Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel 020713

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Sentinel NORTHGLENN 2.7.13

Northglenn -Thornton

February 7, 2013

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A Colorado Community Media Publication

ournorthglennnews.com, ourthorntonnews.com

Adams County, Colorado • Volume 49, Issue 26

Couple follows dream, opens restaurant By Darin Moriki

dmoriki@ourcoloradonews.com Aloha Hawaiian BBQ owners Karen and Marc Pham know most or their customers by their first name and can be heard greeting every person with a warm, “Aloha” even on the coldest winter days. The restaurant, located in a strip mall at 8623 Washington St. in Thornton, may seem to be a little rough on the edges, but Karen said the restaurant’s minimalist decorations and Hawaiian music played in the background is intended to remind diners of the “island, laid-back lifestyle.” “We just want people to feel like we’re all a part of one big large ohana (family) and know that even if they are dining for one, they can sit here and we’ll pick up a conversation with them,” Karen said. The couple, who also own Compliance Administrative Services, a Denver-based drug testing company, decided to open the restaurant in August 2012 to fulfill Marc’s longtime dream of having his own restaurant. “This is definitely one on thing on Marc’s bucket list,” Karen said jokingly. “Owning this restaurant was on his bucket list.” These days, Marc said his employees primarily oversee the company’s operations so that he can focus on what he says is his true passion. “I’ve always been in the hospitality business, and we were both looking for a change in lifestyle,” Marc said. “I guess you could say that we’re the type of people who don’t enjoy sitting down and the type to always be on the go.” Karen, who grew up working in her aunt’s Chinese restaurant on Oahu, said that she learned how to cook a variety of different foods from the many employees that her

Aloha by the plate Marc and Karen Pham are owners of Aloha Hawaiian BBQ at 8623 Washington St. in Thornton. Photos by Andy Carpenean family has had the chance to work with over the years. “We had Spanish, Filipino, Japanese and Portuguese people all working under the same roof, so I got exposed to all the different types of food,” Pham said. “The island style is the tradition of doing potlucks whenever you have get-togethers, even if it’s inside a restaurant.” During the day, Karen can be found in the kitchen, where she regularly prepares and cooks restaurant favorites like teriyaki beef and loco that is then served in a Styrofoam to-go plate with at least

one scoop of rice and a side of macaroni salad. “It comes into a complete circle for us because it’s all hospitality, and I guess that’s one of the things that Marc and I thrive on the most,” Karen said. “It was very scary for us to jump into this but it’s also a big adventure as well because we know how to cook, but there were a lot of unknown factors, but with the support of family back home on the islands, this has grown bigger than our expectations.”

Sue Beardsley prepares a meat combination meal at Aloha Hawaiian BBQ at 8623 Washington St. in Thornton.

Bill tackles mortgage confusion Measure garners no Republican support By Vic Vela

vvela@ourcoloradonews. com A Democratic state lawmaker is sponsoring a bill that he says will “keep homeowners in their homes,” but it’s one that has not garnered any support from Republicans thus far. House Bill 1017 would allow homeowners who have modified their mortgage interest rates to keep those same rates if their loans are transferred to another bank. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Steve Lebsock, D-Thornton, said during a recent legislative committee hearing that banks sometimes do not properly

communicate when a person is in the process of modifying a loan. When the loan transfer to another servicer occurs, homeowners end up receiving “a Dear John letter,” notifying them of the transfer. But, “in a minority of cases,” the loan ends up getting transferred without the new servicer even knowing that the loan has been modified. Therefore, the new bank refuses to honor the modified rate, leaving homeowners confused and without recourse, Lebsock said. “Essentially, the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing,” Lebsock said. That happened to Daniel Graham of Aurora, who testified during a recent House Business, Labor, Economic and Workforce Committee

POSTAL ADDRESS

hearing about his “nightmare” experience of getting caught between two banks and two separate mortgage rates. Graham said that a bank recently foreclosed on his home — one that had been in his family for 34 years — after it refused to honor a modification that he and a previous bank had agreed on. “Trying to find help from people when you’re going through this? It’s not out there,” Graham testified. “People, please. This is something that is needed. I am going through this nightmare right now.” The bill is on its way to the Senate after it passed the House Jan. 29, with Democrats supporting it in a 37-28 partyline vote. Rep. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs, said he voted against the bill in part because

he “couldn’t get a straight answer as to how big of a problem this was.” Gardner said it is a “feel good” bill that doesn’t really do anything. “I’m not going to vote for it because it sounds like a nice thing to do,” Gardner said. Lebsock said he was “troubled” that the bill didn’t garner a single Republican vote in the House, especially after representatives from Colorado banking and realty groups voiced their support of the bill during the committee hearing. “It’s very puzzling to me that we didn’t get bipartisan support,” Lebsock said. But Gardner said the freshman representative shouldn’t be too surprised. “He’ll be puzzled about a lot more things that happen here,” Gardner said.

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High court to consider access Media challenges closed preliminary hearing Staff Report The Colorado Supreme Court will consider arguments in a request for access to the preliminary hearing in the case of Austin Sigg, the teenager accused of killing 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway of Westminster. Judge Stephen Munsinger closed the hearing in orSigg der to ensure a fair trial and protect the privacy of the victims and their families. But prosecutors and media organizations including the Associated Press, the

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