Sentinel Lakewood
December 13, 2012
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourlakewoodnews.com
Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 89, Issue 19
Zoning update narrowly passes
HONORED
Council try to find balance in change By Clarke Reader
creader@ourcoloradonews.com
August Mayer is one of 44 veterans currently living at Lakeview Senior Living Center who were honored by the center’s Veteran’s Club on Veteran’s Day, Nov. 12. Mayer served as a weather forecaster for the Navy during World War II and received the Presidential Unit Citation for his unit’s capture of a German U-Boat off the coast of West French Africa on June 4, 1944. Photo by Lakeview Senior Living Center
Angela Astie, left, accepts her award as best director in “A View From the Bridge” at The Edge Theatre Company second annual Edgy Awards Dec. 3 in Lakewood. Kirsten Brant, center, accepts her award for best actress as Emily Bridges in “A Small Fire”. Right, Paul Page accepts his award for best actor as Shelley Levene in “Glengarry Glen Ross” . Photos by Andy Carpenean
Honoring excellence in theater Evening a chance to celebrate past year, look forward By Clarke Reader
creader@ourcoloradonews.com Awards season is just getting started in Hollywood, but The Edge Theater celebrated another season with its second annual Edgy Awards on Dec. 3. Awards were given out for acting, set and sound design, and best productions, but the clear winner of the evening was the theater itself, which celebrated its second successful season, while looking to the future. “I want to take the time to thank everyone who contributed to The Edge this year, and what a year,” said executive producer and artistic director Rick Yaconis, at the beginning of the evening. “We had 135 voters this year, from season ticket holders, Henry board members and members of the Edge’s board. Last year we had around 70 voters.” One of the most successful things about The Edge is the community it has built, for actors, designers and playwrights, and that sentiment was shared by almost all of the winners of the evening’s awards. Rebecca Morphis, winner of the best supporting actress award for her portrayal of Catherine in “A View From the Bridge,”
said that she was new to Denver and has been embraced by The Edge community. “I was new and this has become my family,” she said after winning. Paul Paige, who won the best actor award for the role of Shelley Levene in “Glengarry Glen Ross,” echoed those feelings, saying that he had not felt “so welcomed and taken in by a theater company in my 25 years of working.” The theater was also complimented for the roots it has set down in the community, which Yaconis hopes to augment in 2013. The theater will be moving to a new location early in the year, Yaconis said the goal is to move to a space closer to the 40 West Art District, so it can be at the new center of Lakewood’s art scene. “Our goals in 2013 are to enhance our board, enhance our staff and move to this bigger location,” Yaconis said. Angela Astle, who won best director for “A View from the Bridge” and runs the theater’s On Your Feet Program, which develops local playwrights, summed up the evening the best. “I’m so grateful that this place opened up, and so grateful so many of you have worked with me and trusted me,” she said.
THE 2012 EDGY AWARDS WINNERS BEST ACTOR: Paul Page, “Glengarry Glen Ross” BEST ACTRESS: Kirsten Brant, “A Small Fire” BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: James O’Hagan Murphy, “Glengarry Glen Ross” and Stephen Siebert,” A View From the Bridge” BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Rebecca Morphis, “A
View From the Bridge”
BEST SET: Kelly Hasbrouck, “It’s Just Sex” BEST SOUND AND LIGHTS: Alex Ruhlin, “boom” BEST ENSEMBLE: The cast of “Glengarry Glenn Ross” BEST DIRECTOR: Angela Astle , “A View From the
Bridge”
BEST OVERALL PRODUCTION: “A View From the
Bridge”
BEST CAMEO: Chip Winn Wells, “A View From The
Bridge”
BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE: Brock Benson,
“It’s Just Sex”
OVERALL CONTRIBUTION TO THE THEATER:
Lakewood City Council approved the updated zoning ordinance during the Dec. 10 regular council meeting with a 7-3 vote. Opposing votes were cast by councilmen Pete Roybal, Ward 3, and David Wiechman, Ward 4, and Ward 1 councilwoman Ramey Johnson. The vote came after more than three-and-a-half hours of public testimony and more than an hour of debate and proposed changes by council members. “Nothing on this level of complication is going to be perfect, but this is a very important step forward,” said Ward 1 councilwoman Karen Kellen. “Things about this document will have to change over time, but I think we have the big issues right.” Residents from all over Lakewood came to voice their support and opposition to some of the changes proposed in the new ordinance, including allowing residents to own goats and chickens in smaller and duplex lots with a special use permit. In the end council decided to allow the animals in these areas, despite motions that were made to ban the animals and defeated by a majority vote. Most residents who spoke approved of the zoning update as a whole, or in spirit, but had problems with specific areas, and a great many requested that council delay the vote to give people more time to familiarize themselves with all the consequences. Roybal made a motion that the vote to be delayed until April 8, with Wiechman’s support. “I’m concerned that we produce the best product possible,” he said. “We’re trying to build community, and we need to ask ourselves if we’re doing something that will generate confidence in the community or hurt it? I don’t want people saying that it was rushed through.” The motion was defeated because, according to its opponents, the project has already been in the works for more than three years, which is the result of several extensions. “The key issues continue to be the same, and to delay doesn’t buy us anything,” said Ward 2 councilwoman Cindy Baroway. “What we need to do is try to find a balance so we can all coexist in Lakewood.” When it came time to vote, Wiechman wanted to abstain because he said he still had some concerns, but the city charter does not allow for abstention in votes. Now that the zoning has passed, in February municipal code changes from the current code will be incorporated to the new zoning, and it will go into effect on April 1. “We’ve been monitoring the current code for years, and we’ll start monitoring this new code from day one,” said Travis Parker, director of the Planning Department. “The plan is to have a discussion in six months about any problems and changes that we’ll need to make.” For more information on the new zoning, visit www.lakewood.org.
Robert Kramer
For more information on The Edge, call 303-232-0363 or visit www.theeproject.org.
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