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Week of September 29, 2022
ADAMS & JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
WestminsterWindow.com
VOLUME 77 | ISSUE 49
Voting questions answered How to vote and more BY SANDRA FISH THE COLORADO SUN
Colorado Election Day is Nov. 8 with a U.S. Senate seat, eight congressional contests, races for four statewide offices, 100 state
legislative jobs, 11 ballot initiatives and more at stake at the county and local levels. As part of our 2022 election guide, we’re here to answer some questions about voting and how the election works. Let us know what other questions you have by filling out the form at the bottom of this article and we’ll do our
best to answer them. How do I register to vote? Colorado has automatic voter registration if you get a driver’s license or interact in some other way with state government. But you may also register online with a valid driver’s license, Colorado identification card or Social Security number.
Food access remains a problem in the south Westminster As chain grocers take turns, neighbors look new places to find staples BY LUKE ZARZECKI LZARZECKI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Beverly Bishop moved to Westminster about 40 years ago and since then, she’s seen changes throughout the city. Particularly, she’s watched big chain grocery stores in her community seem to come and go like a revolving door. In her neighborhood near 72nd and Federal stores like Walmart, Safeway, Rancho Liborio and King Soopers have all come and left. “Gradually all of that has changed and is either gone or morphed into something else, and I’m not sure all the changes have been positive for residents of the neighborhood,” she said. Westminster’s community survey showed that attitude. Presented at a June 18 City Council study session, results regarding the overall quality of life in the city only saw dissatisfied ratings from the southern portion of the city. Bishop said she sees growth and development in the northern area of Westminster leaving the southern portion behind. That’s a problem for those residents faced with no easy ways to purchase inex-
Is there a deadline to register? No. Coloradans may register in person or online to vote through Election Day. To receive a ballot in the mail, you must be registered by Oct. 31, and you will have to return it to a drop box or vote center. SEE ELECTION, P9
Job app maker sees no restaurant labor shortage Back-of-the-house jobs a tough fill BY TAMARA CHUANG THE COLORADO SUN
The location of where the Walmart used to be at 72nd and Federal Blvd.
pensive food for their families. “The southern and older section of town, for the most part, is where the lower income people live. We don’t have as much money to spend at grocery stores or other businesses and I guess that influences the big chain stores’ decisions to vacate the area,” she said. Few options Small mom-and-pop stores like Asian markets and mercados do exist within southern Westminster to provide healthy food and produce for area residents. As well, the Lao Market and Lowe’s Mercado do accept programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that Bishops says some area residents benefit from. Nobody agrees on why the bigger
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12 | CALENDAR: PAGE 15 | SPORTS: PAGE 22
PHOTO BY LUKE ZARZECKI
chains can’t survive in Westminster. Safeway Spokesperson Kris Staaf said the store wasn’t doing well financially. “For more than a year, we evaluated this store extensively and looked at options to improve its performance. Ultimately, our business analysis indicated that we needed to close the store. Like all retailers, we are constantly evaluating every aspect of our business and while closing this store was a difficult decision, we are focusing on growing our business and reinvesting those resources into remodeling our existing stores in Colorado,” he wrote in a statement. Rancho Liborio, a Californiabased chain of specialty grocers,
The way Diego Montemayor talks about Chamba, his Denver startup, makes one wonder why it didn’t exist before. Chamba is another job app, but, as with most startups, there’s a twist. Chamba launched a bilingual app in April 2020 that connects Spanishspeaking workers with the employers who need them. In late July, Chamba narrowed its focus to the restaurant industry. That seems like good timing if you’ve been paying attention to the restaurant staffing woes and how hard it’s been to find people, especially for jobs busing tables, in the kitchen and other nontipped “back-of-the-house” work. But Montemayor has a different perspective. “There’s not a labor shortage.
SEE FOOD, P5
SEE LABOR, P18
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