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July 22, 2021
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
LittletonIndependent.net
VOLUME 132 | ISSUE 52
Venardos Circus thrills Littleton with dazzling acrobatics Old-school traveling circus plays before packed house at Aspen Grove
Hotter, drier climate influences how and when fires ignite
BY DAVID GILBERT DGILBERT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A year and a half since its big top tent was last unfurled, Venardos Circus resumed its breathtaking act before adoring crowds in Littleton. The Florida-based traveling circus, founded in 2014 by former Ringling Bros. ringmaster Kevin Venardos, is hitting the road again for the first time since the pandemic upended life, starting with a series of (nearly) sold-out shows at the Aspen Grove shopping center in Littleton. On opening night July 14, ringmaster Venardos took the stage SEE CIRCUS, P6
BY THELMA GRIMES TGRIMES@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
sight of panhandlers in Littleton. “On my way to and from work I see able-bodied men begging on street corners,” she said. “It’s demoralizing to see people who don’t work, and the vagrants who sleep in Slaughterhouse Gulch leave a lot of trash behind. It bugs me.” Kafer declined to comment on the Tri-Cities Homelessness Policy Group’s recently-unveiled “action plan” to address homelessness in
State climate experts and local fire officials along the Front Range say wildfire season no longer has an end as heat, low moisture and other factors have created a year-round problem. Russ Schumacher, the Colorado state climatologist and the director of the Colorado Climate Center, said 2020 was the worst year on record for wildfires, rewriting record books on what kind of fires can happen and when. In the past, wildfire season was generally contained to the hottest part of summer in July and into August. Now, Inter-Canyon Fire Protection District Chief Daniel Hatlestad said, wildfires are a 12-month priority. The Inter-Canyon Fire District covers 52 square miles in Jefferson County. “We are seeing these fires spread, and spread quickly every month of the year,” Hatlestad said. “The fuel load across the Front Range has created more intense, frequent and longer-burning fires. There is no longer a change of approach to prepare for wildfire season because there is no season.” Schumacher said it is not just Colorado — Western states have had year-round fire problems since 2002 as average temperatures have crept up and annual precipitation levels have decreased.
SEE KAFER, P10
SEE FIRES, P2
Venardos Circus performer Lady Beast stands atop a pair of bottles on a stack of PHOTO BY DAVID GILBERT chairs under the big top.
Krista Kafer, columnist and think tank fixture, launches Littleton council run She hopes to keep homelessness, housing density in check BY DAVID GILBERT DGILBERT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Krista Kafer, a Denver Post opinion columnist, adjunct professor and longtime fixture in conservative think tanks, has announced
Colorado wildfires are year-round danger
her candidacy for an at-large seat on Littleton City Council. Kafer, 51, said in an interview that she sees “safety and having a thriving, livable family-friendly city” Kafer as her top issues. “Vagrancy, trash, graffiti and crime have no place in Littleton,” she said. “Littleton needs to be a place that’s safe for everybody.” Kafer said she is dismayed at the
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 22
ON AN UPSWING
Pickleball is still popular among seniors, but now younger generations are discovering the sport
P14