VOLUME 36 | ISSUE 33
WEEK OF AUGUST 15, 2024
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New suit Parents share mixed reactions on an earlier back-to-school at Adams 14 targets Suncor Earthjustice is suing Suncor on behalf of community groups
• Vestas to lay off 200 employees •27J Schools moves online-only Dec. 1
Carmona said that she didn’t believe parents were given a clear explanation for the earlier start date, which felt unexpectedly sprung on them. She also brought up the Thursday “late start” schedule, which works for her but might cause issues for other parents. In Alsup’s delayed start on Thursdays, school begins at 10:30 a.m. While the delay is intended to provide teachers with necessary planning time, it’s created a logistical challenge for many working parents who can’t find transportation or child care, especially if their children are too young to stay home alone in the morning and take the bus later.
Commerce City has been pummeled so long by toxins spewed by local energy companies — including Suncor Energy — that some residents have almost grown used to the bad water and air that surround them every day, City Councilor Renee M. Chacon said this week. Chacon hopes a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court this week will make Suncor answer for its environmental abuses. The suit asks a federal judge to force the Suncor refinery to comply with the Clean Air Act, mitigate and offset harm done to the public for violating the federal law and assess fines for each violation of the Clean Air Act up to $121,275 per day. The lawsuit lists 28 specific claims against Suncor and claims that “Suncor consistently and continuously violates the air pollution limits imposed by regulations and conditions of its air permits.” Chacon said in a news release that fines may not be a big enough punishment for Suncor. “Commerce City has been the sacrifice zone for corporations like Suncor for so long, the abuse to my community has been normalized and even expected to happen for Colorado’s economy,” said Chacon, who is also a member of the activist group GreenLatinos. “No more normalizing this level of cumulative pollution for any community, Suncor should be prosecuted for more than just fines, especially in a state that has acknowledged environmental justice should be a human right to access clean air, land, water, and a better quality of life for all.”
SEE REACTIONS, P9
SEE SUNCOR, P9
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BUSINESS LOCAL
BY MONTE WHALEY MWHALEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Gov. Jared Polis visited Dupont Elementary on Aug. 6 to announce a program to help provide teachers with classroom resources. COURTESY ADAMS 14 Go to Donorschoose.org for more information.
BY LONDON LYLE SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
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LOCAL OBITUARIES LEGALS CLASSIFIED
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
The early August start for the Adams 14 School District wasn’t a misprint of the calendar, but instead a move to enact a state-mandated plan to increase the number of academic instruction hours. Two years ago, Adams 14 narrowly avoided school closures by committing to a comprehensive improvement plan, including improving students’ reading levels, increasing attendance, raising high school graduation rates, and boosting CMAS scores. To meet these goals, schools in the district, including Alsup Elementary, adjusted their schedules to start earlier in August and end later in May. Regular school days are also
slightly longer, which allows holiday breaks to be preserved. Alexander Rivas, a senior at Lester Arnold High School, has a little sister who attends Alsup and was waiting for her to be released on a summer afternoon earlier this week. He sees the earlier start date as a positive change: the sooner school starts, the sooner summer begins, he said. Not all parents and guardians who were waiting outside of Alsup shared the same enthusiasm. Local business owner and mother Colleen “Vianney” Carmona expressed her frustration with the schedule change. “I’d rather school start a little bit later in the month, like maybe two weeks after now, say, mid-August,” she said.
OBITUARIES: PAGE 5 | CLASSIFIEDS: PAGE 12 | LEGAL: PAGE 14
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BRIGHT FUTURE
Adams 14 CFO discusses prospects
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