South Platte Independent 071422

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Week of July 14, 2022

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

SouthPlatteIndependent.net

VOLUME 77 | ISSUE 36

INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 24

General election ballot takes shape in Arapahoe County Sheriff, commissioners, treasurer to be decided BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Arapahoe County voters will decide the outcomes of seven races in the Nov. 8 general election, choosing

to fill two county commissioner seats and voting on the sheriff, treasurer, assessor, coroner and clerk and recorder. Incumbent Democrats widely hold most countywide elected offices and face challenges from Republicans, Independents and Libertarians heading into November.

Here’s who’s on the ballot. Commissioners In the race for Arapahoe County commissioner for District 2, which encompasses south-central Arapahoe County, Mark Gotto, a former council member for the City of Centennial, will face Democrat Jessica Campbell-Swanson after

winning his Republican primary. Campbell-Swanson, a campaign manager and political consultant, ran unopposed. Gotto is running on his 20-year corporate career, which culminated in an executive role of a Fortune 100 company, as well as his time in public service as his main pitch to SEE BALLOT, P10

Denver-area law enforcement reports ‘largest fentanyl seizure’ on any U.S. highway 114 pounds of dangerous drug found in vehicle BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

rest differ across the many cities and towns in the region. At least several jurisdictions have no formal camping ban on the books, and Aurora’s new camping ban, which could push people into other areas, illustrates the complexity of laws that affect the unhoused: Whether a person gets moved doesn’t just come down to whether a city has a formal ban or not. Meanwhile, several cities in the Denver suburbs continue to take steps to address homelessness

In what was described as “the largest fentanyl seizure on any U.S. highway” during a July 6 news conference, Denver-area law enforcement officials reported 114 pounds of fentanyl powder was found last month in the back of a vehicle on Interstate 70 traveling towards Denver. It marks one of the largest fentanyl busts in Colorado, which has seen a spike in deaths from fentanyl overdoses in recent years. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, more than 900 people in Colorado died of fentanyl overdoses last year. In 2020, 540 people died. “In my 31 years of law enforcement, I have never seen anything like the current drug crisis and how it is adversely affecting our communities,” said Brian Besser, special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Denver Field Division.

SEE HOMELESS, P22

SEE FENTANYL, P7

Tents and other materials sit in an open field March 1 near the Aurora-Centennial border.

PHOTO BY ELLIS ARNOLD

Homeless camping ban policies differ widely across Denver metro area Other laws can affect where unhoused people may be forced to move BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The sight of a person pushing a shopping cart full of belongings, begging for money on major streets or sleeping outdoors is common in many places around the Denver metro area, and the laws that dictate where unhoused people can’t

Evergreen Jazz Festival PRSRT - STD ECRWSS US POSTAGE PAID LITTLETON, CO PERMIT #70 EDDM POSTAL PATRON

Big Talent! Small Venues! Great Setting!

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July 29, 30 & 31


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