTER

Arvada Kite Festival to return for 20th year

Annual high-flying festivities enter second decade

ANNOUNCES SUMMER CONCERTS P15 BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! Well, if you’re looking to the skies in Arvada on April 13, there’s a pretty good chance that it’s actually a kite!

e Arvada Kite Festival will return for its 20th year, with festivities kicking o at the Stenger Sports Complex at 11 a.m. and running until 4 p.m. e event is free to the public and will feature professional kite demonstrations from the Rocky Mountain Kite Association, over 100 vendor booths and more food trucks than in years past.

e professionals won’t be the only ones ying kites, as anyone from the community is welcome to take advantage of the event’s typi-

cally ideal wind conditions. Folks can bring their own kites or purchase them at the event, and the Majestic View Nature Center is hosting make-a-kite classes on April 11 and 12 so that everyone has a chance to get in on the fun.

Adelle Burton, Arvada’s special events manager, said she was proud to see the event move into its 20th year.

“ e Arvada Kite Festival has grown into one of our community’s most beloved traditions, and we’re thrilled to celebrate its 20th year,” Burton said. “It’s incredible to see thousands of families, friends and kite enthusiasts come together for a day of fun, creativity and connection.

“Whether you’re ying a kite for the rst time or you’ve been coming for years, this year’s festival will be a special milestone for everyone,” Burton continued.

e Stenger Sports Complex is located at 58th Avenue and Quail Street. Pets and barbeque grills are not permitted at the event.

Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation raises $580,000 at 13th Annual Gala

Gala proceeds help families with sick or injured children pay vital expenses

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A bountiful evening ended up raising a substantial amount of money for the Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation during its 13th Annual Kaleidoscope Gala, which garnered $580,000 for the organization.

Funds from the gala, which was held at e Ritz-Carlton Denver on Feb. 22, will go toward helping families with a sick or injured child pay for vital expenses such as gas money, help with mortgages or rent and other things that fall by the wayside when a child comes down with a serious illness.

Cathy Sandoval, Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation’s CEO, said that transportation becomes a necessity for many families when they are seeking care for their sick child.

“Let’s say you’re living in rural Colorado, for instance, and unfortunately, your child comes down,” Sandoval said. “ at means multiple appointments. It means car rides, missing work, all that kind of stu . So, we step in and support them in whatever way makes more sense to them, like maybe they need just gas cards so they can get back and forth.

“Occasionally, the treatment is so intensive that these families are missing so much work that they end up almost on the edge of eviction or losing their homes,” Sandoval continued. “So, we can even step in and pay their mortgage or their rent to keep them housed, so they’ve got somewhere to return to … If we can step in and help just take care of that problem, then they can focus on their child, which is what we’re all about.”

e Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation serves 1,700 families through its payment assistance program, with an additional 6,000 to 7,000 families receiving smaller levels of assistance, such as car seats, books or other resources the nonpro t provides.

The Arvada Kite Festival will return on April 13 this year. COURTESY CITY OF ARVADA

Cochino Taco crowned champion of ‘Olde Town Taco Showdown’ by readers

Cochino bested second place Teocalli by over 100 votes, as the two pulled away from a packed field

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e readers of the Arvada Press have answered the question on everyone’s mind over the last few years — ”What’s the best taco shop in Olde Town?” Cochino Taco earned rst place honors in our Olde Town Taco Showdown, defeating runner up Teocalli by 125 votes.

e ve brick-and-mortar shops in Olde Town went head to head, with voting conducted by readers over the course of the last month. ings started neck and neck, but the two front-runners began to pull away from the pack after a couple of weeks of voting.

Overall, 1,248 people weighed in, with 585 casting their vote for Cochino, 460 for Teocalli, 98 for Lady Nomada, 58 for Wapos and 47 for Fuzzy’s. Cochino opened its Arvada location in 2021 and operates another restaurant in Englewood.

Cochino owner Johnny Ballen said he was thrilled to see how the restaurant has remained resilient through challenges thrown at them, including the Ralston Road construction that concluded last year.

“Cochino Taco loves Arvada, and now we know how much Arvada loves us,” Ballen said. “It feels amazing that we’ve endured especially after and during the long Ralston Road improvement construction — that was trying and and having Arvada really kind of embracing us is really, really neat.”

Ballen credited Cochino’s happy hour, which runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day and all day on Sundays, for helping the taco shop earn a positive reputation within the community. He also credited the restaurant’s welcoming atmosphere for helping forge a following within the community.

“We create a sense of place and we’re very neighborhood driven, and we’re family driven,” Ballen said. “We just want people to come in — whether they have kids or not — and just have a great time.”

Olde Town Business Improvement

District Director Joe Hengstler said the wealth of taco options helps give Olde Town Arvada its unique identity.

“We love all of our taco options in Olde Town,” Hengstler said. “Everyone kind of inhabits their own niche and brings their own avor and style to the table, which is really cool to see. A giant congrats to Cochino on the win! ey’re a great community partner, and we absolutely love having them as part of our business community.”

anks to all who voted and named Cochino Taco the winner of the “Olde Town Taco Showdown” for 2025!

Arvada Chick-Fil-A gives $25,000 scholarship to employee studying at Regis

BY RYLEE DUNN

Regis University student Samuel Fuentes had a $25,000 surprise when he went in for his shift at the Chick-Fil-A in Arvada, as the company’s Remarkable Future’s Scholarships awarded Fuentes with a check to further his studies.

Fuentes, a rst-generation college student, is studying to become a high school biology teacher and is working at the Chick-Fil-A located at 52nd Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard to pay for school and help support his family.

Chick-Fil-A’s Remarkable Future’s Scholarships gave out 13 scholarships to students this year.

“Sam has such a passion to help other people and has demonstrated his community service,” Chick-Fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy said. “He’s been quite a leader here at the restaurant. We’re excited to come along and help him as he pursues his academic career and wants to become a teacher.”

Fuentes said he came in for work just like any other day and was shocked and excited to nd the presentation of the scholarship that was waiting for him.

Arvada names Lindsay Gillis director of Majestic View Nature Center

“I really didn’t know if I was gonna get my college covered next year, and I’ve been stressing about that,” Fuentes said. “ at’s the reason why I got the job in the rst place, to be able to a ord college next year. And this just gives me a stepping stone, and it made a dream become a reality.”

Former outdoor programs manager for Girl Scouts of Colorado takes the helm

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

New leadership is heading up the Majestic View Nature Center, as Lindsay Gillis has taken over the role of director for the outdoor education facility, a move that went into e ect on March 24.

Gillis was previously the Outdoor Programs Manager for Girl Scouts of Colorado and before that was the co-founded the Rocky Mountain Ranger Association.

In her new role, Gillis will oversee daily operations of Majestic View, manage the facility’s sta , oversee maintenance and landscaping, and coordinate programming. Gillis will also be responsible for grant writing, budgeting and coordinating events.

Ryan Stevenson, director of Arvada’s Vibrant Community and Neighborhoods, said the Arvada city team is excited to have Gillis.

“We are thrilled to welcome Lindsay to the City of Arvada,” Stevenson said. “Her passion for environmental education, strong leadership skills and innovative approach to outdoor programming make her an excellent choice to lead Majestic View Nature Center. We can’t wait to see how her expertise will enhance the Nature Center’s impact on the community.”

Gillis succeeds Anna Hoover in the role, who served as director of Majestic View between 2021 and 2024.

Lindsay Gillis has been named director of Arvada’s Majestic View Nature Center.

Cochino Taco. PHOTO BY RYLEE DUNN

ADVERTISEMENT

NAHB’s International Builders’ Show 2025 in Las Vegas Provided a Glimpse of New & Inspiring Products

Regular readers of this column know that I’m a sucker for new and innovative products. Many of them are on display each year at the National Association of Home Builders’ annual International Builders’ Show (IBS), which was held in Las Vegas the last week of February.

For me, as a real estate professional, IBS is comparable in interest to what the Consumer Electronics Show (now CES) is to geeks. This is where we learn about new concepts in manufacturing, both of home building materials and of houses themselves.

There were many “smart home” products promoted at IBS, including an app called OliverIQ, which claims to tie together all of one’s smart home devices into “smart home as a service” (SHaaS). At right is a screenshot of this app shown on an iPhone.

Literally hundreds of companies purchased exhibit space at February’s IBS show in Las Vegas, and I wish I could have attended, but here are some of the new or improved products which I learned about from press reports.

Lighting is an important part of any home, and one of the innovations that caught my attention was Alloy LED’s SurfaFlex 1 Tape Light. It is demonstrated in the picture below, providing a nice alternative to indirect lighting, which was also on display in various forms by other vendors.

When I visited a Scottsdale hotel several years ago, I was captivated by the folding garage door on its restaurant. Well, that concept is now going mainstream, albeit at a cost many home builders or homeowners might not feel they could justify.

Instead of the garage door traveling overhead on rails, rendering that part of the ceiling inaccessible and unusable, this garage door folds itself at the top of the opening. Clopay’s VertiStack garage door, shown below, won “Best of Show” at this year’s IBS.

Another product concept that caught my attention was under-counter refrigerator and freezer drawers, great for a wet bar, shown here between a couple beverage coolers.

Attention Wood Workers & Hobbyists!

I’m listing a home next month (or sooner) that has a fully equipped woodworking shop in the basement with lots of expensive woodworking equipment, most of which are Delta branded — table saw, planer, drill press, band saw, miter saw, and sawdust vacuum, plus hand power tools. Help me help the seller liquidate these tools before we put his home on the market. Call me at 303-525-1851

speaker system to the heated seat with hands-free opening and closing.” It is priced at $9,796.01 on Kohler.com. I’ll pass, thank you. Walls of glass are nothing new, of course. I saw my first example of a wall of sliding glass panels that opened onto a patio (with outdoor kitchen, of course) in a house in Lakewood’s Solterra subdivision that I helped a client purchase several years ago. I haven’t seen others quite as large and dramatic since, but maybe they’ll catch on following the display of a “multi-slide door” at IBS. They are also sold as pocket doors, but more typically stack into the width of one panel.

maintenance-free way to bring nature and tranquility indoors. In the posting of this article on our blog, http://RealEstateToday.substack.com, I’ll include links for each of these products

Over 90% of Listing Agents Insert Faulty Legal Descriptions in MLS

I’ve written about this before, but it bears repeating. As a finicky editor, it has always bothered me that my fellow agents don’t know what is and isn’t the proper legal description.

I analyzed 100 listing on REcolorado, our local MLS, and only 8 of them had a clean legal description. Let me explain.

Most non-rural listings are in a subdivision, and are legally described by the name of the subdivision plus the block and lot numbers. But almost every listing agent inserts the “legal description” provided by the Realist report obtained via the MLS. That description also contains a Section, Township, and Range as well as the size of the parcel in addition to the subdivision, block and lot, like this from a recent listing of mine:

SECTION 34 TOWNSHIP 02 RANGE 69 QTR NE SUBDIVISIONCD 138000 SUBDIVISIONNAME CLUB CREST FLG #2 BLOCK 003 LOT 0011 SIZE: 11001 TRACT VALUE: .253

Heading the list of truly weird products was a “smart toilet” from Kohler, the Numi 2.0, shown below. It “combines unmatched design and technology to bring you the finest in personal comfort and cleansing. Kohler's most advanced toilet now offers personalized settings that let you fine-tune every option to your exact preferences, from ambient colored lighting and built-in audio

Client Praises One of Our Agents

Hi, Jim. This is Rita Levine. I just wanted to give you feedback, and I'm sure you already know this, but I closed on a home recently, and my broker was Chuck Brown. I just wanted to let you know he was the best real estate agent I have ever had, and this is my ninth house in three states. So, he was just so accommodating, so helpful, and so patient because we've been looking for four and a half years trying to find somebody that would do a contingency and find something I could afford.

And so, I just wanted to let you know how much I greatly appreciate his assistance and what a wonderful person he is. I'm just really happy I had the opportunity to get to know him, and I'm so happy when I met with you that you brought him along and recommended that he would be the best person for me to work with because he absolutely was the best person to work with.

So, just giving you feedback, and I'm sure that's much better than any complaint because many times people only call to complain about things, and I just like to always let people know when somebody went way beyond what was expected of them, and he certainly did that. So, thanks again, and let him know that I let you know. Okay, have a great day. Bye-bye.

Lastly for this article, have you heard of “green walls”? RIVA Moss, sustainably harvested from European forests, allows for the creation of captivating living walls, framed art, and other custom installations, offering a

Defying Critics, NAR Retains Its

Last week, I wrote about the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR’s) Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP), which some major brokerages would like to see abolished, claiming that it is anti-competitive.

However, NAR, bolstered by an unsolicited determination by the U.S. Department of Justice that the CCP by itself was not anti-competitive, announced last week that it was retaining the policy, while throwing some crumbs to objectors in the form of a new MLS policy called “Multiple Listing Options for Sellers.”

That new policy was effective immediately (March 25, 2025), but gave MLSs until September 30th to implement it. The irony is that our MLS and possibly many others already offer these “new listing options” specified in NAR’s new policy. Those options are spelled out as follows:

1) A consumer will have the option to market their home as a “delayed marketing exempt listing.” This means a seller can instruct their listing agent to delay the marketing of their listing by other agents outside the listing firm through IDX or syndication for a period of time. REcolorado already has this feature, a “Coming Soon” status that is limited to 7 days, during which no showings may occur, including by the listing agent.

2) During the delayed marketing period, the home seller and the listing agent can market the listing in a manner consistent with the seller’s needs and interests. At the same time, the delayed marketing exempt listing will still be available to other MLS Participants through the MLS platform so they can inform their consumers about the property. That’s how “Coming Soon” status works.

3) Each MLS will have discretion to determine a delayed marketing period that is most

Here is the actual legal description, which the title company inserted in the warranty deed transferring the property to the buyer: Lot 11, Block 3, Club Crest Filing No. 2, County of Jefferson

Policy Against ‘Pocket Listings’

suitable for their local marketplace. REcolorado set that period as 7 days.

4) Listing agents representing sellers who choose to delay the public marketing of their listing must secure from their seller a signed disclosure documenting the seller’s informed consent to waive the benefits of immediate public marketing through IDX and syndication. Seller disclosure is required for both delayed marketing exempt listings and office exclusive exempt listings. The Colorado Real Estate Commission dictates that sellers be advised that restricting the exposure of their listing may not be in the public interest, but I don’t believe that such disclosures are being made to sellers by agents who convince sellers to keep their listing visible only to fellow agents within the same brokerage.

As I noted in last week’s column, listing agents can simply check a box during data entry to keep a listing off other broker websites, including realtor.com, redfin.com, and Zillow.com.

In summary, REcolorado has nothing to do to comply with this new “rule.”

My only wish is that NAR would disallow the “office exclusive” policy, which is itself anticompetitive, in that it disadvantages independent brokers and small brokerages, which, like small businesses, are the real workhorses of the real estate industry.

Does State Law Trump NAR Dictates?

Alabama has enacted a law that buyers do not need to sign an agreement with a broker in order to be shown a home for sale, directly overriding a key part of last year’s NAR settlement. The local Realtor Association lobbied for the bill, saying it put undue duress on buyers and was not in the best interest of consumers.

Families may finally see statewide dyslexia screening

Years of advocacy and desperate pleas culminate in bipartisan bill

BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SGLASSMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Driven by years of pressure from parents and advocates, Colorado lawmakers are considering a bill that would require all schools to screen early elementary students for signs of dyslexia, an e ort supporters say is critical to catching reading struggles before they deepen.

Last fall, desperate parents pleaded with the state’s Board of Education to implement screening without delay, sharing stories of children who slipped through the cracks because no one recognized the signs.

Senate Bill 25-200, sponsored by Sen. Chris Kolker, D-Littleton, and co-sponsored by Sen. Kyle Mullica, D- ornton, Rep. Eliza Hamrick, D-Centennial, and Rep. Matt Soper, R-Delta, would require school districts to implement a universal dyslexia screener or create their own process for identifying students with signs of dyslexia by the 2026-27 school year.

Kolker, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, described the bill as a foundational shift in how Colorado addresses reading struggles.

“If we have the ability to identify dyslexia in every child, then we have a responsibility to do it,” he said in an interview.

Under the bill, dyslexia screening would begin in kindergarten and continue through third grade.

e bill outlines speci c skills that any

dyslexia screener must assess, including phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, word decoding and oral reading uency, which are skills that are commonly associated with early signs of dyslexia.

By adding these criteria to state law, the bill requires the Colorado Department of Education to ensure that any interim literacy assessments it approves for use under the READ Act include tools or subtests that can reliably identify students at risk for dyslexia.

Interim assessments are periodic evaluations used by schools throughout the year to monitor students’ reading progress and identify those who may need additional support.

“ is gets those skills, like rapid naming and alphabetic knowledge, into statute, which means CDE has to include them in its next assessment review,” said Lindsay Drakos, co-chair of COKID, a parent dyslexia advocacy organization.

“So even if screening won’t be perfect at rst, districts will at least have to start, and they’ll be more prepared once the assessment list changes.”

e next interim assessment review process will take place in 2026.

Cost concerns and mitigations

Kolker said some reading assessments that districts currently use to determine how well students are reading, such as Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready Diagnostic, don’t adequately screen for dyslexia — a common learning disability that a ects word recognition, spelling and decoding skills despite typical intelligence and classroom instruction.

e bill doesn’t come with a scal note, meaning no money is available for districts to purchase screening materials, so

districts will be allowed to use a separate dyslexia screener if their current interim assessment doesn’t meet the new standards.

Alternatives such as the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills, referred to as DIBELS, or Acadience Reading, both of which are designed to detect early signs of dyslexia, are free to download and administer manually.

Schools seeking additional support, such as training, digital scoring and progress monitoring, can access these tools at no cost through the state’s Early Literacy Assessment Tool grant, which Kolker said could cover nearly every district in Colorado.

“No one who has applied for ELAT has been turned away,” Drakos said. “It covers DIBELS, which already includes all the required subtests, and it comes with training and progress monitoring. Most of the state already uses it.”

While the ELAT grant helps bridge current gaps, Kolker noted that broader investments will likely have to wait.

“We’re forecasting budget de cits, so we’re trying to do what we can while we wait,” he said. “ is is not an unfunded mandate. is is building the foundation.”

e bill also makes school readiness assessments for kindergartners optional. Kolker said the current kindergarten readiness assessments are poorly understood and inconsistently used.

“Districts say they don’t even know what happens to the data,” he said. “Let’s focus on where the de ciencies are with literacy, especially now that we have universal preschool and expect kids to be more ready.”

Some opposition to the bill may come from the Governor’s o ce, which has expressed concern over eliminating the

readiness assessments, but Kolker said he’s still waiting for a clear explanation of how that data is used.

He emphasized that the dyslexia screening provision has bipartisan support and backing from education groups such as the Colorado Association of School Executives and the Colorado Association of School Boards.

e bill represents a hard-won milestone for Drakos, who has advocated on this issue since 2019.

“We’ve been ghting for this since 2019, when barely any states required screening,” Drakos said. “Now 43 do, and we’re still waiting. We’re so close. is has to be the year.”

e bill is scheduled for public testimony before the Senate Education Committee at 1 p.m. on March 31.

Text deletion policy faces questions after high-profile firing

Records show top Je co o cials deleted text messages about David Weiss, which isn’t illegal

BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SGLASSMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

When a recent public records request asked for text messages between the Je erson County Schools superinten-

dent, top cabinet o cials and the school board about the termination of district employee David Weiss last December, most replies came back the same: “I don’t have any text messages related to this request.”

Board member Mary Parker was the exception. She preserved and submitted a series of texts, ful lling the request in full. Others, including board members, Danielle Varda and Michelle Applegate, Chief Human Resources O cer Amanda Pierorazio and Chief Legal Counsel Julie Tolleson kept a portion of the text thread.

Her messages included exchanges with Superintendent Tracy Dorland and other district leaders discussing internal investigations, communication strategy and how to respond to public and media inquiries following Weiss’ dismissal after the Je erson County Sheri ’s o ce noti ed Dorland that Weiss was under investigation for possessing child pornography.

According to records released by the district, Dorland and Chief of Schools Lisa Relou, responded that they had no text messages responsive to the request.

However, Parker’s texts show that both Dorland and Relou engaged in text conversations about the Weiss case with her and the rest of the board members, suggesting that those messages were deleted after the fact.

Parker’s preservation of these texts provides a rare look into how district leaders managed communications during a period of high public interest.

While nothing in the text exchange suggests district leaders hid anything from the public, the messages show a coordinated conversation about how best to respond to media and community in-

quiries and manage messaging around Weiss’ termination.

Weiss was found dead in Maryland after traveling there shortly following his termination. e medical examiner ruled his death a suicide. e investigation into the possession of child pornography charges against him by the Jefferson County Sheri ’s O ce remains ongoing.

While nothing in the text exchange suggests district leaders hid anything from the public, the messages show a coordinated conversation about how best to respond to media and community inquiries and manage messaging around Weiss’ termination.

While board member Danielle Varda retained only a few texts responsive to the request, she responded to the district’s request for text communications with concern, saying that while convenient, texting can blur the lines between informal conversation and o cial records.

“I think we are best served to be more public about how we are communicating,” she said.

Under Je co’s current records retention policy, deleting such communications is permitted. e policy states that electronic communications may be deleted on a routine basis unless district policy or state or federal law requires them to be retained.

Under the bill, dyslexia screening would begin in kindergarten and continue through third grade. SHUTTERSTOCK

BEST OF THE BEST

GALA

FROM PAGE 1

2010 as an e ort to support families going through childhood illnesses who needed help with their expenses. It’s steadily grown over time and now allows the foundation to serve many more families than they could in the beginning.

is year’s Kaleidoscope Gala saw the nonpro t recognize Shea’s Village, a family foundation formed in memory of Shea, a teenager who battled neuroblastoma for years but succumbed to the illness. .

Shea’s Village has helped the Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation expand its support for pediatric patients, including facilitating the addition of a new dog to the PAWS for Rocky Mountain Children’s Hospital program and helping to create a Teen Lounge at that hospital, where Shea received treatment.

“Shea’s Village does a couple things for us,” Sandoval said. “ ey are very much dog-lovers, and so they have taken over funding and helped us secure a second highly trained facility dog. ese are like therapy dogs, really. ey go to two years of training — we now have two. eir names are Posey and Lemon, and they work at Rocky Mountain Children’s helping kids with their treatment.

“We know having a dog takes away so much of the stress,” Sandoval continued.

Talley Nataka, a teenager who has recovered from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, said Posey and Lemon were instrumental in her recovery.

“I did two and a half years of chemotherapy, transfusions and procedures,” Nataka said. “I rang my bell signifying the end of all my treatment last September and got to celebrate! I truly could not have done this without my family, friends, the dance studio, and my doctors and nurses at the hospital, especially the dogs, Posey and Lemon.”

Members of Shea’s Village, with Lemon a therapy dog. Shea’s Village was honored at the 13th Annual Kaleidoscope Gala for their contributions to supporting pediatric patients and their families.

On March 14, 2025, Lemon, the therapy dog Shea’s Village helped provide, celebrated her second birthday with cuddles and tail wags. COURTESY PHOTOS

The psychedelic mushroom experiment has arrived

State regulators are issuing licenses and plans are in place for ‘healing centers’

BY KATE RUDER KFF HEALTH NEWS

Colorado regulators are issuing licenses for providing psychedelic mushrooms and are planning to authorize the state’s rst “healing centers,” where the mushrooms can be ingested under supervision, in late spring or early summer.

e dawn of state-regulated psychedelic mushrooms has arrived in Colorado, nearly two years since Oregon began o ering them.

e mushrooms are a Schedule I drug and illegal under federal law except for clinical research. But more than a dozen cities nationwide have deprioritized or decriminalized them in the past ve years, and many eyes are turned toward Oregon’s and Colorado’s stateregulated programs.

“In Oregon and Colorado, we’re going to learn a lot about administration of psychedelics outside of clinical, religious, and underground settings because they’re the rst to try this in the U.S.,” said William R. Smith, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

Psychedelic mushrooms and their psychoactive compound psilocybin have the potential to treat people with depression and anxiety, including those unresponsive to other medications or therapy. e National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, says the risk of mental health problems caused by ingesting mushrooms in a supervised clinical setting is low, but may be higher outside of a clinical setting. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a social media post last year, before his nomination as U.S. health secretary, that his “mind is open to the idea of psychedelics for treatment.”

Medical experts say more research is needed, particularly in people with a diagnosis or family history of psychotic or bipolar disorder. Adverse e ects of psilocybin, including headache and nausea, typically resolve within one to two days. However, extended di culties from using psychedelics can last weeks, months, or years; anxiety and fear, existential struggle, social disconnection, and feeling detached from oneself and one’s surroundings are most common. After the decriminalization and legalization in Oregon and Colorado, psychedelic mushroom exposures reported to poison control centers ticked up in these states and nationally.

In February, about 40 people organized by the psychedelic advocacy group the Nowak Society gathered in Boulder to talk about the coming changes in Colorado. ey included Mandy Grace, who received her state license to administer psychedelic mushrooms, and Amanda Clark, a licensed mental health counselor from Denver, who both praised the therapeutic power of mushrooms.

“You get discouraged in your practice be-

cause the current therapies are not enough for people,” Clark said.

Colorado voters approved Proposition 122 in 2022 to legalize natural psychedelics, after Oregon voters in 2020 approved legalizing psilocybin for therapeutic use. Colorado’s program is modeled after, but not the same as, Oregon’s, under which 21,246 psilocybin products have been sold as of March, a total that could include secondary doses, according to the Oregon Health Authority.

As of mid-March, Colorado has received applications for at least 15 healing center licenses, nine cultivation licenses, four manufacturer licenses, and one testing facility license for growing and preparing the mushrooms, under rules developed over two years by the governor-appointed Natural Medicine Advisory Board.

Psychedelic treatments in Oregon are expensive, and are likely to be so in Colorado, too, said Tasia Poinsatte, Colorado director of the nonpro t Healing Advocacy Fund, which supports state-regulated programs for psychedelic therapy. In Oregon, psychedelic mushroom sessions are typically $1,000 to $3,000, are not covered by insurance, and must be paid for up front.

e mushrooms themselves are not expensive, Poinsatte said, but a facilitator’s time and support services are costly, and there are state fees. In Colorado, for doses over 2 milligrams, facilitators will screen participants at least 24 hours in advance, then supervise the session in which the participant consumes and experiences mushrooms, lasting several hours, plus a later meeting to integrate the experience.

Facilitators, who may not have experience with mental health emergencies, need training in screening, informed consent, and postsession monitoring, Smith said. “Because these

models are new, we need to gather data from Colorado and Oregon to ensure safety.”

Facilitators generally pay a $420 training fee, which allows them to pursue the necessary consultation hours, and roughly $900 a year for a license, and healing centers pay $3,000 to $6,000 for initial licenses in Colorado. But the up-front cost for facilitators is signi cant: e required 150 hours in a state-accredited program and 80 hours of hands-on training can cost $10,000 or more, and Clark said she wouldn’t pursue a facilitator license due to the prohibitive time and cost.

To increase a ordability for patients in Colorado, Poinsatte said, healing centers plan to offer sliding-scale pay options, and discounts for veterans, Medicaid enrollees, and those with low incomes. Group sessions are another option to lower costs.

Colorado law does not allow retail sales of psilocybin, unlike cannabis, which can be sold both recreationally and medically in the state. But it allows adults 21 and older to grow, use, and share psychedelic mushrooms for personal use.

Despite the retail ban, adjacent businesses have mushroomed. Inside the warehouse and laboratory of Activated Brands in Arvada, brown bags of sterilized grains such as corn, millet, and sorghum and plastic bags of soil substrate are for sale, along with genetic materials and ready-to-grow kits.

SEE MUSHROOMS, P17

Mailing

750 W. Hampden Ave., Suite 225 Englewood, CO 80110

Phone: 303-566-4100

Web: ArvadaPress.com

To subscribe call 303-566-4100 or Scan this QR Code

BROOKE WARNER Executive Director brooke@ntln.org

LINDA SHAPLEY Director of Editorial & Audience lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

ERIC HEINZ West Metro Editor eric@cotln.org

RYLEE DUNN Community Editor rdunn@coloradocommunitymedia.com

ERIN ADDENBROOKE Marketing Consultant eaddenbrooke@coloradocommunitymedia.com

LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com

BUSINESS INQUIRIES For advertiser or vendor questions, please email our business department at accounting@ coloradocommunitymedia.com

Columnists & Guest Commentaries

Columnist opinions are not necessarily those of the Press. We welcome letters to the editor. Please include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone. Email letters to letters@coloradocommunitymedia.com Deadline Tues. for the following week’s paper.

Arvada press A legal newspaper of general circulation in Je erson County, Colorado, the Arvada Press is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media, 3540 Evergreen Parkway, Evergreen, CO 80439.

POSTMASTER: Send address change to: Arvada Press, 750 W. Hampden Ave., Suite 225, Englewood, CO 80110

CORRECTIONS

Email linda@cotln.org if you notice a possible error you would like us to take a look at. A publication of

Colorado Trust for Local News asks readers to make us aware of mistakes we may have made.

Shawn Cox, a co-founder of Activated Brands in Arvada, grows and extracts compoundsfromCordyceps, the mushroom pictured. The compounds are believed to boost energy andcirculation. (KATE RUDER FOR KFF HEALTH NEWS)

Igrew up here in Golden, as most of you probably know. My Dad went to the Colorado School of Mines, class of 1956, and half of the kids in my neighborhood had parents that were professors or were currently students there themselves. So, it should come as no surprise that one of the very rst songs I learned all the words to was this one:

THE MINING ENGINEER

I wish I had a barrel of rum and sugar three hundred pounds, the college bell to mix it in and a clapper to stir it ‘round. Like every honest fellow, I take my whiskey clear, I’m a ramblin’ wreck from Golden Tech, a helluva engineer.

A helluva, helluva, helluva, helluva, helluva engineer. A helluva, helluva, helluva, helluva, helluva engineer.

Like every honest fellow, I take my whiskey clear, I’m a ramblin’ wreck from Golden Tech, a helluva engineer.

Hail, hail, the gang’s all here. What the hell do we care as long as we get our share. Hail, hail, the gang’s all here.

M-I-N-E-S What the hell do we care now?

VOICES

Howd-E! It’s a helluva time at Mines’ E-Days

AVENUE FLASHES

In the summer of 1927, at a high point in America’s love a air with baseball, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig were embroiled in a widely publicized home run-hitting battle. Both were having career years hitting the long ball and in a 155-game season, Ruth would ultimately hit 60 home runs, with Gehrig hitting 47. Although the end tally does not seem to re ect it, throughout much of the season, these teammates were in close competition for the most home runs.

e combination of their home run race and the remarkable strength of the Yankees that year — who nished with a 110-45 regular season record and swept the World Series 4-0 against Pittsburgh, trailing for just one-and-a-half innings throughout the entire series — made the Yankees the team that captured everyone’s attention.

During this epic home run battle, Lou Gehrig wrote a syndicated article with this insightful passage, “And now a word about home run hitting. If the ball goes in the bleachers, well and good. If it goes for a single that scores a run, better

ABOUT LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

I had to take a little liberty with the correct poetic form so it didn’t take up the entire page, but if you have no idea what that song is, you haven’t lived in Golden very long. Of course, that’s the CSM ght song. But even if you knew that, you probably also know that there are a few other colleges around the country that use a variation of it, namely South Dakota Mines and the most famous, Georgia Tech.

But what you may not have known is that the song is based on is a melody called “Son of a Gambolier” from the 1800s and CSM started using it way back in 1879. at’s more than 30 years before Georgia Tech swiped it and started using it as their own. So, nah-nah-nah.

I’m mentioning all of that now because we have one of the big annual CSM weekends coming up soon and you might hear people singing it a few times.

Yes, once again, it’s time for E-Days! If you aren’t familiar with what that is, it’s a Spring mid-semester party for students and alumni that runs an entire weekend. is year it’s going to be from Wednesday-Sunday, April 9-13. ey have sort of an “old west” theme this time around and are calling it HowdE-Days with lots of events and comedian performances, plus some big concerts scheduled, so here’s an abbreviated schedule of the shindig. Most of them are free to attend, but those with an asterisk* need you to purchase tickets. I’ll have a link to that at the bottom.

Wednesday, April 9: Prom Dress Rugby, 4 to 6 p.m., North IM Fields; Silent Disco, 7 p.m., Kafadar ursday, April 10: E-Days Comedian Alec Flynn with opener Hannah Jones*, 6 p.m., Bunker Auditorium; HowdE-Days Ball, 6 to 10 p.m., Ballrooms D and E; Casino Night, 8 p.m., Friedho . Friday, April 11: Ore Cart Pull, 7:45 a.m., Outdoor Rec Center; Tesla Coil Demo, 12 p.m., Bunker Auditorium; Field Day, 1:30 p.m., Lot D/North IM Fields; Made at Mines, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., Labriola; “Scoot

Sometimes it’s not about swinging for the fences

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

your boots!” Swing and Line Dancing lessons 4 to 5 p.m.; Friday Night Event featuring Chase Beckham*, 6:30 p.m., D Parking Lot.

Saturday, April 12: Mining Games, 8 a.m., Q Lot; Cardboard Boat Races, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Clear Creek; Carnival 12 to 3 p.m., D Lot; Saturday Night Concert featuring Lovelytheband with opener Hayes Warner*, 6:30 p.m., D Parking Lot; and the loudest Fireworks display on the planet! 9 p.m., D Lot (weather dependent). Sunday, April 13: Pancake Pheast, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Ballrooms A & B; and a Car Show, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Lot A. So, there you have it. All the places you can sing that lovely song at and be appreciated. You can also get more info and order tickets at www.mines.edu/mac/edays. Hail, hail the gang’s all here!

John Akal is a well-known jazz artist/ drummer and leader of the 20-piece Ultraphonic Jazz Orchestra. He also is president of John Akal Imaging, professional commercial photography and multimedia production. He can be reached at jaimaging@aol.com.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

still. I am proud of my record for driving in runs. I think I have a right to be. And if I live to be ninety and play baseball every day of that time, I will still get a thrill when I pound out a hit that sends a run over the plate.” is article, republished by historian Alan Ga , gives us such insight into Gehrig’s mindset. Gehrig certainly knew a ton about hits. In fact, he had 218 in 1927, almost 1.5 hits per game, an awesome number.

Gehrig’s words and self-proclaimed celebration of “run-scoring hits” got me thinking about how we spend time, in our individual struggles, trying to hit the home run, looking to end the hardship quickly with one heroic action.

I nd, in Gehrig’s comments, a challenge to focus less on the home run and more on “run-scoring hits.” What does “run-scoring hits” mean

Colorado Community Media welcomes letters to the editor. Please note the following rules:

• Email your letter to letters@coloradocommunitymedia.com. Do not send via postal mail. Put the words “letter to the editor” in the email subject line.

• Submit your letter by 5 p.m. on Wednesday in order to have it considered for publication in the following week’s newspaper.

• Letters must be no longer than 400 words.

• Letters should be exclusively submitted to Colorado Community Media and should not submitted to other outlets or previously posted on websites or social media. Submitted letters become the property of CCM and should not be republished elsewhere.

in our struggles? For me, it means doing my morning exercises withdelity and skipping that extra cookie that I think I need. For others, it means small improvements, little changes, maybe an afternoon walk, or time spent practicing a new skill, or even a chance to read a book. It will most certainly mean something di erent to each of us.

I would challenge all of us to think about what it means to get “runscoring hits.” I cannot de ne it for you, but I do know this — hitting “run-scoring hits” entails making a small di erence for yourself or someone else; it is de nitely more than simply breathing that day.

I hope that you nd time to de ne your hits and then will take more time to celebrate the miraculous number of “run-scoring hits” you have.

You are amazing. Keep your eyes wide open to all you have and all you will accomplish. You have got this. I hope my words encourage you, and that you will share them with those who need support.

SEE ROOME, P9

• Letters advocating for a political candidate should focus on that candidate’s qualifications for o ce. We cannot publish letters that contain unverified negative information about a candidate’s opponent. Letters advocating for or against a political candidate or ballot issue will not be published within 12 days of an election.

• Publication of any given letter is at our discretion. Letters are published as space is available.

• We will edit letters for clarity, grammar, punctuation and length and write headlines (titles) for letters at our discretion.

• Please don’t send us more than one letter per month. First priority for publication will be given to writers who have not submitted letters to us recently.

Mission Arvada has been providing a severe weather overnight shelter solely through donations and volunteers. e city of Arvada asked Mission Arvada to provide this service due to the Severe Weather Shelter Network shutdown in Je erson County in 2024. Previously, the city of Arvada funded the network upward of $40,000.

RecoveryWorks, the day shelter in Lakewood, is fully funded by Je erson County and the city of Lakewood. In fact, the city of Lakewood pays Bayaud Enterprises to run the overnight Inclement Weather Shelter at RecoverWorks — I believe the city of Arvada should do the same. Mission Arvada at the Rising in Olde Town is almost exclusively run by volunteers; it is not appropriate to expect volunteers to provide security. If we have a fully funded 24/7 shelter, we will have the funds to support security and wrap-around services in one location. at is the solution RecoverWorks has unanimously moved forward, with thanks to the support of the city of Lakewood o cials, council members and concerned citizens. I believe the city of Arvada should follow the same path forward.

While there have been several communities speaking out to close Mission Arvada and/or propose an ordinance against the unhoused, now is not the time to turn our backs on your most vulnerable population, a population that continues to grow by leaps and bounds. We must work collaboratively to support a 24/7 shelter where we can provide round-the-clock security and sta to support our unhoused populations. Since RecoverWorks has opened its doors, I took it upon myself to speak with friends with families with young children who are long-time residents in the Colfax area who attend the PK-12 school just blocks from RecoverWorks where my daughter also attends. Residents have had no incidents with the homeless population who accesses these services, and there has been no increase in crime, and encampments have been cleaned up with the housing market continuing to rise. e unhoused population doesn’t wander, loiter or disturb local residents or businesses. Mission Arvada is signi cantly underfunded and yet continues to provide numerous navigation resources such as health care, applying for temporary and permanent housing, mobile DMV, mental health services, addiction services and much more. Mission Arvada is the hub for North Je erson County, and we must support the important services they provide by funding their emergency inclement weather shelter — a lifesaving service.

—BarbaraDray, Arvada

John Akal in

Jim Roome

Visit the Dark Side of Oz at The Oriental

One of the most famous legends in rock and roll is that Pink Floyd’s album, “Dark Side of the Moon,” syncs up with the 1939 classic, “ e Wizard of Oz.” While the band has always denied any intentional connection, there are certain moments that lend credence to the notion.

“I was in high school when I rst heard the urban legend,” said Kent Adamson, lead vocalist for e Crazy Diamonds progressive rock group. “ ere are lots of coincidences when you try it, especially in the rst part of the album. It’s uncanny how it lines up sometimes.”

COMING ATTRACTIONS

In honor of the pairing of music and lm in fun and experimental ways, e Oriental eater, 4335 W. 44th Ave. in Denver, is hosting the Dark Side of the Movie Experience at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 11.

e evening will begin with Royale w/ Cheese, who will be performing the soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino’s immortal “Pulp Fiction” while the lm plays on the big screen. Next will be Lt. Dan & e New Legs performing a selection of hits from the blockbuster, “Forest Gump.”

And nally, e Crazy Diamonds will take to the stage to perform “Dark Side of the Moon” in sync with a screening of “ e Wizard of Oz.”

e o er to play the show came to e Crazy Diamonds after a recent performance of “Dark Side of the Moon” in full at Nissi’s in Lafayette. e idea really appealed to the 10-person band, which was formed out of members of the Colorado Art Rock Society, which is a group for fans of progressive rock (bands like ELP, Genesis and Porcupine Tree).

“We get together once a month and talk about the music we love and there’s also the once-a-year Prog Fest concert, where members do tributes to di erent prog rock bands,” Adamson explained. “ is year there was supposed to be a di erent headliner but when that fell through, we put on a show of ‘Dark Side’ because we thought it would pull people in.”

And it did.

It’s easy to understand why — “Dark Side of the Moon” is the fourth best-selling album of all time, an album music fans of all ages have been returning to for generations. Add in a renewed interest in all things Oz, thanks to “Wicked,” and you have a perfect pairing.

“It’s just one of those timeless pieces of music and anyone who appreciates music will enjoy seeing it played authentically live,” Adamson said. “When you have this cool tie to a famous urban legend about one of the greatest movies of all time, it just gets more interesting.”

Tickets and information are available at www.theorientaltheater.com.

Denver EATSS is a Night of Delights to support American Indian College Fund

Denver EATSS is back for two nights of delicious food and music, all in support of Denver’s American Indian College Fund.

e dining portion of the event will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, April 11 and Saturday, April 12 at e Studio  at the top oor of Ellie Caulkins Opera House, 1385 Curtis St. in Denver, and the live music portion will be held at 7:30 p.m. on the 11th and 12th at Boettcher Concert Hall, 1000 14th St.

Tickets are available for one portion of the evening or both. e dining will include food from some of the top native chefs and Nathaniel Rateli  will join the Colorado Symphony for the music part of the evening (as well as opener Raye Zaragoza).

is is certain to be a great evening, no matter which option you select, so get tickets at https://standwith.collegefund. org/denver-eatss/.

Belleview Park Hosts Spring Festival

Since we’re in the midst of the all-toobrief spring season, now is the perfect time forBelleview Park, 5001 S. Inca Drive in Englewood, to throw itsSpring Festival e event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 12, and features activities for all ages. ere will be egg hunts for di erent age groups beginning at 11 a.m. and a Sensory Friendly Hunt as well. Additionally, attendees can shop at local vendors, take part in crafts and games, and grab some bites at food trucks.

All the details are available at www.englewoodco.gov/our-city/events/upcoming/spring-festival.

Clarke’s Concert of the Week — Laura Jane Grace at Meow Wolf

Laura Jane Grace is one of the most important gures in the contemporary indie rock world. Not only is she the frontperson of Against Me!, one of the great early 2000s rock bands, but when she went public with her gender transition in 2012, she became an icon for trans people and showed the power of embracing your true self.

Plus, she continued to make top notch rock music under her own name.

Last year Grace released her newest album, “Hole in My Head,” and it proved she can still wield a sharp pen and write some killer ri s. In support of the release, she and e Mississippi Medicals will perform atMeow Wolf’s e Perplexiplex, 1338 1st St. in Denver, at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 5. She’ll be joined by openers Alex Lahey and Rodeo Boys Information and tickets are available at https://tickets.meowwolf.com/events/ denver/laura-jane-grace/.

Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail.com.

ank you to everyone who has shared their stories with me so far; I truly appreciate hearing about your run-scoring hits and celebrations.

Jim Roome lives in Arvada with his wife,

Beth. He spent 34 years in public education. Lessons learned from the one-two punch of being diagnosed with MS shortly before his best friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer led him into a new pursuit as a freelance writer and speaker. He uses his life experiences and love of stories to inspire, educate and encourage local, national and international audiences. Contact him at jim.roome@gmail.com.

Clarke Reader

in municipal court KIDS ON THEIR OWN

Children as young as 10 can face charges with no court-appointed representation

BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SGLASSMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

“Yes, your honor,” a teenager answers, her voice barely audible in the quiet courtroom in March. Lakewood Municipal Court Judge Corin Flannigan has just asked her if she understands the charge against her — ghting in public — and the possible penalties she faces.

“I know you’ve spoken to the city attorney about your options,” Flannigan continues. “ ey are recommending a term of diversion if you choose to plead guilty.”

e girl’s grandmother, standing beside her, hesitates before speaking.

“What happens if she pleads not guilty? She was protecting her property,” she says.

“If you wish to plead not guilty today, you absolutely can, and I will set your case for trial,” Flannigan replies. “Please know that, unlike state court, juvenile cases aren’t eligible for the public defender because no detention or out-ofhome placement is possible. So if you plead not guilty, you would either have to represent yourself or hire your own attorney.”

e girl glances at her grandmother. ey exchange a brief, uncertain look, and Flannigan asks if she wants to plead guilty after all.

e girl nods.

is scenario isn’t an anomaly. It’s routine in municipal courts across Colorado, where children can be prosecuted for minor o enses without court-appointed legal representation unless they face jail time.

Amanda Savage, a visiting assistant

professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, said the disparity in these cases is profound.

“ ere is such a power imbalance any time an individual is in a courtroom, even if they are represented,” Savage said. “You have the power of the city or the state on one side against a single person, even if they have an attorney. And that’s so much more dramatic when it’s a child or a young person, especially when they are standing there by themselves.”

The harsh reality of youth in municipal court ousands of Colorado youth receive municipal citations every year, often for school-related incidents such as ghting, disorderly conduct or petty theft.

According to a 2025 National Center for Youth Law report, Lakewood Municipal Court alone handled over 8,000 youth cases between 2016 and 2022, many of which originated from school-based incidents. e report found that only 1.5% of these cases involved a defense attorney, meaning nearly all children were left to defend themselves.

Not only do the vast majority not have an attorney, but the report highlighted just how young many of the defendants are. In Lakewood, 36 cases involved 10 year olds, 98 involved 11 year olds and 278 involved 12 year olds, most of whom faced court involvement for minor, child-like misbehavior.

Hannah Seigel Pro , a defense attorney representing youth in municipal and state courts across Colorado, said that this pattern of prosecution unnecessar-

ily entangles young children in the legal system and imposes excessive supervision for behaviors that could be handled within families and schools.

Pro believes this over-supervision of youth who don’t have signi cant risks or needs is problematic.

Savage agreed, describing the lasting impact this can have on children’s futures.

“It can certainly set people on a path that involves increasing levels of involvement in the system,” she said. “If they don’t do well while they’re on that diversion or that probation, it can get longer, additional problems can crop up from it, and it can become a big part of that person’s life and future identity.”

A courtroom stacked against kids

Pro emphasized that the system places an undue burden on children and their families.

“You have a system that is designed for adults being applied to children with no modi cations,” she said. “You’re putting children in front of a judge and a prosecutor, without counsel, and expecting them to understand their rights, their legal options and the long-term impact of their decisions.”

Pro noted that many of these children have no way to obtain legal representation.

“In municipal court, they give you a piece of paper with a list of low-cost lawyers, but most of those lawyers don’t take these cases or won’t return calls. So in reality, these kids have no representation at all,” she said. “Without legal rep-

resentation, families do not understand their rights. Prosecutors downplay the severity of the municipal court system, but these cases are often the rst stop on the school-to-prison pipeline.” e report also highlights another stark disparity — youth in municipal court must pay for discovery, which is the process of obtaining evidence against them. In contrast, evidence is freely available to juveniles in state court. is nancial barrier means many children never see the evidence being used against them before making critical legal decisions.

e report also argues that prosecutors often encourage youth to plead guilty and enter a diversion program, regardless of whether they fully comprehend the long-term consequences. In Colorado’s juvenile justice system, diversion is an alternative to formal prosecution. It aims to prevent further legal involvement by requiring youth to complete certain obligations, such as community service, restitution payments or educational classes, in exchange for dismissed charges.  While intended to keep youth out of the court system, diversion still carries signi cant nancial and time commitments that disproportionately burden low-income families.

Pro said she’d seen the push for families to accept diversion programs — without the families fully understanding the consequences — play out many times.

ON THEIR OWN

“What has become clear to me is that the majority of juvenile municipal dockets are kangaroo courts,” Pro said. “Most children are unrepresented, and prosecutors push them to accept diversion sentences before carefully reviewing the facts of the case.”

A guilty plea can also have negative consequences concerning immigration status.

A YouTube video advising Lakewood juveniles of their rights states: “a plea of guilty or nding of conviction or possibly just the charges themselves could a ect your immigration rights. You could be deported, you could lose your ability to become a naturalized citizen and it could a ect your ability to return to the United States if you were to leave the United States.”

Punishment beyond the courtroom e consequences of municipal court involvement extend far beyond a single court appearance. Youth can face nes and fees as high as $2,650, which the National Center for Youth Law report notes are amounts they often cannot pay.

Parents, too, are drawn into the process, sometimes held nancially responsible for their child’s penalties or are required to accompany them to community service, court dates or probation meetings, according to the report.

Savage also noted that the burden doesn’t just fall on the child.

“ ere’s such a huge impact on the whole family when the kid has a municipal court case,” she said. “Because not only does the young person have to be there, but the parent does, too. at means the parent is missing work. e fact is, the parents also have to disrupt their lives and spend time doing this, instead of spending time at work or with their other kids or doing productive things.”

Who benefits from this broken system?

e National Center for Youth Law argues that Colorado’s municipal court system disproportionately impacts lowincome families and youth of color, indicating that schools in lower-income neighborhoods are more likely to call law enforcement for behavior that could be addressed through school disciplinary measures.

e report found that at least 22% of youth cases in Lakewood stemmed from school-based o enses, highlighting a school-to-municipal court pipeline that disproportionately a ects students of color.

e data also showed that the three schools referring the most students to Lakewood’s municipal court have some of the highest percentages of Black and Latino students in the Je erson County school district, reinforcing concerns about racial disparities in school discipline.

Pro said this disproportionate referral pattern raises concerns about how disciplinary decisions are made and whether schools rely too heavily on law enforcement for matters that could be handled through alternative interventions.

She pointed to Littleton’s restorative justice program as an example of an approach that, when implemented thoughtfully, can provide a more meaningful alternative to punitive measures. Pro was particularly impressed by the program’s restorative justice circles, which o er youth the opportunity to engage in community-based resolution rather than facing legal consequences that may not t their situation.

However, she also noted that restorative justice should not be applied as a onesize- ts-all solution and that careful consideration is needed in determining which cases are appropriate for such programs.

The fight for reform

In December 2023, Denver City Council unanimously approved a bill to provide free legal representation to minors between the ages of 10 and 18 who are facing municipal violations. is initiative, which took e ect on July 1, 2024, ensures that youth accused of o enses such as alcohol possession, trespassing, theft and minor assault receive appropriate legal counsel.

However, Denver is currently the only county in Colorado o ering public defenders to minors in municipal court settings.

e National Center for Youth Law is now pushing for similar reforms statewide, calling for automatic legal representation for juveniles facing charges in municipal courts.

e center recommends that policymakers enact legislation to eliminate youth nes and fees, raise the minimum age for prosecution, mandate legal repre-

sentation for minors in municipal court and require comprehensive data collection on ticketing and court outcomes.  e center also urges police departments to limit or discontinue issuing tickets for school-related o enses and shift discipline away from the legal system. For school districts, it’s calling for revising disciplinary codes to reduce student ticketing for minor infractions and adopting restorative justice practices to address con icts that promote accountability and resolution without legal consequences. Pro believes that the question of whether children should be expected to navigate the complexities of the legal system without an attorney is one of fundamental fairness.

e presence of a lawyer can signicantly change how a young person experiences the legal process, Pro said, helping to demystify the system and ensure that youth feel heard and understand what’s happening.

“Even if the result is the same, even if a kid decides to still take a diversion at the end of things, just having a lawyer there and feeling like it was a fair process has value,” she said. “It makes it less scary. It helps people understand what’s going on.”

She added that many people are unaware that children can be prosecuted without legal counsel — a reality that often comes as a shock.

“ e fact that a child can face prosecution without legal counsel is something that shocks most people when they hear about it,” Pro continued. “It just feels really backwards.”

Thu 4/03

Planet of the Drums @ 7pm

Buffalo Rose, 1119 Washington Ave, Golden

Tobyraps @ 7:30pm The Black Buzzard, 1624 Market St, Denver

Fri 4/04

Denco

@ 4pm

Tom's Watch Bar - Coors Field, 1601 19th St Unit 100, Denver

Blossom Reynolds

Ash Redhorse & The Midnight Suns: Tour Homecoming/Kickoff Show @ 8pm Squire Lounge, 1800 E Colfax Ave, Denver

Sea of Flame: Mercury EP Release Party @ 8pm Bar 404, 404 Broadway, Denver

Sat 4/05

Evergreen Chamber OrchestraSpring Concert - Evergreen @ 3pm / $30

Rockland Community Church, 17

@ 7pm Ski House, 2719 Larimer St, Denver

Zikr Dance Ensemble presents "Mysteries" at Lakewood Cultural Center April 4

@ 7:30pm / $34

Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 South Allison Parkway, Lakewood. info@zikr dance.com

Jay Pharoah (21+ Event) @ 7pm

South Mount Vernon Country Club Road, Golden. board@evergreencham berorch.org, 303-670-6558

Rodeo Boys: Laura Jane Grace & The Mississippi Medicals @ 8pm Meow Wolf Denver | Convergence Sta‐tion, 1338 1st St, Denver

MICAH @ 8pm Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glenarm Place, Den‐ver

Sun 4/06

Sarah Minto-Sparks @ 2pm

Cactus Jack's Saloon, 4651 County Hwy 73, Evergreen

Jon Snodgrass Music: DENVER - Greg Norton & BUDDIES / Sunday Matinee @ 5pm HQ, 60 S Broadway, Denver

Comedy Works - Larimer Square, 1226 15th Street, Denver

Mon 4/07

Soundularity @ 2pm

MorningStar Senior Living, 2100 S Josephine St, Denver Ski @ 7pm The Oriental Theater, 4335 W 44th Ave, Denver

Tue 4/08

René Moffatt Music: South Broadway Song Circle @ 7pm Roxy on Broadway, 554 S Broadway, Denver

Beyond Laser Light Experience @ 4pm Denver

Free Throw: Those Days Are Gone 10 Year Anniversary Tour @ 6:30pm Summit, Denver

Worry Club @ 7pm

Bluebird Theater, 3317 E Colfax Av, Denver

Jen Fulwiler: Comedy Works SouthComedy Special Live Taping! @ 7pm

Comedy Works Downtown, 1226 15th St, Den‐ver

Free Throw @ 7:30pm Summit Denver, 1902 Blake Street, Denver

Beyond Laser Light Experience @ 4pm Denver

Bullet for My Valentine and Trivium @ 5pm Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson St, Denver

Delbert Anderson: Julia Keefe

Indigenous Big Band @ 7:30pm

Newman Center for the Performing Arts, 2344 E Iliff Ave, Denver

DJ Rockstar Aaron @ 8pm

Bout Time Pub & Grub, 3580 S Platte River Dr A, Sheridan

Nanpa Básico @ 8pm

Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glenarm Place, Den‐ver

Wed 4/09 Calendar

Conference on World A airs returns for 77th year

2025 gathering will feature Cynthia Erivo of ‘Wicked’ at keynote event

BY ELISABETH SLAY ESLAY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e University of Colorado Boulder Conference on World A airs, also known as the CWA, is set to return for its 77th year on April 7-10, with a wide range of panels, addresses and discussions on various topics from cybersecurity to fashion.  e conference, which takes place at 1344 Grandview Ave. in Boulder, will kick o with a keynote event on April 7 featuring “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo. e ticketed event will take place from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Macky Auditorium Concert Hall.

Jon Leslie, vice chancellor of communications at the UC Boulder, describes the conference as one of the university’s longest-standing traditions.

Leslie said members of the CU Boulder community, including students, faculty, sta and alumni, come together to organize and run the event, which sets it apart from other academic conferences.

“It is a really unique format where members of the community volunteer to work with our students and members of our faculty and sta to put together a really interesting and lively mixture of panels, keynotes and other types of content that engage topics of the day across di erent disciplines, di erent perspectives and, really, in a way that is more grassroots than you might think of a typical kind of academic conference,” Leslie said.

Noteworthy speakers from previous CWA events include Eleanor Roosevelt, Molly Ivins, Roger Ebert, Amanda Gorman and Steve Wozniak. is year, there will be more than 50 speakers participating in about 50 panels. For those unable to attend in person, all panels will be available for live streaming, ensuring anyone can engage with the content from anywhere.

Last year, CWA drew approximately 1,500 in-person attendees and 1,000 online viewers. As of March 21, more than 1,000 people have registered to attend this

year’s event, and the conference can accommodate up to 2,500 attendees.

is year’s conference promises a wide range of panels and discussions on topics including cybersecurity, innovation, leadership, the future of democracy, neuroscience, addiction and more.

Laura Harder, president of the Northern Colorado Information Systems Security Association, will return to the conference for the third time.

As a speaker on three panels covering geopolitics, cyber actors and the space domain, Harder is excited to engage in dynamic discussions with attendees.

“ e Conference on World A airs is really interesting,” Harder said. “As a public speaker, typically you have the opportunity to present your voice and opinion, and it’s very one-sided … but the Conference on World A airs is really di erent in that it turns all of that upside down.”

Harder said while one is selected as a panelist based on their ideas, the audience actively participates in asking additional questions and the conversation is more audience-led.

A beloved tradition at CWA is the Ebert Interruptus, named for the lm critic Roger Ebert, who used to lead a weeklong deep-dive discussion into one lm each year.

is year, inspired by the keynote event with Erivo, the event will feature a threeday exploration of “ e Wizard of Oz.”

Leslie highlighted the interactive nature of the CWA.

“Folks have the opportunity to write questions and have them sent up to the moderators, and they take those in real time, so there’s also the opportunity to engage in the conversations,” he said.

Leslie also looks forward to the unique atmosphere the conference creates, where people from various backgrounds come together to engage with one another.

“CWA is a time when the campus comes to life in a di erent way based on the mixture and mingling of folks you don’t normally see on campus, and that energy is something that really creates joy for me when I see it,” Leslie said.

During this time, Leslie said he believes this kind of event is more important than ever.

“ is kind of event is something that we

need as much of as we can get right now,”

Leslie said. “At a time when I think dicult conversations are hard to have — and I think folks might be reluctant to engage on topics that could cause potential conict — creating a format and a visible one where we can have some of those conversations. We can bring di erent perspectives together in a way that’s constructive and hopefully fun.”

Charlotte Andresen, a CU Boulder senior from ornton and the student chief of sta for the event, has been volunteering with the conference for years. She helps with organizing classroom visits, creating panels and ensuring the smooth running of the event.

“I think it’s such a unique thing to bring in so many di erent perspectives and so many diverse views on things,” Andresen said. “We have panels where it will be somebody who’s more scienti c or academic, and then there’s somebody who’s a comedian. Having that interaction and seeing what they come up with provides such great insight, and I think it’s something we de nitely need in the world today.”

Jordan Brooks, a CU student and student volunteer coordinator for the CWA, said she has been involved with school functions since she was in high school and after hearing about the conference from a friend she decided to partake in it.

“I didn’t know what the organization was, but once I found out it was more than politics and international a airs, I was hooked,” Brooks said. “I love that we could organize a conference that had an impact on campus, but was about things I was truly interested in.”

Brooks is excited for the keynote event with Erivo and looks forward to hearing diverse perspectives.

“ is conference can let you escape the polarizing world and make you open your mind to views that don’t align with your own,” Brooks said. “ is conference is such an amazing and enriching experience, where I have really learned a lot about myself as a leader and about the world.”

Anyone interested in attending the 77th CWA can nd more information and register online at colorado.edu/cwa.

Pictured is the Rhythm and Words panel discussion during the 2022 Conference on World A airs at the University of Colorado Boulder. The 2025 CWA will take place April 7-10. CASEY A. CASS/UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO

RTD increase in security patrols pay o

Higher visibility of RTD police halves crime calls

BY MONTE WHALEY MWHALEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Regional Transportation District ocials say a new emphasis on law enforcement at high visibility bus and train stops has resulted in a big drop in security-related calls from RTD passengers and personnel.

An increased number of RTD Transit Police o cers patrolling the system has resulted in both a month-over-month and year-over-year decrease in calls for security help, according to RTD.

e agency has also focused on upgrading facilities and adding bus and train enhancements to improve the personal safety and security of customers and employees, RTD states in a news release.

In February 2024, RTD logged 4,460 calls, and that number was cut in half to 2,134 calls in February 2025. Similar month-over-month decreases have been observed going back to July 2024, shortly after RTD implemented 24/7 patrols and gained momentum in recruiting additional police o cers, the news release states.

“Calls have been decreasing because RTD is deploying more o cers in highvisibility areas, and they’re regularly riding buses and trains,” said RTD Acting Chief of Police and Emergency Management Steve Martingano in the news release. “We’re enforcing the Customer Code of Conduct, conducting fare sweeps, and maintaining a regular presence. ese e orts are making a noticeable di erence for our customers and frontline employees.”

RTD says that in 2024, a majority of security incidents recorded by the agency were the result of o cer observations. As RTD expands its police force and dispatches more o cers across the service area, RTD-PD is able to proactively intervene instead of relying on customers to make reports, the agency states. Last year, the number of o cer observations nearly doubled, a metric that the agency sees as clear evidence that growing its police force is working, according to the news release.

e increase in the department’s sworn o cers, standing at approximately 100 currently, is a force multiplier” and enables greater patrolling coverage across the agency’s 2,345 square-mile service area, RTD Manager of 911 Operations Michelle Lawrence said in the news release. e agency is budgeted to have 150 ocers on its force by the end of 2025.

In 2024, RTD logged approximately 43,000 security-related calls for service, or an average of 118 calls each day. e metric includes customer reports of grafti, drug activity, noise complaints, unattended bags, and other personal safety concerns, the news release states.

In January 2025, RTD received 2,774 security-related calls for service to the agency’s dispatch center. During that same month, RTD had approximately ve million customer boardings, which equates to approximately one security-related report for every 1,800 boardings across the entire system, the news release states.

Reports from customers allow RTD-PD to know what is happening in real time and become aware of problematic areas that need addressed. e reports also support data-driven policing strategies and o cer deployment, the agency says.

“RTD is interwoven into the fabric of the communities it serves,” said General Manager and CEO Debra A. Johnson in the news release. “Whatever challenges or problems are happening near a stop or station will most certainly impact the agency’s buses and trains. Whether a customer is waiting for a connection or traveling to their destination, RTD is doubling down on its e orts to ensure their journey is seamless, comfortable, and convenient.”

Arvada Center unveils first round of summer concerts

Full slate of concerts still under wraps, but plenty of shows to be excited about

Summer is just around the corner, and the Arvada Center is making sure that lovers of any music genre will have a whole host of shows to look forward to, as the center recently unveiled part of its summer concert series.

Breaking from procedure from previous years, the venue has been announcing shows as they are booked, rather than waiting to reveal the full slate once that’s con rmed. Arvada Center CEO Philip Sneed said that approach has allowed his team to book acts that they might not have been able to bring in otherwise.

“We’re so excited about this summer’s concert series — we’ve got some great returning acts, as well as some we’ve never presented before,” Sneed said. “And we

made a big change this year, to announce concerts when we book them, rather than waiting until we have a full slate.

“ is allowed us to put Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue on sale months ago, for example, so patrons could make plans early,” Sneed continued.

In addition to the aforementioned acclaimed Louisianans, Grammy Awardwinners Keb’ Mo’ and Shawn Colvin are teaming up for a star-studded, and popular 2000s radio mainstays Five for Fighting and Vertical Horizon are also taking the stage.

Joining the world-renowned artists are scores of homegrown Colorado talent as well, including FACE, the Colorado Symphony, Denver Brass and Cleo Parker Robinson Dance.

Leslie Simon, the Arvada Center’s communications and public relations specialist, said that while the slate is already shaping up to be a great one, there’s more to come.

“We will have more concerts to announce, so stay tuned!” Simon said. “ is year, instead of announcing the whole series at once like we usually do, we are announcing them in real time as they are booked to better align with how musical acts are promoting their concerts.”

Here is the slate of summer concerts the Arvada Center has announced so far:

e Denver Gay Men’s Chorus and Denver Feminist Chorus present ‘Leather and Lace’

June 15 | Main Stage eatre

Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue

June 18 | Outdoor Amphitheatre

Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra presents ‘Blue Eyes and Beyond with Tony DeSare’

June 28 | Outdoor Amphitheatre    Digable Planets

July 9 | Outdoor Amphitheatre

Colorado Symphony presents ‘A Tribute to Arthur Felder and the Boston Pops’ July 12 | Outdoor Amphitheatre  Denver Brass

July 19 | Outdoor Amphitheatre    Colorado Symphony presents ‘Mozart Under Moonlight’

Aug. 12 | Outdoor Amphitheatre

FACE

Aug. 16 | Outdoor Amphitheatre

Five for Fighting and Vertical Horizon  Aug. 19 | Outdoor Amphitheatre

Keb’ Mo’ and Shawn Colvin  Aug. 28 | Outdoor Amphitheatre

Aug. 1 | Outdoor Amphitheatre  Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Aug. 2 | Main Stage eatre  e Robert Cray Band  Aug. 6 | Outdoor Amphitheatre e Wall owers

Proclaiming Christ from the Mountains to the Plains www.StJoanArvada.org 12735 W 58th Ave · 80002 · 303-420-1232

Daily Masses: 8:30am, Mon-Sat

Confessions: 8am Tue-Fri; 7:30am & 4:00pm Sat

Saturday Vigil Mass: 5:00pm Sunday Masses: 7:30, 9:00, 11:30am, 5:30pm

Green Mountain Presbyterian Church 12900 W Alameda Pkwy Lakewood, CO 80228 303-985-8733 www.gmpc.net Sunday Worship 10:00AM “Find Connection…Discover Faith” All Are Welcome

Advertise Your Place of Worship HERE

Join us in person: 1st & 3rd Sundays 7401 W. 59 Ave, Arvada

Other Sundays on Zoom 10:30 am Live Music Livingwaterunity.org Livingwaterspiritualcommunity@gmail.com 720-576-9193 All Are Welcome

To advertise your place of worship in this section, call Erin at 303-566-4074 or email eaddenbrooke@ColoradoCommunityMedia.com

Koa, a Belgian Malinois, is assigned to RTD Police O cer and handler Keith Cambra. They provide security at RTD stops COURTESY PHOTO

A show at the Arvada Center’’ FILE PHOTO

Seniors dial in for annual Je co High School Basketball Game

BY DENNIS PLEUSS JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

e 3-pointers were raining down at the Gold Crown Field House on Tuesday night.

Nobody was turning down open shots from long distance in the eighth annual boys Je co High School Senior Basketball Game. A combined 31 3-pointers were made in the senior all-star game put on by the Gold Crown Foundation.

“When the rst 3-pointer goes down, you have to lock in and keep them going,” said Evergreen senior Drew Yager, who led the way with eight 3-pointers on the night. “After the rst few go in, you know it’s going to be a good night.”

Yager led the White squad to a 130-119 victory.

“It was pretty fun,” said Yager, who poured in a game-high 34 points. “Teaming up with some guys who I played club basketball back in the day was really fun.”

Dakota Ridge Coach Sean Kovar, who led the Eagles to a third straight Class 5A Je co League title this winter, had six players in double-digit points.

Dakota Ridge’s Ethan Berninger (20 points) and Nathan Esau (12 points), Arvada West’s Jordan Stremel (14 points) and Mason Lusche (10 points), along with Chat eld’s Indiana Hostetler (13 points), helped the White team overcome

an early rst-quarter de cit.

Yager received the MVP/Hustle & Heart award for the White squad.

e Blue squad also had six players in double-digit points for Ralston Valley Coach Chris Braketa. Ralston Valley’s Tanner Braketa (24 points) and Hayes Gatlin (13 points) combined for seven 3-pointers.

Green Mountain senior Simon Lunsford, who helped the Rams to the 5A state championship game a little over a week ago, took a break from being one of the top baseball pitchers in the state to pour in 19 points for the Blue squad.

Pomona’s Jaxon Perry (13 points), Littleton’s Sam Lasswell (11 points) and Standley Lake’s Derrek Sims (10 points) also lled up the scoresheet.

“It was a great way to end it. I know all of these guys,” said Tanner Braketa, who was named the Blue team MVP. “I all love each other. We all respect each other and are all friends.”

It was a tight senior group across Je co this season, with a lot of players playing together on the same club teams at some point in their careers. Ten of the seniors playing on Tuesday night are all alumni of B&B Academy.

Dennis Pleuss is the Sports Information Director for Je co Public Schools. For more Je co coverage, go to ColoradoPreps.com and CHSAANow.com

Je co Senior High School Game wraps up girls hoops season

BY DENNIS PLEUSS

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Arvada West senior Avery Harrison wasted no time shaking o the rust on the basketball court on Tuesday night.

Despite her high school season ending nearly three weeks ago in a Sweet 16 playo loss, Harrison poured in eight points in the rst quarter of the 2025 Je co High School Senior girls basketball game at the Gold Crown Field House.

“My teammates for nding me on the 3-point line and on the cuts,” Harrison said of jump-starting the White squad to an eventual 62-43 victory.

It was the eighth annual Je co High School Senior Basketball Games put on by the Gold Crown Foundation. Harrison was named the MVP/Hustle & Heart Award for the winning team that was coached by A-West girls coach Brady Meeks.

USWNT to face Republic of Ireland at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park

A-West nished with a 21-win season before being eliminated by Denver East in the Sweet 16 of the Class 6A state tournament on March 5.

“It was really fun,” Harrison said. “I used to play with a lot of these girls in club when I was younger. It was fun to play with them again.”

Chat eld’s Jordyn Reed and Je erson’s Te’Aira Nutter both joined Harrison with double-digit points in the victory.

Evergreen senior Addison McEvers took the MVP honor for the Blue squad. McEvers joined former Cougars Jameson Mott (2023) and Claudia Dillon (2019) as MVPs at the annual senior all-star game.

“It was fun,” McEvers said. “I was glad to come back for another game. Last game of my career. It was fun to play with all the girls that I played against for four years. It was fun to connect with them.”

McEvers had just come from lacrosse practice to

Green Mountain

Arvada West girls basketball coach Brady Meeks (far right). PHOTO BY DENNIS PLEUSS / JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

play for Green Mountain Coach Matteo Busnardo, who coached the Blue team in the senior all-star game.

“I had to be here,” McEvers said. “I love to play. It was great to be here.”

Green Mountain senior Julia Schafer led the Blue team with 10 points to cap o her basketball career. e Rams advanced to the Final 4 of the 5A state tournament for the rst time since 2022.

Dennis Pleuss is the Sports Information Director for Je co Public Schools. For more Je co coverage, go to ColoradoPreps.com and CHSAANow.com

June 26 event brings international soccer to Commerce City

BY JOHN RENFROW JRENFROW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Local fans of professional women’s soccer have enjoyed 2025 so far in the Denver area.

Just two months after the city was awarded the newest National Women’s Soccer League expansion team, a blockbuster matchup has been announced for this summer in Commerce City.

On June 26, soccer enthusiasts can catch the U.S Women’s National Team square up against the Republic of Ireland at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. e star-studded match will be the rst of two meetings between the two teams, with the second coming on June 29 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

e games will be the rst meetings with Ireland since April of 2023, when the USA swept a pair of games in Austin, Texas, and St. Louis, Missouri, ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, according to a release.

“We’re thrilled to have the U.S. Women’s National Team return to Colorado and DICK’S

Sporting Goods Park,” said Colorado Rapids President Pádraig Smith. “We’ve been honored to host and support the USWNT over the years, and we’re proud of the impact that Coloradans have on the squad. I am personally excited to welcome my home team of Eire and to another incredible showcase for women’s soccer in our state.”

Colorado is the home state of several current USWNT players, including team captain Lindsey Heaps (Golden) and forwards Sophia Wilson (Windsor) and Mallory Swanson (Highlands Ranch). Heaps is a Golden High School graduate and played for the Colorado Rush Soccer Club.

She made history as the rst American female player to sign a professional contract straight out of high school, traveling to Europe to play for Paris Saint-Germain in France in 2012 upon graduation. Heaps’s long list of accolades includes:

2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Champion 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist 2021 Olympic Bronze Medalist 2021 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year 2013 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year

Evergreen senior Drew Yager (11) pulls up for a 3-pointer during the first half on Tuesday, March 25, at the Gold Crown Field House. Yager poured in a game-high 34 points, including eight 3-pointers, to help lead the White squad to a 130-119 victory.

PHOTO BY DENNIS PLEUSS / JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

JEFFCO

girls basketball coach Matteo Busnardo (far left) stands next to Evergreen senior Addison McEvers after she was named the MVP of the Blue squad. Arvada West senior Avery Harrison, second from the right, was named the MVP of the winning White team, coached by

SOCCER

Swanson attended Mountain Vista High School and famously scored the goal to lift the USWNT to Olympic gold in a 1-0 match over Brazil in 2024.

Like Heaps, Swanson is also a 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Champion. She’s also a 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist and the 2015 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year. is will be the 16th meeting between the

U.S. and Ireland squads. e U.S. has won every matchup so far.

is will be the USWNT’s ninth match alltime at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. e USA is 7-0-1 at the venue, with the most recent game being Head Coach Emma Hayes’ debut last summer.

e game kicks o at 7 p.m., and tickets will go on sale to the public on Friday, March 28, at 10 a.m. MT at www.ussoccer.com.

Fans can also catch the action on TBS, truTV and Max, Universo and Peacock in Spanish and on the radio on Westwood One Sports.

MUSHROOMS

Co-founder Sean Win eld sells these supplies for growing psychedelic or functional mushrooms such as lion’s mane to people hoping to grow their own at home. Soon, Activated Brands will host cultivation and education classes for the public, Win eld said.

Win eld and co-founder Shawn Cox recently hosted a psychedelic potluck at which experts studying and cultivating psychedelic mushrooms discussed genetics, extraction, and specialized equipment.

Psychedelic mushrooms have a long history in Indigenous cultures, and provisions for their use in spiritual, cultural, or religious ceremonies are included in Colorado law, along with recognition of the cultural harm that could occur to federally recognized tribes and Indigenous people if natural medicine is overly commercialized or exploited.

Several studies over the past ve years have shown the long-term bene ts of psilocybin for treatmentresistant major depressive disorder, and the Food and Drug Administration designated it a breakthrough therapy. Late-stage trials, often a precursor to application for FDA approval, are underway.

Smith said psilocybin is a promising tool for treating mental health disorders but has not yet been shown to be better than other advanced treatments. Joshua Woolley, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California-San Francisco, said he has

ONLINE AUCTION

seen the bene ts of psilocybin as an investigator in clinical trials.

“People can change hard-set habits. ey can become unstuck. ey can see things in new ways,” he said of treating patients with a combination of psilocybin and psychotherapy.

Colorado, unlike Oregon, allows integration of psilocybin into existing mental health and medical practices with a clinical facilitator license, and through micro-healing centers that are more limited in the amounts of mushrooms they can store.

Still, Woolley said, between the federal ban and new state laws for psychedelics, this is uncharted territory. Most drugs used to treat mental health disorders are regulated by the FDA, something that Colorado is “taking into its own hands” by setting up its own program to regulate manufacturing and administration of psilocybin.

e U.S. Attorney’s O ce for the District of Colorado declined to comment on its policy toward state-regulated psychedelic programs or personal use provisions, but Poinsatte hopes the same federal hands-o approach to marijuana will be taken for psilocybin in Oregon and Colorado. Win eld said he looks forward to the upcoming rollout and potential addition of other plant psychedelics, such as mescaline. “We’re talking about clandestine industries coming into the light,” he said.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — an independent source of health policy research, polling and journalism.

GOVERNMENT/FLEET VEHICLES & EQUIPMENT

April 9th @ 9:00 A.M.

Inspection Times: April 7th & 8th from 8:15am - 4:45pm

USA’s Lauren Cheney (12) gets tripped up by Australia’s Clare Polkinghorne during the first half of an international friendly match Sept. 19, 2023, at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City. FILE PHOTO

CROWSSUPDRO ELZZ

1. TELEVISION: In the sitcom “Modern Family,” Gloria is from which country?

2. LITERATURE: Which author wrote “ e Kite ief” and “A ousand Splendid Suns”?

3. GEOGRAPHY: What is the deepest lake in the world?

4. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Which rst lady’s nickname was Lady Bird?

5. ASTRONOMY: How many stars make up the Big Dipper?

6. MOVIES: Which famous Hollywood couple played lead roles in the lm version of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf”?

7. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is a group of skunks called?

8. GEOMETRY: How many sides does a decagon have?

9. ART: Which American artist focused on women and children in her paintings?

TrIVIa

10. ANATOMY: What substance gives skin its color?

Answers

1. Colombia.

2. Khaled Hosseini.

3. Lake Baikal, Russia.

4. Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson, wife of President Lyndon Johnson.

5. Seven.

6. Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

7. A surfeit.

8. 10.

9. Mary Cassatt.

10. Melanin.

(c) 2025 King Features Synd., Inc.

MARKETPLACE

Classifieds

WIDOWED MEN AND WOMEN OF AMERICA. A social club offering many exciting activities and life long friendships. Social hours for all areas of Metro Denver. Visit Widowedamerica.org for details In your area! Merchandise

Firewood

Split & Delivered $450 a cord Stacking $50 Call 303-647-2475 or 720-323-2173

Health

Dental insurance from Physicians Mutual Insurance Company. Coverage for 400+ procedures. Real dental insurance - not just a discount plan. Get your free Information Kit with details! 1-855-526-1060 www.dental50plus.com/ads #6258

Medical

Attention oxygen therapy users! Discover oxygen therapy that moves with you with Inogen Portable Oxygen Concentrators. Free information kit. 1-833-6505419

Miscellaneous

!!OLD GUITARS WANTED!! GIBSON, FENDER, MARTIN, Etc. 1930’s to 1980’s. TOP DOLLAR PAID. CALL TOLL FREE 1-866-433-8277

Replace your roof w/the best looking & longest lasting material steel from Erie Metal Roofs! 3 styles & multiple colors available. Guaranteed to last a lifetime! Limited Time Offer up to 50% off install + Additional 10% off install (military, health & 1st responders.)

1-833-370-1234

Become a published author We want to read your book! Dorrance Publishing trusted since 1920. Consultation, production, promotion & distribution. Call for free author`s guide 1-877-7294998 or visit dorranceinfo.com/ ads

Prepare for power outages today with a Generac Home Standby Generator. Act now to receive a FREE 5-Year warranty with qualifying purchase* Call 1-855948-6176 today to schedule a free quote. It’s not just a generator. It’s a power move.

Don’t let the stairs limit your mobility! Discover the ideal solution for anyone who struggles on the stairs, is concerned about a fall or wants to regain access to their entire home. Call AmeriGlide today! 1-833-3993595

Miscellaneous

Eliminate gutter cleaning forever! LeafFilter, the most advanced debris -blocking gutter protection. Schedule free LeafFilter estimate today. 20% off Entire Purchase. 10% Senior & Military Discounts. Call 1-833610-1936

MobileHelp America’s premier mobile medical alert system. Whether you’re home or away. For safety & peace of mind. No long term contracts! Free brochure! Call 1-888-489-3936

AGING ROOF? NEW HOMEOWNER? STORM

DAMAGE? You need a local expert provider that proudly stands behind their work. Fast, free estimate. Financing available. Call 1-888-878-9091 Have zip code of property ready when calling!

Doodle Puppies

Home break-ins take less than 60 seconds. Don’t wait! Protect your family, your home, your assets now for as little as 70¢/ day! 1-844-591-7951

Water damage cleanup & restoration: A small amount of water can lead to major damage in your home. Our trusted professionals do complete repairs to protect your family and your home’s value! Call 24/7: 1-888-872-2809. Have zip code of service location ready when you call!

Golden Doodles and Bernedoodles Home-Raised Heath Tested and Guaranteed Standard and Mini Size available Schedule a visit today! (970)215-6860 www.puppylovedoodles.com

Donate

and sufferedaninfectionduetouseof BairHugger(BlueBlanket),between 2020andthepresenttime,youmay beentitledtocompensation.Call

SERVICE DIRECTORY

Sod, Rock, Mulch, Retaining Walls, Sprinklers, Sprinkler Repair, Flagstone, Fence Repair, Fertilize, Aeration, Yard Clean-Ups, Shrub Trimming/Removal, Rock Removal, Weed Control, Electrical, and Much More! Text or Call

lawnservice9155@gmail.com

TEXT MESSAGES

Colorado’s Open Records Act requires agencies to disclose existing records but does not mandate their retention.

Records retention policies vary across districts and agencies in Colorado. In Je co, the district follows a records management manual developed in collaboration with the Colorado State Archives.  at manual encourages public entities to retain records that re ect o cial business decisions and notes that sound recordkeeping supports transparency and public trust.

How district leaders use texts

During a Feb. 28 board retreat, board members and senior sta discussed how and when text messaging is used.  Relou acknowledged that texts are often used to notify members of urgent events or to ag incoming emails but said the use had increased in recent weeks.  Dorland said texting is sometimes the fastest way to alert board members to issues already appearing on social media.

Still, Varda raised concerns about transparency, questioning whether some communications were being handled by text speci cally to avoid the public nature of email.

“I just want to make sure that there’s transparency,” she said. “Sometimes texts are being sent to avoid emails to be public and transparent.”

e discussion did not lead to a formal resolution or policy change during the retreat. Still, board members agreed to continue examining how the district uses text messaging and how those practices intersect with transparency expectations.

What the law says about record retention

Colorado’s Open Records Act, rst enacted in 1969, was designed to give the public access to the records of government bodies at all levels. e law de nes public records broadly, including any writings made, maintained or kept by a public entity in connection with o cial functions.

at includes emails and text messages, but only if they still exist.

CORA doesn’t require government agencies to retain those records, only to

produce what they have when a request is made. In practice, that means public o cials can legally delete texts unless another law or policy requires them to be kept.

e Colorado State Archives o ers model retention schedules for schools and other local agencies, and districts are encouraged, but not required, to adopt them.

In Je co’s case, the district’s policy explicitly allows electronic messages to be deleted routinely unless otherwise required by law. at puts the burden of transparency on the o cials themselves and their judgment about what to keep and what to erase.

e result is a patchwork of practices across the state. Some agencies retain texts for several years, while others allow for deletion after a few days or weeks unless agged as part of an o cial record.

e rise of encrypted, auto-deleting messaging apps like Signal has added a new layer of opacity. A recent investigation by Colorado Politics found that top aides to Denver’s mayor Signal to discuss sensitive topics like immigration enforcement with messages disappearing shortly after being read, leaving no trace

for public scrutiny.

“ e records retention laws in Colorado are pretty weak,” said Je Roberts, executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition. “ ey give a lot of discretion to the sender and receiver of the message to decide what’s important to keep, what ts the records retention schedule, and the public may never get to see communications that could be really important for understanding what happened.”

is ambiguity leaves room for selective recordkeeping — where communications that re ect favorably on leadership may be saved while others are deleted.

“ ere’s not really any other party to decide what’s important to keep,” Roberts said. “If a public o cial decides a message doesn’t matter, it can be deleted immediately, and the public or a journalist might never know it existed, even if it turns out to be meaningful in understanding a public decision.

“ e whole point of having an open records law is to allow the public to scrutinize government activity,” Roberts said. “But you can’t scrutinize what no longer exists.”