Littleton Independent 050213

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Littleton 5/2/13

May 2, 2013

Arapahoe County, Colorado • Volume 124, Issue 14

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A Colorado Community Media Publication

ourlittletonnews.com

Littleton eyes changes, revenue Business consultant says city has gotten reputation for difficulty By Jennifer Smith

jsmith@ourcoloradonews.com Littleton City Council got a look at a proposed economic-development strategy April 22 during a meeting that was part pep rally, part motivational speech, part psy-

chology class and, according to Councilor Jerry Valdes, part brainwashing. If council adopts the document, it will be taking a much more proactive approach to increasing the city’s revenue. It proposes a wide array of tactics, including an urbanrenewal authority, incentives and grants to entice redevelopment, increased density, encouraging mixed-use projects and more. “It’s not your property, but it is your city, so it is open for you to influence,” said Tom Wootten, executive managing director of Global Corporate Services at Newmark

Grubb Knight Frank. He’s worked with Mayor Debbie Brinkman and others for the last year on an “economic think tank” tasked with recommending strategy. The document also suggests taxing a variety of Cernanec things — from rental units to candy and soda, employment to lodging — which requires voter approval. More revenue will be needed to sup-

port the increased activity and to maintain the amenities the city has now, said Wootten. “We have an enviable set of assets, there’s no doubt about that,” said Councilor Phil Cernanec. “The question is, how do we carry that on into the future?” Wootten said Littleton has, over the last decade, earned a reputation as a difficult place to do business. He blames that on inaction and the tendency of some to not want change to happen, despite what he Council continues on Page 27

Pot issues sparking division Legalization could come back to ballot By Vic Vela

vvela@ourcoloradonews.com A late legislative session effort that could put Amendment 64 back on the ballot led to a finger-pointing exercise in political theater late last week — a wild turn of events in marijuana regulation activity that capped an eventful period of pot-related action at the Capitol. News of an Amendment 64 repeal effort generated buzz, just two days after the first piece of legislation that seeks to set up a regulatory model for the new recreational pot industry passed a legislative committee. The effort — if it ever gets off the ground — would ask voters to repeal Amendment Report 64, if they fail to support the tax rates tied to retail marijuana purchases. However, it remains to be seen whether the repeal effort has any legs, or if it’s dead on arrival in either legislative chamber. Repeal effort rumblings led to a tense April 26 press conference outside the Capitol, where Amendment 64 proponents clashed with an advocacy group that seeks to restrict access to marijuana in the state. Later that day, House lawmakers approved preliminary passage of House Bill 1317, an omnibus bill that puts in place Amendment 64’s regulatory framework. And, earlier in the week, a House committee voted to tack on a controversial driving-stoned standard to House Bill 1317 — one day after a Senate committee killed legislation that sought to do the same thing. An early draft of the repeal effort asks voters to repeal last November’s initiative that legalized recreational marijuana use in the state, if they reject the tax model tied to Amendment 64 implementation. That tax framework is in the form of House Bill 1318, which in its original form

Capitol

Harrison Rice discovers a little something about propulsion by launching a two-liter soda bottle full of water into the air during Lockheed Martin’s Young Minds at Work Day. About 1,500 youngsters — almost all of them children of Lockheed Martin workers — visited the company’s Waterton Canyon campus on April 25. Photo by Jennifer Smith

Kids have a blast at space company Lockheed hosts hands-on Young Minds at Work Day By Jennifer Smith

jsmith@ourcoloradonews.com Take Your Kid to Work Day is a truly astronomical experience at Lockheed Martin. “This event is awesome,” said Joe Rice, Lockheed’s director of government relations. “It’s supporting our future. It gets kids excited, then they’re motivated to learn. Then in 20 years, they’ll be building our satellites and space crafts.” Rice’s two kids, Harrison and Lexie, and their friends were just four of the 1,500 kids who visited Lockheed’s Waterton Canyon campus April 25, Young Minds at Work Day, almost all of them children of the 3,800 people who work there. A variety of science POSTAL ADDRESS

and technology activities entertained them, from blasting off two-liter soda bottles to launching marshmallows Angry Bird-style to virtually working on a motorcycle in a 3D cave. Perhaps the most popular event was getting to visit with real-live astronaut Rex Walheim, who’s been on three shuttle missions — the last as a mission specialist on the final flight of the shuttle program. He’s currently the astronaut representative to the Orion Program, which will carry humans to Mars in 2021. The kids, ages 6 to 18, asked smart, curious questions — everything from how electricity works in space (solar power or fuel cells) to how astronauts use the restroom (very carefully) to how they get water to drink. The answer to that last one might have made some kids change their minds about

how cool it is to be an astronaut. Visiting spacecraft take water to the space station, but conservation is key when you’re 220 miles above the Earth for months at a time. “You guys are going to think this is really gross,” laughed Walheim. “You see where I’m going with this, right?” (Let’s just say today’s drink of water gets recycled into tomorrow’s drink of water.) Walheim said he enjoys the chance to get out of Houston to get to know the people who make his work possible, and this event afforded him the added opportunity to meet their kids, as well. He recalled meeting astronaut Charles Duke as a youngster, then again last year. “You always wonder if you really do ever get to inspire a kid,” he said. “I got to tell Charlie, you really did inspire a kid.” Kids like Grey Mashrouteh might be tellLockheed continues on Page 27

LITTLETON INDEPENDENT (ISSN 1058-7837) (USPS 315-780) OFFICE: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 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: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 DEADLINES: Display advertising: Thurs. 11 a.m. Legal advertising: Thurs. 11 a.m. Classified advertising: Mon. 12 p.m.

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Pot continues on Page 11

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