Metro Mayors Caucus: Push FasTracks tax question to 2010

If the Regional Transportation District is going to ask voters to approve a new tax to fund the rising cost of the FasTracks projects, they'd be better off waiting until 2010.

At least, that's the consensus at the Metro Mayors Caucus, the consortium of mayors of 37 cities and towns in the Denver metro area, including Aurora. According to sources at RTD, the body agreed unanimously that 2009 is not the right year for a ballot question regarding a new tax for the transit project.

Some have suggested that a tax question in an odd year would not be as likely to pass because of traditionally lower turnout numbers. What's more, having an extra year to campaign for a new tax could make a difference, especially considering the fact that RTD General Manager Cal Marsella, who is slated to leave his post in July, could take up the PR cause in his new role as a private citizen.

When voters first approved FasTracks in 2004, the project cost was estimated at about $4.7 billion. Rising costs in materials have pushed the price tag up to $7.9 billion, and RTD has cited a $2.2 billion shortfall for the project.

In March, the Metro Mayors Caucus said that RTD should ask the voters to approve a new tax so that all of the corridors are completed as originally planned. Failing a new tax, they said, the agency should seek a way to equitably share cuts across the entire project. 

Upcoming season at Shadow Theatre announced

As an avid follower of the theater scene in the city, yesterday's announcement spelling out their upcoming season came as an exciting precursor to the summer.

A full story regarding the announcement of the company's 13th season will be out this weekend, but in the meantime, here's a rundown of what the folks at the Shadow are planning to offer local culture enthusiasts during the coming months.

From a production of a piece by legendary playwright August Wilson to an onstage biography of jazz legend Nina Simone, Shadow's 2009/2010 season promises many thought-provoking and dynamic moments.

In the meantime, "Oscar and Felix," the penultimate production of the Shadow's 12th season, is set to premiere this coming weekend. The re-imagining of Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple" should prove an enjoyable cap to the company's first full season in Aurora.

• September 3 to October 7, 2009 - "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," written by August Wilson, directed by Jeffrey Nickelson.
• November 19 to December 20, 2009 - "The Christmas of the Angels," written by Michael Duran, directed by Richard Pegg.
• April 15 to March 13, 2010 - "A Song for Corretta," written by Pearle Cleage, directed by Ladi Crenshaw.
• April 15 to May 15, 2010 - "Simply Simone: The Music of Nina Simone," written by Robert Neblett and David Grapes, directed by Hugo Jon Sayles.
• June 17 to July 17, 2010 - "Blues For an Alabama Sky," written by Pearl Cleage, directed by Jeffrey Nickelson.
• August 5 to August 15, 2010 - Shadow Theatre Youth Ensemble presents "CRUNK" -- Celebrating Women, Mothers and Daughters. Original production, directed by Hugo Jon Sayles.

On the power of the press and the small scale of the world

Last week, I wrote a piece about my grandfather's experiences during World War II. It was a series of stories and anecdotes that were at times inspiring and at times horrifying, a narrative that saw my forebear escaping death too many times to count. 

It was a tale of survival that I'd heard piecemeal all of my life, one that I'd finally formalized in my head into one single narrative when I'd read Ivan Goldstein's memoirs titled "Hard to Forget, Harder to Remember."

The article drew positive feedback from a wide range of friends and contacts, including family members, city contacts and the subject of the story, my grandfather.

As I was compiling info and finishing interviews for the weekly edition on Monday, I received a call from Lee Tulper, the owner of a jewelry shop in Denver.

He claimed connections to my elders.

"I was the delivery boy in your great-grandmother's jewelry shop," he said. "My father, Isadore, was the watchmaker."

Lee went on to say that he had known my grandfather; indeed, he had enlisted in the military with him at Fort Morgan, and he had been in a fraternity with him at the University of Denver.

Morgan had his own stories from the war, tales that he only hinted at during our brief conversation. He had trained to serve in the Pacific, but, like my grandfather, had ended up serving in the European theater. He'd witnessed horrors of his own, having liberated a concentration camp at the end of the war.

Though Tulper said he'd seen my grandfather years ago during one of his yearly trips through Denver, Lee said that he hadn't known the details of my grandfather's experience during the war or of his fate after their time together in college.

It was seeing my story, and the attached picture, that would provide an update.

In an age of immediate gratification in the news industry, in a media environment that seems to encourage second-by-second updates and similarly ephemeral content, the experience was a boon.

Connecting one of my own grandfather's old friends via the power of print was a ray of hope in a profession that's had its share of grim news during the past year.

The power of old-fashioned print reporting hasn't been obliterated entirely, it seems.

Old Hire Police Pension board update

Councilman Bob Broom provided a brief update concerning the naming of a new board member for the Old Hire Police Pension board.

The board reviewed five candidates, and has chosen Ev Sequiera to fill the seventh slot.

Broom requested that a vote on a related ordinance, which would formally add a seventh member to the board, be delayed for further review.

Issue updates

Deborah Wallace -- Wallace and City Manager Ron Miller were recognized at North Middle School for the city's All American City designation; the school is sending a group to Washington.

Tauer - RTD requested signatures from the mayor for support for the East Corridor and the I-225 line. Tauer said that a signature of support for the East Line, which would serve parts of Aurora, could potentially be used to push 225 to the back burner. He said he will only sign his support for the 225 line, which would connect the  current terminus at Nine Mile to the East Corridor at I-70.

Discussion of whether to contribute $5,000 for the fireworks at the Arapahoe County Fair. Unanimous support to donate from the VPAB fund.

Tauer hints at future contingencies for a like donation next year.

Councilmembers Renie Peterson and Brad Pierce give updates from their trip to Portland, Ore. for the National League of Cities' Green Conference.

"We probably want to think about what we want to tell them about 2010," Tauer said. "One of the things that we may want to mention is that ... if we really want to do it next year, we probably need to tell Ron (Miller) to build it into the budget. Next year may be tighter than next year."

Study Session -- May 4

After two weeks off, the Aurora City Council is reconvening tonight for its regular meeting.

On the agenda tonight -- an update regarding a new seat on the Old Hire Police Pension Board, new appointments to the city's commissions and the awarding of a contract to construct a new playground near Murphy Creek.

Stay tuned for regular updates.