Page
BUSINESS
11
Kaiser opens expansive facility in style Several hundred people gathered to celebrate the ribbon cutting for the new Lone Tree expansive medical center.
Pages
FLEURISH
18-19
DAM Collectors’ Choice raises $715,000 for Western art Western art got a shot in the arm for the Denver Art Museum Dec. 5 when a sold out collection of long-time supporters attended.
Volume 32 • Number 03 • December 12, 2013
Page
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
30
‘Reclaim Your Brain’ plays Film Festival Flix Dec. 18 This film examines the possibility of conspiracy-driven TV rather than viewer ratings to explain mindless, trash programming.
www.villagerpublishing.com
303-773-8313 • Published every Thursday
Index
Page 5........................................Opinion Page 10.......................Service Directory Pages 13-22..............Holiday Gift Guide Pages 23-29................................Legals Page 31........................................School TheVillagerNewspaper
@VillagerDenver
Mountains of History I almost died twice on McKinley. I took a very bad fall and a Polish climber saved my life. If he hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be sitting here. - Fred Wolfe, author-climber
Fred Wolfe, author of High Summits, climbs Alaska’s Mount McKinley in 1994. Wolfe would soon suffer a near-fatal fall from the highest peak in North America
Photos courtesy of Fred Wolfe
High Summits: 370 Famous Peak First Ascents and Other Significant Events in Mountaineering History marks the 50th anniversary of the first successful U.S. ascent of Mount Everest
Cherry Hills climber chronicles mountaineering – continent by continent By Peter Jones “Because it’s there.” According to legend, that was George Leigh Mallory’s brusque response when someone asked him
why he wanted to climb Mount Everest. The quote’s authenticity may be as speculative as theories about whether Mallory ever completed his expedition. In 1924, the climber and his partner famously went missing during their heralded quest to ascend the world’s highest peak. Such unbridled spirit has similar altitude in the Wolfe family.
Cherry Hills Village’s Fred Wolfe, 66, has summited more than 400 peaks in seven countries on three continents. His father, Lawrence, an avid all-purpose athlete, shared much of the younger’s Wolfe’s passion – because it was there. “One of his clients asked him he wanted to go rock climbing one weekend,” Wolfe recalled. “My dad Continued on page 3
Englewood keeps ban on pot businesses Voters opposed ban in last election
By Peter Jones Englewood City Council has reached consensus that the city should keep its ban on recreational-marijuana businesses in place, at least for the time being. The move comes in spite of a recent nonbinding vote of the people that rejected the prohibition. The council’s 5-2 vote on Dec. 2 was in contrast to Question 2B, which the council placed on the ballot last month to gage voter opinion prior to taking further action on the matter. Voters rejected the ban by nearly 4 percentage points. At-large Councilman Steve
Yates, who voted with the majority of council in keeping the ban, says the action does not mean the moratorium will be permanent. He sees the ban as the first step toward eventually honoring the will of voters. “We need more information and we need to start setting the groundwork,” he said. “Let’s start working on the things that need to happen in order to make it an easy transition that is safe for the community and for the businesses themselves.” Such issues as taxation, regulations, zoning, density and potential crime will have to be carefully considered before Englewood allows recreational stores and production facilities, Yates said, noting the confusion that surrounded
the medical-marijuana facilities during the last decade. “The first three years, there was a lot of changing of policy, a lot of backtracking from the state and various organizations. This is really a fledgling industry,” said Yates, whose election campaign this year was centered on respecting the will of Englewood residents. Joining Yates in maintaining the ban were Councilmembers Linda Olson, Rick Gillit, Jill Wilson and Bob McCaslin, who questioned whether a 4-percentage point difference in the public vote was significant. Opposing the ban were Mayor Randy Penn and Councilman Joe Jefferson, who said the council should respect the will of the peo-
ple either way. “I think the voter intent is clear,” Jefferson said. “I’m not a huge advocate of recreationalmarijuana use, but I am a huge advocate of following through on the will of the people. I have extreme faith in the people’s ability to make decisions for themselves. I don’t think the intention of the voters is to have one of these on every corner, so I would be supportive of somewhat restrictive zoning.” As for Yates’s suggestion that the city needs more time before lifting its ban, Jefferson only buys that argument to an extent. “You do need to have some rules in place,” he said, “but I Continued on page 4