Serving the community since 1906
WEEK OF OCTOBER 24, 2024
VOLUME 117 | ISSUE 43
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Brighton celebrates its Japanese heritage Adams Issue 1A seeks to boost stock of housing Adams County faces crisis as renters pay 30% of their income on housing BY MONTE WHALEY MWHALEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Denver Buddhist Temple Minyo Kai Dancers performed traditional Japanese folk dances called Hanahasa from Yamagata Prefecture, the State of PHOTO BELEN WARD Colorado’s sister city in Japan.
First-ever Brighton Japanese American Festival honors a century of culture BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Brighton celebrated more than a century of its history on Oct. 12 as the community gathered in the arcade between the Brighton Armory and the Chamber of Commerce, filling it with traditional Japanese food, watching and participating in
Japanese folk dancing, and enjoying arts, history, vendors and entertainment. The Brighton Japanese American Association and sponsor Brighton City Museum hosted their first-ever Brighton Japanese American Festival, paying homage to the city’s Japanese culture. Kids also participated in face painting and crafts. The Adams County Historical Society and Museum hosted a Japanese American Heritage Days festival in 2016. Brighton City Museum Historic Preservation specialist Bill Armstrong said this is the first Japanese festival the museum has hosted, raising awareness of the heritage of Japanese Americans in Adams
County and Southern Weld County – especially Brighton. “We are bringing history to the community. The Japanese culture is deeper than you know,” Armstrong said. “It actually goes back to 1900, roughly when the Japanese left Japan after it changed and became a modern country during Emperor Meiji’s reign.” “Most of the Japanese people here, have profound roots in Adams County, going back generations, most of them were farmers and business owners,” he said. Several Japanese organizations exist in Brighton and statewide in Colorado. SEE HERITAGE, P7
Kroger’s CEO claims to not think about raising prices Prosecution case to block grocery merger rests, Kroger starts its defense BY TAMARA CHUANG THE COLORADO SUN
Testifying this week in Colorado’s antitrust trial to block the $24.6 billion supermarket megamerger, Kroger Co.’s CEO Rodney McMullen stuck to his
statement made to a local newspaper last year that yes, he’s never thought about how to raise prices. During the trial in Denver District Court, he shared simple responses to questions asked by Jason Slothouber, a senior prosecutor at the Colorado Attorney General’s office. No, he wasn’t familiar with a Kroger division that studied pricing and found they could raise prices at stores with little competition without losing shoppers. No, he wasn’t familiar with a group of eight City Markets put into a “mountain no comp
WESTMINSTER VOICES: PAGE 8 | OBITUARIES: PAGE 9 | CULTURE: PAGE10
zone,” where prices were raised. No, he didn’t know this zone was a big part of the state’s antitrust case. “Kroger has invested in lowering prices for the last 15 years,” he said. “Strategically every year, we would make decisions on continuing to lower relative pricing.” “In areas where there is competition?” Slothouber asked. “Across the country,” McMullen responded. SEE PRICES, P6
A ballot issue in Adams County will help close the growing gap between working families and the number of affordable homes available to them over the next 20 years, say housing and government officials. Ballot Issue 1A is meant to generate $22.2 million annually through a 0.15% sales tax increase to create 6,000 more affordable housing units over 20 years. Proponents say the new funds would not only boost new construction of homes but also improve existing homes. The new tax is a “small investment” of just 15 cents on a $100 purchase and will expand housing options for hardworking folks so we can bring down the cost of living,” according to Rocky Mountain Partnership, a group that advocates for educational attainment for children. “Right now, finding a place to live in Adams County has become unaffordable for many hardworking families in our community,” according to the partnership’s website. Having the freedom to afford a home is at the heart of a family’s security, opportunity, and well-being, the partnership states. The Adams County measure would help stabilize housing costs by building more starter homes, condos, and apartments, so working people can afford housing here, the partnership says. SEE HOUSING, P5
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