Carriage Place fence ballot issue approved

A controversial ballot issue regarding a neighborhood fence will make its way to the voters in November, after the city council voted to end months of debate and discussion and move the issue forward.

The city council voted 9 to 1 to send a ballot question that would implement a General Improvement District at Aurora's Carriage Place neighborhood in order to fund a new masonry fence.

The decision came after months of debate between Carriage Place residents, with supporters pointing to the positive effect of such a structure on local property values and detractors decrying the rise in property taxes.

The council's decision came following an advisory opinion issued by a hearing officer hired by the city, one that supported the petition process behind the measure.

Local 'So You Can Dance' contestant honored

The city council has formally recognized the achievements of Kayla Radomski, who came earned second place on the television show "So You Think You Can Dance."

Radomski, who is in New Jersey, was unable to attend, but her grandparents were on hand to formally accept the recognition from the Aurora City Council.

"We are so, so proud of her," said Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer.

Towing legislation declared a "non-item"

Following an update from City Attorney Charlie Richardson regarding a measure that would have forced police officers to tow the vehicles of unlicensed drivers, the Aurora City Council agreed to leave it as a "non-item" that would not require any formal action.

"(The hearing officer) ruled to invalidate the certificate of sufficiency," Richardson said in regards to a decision by a retired district court judge last Friday. "Therefore, there is no action to be taken tonight. It cannot be forwarded to the ballot."

City Council Session -- Aug. 17

Tonight's Aurora City Council meeting is scheduled to feature the next decision in the controversial Carriage Place fence issue, a question that would create a new taxing district in one local neighborhood to establish a new brick masonry fence.

 The General Improvement District in question would fund a new masonry fence for the area, a structure planned to run more than 2,200 linear feet and to cost about $1.19 million, according to the city’s estimates.
In recent months, the question has become a hotly contested issue in the neighborhood, with supporters saying that the structure would add to the neighborhood’s property values and critics blasting the petition process behind the initiative, claiming that signatures were illegally dropped.

Tonight's session will also include an update on a proposed impound law, one that would have forced police to tow vehicles driven by unlicensed drivers. Last week, a judge put the measure on hold, ruling that a petition associated with the measure was invalid due to the failure to include the complete text of the suggested measure.

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.