April 10, 2014
50 cents Jefferson County, Colorado | Volume 30, Issue 41 A publication of
wheatridgetranscript.com
Pot task force turns to public for input Citizens share their thoughts on recreational pot in Golden By Amy Woodward
awoodward@colorado communitymedia.com
“If you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends.” This quote from Cameron Crowe’s 2000 film “Almost Famous” is the perfect summation of the vibe that Angelo’s CDs and More has been bringing to Wheat Ridge for 30 years. During its time — the store was Budget CDs and Tapes for more than 20 years before being bought by local chain Angelo’s in 2005 — the store, 3350 Youngfield St., has provided vinyl, tapes, CDs, DVDs and more for music fans in the area. While vinyl seemed like it was on the way out decades ago — and the independent record store along with it — recently it has seen a major resurgence, thanks in part to events like Record Store Day. “Record Store Day started in 2008, and has always been the third Saturday of April,” store manager Tony McComis said. “During the day there are exclusive titles — some on CD, but most on vinyl — that customers can only get at independent record stores.” This year Record Store Day will be on April 19, and will kick off a full weekend of rare releases and sales. According to McComis, and Angelo’s
The city of Golden’s A64 Task Force held a public meeting on April 1 to receive feedback and hear recommendations from citizens on whether to allow recreational marijuana within city limits. A turnout of 40 or more people sat in council chambers at City Hall to hear arguments from both supporters and opponents on recreational pot. Most supporters for retail marijuana who spoke at the meeting came from a medical marijuana background in which they either cultivated plants or owned stores. Other speakers were neutral on the topic recommending the A64 Task Force to look into restricted signage for retail businesses. But tax revenue was the premise for supporting arguments with speakers relaying the $3.5 million the state of Colorado received from pot revenue in January earlier this year. “This is a gold rush,” Golden resident Barbara Harvey said. “This is going to augment our tourist economy and its going to augment our revenue where we will have money to do some great things for Golden.” Still, less than a handful of attendees who chose to speak, were against the idea of allowing recreational marijuana stores in Golden citing concerns over children’s health and safety. “My main concern is access to youth,” said Su Niedringhaus, golden resident and former health educator for young students. “I just want us to really consider how this might affect the youth population, it’s a great point that it’s around money, who doesn’t want to see more money coming into our community, but I’m just not sure it’s worth the possibility of sacrificing our kid’s health.” After the passing of Amendment 64, most cities throughout Colorado, including Golden, placed a temporary moratorium on recreational marijuana businesses. Currently, unincorporated Jefferson County, along with neighboring communities of Arvada and Lakewood have moratoriums or bans on commercial pot operations, though Wheat Ridge has not. In lieu of making a decision solely on Golden city staff findings, council appointed nine members to the A64 Task Force whose backgrounds ran from legal to human and health services to representing local businesses and citizens. Their duty is to research the many aspects and impacts of retail marijuana and issue recommendations which will be submitted to council in a packet filled with public input and task force findings. The A64 task force will release recommendations to council which will be available for public view on April 24. Council will officially hold a formal public hearing on recreational marijuana on June 5. Council will make the final ruling on retail marijuana choosing from several options such as allowing and regulating recreational pot shops, prohibiting shops or deferring their decision to continue to
Record continues on Page 14
Pot continues on Page 14
Photos by Clarke Reader
Angelo’s CDs hosts Record Store Day events annually By Clarke Reader
creader@ coloradocommunitymedia.com
Angelo’s CDs has an ever-growing vinyl collection. Events like Record Store Day highlight the local record store scene. POSTAL ADDRESS
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