Wheatridge transcript 0320

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March 20, 2014

50 cents Jefferson County, Colorado | Volume 30, Issue 38 A publication of

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Jeffco: No pot clubs

Music in the air

Proposal also limits cultivation to residential, 12 plants max By Amy Woodward

awoodward@coloradocommunitymedia.com The Board of County Commissioners will be passing on a zoning resolution to the planning commission that prohibits private marijuana clubs and limits cultivation in unincorporated Jeffco. Not only would the new section in the zoning resolution prohibit smoking establishments but it would also ban any events associated with marijuana and prevent any promotion of pot at local fairs. The proposal also includes limited cultivation for any residence or co-op, with a total of 12 plants being the allowed maximum. “Part of the idea is to deal with co-ops, the idea of several individuals coming together renting a greenhouse or some location and growing a lot of plants together,” said Eric Butler, assistant county attorney for Jeffco. “That couldn’t be done under this proposal because one, you have to be at a residential property and two, even if you did have a greenhouse on residential property it would be limited to 12 plants total,” he said adding that a person would also have to be living at the property unless they Marijuana continues on Page 15

Lutheran launches anti-smoking for new mothers program Funds provided by CDPHE By Clarke Reader

creader@coloradocommunitymedia. com By now it is no secret that smoking tobacco is a health risk not only for the person smoking, but those around them as well. While 45 percent of women quit smoking once they find out they are pregnant, anywhere from 50 to 80 percent of women pick the habit back up again once they’ve delivered their baby. A new grant of $190,000 from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is helping Exempla Lutheran Medical Center fight to bring those numbers down. The program is called Healthy You, Healthy Baby and it will focus on low-inSmoking continues on Page 15

The crowd on Grandview Avenue parted for the marching Centennial State Pipes & Drums during the St. Patrick’s Day Festival Saturday at Olde Town Arvada. The festival, in its third year, is intended to provide a regional option to the celebration in downtown Denver. A few thousand people spent some time listening to music and enjoying food and drink along the blocked off street. Photo by Mikkel Kelly

School board transparency bill dies Sponsor cites lack of support in Senate as reason By Vic Vela

vvela@coloradocommunitymedia.com Legislation aimed at creating greater transparency for what happens behind closed doors at school board meetings will not happen this year. A bill sponsor on March 12 asked a Senate committee to indefinitely postpone the legislation, meaning the bill is dead this session. The legislation would have required that all conversations that take place during school board executive sessions be recorded, including those involving attorney-client discussions. Sen. Mary Hodge, D-Brighton, said she had enough votes for House Bill 1110 to clear the Senate Judiciary Committee. However, getting it past the full Senate was going to be an entirely different story. Hodge — who sponsored the bill with

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Rep. Cherylin Peniston, D-Westminster — said the bill was one vote short of the support needed to pass the Senate. That vote belonged to Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver. Steadman said he had concerns that the bill only targeted school boards and no other governing bodies, such as city councils. But Steadman’s “overriding” concerns had to do with attorneyclient matters. Current law already requires that school board executive sessions be recorded. The bill would have Report expanded that requirement to include attorney-client conversations. All Republicans and a few Democrats voted against the bill in the House, in part over concerns that lawyers wouldn’t be able to have effective conversations with their clients, if there was a possibility that those discussions could be made public. “I think there’re some concerns for me about the precedent it would have set,” said Steadman, who is an attorney. Under the bill, recordings of executive sessions would have been stored and would be made available through a court petition process. A judge would have listened to a recording upon a filer’s request and determine whether that information should be made public.

Capitol

The bill was a response to recent controversies over transparency issues involving school boards in Douglas and Jefferson Counties. The Douglas County School Board has been the subject of criticism over its use of executive sessions. The conservative board has pushed for controversial reforms, including those that would limit the influence of teachers’ unions. New conservative members of the Jefferson County Public Schools Board of Education have also received criticism over transparency issues. In December the three new members approved a lawyer’s contract without disclosing the terms during a public meeting. Potential misuse on the part of school board members is a concern that is shared by Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, the vice chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. But Newell said that although she would have voted the bill out of committee, she was torn over how she would ultimately vote once it got to the Senate floor. “I am a big transparency fan and I absolutely believe that there are potential misuses going on,” she said. “But it really is a tough bill.” Hodge said she is disappointed over the outcome of the bill, but said she expects this effort to be taken up again next year. “I think it’s an important issue,” Hodge said. “I think transparency should always be paramount.”


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