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November 25, 2021
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
EnglewoodHerald.net
VOLUME 101 | ISSUE 41
Panel pushes solutions to youth mental health crisis Children’s Hospital Colorado, partners unveil playbook
Maps appear to favor continued Democratic majority
BY THELMA GRIMES TGRIMES@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Not letting up on federal and state lawmakers, Children’s Hospital Colorado held another roundtable discussion to push the message that action needs to be taken immediately to address growing mental health crisis for young patients. In June, Children’s held similar discussions, officially declaring a state of emergency due to a rise in youth suicide attempts and emergency rooms filling up with young psychiatric patients awaiting proper treatment. The most recent roundtable, held virtually Nov. 16, continued discussions about the growing crisis, SEE ROUNDTABLE, P13
BY THY VO THE COLORADO SUN
Children’s Hospital Colorado has multiple hospitals and clinics located across the PHOTO BY SHUTTERSTOCK Front Range.
Helping us understand what we went through Local author was frontline cashier during pandemic BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
In 2019, Denver blogger Adam Kaat left his corporate job to focus on his writing. At the time, he had the first draft of a novel completed. Kaat sought a job that was active, but not mentally draining so he could continue work on his debut novel. Kaat, 36, secured a job in January
Colorado legislative maps get final approval
2020 as a cashier at a busy, high-end grocery store in Cherry Creek. He enjoyed being a point person for customer service, and especially, the social aspect of the job. But shortly after settling in, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. By March 15, there were mask orders in place, workers had to sanitize their registers between every customer and shoppers began to hoard groceries and toiletries, Kaat said. He added there was a lot of general panic at that time. “Everyone’s working overtime SEE AUTHOR, P18
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 20
Adam Kaat
COURTESY PHOTO
The Colorado Supreme Court has unanimously approved new state Senate and House maps, the final hurdle the redistricting plans needed to clear before being adopted ahead of the 2022 election. The Independent Legislative Redistricting Commission followed the Colorado Constitution’s requirements for redistricting and didn’t abuse its authority in deciding how to apply them, Justice Richard L. Gabriel wrote in the Nov. 15 ruling. “Under our constitution, our review is a limited one,” Gabriel said. “It is not our task to determine whether other plans could have been adopted.” Approval by the state Supreme Court is the last step in this year’s once-a-decade congressional and legislative redistricting process, which was overseen for the first time by independent commissions created through the 2018 passage of Amendments Y and Z. The court separately approved the new U.S. House map Nov. 1. The court’s approval of the state Senate and House maps allows the Colorado Secretary of State’s office and county clerks to redraw precinct lines to fit the new maps. It also provides clarity for incumbent lawmakers and prospective candidates who have been waiting for approval SEE MAPS, P8
TAPPING TALENT
Artists help to define local beer scene
P14