December 16, 2021
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An edition of the Littleton Independent A publication of
VOLUME 21 | ISSUE 4
Despite fewer reported cases, COVID up in sewage tests Signs indicate more virus prevalence, but vaccinated people may not know they’re infected A conceptual rendering shows how one part of the redevelopment at The Streets at SouthGlenn could look. This is a Gaylord Street view from the Commons Park area of SouthGlenn looking north.
that would, among other changes, increase the number of allowed apartments by several hundred units at The Streets at SouthGlenn. Property developers pushed the plan in an attempt to breathe more life into the outdoor mall
Testing of wastewater at the Englewood-Littleton sewage plant is finding record-high signs of COVID prevalence in the south metro populace, while the number of people receiving positive COVID tests has dropped — a situation that may show vaccinated people are not getting sick enough to feel the need to test, a Colorado researcher says. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Platte Renew, a wastewater treatment plant in Englewood that is the third largest in Colorado, has been on the front lines of helping health officials make sense of the state of the virus. The plant collects daily samples of sewage produced by about 300,000 people, according to Pieter Van Ry, the site’s director, covering populations in Arapahoe, Douglas and Jefferson counties. Samples are sent to various labs both in-state and outside Colorado that test for the virus’s genome, an indicator of how prevalent COVID may be in a given community. In recent weeks, tests have shown higher amounts of COVID being detected in South Platte’s wastewater than at any other point of the pandemic. But reported cases for the area are down by about half their
SEE SOUTHGLENN, P10
SEE WASTEWATER, P13
This conceptual rendering depicts how one part of the redevelopment at The Streets at SouthGlenn could look. This is a view IMAGES VIA CITY OF CENTENNIAL WEBSITE from the corner of Race Street and Easter Avenue.
Centennial council OKs SouthGlenn redevelopment Plan to add apartments, business on Macy’s, Sears sites BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
After nearly three years, one of the most prominent and contentious civic issues in Centennial has
been decided with the city council’s approval of a plan to dramatically reshape Centennial’s flagship shopping center. The council voted on Dec. 13 to green-light a redevelopment plan
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 23
BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
REIMAGINING ‘NUTCRACKER’ Colorado Ballet’s production gets new garb P14