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Week of September 8, 2022
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
EnglewoodHerald.net
VOLUME 102 | ISSUE 30
Eatery finding its footing The Hungry Gene Cafe began as Brad B Jammin’ PB&J Cafe BY RACHEL LORENZ SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Tucked behind a car dealership on South Broadway, first-time restaurateur Gene Hill is ushering a Littleton cafe through an “identity crisis.” Originally billed as Brad B Jammin’ PB&J Cafe, the sandwich shop and retail space is expanding its menu, extending its hours and changing its name. “We are doing a lot, but growth has got to happen here,” said Hill, who hopes the eatery will, in time, become an important part of the community. Besides classic peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, the cafe now offers an Elvis-inspired peanut butter and bacon sandwich, a Hot Pocketstyle Nutella “squishwich” and two different chicken, nut-butter and jam sandwiches. “I became committed to elevating the PB&J,” Hill said. “And so I started creating a menu that incorporates jam. I’m committed to using jam in everything we do.”
Some say it is not enough BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Brad B Jammin’s PB&J Cafe in Littleton is getting new menu items and a new name. PHOTO COURTESY OF HUNGRY GENE
SEE CAFE, P4
Coordinated efforts work to improve Hampden Avenue Study costs $1.4 million BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
As an Englewood resident, Jennifer Bartlett drives on Hampden Avenue, also known as U.S. 285, almost every day — a highway she
Biden’s student debt relief plan met with mixed reactions
says really needs to be fixed. “Not only is it (driving) through, but crossing, and I find that it’s a real barrier. There is more to Englewood on the other side of Hampden, and you just, you don’t even bother crossing it on foot,” Bartlett said. After discovering there is an ongoing study of a 6.3-mile stretch
of Hampden Avenue, she decided to attend the Aug. 30 open house at Englewood High School, which offered the chance to learn about, and offer feedback on, the nearly $1.4 million study. The 12-month study, named the “Hampden Ave. Mobility & Safety SEE STUDY, P31
Following the Biden administration’s Aug. 24 announcement of a sweeping plan to reform the student loan process for millions of federal borrowers, local educators said they see both benefits and challenges lying ahead. The proposal, one of Joe Biden’s chief promises during his 2020 presidential election campaign, could eliminate student debt entirely for nearly half of all borrowers, according to an analysis by the education department, which estimates 43 million Americans have federal student loans. It seeks to do this by forgiving $10,000 of federal debt for all borrowers making no more than $75,000 per year — and no more than $250,000 for married couples — and up to $20,000 for borrowers who receive Pell Grants. It will also cap monthly payments at 5% of a borrower’s income and eliminate accrued interest for borrowers making monthly payments, even when that payment is $0. Taken together, these reforms could make it easier and faster for the bulk of students to pay off their debt, educators said. “This is going to make that burden less severe,” said Ariel Mendez, director of financial aid at Arapahoe Community College. “This is a step, it’s not everything, but it’s definitely a step.” Since Biden unveiled the plan, Mendez has been fielding calls from SEE LOANS, P6
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INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 36
HEALTH FALL 2022
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