NORTON

FROM PAGE 12 gotonorton@gmail.com, and when we can prepare our hearts and minds for our own season of new beginnings, it really will be a better

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Colorado Community Media welcomes letters to the editor. Please note the following rules: keep apartments in the rental market or keep rental rates from jumping higher. After all, there is a limit! Here is a short list of some of the bills being considered: Rent control would allow every municipality the power to enact their own rent control measures and could include mobile homes. e pay to vacate bill would require landlords to pay “relocation assistance” to tenants for no-fault evictions after two or three months of rents. e pet bill would allow all breeds of dogs, with limits on pet deposit of $300 and pet rent to $35 per month or 1% of rent whichever is greater. e rst right of refusal bill would require owners of multi-family properties of ve or more units to notify the local government that they are intending to sell their buildings and must give the local government rst right of refusal. ere are more I could list, but I have run out of room.

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Trump’s behavior showing its true self Ever since it became quite probable that former President Donald Trump could be indicted for possible illegal handling of campaign funds and trying to hide “hush money” payments to a sex star, he has shown his true self. He has really gone o the rails this time calling Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg every name in the book, challenged his own followers to protest when he is indicted and take back the country. He has raised the specter of civil unrest.

In one of his texts, he stated “IT’S than good life.

Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.

TIME!!! WE JUST CAN’T ALLOW THIS ANYMORE. THEY’RE KILLING OUR NATION AS WE SIT BACK & WATCH. WE MUST SAVE AMERICA! PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!!!”

It has a familiar ring to the rhetoric he used shortly before the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. He thinks his loyal followers will rise up as they did on that fateful January 6 and protest which would evolve into riots.

In a separate text, Trump even warned of “death and destruction” taking place when he is indicted.

His recent threats of violence and how he and his followers must “save America” reminds me of a favorite movie, “A Few Good Men.” Jack Nicholson plays a career Marine colonel. On the witness stand, he simply “loses it” under questioning and bears his true beliefs and admits the crime justifying why he had to do it.

I think we have seen Trump become the Colonel under new pressure. Trump would be the rst U.S. president to be charged with committing a crime.

Pick the right legal case

With four key legal actions at play against Trump, it would be smart for the Department of Justice (DOJ) orchestrate the selection of the best legal case with the most impact to be the rst legal indictment. e case against sex star Stormy Daniels is the least of the four in my humble opinion. Elected o cials are in the news o and on about illicit a airs with sta ers and outsiders way too often. We remember former President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinski. Former Presidents Eisenhower and Franklin Roosevelt both had alleged a airs with female sta personnel. While the Stormy Daniels’ case is more than an affair which focuses on possible illegal use of campaign funds and the way they tried to hide the $130,000 payment, it is not the main event. While I am not an attorney, my gut tells me Trump’s involvement in the January 6 riot or mishandling of classified government materials at his Mar-a-Lago home have far larger legal consequences and more political consequences. Accordingly, the DOJ should manage the timing of each case as far as when prosecutors would bring indictment charges.

Bill Christopher is a former Westminster city manager and RTD board member. His opinions are not necessarily those of Colorado Community Media. You can contact him at bcjayhawk68@gmail.com.

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BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

An tiques might seem like a eld that’s struggling to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, but the local scene in Elizabeth — and elsewhere in Colorado — suggests a renaissance of sorts might be occurring in the industry.

Randy Wallace owns Randy’s Antiques and Art on Main Street in Elizabeth. e bustling scene in town — featuring e Prickly Pear Antiques, e Carriage Shoppes and 1897 House of Antiques, among others — breeds community, not competition, he said.

“ e more stores in town, the better,” Wallace said. “People love to come antique shopping when there are multiple stores. Each one of our shops has a di erent niche, each one has just a little bit di erent style; I think customers enjoy having a di erent variety when they come to Elizabeth.”

Wallace said that while his shop specializes in antique art and furniture, others cater to di erent interests, like the Prickly Pear’s tearoom.

Over in Littleton, Owner Joe Crawford of Old Crow Antiques had the novel idea to add a root beer bar to his shop, with the eventual goal of making the soda section — which currently carries between 60-90 varieties of vintage soda pop at any given time — the largest root beer bar in the world.

Crawford said Old Crow — which he opened three years ago with his brother — is one of the “new kids on the block” in the local antiquing scene, but said they’ve been welcomed into the scene with open arms.

“I feel like we’re part of a larger community in the metro area,” Wallace said. “ ere are stores throughout the area, and we’ve gotten to know the people who own and work there — some have been here a long time.”

Nostalgia and good, old-fashioned, quality craftsmanship

Antique shops can often sprawl thousands of square feet — Old Crow’s showroom is over 45,000 square feet — packed with items from all eras and purposes. Shopkeepers say that a sense of longing for a di erent time helps people nd what they’re looking for out of the scores of inventories, in addition to the fact that many antiques have stood the test of time for a reason.

“In antique furniture, it’s already lasted 100 years, and — if you take care of it — it’ll last another 100 years,” Wallace said. “A lot of today’s stu is kind of throwaway.”

Julie McCoy, who runs own Unique Treasures Antiques and Collectibles in Wheat Ridge with her parents, echoed Wallace’s sentiment.

“(Antiques are) made so much better,” McCoy said. “ ey’re around 100 years later for a reason. It’s not like Ikea stu that you put together and throw away. It’s good quality