“The Little Newspaper with the Big Influence”
March 10th Volume 31 • Number 15 • March 7, 2013
www.villagerpublishing.com
Since 1982 303-773-8313 • Published every Thursday
What’s Inside
Page 6
IKEA Centennial defends horse meat meatball scandal
Page 13
DCPA Saturday Night Alive an energetic smash hit
Food is the star at Hollywood Theaters Page 19
Granting 2 special wishes
Don’t Miss:
accused of dismembering • Man mother to stand trial Page 2 Romanoff stresses politics of • problem solving
•
On March 1, Cherry Creek High School students presented two checks totaling more than $16,000 to grant wishes to LeAnn Grayum through the Jeremy Bloom Foundation for seniors. Thlia Vigil, 4, (in stroller) had just returned the night before from her wish trip to Disney World granted by Make-A-Wish of Colorado. Photos by Tom Barry
Page 8 Marin District develops funding alternative for legal expenses Page 33
Index
Page 5..............................................Opinion Page 8.........................................Classifieds Pages 13-24....................................Fleurish Pages 25-31......................................Legals Page 32..............................................Sports Pages 33-34.........................................digs
TheVillagerNewspaper @VillagerDenver
Creek raises $16K for Make-A-Wish and Wish of a Lifetime
By Tom Barry On March 1, Cherry Creek High School staged a pep rally akin to a three-ring circus that would have made Barnum and Bailey proud. There were literally different events going on throughout the hour. The rally was a culmination of the fourth annual Wish Week where students attempt to raise funds through donations for the
Make-A-Wish of Colorado for kids and the Jeremy Bloom Foundation for seniors. The afternoon began by Creek’s band pumping up the students and faculty with a lively melody. One of last year’s recipients, John Thompson, was escorted by Carly Weiner, a senior on the pom squad. He smiled proudly as he danced briefly to the background music while stu-
Regards for Broadway? Business district and its critics race the final mile
By Peter Jones Jon Cook knows virtually every inch of South Broadway in Englewood. “I have been working there almost all of my life,” he said. “When I was 12 years old, I was washing cars in a car lot on South Broadway.” The 62-year-old businessman no longer scrubs hoods for a living. In recent decades, he has been more likely to own the car dealers’ properties. Over the years, Cook has accumulated a significant assortment of the buildings and lots that stretch along South Broadway between Yale and Hampden avenues. Although Cook hesitates to say how many properties he owns, others in the neighborhood have estimated his ownership to be as much as 40 percent of what has been designated Englewood’s “South Broadway Mile.” “I’ve seen many changes to Continued on page 4
Critics of South Broadway BID have petitioned the City Council to dissolve the taxsupported entity.
Photo by Peter Jones
I’m against taxing hard-working people and having a party with it. That’s shameful.
– Jon Cook, Englewood property owner
dents cheered. His wish was to see his family back East, as it had been awhile. The afternoon’s masters of ceremony were Elena Shaw and Cole Gendleman, both seniors, who introduced the acts and kept the colorful activities flowing. Student organizers brought four large exercise balls to the center court of the gym. The objective
was to have four blindfolded volunteers attempting to play musical chairs with exercise balls. While all of these activities were going on, hairstylists Caitlin Hessek and Margaret Griffiths from Aveda Academy Denver – Pure Talent Salons in Downtown Denver volunteered their expertise. They came to shave the heads of several boys and to clip the longer hair of the girls who donated to Locks of Love. “I was just ready for a change and thought it was a good idea to donate my hair,” said Cassie Continued on page 2
Holmes’s attorneys seek clarification on insanity defense
District have not said if By Peter Jones Attorneys for the acthey plan to seek the death cused Aurora theater shooter penalty against Holmes, may be poised for an insanwho faces multiple first-deity defense if they get the gree murder and attemptedclarification they desire from murder charges for killing the judge. 12 people and wounding James In a series of motions, 58 in a July 20 rampage at public defenders for James Holmes Aurora’s Century 21 theHolmes have challenged the con- aters. The District Attorney’s Ofstitutionality of Colorado’s laws fice must make its announcement on insanity pleas. The attorneys within three months after Holmes have questioned whether the state’s enters a plea. requirements effectively violate a Defendants who plead not guilty defendant’s 5th Amendment rights by reason of insanity must undergo against self-incrimination. They an evaluation by a court-appointed have also argued that the laws offer less protection in death-penalty psychiatrist. By state law, defencases than for those facing prison dants must cooperate or risk having their refusal used against them in sentences. Holmes is scheduled to enter the courtroom. Among other issues, Holmes’s his plea March 12, but his defense attorneys say their client will be attorneys have asked whether their unable to make a decision without client would be forced to talk to a psychiatrist about the facts of the clarification from the judge. The recent filings are expected case and whether he would be forcto significantly delay the case, ibly medicated. They also asked which has already been underway whether prosecutors would be able with various court proceedings for to use evidence from the evaluation against him if he withdrew an insanmore than six months. Prosecutors in the 18th Judicial ity plea.