STANDARD BLADE B R I G H T O N
SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1903
75cI
VOLUME 118
Issue 15
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2021
Tri-County Health amends mask order to apply to indoors only, adds expiration date
Mask order now to remain in place until June 30 rather than ‘for the duration of pandemic’ BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The local public health agency for Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties amended its mask-wearing order to remove the requirement that masks be worn in outdoor public spaces, the agency announced in an April 5 news release. The Tri-County Health Department also announced that the order is expected to remain in place until June 30, adding what may be a definite end to the requirement. Previously, the agency had extended its order “for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to an Oct. 20 news release. “Until every person has had the opportunity to get the COVID-19 vaccine, many in our communities remain at risk for serious illness from this virus,” John Douglas, executive director of Tri-County Health, said in the April 5 news release. “By continuing to wear face coverings, we can protect our friends and loved ones and minimize the impact that outbreaks have on our schools and businesses.” Gov. Jared Polis in early April extended the state’s mask-wearing order for another 30 days, but Tri-County Health’s order would apply for longer than that if Polis allows the state order to expire first. According to modeling done by the Colorado School of Public Health in the last week of March, roughly 27% of Coloradans are currently immune to COVID-19 “due to vaccination and/ or prior infection,” the news release said. “While about 68% of Coloradans age 65 years and older are estimated to be immune and hospitalizations of older adults has declined, modeling SEE MASK ORDER, P4
Big-time project leads to big-time award for BHS grad BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The life of Brighton High School graduate Angel Mollel began to change earlier this year, thanks to her dad and her volunteer work. He nominated Mollel for a Denver television station’s Remarkable Women of Colorado contest. “I didn’t even know that he did it until I received a phone call from the KDVR station, telling me that I made it to the top four,” she said. “KDVR did not single out any of my projects. They were interested in the journey that helped me get to where I am and the work that 1Love does. They were just amazed with everything that we have been able to do so far.” The word came from the TV station April 1. “They announced that I won within the four women,” Mollel said. “Because of my journey from a Maasai village (in Tanzania) to the United States and my work in 1Love, I was blessed with this award.”
OBITUARIES LOCAL CALENDAR SPORTS LEGALS CLASSIFIEDS
COURTESY PHOTO
1Love is her long-distance effort to help residents of her village. “I have always wanted to help my vil-
Brighton council pleased with city fraud response Email spoofing led to $348,000 payment sent to wrong account BY SCOTT TAYLOR STAYLOR@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
City Councilors had praise for Brighton City staff and their bankers for sniffing out a fraudulent payment that could have cost the city $348,000. “The transfer went out and within 24 hours we were notified that there was an issue,” Councilor Adam Cushing said. “Our city manager contacted us late at night to inform us immediately and the very next day a press release went out to the public. It sure looked to me like our staff and manager jumped immediately into action to make sure something like this does not happen again. It seems like she figured out pretty quickly that we dodged a bullet and we’re not going to let this happen again.”
City Manager Jane Bais DiSessa updated the City Council on the potential fraud at their April 6 meeting. Bais DiSessa said the city had issued an electronic check earlier in the day on March 29 but was notified by the bank that there was suspicious activity involving the transaction. It was halted the next morning and the money returned to the City, she said. “We believe this was a consequence of cyber-crime and social engineering,” Bais DiSessa said. “As many of you know, cyber-crime Intruders continue to be a significant threat faced by organizations big and small, public and private. This is an example of what we refer as a business email scam.” Bais DiSessa said it appears that a Brighton staff member was given incorrect banking information for a $348,000 payment to a contractor working with the city on a construction project approved last December. “We find that a someone has
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Tony Matteroli and Angel Mollel.
lage ever since I arrived in the States in 2012, and I did indeed help them since 2012,” she said. “But in 2018, we finally gave all the work a name. I decided that since I am helping my village every day, I should give the service a name. My friends and I thought about starting a nonprofit; then my father helped me come up with the name 1Love.” Mollel said her most important project is educating children. “Because like Tony (her dad, Tony Matteroli) did for me, I want to give the children a chance to have bright futures, big dreams and a chance to help their families in the future,” she said. “Education is changing many Maasai lives, and I am just providing the means to access it.” There’s a personal reward, too, for Mollel, who is a freshman at the University of Colorado. “The most rewarding part for me is seeing all the changes in the village and people being aware of Maasai People and the 1Love organization,” she said.
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2 • Criminal justice 3 leaders urge residents 7 to fight hate crimes 8 12 • Page 3 15
SPORTS • Brighton coach finds himself at home on the courts
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impersonated a legitimate employee of another business and has compromised a legitimate email account to redirect a payment,” she said. Brighton Police Commander Frank Acosta said investigators have taken all computers involved in the fraudulent payment and put them aside for inspection. The city is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the matter. The investigation will take some time, since it appears to involve money transfers across state lines. “We will continue to work on this, full speed ahead, but it is going to take time,” Acosta said. “I’m assuming to will take four to six months. The reason is that we will have to go through the court system to obtain search warrants and court orders for IP addresses and things of that nature out-of-state. The FBI is willing to help, although I don’t know how involved they will since we didn’t actually lose money.” Councilors said staff responded quickly.
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