LITTLETON 2/28/13
February 28, 2013
Arapahoe County, Colorado • Volume 124, Issue 6
75 cents
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourlittletonnews.com
Littleton pot-shop policies must wait City council decides to keep out marijuana establishments until Oct. 1 By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@ourcoloradonews.com
Denver Cutthroats center Gabe Gauthier autographs a team roster for Duke Avery of Highlands Ranch. Gauthier and fellow Cutthroats player Ben Wilson were on the ice with the Littleton Bantam Sabres at the South Suburban Family Sports Center in Centennial. The Feb. 19 event was designed to highlight hockey’s popularity in the community.
CHILLIN’ WITH THE PROS
Anyone itching to capitalize on pot in Littleton is going to have to wait to scratch. City council on Feb.19 passed a temporary moratorium on marijuana establishments, effective until Oct. 1 — the date by which state law allows municipalities to adopt regulations if the state fails to come up with its own. Councilor Jerry Valdes cast the only no vote, worried about usurping the rights of the voters who passed Amendment 64, which legalized marijuana for adults, in small amounts, for recreational use. “Did we put a moratorium on alcohol when it was being discussed it was going to be more available?” he asked. “For some reason, I think just because it’s marijuana, we’re reacting this way.” Councilor Jim Taylor agreed in principle. “I think marijuana ought to be legalized and then tax the hell out of it,” he said. But he’s concerned about pot clubs, where people could gather and smoke their Marijuana continues on Page 27
PHOTOS BY DEBORAH GRIGSBY Members of the Bantam Sabres, a Littleton youth hockey team, got to hit the ice with Denver Cutthroats centers Gabe Gauthier and Ben Wilson. The special exhibition event on Feb. 19 at the Family Sports Center in Centennial was a treat for kids and parents alike. In addition to sharing a few game-winning pointers, Gauthier and Wilson posed for photos and signed autographs. The event was designed to celebrate youth hockey and to demonstrate its popularity within the community. Players scamble for the puck at the Family Sports Center in Centennial. Members of the Denver Cutthroats pro hockey team were on hand to give tips to players and to celebrate youth hockey.
Coffman introduces targeted spending bill Across-the-board cuts viewed as a threat to national defense By Deborah Grigsby
dgrigsby@ourcoloradonews.com Just days before federal sequestration could begin, U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman introduced a bill that would stop automatic across-the-board spending cuts targeting the nation’s military. Coffman, a combat veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee, introduced HR 804 in Washington Feb. 25 and said his plan of directed cuts will reduce costs by $500 billion over the next POSTAL ADDRESS
decade, but not compromise defense capabilities. “Our country deserves better than sequestration,” Coffman said in a press statement. “Sequestration will jeopardize our national security and hurt our military personnel, their families and our veterans.” Owen Loftus, a spokesman for the congressman, said the bill is essentially a Coffman replacement for the broadbrush cut in defense spending only. “Rep. Coffman agrees there needs to be cuts in federal spending, but there are better ways of doing it without jeopardizing
military capability, Loftus said. Sequestration is part of the Budget Control Act of 2011 deal, which traded increases to the nation’s debt limit in exchange for spending cuts to reduce the deficit. Although the intent was to have acrossthe-board cuts divided equally between defense and nondefense discretionary spending, it served only as a placeholder until Congress could come up with an alternative plan to reach the same deficit reduction goal. Congress failed to come up with an alternative before the end of last year, and only could agree on a two-month delay that expires at the beginning of March. Now, under the sequester, the Defense Department faces more than $500 billion in Coffman continues on Page 27
LITTLETON INDEPENDENT (ISSN 1058-7837) (USPS 315-780) OFFICE: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Englewood, Colorado, the Littleton Independent is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 DEADLINES: Display advertising: Thurs. 11 a.m. Legal advertising: Thurs. 11 a.m. Classified advertising: Mon. 12 p.m.
CCM claims 95 awards Two papers earn major honors at state press association event Staff report Colorado Community Media won 95 awards, including 38 first-place honors, in the Colorado Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest. Winners of the annual contest were announced at a ceremony in downtown Denver on Feb. 23. CCM papers claimed a pair of special honors among the tally. The Golden Transcript won the Sweepstakes award for editorial excellence in Class 4. The Douglas County News-Press did likewise on the advertising side in Class 1. The awards ceremony came a year into the CCM venture, which brought together
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Awards continues on Page 8
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