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Week of March 31, 2022
DENVER, COLORADO
A publication of
VOLUME 95 | ISSUE 19
One life, one chance to create positive change
Bill to protect workers who use cannabis fails House Bill 1152 was rejected on a 12-1 committee vote BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN
Dave Johnson, founder of the Katie Adamson Conservation Fund (KACF), poses with locals in Tanzania for a community soccer game, which was put on by one of KACF’s 25 global partners that benefit local community growth and wildlife conCOURTESY PHOTO servation.
Denver-area residents make conservation waves BY ELICIA HESSELGRAVE SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Nancy Kiyota grew up on a farm. She developed a respect and care for wildlife, and this sensitivity instilled in her as a child has
had lasting effects. “We have to protect animals and conserve the environment to have healthy lives ourselves,” Kiyota said. Today, Kiyota, who lives in Washington Park, uses her pas-
sion to volunteer with a Littletonbased wildlife conservation organization called the Katie Adamson Conservation Fund. Established in memory of an inspiring teen who lost a battle with cancer, the nongovernmental organization, or NGO, was founded SEE WAVES, P8
Dangerous materials used in firefighting foam are showing up in drinking water, soil Lawmakers to address ‘forever chemicals’ BY MICHAEL BOOTH THE COLORADO SUN
The sale of many products containing the dangerous “forever
chemicals” known as PFAS would be banned in Colorado as early as 2024, under legislation recently introduced and backed by a host of consumer and environmental
groups. Toxic PFAS chemicals, used as lubricants and repellants in products ranging from firefighting foam to clothing and cooking utensils, leak into groundwater
A Colorado House committee voted down a bill that sought to stop employers from denying jobs to or firing workers for their off-the-clock cannabis use, either medical or recreational. House Bill 1152 also sought to require employers to let their employees consume medical marijuana while on the job. The legislation included exceptions for workers whose jobs are in dangerous fields or require fine motor skills, such as positions involving the use of heavy machinery. The bill was rejected on a 12-1 vote in the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee on March 23 afternoon even after the measure’s sponsor, Rep. Edie Hooton, a Boulder Democrat, offered an amendment to dramatically scale back the legislation before the vote was taken. The amendment, which was adopted, would have erased all of the bill’s provisions and instead convened a panel to study the issue and make recommendations to the legislature about how employers can accommodate medical marijuana users. But even that wasn’t enough for lawmakers on the committee, who were concerned about any move toward forcing employers to allow their employees to use marijuana on or off the job. Many in the business community are fiercely opposed to the measure and testified in opposition to it on March 2. “I wasn’t surprised,” Hooton, who has brought similar legislation for several years, said of the outcome. “I got a lot of
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INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12 | CALENDAR: PAGE 9
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