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Week of September 1, 2022
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
EnglewoodHerald.net
VOLUME 102 | ISSUE 29
Heralding national climate bill, young leaders push for local action Group partners with council BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The same day President Joe Biden signed into law the largest climate change bill in United States history,
a committee of young Littleton residents stood before their elected officials and urged swift environmental action. “We see climate change as something that we’re experiencing right now today,” said committee member Susie Lanners, 36, during the Aug. 16 city council meeting. “If we wait
too long it’s going to be too late. The city needs to take action now to secure the future of all generations of Littleton.” Lanners is one of 13 members of the Next Generation Advisory Committee — commissioned by city council to give residents aged 16 to 36 a voice in local government
— which recently unveiled a twopronged plan to fight climate change in Littleton. The proposal calls for city council to form a new citizen committee — which could eventually be expanded to a board — dedicated SEE CLIMATE, P22
Body cam footage still not released in police shooting Judge orders hold BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Denver’s present day-successes goes largely unnoticed. The City Ditch, an irrigation waterway that begins in what is now present-day Chatfield Reservoir, is by some historians’ accounts the “oldest working thing” in the modern metro area. Originally running 26 miles
More than a month has passed since Colorado Community Media requested release of body camera footage from Englewood police officers involved in a July 24 shooting that left one unarmed man dead. Matthew Neal Mitchell, 22, was shot and killed as police engaged in a shootout with his brother — 29-year-old Phillip L. Blankenship — who was arrested at the scene and charged July 29 with attempted first-degree murder. In an Aug. 5 ruling, Arapahoe County Court Judge Kelly Ann Lafave sided with Blankenship’s defense team, which requested the footage not be publicly released. “This motion is predicated on Mr. Blankenship’s state and federal constitutional rights to due process, and a fair and impartial trial by a fair and impartial jury,” wrote Megan A. Ring, a Colorado state public defender.
SEE DITCH, P12
SEE SHOOTING, P2
An open section of the 160-year-old City Ditch in Littleton. A plan from the City of Englewood would see sections of the ditch in both Littleton and Englewood covered. PHOTO BY ROBERT TANN
What to do with the ‘oldest working thing’ in Denver? Group looks to protect ditch BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The City of Denver has seen many incarnations, each carrying over into its next.
From mining town to bustling urban center of the high plains, the metropolitan area has transformed in its roughly 160 years as a city, with an expanding web of suburban communities creating a mosaic of character. But as the break-neck pace of growth continues to manifest in new businesses, towering buildings and expanding tourism, the instrument responsible for
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 28
SECOND HAND LOVE
Finding prizes at unique thrift shops P16