Brighton Standard Blade 021623 by Colorado Community Media

STANDARD BLADE B R I G H T O N

SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1903

75cI

VOLUME 120

Issue 07

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 16, 2023

Eagle Ridge eyes upcoming playoffs Kent Denver takes win from Warriors, but confidence is high BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Even though Eagle Ridge’s boys’ basketball had some trouble down the stretch against Kent Denver on Feb. 9 – the Sundevils won the game 76-70 – the Warriors appear ready to march into the playoffs and exceed the results from a year ago. ERA advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in school history. The team takes a 14-4 mark (6-3 in the class 3A/4A Metropolitan League through Feb. 9) into the last week of the regular season. The state tournament begins Wednesday, Feb. 22. “It’s going to show us what a playoff game feels like,” said guard Peyton Torres. “Every loose ball matters. Every rebound matters. It shows us where we need to improve. We need to have great help defense.” The two teams stayed between six and eight points of one another through most of the contest. The Sun Devils took advantage of some Warriors’ mistakes to pull away in the last two minutes. “We went up big in the third

Searching for answers BY JOSHUA PERRY THE COLORADO SUN

residential areas in the northern Front Range. Most, including Erie, Lafayette, Northglenn, Thornton and Westminster, have the same 25-miles-per-hour limit. “We have one neighbor that has a limit of 20 miles-per-hour, and that’s Boulder,” Montoya said. Councilors approved the change by a 6-1 vote, with Councilor Matt Johnston opposed. Johnston said there were better ways to slow down traffic. A second reading is set for

Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission on Feb. 8 discussed addressing bill price hikes in response to Gov. Jared Polis’s utility cost-reduction directive, but it isn’t clear what the first steps will be. Chairman Eric Blank said that the PUC has been tasked with a wide range of objectives to ease an affordability crisis that made consumers’ utility bills 52% higher on average in December. Some consumers saw their bills double or even triple. “Among other things, the governor has asked us to identify ways to support customers in the most dire circumstances, improve access to and the capacity of the bill assistance program, find ways to incentivize utilities to reduce customer costs, analyze approaches for limiting bill spikes, and to expand public engagement on these issues before the end PUC,” he said. Blank said he didn’t know how the PUC would take action on this directive right now, but they would continue addressing affordability in the coming weeks. One way the PUC can make progress is driving down base rates, Commissioner Megan Gilman said. Under the current rules, a utility seeking to add new infrastructure, such as transmission lines or a power plant, must first convince PUC regulators that it is necessary. If PUC agrees, it issues a certificate of public convenience

SEE ROADS, P3

SEE RELIEF, P18

Eagle Ridge’s Hunter Hill finishes a first-half dunk against Kent Denver Feb. 9 in BrighPHOTO BY STEVE SMITH ton.

SEE PLAYOFFS, P14

Brighton slowing residential roads City Council favors five mile-per-hour drop for some streets BY SCOTT TAYLOR STAYLOR@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Brighton’s residential streets will get slower speed limits, dropping from 30 miles per hour to 25, City Councilors agreed Feb. 7. “This is an initiative amongst a lot

of different communities, from Vision Zero nationwide,” said Christopher Montoya, Brighton’s assistant director of public works. Vision Zero is an international effort to reduce traffic deaths to zero that started in Sweden in the 1990s. It encourages local and state governments to prioritize road planning and policies that make road travel safer for all manners of traffic, from bicycles and pedestrians to cars. Montoya noted that only Brighton and Commerce City allow speed limits above 25 miles per hour in

LOCAL OBITUARIES VOICES CLASSIFIEDS LEGALS

PUC responds to Polis’ call for utility relief

LOCAL

2 • Brighton boy gets his 5 Make-a-Wish drearm 6 20 • Page 3 22

CULTURE • Newspaper looks at its racial history

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