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MOOO-VERS AND SHAKERS
WHAT’S INSIDE
Recruiting retailers: Littleton hires firm to help the city increase its sales-tax revenue. See Page 4
Capitol ideas: Area youths make recommendations to the Legislature. See Page 6
Bruce Nash helps Anna Taylor, 5, separate the milk from the cream 1890s style.
Visitors to the Littleton Museum on March 28 had an “udderly” good time during the “Bovines are Divine” event, which showcased homemade cheese treats and the oxen team of Fitz and Ford. Kids got to work the 1890s “state of the art” cream separator and see blacksmiths’ mad hot skills. The peacocks strutted their stuff around the farmhouse, currently made up in 1940s fashion in honor of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, but the star of the show — the cow — stayed out of the sun and out of the spotlight in her stable.
An all-star lineup: Find out who made our All-South Metro Girls Basketball Team. See Page 25
POSTAL ADDRESS
PHOTOS BY JENNIFER SMITH This bovine doesn’t seem to care that March 28 was all about her at the Littleton Museum, which was “Bovines are Divine” day with buttermaking demonostrations, homemade cheese samples and more.
City councilmember steps down ahead of recall push LITTLETON INDEPENDENT (ISSN 1058-7837) (USPS 315-780)
Merchants were unhappy with Randy Stein’s representation
OFFICE: 7315 S. Revere Pkwy., Ste. 603 Centennial, CO 80112
By Jennifer Smith
PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Englewood, Colorado, the Littleton Independent is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: Littleton Independent 7315 S. Revere Pkwy., Ste. 603 Centennial, CO 80112 DEADLINES: Display: Fri. 11 a.m. Legal: Fri. 11 a.m. | Classified: Mon. 5 p.m. GE T SOCI AL WITH US
P LE A S E R ECYC L E T H I S C O PY
jsmith@colorado communitymedia.com Randy Stein’s resignation from Littleton City Council came just hours after the Historic Downtown Littleton Merchants took the first step in the process to force a recall election. “I thought, do we really need to take the city through another back-biting election?” Stein said March 30, three days after officially announcing his Stein resignation. “I hope that if one thing has come out of this, it’s that the negativity that’s permeated the city has not been to the benefit of Littleton. And for me to feed into that would be the utmost in hypocrisy.” Stein, who lives downtown and represents that district on council, says he penned his resignation the day after the March 3 special elec-
tion that, he feels, shut down urban renewal in Littleton. A developer and mediator by trade, he hoped to reach out to the folks in Citizens for Rational Development, the group that has been fighting virtually every proposed development in the city for the last few years. “I was completely naive to believe that I could do that,” he said. “From the day after the election until now, I tried to convince myself I could continue to make a difference. But what am I supposed to do now, just sit there breathing other people’s air?” In fact, despite supporting Stein’s campaign in 2013, those same people had signed on to the recall effort. Paul Bingham, a spokesman for the group, said the members did support the effort but declined further comment. Greg Reinke, president of the merchants’ group, said that although HDLM disagreed with CRD’s support of Initiative 300, which now forces any new urban-renewal plans to a vote of the people, the board welcomed its members’ offers to help circulate petitions in the recall effort. “Most merchants don’t live in Littleton, but we feel like it’s taxation without representation,” Reinke Stein continues on Page 12
Maurice “Stringy” Ervin, a Littleton native, is this year’s Western Welcome Week Grand Marshal. Courtesy photo
`Stringy’ Ervin named WWW grand marshal Longtime high school swim coach is Littleton native By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@colorado communitymedia.com Maurice “Stringy” Ervin has won numerous awards for being a swimming coach extraordinaire at Littleton High School, where
he spent 46 years until retiring in 2014. But now, the 72-year-old Littleton native can add one more accolade that’s not directly related to sports: Western Welcome Week grand marshal 2015. “The man bleeds Littleton,” said James Brundige, the former student who nominated him. “I found out early in my high school career about `Stringy’ being a
Stringy continues on Page 12