June 30, 2016 VOLUM E 127 | IS S U E 49 | 75¢
INSIDE! A publication of
A R A P A H O E C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
LittletonIndependent.net
Sunshine’s impact sparks heated debate Members of informal watchdog group say they’re not undoing the city By Kyle Harding kharding@coloradocommunitymedia.com When Michael Penny was fired as city manager by the Littleton City Council, District 1 Councilmember Bill Hopping, one of two members who tried to save Penny’s job, said the move was the latest step in an effort to “dismantle the city.” Members of the group that some claim
spearheaded Penny’s ouster say otherwise. Sunshine, or the Sunshine Boys, began with three members and a desire to repeal Littleton’s grocery tax in the early 2000s. They succeeded at that effort in 2003 and remain an informal group that gathers on Friday mornings to discuss city business and often attends city council meetings to offer public comment. The nonpartisan group has no formal membership, no charter and no written rules. Two of Sunshine’s defining missions, those affiliated with it say, are to promote transparency in local government and carefully considered growth within the city.
“
This idea that Sunshine orchestrated (the city manager’s) firing is ridiculous.”
Doug Clark, Littleton city councilmember
Since the grocery tax fight, Sunshine has had success, including last year’s passage, by a wide margin, of a voter initiative requiring a vote of the people for urban-renewal projects. Sunshine members say Penny de-
served to be fired — they cite a lack of transparency on urban-renewal projects, among other things — but that it’s not their doing. Sunshine continues on Page 5
VOTING RESULTS Go to LittletonIndependent.net for results of the June 28 primary elections.
Kristin Hopkins works out at Tour de Fit at F.I.T. Park Meadows on June 18. The event helped raise money for Hopkins to buy a set of prosthetic legs that will allow her to be more active. Photo by Kyle Harding
Survivor moves past the pain Gym hosts fundraising event for Highlands Ranch woman By Kyle Harding kharding@coloradocommunitymedia.com On May 4, 2014, Kristin Hopkins had planned to be challenging herself at a Spartan Sprint obstacle course race. Instead, she was taking a helicopter ride to St. Anthony Hospital after spending six days trapped in her Chevy Malibu, 80 feet off the side of Highway 285 near Fairplay. Just over two years later, the 46-year-old Highlands Ranch mother of four completed her goal. It took her nearly five hours to run, climb and
crawl her way through the steep, rocky course that wound its way through five miles of the range area at Fort Carson that made up the course for the Spartan Military Sprint on May 15. But she made it. And she made it running on two prosthetic legs. Hopkins had both lower legs amputated following her crash in April 2014. The crash and loss of her legs was a bump in the road for Hopkins as she worked to get in shape. She had registered for the race as way to kick-start her efforts. “I was out of shape, I was fat, I just kind of needed motivation,” she said. In the spring of 2013, Hopkins had begun working out, but going to traditional gyms was intimidating.
“You go to the gym and you’re overweight, you’re embarrassed, you cry before you go in the gym,” she said. Hopkins got her prosthetic legs in June 2014. The gym that she worked out at donated personal training sessions, and she began lifting weights. She accompanied a friend to a Crossfit gym. “I drank the Kool-Aid,” she said, referring to a common half-joking accusation that Crossfit is a cult. The gym closed, and Hopkins began working out at F.I.T. Park Meadows Crossfit in Lone Tree, finding that gym owner and trainer Nathan Lemon’s bootcamp-style workouts suited her. Survivor continues on Page 5
FARM TO TABLE Food producers think globally, act locally. PAGE 12
PEDAL ON METAL Youngsters spend a day at the racetrack. PAGE 20
LITTLETON INDEPENDENT (ISSN 1058-7837) (USPS 315-780) OFFICE: 2550 S. Main St., Littleton, CO 80120 | PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Littleton, Colorado, the Littleton Independent is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media, 2550 S. Main St., Littleton, CO 80120. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT LITTLETON, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 DEADLINES: Display: Thurs. 5 p.m. | Classifieds: Tue. 8 a.m. | Obits: Tue. 11 a.m. | Legals: Thurs. 11 a.m.