Centennial Citizen 120822

A ordable housing initiative could face rocky future

Proposition 123 was approved by Colorado voters

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Few issues affect Coloradans as much as rising housing prices. The state will take a step toward addressing the problem — to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars per year — as officials implement

WHAT COLORADO CURRENTLY DOES ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING

The state partners with local communities to increase and preserve Colorado’s a ordable housing stock, manage rentalassistance vouchers, and address homelessness, says the state’s “blue book” voter guide, noting the state Department of Local A airs is involved.

The current budget for the department’s a ordable housing initiatives is about $200 million, about half of which is from state sources, with the rest coming from federal sources.

Since 2021, the state has allocated more than $1.2 billion from the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for

a ordable housing and services that address housing insecurity, lack of a ordable and workforce housing, or homelessness. (The Urban Land Institute defines “workforce” households as those earning between 60% and 120% of the area median income.)

These are one-time funds that will be spent over the next several years on:

• Emergency rental assistance;

• Homeowner mortgage assistance;

• Tax credits for developers;

• Housing and infrastructure;

• And other housing solutions, such as manufactured homes.

Talent of all ages highlights Centennial Holiday Artisan Market

Plenty of entertainment

BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

As she twirled, jumped and danced her heart out at Centennial Center Park, 11-yearold Onyx Toney was among local talent who brought holiday cheer to the city on Dec. 3.

It was her fi rst time performing with the Metropolitan Academy of Dance, one of several musical ensembles who took center stage as part of Centennial’s annual Holiday Artisan Market event.

“It was awesome! I absolutely loved it. I had so much fun,” said Toney, a dancer since the age of 3. “I love being on stage, and like, it makes me so happy.”

Other musical performances included young artists with Amplifi ed Arts, a local performing arts studio, and elementary school musical groups.

Proudly watching from the crowd was Toney’s mother, Mary Jackson.

“It was fun just to see all the kids of all ages do what they do best,” Jackson said. “Really got us ready for the holidays.”

For Mayor Stephanie Piko, one of her favorite parts of the event was watching the elementary school children perform.

SHUTTERSTOCK

HOUSING

FROM

Proposition 123 approved by vot ers in November.

In just 12 years, the median cost of a single-family home in the Denver area jumped from about $200,000 to three times that amount, according to the latest report by the Colorado Associa tion of Realtors. The trend was similar statewide.

Under Proposition 123, state of ficials are required to set money aside for more affordable housing and programs to help Coloradans acquire homes and stay housed. Though the measure didn’t raise tax rates to fund those programs, it will, eventually, reduce the Tax payer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, refunds that Coloradans receive — by $86 per taxpayer for 2024, for example.

Yet voters in November also sought to reduce their taxes and, taken together, the changes could lead to difficult decisions down the road, said Scott Wasserman, who leads the nonprofit Bell Policy Center, which advocates for economic mobility for Colora dans. He called the passage of the measure “bittersweet.”

“I think what makes it bitter is that it passed in conjunction with Proposition 121,” a measure voters approved to lower the state income tax rate, Wasserman said.

Proposition 121 is expected to take a roughly $400-million bite out of the state budget next year while Proposition 123 will eventu

HOW LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WOULD QUALIFY FOR NEW FUNDING

For projects to qualify for funding from Proposition 123, the local govern ments where the projects are located must commit to increasing a ordable housing by 3% each year and create a fast-track approval process for a ord able housing projects, the state’s “blue

ally increase spending about $290 million yearly.

State Rep. Rod Bockenfeld, a Republican who represents rural areas east of Denver, including parts of Adams, Arapahoe and Elbert counties, did not share Wasserman’s concern that the new measures could be problem atic for state spending. However, Bockenfeld, who serves on the state legislature’s Joint Budget Committee, acknowledged the picture could change when the state faces strong economic head winds.

“There’s a certain point where if we hit a severe downturn and we go into a deep recession, then a reduced tax rate will reduce state revenues,” Bockenfeld said.

Though the state struggles like the rest of the country with high inflation, the situation hasn’t been characterized as a recession or severe, though concerns that could happen linger.

How 123 works

Proposition 123 defines afford able housing based on two fac tors: household income and hous ing costs, according to the state’s “blue book” voter guide.

Under the proposal, affordable

book” voter guide says.

“If a local government chooses not to meet these requirements, or if it fails to achieve its a ordable housing goals, projects in that municipality or county will be temporarily ineligible for funding from these programs,” the guide says.

housing means housing for rent ers making up to 60% of the area median income or homeowners making up to 100% of the area median income. For context, in the metro area, the median income is $117,800, and 60% of median income is $70,700.

Under Proposition 123, local communities have flexibility to respond to housing needs.

The money could go toward grants and loans to local govern ments and nonprofits to acquire land for affordable housing devel opments; assistance to develop multifamily rentals, including apartments; programs that help first-time homebuyers; prevent ing homelessness through rental assistance and eviction defense; and grants to raise capacity at lo cal government land-use depart ments.

The measure also could support “equity” sharing with tenants in housing projects. Equity is im portant because it allows people to gain financially from the ris ing value of their property and do things such as borrow money based on it.

“We know that home equity is a part of how you build intergener ational wealth,” said Wasserman.

He noted that people who are renting don’t have that opportu nity to build equity.

Overall, the measure could help create more higher-density, envi ronmentally sustainable homes, according to the voter guide.

Some in the housing indus try say they can’t make a profit building “the kind of housing we need,” Wasserman said.

The measure, he added, tells housing developers, “‘We’re here to help you make it.’”

TABOR makes for difficult math

But the math isn’t easy. Part of what makes the equation difficult is TABOR, the state constitution al amendment that limits govern ment spending. Under TABOR, revenue above the limit — some times called a “TABOR surplus” — gets refunded to taxpayers. The $750 rebate check that Colo radans received this year were a result of TABOR.

Colorado is seeing “very large TABOR surpluses,” in the ball park of $3 billion this year and next year, Wasserman said. Although that sounds like a lot of money, it goes quick.

For example, money from the state’s “general fund” — which supports basic services, like K-12 education and public assistance — recently totaled $12.5 billion.

In years when state revenue comes in over the TABOR limit, Proposition 123 is estimated to decrease the amount returned by $43 per taxpayer in tax year 2023 and $86 per taxpayer in tax year 2024, according to the voter guide.

Meanwhile, Proposition 121, the measure to lower Colorado’s

income tax, will also decrease re funds to taxpayers in years when state revenue exceeds TABOR’s limits. In those years, taxpayers generally may end up keeping money that would have been re funded anyway, Bockenfeld said.

“It leaves the money in the pocket of citizens rather than giving it to the government and the government giving it back,” Bockenfeld said.

Education often a target for cuts

Colorado’s new normal under Propositions 123 and 121 may not present hard choices when the economy is strong and the state takes in large sums of tax revenue. But during an economic downturn, Colorado may not see a so-called TABOR surplus of revenue.

That’s when priorities may end up on the cutting block, accord ing to Wasserman.

Proposition 123 allows the state legislature to reduce part of the new housing funding to balance the state budget, according to the state’s voter guide. Essentially, if lawmakers find themselves in enough of a pinch, they can “turn off” parts of the measure, Wasserman said.

The alternative is typically cuts to education, especially higher education, meaning housing and education could be competing not to be cut.

In such a situation, “you’re not able to increase education fund ing based on growth or needs of schools,” Wasserman said.

In a tight spot, it’s possible state lawmakers could turn off the flow of funding to Proposi tion 123, according to Legislative Council Staff, the nonpartisan research arm at the state Capitol. The measure explicitly contem plates the fact that lawmakers might want to reduce the spend ing for budget balancing, so it says they are allowed to cut about half. But in practice, lawmakers could cut the spending entirely, according to staff.

Yet whether lawmakers would actually choose to override the will of the voters remains to be seen.

Another complication: When there is enough money, Colorado lawmakers can dip into the TA BOR surplus for another purpose. The state allows a property tax exemption for qualifying senior citizens and disabled veterans, referred to as the homestead exemption. The senior homestead exemption can be paid for by the TABOR surplus, Wasserman said, potentially cutting into the available funds for affordable housing.

“That pool of money which is coming from our existing tax rates — it’s a life raft, and it’s like we’re shrinking the size of the life raft,” Wasserman said.

He also looks at Proposition 121 in anticipating future budget problems.

“If the state ends up as a result of this election cutting things, it’s not going to be because of 123 — it’s going to be because of 121,” he claimed. “I can’t be emphatic enough about that. We can shut off parts of 123 … we can never, ever, ever get the money back from 121.”

Colorado senators vote in favor of Respect for Marriage Act

BY CAITLYN KIM COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO

The U.S. Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act, which codifies protections for same-sex and interracial marriage into federal law, 61-36, Nov. 29. Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper voted for the bill.

Bennet took to the Senate floor prior to the vote to urge support for “a historic piece of legislation.”

“There may be no right closer to the heart than marrying the one that you love. And Colorado understands that,” he said.

The bill would require states to recognize same-sex or interracial marriages performed anywhere outside their borders, but not require them to allow same-sex couples to marry, which is what the Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges guaranteed. The bill would also offi cially repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which defi ned marriage as between one man and one woman.

Hickenlooper said it was a “happy day” and this move was “long overdue.” Still, he also acknowledged the political realities of needing to compromise to get at least 10 Republicans to get to 60 to pass the bill in the chamber.

“This was something we could get done now, with a bipartisan majority. It doesn’t mean that there’s not a different solution down the road. But, for right now, this is a pretty good victory,” he said.

The Senate version of the Respect for Marriage Act includes religious liberty and conscience protections under the Constitution and federal law. It would also confirm that non-profit religious groups will not be required to provide goods or services for same-sex marriages and ensure the government does not recognize polygamous marriages. The amended bill means it will have to go back to the House for a vote before heading to

the president’s desk.

The push to protect same-sex marriage was spurred by this summer’s Supreme Court overturning Roe vs. Wade; Justice Clarence Thomas in his concurring opinion said the court should revisit and overturn other landmark rulings regarding contreception and samesex marriage.

The House passed a version of the bill in July, with 47 Republicans in favor. The Colorado delegation split along party lines, with Democratic Reps. Jason Crow, Diana DeGette, Joe Neguse and Ed Perlmutter voting for the bill, and Republican Reps. Lauren Boebert, Ken Buck and Doug Lamborn voting against it.

This story is from CPR News, a nonprofit news source. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org.

Englewood police shoot dog outside Walmart

BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Offi cers with the Englewood Police Department shot an “aggressive” dog in a parking lot outside the Englewood Walmart Dec. 1, according to a department statement.

According to the statement, at approximately 1:34 p.m. offi cers responded to a report of a person with a gun who had reportedly threatened another person near the 601 Englewood Parkway area off Hampden Avenue.

Offi cers located the suspect’s vehicle and initiated a high-risk traffi c stop on the vehicle in the parking lot near the Walmart

store, the department’s statement added.

While ordering the driver out of the vehicle, a dog “charged at the offi cers” who then shot the dog with a taser and gun “to protect themselves.” The dog was transported to a nearby emergency vet clinic where it later died.

The department sent a tweet at 2:30 p.m. about police activity in the area and later confi rmed to Colorado Community Media at 3:40 p.m. that a shooting had occurred. In a short video posted in response to the department’s tweet, several gunshots can be heard and police cars and offi cers seen at a parking lot near the Walmart.

Shovel Snow for Seniors

Sen. Michael Bennet speaks to an Idaho Springs crowd in October.

PHOTOS BY OLIVIA JEWELL LOVE

Sen. John Hickenlooper supported the Respect for Marriage Act in his Nov. 29 vote.

Hockey player accused of assault after kicking opponent

Littleton league game halted

BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A minor who plays for the Arapahoe Warriors Youth Hockey League was given a municipal citation by local police after he allegedly kicked an opponent in the head with his ice skate multiple times during a game in Littleton.

According to a redacted incident report from the Littleton Police De partment, police responded to the Ice Ranch, located at 841 Southpark Dr. in southeast Littleton, at around 3:44 p.m. Nov. 26.

The Arapahoe team had been on a 5-3 power play, according to a statement from witnesses included

in the report, but the other team kept their players from scoring. A battle for the puck ensued, leaving an opposing player laying down on the ice. An Arapahoe player then kicked the other player in their side before aiming at the head, the report said.

The report goes on to say the Arapahoe player landed at least one direct kick to the other player’s head before being tackled to the ground by a different opposing player.

The parent of the victim, whose name was redacted in the report, told police that the Arapahoe player “appeared very frustrated” before kicking her son. “I went downstairs to find out if my son ... was okay or needed medical attention,” the parent told police, according to the report.

The victim said he had a head-

ache but did not have any lacerations to his face, head or neck, according to the report. He told police the attack was the first time during the entire game that the Arapahoe player had been aggressive.

According to the report, the Arapahoe player told police that the opposing player had been holding onto his leg and wouldn’t let go, prompting him to kick the player with his skate multiple times. According to the report, he told police he “realized I probably could have killed him.”

He told police the player had also called him insults and was “just being a nuisance” throughout the game, the report said. The player told police he denied “verbally abusing” anyone, the report said.

Since the Arapahoe player is a minor, the case will go through Littleton Municipal Court as op-

posed to going through the district attorney’s office for the 18th Judicial District according to police spokesperson Sheera Poleman.

In a statement to families of children in the Arapahoe hockey league, Bill Dobbs, general manager for Ice & Sports Operations at South Suburban Parks and Recreation, said the suspect has been suspended from all practices and games until USA Hockey — the governing body for organized ice hockey teams — completes a formal hearing in the next 30 days.

“We understand that emotions run high during games,” Dobbs wrote. “However, Arapahoe Hockey, South Suburban Parks and Recreation District and USA Hockey have a zero tolerance for any form of abuse or misconduct toward another player, officials or spectators.”

3rd Cherry Cricket restaurant breaks ground in Littleton

ceremony for The Cherry Cricket’s third restaurant location.

BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Satiated by fresh-off-the-grill burg ers and zesty beermosas, dozens of Littleton community members gath ered Dec. 1 for a groundbreaking

“Littleton has such a community feel and that’s really where we do best,” said Calley McCue, president of the Cricket’s parent company, Breckenridge-Wynkoop LLC. “We hope people come here after the Christmas tree lighting downtown, we hope people come here after the football wins in high school.”

The iconic Denver establishment,

which serves beers, burgers, shakes and more, first opened in 1945 as Mary Zimmerman’s Bar in the city’s Cherry Creek neighborhood before establishing a second location in 2018 near Coors Field. Its latest set ting in Littleton marks a growing expansion by the restaurant’s own ers throughout the metro area and Front Range.

“We hope to be (in Littleton) for 70-plus years, just as we have been

in Cherry Creek,” McCue said.

The Littleton location, expected to open in May, will be the smallest of the three at nearly 6,400 square feet which will house about 400 seats, 100 of which will be outdoors. The Cricket will take over the building formerly home to the Crestwood Restaurant at 819 Littleton Bou levard, roughly a mile east of the

city’s downtown area.

“A lot of people from here had a lot of fond memories of the Crestwood,” said Alex Bunn, vice president for brand strategy and growth for BreckenridgeWynkoop LLC. “And that has a lot of parallels to the Cherry Cricket. So it felt really fitting for us to look at this location and try to bring it back to life and make it a place where future generations can make some memories.”

Rather than scrape the decades-old building that housed the Crestwood for more than 40 years, Bunn said the Cricket will incorporate many of the building’s stone and wood elements as it renovates the new restaurant as a way to continue the site’s long legacy.

“We didn’t want to erase it,” Bunn said. “While also making it feel 100% like a Cricket, authentic to Cricket.”

Pat Dunahay, co-president of the Littleton Business Chamber, said he is excited about the Cricket’s Littleton location and hopes it plays a role in revitalizing the Littleton Boulevard area.

“We just think the development opportunity on Littleton Boulevard is huge,” Dunahay said, adding that The Cricket brings an iconic brand name that will be instantly recognizable to residents. “I think it’s going to be easy to love this place.”

A rendering at left shows what nearby residents can expect from the new Cherry Cricket set to open at the site of the former Crestwood Restaurant on Littleton Boulevard this May.

PHOTO BY ROBERT TANN

After month of free fares, many riders stayed with RTD

Zero Fare for Better Air data analyzed

BY OLIVIA PRENTZEL THE COLORADO SUN

After Colorado offered $28 million to make public transit free for the month of August — in an effort to ease air pollution when ozone levels are highest — many riders stayed, even after fares returned, new data from participating agencies across the state show.

While ridership numbers dipped after the no-fare promotion ended, at least nine of the 14 public transit agencies that participated in the Zero Fare for Better Air program saw more riders in September compared with July, including the Regional Transportation District — which saw a 14% increase in its average weekday ridership from July to September, according to the agency’s final report on the program submitted to the state. The agency also reported a 13% increase in monthly riders in September compared with the same time last year.

Four agencies did not respond to The Colorado Sun’s request for ridership data. Mountain Metropolitan Transit in Colorado Springs did not see sustained ridership levels from the zero-fare promotion, though numbers in August marked a 39% increase over August 2021 and were 2% shy of pre-pandemic levels, data shows.

For RTD in the Denver metro area and many other participating transit agencies across the state, the growth marked the highest ridership levels since the pandemic began. For some, the number of riders continued to grow after the fares returned, like for La Junta Transit in southeast Colorado, where the number of monthly riders jumped 16% from July to September.

It’s hard to pinpoint the catalysts

for those choosing public transportation over their cars in the month after the program as transit agencies rebound from record-low numbers during the pandemic, and the impacts on the environment remain unclear. But some transit experts hope the numbers are a harbinger of new habits.

“Because we’re such a small system, we know most of our riders. We know their kids and their grandkids

and their dogs and their neighbors,” said Dawn Block, transit coordinator for La Junta Transit. “We saw new faces and I want to say at least 50% of those we have seen in September and October.”

Grants from the Colorado Office of Energy, allocated under Senate Bill 180, which also sought to increase the popularity of transit, allowed

“Whacky & warm, gooey but sophisticated, retro & very real.”

– The Denver Post

An RTD light rail train arriving at Sky Ridge Station in Lone Tree on Nov. 9.

PHOTO BY TAYLER SHAW

SEE RTD, P7

agencies to waive fares on buses and trains during the hottest and smoggiest month of year.

The $28 million was allocated for free fares in August 2022 and August 2023, with $11 million each year going to RTD and $3 million each year going to smaller transit agencies.

But air quality impacts from the boost in riders are hard to quantify without a baseline given, according to the RTD’s report on the program, which is slated to repeat for a month next summer for the agency and several others across the state.

In recommendations for next year’s program, the agency called for improved tracking methods on how waived fares impact the state’s air quality.

There were no significant overcrowding issues or increase in crime on RTD’s buses or trains as ridership surged by 22% in August, compared with July and up 36% from August 2021, RTD reported.

The agency deemed the program “a success in encouraging ridership,” but warned that next year that might not hold true if rider levels continue to rebound after the pandemic or if more people choose to take advantage of the waived fares, the report stated.

RTD customers reported minimal day-to-day disruptions and said they appreciated the waived fares, RTD General Manager and CEO Debra Johnson said, citing ridership surveys. Drawing conclusions from the one-month pilot is challenging, as numbers can be influenced by the start of the school year and large scheduled events, like the Colorado Avalanche games during the NHL playoffs and the Stanley Cup championship parade.

Of the riders who answered the surveys, 91% said they had used RTD services before August and 55% indicated they used them more throughout the month.

“The purpose of public transit lies in the value it provides, and RTD’s participation in this initiative enabled customers to experience the value of our services, whether their travel habits changed for a day, a month or the whole of the pandemic,” Johnson said in a statement.

For some of the smaller and more rural transit agencies, including Durango Transit and South Central Council of Governments (serving Huerfano and Las Animas counties), the program attracted new riders, according to the public transportation advocacy group Colorado Association of Transit Agencies, or CASTA.

In La Junta, a town of about 7,000 in southeastern Colorado, some residents didn’t know about the transit services until they heard it on the radio or were forced to ride the bus due to issues with their personal vehicle.

“But then it’s the best thing since sliced bread,” said Block, the La Junta transit coordinator. “And they tell all their friends and all of their neighbors.” She’s hoping additional advertising next year will help spread awareness.

While ridership continued to grow after the zero-fare promotion ended for many agencies, the end of vacation season and the start of the school year could factor into the

boost, transit leaders warned.

The Archuleta County Mountain Express, which runs in Pagosa Springs, Arboles and Durango, recorded 612 riders in September, a 105 bump from ridership in July. The transit agency is exploring a way to make transit free year-round, according to CASTA.

Pueblo Transit, which offered free service from the city’s largest food distribution site in August, also saw sustained ridership numbers after fares returned with about 17% more riders recorded in September compared with July.

And in Fountain, south of Colorado Springs along Interstate 25, 135 more people rode the bus in September than in July.

“We were very happy with what we saw during that month because we think it helped us get back a lot of our pre-COVID riders,” Todd Evans, Fountain’s deputy city manager said.

Despite a driver shortage, Evans said he is eager for the town to participate in the program next year and extend the promotion June through August, if possible.

“One hundred percent. As long as we don’t get to the point where we’re overloading our buses and we don’t have too many riders for our buses,” he said.

A monthlong zero-fare program was a challenge for Greeley-Evans Transit, known as GET, because it was down about six drivers, but the $30,000 grant helped the agency cover overtime costs, according to CASTA, which collected feedback from the agencies.

Though GET offers free transit for children year-round, the Zero Fare program allowed a mother to join her child on the bus several times to help find the best route home once after-school programs ended, said Ann Rajewski, executive director of CASTA.

More than $2 million of state money allocated for transit agencies across the state was left unused after two of the state’s largest transit agencies chose not to participate because of driver shortages. Some of that money will likely cover expenses for agencies that spent more money during the August promotion than they requested in their grant proposals, Rajewski said.

“We were kind of flying blind this time around,” she said.

How the remaining funds are spent is still up in the air, she said. One possibility is that the money could be used to cover free transit next June before the end of the state’s fiscal year.

The extra funding could potentially help some agencies offer free transit for three months, which would give people a longer time to form a new habit of riding public transportation, Rajewski said.

“I think there would be some real value,” she said. “Not just in terms of trying to get some new riders to ride there, but also for agencies to make even more informed decisions about how they want to move forward.”

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

Colorado nurse wins national teaching award

Tammy Spencer dedicates life to field

BY LINDSEY FORD ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS

Out of thousands of nurse educators in the country, one of the top five is right here in Colorado.

Tammy Spencer, DNP, RN, has dedicated most of her life to nursing. She has taught at the University of Colorado College of Nursing for over 30 years. Earlier this year, she was honored with the National League of Nursing’s “Nurse Educator of the Year” award.

“I can think of several times in the past three months that patients have had an impact on me,” said Spencer. “I mean, you can’t help but be moved by their stories, and you can’t help but feel such an honor and privilege to be with that person at one of the most vulnerable times in their lives.”

Spencer was nominated by her nursing colleagues and friends, Gail Armstrong and Peggy Jenkins.

Armstrong said Spencer has been honored with 18 awards since she became a faculty member and completed her master’s degree at the University of Colorado College of Nursing in 1989.

“For Tammy to be identified as one of the top five nurse educators in the country is a really, really prestigious award,” Armstrong added.

Armstrong said Spencer’s award did not come as a surprise to her colleagues and students. The nursing school’s Facebook page was flooded with heartfelt comments congratulating her.

“Tammy Spencer is one of the absolute best out there! She lives her passion for nursing,” one commenter wrote. “I feel blessed to have been one of her students!”

“So well deserved,” another person said. “She’s one of my favorite professors I’ve had out of all three of my degrees.”

One of Spencer’s students, Barbara Klontz, shared that Spencer’s teaching style is the reason she can

understand complicated topics in school.

“Tammy is about a couple of things: kindness, always — she has a really bright personality and lots of energy — but also she really likes being with people and she treats everyone ... like they’re a friend or a close acquaintance, so it’s really easy to be with her,” Klontz said.

Spencer said her passion is teaching.

“My students bring me a lot of joy,” she said, “to be in the classroom and to be able to really impact them in such a profound way, to think that you are educating the next generation of nurses.”

Spencer said another passion of hers is policy-making; she explained that she was involved with getting emergency orders signed by Governor Jared Polis to “help lessen burdens of clinical hours required for graduation.” Spencer said she did this because it helped “fill the pipeline at a time when nurses were leaving” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think that more and more policy is needed around nursing. I think nurses have a huge voice in health care,” Spencer said. “We need to use that voice; we need to feel empowered to use that voice.”

Spencer lives by a mantra written by Virginia Henderson, a renowned nurse, writer and scholar.

“[Henderson] described nursing as, ‘nursing is work of the head, work of the heart and work of the hands,’” said Spencer.

Spencer believes one cannot get into nursing without “being passionate.”

“You are handing a newborn for the first time to a mother, you are holding the hand of a patient that’s dying. You can’t help but be moved by that,” Spencer said. “So, that’s what nursing means.”

This story is from Rocky Mountain PBS, a nonprofit public broadcaster providing community stories across Colorado over the air and online. Used by permission. For more, and to support Rocky Mountain PBS, visit rmpbs.org.

Tammy Spencer serves as an inspiration to the next generation of nurses.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS PHOTO

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10 years of recreational cannabis research

BY CLAIRE CLEVELAND COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO

Recreational cannabis in Colorado turned 10 in November.

Researchers have been studying its impact on health, public safety and the economy, but there’s still so much more to learn. In some ways, the cart came before the horse, as in legalization came well before the research.

On Colorado Matters, Angela Bryan, a professor of psychology, and Brian Keegan, an assistant profes sor of information science, both at the University of Colorado Boulder, talked about some of what’s cur rently known and unknown about cannabis. They also busted a few long-standing myths, too.

Myth: Cannabis users are couch potatoes

The data suggests, at least in states where people have been asked about their cannabis use and exercise habits, that cannabis users are more likely to meet exercise recommendations than non-users. “They tend to use cannabis in conjunction with exercise in some form or fashion and that’s either using before exercise or using it af ter exercise for recovery purposes,” said Bryan. “We also have larger epidemiological data, not collected by my lab, but where we see pat terns such that cannabis users have lower rates of type two diabetes, better waist-to-hip ratios and better insulin function.”

Indica vs. sativa: what are the chemical components?

When someone shops at a dispen sary, they’ll see products marketed as containing either sativa or indica strains of cannabis. Those two sub species are known to have different subjective effects on the user. Indica is often described as “in-da-couch,” meaning it’s relaxing, versus sativa, which is known to be stimulating and increases creativity.

Keegan and his collaborators ana lyzed nearly 90,000 cannabis product samples from six states and found that in reality, most of the products in Colorado’s legal marketplace are hybrids of the two subspecies.

“There’s an element of truth in ad vertising here, that if you go out and buy red wine and you crack it open and it comes as a white wine, you’d be very upset,” Keegan said. “In the legal marketplace, we’ve had this ex perience that there is no regulation governing what you can call some thing. There’s no sort of trademark protection, or anything, any other kind of intellectual property that says when you buy something that says “X,” that “X” will always have this kind of consistent chemical compound composition.”

More research is needed to un derstand the many chemical com ponents that make up cannabis and how those components affect the body.

What’s the deal with THC, CBD and pain?

What researchers know is that cannabis can have positive effects on

pain and there seems to be evidence that THC, the psychoactive compo nent of cannabis, in combination with CBD, which does not have psychoactive effects, work in tandem for pain reduction.

CBD has anti-inflammatory properties, so it makes sense that it would work well to alleviate pain, Brian said.

“If you think about other pain medications, think about opiates, opiates also have psychoactive effects,” Brian said. “So it’s not ter ribly surprising that some combina tion of THC and CBD seems to be the most effective for pain reduc tion.”

So far, there isn’t a known dose or preparation that might be the most helpful for pain reduction, but researchers are continuing to work to understand what role the two components play in pain.

What about negative health side e ects?

Cannabis appears to be helpful in treating pain, it’s used in an FDA-ap proved drug to treat seizures and it appears to positively impact exer cise-related health issues, but what about its consequences? Keegan said he thinks a profound concern the industry is facing right now has to do with contaminants.

For example, Colorado requires cannabis producers to test for mold and pesticides, but the state still operates a regulatory system that allows the same pesticides used on an apple to keep bugs away to be

used on cannabis. The difference is that consumers don’t light the apple on fire and breathe in the fumes, whereas with cannabis, they do.

“Those chemicals come into our bloodstream and our bodies,” Keegan said. “And that’s really poor ly understood, and I think a very serious public health risk around the role that these kinds of contami nants — pesticides, fungicides and mold — have.”

Did legal cannabis drive up DUIs? And what about teens using cannabis?

The short answer: no. The long answer: driving under the influence of cannabis isn’t safe, but legaliza tion of the drug didn’t cause an increase in DUIs. Alcohol, instead, is the main culprit behind many DUIs in Colorado, according to a report compiled by the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, which analyzed more than 26,000 impaired driving cases filed in 2019.

As for teen use, the state runs the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey every other year, which asks teens about cannabis use. The number of kids reporting cannabis use has only increased about 4 percent since 2013, from 33 percent to 37.5 percent.

“We’re not, again, seeing those kinds of dramatic explosion of use among young people that many were warning against,” Keegan said.

This story is from CPR News, a nonprofit news source. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org.

Gunshots exchanged with bank robbery suspect

Inn hotels, Greenwood Village said on Twitter at about 2 p.m. that day.

BY ELLIS ARNOLD ERNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

After hours of negotiation, police arrested a bank robbery suspect who ran inside a nearby hotel after exchanging gunfire with officers, according to the City of Greenwood Village.

The suspect “peacefully surrendered,” the city said on Twitter just after 6 p.m. Dec. 1.

Authorities evacuated the guests at the Extended Stay America and Sleep

The incident occurred near Clinton Street and Costilla Avenue, a couple blocks south of Arapahoe Road and east of Interstate 25.

“Multiple agencies,” including the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, were assisting Greenwood Village police with the incident, the city said on Twitter.

At least roughly two dozen personnel who appeared to be involved with law enforcement stood on scene, according to a photo the sheriff’s offi ce tweeted at 12:45 p.m. Dec. 1.

Greenwood Village police had responded at about 10:45 a.m. on Dec. 1 to the Key Bank on Arapahoe Road just east of I-25 in response to an alleged bank robbery, according to a news release from Greenwood Village police.

As he fled from an officer, the suspect allegedly fired his handgun in the direction of the officer, who then returned fire, the news release says. The suspect continued to run through a nearby parking lot and again fired at the officer, who again returned fire, according to the release.

The suspect entered the Extended Stay America

hotel, and officers surrounded the hotel, according to police.

Police later confirmed in the news release that there were no injuries to any of the officers, the suspect or the bystanders involved.

Initially, authorities issued a “reverse 911” phone call to hotel guests asking them to shelter in place, according to the news release, but guests were later evacuated.

Witnesses at the hotel assisted officers in identifying a suspect who was a hotel guest, and officers isolated him to his hotel room and made contact with him just before 4

p.m., the release said. Negotiations continued for about two hours before the suspect surrendered, the release said.

Police identified the suspect as 29-year-old Jonathan Martin Bell.

The hotel the suspect ran into sits in Greenwood Village, west of Clinton Street and north of Costilla Avenue. The location is just outside of central Centennial.

Police don’t believe there is danger to the surrounding hotels or community regarding the incident, David Oliver, Greenwood Village deputy police chief, said at the time.

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Suspect was taken into custody

VOICES

A positive direction

Last year, I wrote a column about wanting more kindness in the world and a lot less politics in the public. I used our annual craft show as an example.

EDITOR’S COLUMN

In 2021, we had to have someone removed who was spreading his political views and making a lot of people uncomfortable. We had complaint about not requiring masks. We had complaints from those not in masks.

In reality, it was a pretty negative day, leaving my husband and me feeling a little deflated and pessimistic about the state of our local communities.

This year, we hosted the same craft show at Douglas County Fairgrounds over Thanksgiving weekend. I can’t even begin to explain the difference in attitudes with our vendors and public.

In general, everyone was happy. They were kind and seemed genuinely happy to be out and about supporting local businesses and the local community.

We had thousands of people come to the show and everyone had bigger smiles and better attitudes, and they left my husband and me feeling a lot better about the community this year.

Are things perfect? No. We still have a lot of anger out there. We still have a lot of people believing only one side of a political debate is right — that being theirs.

However, we have a lot less of it in places where it is not welcome. At community events, people are coming out and showing kindness to one another. We have a lot more human decency over anger and disdain at local events. I often say the pandemic brought out the worst in the world. From fear and anger to misinformation and political views — We did not behave at our best as a society in the face of controversy and trouble.

Are we finally recovering from that? I truly hope so.

I am of the belief that most people in this world are good. I believe most are well-intentioned. I believe anger and lack of kindness was a blip and we have learned we can disagree or be upset — but we do not have to make it about everything we do and everywhere we go.

Here’s to our local residents and community leaders who have worked to set a better example in 2022 and create a much more friendly atmosphere for something like a holiday craft show.

I realize with all the hate crimes, tragedy and continued violence that is unnecessary in this world — this seems like a small drop in the bucket but it is something to build on. I cannot begin to express the sadness I had after the 2021 craft show when so many were hateful and angry through the two-day event.

Let’s hope the work to be better, happier and more accepting continues in 2023. Let’s hope in 2023, we can have fewer tragedies and more positives to build on as I believe we did in 2022.

LINDA

MICHAEL

Lighten the load and brighten the mood

WINNING

She had gone out for a run, and it wasn’t until she was more than a half mile away before she realized that she had left her phone at home. The reason she became aware of the missing phone was because she felt just a little bit lighter. The average cell phone weighs under 0.5 pounds and as she returned from her run, she thought about why she could feel such a slight difference as she ran.

As she shared her story with me, we began creating a list of possibilities for how such an insignificant amount of weight could have had such a noticeable impact. We tossed around ideas that had more to do with the size of the device and not the weight and how that may have prompted her to notice that her phone was missing. And then we kicked around a few silly ideas before settling on what was probably the real reason.

She started to talk about all the things she has on her phone, everything from several screens loaded with dozens of apps, several games, tens of thousands of photos, work-related tools such as her email and calendar, and all the social media platforms. Among her apps were at least 10 news feeds which she checked regularly. We hypothesized that although none of these carry any physical weight, they certainly carry with them emotional and stressful weights that when we don’t have access to them for even the shortest amount of time, we can begin to feel a little lighter and the world seems a little brighter.

Maybe we can all relate to this a little bit when we think about all the weight that comes with our own cell phones that we carry. The need to be in the know at all times about what is happening with our family and friends. Feeling obligated to check every email or text and respond immediately. Experiencing withdrawals if we do not open our news feeds to make sure we know what

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is going on in our town, state, country, and around the world. And not only making sure we check the news, but we also must check multiple sites to try and find the truth as we never know who or what to believe.

As we continued our conversation, going into the details of what is contained on her phone, she realized just how heavy that phone really was. And to run for a few miles without it and feel just the slightest bit lighter now made all the sense in the world. She made the commitment to herself that she would start to eliminate the apps, games, and tools and minimize the amount of time she stayed glued to her phone. She also planned to leave her phone at home whenever she would go for another run. Her plan was to lighten the load to brighten the mood each day.

Acclaimed author and motivational speaker Krish Dhanam talks about how we can put a little more pep in each step and bounce in each ounce. And that is exactly what I recommend for all of us, to put a little more pep in each step and bounce in each ounce by determining what we allow into our lives, to become planted in our minds, and to penetrate our hearts, letting the good stuff in and keeping the bad stuff out. Identifying where all that weight that sits upon our shoulders is coming from and remove it not only from our phones but from anywhere else it has established a foothold in our life.

As we head into the holiday season, it is the perfect time of year to minimize our burdens, stressors, fears, worries and doubts, and focus on all the people and opportunities in our life that brings us peace, joy, hope, and love. I would love to hear your story at gotonorton@gmail.com, and when we can remember to lighten the load and brighten the mood, it really will be a better than good life.

Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager, and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.

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Colorado charter schools performing better

BY ERICA BREUNLIN THE COLORADO SUN

Colorado elementary and middle school students attending charter schools excelled in literacy and math at higher rates than their peers at traditional public schools throughout the pandemic, buck ing a national trend, according to a report published by the nonpartisan Keystone Policy Center.

The numbers are particularly positive for charter schools that educate a significant share of kids from low-income families, the re port notes, indicating that Colorado charter schools have been more effective in keeping some of the state’s most vulnerable students on academic pace during COVID-19.

However, many elementary and middle schoolers enrolled in charter schools across the state are still fall ing short of meeting state academic standards, the report reveals.

“Charter schools, as is the case with district-managed schools, are far from supporting most kids to reach the state standards,” said Van Schoales, senior policy director at the Keystone Policy Center. “And so I think we have a real problem, not just in Colorado but nationally. We need to frankly rethink how we’re doing public education and how we fund it and how it’s organized because if we have a system that can’t get most kids to standard, then either the standards are wrong — which I don’t think they are — or the system is totally messed up. And we’ve been working on this for decades.”

Dan Schaller, president of the Col orado League of Charter Schools, is encouraged by the achievement of Colorado charter schools but acknowledges that they have more progress to make.

“I think it’s important to remem ber it’s against the backdrop of us needing to do a lot of work in the public education system in gen eral,” Schaller said.

The report evaluated how schools are ranked on state accountability measures, known as School Tran sitional Frameworks, and looked at results of 2022 standardized tests, including the Colorado Measures of Academic Success and PSAT and SAT exams.

Colorado has 269 charter schools that educate more than 135,000 stu dents, according to Schaller. Charter schools are public schools managed by outside nonprofit operators that establish a performance contract with a school district, which serves as the authorizer. The contract gives charter schools more flexibility than traditional public schools over how they educate children, but they are still subject to the same stan dards and assessments as tradition al public schools. Charter schools are often born when families and communities recognize the need for a high-quality alternative and band together to create an application for a charter school with a different model than what their district-run schools offer, Schaller said.

“In many respects, they’re more accountable, but they are given the flexibility to have the school-based control over decisions related to staffing, decisions related to budget

ing, to academic programming,” he said.

The report from the Keystone Pol icy Center notes that 85% of charter school students go to a school that earned the highest rating on the School Transitional Frameworks — the “performance” rating. Mean while, 66% of traditional public school students are enrolled in a school that is rated “performance.”

At schools serving students living in poverty, the gap is much greater.

Two-thirds of charter students learning at schools with mostly kids from low-income families were at schools rated “performance” while 19% of students at traditional pub lic schools where the majority of students are poor were enrolled in a “performance” school, the report stated.

“These do represent some of the largest gaps that I’ve seen,” Schaller said.

Charter school students in grades 3-8 fared better on literacy and math assessments than students in public schools run by districts, with 37% of charter school students — com pared with 31 percent of traditional public school students — meeting or surpassing grade level benchmarks in English language arts. In math, 31% of charter school students met or surpassed grade level bench marks, compared with 27% of kids in district-run schools, the report notes.

Additionally, elementary, middle and high school students attending charter schools demonstrated great er levels of academic growth in both English language arts and math than kids at district-run schools.

The academic gains made by charter schools during the past year built on momentum from the years leading up to the pandemic, captured by the Colorado Depart ment of Education’s 2019 State of Charter Schools Triennial Report. That report, released in March 2020, details that charter school students consistently outperformed students from non-charter schools on CMAS English language arts and math ex ams from 2016-18. Similarly, charter school students performed better on PSAT and SAT evidence-based read ing and writing and math exams during those three years than their peers at non-charter schools.

The report, published once every three years, also illuminates the demographics of students attend ing Colorado charter schools. In 2019, charter schools educated more students of color and more students learning English than other Colo rado schools, but fewer students with disabilities and fewer students who qualify for free and reduced price lunch — a federal indicator of poverty.

Schaller attributes at least part of charter schools’ success to how responsive they are to their students and families.

The charter school model is “in herently flexible and adaptable to the needs of a given school commu nity,” said Schaller, who sees char ter schools’ control over decisions driving much of their achievement.

The pandemic has highlighted “the power of a system of public school options for kids,” he said.

“Our kids aren’t all the same,”

Schaller said, “and our schools shouldn’t be either.”

“An important part of the mix” Another hypothesis related to charter schools’ higher achieve ment rates: how much time students spent in school and what happened when they weren’t in classrooms.

“It could have been that charter school kids were less out of school and … built more community when they were out of school than other district schools, and so when they came back, they may have been more ready to learn,” said Schoales, of the Keystone Policy Center. “And it also is possible that they may have had more summer opportunities or tutoring opportunities.”

When it comes to the success that charter schools have demonstrated in helping kids from low-income families make academic gains, Schoales suspects that charter schools are often set up to better serve specific groups of kids from the get-go.

“My theory is … because often schools are designed to serve a par ticular group of kids that they may be better at that because they go in with the intention of doing that,” Schoales said.

He added that charter schools are often smaller, and therefore can be more nimble and responsive. There is also often more communication with parents — who are key to their children’s academic outcomes — in charter schools than in district-run schools, Schoales said.

And yet, charter schools often are operating in poorer quality facilities with fewer funds, lower teacher pay and higher staff turnover, he noted.

“It does suggest that whatever the charters are doing, they’re doing it in spite of having often higher turnover and lower paid teachers,” Schoales said. “So what would hap pen if they had teachers paid at the same rates?”

While charter school students are achieving at a higher rate than their counterparts in district-operated public schools, more than half of all students are still trailing behind grade level standards in math and literacy.

“I don’t want anybody to come away from this saying, ‘Oh gosh, you know, charter schools are solv ing our educational challenges,’ and they’re not,” Schoales said.

BY MICHAEL BOOTH THE COLORADO SUN

The lettuce is blooming nicely on the rollaway walls.

According to the farmer’s iPad, the calibrated nutrients are flowing smoothly and accurately through the tubes.

It’s 30 degrees outside, but there’s a tantalizing garden of tangy, restaurant-ready produce inside this cozy, pristine shipping container.

Somewhere behind and among the pawn shops and the gas stations and the used tire traders and the body shops along South Broadway, on a former used car lot on Acoma Street, a couple

of snazzy high-tech containers are parked to start an urban farming revolution.

Ullr’s Garden, launched a few months ago by a couple of brothers who want to save the world and sell some sustainable arugula, is growing the equivalent of a 10-acre farm on a dusty 7,500-square-foot lot. The lettuce and arugula and basil and romaine grow horizontally, while hanging from moveable walls packed inside the climatecontrolled trailers. The farmers sit at a folding table in the nearby shed and plot their next expansion: stackable farm containers.

Nick Millisor, one of the brothers behind Ullr’s Garden, still can’t believe they’re doing what they’re doing.

“We are growing local produce, in the middle of Denver, on an old used car lot, the kind you used to roll your car windows up when you

drove by,” Millisor laughs.

Vertical farms don’t stint on flavor

And their stuff tastes great. The emerald green basil snaps with a hint of licorice. The arugula is laced with a wild mustard flavor. The butter lettuce, sold with root ball intact, has an earthy flavor belying the fact the growing walls are purposefully insulated from any local dirt.

One trailer with 365 days of optimal growing conditions can produce the equivalent of a 5-acre seasonal farm, Nick and Luke Millisor say. Employing a closed loop for the water and nutrients, each trailer uses up only five gallons a day from water buffaloes they fill offsite.

“We don’t even have a water tap here yet,” Nick laughed.

And when the weather turns truly frigid, say 10 degrees from a recent overnight snow, a conscientious farmer can check on the baby bibb while sitting at home in bed with a laptop.

“If anything isn’t running optimal-

ly, the farm will literally send me a text message,” Nick said, waving his iPhone over the transplanting tables. Sensors throughout the trailer are connected to wi-fi.

Urban farming and hydroponics a great mix, experts say

Independent experts on vertical, hydroponic farming say they can’t predict the success of Ullr’s business model, but agree the revolution in well-designed shipping containers could indeed preserve the environment and extend better nutrition to remote consumers.

Rising world population, scarce water amid climate change and urban neighborhoods neglected by fresh food stores, “these are the multifaceted reasons why we’re seeing this surge in interest,” said Josh Craver, an assistant professor in controlled environment horticulture at Colorado State

Ullr’s Garden grows tangy artisanal arugula in climate-controlled trailers

University.

“It’s not hard to see pretty quickly that you can produce, per square foot, way more food in these containers than you can in the field,” Craver said.

We are growing local produce, in the middle of Denver, on an old used car lot, the kind you used to roll your car windows up when you drove by.

The Ullr’s Garden name for their parking lot container farm honors the brothers’ time grow ing up skiing in Breckenridge, home to the Ullr Fest winter sports party. Nick Millisor comes at farming with all the technical skills of a self-described liberal arts eclectic and sci-fi nerd. He’d been toiling in real estate when the strange winds of COVID and climate change turned his 2021 up side down and he went in search of a meaningful project to better the world.

There was a week where Ger many flooded and the West was burning and a Canadian heat wave was cooking shellfish alive in the ocean.

“I didn’t want to deal with super-rich people’s problems with real estate anymore,” Nick Milli sor said. “And so I convinced my brother to join me, and then my cousin, and I was like, ‘You just want to do something crazy and start growing food in a container?’ And they said yes.”

Luke Millisor supplied the actual technical knowledge, from his experience managing a neuroscience lab at University of Colorado. Colorado’s increasing water challenges led them toward water-stingy hydroponic farming and to the equipment catalogs of storage container outfitters.

“We’re not the only ones doing this you know. I would love to say that we’re the pioneers behind this, but a lot of smarter people have basically led us to this point where this technology is almost automatic,” Nick Millisor said. “It’s so easy. I mean, I have zero experience farming, other than growing some stuff in my mom’s garden as a kid.”

Ullr’s Garden sent itself to in door farm training

The container outfitters sup

plied a two-day boot camp on vertical farming.

The would-be farmers learned there’s almost zero water use in the latest designs, no contamination of runoff with excess fertilizer or pesticides, precise control of nutrients, efficient LED lighting powered by clean electricity. They have two electric vehicles to deliver produce within a 5-mile radius, boosting their effort to become carbon neutral with the overall operation. Leaving the root ball on a head of lettuce helps it last on the shelf for a couple of weeks and reduces food waste.

A fully outfitted container, with 24,000 individual LED pinpoint lights and temperature controlled at 68 to 70 degrees, costs about $170,000, Nick Millisor said. Ullr’s Garden can grow 500 varieties of produce to meet the whims of the market, and tweak the grow lights for goals as esoteric as the optimal color of a red lettuce leaf.

Accelerating efficiencies in lighting and heating have powered the surge in hydroponic container farms, said CSU’s Craver. Old grow lamps built up too much heat, while improved LEDs produce precise photons that the plant can employ for photosynthesis.

“So we really are sitting on the shoulders of giants on this one,” Nick Millisor said.

Vertical and remote, but not out of touch

As the water drips down the wall channels and then recirculates, sensors constantly check pH and mineral levels, among other growth factors. Reserve tanks dribble in supplement adjustments to the mix at the touch of the iPad. Key in siting the containers is pouring concrete footings at a 2% tilt to guarantee the water flow.

Most varieties started from seeds are ready in six to seven weeks. Harvesting means clean scissors trimming the walls, or pulling whole heads with root balls.

Now, about that business model. Negotiating with individual restaurants may not be the full answer, though Ullr’s Garden is in talks with a few looking for local supply and input into the varieties. The next challenge for the Millisors, joined by cousin and chief financial officer Ian

Randall, is to launch a farm share program.

Other farm share subscriptions are popular in summer and fall, with buyers picking up or getting delivered a box of outdoors-grown seasonal items ranging from lettuce to tomatoes to squash. But the outdoor shares run out by late fall, where Ullr’s Garden can deliver lettuce, herbs and other greens year-round. The company has 150 shares on sale now, to be delivered within the 5-mile radius.

A prime calculation in closequarters farming, Craver said, is which plants draw top dollar for the space they take up. Corn is all fibrous scaffolding, producing a handful of kernels that sell for 25 cents an ear. Root ball lettuce is nearly 100% edible, and can retail for $5 or $6 a head.

There are large hydroponic operations in metro Denver that appear to be thriving, Craver said, and smaller operations like Ullr’s Garden are busy figuring out their costs and a workable scale.

“When you look at the business model, it definitely does work,” Craver said.

I didn’t want to deal with super-rich people’s problems with real estate anymore … I was like, ‘You just want to do something crazy and start growing food in a container?’ And they said yes.

Of course, there’s a lucrative container model selling billions of dollars of product a year in Colorado — marijuana. The Millisors, though, are adamant they want to feed the world, not medicate it.

Denver’s zoning office is well organized to approve urban farming, Nick Millisor said, but they did have to address the elephant in the container.

“I was like, ‘I’m doing a hydroponic garden,’ and you could just see it in their eyes, oh

no, there’s another one, and I was like, ‘Not marijuana! Not marijuana!’ And she’s like, okay, STAMP, get out of here.’ ”

Container farms could be stackable

The Ullr’s Garden trio plots their next move from underneath the modest shed looking out on the lot. If marketing picks up and the consumer-direct shares work out, there’s room for expansion with ground space for two or three more containers.

Plus, as anyone who’s seen a modern port city can tell you, they’re stackable. Ullr’s Garden anticipates going at least a second story of vertical, and perhaps more if the zoning folks are feeling frisky.

They’re considering transforming the shed into an events and education space, knowing that schoolchildren would thrive on a cool hydroponics and LED lesson.

As for the pro

duce, they’re still considering winter decorative flowers, edible flowers that could draw top dollar, and radishes. One grower figured out how to do hops indoors, another grew berries, though that may not scale up to be useful.

One constant, besides the 68 degrees inside the trailers, is how welcoming and helpful everyone in vertical farming has been in sharing tips with Ullr’s Garden, Nick Millisor said.

“Everyone has the tool. Now everyone’s kind of figuring out how best to use it,” he said. “And that’s what I think is most exciting for me.”

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

Gardens light up the night for holidays

SONYA’S SAMPLER

Dear Davis Schilken,

My partner and I have been talking the last few months about getting our Wills and Planning documents together. My partner, however, remains skeptical that we need to do anything at all. He is of the mind that a Will does not change anything when you pass away because it “didn’t work for his mother.” Can you offer some insight?

Sincerely, Concerned Cathy Cathy,

We would caution just about anyone who takes this approach. Your Estate Plans are extremely important to ensuring that your Estate is properly passed onto your loved ones, regardless of who that might be.

A lack of Estate Planning can cause quite a few issues. First off, without proper Power’s of Attorney, your loved one’s lack the legal ability to help manage the financial side of your Estate during times of both mental and physical incapacity. Without a Proper Medical Power’s of Attorney, your loved one’s lack the legal authority to make healthcare decisions for you (including level of pain management and hospice care). Without a properly drafted Will, you are forfeiting the ability of your Fiduciaries to help distribute and manage your Estate after your passing. Essentially, you are giving that power to the Courts. This is an extremely slow and costly process, and rarely do the Courts ever have the decedent’s wishes in mind.

Having an Attorney draft a Will and Powers of Attorney are just a few ways to ensure your goals are met both during life and after death. However, they remain some of the most basic and effective tools to do so.

With a properly established and funded Estate Plan, we can ensure that you have the ability to give what you want, to whom you want, when you want, the way you want. During that process we can help you save money on every court cost, legal fee, professional fee, and tax fee legally possible.

Estate planning is never about how much you have, but how much you care about what you have.

Contact the Davis Schilken, PC team with any of your Estate Planning needs (303)670-9855. We offer no obligation in person or virtual meetings. We make estate planning simple! Visit our comprehensive website for more tools www.dslawcolorado.com

Cello and piano

Any or all create a

Our area gardens are filled with bright nights these days, such as the Denver Botanic Gardens’ Blossoms of Light show at the York Street location. The DBG’s Chatfield Farms Trail of Lights is also a happy place. And Hudson Gardens, 6115 S. Santa Fe Drive in Littleton, sparkles. Any or all create a festive family outing. Dress warmly and celebrate!

Admission charged

Englewood Arts Presents’ next matinee performance will be at 2 p.m. Dec. 17, featuring cellist Silver Ainomae and pianist Joshua Sawicki, in Hampden Hall at Englewood Civic Center, 1000 Englewood Parkway. Tickets: $30/$25/$10. 303806-8195, englewoodarts.org.

Stories on Stage

“Making Merry” will be the annual Stories on Stage holiday program: Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. in Nomad Theater, Boulder; Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. in King Center, Denver; Dec. 18 virtual premiere at 7 p.m. 303-494-0523, storiesonstage.org. Subscriptions still a gift option.

Visual treat at libraries

Douglas County Libraries are all decorated with a total of 120 trees. Readers may want to take the family on tour, or just visit individually. Through Jan. 7. Book-related trims by this imaginative crew in the “Forest of Stories.”

Dance auditions

Auditions for Zikr Dance: Denver Ballet Theatre, 8000 S. Lincoln St., Littleton. Jan. 8, 2023. $20 audition fee. Bring head shot, CV, full body shot, references. Ballet technique, pointe, contemporary improvisation. Company and apprentice positions — 2023 spring season. zikrdance.com.

Carols

Voices West will perform “Carols by Candlelight” on Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 11 at 2 p.m. at St. Timothy Episcopal Church, 1401 Dry Creek Road, Centennial. Tickets: VoicesWest.org or at the door. Livestream Dec. 11 at 2 p.m.

Wind ensemble

Colorado Wind Ensemble performs at 2 p.m. Dec. 17 at Parker Schoolhouse at Main Street, 19650 Mainstreet, Parker. coloradowindensemble.org.

Winter break programs

South Suburban Parks and Recreation District offers winter break programs: Dec. 27-30 Adventure Camp for 6-12 year olds. Winter Break Nature Camp, esports, Art Camp, Dance Camp, Chess, Net Basketball, Gymnastics. Contact Becky Grubb. ssprd.org.

Town Hall Arts Center

“Newsies” continues through Dec. 30 at Town Hall Arts Center, 2450 W. Main St, downtown Littleton. townhallartscenter.org. 303-794-2787, ext. 5. Appropriate for kids.

Vintage Theatre

Vintage Theatre, 1468 S. Dayton St., Aurora, presents “Dot” by Colman Domingo, directed by Mykai Eastman, through Dec 18. Friday, Saturday: 7:30 p.m.; Sunday: 2:30 p.m. Tickets: $20-$34, 303-856-7830 or vintagetheatre.org.

Miners Alley

Miners Alley Theater, 1224 Washington Ave., Golden, has announced a 2023 season: “The Great American Trailer Park Musical,” “I Hate Hamlet,” “The Oldest Boy: A Play in Three Ceremonies;” “Avenue Q, a Musical,” “The Cherry Orchard,” “A Christmas Story.” 303-935-3044, minersalley.com.

Orchid extravaganza

Orchid Showcase at Denver Botanic Gardens, York Street, Jan. 12-Feb. 20, 2023. Hundreds of blooms. This is a real treat in mid-winter! botanicgardens.org.

The Denver Botanic Gardens York Street location is exhibiting its Blossoms of Light show through Jan. 7.

PHOTO BY KIRSTEN ORAHOOD

Thu 12/15

YS: Girls Basketball 9-10 @ Harvard Gulch

@ 12am

Dec 15th - Mar 9th

Harvard Gulch Recreation Center, 550 E. Iliff Ave., Denver. 720-913-0654

YS: Girls Basketball 11-12 @ Cook Park

@ 1am

Dec 15th - Mar 9th

Cook Park Recreation Center, 7100 E. Cherry Creek South Dr., Denver. 720-9130654

YS: Boys Basketball 13-14 @ Eisenhower @ 1:30am

Dec 15th - Mar 10th

Eisenhower Recreation Center, 4300 E. Dartmouth Ave., Denver. 720-913-0654 CW

Fri 12/16

YS: Girls Basketball 9-10 @ Eisenhower @ 12:30am

Dec 16th - Mar 10th

Eisenhower Recreation Center, 4300 E. Dartmouth Ave., Denver. 720-913-0654

YS: Girls Basketball 9-10 @ Cook Park @ 1am

Dec 16th - Mar 10th

Cook Park Recreation Center, 7100 E. Cherry Creek South Dr., Denver. 720-9130654

Modern

Denver MountainAirs Colorado Cord Co @ 2:30am Dec 21st - Dec 20th

Heather Gardens Clubhouse, 2888 S. Heather Gardens Way, Aurora

Ladies Night @ 6pm / $5 Stampede, 2430 South Havana, Aurora

AOA: Cooking with Friends: Holiday Cookies @ Eisenhower @ 7pm

Eisenhower Recreation Center, 4300 E. Dartmouth Ave., Denver. 720-913-0654

DJ

Parker Fieldhouse, 18700 E Plaza Dr., Parker. 303-805-6315

powered by

Newsies rule at Town Hall

Musical tells story of 1899 strike in New York

BY SONYA ELLINGBOE SELLINGBOE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Historic Town Hall Arts Center, which opened at the turn of the century, seems to be an appropriate spot to tell the “Disney’s Newsies” story — the tale of the 1899 New York newspaper newsies’ strike that forced the Pulitzer and Hearst chains to more properly compensate their young newspaper hawkers. Town Hall opened in that era (and the Littleton Independent also started publishing).

Newsies bought their papers for 50 cents per hundred and sold them for a penny each. The threat of a price raise to 60 cents per bundle really was a threat to the newsies, who often came from poor immigrant families that depended on their earnings. The 1898 Spanish American War news helped with sales and publishers thought they

IF YOU GO

“Disney’s Newsies” plays at Town Hall Arts Center, 2450 W. Main Street, downtown Littleton, through Dec. 30. Box o ce: 303-794-2787 ext. 5. townhallartcenter.org.

could perhaps make additional revenue, but the youth-led strike, on July 18, 1899, forced William Randolph Hearst’s New York Evening Journal and Joseph Pulitzer’s The Evening World to reconsider after circulation decreased significantly. From 360,000 per day to 125,00 per day in Pulitzer’s case, according to program notes written by director Steve Wilson.

Ringleader Jack Kelly is played by Elton J. Tanega, who makes his debut at Town Hall, and is backed up by his disabled friend, Crutchie, played by Kong Vang, also new to Town Hall, as they plan to protest the publishers’ moves. Camden Deal plays Jack’s friend, Davey, and petite Mac Vasquez plays his little sister, Les, in some performances

(Elinor Rodgers also plays the girl). Also in the cast: Antigone Biddle, Brody Lineaweaver, Caleb Wenger, Camryn Nailah, Elise Brianne Todd, Elliott Clough, Erin M. Banta, Gavin Schrader, Gio Roselli.

It happens that Kelley’s girlfriend, Katherine (Kelly Maur), writes for a rival paper and comes up with a headline about the strike that forces Pulitzer to back off and return to the previous pricing arrangement. Her story also uncovers corruption in the newspaper business ... “Whatever happens, let’s begin,” they sing ... “now is the time to seize the day — Carpe diem ...”

Toughs and police appear to break up the strike.

We find Jack, taken in by singer Medda Larkin (Radjulari), who admires his artistic/painting ability. His daydream spot is Santa Fe and he’s working on an image, although he’s never been there. Discouraged, he thinks about heading there now ... end of Act I ...

Act II opens as Jack paints and Katherine brings in a copy of her

paper with a headline about the strike and Kelley hears from his friend, Crutchie, who is jailed.

Pulitzer tells Jack that no paper in town will publish news about the strike, but the newsies have a surprise — their own paper printed on a press they found in the basement. Katherine appears with a stack. It’s widely distributed and Pulitzer’s phones are ringing off the hooks! He has to retreat.

Along about here, President Teddy Roosevelt appears, summoned by Medde Larkin, and Jack’s girlfriend, Katherine, who turns out to be Pulitzer’s daughter, appears and after some confusion, everything gets straightened out and Pulitzer agrees to reduce the rate the newsies must pay!

This musical, with book by Harvey Fierstein, lyrics by Jack Feldman, is helmed by experienced Denver director Steve Wilson, with scenic design by M. Curtis Grittner, costumes by Lorie Beth Jewel, sound by Curt Behn, music direction by Donna Debreceni, choreography by Debbie and Ronni Stark.

“Newsies” is on stage at Town Hall Arts Center in Littleton through Dec. 30.

PHOTO BY RACHEL GRAHAM / RDG PHOTOGRAPHY

‘A Christmas Story’ for everyone at Miners Alley

expect?

If you know nothing about this story, get ready for a Christmas adventure that will remind you of your youth and make you glad you came.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

There are some stories that you can’t even remember when you first encountered them — they just seem to have always been around. For countless families, the immortal film “A Christmas is a perfect example of this phenomenon. While most of us are familiar with it on the screen, Miners Alley Playhouse, 1224 Washington Ave. in Golden, has brought “A Christmas Story” to the stage and will be running it through Friday, Dec. 23. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. The Dec. 22 is a special benefit performance for the children’s theater program that will feature a visit from Santa, special beverages and more.

We spoke to director Rory Pierce about the show, bringing a classic to the stage and more.

Interview edited for clarity and brevity.

Tell me about the show:

People have grown up listening to the stories of Ralphie Parker’s childhood and now know them almost as well as they know their own. It is a classic tale of Christmas, filled with best friends, budding romances and the longing for the best Christmas gift.

Why did you select this as this year’s holiday show?

“A Christmas Story” hits so many of the notes that people look for during the holidays: family, friendship, humor, tenderness and nostalgia for a time long gone but never forgotten.

What are the challenges of bringing a well-known story to the stage in such a different form?

Doing a show that so many people already know does bring its own set of challenges. We know that the characters on the stage will not look like the people in the film. The house cannot be recreated on the stage and we certainly cannot bring the winters on the shores of Lake Michigan in Indiana to the stage either.

But we can bring back memories of our childhood. The days when snowbanks towered over our heads. When the problems we needed to solve seemed almost insurmountable. When moms and dads were our true heroes and bullies were not unbeatable.

What has the audience reaction been like so far?

I couldn’t be happier with the way the audience has embraced this show. From people who know the movies so well they watch it multiple times every year, to the people that have never heard of it before, they have all left the theater with smiles on their faces and warmth in their hearts. And they have shared their feelings about the show with us both at intermission and on their way out. If people aren’t familiar with the story, what do you want them to know about what they can

What do you hope audiences come away with?

As people leave, I just hope they think of the holidays as a time for family, fun, and unforgettable memories.

For information and tickets, visit minersalley.com.

Miracle bars o er holiday atmosphere galore

Sometimes around the holidays, you just need a drink. Whatever the reason for this is (no judgment here), there are several more festive options to add some holiday cheer to your libation atmosphere.

Sponsored by Miracle, a “Christmas-themed pop-up cocktail bar that serves holiday cocktails in a festive setting,” drinkers can visit the Miracle at The Eddy Hotel, 1640 8th St. in Golden, Miracle at Union Station, 1701 Wynkoop in Denver, Miracle at The Rouge, 7939 E. Arapahoe Road in Greenwood Village and Sippin’ Santa at The Arvada Tavern, 5707 Olde Wadsworth Blvd. in Arvada.

Each of these locations offer special drinks, merchandise and atmosphere that will really get you in the holiday spirit. Visit www.miracledenver.com to see all the locations, links to make reservations and more.

Walk through some of the world’s bestknown paintings

The work created by the Impressionist movement of artists, which was established in the late 19th century, remains some of the most moving and well-known works ever created. Artists like Monet, Renoir and Degas remain firmly etched in our cultural history and visitors to the Immersive Monet and The Impressionists exhibit can see why up close and personal.

The exhibit is open at the Lighthouse Artspace Denver, 3900 Elati St. in Denver. Get tickets at immersivemonet.com/Denver.

Clarke’s Concert of the Week — The Smile at Mission Ballroom

Who knows if we’ll ever get a proper Radiohead album again. It is certainly not something we can rule out, but in the meantime, we’ve got The Smile, which features almost half Radiohead’s members - Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, as well as producer Nigel Godrich - and drummer Tom Skinner.

The group released their debut album, “A Light for Attracting Attention,” this year and it’s one of 2022’s best releases. In support of the album, The Smile will be performing at the Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St. in Denver, at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10 and Sunday, Dec. 11. They’ll be joined by opener Robert Stillman.

Get tickets at www.axs.com.

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

The Sound of Music

JAN 13 - FEB 4 | PACE Center SENSORY-FRIENDLY PERFORMANCE JAN 22

Parker Arts presents one of the most beloved musicals of all time! In Austria, 1938, an exuberant young governess brings music and joy back to a broken family, only to face danger and intrigue as the Nazis gain power. Featuring a trove of cherished songs, The Sound of Music earned five Tony® Awards and five Oscars® and continues to win the hearts of audiences worldwide.

SOUND OF MUSIC is

www.concordtheatricals.com

THE

presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization.

Clarke Reader

Newton Middle School Choir, Dry Creek Elementary Choir, Homestead Elementary Choir and Peakview Elementary Choir and Tone Chimes each took a turn performing their festive setlists to a crowd of community members and excited parents.

“I think all of the elementary schools, now that this has become part of their annual performance, they have all leaned in hard and have brought their A-game,” Piko said. “They do better and better every year, so it’s just a lot of fun to see.”

The Peakview Elementary Choir and Tone Chimes, both of which are after-school groups, had been preparing since September, said Angela Alderson, a music educator at Peakview for the past 18 years.

“This is one of my favorite events,” Alderson said. “It feels great, especially because for most of them, this was their fi rst performance. So, it was a great opportunity for them to do it and practice it.”

Alderson said she loves bringing her group to perform and seeing the other groups’ performances. It gives her a chance to meet choir directors from other school districts as well, since the event brings together schools from the Cherry Creek School District and Littleton Public Schools.

“I think it’s a way to bring the community together, and I love that it’s the City of Centennial,”

While the live music played in the park’s amphitheater, attendees could browse a variety of booths as part of the artisan market, featuring clothing, art, food, essential oils and woodturning.

Along the stretch of booths was a tent decorated in artwork crafted by Jessica Maia, a lifelong artist who recently moved to the Centennial area and operates the busi-

Print canvases, jewelry, string art and garlands were among the artistic creations shoppers could choose from at her tent.

For her, the best part of the day was interacting with the kids who attended.

“They’re so delightful to talk to,” she said. “They’re interested in the work, they’re engaged, they want to talk about it.”

These types of events are important because it helps connect people and create community, she said.

“This market has been fantastic. Everybody’s been so pleasant,” Maia said. “It’s been great. I love the community out here.”

About 50 di erent performers from the Metropolitan Academy of Dance displayed their talents at Centennial Center Park on Dec. 3.

PHOTOS BY TAYLER SHAW

Jessica Maia, who runs the business Jupiter Soul, at her booth on Dec. 3 at Centennial Center Park.

Centennial City Council and Peakview Elementary Choir and Tone Chimes on the stage at Centennial Center Park on Dec. 3.

Mary Jackson and Onyx Toney pose following Toney’s performance at Centennial Center Park on Saturday, Dec. 3.

Angela Alderson, a music educator, introduces the Peakview Elementary Choir and Tone Chimes on Dec. 3 at Centennial Center Park.

Old motels put dent in homelessness crisis

BY JENNIFER BROWN THE COLORADO SUN

Denver’s fi ve-year plan to reduce by half the number of people who are homeless and living outdoors relies on a relatively new strategy — buying up old motels and converting them into housing.

The city, through partnerships with nonprofi ts and thanks to federal coronavirus aid, has helped support the purchase of three motels in recent weeks, two along the city’s historic east-west artery Colfax Avenue and the other north of downtown. Other similar deals are in the works.

While the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless purchased a motel in northeast Denver in 2019, it was the pandemic in 2020 that pushed city leaders and nonprofi ts to focus on buying old motels as a long-term strategy to get people into housing. That spring, as shelters shut down and sleeping head to toe in crowded rooms was deemed risky, the city and several nonprofi ts provided thousands of temporary motel rooms for people who had COVID or were at higher risk of negative effects from the virus.

Now, some of the motel rooms that served as an emergency response during the pandemic will play a signifi cant role in the city’s plan of coming up with 900 supportive housing units.

Denver City Council earlier this month approved a $983,456 contract with the nonprofi t The Fax, which recently bought The Westerner and Sand & Sage motels, neighboring properties on East Colfax. The plan is that beginning next fall, after a basic remodel, Volunteers of America of Colorado will lease both properties and operate a family shelter called Theodora Family Motel.

The motels will have a combined 36 units, each with a refrigerator and microwave.

Then in 2028, The Fax will redevelop the two motels into affordable apartments.

The city used funds from the federal American Rescue Plan to support the project, which in the near term will provide shelter for homeless families and veterans while a family shelter on West Colfax undergoes a remodel.

The news followed a September announcement that the city would spend $5 million in federal coronavirus aid to support the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless’ purchase of a former La Quinta Inn.

That hotel, near Interstate 25 and a few blocks north of Coors Field along Park Avenue West, has been used by the coalition since April 2020 to provide 103 rooms for people who were living outside with COVID or had pre-existing health conditions, including pregnancy, that made them at high risk for complications with the virus.

The former La Quinta — now called the Park Avenue Inn — will continue operating as a shelter through at least 2024. The longterm vision, though, is to redevelop the building into about 200 units of supportive housing, which includes access to mental health and substance use counseling, job training and other services. The coalition purchased the hotel about a year ago, using bridge fi nancing that its new contract with the city will help it pay back.

The homeless coalition’s executive director, John Parvensky, called motels a “lifeline” for the homeless during the pandemic. Now, as the pandemic winds down, that emergency use is transforming into long-term solutions to the crisis, he said.

Next up in the homeless coalition’s motel acquisitions is the Clarion Inn, at the junction of Interstate 25 and Interstate 70 in north Denver. The nine-story building has 215 rooms and a banquet hall, which Parvensky views as an ideal spot to transition people out of tent encampments and into longer-term housing.

Parvensky, who is retiring after 37 years at the coalition, said the pandemic exacerbated the homelessness crisis in the city — but also brought much-needed federal dollars that led to creative ways to produce housing. “I’m trying to fi nd more of those types of opportunities while the money is available, and lock in those gains for the long run,” he said.

But even before COVID, the coalition was eyeing motels as part of its long-term strategy. It purchased a former Quality Inn in northeast Denver, near Interstate 70 and Quebec Street, in 2019. The remodeled property opened in January 2020 as Fusion Studios, with 139 units, most of which are supportive housing that comes with access to health care and therapy.

Another city-funded motel-tohousing project is in the works, though progressing slowly.

Last year, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette announced plans to spend $2 million in federal money to buy the Stay Inn, just south of Interstate 70 in northeast Denver. The long-term plan is to turn the 94room hotel into supportive housing units, but the project still has not been fi nalized.

The city’s fi ve-year plan, from 2022-26, calls for creating 7,000 affordable homes, either through ownership or rental properties. Of those, the city’s housing stability offi ce wants 900 supportive housing units, which are units that come with on-site support that helps people stay housed. The plan also includes a goal of reducing eviction fi lings by 25% and decreasing “unsheltered homlessness” by 50%.

The mayor’s budget includes more than $77 million in federal funding for homelessness this year, support for various housing projects “to a degree that could not have been contemplated in the

early 2000s,” said Britta Fisher, who heads the city’s Department of Housing Stability. The increased visibility of homelessness in the city, along with residents’ concerns about rising home prices, have made it easier to persuade offi cials and the community at large to support new ways to tackle the homelessness problem, Fisher said.

“There is a lot of shared pain for folks who are feeling the pinch of affordability,” she said. “They are worried about where their kids and their grandkids will live and whether they can stay in Denver. It is that shared pain that has been felt by so many that has thrust this to a shared concern.

“I don’t have to explain it. They see it and they feel it.”

The spring of 2020 brought a “dramatic and rapid shift” in how the city had to provide housing for the homeless, Fisher said, and city offi cials, like others around the country, “quickly looked to our empty motels.”

Denver contracted with six motels to provide emergency housing during the pandemic. The city so far has contracted to spend about $40 million with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and $25.8 million with the Salvation Army, two nonprofi ts that have been placing people in motel rooms since the COVID pandemic began. The funds pay for motel leasing

and staffi ng.

The city also funds health, counseling and other services for residents at several former motels that are now used as temporary shelters or affordable housing.

That includes Fusion Studios, the homeless coalition’s studio apartment building that was once a Quality Inn, and the Volunteers of America Family Motel on West Colfax, which was purchased about 20 years by the VOA and converted into a family shelter. It has served as temporary housing for families and veterans while they apply for longer-term housing programs.

The city is also leasing the Aloft hotel in downtown Denver to provide rooms for people who are homeless and have COVID or are at high risk of complications if they develop the virus. And it leases a former hotel now operated by the Denver Housing Authority as short-term shelter space, as well as contracts with U.S. Motels North Denver for rooms at two north Denver motels.

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

HANGAR HANGAR

Watch Santa arrive in a helicopter, make fun holiday crafts, talk with Santa, enjoy the holiday photo booth, and more.

Watch Santa arrive in a helicopter, make fun holiday crafts, talk with Santa, enjoy the holiday photo booth, and more.

Grocery, convenience stores to sell wine

Change starts in March

BY TAMARA CHUANG THE COLORADO SU

After counting up the remaining votes from Denver, Proposition 125 changed direction and narrowly passed, letting Coloradans buy a bottle of wine at the grocery store.

Grocery and convenience stores with a license to sell beer can begin selling wine March 1. That’s approximately 1,819 licensees as of June 2021, according to the Department of Revenue. They’ll also be able to offer beer and wine tastings.

“We’re pleased that Coloradans will soon be able to pick up a bottle of wine when purchasing groceries,” said Rick Reiter, campaign director for Wine in Grocery Stores. “Consumer habits are evolving, and it was inevitable that either this election, or one soon thereafter, that Colorado would become the 40th state to have wine in grocery stores.”

The measure was losing by less than a percentage point for most of election night and the next two days. The “yes” votes jumped ahead on the third evening.

As votes were counted, the opinion was stark between rural and urban communities. Rural counties voted largely against Proposition 125 while the Denver metro area and El Paso County were in favor.

La Plata County, in the southwest corner of the state, rejected Proposition 125 by a clear majority, or 57.3% of voters. Denver voters, meanwhile, approved the measure by nearly the opposite, with 55% voting in favor.

The measure statewide finished ahead by more than 28,000 votes, far outside the margin at which a recount would be triggered. The split was 50.6% in favor, 49.4% against out of 2.43 million votes.

Jack Llewellyn, CEO of the Durango Chamber of Commerce, urged members to consider Proposition 125 in terms of the local impact on local liquor stores. Employees and owners are often the experts who can suggest the perfect wine for every occasion. He fears many local stores will go out of business.

“In metropolitan areas, you have

so many options and choices. The convenience becomes the most important thing and not thinking about a small business owner,” Llewellyn said. “Things that are decided for our state are decided because the population is in Denver.”

Proposition 125 opposition felt there was still hope that it could turn around with thousands of votes remaining last week, even if not all were in metropolitan areas, said Chris Fine, executive director of the Colorado Licensed Beverage Association, which represents small liquor retailers and opposed all three alcohol measures.

“We know it hasn’t been trending in our direction and obviously that’s due to metro Denver, Arapahoe and El Paso and the big counties that have been on the other side of us,” Fine said.

With Proposition 125, there will still be rules for alcohol sales. Grocery stores can sell wine, but not through self-checkout. The measure also doesn’t change any other existing rules, such as the prohibition of sales between midnight and 8 a.m., and no alcohol sales to anyone under 21.

Two other alcohol-related measures failed this election.

The star over Bethlehem, leading people by its light, is a powerful metaphor for the holidays. This concert marks the season with sublimely stellar music, from the Renaissance to the 21st century; from the Mexican Baroque to modern Scandinavia -- carols both familiar and new, including a few for congregational participation. Celebrating the holidays with St. Martin’s is a Denver tradition not to be missed!

Friday, December 16, 7:30 pm

St. John’s Cathedral

Saturday, December 17, 7:30 pm

Bethany Lutheran Church

Sunday, December 18, 3:00 pm

St. Andrew United Methodist Church

Proposition 124, which failed in all 64 counties, would have let a liquor retailer operate eight locations, up from the current three, and then allow companies to have an unlimited number operating by 2037. Colorado’s existing law still allows expansion, but much more slowly. Liquor stores can add up to four locations starting in 2027.

And the defeat of Proposition 126, which lost 48.9% to 51.1%, ended plans for alcohol delivery by third parties like DoorDash and Instacart. While advocates had hoped third parties would help small liquor stores expand into delivery if they hadn’t yet because they couldn’t spare employees, liquor stores can currently deliver alcohol under existing state statute. They just have to use their own staff and own or lease their own vehicles. The campaign to approve the measure was largely funded by DoorDash and Instacart.

“At the same time, we are disappointed that thousands of Colorado small businesses will miss out on vital economic opportunities that third-party alcohol delivery would have provided,” said Reiter, who represented the Yes on 125 and 126 campaigns.

The loss of Proposition 126 also dashed the hope of anyone hoping to keep to-go cocktails flowing. The menu item was an allowance made in the pandemic to help restaurants recover revenues. It ends in July 2025.

“It’s widely known that restaurants have been one of the most devastated industries over the past two years and it’s disheartening to see that voters are not willing to support these businesses in serving their guests in a responsible way,” Colorado Restaurant Association President and CEO Sonia Riggs said in a statement. “Without Proposition 126, alcohol to go is set to expire in summer 2025, and that crucial revenue lifeline will be stripped from restaurants when they need it most. It will impact customer service, revenue, and the convenience that consumers have come to expect.”

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

Wine will soon be sold in grocery and convenience stores.

SHUTTERSTOCK

Creek wins fourth straight 5A title

Bruins beat Valor 24-17 at Empower Field

BY JIM BENTON JBENTON@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A strong second-half comeback helped Cherry Creek capture its fourth straight Class 5A state football title on Dec. 3 with a 24-17 victory over Valor Christian at Empower Field.

It was the Bruins 13th state championship trophy that the team brought home to Greenwood Village and marked a Colorado-best 11th state title won by Creek head coach Dave Logan at four different schools.

Logan won a state crown at Arvada West, one at Chatfield, four at Mullen and now five at Cherry Creek.

“It means I’ve been blessed to coach 30 years, and the core group of my staff has been with me for 25 or so years, which has been a big part of my success,” said Logan. “And I’ve been blessed to have great players who buy in, worked hard and do the right things.”

Cherry Creek, which finished with a 12-2 record, at times did not look like a title team in the first half. A missed field, two interceptions and a botched fourthdown play by the Bruins helped Valor take a 7-3 halftime lead.

It was the third consecutive year that Creek and Valor have played in the 5A state championship game and this was the closest outcome after two previous 21-0 wins for the Bruins.

“We gave away a game late in the season (to Grandview) and it was an eye-opener for us,” added Logan. “We don’t give games away. We gave up things in the first half. We

had self-inflicted wounds. We had two interceptions, we got stopped on a fourth and one and we missed a field goal. I was proud of the way we bounced back in the second half.”

Cherry Creek took the second-half kickoff and moved 66 yards on two plays with senior Carlson (Bubba) Tann scoring on a 16yard run to push Creek into a 10-7 lead only 39 seconds into the second half.

Senior quarterback Brian Rudden, who replaced freshman starting quarterback Brady Vodicka, tossed a 39-yard touchdown pass to

Ismael Cisse with 7:34 left in the third period to go up 17-7.

Creek was on the move on its third possession of the half but lost a fumble at Valor’s 18-yard line and the Eagles responded with a 24-yard field goal by Jeremy Claycamp with seven seconds remaining in the third period.

Bruins standout linebacker Blake Purchase scored on a 4-yard run as Creek went ahead 24-10 with 6:10 still to play in the game. Valor then got a late TD on an Asher Weiner to Cash Spence 28-yard scoring

strike for the final TD of the game.

Purchase was tucked in behind the offensive line for his touchdown and looked like an extra blocker.

“I was hiding behind the line, waiting for the hole then I took off and scored,” he said of what turned out to be the game-winning TD.

Valor Christian coach Bret McGatlin said Creek made the right adjustments in the second half.

“They adjusted well,” he said. “They countered what we were trying to do and executed real well and had a couple big plays which we

didn’t allow in the first half. We were lucky enough to go in with the lead after the first half. I’m proud of our guys.

“It was a heck of a season,” McGatlin said of the Eagles’ 11-3 campaign. “Losing 19 of 22 starters from last year, no one thought we would be here.We made it here with a bunch of overachievers. I wasn’t happy with today but we will be back.”

Tann finished with 164 yards rushing as the Bruins wound up with 303 yards

Lutheran falls in 3A finale

Lions held lead four times before losing to Roosevelt

BY JIM BENTON JBENTON@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Lutheran took another step forward despite losing to Roosevelt 34-24 in the Class 3A state championship football game played

on Dec. 3 at the Thunderbowl in Pueblo.

“The year before we made the quarterfinals,” said Lutheran coach Stephen Robbins, “then last year we were in the semifinals, this year the state championship, so we hope that trend keeps going and we’ll have a state championship next year. It will take a lot of work.”

The Lutheran Lions from Parker went 11-3 this

season while Johnstown school Roosevelt wrapped up an undefeated 14-0 campaign.

In the finals against Roosevelt there were four lead changes. Lutheran led 10-0, 17-7, 17-14 and 24-21 before the Rough Riders scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to get the victory.

“A couple turnovers and this and that will do it but it was good,” said Robbins. “I hate being on the losing end

but I’m proud of our guys. It was a fun game and a fun experience to be a part of.

“We had a phenomenal season. League champions, state runner-up and the guys did well. It’s hard but nobody is playing football in Colorado next week so we’re doing all right. Our kids battled. Roosevelt is such a good team. We’re going to keep at it knowing we battled one of the best teams in the state.”

Lutheran quarterback Ryken Daugaard, who came into the game as the second leading Class 3A passer with 2,475 yards, completed eight of 20 passes against Roosevelt for 116 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Ryan Kenny was the Lions’ leading ball carrier with 52 yards on 19 carries while Chace Sorenson caught five passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.

Cherry Creek players celebrate their “Four-Peat” state football championship. The Bruins defeated Valor Christian 24-17 on Dec. 3 at Empower Field in Denver to extend their victory streak for another year.

PHOTO BY PAUL DISALVO

FOOTBALL

rushing that included 183 in the second half.

He pointed out that the Bruins offensive line of Hank Zilinskas, Andre Burton, Hayden Treter, Taki Dadiotis and Max Parrott stepped up.

“The difference in the second half was probably the O (offensive) line. The O line was blocking hard in the second half. They were blocking good the first half too but the second half, they just turned it up. They just came out and got it done.

“It’s amazing to be out here with these guys and get the fourth straight (state title) win. It’s a great feeling. The defense has been great all season. It’s a great feeling for all of us. To get back and win this game, feels amazing.”

Rudden ended up completing two of the three passes he attempted for 94 yards and a TD. Chase Brackney led the Creek defense with 10 tackles and two sacks. Purchase had nine tackles and Aiden Knapke had seven total tackles.

“It was a team effort on defense,” said Logan, “with Chase (Brackney), Logan (Brantley), Ezran (Rice) and Angelo (Petrides). We played without starting inside linebacker (Petrides), who didn’t play in the second half with a shoulder injury. So we were down. Jake Howell played very, very well. We knew we had to play physical up front. I was proud of that.”

Weiner completed 10 of 21 passes for 150 yards and one Valor TD.

Greg McDonald was the Eagles leading rusher with 45 yards and one TD. Gavin Bibik, Alexander Jordan and McDonald all were in on six tackles for the Eagles defense.

CROWSS UP DRO ELZZ

FROM PAGE 24

Valor Christian quarterback Asher Weiner (14) gets pulled to the ground by a Cherry Creek defender. Weiner went 10-21 for 150 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions but came up short as Cherry Creek took the final 24-17 at Empower Field. .PHOTOS BY PAUL DISALVO

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Their struggles are reflective of broader challenges schools have faced in keeping kids on academic track amid the pandemic, with disruptions — including lost time in the classroom and frequent transi tions between in-person, hybrid and remote schooling — interfering with students’ ability to learn.

Students’ grasp of math has be come a particular point of concern for educators, education advocates and even state leaders, with less than a third of Colorado elementary and middle school students meet ing or exceeding grade level bench marks and less than 35% of 11th grade students meeting or exceeding college readiness targets in math on

the SAT.

Across the country, student declines in academic performance ran parallel in charter schools and district-run public schools, accord ing to reporting on scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress by Chalkbeat.

One reason that Colorado charter schools may have defied national trends is the balance the state has struck between the flexibility and autonomy it provides charter schools and the accountability it enforces on them, Schaller said.

Part of that accountability in volves particularly high stakes: Au thorizers — school districts — will move forward with closing charter schools if they’re not performing well, Schoales said, incentiviz ing charter schools to make sure students are reaching academic standards.

But charter school students don’t outperform their peers at districtrun schools in every area, accord

ing to the report. For instance, SAT results show that 46% of 11th-grade students at charter schools met or surpassed grade level expecta tions on the English language arts assessment, compared with 50% of students attending traditional public schools. In math, one third of 11th grade students in both char ter schools and district-run public schools met or surpassed grade level benchmarks.

There is also significant variation in academic performance among Colorado charter schools, similar to the wide variation in performance among district-operated public schools — discrepancies that are worth more investigation, the report states.

Schoales points to variations in funding, compensation, educator backgrounds and the educational design of charter schools as the reasoning behind the differences in their academic performance.

He also sees charter schools con

tinuing to have a polarizing effect on educators, families and communi ties, with some lauding them and others vilifying them. He hopes that the more that research on charter schools emerges, the more that people will understand that “charter schools are an important part of the mix, and they sometimes serve kids better, and sometimes they don’t.”

And Schoales wants to veer away from the chronic political debates over whether or not charter schools should exist to focus on what he believes is a more worthwhile ques tion.

“Instead, let’s talk about, where can we get some good schools?”

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN.

LOT 13, BLOCK 7, COLUMBINE HEIGHTS - FIL

ING NO. 2, COUNTY OF ARAPAHOE, STATE OF COLORADO.

Also known by street and number as: 11 GLENVIEW DR, LITTLETON, CO 80123.

THE PROPERTY DESCRIBED HEREIN IS ALL OF THE PROPERTY CURRENTLY ENCUMBERED BY THE LIEN OF THE DEED OF TRUST.

NOTICE OF SALE

The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, described herein, has filed Notice of Election and Demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that I will at public auction, at 10:00 A.M. on Wednesday, 01/11/2023, at The East Hearing Room, County Administration Building, 5334 South Prince Street, Littleton, Colorado, 80120, sell to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of the said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)' heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt

secured by the Deed of Trust,

First

Susan Sandstrom, Public Trustee in and for the County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado By: Susan Sandstrom, Public Trustee

The name, address, business telephone number and bar registration number of the attorney(s) rep resenting the legal holder of the indebtedness is:

Erin Croke #46557 Steven Bellanti #48306 Holly Shilliday #24423

Ilene Dell'Acqua #31755 McCarthy & Holthus LLP 7700 E Arapahoe Road, Suite 230, Centennial, CO 80112 (877) 369-6122 Attorney File # CO-22-941248-LL

Pursuant to CRS §38-38-101(4)(i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: Failure to pay principal and interest when due together with all other payments provided for in the evidence of debt secured by the deed of trust and other violations thereof.

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN.

LOT 63, BLOCK 3, WOLHURST LANDING, COUNTY OF ARAPAHOE, STATE OF COLORADO. Also known by street and number as: 2886 W BRYANT PLACE, LITTLETON, CO 80120.

THE PROPERTY DESCRIBED HEREIN IS ALL OF THE PROPERTY CURRENTLY ENCUMBERED BY THE LIEN OF THE DEED OF TRUST.

NOTICE OF SALE

The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, described herein, has filed Notice of Election and Demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that I will at public auction, at 10:00 A.M. on Wednesday, 01/25/2023, at The East Hearing Room, County Administration Building, 5334 South Prince Street, Littleton, Colorado, 80120, sell to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of the said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)' heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys' fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will issue to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law.

First Publication: 12/1/2022

Last Publication: 12/29/2022

Name of Publication: Littleton Independent

IF THE SALE DATE IS CONTINUED TO A LATER DATE, THE DEADLINE TO FILE A NOTICE OF INTENT TO CURE BY THOSE PARTIES EN TITLED TO CURE MAY ALSO BE EXTENDED;

DATE: 09/27/2022

Susan Sandstrom, Public Trustee in and for the County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado By: Susan Sandstrom, Public Trustee

The name, address, business telephone number and bar registration number of the attorney(s) rep resenting the legal holder of the indebtedness is:

Erin Croke #46557

Steven Bellanti #48306 Holly Shilliday #24423 Ilene Dell'Acqua #31755

McCarthy & Holthus LLP 7700 E Arapahoe Road, Suite 230, Centennial, CO 80112 (877) 369-6122 Attorney File # CO-22-941785-LL

The Attorney above is acting as a debt collector and is attempting to collect a debt. Any information provided may be used for that purpose.

©Public Trustees' Association of Colorado Revised 1/2015

Legal Notice No. 0505-2022

First Publication: 12/1/2022

Last Publication: 12/29/2022

Name of Publication: Littleton Independent City and County

Public Notice

NOTICE

CITY OF CENTENNIAL

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on Monday, December 5, 2022, the Centennial City Council approved the following ordinance on second and final reading:

ORDINANCE NO. 2022-O-31

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CENTENNIAL, COLORADO AMENDING CHAPTER 12 OF THE MUNICI PAL CODE (LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE) CONCERNING THE URBAN CENTER ZONE DISTRICT AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY

The full text of the ordinance is available for public inspection in the office of the City Clerk and is also available on the City’s web site, www.centennial colorado.com. The ordinance may be obtained by contacting the City Clerk, 303-754-3324. by a vote of 9 in favor and 0 against.

(First published November 10, 2022)

By: Barbara Setterlind, MMC, City Clerk

Legal Notice No. LI503843

First Publication: December 8, 2022 Last Publication: December 8, 2022

Publisher: Littleton Independent & Centennial Citizen

Public Notice

NOTICE

CITY OF CENTENNIAL

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on Monday, December 5, 2022, the Centennial City Council approved the following ordinance on second and final reading:

ORDINANCE NO. 2022-O-30

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CENTENNIAL, COLORADO, APPROVING AN ANNEXATION AND DEVEL OPMENT AGREEMENT WITH DOVE VALLEY LAND, LLC FOR THE DOVE VALLEY LAND PROPERTY WITHIN THE DOVE VALLEY RE GIONAL PARK/CHERRY CREEK INNOVATION CAMPUS ANNEXATION

The full text of the ordinance is available for public inspection in the office of the City Clerk and is also available on the City’s web site, www.centennial colorado.com. The ordinance may be obtained by contacting the City Clerk, 303-754-3324. by a vote of 9 in favor and 0 against.

(First published November 10, 2022)

By: Barbara Setterlind, MMC, City Clerk

Legal Notice No. LI503844

First Publication: December 8, 2022 Last Publication: December 8, 2022

NOTICE CITY OF CENTENNIAL

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on Monday, December 5, 2022, the Centennial City Council approved the following ordinance on second and final reading:

ORDINANCE NO. 2022-O-29

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF COUNCIL OF THE CENTENNIAL, COLORADO, AMEND ING SECTION 8-1-30 OF THE CENTENNIAL MUNICIPAL CODE TO SET THE MAXIMUM DEFAULT SPEED IN RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS AT TWENTY-FIVE MILES PER HOUR

The full text of the ordinance is available for public inspection in the office of the City Clerk and is also available on the City’s web site, www.centennial colorado.com. The ordinance may be obtained by contacting the City Clerk, 303-754-3324. by a vote of 9 in favor and 0 against.

(First published November 24, 2022)

By: Barbara Setterlind, MMC, City Clerk

Legal Notice No. LI503842

First Publication: December 8, 2022 Last Publication: December 8, 2022

Publisher: Littleton Independent & Centennial Citizen Public Notice

NOTICE CITY OF CENTENNIAL

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on Monday, December 5, 2022, the Centennial City Council approved the following ordinance on second and final reading:

ORDINANCE NO. 2022-O-32

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CENTENNIAL, COLORADO AMENDING CHAPTER 12 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE (LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE) CON CERNING ROOFTOP GREENHOUSES

The full text of the ordinance is available for public inspection in the office of the City Clerk and is also available on the City’s web site, www.centennial colorado.com. The ordinance may be obtained by contacting the City Clerk, 303-754-3324. by a vote of 9 in favor and 0 against.

(First published November 24, 2022)

By: Barbara Setterlind, MMC. City Clerk

Legal Notice No. LI503847

First Publication: December 8, 2022

Last Publication: December 8, 2022

Publisher: Littleton Independent & Centennial Citizen

Publisher: Littleton Independent & Centennial Citizen Public Notice

“They’re just doing better than the district schools, at least for this year.”