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July 22, 2021
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
INSIDE: CALENDAR: PAGE 11 | VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | SPORTS: PAGE 16
VOLUME 17 | ISSUE 5
Redistricting Commission holds public meeting in Arvada Residents voice concerns about new proposed Congressional Districts BY RYAN DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Coco Jenkins paints a mural in an underpass along the Ralston Creek Trail.
Babe Walls brightens Arvada PHOTOS BY SHANNA MAXCY
Babe Walls, a mural festival dedicated to celebrating women and nonbinary artists, returned to the West Metro area for its second annual installment — this time, with an exhibition along Arvada’s Ralston Creek Trail July 15 to July 18.
Muralist Emily Ding is one of almost 30 artists to paint during the Babe Walls Mural Festival which celebrates womxen and non-binary artists.
Adri Norris paints a mural along the Ralston Creek Trail in Arvada July 17 during the Babe Walls Mural Festival.
As a state commission moves closer to redrawing Colorado’s congressional districts, residents of Adams and Jefferson counties made their voices heard on how they want to be represented in Washington at a July 13 public meeting at Red Rocks Community College’s Arvada campus. An ongoing tour across the Centennial State to gauge community feedback to its preliminary map brought the Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission to Arvada, where many voiced their concerns about the proposed redistricting. After gaining more than 750,000 new residents in the last decade, Colorado was awarded an Eighth Congressional District in April — the state’s first new district in 20 years. The proposed boundaries for the 8th Congressional District would include parts of Arvada, Broomfield, Brighton, Fort Lupton, Thornton, Westminster, Firestone and Platteville, among other communities. Over 40 attendees of the meeting gave oral testimony over the course of the evening. Residents from the proposed district and the surrounding areas expressed concern over how the congressional district would split county lines, which some commenters said would hinder their community’s ability to vote together on issues of shared interest. Arvada Mayor Marc Williams spoke first, voicing his desire to SEE MEETING, P4