SEE COFFEE

Danielle Wagner, manager of Lost Co ee in Littleton, pours an iced latte.

PHOTOS BY SHANNA MAXCY

Lost Co ee on Littleton Bouldvard is open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

COFFEE

wholesale and retail are roasted out of the Littleton shop.

But opening the doors to the public in Littleton had setbacks. The fi rst opening date was set for March 2020. Then the pandemic hit. Opening was pushed back to October 2020. Then January 2021.

“Everything got pushed back,” Wagner said. “Finding contractors to fi nish within a certain time was really hard. The company took a hit to our business, so there was a lack of funds to get open. It’s been a struggle.”

But Wagner said the community support in their fi rst month of business has been overwhelming.

One of the things that’s important for Lost Coffee is to work with coffee farms that use better practices not only for nature, but also for their employees. They also support programs that help provide better wages for women, wash-plant workers and farmers.

“We want to know who we’re supporting, especially people who are creating this great product who maybe don’t even get to experience it themselves,” said Wagner, who worked as a coffee farmer for four years. “We are just trying to do justice to the farmers.”

But making good small-batch coffee is just is not the only important thing at Lost Coffee. Wagner said getting to know the community and the customers is just as important.

“We love to learn everyone’s names, their kids, their dogs, know what their regular order is,” Wagner said. “It’s letting the community know that we care as much for them as they care for our coffee and drinking good coffee.”

Lost Coffee on Littleton Boulevard is open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Free Concert

& CRUISE

Free Concert Free Concert & CRUISE Friday August 6th “Float Like a Buffalo”

& CRUISE Friday August 6th “Float Like a Buffalo” Friday September 3rd DAVE FRISK BAND 6:45-10:45 pm High-energy Funk Rock Band 6:45-10:45 pm (stage located on MAIN St. near Bega Park) Bring your lawn chairs and spend the evening with us. Cruise will begin at 6:30 pm.

High-energy Funk Rock Band Cruisers meet at the Sep 10th - 20 HANDS HIGH. 6:45-10:45 Sep 11th - DAVE FRISK BAND. 6.45-10.45 6:45-10:45 pm (Stage located on MAIN ST. near Bega Park) Bring your lawn chairs and spend the evening with us. City of Littleton Building parking lot at 6pm. (stage located on MAIN St. near Bega Park) Bring your lawn chairs and spend the evening with us. Cruise will begin at 6:30 pm. The Cruise will conclude after 3 loops through Old Town Littleton Cruise will begin at 6:30 pm. Cruisers meet at the City of Littleton Building parking lot at 6pm. The Cruise will conclude after 3 loops through Old Town Littleton

BY MADDIE BROWNING SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Dow Phumiruk, Lone Tree resident and member of the Lone Tree Arts Commission, has illustrated 15 children’s books including “Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13.” This book was recently chosen for Storytime From Space — a project of the Global Space Education Foundation that sends children’s books to the International Space Station.

Astronaut Megan McArthur will read the book from space, and a recording will be made available on the Storytime From Space website.

The book details the story of Katherine Johnson, an African American mathematician who worked for NASA during the space race. Her backup procedures and charts helped save the Apollo 13 crew after their mission to the moon was aborted.

“It was the space race at that time, so they’re like `Whoever wants to help us beat everyone else to the moon come sign up.’ And back then, because we didn’t have any real computers like machine computers, they hired people to do the calculations,” said Phumiruk.

“And men actually thought that that was too boring and too tedious, so they gave it to the women to do. And there were probably about 200 Black women that worked for NASA at the time, which is amazing because we’ve never heard about any of them until recently.”

The original book was published in 2018. A second edition was published in the UK the following year for the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.

Among other awards, the book won The Cook Prize from the Center for Children’s Literature and the UK LA Literary Association Inaugural Information Book Award. Phumiruk also stated that around 100,000 copies have been sold in the U.S. and UK.

Phumiruk wasn’t always a professional illustrator. She explained that she enjoyed art as a child, but becoming a stayat-home mom to her daughters from 2002 to 2006 was what led her to pursue art again.

“Being home with the kids, I really had an opportunity to really explore my artistic side, and I realized that that’s such a big part of me. There’s no way I could ever leave that part behind. In fact, it’s taken over,” said Phumiruk.

Phumiruk started learning on her own and researching techniques. In 2011, She joined the Society for Children’s Book Writers. “That’s where I really took off with my art, because I went to the conferences and got to know some other artists in the neighborhood and had a critique group going, and I got recently chosen an agent maybe four years affor Storytime ter joining that organization,” From Space — a said Phumiruk. project of the Phumiruk previously Global Space worked as a pediatrician, Education Foun- taught part time at Rocky dation that sends Vista University College of Phumiruk children’s books to Osteopathic Medicine and worked on illustrations. She quickly realized that this was too overwhelming. Phumiruk said, “I came to a crisis of, I can’t do it all. I can’t raise the children, be a doctor, teach medical school and all that, and I ended up choosing to just teach and do the art.” She expected to return to pediatrics, but then was picked up by her agent and started working on paying projects. Phumiruk’s newest book, “Hello, Tree” was written by Ana Crespo, who is also from Colorado. It follows a little girl who fi nds friendship in a tree during the Black Forest Fire near Colorado Springs that took place in 2013. “Hello, Tree” will be released on Sept. 14.

The cover of “Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13” by Helaine Becker; illustrations by Dow Phumiruk. Text copyright © 2018 by Helaine Becker. Illustrations copyright © 2018 by Dow Phumiruk. Reprinted by permission of Henry Holt Books for Young Readers. All

rights reserved. COURTESY IMAGE

Your Financial Assistance Use a Reverse Mortgage to Fund Retirement

by Matt Witt

Are you a homeowner 62 or older? Have you ever found yourself having to choose between buying food or medicine? How about having to put o a medical or dental procedure due to limited funds? If you have been faced with having to make a tough nancial decision of any kind stop reading and call 720-458-4034 to speak to the local reverse mortgage experts at Silver Leaf Mortgage right now. Did you know the proceeds from a reverse mortgage are tax-free money that may be used in any way you choose? For some it’s the instant, lifesaving help needed today. For others, it’s the safety net for your future or the unplanned life events like medical emergencies that may arise. Qualifying for a reverse mortgage, it’s simple and easy. Quali cation is based on these important factors: • You (the borrower) must own the home. • You must be 62+. (A non-borrowing spouse may be under 62.) • e home must be your primary residence (you live there at least six months and one day per year).

According According to author Wade Pfau, PhD, CFA, nancial planning research has shown that coordinated use of a reverse mortgage early in retirement outperforms a “last resort” reverse mortgage. A reverse mortgage is a retirement tool that can be incorporated as part of an overall retirement cash ow plan. Coordinating retirement spending from a reverse Even if you have bad credit, have had a bankruptcy, or a foreclosure, you are not disquali ed. In most cases there is a remedy for past credit problems. So, don’t mortgage reduces strain on the investment think you can’t get the help you need. portfolio. is helps manage the risk of Let us help you navigate these di cult having to sell assets at a loss during market nancial times, call your local experts downturns. at Silver Leaf Mortgage today at Reverse mortgages can actually sidestep 720-458-4034 to see if a Reverse this risk by providing an alternate source of Mortgage is right for you. cash during market declines, creating more opportunity for the portfolio to recover. Additionally, opening a reverse mortgage early—especially when interest rates are low—ensures the principal limit (loan balance plus remaining line of credit) will continue to grow throughout retirement. To qualify for a government-insured reverse mortgage, at least one borrower must be 62, the home must be your primary residence, and you should have 40–60% equity. Most types of properties are acceptable. A Reverse Mortgage is also a non-recourse loan, meaning even if your home loses value due to a market downturn, you or your heirs can never be “under water.” And just to clarify—because I hear this a lot—you are the only one who owns your home and its equity. e bank does not. e reverse mortgage is not repaid until the last borrower leaves the home.

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Council voted unanimously to put sales tax question on the ballot

BY SHANNA MAXCY SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Littleton City Council voted unanimously Aug. 26 to ask voters to approve a 3/4-cent sales tax this November.

The sales tax is the city’s answer to Littleton’s $6.5 million annual revenue shortage in its Capital Projects Fund. This defi cit is due to rising infrastructure maintenance and repair costs; steadily increasing capital expenditure needs; a historically low tax rate; and a lack of revenue diversity.

At the meeting, council discussed the possibility of adding a 1/2 cent or 3/4 cent sales tax question to the November ballot.

The 3/4 cent sales tax option could generate $9.8 million annually, according to a report by City Manager Mark Relph. Projects covered could be on a greater scale including major corridor improvements, intersections, grade separations and pedestrian improvements.

Projects could also include broader downtown roadway circulation improvements; a streetscape linking north to south with Main Street; safety and pedestrian improvements; and a comprehensive rebuild of roadway medians, safety improvements, landscaping and irrigation.

There is also a possibility of technology upgrades; placing overhead utility lines underground; parking and pedestrian improvements adjacent to light rail stations; improvements to High Line Canal grade crossings; and broader improvements to the Geneva Lodge, the Bemis House, Town Hall Arts Center and the Depot Art Gallery.

“We only have two major revenue sources for the capital project fund: building use tax and gas tax,” Relph said at the council meeting. “We all know that during the pandemic, when people stayed home, the gas tax decreased.”

SEE SALES TAX, P10

Colo. unveils plan to distribute $400M in opioid settlement money

Dollars would be split among state and local governments, including Denver and Adams

BY DANIEL DUCASSI THE COLORADO SUN

Roughly $400 million in settlement money expected to be secured by Colorado from drug companies sued for their alleged role in the opioid epidemic would be split between state and local governments under a tentative deal unveiled Aug. 26 that calls for the money to be spent on building treatment facilities and bolstering prevention and education programs.

The agreement, structured as a memorandum of understanding, still needs the approval of local governments to move forward, but it has the support of Attorney General Phil Weiser and top offi cials from Denver, Adams, Logan and Pueblo counties, which were hit hard by the opioid crisis.

The deal would break up the state into 19 regions, to which 60% of the settlement money would go. The regions will have their own governing councils made up of local public offi cials to oversee the local distribution of funds.

Local governments would receive 20% of the settlement money, while 10% would go toward building drug treatment facilities. The remaining 10% would be managed by the attorney general’s offi ce, which would use the dollars to create statewide strategies to deal with the opioid crisis, such as prevention and education programs.

The framework also calls for an oversight board made up of six members appointed by Colorado Counties Inc. and the Colorado Municipal League, six members appointed by the attorney general and one nonvoting chairperson.

The money Colorado expects to receive from opioid settlements is made up of $300 million from Johnson & Johnson along with three major drug distributors, Cardinal Health, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen.

At least another $50 million is expected from Purdue Pharma, the creator of OxyContin, and from members of the Sackler family who owned the pharmaceutical giant. Mallinckrodt, another opioid maker, is expected to pay $25 million, and

SEE OPIOID, P10

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