Voice
Lone Tree 5/2/13
Lone Tree
May 2, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourlonetreenews.com
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 12, Issue 16
City investing in commercial area Council OKs consulting deal for Entertainment District By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com Lone Tree is investing an additional $100,000 into its Entertainment District by hiring a consultant to define the area’s future. It’s a future that city leaders hope will include throngs of shoppers congregating at a revamped commercial center. City council on April 16 approved a contract with Boulder-based 505 Design, chosen from among 16 consulting teams that responded to a February request for proposal. The firm will work with business owners, tenants and area residents to create a vision and identify improvements for the area — anchored by the United Artists movie theater — that extends along Park Meadows Drive south of Yosemite Street.
“By the end of summer, we hope to have a vision and some projects identified,” said Steve Hebert, Lone Tree’s community development director. “If council, property owners and business owners indicate they want to move forward, the next phase would be figuring out who pays for what and how to go about it.” If physical changes are recommended and financing secured, Hebert said construction could begin late this year. “Realistically in 2014, but maybe late 2013,” he said. “Obviously if it’s a large capital improvement, it’s going to require some additional engineering and review, and might require planning commission and council review. There’s a whole menu of things that could come out of this.” Lone Tree paid the Urban Land Institute $25,000 to do an initial study late last year. The international nonprofit uses teams of experts to advise communities on land use. District continues on Page 22
The Lone Tree entertainment district, in the area of Yosemite Street and Park Meadows Drive, offers businesses including a movie theater, Mexican, Indian, Japanese and American restaurants, indoor sky diving, bowling, laser tag and a cigar lounge. The city hopes to make the area more inviting. File photo
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 Report legislative committee. The effort — if it ever gets off the ground — would ask voters to repeal Amendment 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
Capitol
Retired Air Force pilot Brian Schul stands in front of “the sled.” Schul has partnered with Wings of Hope, a charity that helps fund research for pancreatic cancer. Photo by Gallery One
Wings of Hope gets supersonic support SR-71 pilot speaks at event targeting pancreatic cancer By Deborah Grigsby
dgrigsby@ourcoloradonews. com It’s no secret that Brian Schul likes speed. The retired Air Force pilot once flew the SR-71 Blackbird, the world’s fastest — and perhaps most classified — aircraft. But even for a guy who’s flown more than three times the speed of sound, some things, like a cure for pancreatic cancer, can’t come fast enough. Schul, who lost both his mother and brother to pancreatic cancer, was the keynote speaker at a special Wings of Hope fundraiser on April 25 at The Wildlife Experience in Parker, organized by his sister, Maureen Schul, the former mayor of
Retired Air Force pilot Brian Schul owns one of the rarest photo collections of the SR-71 Blackbird. Schul was one of only 93 men in the world to fly the highly classified aircraft. He owes his now blossoming photo career to a “little Nikon on a lanyard” that he stuffed in his spacesuit pocket. Photo by Deborah Grigsby Castle Pines. One of only 93 men to fly the mysterious black plane know as
“the sled,” Schul shared his inspiring story of being shot down in Vietnam.
Badly burned, Schul was hospitalized for nearly two years, only to come back to pilot the world’s fastest and highestflying aircraft ever built. Schul also shared what he describes as one of the rarest collections of SR-71 photographs in the world. “I always had my little camera with me,” he said. “Now most people would think you couldn’t take a camera along on a top-secret mission, but I dug into the Air Force regulations and it never said I could — but it also never said I couldn’t.” Schul’s collection, mostly film, is the foundation for his book, “Sled Driver,” which is one the most authoritative publications on the plane. The book was on sale at the event, with proceeds from it, as well as some of his photos, going to Wings of Hope. “Our goal is to help raise Hope continues on Page 22
Pot continues on Page 7
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