December 13, 2012
Arapahoe County, Colorado • Volume 123, Issue 47
75 cents
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourlittletonnews.com
Business coalition sharing a vision
QUITE A SIGHT
New group looks toward future By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@ourcoloradonews.com
Eyeing a menorah made entirely of ice, 17-month-old Branden Kregas is ready to celebrate at the annual Hanukkah on Ice event at the Family Sports Center in Centennial. Participants from around the metro area gathered Dec. 9 to celebrate the Jewish festival of lights with skating, music and traditional Hanukkah food. Photo by Deborah Grigsby
Anti-gang activist sheds light on suburbia ‘Some things ... can’t be covered up,’ Kelly says By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@ourcoloradonews. com Unlike some people, the Rev. Leon Kelly wasn’t surprised when he heard Littleton might have had its first gang murder. When he first began his work in the mid-’80s, nobody thought there were gangs in Denver, either. “Something major has to happen before it becomes newsworthy,” said Kelly, executive director of Denver-based Open Door Youth Gang Alternatives, which has the aim of preventing young people from joining gangs. “There are some things that can’t be covered up.” Littleton got that wake-up call on Oct. 19 when Options High School student DeVon Flores, 18, died in a gunfight that also left a 17-year-0ld boy in the hospital. Littleton police arrested Dion Rankin, 20, on Oct. 24 in connection with the incident. Neighbor kids say the three were gang-bangers with “previous beef” that blew up at
The Rev. Leon Kelly has been an anti-gang activist in Denver since the 1980s. He says there’s been an increase in suburban gang activity in recent years. Courtesy photo an out-of-control party, and a Facebook search indicates they could be right. Now removed, Flores’ page showed him with
a blue bandanna covering the lower half of his face. Rankin’s references “CMG,” which is short for Crenshaw Mafia Gangsters, affiliated with the Bloods.
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Kelly says CMG first took hold in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood about 27 years ago. So how did its tentacles end up in Littleton’s northeast neighborhood? Kelly says inner-city parents often move to the suburbs to get their kids away from gangs and other negative influences, but the kids might already be affiliated. And while they might not have had much clout in the big city, they can become larger than life in suburban neighborhoods. “The gang ‘wannabes’ are eventually going to be gang ‘gonnabes,’” said Kelly. “They might be posers, but in their mind they feel like they have to represent.” Kelly has talked to the wounded teen’s mother, who says he’s physically OK but bitter and angry. “His attitude now is just hard-core,” said Kelly. “And now he thinks he’s invincible.” Kelly says the trend is similar to what happened when Bloods and Crips started moving to Denver from California in the 1980s. At first, he said, city officials warned him not to talk too much about it publicly, so as not to cause panic or give Denver a bad name. “You can continue to try to keep your head in the sand if you want to, but it doesn’t mean the problem is going away when you look up,” he said. “The mayor, the city officials, they work for the people. They can demand some action. The people should not have to live in fear.” Until last summer, Littleton police maintained a specialenforcement team focused on gangs, drugs, graffiti, sex ofGangs continues on Page 31
The new Littleton Business Coalition is “completely aligned” with City Manager Michael Penny’s vision, according to organizer Norman Stucker. “If we’re not looking forward, our best days are behind us,” said Stucker, general manager of PADT, a mechanical-engineering from on Prince Street. His goal, he said, is to help shape Littleton as a 19thcentury community with a 21st-century business environment. Echoing that sentiment, Penny pointed to recent circumstances leading to a “grand reopening” of sorts for the city, including Penny outreach to gauge future needs. “It’s that next generation that’s going to take all that you guys say you love, and tweak it and make it theirs,” he told the group assembled at South Denver Cardiology for a breakfast meeting Dec. 6. The group already has 54 members, with representatives ranging from momand-pops to Littleton Adventist Hospital, the city’s largest employer. Although it’s organized through the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, it’s not necessary to be a chamber member to attend. Stucker wants the group to focus more on commercial business than retail, but there are lawyers, coffee shops, nonprofits and everything in between represented now. Penny told them the city’s well-being depends on the success of the whole spectrum. “You’ll never hear me say we need more sales tax,” he said. Although it’s the main source of city revenue, the ability to maintain levels of service depends a lot on business-use tax, which depends on development — of which there hasn’t been much over the last several years. “What we had is a reputation, and really, in the development world, people were starting to look elsewhere,” he said. In the year he’s been here, Penny has led the charge on changing code, processes and perspectives in an effort to turn on the city’s “Open” sign. He says there’s about $125 million worth of projects — in stages from chatter to shovel — that could come to fruition in the next six to 18 months. He’s eyeballing aging shopping centers, empty dirt, infill and redevelopment as potential paths to improvement. Penny said he wants his message to be that the city is creating a foundation for business to thrive, while getting out of the way and letting people live their lives. “The end game shouldn’t conflict with who we are as a community,” he said. Marcel Venter got that message loud and clear. When deciding where to locate his graphic-design firm, Spur, he checked out communities from Cherry Creek North to South Broadway. He was drawn to the historic nature of Main Street, and ended up remodeling the old beauty school on Prince Street. Once there, the South African native said he felt accepted right away. “It’s the people,” he said. “I’ve never experienced such community embracement. I love that nobody is out of bounds for anybody.”