FREE
December 9, 2021
DENVER, COLORADO
A publication of
VOLUME 95 | ISSUE 3
Providing all with an opportunity to give Light the World Giving Machine will be in Denver until Jan. 2 BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wanted a way to help people perform an instant act of service. The legend is that during discussions on how to accomplish that, someone brought in a sandwich purchased from a vending machine. And thus, the idea for the Light the World Giving Machines came about, said Amy Johnson, a Littleton resident who serves as the spokesperson for Light the World Giving Machines. “The main goal,” Johnson said, “is to give everyone a chance to participate in giving.” The Light the World Giving Machines provide people with an opportunity to purchase an item to benefit a charity. Items range in cost from $5 for art supplies for refugee children to $173 for a month of meals for a person in need. Giving Machines got started in 2017 in Salt Lake City. In 2018, it ex-
A family selects an item to purchase from the Light the World Giving Machine when it was in Denver in 2019. The Giving Machine is back in Denver this year, located in Writer Square on the 16th Street Mall between Lawrence and Larimer streets downtown. COURTESY OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
panded to five cities and raised $2.3 million for charities. It was in 2018 that Denver Mayor Michael Hancock saw the Giving Machine in Salt Lake City, and wanted to bring it to Denver, Johnson said. “Denverites are charitable people,” she added. So the local church committee for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints got together, and they then worked with Salt Lake City to bring a Giving Machine to Denver, Johnson said. It came to Denver for the first time in 2019, and in Denver alone, $667,000 was
raised for charities — contributing to the total $6.3 million, among the 10 cities that had a Giving Machine in 2019. The Giving Machines had a hiatus in 2020, but are now back. In Denver this year, it is located in Writer Square on the 16th Street Mall between Lawrence and Larimer streets downtown. It is available 24 hours, but volunteers will be present from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Giving Machine will be in Denver until Jan. 2.
BY MICHAEL BOOTH THE COLORADO SUN
Suncor must make deeper cuts to sulfur dioxide emissions from its
Commerce City refinery as part of state regulators’ revisions to federal “regional haze” rules, meant to boost visibility and restore pristine conditions at Rocky Mountain National Park, Great Sand Dunes and wilderness areas. The Air Quality Control Commission gave preliminary approval in November to a plan telling Suncor to make sulfur dioxide-removing equipment fully operational by 2024
INSIDE: CALENDAR: PAGE 9 | VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12
Tri-County’s Douglas, data shed light on misconceptions BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
instead of 2029. If Suncor doesn’t make that deadline, it would have to install additional pollution controls proposed by an environmental coalition. The AQCC move came after a long push by environmental groups and neighborhoods around the refinery to make meaningful cuts to pollution. AQCC commissioners cited
His local public-health department has issued another mask-wearing mandate for two metro-Denver counties with nearly 1.2 million people. Even so, John Douglas doesn’t hesitate to admit that masks aren’t perfect in the fight against COVID-19. “But, like vaccines, they work better when more people use them,” Douglas, executive director of the Tri-County Health Department, told Colorado Community Media. “Because, like vaccines, they can both prevent the individual from getting infected or sick,” and also can prevent spread of the virus to others, Douglas said. Tri-County Health serves Adams and Arapahoe counties, and provides certain public-health services in Douglas County. Under a Nov. 22 Tri-County order, all people 2 and older in Adams and Arapahoe County must wear a face covering in all public indoor spaces. Authorities in Jefferson, Denver and Boulder counties have issued similar mandates. With rates of new coronavirus cases reaching levels not seen since December of last year — and daily deaths among those with COVID-19
SEE EMISSIONS, P11
SEE COVID, P13
SEE GIVING, P19
Suncor must make emission cuts to protect park air But air regulators reject demands for further pollution cuts
Masks not perfect, but do help, says local health chief
BRIGHT AND LOCAL
Connecting with local artists, vendors at Holiday Market P12
