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Biden’s broken promise felt personal to Americans who could sympathize but think they wouldn’t dare
DAVE PERRY Editor
If you’re feeling like every time you look at the news you’re playing some kind of Bizzarro World game show, you’re probably wondering who, if anyone is winning.
The winners are clearly not Aurora, Americans, Democrats, Republicans or, really, anyone, anywhere.
I’m not talking about actual Aurora elected officials going on national TV and begging for ICE and military squads to invade the city and round up brown people without U.S. birth certificates. I’ll talk about that soon. No, I’m talking about the recent biggest loser.
No doubt the week’s biggest loser was President Joe Biden. Biden shocked everyone and no one when he broke the promise he made publicly over and over that, no matter what, he would not pardon his son Hunter Biden for his series of gun and tax crimes.
I think most caring, normal people with kids would immediately sympathize with Biden the dad, who just couldn’t bear to see his kid, albeit a 54-year-old kid, go to prison.
It’s unconditional love in real life. I’ve seen it dozens of times in courtrooms. There, heinous murderers being sentenced to prison or death hear their mom or dad on the stand beg a judge or jury for mercy for their child, no matter how incredible the crime.
If any parent with a kid in cuffs had the power of the pardon, I have little doubt everyone would use it. I would.
What’s pissed off so many people, including a growing list of prominent Democrats, is that Biden promised, over and over, that he would refuse to grant the pardon because no one, not even the president’s son, is above the law.
Had Joe Biden been sailing out of the White House soon, handing the oars over to anyone even just half as psychologically disturbed or corrupt as Donald Trump, the Hunter Pardon flap would have lasted through the news cycle for maybe a week.
But because Hunter’s case parallels Trump’s own legal foibles, and because Trump and his allies have already weaponized it for their own malevolent purposes, it was as if Biden tossed a pinned grenade straight to Trump. Worse yet, it’s as if Joe Biden turned tail and ran, leaving what’s left of the free world to fend for itself.
It felt personal in a way politics shouldn’t.
Quick to draw, Gov. Jared Polis struck out on social media seemingly minutes after the story broke, triggering an explosion of sad dads and mad-as-hell voters who feel betrayed by just another politician breaking just another promise.
“While as a father I certainly understand President Joe Biden’s natural desire to help his son by pardoning him,” Polis said in a post on the social media platform X, “I am disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country. This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation. When you be-
come President, your role is Pater familias of the nation. Hunter brought the legal trouble he faced on himself, and one can sympathize with his struggles while also acknowledging that no one is above the law, not a President and not a President’s son.”
The post has drawn widespread outrage both from Democrats and Republicans alike. Solid Dems cursed Polis for breaking ranks, just as the battle with Trump is reaching fever pitch. Republicans have taken umbrage with Polis, mostly for being Polis, but also for not going beyond Joe Biden’s blunder of pardon and just taking shots at Biden for anything and everything else.
Colorado Democrat Sen. Michael Bennet was more succinct in his criticism.
“President Biden’s decision put personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all,” Bennet posted on X.
The point is well taken. In theory, a rabid prosecutor has no chance to usurp justice because the judge, jury and the rules of trial provide for — drum roll, please — a fair trial of the facts and evidence.
Anything else is Donald Trump and Matt Gaetz and the parade of Trump sycophants claiming “lawfare” against the former president and a rigged court and jury system that delivered 34 felony counts against Trump earlier this year.
And if there were, by chance, courtroom shenanigans that deprived a defendant of a fair trial? The appeals court is supposed to be the final check and balance.
At least, that’s what the rest of the country has pushed back to Trump and his acolytes as they’ve claimed that all of his legal woes were nothing but political retribution for his being so disliked by Democrats.
Only a soulless sycophant would disagree that Republicans and the media gruesomely hounded Hunter Biden, tortured him unfairly and unrelentingly with rumors, lies, facts and fiction in a gleeful attempt to discredit his dad.
Tragically, Joe Biden pulverized his credibility and reputation far worse than the Hunter Biden faux scandals did.
In a perfect world, Hunter Biden would have told his dad not to issue the pardon, and that he would refuse it if he did. He could take his chances with the U.S. law just like everyone else. Just like Trump must. Because the one thing we will all be hoping for during the next few years is that, after Trump is finally done being president, we will still abide by the rule of law, and that no one is above it. Not the president nor former president. Not the president’s son, nor Trump’s militia of misfit anarchists.
Not anyone.
Follow @EditorDavePerry on BlueSky, Threads, Mastodon, Twitter and Facebook or reach him at 303-750-7555 or dperry@SentinelColorado.com
President Joe Biden speaks on the South Lawn of the White House during a ceremony to commemorate World AIDS Day with survivors, their families and advocates, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
A template for a temporary Colorado license plate, available online. Police call them “fictitious” license plates and ticketed several people of illegally using them last week.
Aurora police impound 6 cars on rst day of new tra c safety enforcement e ort
‘THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF THESE TYPES OF ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS’
BY CASSANDRA BALLARD, Sentinel Staff Writer
Ramping up traffic enforcement last week, Aurora police towed away six cars as part of a new Aurora law targeting motorists with no driver’s license, no car insurance and no valid car license plates.
“This is just the beginning of these types of enforcement operations,” Aurora Police spokesperson Agent Matthew Longshore said in an email.
Last month, Aurora Police announced they would begin cracking down on speeding, reckless driving and errant vehicle registration.
Police began the crackdown Nov. 26 on interstates 225 and 70
“While we focused mainly on the interstates today, we plan to expand to other major roadways in our city in the future,” Longshore said. “The operations won’t solely focus on registration violations but a combination of that and unsafe driving.”
The new ordinance, approved Sept. 23 by the Aurora City Council, requires impounding cars driven by motorists without a valid driver’s license, registration and insurance — a three-strike rule designed to increase compliance with driving rules and regulations.
Under the ordinance, officers will tow vehicles that meet these criteria, unless extreme weather or emergencies warrant discretion.
Vehicle owners have 30 days to retrieve their impounded cars by providing proof of a driver’s license, insurance and registration.
After 30 days, unclaimed vehicles will be auctioned.
The Aurora Police Department also recently introduced a long-term traffic enforcement initiative targeting unsafe driving behaviors like speeding, aggressive driving and license plate violations.
Here is what first full day of crackdown produced:
• 46 traffic tickets, 26 for registration violations, 13 for speeding, and seven for various other offenses
• Police confiscated seven fake “fictitious” license plates and issued scofflaws traffic tickets
• Six vehicles were towed, all cited as violating the city’s new “three-strike” ordinance
• Four people were arrested, all on outstanding warrants
“The fictitious plate was interesting,” Longshore wrote. “What makes it more obvious is that temp tags are valid for 60 days. That person would have to purchase that car on Dec. 19 for the tag to expire on Feb. 19. They’ve got a mandatory court appearance to explain their side of the story.”
The driver of a Honda CRV was clocked speeding at 105 mph, and ticketed.
“Quite the story the driver came up with, but they were still cited nonetheless,” Longshore wrote. Speeding more than 40 mph over the speed limit requires a court appearance and nets the driver a 12-point violation against their license.
The enforcement crackdown is not a shortterm operation, police officials said, underscoring its commitment to improving road safety, particularly during the holiday season when accidents tend to spike.
Aurora’s effort reflects growing concerns across the metro area over unlicensed and stolen vehicles.
It aims to encourage compliance with driving regulations and is cited by council members and the public during council meetings in September when proposing the new mandate.
A look at Colorado road safety for 2023
Colorado traffic fatalities in 2023
• Total fatalities statewide: 716 (6% decrease from 2022).
• Aurora traffic fatalities in 2023: 63
• Passenger vehicle deaths: 408 (12% decrease).
• Motorcycle deaths: 134 (10% decrease).
• Impaired driving deaths: 227 (21% decrease).
• Pedestrian deaths: 133 (16% increase).
• Bicycle deaths: 20 (33% increase).
• Construction zone deaths: 16 (60% increase).
• Distracted driving and lack of seat belt use contributed to over 200 fatalities.
• Speeding was a factor in 16% of fatal crashes.
• Impaired driving, often involving a mix of alcohol and other substances, remains a significant issue.
• Counties with the highest fatalities include El Paso (78), Denver (73), and Arapahoe (68).
• Denver, Aurora, and Colorado Springs reported the highest numbers of traffic-related deaths.
— Source: Colorado Department of Transportation
The camera shot of a radar gun that clocked an I-225 motorist of going 105 mph during an enforcement operation last week./Sentinel
Sentinel
AROUND AURORA
Aurora city lawmakers consider reducing plethora of boards and commissions
Aurora lawmakers are considering a plan to reduce the number of city boards and commissions, citing frequent vacancies as one justification for a reduction.
Under preliminary plans, the city could consolidate its 29 boards and commissions, which currently include 297 members.
During a Nov. 18 study session, council members discussed some ways to make the system more efficient without compromising citizen input.
City Manager Jason Batchelor highlighted that Aurora faces 56 current vacancies across its boards and commissions — nearly 20% of all positions. He said that while some boards have a quasi-judicial role in making decisions, others are purely advisory, as detailed by the city charter.
“The charter lays out that, unless specifically authorized, boards or commissions shall be advisory,” Batchelor said.
Mayor Mike Coffman and several council members expressed a need to review the current structure, calling it overly time-consuming for city staff and unwieldy.
Councilmember Alison Coombs suggested adopting models used by other cities, such as larger committees that meet quarterly, with subcommittees handling specific tasks in between.
The council tasked its Public Relations Committee with reviewing the boards and commissions. Staff will provide data on vacancies, meeting attendance and the time required to support each body.
Councilmember Curtis Gardner emphasized the importance of council involvement in shaping the changes.
“It’s the council’s job to make policy, not staff’s,” he said. “We want an honest opinion from staff, but the recommendations should come from the council committee,” he said.
The goal is to streamline the advisory structure while maintaining meaningful opportunities for public participation, Councilmember Françoise Bergan said.
“We don’t want to send the message that somebody’s board or commission is not important, but we don’t need all these different ones,” she said.
The Public Relations Committee will begin its review in the coming weeks and present recommendations to the full council.
— Cassandra Ballard, Sentinel Staff Writer
Protests continue after Aurora officer cleared in fatal shooting of Kilyn Lewis
Protests will continue at Aurora City Council meetings following the decision by the Aurora Police Department to clear Officer Michael Dieck in the fatal shooting of Kilyn Lewis, an unarmed Black man, during a May 23 arrest.
The Aurora Police Department’s Force Review Board supported the ruling, which follows a district attorney’s decision not to press charges. The shooting has sparked months of protests and criticism, highlighting ongoing tensions between law enforcement and the community, especially people of color.
Dieck was returned to duty earlier in the month, but did not return to the SWAT unit he was assigned to when he shot Lewis in an Aurora apartment parking lot. Dieck has been assigned to the police department’s Electronic Support Section, according to police. Lewis was wanted on a warrant to
face charges for first-degree attempted murder for shooting an unarmed man in Denver earlier this year in May. Police said Lewis was also connected to another shooting from inside his moving car.
Aurora police have for the past few years been targets for protests after several high-profile cases of city police abusing and sometimes killing people of color they come in contact with. The most high-profile was the death of Elijah McClain, an unarmed Black man stopped by police in 2019 as he was walking home from a convenience store.
Lewis’ family, activists and community members have been vocal in their criticism of how the police and city administrators have handled the shooting of Kilyn. Speaking at a council meeting Nov. 18, Keyron Lewis, Kilyn’s brother, expressed forgiveness but condemned the lack of accountability.
“This officer should have never got back on the force and should be serving (jail time),” he said.
The family called the decision “hollow and cruel” and said it widens the divide between the police and the community.
Activist MiDian Shofner criticized city council members for their silence and lack of engagement with the family.
“None of the council members have been intentional in reaching out to the family,” Shofner said. “If the council is going to continue to try to be silent, we are going to continue to demand that they speak up.”
Shofner emphasized that the movement for justice extends beyond this specific case.
“Kilyn has a legacy, and that’s something that does not slow down. It does not stop. It is a forever moment for us,” she said.
The decision to clear Dieck has reignited scrutiny of his past involvement in a controversial 2021 incident where excessive force was used on a suspect. Though Dieck’s actions were deemed “objectively reasonable” at the time, the case adds to community concerns about systemic issues within the department.
Protesters vowed to continue pressuring city leaders for action and reform.
“We are expecting leaders to lead differently because we’ve been here before,” Shofner said. “Now it’s time for us to see leaders who understand what it means to be impossible. We need impossible leadership right now.”
— Cassandra Ballard, Sentinel Staff Writer
COPS AND COURTS
2 men injured by gunfire at condo complex in east Aurora
Two men were shot and injured Nov. 29 when gunfire broke out in an east Aurora condominium complex, police said.
Police were called to the Foxdale Condominiums, 18400 block of East Kepner Place, at about 6:15 p.m. after multiple residents in the area called dispatchers to report gunfire, according to Aurora police spokesperson Agent Matthew Longshore.
The men were not identified by police, other than one is 20 years old and the other 18 years old.
When police arrived, they located one of the men in the area, who was seriously injured. He was transported to a nearby hospital, suffering life-threatening injuries.
“The other man self-transported to a local urgent care before being taken to the hospital with serious injuries,” Longshore said. “Detectives responded and have begun their investigation into the incident, but it does not appear that there are any outstanding suspects.”
—Sentinel Staff
Police ID man accused of firing at cops in apartment complex, then shot by officers
Aurora police offered new details Monday on a Nov. 29 officer-involved shooting that left an accused gunman injured after being shot in the arm by police.
Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said a great deal of police skill and “luck” prevented anyone from being gravely injured, any police officer from being hurt and keeping anyone from being killed during the melee in a central Aurora apartment parking lot.
Police dispatchers began getting multiple reports of gunfire at about 9:30 p.m. at the Sable Cove apartment complex at 900 South Dawson Way and officers were dispatched to the area.
“Officers contacted multiple people inside of an apartment complex who reported that a man was firing shots in the parking lot,” Aurora police spokesperson Matthew Longshore said in a statement last week.
Police said they encountered a man matching the description of witnesses, holding a gun, near South Sable Boulevard and East Kentucky Drive.
The man was later identified as Arnadin Varupa, 32, who lived in the complex with a girlfriend.
Chamberlain said during a Dec. 2 press conference that a preliminary investigation revealed that Varupa was involved in some kind of domestic dispute in his apartment before the shooting outside began.
Numerous police officers arrived and discovered the suspect near a bus stop in the complex.
“After giving this man multiple commands to drop the weapon, the suspect instead fired numerous rounds at the officers,” Longshore said.
Varupa was carrying a handgun with an extended magazine, holding numerous rounds. Police did not say if the magazine was considered illegal under state law.
At one point during the exchange of gunfire between police and Varupa, at least one officer shot through the windshield of a police car from inside the car, Chamberlain said.
Another police car was fired on while an officer was inside the car, Chamberlain said.
Despite a great deal of shooting and multiple officers on the scene, none of the officers were injured during the gunfire exchange.
Police said six officers were involved in the shooting, and all have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard police policy.
Varupa is currently being held in the Arapahoe County jail in lieu of $250,000 bond.
He faces five counts of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer, according to county jail records.
The Aurora police major crimes unit will investigate the shooting, as well as a Critical Incident Response Team, composed of outside police and district attorney agencies. The Aurora Police Internal Affairs unit also will investigate the shooting to determine if officers followed department policy and acted appropriately.
Chamberlain lauded the officers for their ability to essentially make a plan during a chaotic event that was critically dangerous to both the officers and everyone in the apartment community.
—Sentinel Staff
Hit-and-run crash into Aurora home creates havoc after gas leak
A hit-and-run vehicle crash late Nov. 25 resulted in extensive damage to a northwest Aurora house, a ruptured gas line, and the evacuation of nearby residences, according to Aurora Fire and Rescue officials.
The crash happened at about 9:45 p.m. near the intersection of Vaughn
and Uvalda streets in the Hoffman Heights neighborhood.
Fire officials said a sports utility vehicle veered off the road, slamming into a parked vehicle, which was then pushed through a wall and into the home.
The collision caused significant structural damage to the property and ruptured the home’s gas meter, leading to natural gas flowing uncontrolled into the house. The gas meter lacked a shutoff valve, increasing the risk of an explosion.
Residents inside the house were able to get out quickly, and there were no reported injuries.
“The driver of the SUV fled the scene before authorities arrived,” fire officials said in a social media post.”The Aurora Police Department is investigating the crash and seeking information about the driver.”
Because of the extensive gas leak into the home, nearby houses were also evacuated until the gas was turned off and the house determined to no longer be at risk of exploding.
A utility emergency response team worked to stop the gas leak. Fire crews assisted by cutting through concrete and digging near the curb to access the ruptured gas line.
The American Red Cross has offered support to the displaced family, who could not return home due to the severity of the damage.
Police are asking that anyone with information about the SUV driver is to contact the Aurora Police Department.
— Sentinel Staff
BEYOND AURORA
Polis, Bennet and other Dems frustrated over Biden pardoning Hunter Already reeling from their November defeats, Democrats now are grappling with President Joe Biden’s pardoning of his son for federal crimes, with some calling the move misguided and unwise after the party spent years slamming Donald Trump as a threat to democracy who disregarded the law.
The president pardoned Hunter Biden late Sunday evening, reversing his previous pledges with a grant of clemency that covers more than a decade of any federal crimes his son might have committed. The 82-yearold president said in a statement that his son’s prosecution on charges of tax evasion and falsifying a federal weapons purchase form were politically motivated.
“He believes in the justice system, but he also believes that politics infected the process and led to a miscarriage of justice,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who along with Biden and other White House officials insisted for months that Hunter Biden would not get a pardon.
That explanation did not satisfy some Democrats, angry that Biden’s reversal could make it harder to take on Trump, who has argued that multiple indictments and one conviction against him were a matter of Biden and Democrats turning the justice system against him.
“This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis wrote of Biden on the social media platform X.
“When you become President, your role is Pater familias of the nation,” the governor continued, a reference to the president invoking fatherhood in explaining his decision. “Hunter brought the legal trouble he faced on himself, and one can sympathize with his struggles while also acknowledging that no one is above the law, not a President and not a President’s son.”
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet said Biden “put personal interest ahead of duty” with a decision that “further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all.” Michigan Sen. Gary Peters said the pardon was “an improper use of pow-
er” that erodes faith in government and “emboldens others to bend justice to suit their interests.”
— Sentinel Staff and the Associated Press
Teachers, students test out AI in Aurora, Denver classrooms
In room 126 at Denver’s South High School, students in a Spanish language arts class got suggestions for improving their short essays from an artificial intelligence app called Magic School: “You could elaborate on your examples,” the app advised one student
Upstairs, in AP Computer Science, a student shared the fix she made after feeding the Java code she’d written for a bookstore inventory system into the same AI app.
Later that October day, students in an after-school club at Aurora West College Preparatory Academy pitched hypothetical products in presentations augmented with AI images and text.
For A’mariae, a ninth grader who envisioned a high-tech shoe that could be transformed from sandals to sneakers to boots with clip-on attachments, there was one problem. The trendy blue shoe the AI app had conjured on his laptop screen had a Nike swoosh on the side, a trademarked logo that would be off-limits for his brand.
These scenes illustrate how Colorado teachers and students are beginning to use artificial intelligence in the classroom — and navigate its limitations. Since ChatGPT burst onto the scene in late 2022, the use of generative AI in schools in the state and across the country has become increasingly common. New York City’s schools chief championed the use of AI before he left the post in October, and districts in New Jersey and Indiana are piloting AI tools.
Generative AI analyzes huge amounts of data to generate text, images, videos, and other kinds of content.
For the moment, many teachers, and students are approaching AI more as a toe-dipping exercise than a plunge into the deep end. Not only does it take time to test and learn the apps, they don’t always work as intended. In addition, some districts are still figuring out what guardrails need to be in place to protect student privacy.
Still, the sense of excitement about AI in education is real, with a flood of products on the market and a complementary stream of AI conferences, training, and webinars available to K-12 educators. Currently, eight districts in Colorado, ranging from Adams 12 to Estes Park to Durango, are participating in a yearlong project to build AI literacy offered through the Colorado Education Initiative, which has taken a leading role in ushering the state’s schools into the AI age.
Karen Quanback, vice president of statewide partnerships for the organization, ticked off some of the ways AI can help teachers: quickly adapting passages for students at different reading levels, providing personalized tutoring after school hours, and allowing students to have a conversation with a computer facsimile of a historical figure.
“My goodness, just the potential for what this could do, for closing learning gaps, for really helping us rethink how learning experiences look because the ‘stand-and-deliver’ model is not always effective,” said Quanback.
Jeff Buck, the AP Computer Science teacher at South and a 26-year veteran of Denver Public Schools, recently joined a different yearlong AI training program for educators. He’s also taking a series of AI trainings offered by his district.
“This is what keeps me going. I can learn something new and interesting, right? And kids are kind of interested, and so we’re learning together, and I ›› See METRO, 7
think that’s really fun,” he said.
But the learning curve, he said with a laugh, is “also a massive time sink.”
Once teachers master the apps, AI can be a time-saver, helping draft lesson plans and tests, taking a first pass at grading essays, or writing and translating parent newsletters. The cost of the apps varies, with basic versions often available for free.
Moisés Sánchez Bermúdez, the South High School teacher whose students used Magic School to get writing feedback, said he’s generally been impressed with app’s suggestions. Even its critiques of student poetry were decent.
“It was not 100% but it’s getting there,” he said.
By using the app to give students — sometimes up to 35 in the classroom — immediate feedback on their first drafts, Sánchez Bermúdez has more time to work with students individually.
“It gives them meaningful work to do while I go one by one,” he said.
But not everyone likes getting pointers from a chatbot.
“I don’t really like using AI for the feedback. I’d rather have a real person,” said Juliana Gutierrez, a junior in Spanish Language Arts 3. “If you don’t understand something, you can ask [the teacher] to explain it in another way, or in more of a personal way.”
One floor up, Buck recalled how he’d given his students the option to ask Magic School to review their Java code.
The response was “tepid,” he said. “Not everybody is necessarily seeing the value right now.”
While most students chose to ask Buck or classmates for feedback,
a few students used Magic School.
One of them was Mimi Genter, a senior who’d written code for organizing book store inventory.
The app returned a neatly organized list of the things she’d done correctly, signified by green checkmarks. It also flagged a typo in her code, suggested an additional feature she could add, and closed by saying, “Keep up the excellent work. You’re really grasping these object-oriented programming concepts.”
Genter said it was only the second time she’d used Magic School but appreciated that it was an efficient fine-tooth comb of sorts — instantly spotting a capital “L” that should have been lower-case.
As educators incorporate AI tools into their lessons, many are looking not only to make lessons enriching, but to build students’ fluency in a technology that’s here to stay.
They want students to understand how to craft prompts that return worthwhile information, to use AI tools to deepen learning without crossing the line to cheating, and to recognize the inherent weaknesses of artificial intelligence.
Talley Nichols, who teaches high school history at Crested Butte Community School in western Colorado, sent out permission slips last spring asking parents if their children could use ChatGPT in class. She was pleasantly surprised by the response.
“I was worried about parental pushback, but I didn’t get any,” she said. “In fact, I got a couple of parents who were like, ‘Thank you for doing this. This is important. They need to learn how to use this.’”
Nichols said her students like using AI to generate project or topic ideas: “It’s really good at giving you lists of
ideas, and then you can take that and run with it.”
But she’s proceeding with caution. When her students did research projects last spring on key figures from European cultural movements like the Renaissance, she had them print out the responses they got from ChatGPT, evaluate the quality of the responses, and then seek out other non-AI sources for further research. And when Nichols’ students turn in final essays or projects that incorporate AI, they have to turn in notes, rough drafts, and edits to prove they’ve done the work every step of the way.
“If there’s something that they could just go home and create on ChatGPT, I don’t make that a homework assignment,” said Nichols. “We do that in class.”
Educators are also helping students think critically about the racial and gender bias inherent in AI.
Students in Aurora West College Preparatory Academy’s weekly after-school club, “AI Studio” quickly discovered that predisposition as they experimented with AI this fall in preparation for their marketing presentations. When A’mariae asked the tool to produce images of doctors, it showed two older white men and one white woman. When he asked for an image of “three white teenagers,” he got a picture of three happy white
teenagers.
Next, he said, “I searched three black teenagers and it showed, like a mug shot.”
Asked how to deal with racist and sexist results, one of the other three boys in the club said, “You have to train your AI.”
It’s exactly the message Antonio Vigil, Aurora’s director of innovative classroom technology and the club’s
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advisor, has been emphasizing all semester. He wants students to understand that they have to continually vet AI responses for accuracy, precision, and bias – and revise them accordingly.
He said, “You have to be the human in the loop.”
— ANN SCHIMKE, Colorado Chalkbeat
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OH, THERE’S NO GIFT LIKE HEALTH FOR THE HOLIDAYS
You can’t literally gift-wrap health, much less stuff it in a stocking.
But a gift that helps someone eat, sleep or exercise better can send a powerful message, said Dr. Laurence Sperling, the Katz Professor in Preventive Cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
Beyond the usual affection a gift demonstrates, something that encourages your recipient to stay well is “an extra comment to somebody about how much you care about them,” said Sperling, founder of the Emory Center for Heart Disease Prevention.
So American Heart Association News asked him and other experts for healthy gift ideas. Here’s what they said.
Keeping active
When purchasing a fitness-related holiday gift for someone, first consider what they most enjoy doing, said Dr. Cindy Lin, clinical professor in sports and spine medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle.
“Gear that fits into an everyday routine, such as reusable water bottles and comfortable workout clothes, can be a great gift,” said Lin, who also is director of clinical innovation at UW’s Sports Institute.
“One-trick gadgets,” or items for activities they don’t do often, are likely to end up in the back of the closet, she said. “If your sister only skis once a year … that ski gear might end up collecting dust in the garage.”
Lin is a fan of gear that’s portable, versatile and doesn’t take up much space, such as a yoga mat, exercise ball, resistance bands or free weights. Other simple gifts include fanny packs or belt packs for carrying a phone or keys while walking or jogging, or a reflective vest or headlamp for evening activities.
Joining up
Class passes, sports lessons or a few months of gym membership could be a great way to help a family member get started on becoming more active without the financial commitment of a whole year up front, Lin said.
Consider online options, too. A few winters
ago, Lin’s husband gifted her a subscription to a fitness program that offered workouts that could be streamed on a tablet or TV. “It was perfect because there are a huge variety of 10to 20-minute classes that I could do any time of day in our own living room, a huge convenience factor as a busy working mom.”
Sperling said a consultation with a trainer could help someone focus on specific goals. But be careful, he said: Gym memberships can be tricky to manage for anyone, and signing someone up who doesn’t already have the time or interest to go to a gym might not motivate them.
Similarly, paying registration fees for a race might work for someone who is already a runner, said Sperling, a veteran marathoner. But for others, it might be more effective to sign them up for a fundraising walk or other healthy activity – and then promise to join them.
“Support and partnership is really important” for people trying to make a healthy change, Sperling said, and a commitment to spend time together could be “priceless.”
Getting technical
“Fitness trackers are a great way to get started with being active,” said Lin, who has published an analysis on wearable technology in activity promotion.
“Monitoring heart rate helps track cardiovascular health and exercise intensity,” she said. “It’s also useful for people who are working on improving fitness levels or training for walkathons or marathons.”
Important features to look for, Lin said, include step tracking, calories burned, a long battery life and sweat and water resistance.
“Since the idea of most wearables for fitness is to use them daily, look for a lightweight, comfortable band and a style that matches your recipient’s tastes,” she said.
Sperling agreed that a tracker can establish how active someone is and help them reach a healthy level. Federal physical activity guidelines recommend adults engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity each week, or a combination of both. Adults also should do muscle-strengthening exercises at least two days a week.
Another handy fitness tool, Sperling said, is a digital scale. Although many come with bells and whistles, he said, you can just look for one that’s easy to read.
And with nearly half of adults in the U.S. living with hypertension, a blood pressure monitor can be a great gift, he said.
“An arm cuff is the way to go versus a wrist cuff,” Sperling said, and “you want to be sure it’s an appropriate cuff size.” The American Medical Association has a list of validated monitors at validatebp.org. He said to follow instructions from the American Heart Association on how to get an accurate reading.
Eating well
Holiday party gifts can be heavy on sweets and alcohol, but it’s not hard to find alternatives, said Dr. Marie-Pierre St-Onge, an associate professor of nutritional medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York.
“There’s nice food gift baskets you can bring that include dried fruit and nuts that are probably a better option than cookies and cakes,” she said. And nonalcoholic mocktails could make for a fun party, she said. Look for varieties that are low in sugar.
For kitchen gifts, St-Onge is a fan of air fryers. Her husband bought her one last year. “I wasn’t thinking I needed one – but now I do,” she said. St-Onge praised the way it cooks up crispy shrimp and tofu and said it helps her make “great” fish tacos, while her husband uses it to make eggplant parmesan with much less oil than the traditional version.
A cookbook full of healthy ideas could be helpful, she said. Even basic kitchen tools can lead to healthier eating if they encourage people to make their own food at home, where they have more control over ingredients than at a restaurant, where meals can be packed with excess calories and sodium.
Sweet dreams
Even if your long winter’s naps don’t include visions of sugarplums, sleep is essential for health. St-Onge, who also is director of her institution’s Center of Excellence for Sleep and Circadian Research, said that avoiding gifts with alcohol would be one way to support it, given
that alcohol can interfere with sleep patterns.
But sleepwear would work. “Soft and comfortable sleepwear is so, so good for sleep in my opinion,” she said. Look for something that’s not too hot and not too restrictive.
Or you can help someone make their sleep space darker and quieter. “If you’re living someplace where there’s a lot of outdoor noise and light pollution, blackout curtains are a good way to go,” she said.
For technology fans, sleep trackers can help people see if they’re getting the seven to nine hours recommended for adults. St-Onge recommended checking to make sure the one you choose doesn’t require the recipient to buy a subscription.
Some fitness trackers can measure not only sleep time but quality of sleep, which can provide insights into sleep cycles and potential disruptions, Lin said.
Being “mindful and thankful” can help support sleep, St-Onge said, so the gift of a paper journal for writing down thoughts would make sense.
Stepping out
A gift doesn’t have to be about “stuff,” Sperling said. It could be an experience that encourages people to get outside.
That could take the form of an annual state park pass, which would let someone enjoy the concept of “forest bathing,” or walks in nature, which can help reduce stress. For families, it could take the form of a membership to the local zoo.
Ultimately, when it comes to finding a healthy gift, “you want to focus on things that are simple and sustainable,” Sperling said, because a healthy lifestyle is about making meaningful changes for the long term, not any one item or experience. By thinking along these lines, he said, you could be offering “life-changing gifts that can improve the health of the people you love and care about.”
American Heart Association News covers heart and brain health. Not all views expressed in this story reflect the official position of the American Heart Association. Copyright is owned or held by the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved.
Members of the Get Healthy Walking Club walk the paths past the animal enclosures during the early morning at the Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Ky., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. AP
Photo/Timothy D. Easley
MICHAEL MERSCHEL, The Associated Press
Who’s Holiday
An (adults only) comedy that tells the story of Cindy Lou Who. She’s throwing a Christmas party in her trailer with a tell all. As she recalls the Christmas Eve she first met the Grinch, the audience will learn the twisted turns her life has taken.
scene & herd
Aurora Holiday Tree
Lighting and Merry Makers Market
Light the holiday spirit with a market and the city tree lighting. The Holiday Tree Lighting from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. at the Aurora Municipal Center, 15151 E. Alameda Parkway, and the Merry Maker Market will be at the Aurora Public Library, at the end of the Great Lawn, is a free, one-stop shopping event with a selection of items to choose from local and regional vendors.
IF YOU GO:
Event: Tree Lighting and Merry Makers Market
When: 4p.m.-8 p.m. Dec. 8. Tree lighting is at 5 p.m.
Where: Aurora Municipal Center, 15151 E. Alameda Parkway https://www.auroragov.org/ cms/one.aspx?pageId=16578110
Cirque: Frost
Young Jack discovers his destiny as the legendary winter spirit, Jack Frost. Through a 50-minute show of high-flying stunts and breathtaking feats, witness the heartwarming tale of a dreamer who brings enchantment and wonder to the world.
IF YOU GO:
Show: Cirque: Frost
When: Dec. 2 - Jan. 1
Where: Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, 6700 Gaylord Rockies Blvd.
Tickets: $45 and children three and under are free. Children must be with an adult.
https:// christmasatgaylordrockies. marriott.com/
ICE! Featuring the Polar Express
The holiday attraction features scenes from the movie “The Polar Express”, brought to life in ice sculptures hand-carved from more than 2 million pounds of ice. All part of Christmas at Gaylord Rockies.
IF YOU GO:
Event: ICE! Featuring the Polar Express
When: Dec. 2 - Jan. 1
Where: Gaylord Rockies Resort, 6700 Gaylord Rockies Blvd. Tickets: $17 - $35
https:// christmasatgaylordrockies. marriott.com/
Rocky Mountain Record
Show Pop-Up at Dry Dock
Pop in for this rhythmic pop-up. More than 20 vendors and thousands of records will be at Dry Dock Brewing. Shop and buy vinyl with a beer in hand.
IF YOU GO:
Event: Rocky Mountain Record
Show
When: Noon - 5 p.m. Dec. 8
Where: Dry Dock Brewing Company, 15120 E. Hampden Ave.
Price: Free admission
https://www.eventbrite. com/e/rocky-mountain-recordshow-pop-up-at-dry-dock-tickets-1080451652979
IF YOU GO:
Event: Who’s Holiday
When: Dec. 2 - Dec. 31
Where: Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton St.
Tickets: $24
https://www.vintagetheatre.org/ performances/whosholiday
Black Nativity
A joyous holiday musical, is a modern retelling of the traditional account of the Nativity story from an African American perspective. Using gospel music, African beats, dramatic dance and a biblical narrative Black Nativity opened for a limited run of 57 performances at Broadway’s 41 St. Theatre on Dec. 11, 1961. It was written and conceived by one of the legendary leaders of the Harlem Renaissance: Black playwright, poet, novelist, and social activist Langston Hughes.
IF YOU GO:
Event: Black Nativity
When: Dec. 6 - Dec. 29
Where: Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton St.
Price: $20 - $38 https://www.vintagetheatre.org/ performances/blacknativity
39th Annual Children’s Hospital Colorado Toy Run
The Children’s Hospital Toy Run is back for its 39th year. Motorcycles, Cars and Trucks are all welcome.
8 a.m. Staging begins at Aurora Sports Park (19300 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora)
10 a.m. First wave leaves to Children’s Hospital Colorado
11 a.m. -2 p.m. Free after party at Mile High Harley-Davidson Aurora
All individuals must be pre-registered. Wrist bands must be picked up at any of the participating donation and toy drop locations listed below. Simply show your registration email to get your wrist/handlebar band.
IF YOU GO:
Event: The Children’s Hospital Toy Run
When: 8 a.m. Dec. 8
Where: Aurora Sports Park, 19300 E. Colfax Ave.
Price: A new unwrapped toy https://www.eventbrite. com/e/39th-annual-childrenshospital-colorado-toy-runtickets-1055351287109?aff= ebdssbcitybrowse
Sensative Santa
A peaceful, sensory-friendly visit with Santa for children with special needs. The Santa Visit will be before the mall opens for children to enjoy a quiet atmosphere, ensuring a calm and comfortable experience. Reserve your photo time with Santa at https:// tinyurl.com/TCAsanta.
IF YOU GO:
Event: Sensative Santa When: 8 -10 a.m. Dec. 8
Where: Town Center At Aurora, 14200 E. Alameda Ave., Aurora Tickets: $20-$50
Email for Sensative Santa bookings kdugger@cherryhillprograms.com
“It’s A Wonderful Life” –A Symphonic Celebration of the Holidays
The Aurora Symphony Orchestra will be putting on a symphonic celebration of the holidays featuring music from favorite holiday films, including “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “Edward Scissorhands,” “Home Alone,” “Christmas Vacation” and “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
IF YOU GO:
Show: “It’s A Wonderful Life” –A Symphonic Celebration of the Holidays
When: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7 and 3 p.m. Dec. 8
When: South Middle School 12310 E Parkview Drive.
Tickets: $10-$20 and free for students and children younger than 18.
https://aurorasymphony.org/ event/2024-holiday-its-awonderful-life/
Aurora Fox debuts Wild West twist on Dickens’ holiday classic
The Aurora Fox Arts Center is trading Victorian London for the Wild West of the 1880s in its re-imagining of “A Christmas Carol. It’s all about “Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big Aurora Fox Christmas Show!” The event is comedic adaptation of Charles Dickens’ iconic tale and opens Nov. 30. Directed by Steven J. Burge, the production promises a lively blend of humor, creativity, and heartwarming holiday spirit.
Written by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen, the show takes a decidedly unconventional approach to the well-loved story. Featuring a cast of five female actors who take on dozens of roles, the play blends fast-paced action with imaginative storytelling. The production aims to offer audiences a new perspective on Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey of redemption, swapping snowy London streets for a dusty Wild West town.
Burge describes the show as a comedic breath of fresh air for holiday theatergoers. “Forget the kid with the BB gun, the green fuzzy guy, or even Will Ferrell,” he said, referencing other holiday staples. “This version has three ghosts, a chain-rattling dead guy, and a whole lot of laughter.”
With its innovative staging and unexpected twists, the production maintains the timeless themes of Dickens’ original work while injecting fresh holiday humor and wit.
IF YOU GO:
Show: Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big Aurora Fox Christmas Show!
When: Fridays and Saturdays 7:30 p.m. curtain. Sundays 2 p.m. curtain and a Dec. 9 industry night. Opens Nov. 30 and runs through Dec. 22
Where: Aurora Fox Arts Center, Mainstage, 9900 E. Colfax Ave.
Tickets and details: $17-$42 available at AuroraFox.org
Curious Theatre presents ‘Confederates’
Dominique Morisseau’s work returns to the Curious stage this fall with Confederates, a powerful exploration of race, power, and history. Known for previous hits like Skeleton Crew and Detroit ‘67, Curious is no stranger to Morisseau’s masterclass of weaving together personal, historical, and social narratives, and this show is considered her most ambitious yet.
The play explores institutional racism through the dual lenses of Sara, an enslaved rebel turned Union spy, and Sandra, a tenured professor in a modern-day private university. The regional premiere leaps through time to trace the stories of these two Black American women.
IF YOU GO:
Tickets: $28-$55
When: Thursdays through Sundays, through Dec. 8 at 7:30pm. Curtains vary.
Where: Curious Theatre Company, 1080 Acoma St
Details and sales: curioustheatre.org
Christmas In Color Drivethru Animated Light Show
A dazzling drive-through holiday light show synchronized to festive music straight through your car radio. Cruise past giant candy canes, tow-
ering snowmen, glowing arched pathways and more as millions of lights illuminate your route. Enjoy the season’s magic at your own pace.
IF YOU GO: Through- Dec. 29 Arapahoe County Fairgrounds, 25690 E. Quincy Ave. $44-$58 https://christmasincolor.net
25th Annual Festival of Wreaths
The Aurora Museum Foundation presents its Annual Festival of Wreaths, a fundraiser showcasing community-crafted wreaths at the Aurora History Museum. Starting Nov. 5, wreaths will be on display, with visitors encouraged to vote and bid, either in-person or online via Bidding Owl. This year’s festival coincides with The Grand Celebration on Nov. 16, marking the museum’s 45th anniversary and the 10th anniversary of Trolley Trailer #610, featuring both silent and live auctions to support museum exhibits and educational programs. Community members are invited to participate by decorating and donating wreaths for the event.
IF YOU GO : Festival of Wreaths Through- Dec. 6 Aurora History Museum, 15051 E. Alameda Parkway Free Family-friendly auroragov.org/things_to_do/ aurora_history_museum
The Pond Ice Rink
Southlands’ popular ice rink, The Pond, reopens on Nov. 8, kicking off the holiday and winter season. Advance tickets for skating sessions will be available soon. Group rates are also offered; contact (303) 928-7536 for details and reservations or email southlands@icerinkevents.com.
IF YOU GO : The Pond is open Southlands, 6155 S. Main St. $14 Family-friendly shopsouthlands.com/
“Where The Wild Things Are” Package
In collaboration with Denver Art Museum’s brand-new “Where The Wild Things Are” exhibit, honoring the cherished children’s book, The ART Hotel Denver, has launched a Wild Things package. The package will include a hardcover edition of “Where the Wild Things Are” book. Two tickets to the “Wild Things” exhibit at the Denver Art Museum, truffles and a personalized note from the book’s main character, Max.
IF YOU GO: Through Feb. 17
The ART Hotel Denver 1201 Broadway, Denver Free www.thearthotel.com/ special-offers/wild-things
Clyfford Still and Community: A Talk and Conversation
The exhibition Dialogue and Defiance: Clyfford Still and the Abstract Expressionists explores Clyfford Still’s connection to the late 1940s and 1950s artistic community despite his resistance to the idea. Scholar Allan Antliff will present on Barnett Newman, Clyfford Still, and Romanticism, followed by a discussion inspired by “The Club” gatherings of that era with curator Valerie Hellstein and CSM’s Bailey H. Placzek. The program is $5 for the public and free for CSM members, with limited space and registration required.
IF YOU GO: Clyfford Still Museum
Doors open at 6 p.m., galleries open 6-6:30 p.m. and talk in the lobby 6:30-7:30 p.m. 1250 Bannock St.
720-354-4880
https://clyffordstillmuseum. org/events/clyfford-still-incommunity-talk/
The Life and Art of Tokio Ueyama
The Life and Art of Tokio Ueyama features more than 40 paintings loaned to the museum by the Japanese American National Museum and Ueyama’s family, whose combined efforts to preserve his work have allowed the story of this accomplished and cosmopolitan artist to be told at the Denver Art Museum for the first time.
Born in Japan, Tokio Ueyama moved to the United States in 1908 at age 18, where he made a home until his death in 1954. This exhibition tells the story of Ueyama’s life, including his early days as an art student in San Francisco, Southern California, and Philadelphia; his travels abroad in Europe and Mexico; his role as artist and community member in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles; and his unconstitutional incarceration during World War II at the Granada Relocation Center, now the Amache National Historic Site, in southeast Colorado.
Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, Tokio and his wife Suye were among more than 120,000 Japanese Americans forcibly relocated into American concentration camps. More than 10,000 people were unconstitutionally incarcerated at Amache in the following years, making it the third largest “city” in Colorado at the time. There, Ueyama taught adult art classes to 150 students. This exhibition tells a story of a time in Colorado’s history, of a place where Americans experienced dislocation and loss, and, more importantly, displayed unimaginable resilience, tenacity, and creativity in the face of prejudice.
IF YOU GO:
Tickets: Included in general admission, which is free for members and for all visitors 18 and under.
10 a.m. daily from Oct. 3
Denver Art Museum, 100 West 14th Ave Parkway
Details: 720-865-5000 and www.denverartmuseum.org/en/ exhibitions/tokio-ueyama
Discovering Teen Rex
Take an extraordinary journey into our prehistoric past with the arrival of “Discovering Teen Rex” as we unveil a remarkable fossil discovered by a crew of inquisitive young dino hunters in North Dakota. The fossil prep lab will be displayed alongside dinosaur fossils, including Triceratops and Edmontosaurus, from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science collection. The whole family is invited to come experience history in the making as our team of renowned paleontologists clean, preserve and study this rare adolescent T. rex fossil — one of only a handful found worldwide — before the public on the Museum floor.
IF YOU GO:
Free with museum ticket purchase
Daily 9-5
Tickets: $19.95-$25.95
Denver Museum of Nature and Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd.
Details: 303-370-6000 or at dmns.org
TRUMP PROMISED MASS DEPORTATIONS. EDUCATORS ACROSS AURORA, THE NATION
WORRY FEAR WILL IMPACT MIGRANT KIDS
BY BIANCA VÁZQUEZ TONESS, AP Education Writer
AND SUSAN GREENE, Sentinel Reporter in Residence
Last time Donald Trump was president, rumors of immigration raids terrorized the Oregon community where Gustavo Balderas was the school superintendent.
Word spread that immigration agents were going to try to enter schools. There was no truth to it, but school staff members had to find students who were avoiding school and coax them back to class.
“People just started ducking and hiding,” Balderas said.
Educators around the country are bracing for upheaval, whether or not the president-elect follows through on his pledge to deport millions of immigrants who are in the country illegally. Even if he only talks about it, children of immigrants will suffer, educators and legal observers said.
If “you constantly threaten people with the possibility of mass deportation, it really inhibits peoples’ ability to function in society and for their kids to get an education,” said Hiroshi Motomura, a professor at UCLA School of Law.
That fear already has started for many.
“The kids are still coming to school, but they’re scared,” said Almudena Abeyta, superintendent of Chelsea Public Schools, a Boston suburb that’s long been a first stop for Central American immigrants coming to Massachusetts. Now Haitians are making the city home and sending their kids to school there.
“They’re asking: ‘Are we going to be deported?’” said Abeyta.
Many parents in her district grew up in countries where the federal government ran schools and may think it’s the same here. The day after the election, Abeyta sent a letter home assuring parents their children are welcome and safe, no matter who is president.
Immigration officials have avoided arresting parents or students at schools. Since 2011, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has operated under a policy that immigration agents should not arrest or conduct other enforcement actions near “sensitive locations,” including schools, hospitals and places of worship. Doing so might curb access to essential services, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas wrote in a 2021 policy update.
The Heritage Foundation’s policy road map for Trump’s second term, Project 2025, calls for rescinding the guidance on “sensitive places.” Trump tried to distance himself from the proposals during the campaign, but he has nominated many who worked on the plan for his new administration, including Tom Homan for “border czar.”
If immigration agents were to arrest a parent dropping off children at school, it could set off mass panic, said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles.
“If something happens at one school, it spreads like wildfire and kids stop coming to school,” she said.
Balderas, now the superintendent in Beaverton, a different Portland suburb, told the school committee there this month it was time to prepare for a more determined Trump administration. In case schools are targeted, Beaverton will train staff not to allow immigration agents inside.
“All bets are off with Trump,” said Balderas, who is also president of ASSA, The School Superintendents Association. “If something happens, I feel like it will happen a lot quicker than last time.”
What about the kids in Aurora?
Federal laws prohibit public schools from discriminating against students because of their national origin. That keeps classrooms and other benefits such as free lunches and social services open to immigrant children.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials historically have treated schools — like hospitals and places of worship — as safe spaces, and has avoided raiding them.
Migrants fear that will change in Trump’s second term.
“God forbid,” said Frida Nuños, a Venezuelan mother of four living in northwest Aurora who, since the election, has cried every time she drops her two eldest at school.
Eight years ago, local school districts and community groups were less concerned about raids at schools than workplace sweeps that would lock up parents, leaving nobody to pick up or care for their children. ICE’s arrest of 273 workers during a 2006 raid on a Swift meat-packing plant in Greeley left families panicked not just in that community, but as far away as Aurora where some of the workers lived. As the Denver Post reported, more than 200 students throughout the Front Range came home that day to find one or more of their parents gone.
Arapahoe and Adams counties’ social services teams and officials in Aurora Public Schools have not responded to inquiries about ways they might protect immigrant families threatened by Trump’s immigration policies.
In 2017, APS pioneered a policy delaying ICE agents from entering schools except in “extremely rare situations.” At the urging of RISE Colorado — an education-centered nonprofit that organized immigrant students to persuade school boards — APS passed a resolution ensuring the district doesn’t collect information about the legal status of students or their families. The resolution also prodded APS leadership to create a system for parents to let teachers know who would be taking care of their kids in the event that an ICE action prevents them from picking them up after school.
Educators who have experienced immigration raids in their communities say that keeping accurate and up-to-date emergency
contact records is the single most critical step they can take on behalf of immigrant families.
In Cherry Creek School District, where at least 30,000 students from Aurora are enrolled, district officials are starting to have conversations to plan for a variety of immigration-related scenarios come January.
“We remain fully committed to protecting our students and schools and ensuring all students have equal access to quality public education,” said Abbe Smith, Director of Communications.
Across the region and across the nation
Many school officials are reluctant to talk about their plans or concerns, some out of fear of drawing attention to their immigrant students. One school administrator serving many children of Mexican and Central American immigrants in the Midwest said their school has invited immigration attorneys to help parents formalize any plans for their children’s care in case they are deported. The administrator spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized
Pedro Gonzalez-Aboyte speaks during a training session at Paradise Valley High School, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Paradise Valley, Ariz. AP Photo/Matt York
Gustavo Balderas, superintendent of Beaverton School District, works in his office at the district administrative office in Beaverton, Ore., Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. AP Photo/Amanda Loman
to speak to the media.
Speaking up on behalf of immigrant families also can put superintendents at odds with school board members.
“This is a very delicate issue,” said Viridiana Carrizales, chief executive officer of ImmSchools, a nonprofit that trains schools on supporting immigrant students.
She’s received 30 requests for help since the election, including two from Texas superintendents who don’t think their conservative school boards would approve of publicly affirming immigrant students’ right to attend school or district plans to turn away immigration agents.
More than two dozen superintendents and district communications representatives contacted by The Associated Press either ignored or declined requests for comment.
“This is so speculative that we would prefer not to comment on the topic,” wrote Scott Pribble, a spokesperson for Denver Public Schools.
The City of Denver has helped more than 40,000 migrants in the last two years with shelter or a bus ticket elsewhere. It’s also next door to Aurora, one of two cities where Trump has said he would start his mass deportations.
When pressed further, Pribble responded, “Denver Public Schools is monitoring the situation while we continue to serve, support, and protect all of our students as we always have.”
Like a number of big-city districts, Denver’s school board during the first Trump administration passed a resolution promising to protect its students from immigration authorities pursuing them or their information. According to the 2017 resolution, Denver will not “grant access to our students” unless federal agents can provide a valid search warrant.
The rationale has been that students
cannot learn if they fear immigration agents will take them or their parents away while they’re on campus. School districts also say these policies reaffirm their students’ constitutional right to a free, public education, regardless of immigration status.
The DACA question
Reyna Montoya was 10 when she and her family fled violence in Tijuana and illegally immigrated to the U.S. Growing up in Arizona, she worried even a minor traffic violation could lead to her deportation.
She didn’t feel relief until 11 years later in 2012, when she received a letter confirming she had been accepted to a new program for immigrants who came to the country illegally as children.
“All of the sudden, all these possibilities opened up,” Montoya said, fighting back tears. The Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program granted her and hundreds of thousands of others twoyear, renewable permits to live and work in the U.S. legally.
But as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House, after an unsuccessful bid to end DACA in his first term, the roughly 535,000 current recipients are bracing yet again for a whirlwind of uncertainty. Meanwhile, a years-long challenge to DACA could ultimately render it illegal, leaving people like Montoya without a shield from deportation.
“I have to take his (Trump’s) words very seriously, that when they say ‘mass deportation,’ it also includes people like me,” said Montoya, who runs Aliento, an Arizona-based advocacy organization for immigrant rights.
Uncertainty is nothing new for DACA recipients. As many matured from school age to adulthood, they have witnessed a barrage of legal threats to the program.
DACA hasn’t accepted new applicants since 2021, when a federal judge deemed
it illegal and ordered that new applications not be processed, though current recipients could still renew their permits. The Biden administration appealed the ruling, and the case is currently pending.
For those who secured and renewed DACA permits, the benefits have been life-changing. With DACA, Montoya for the first time was able to work legally, get health and dental care, and obtain a driver’s license.
Many recipients had hoped Vice President Kamala Harris would win the presidency and continue fighting for them. But the reelection of Trump, who has repeatedly accused immigrants of fueling violent crime and “poisoning the blood” of the United States, has heightened their fears that DACA could end and they could face deportation.
Out of caution, some are rushing to renew their permits, according to the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, which has been providing free legal aid to help them through the extensive process.
Others are preparing for potential family separations. Phoenix native and DACA recipient Pedro Gonzalez-Aboyte said he and his immigrant parents, along with his two U.S.-born brothers, recently discussed the possibility of being split.
Gonzalez-Aboyte recalled his parents, who immigrated from Mexico, saying that even if they were unable to stay in the country, “as long as the three of you are here and you’re OK, then that’s what we want.”
“That was a very real conversation we had,” Gonzalez-Aboyte said.
Officials for the Trump transition team did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
While it is unclear how Trump could impact DACA this time, he has suggested scaling back other programs that offer temporary protection for immigrants and is
staffing his incoming administration with immigration hardliners, including Stephen Miller and Thomas Homan.
During his first term, Trump tried to rescind DACA. But in 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded his administration ended the program improperly, though it didn’t rule on the program’s legality.
But DACA’s fate won’t be immediately left up to Trump, if at all.
A three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — regarded as the country’s most conservative appeals court — heard arguments in October concerning the legality of DACA. The case, initially filed by Texas and other Republican-led states in 2018, now focuses on a Biden administration rule intended to preserve and fortify DACA.
Attorneys for DACA opponents argued that immigrants in the country illegally are a financial burden on states. Meanwhile, the Biden administration, along with intervenors, contend that Texas has not shown the costs it cites are traceable to the policy and, therefore, lacks standing.
The panel doesn’t have a deadline to issue a ruling. Regardless, its ruling will likely be appealed, potentially elevating the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor of immigration law practice at Cornell University, said the most likely scenario is the panel affirming that DACA is illegal and that the case goes before the Supreme Court. He doesn’t anticipate Trump immediately trying to end DACA but didn’t rule out the possibility.
“I don’t know that they could actually terminate the program any faster than the current ligation is going,” he said. “They could still do it, but they’ve got an awful lot of immigration policy matters on their plate.”
Aliento CEO Reyna Montoya poses for a photo after speaking at an immigration forum on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
ABOVE: Grandview junior Sasha Kennedy (2) piled up more than 50 stolen bases and impacted every game in different ways on her way to Centennial League Player of the Year honors and a spot on the
Softball Team for the 2024 season. BELOW TOP: Cherokee Trail sophomore Emma Rice was a big threat on the mound and with the bat as she helped the Cougars advance all the way to
state championship game. BELOW MIDDLE: Eaglecrest senior catcher Kaitlyn Hendrian tied the school record with 12 home runs, a total that also led all Aurora area hitters. BELOW
or
the plate, Vista PEAK Prep junior Amara Herrera — the 5A/4A City League Player of the Year — had a major impact and helped the Bison win a league championship and make it to the regional postseason for the first time in program history. (PHOTOS BY COURTNEY OAKES/AURORA SENTINEL)
While football holds on in a few places around the state, the 2024 fall prep sports season has concluded in the Aurora area.
And what a season it was, as a good number of local teams brought home state runner-up trophies and several individuals made title runs themselves.
The AuroraSentinelwill recognize the best of the best in fall prep sports in this and upcoming issues, with expanded coverage at aurorasentinel.com/preps.
to go with 38 RBI and a sparkling .565 batting average as she was picked to the Colorado High School Activities Association’s All-State 1st team. Cobb was a second team all-state pick after an outstanding season that saw the left-handed swinger hit .505 with six home runs and drive in an Aurora area-best 46 runs, while she won nine of her 10 decisions on the mound and struck out more than one batter in each of her 66 2/3 innings on the mound.
Fall stars, Part II
COUGARS, WOLVES, BISON HEAVY ON ALLAURORA SOFTBALL TEAM
Softball diamonds around the city had no shortage of talent in the 2024 season, which saw 20 players make all-league first teams — plus two that won league player of the year nods — while 19 others made the second team and a number of others were honorable mention.
BY COURTNEY OAKES Sports Editor
Because of that, the 2024 Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Softball Team —which is picked by the Sentinel in conjuction with nominations and balloting from city coaches — is simply loaded.
Cherokee Trail captured the Centennial League championship and went on a postseason run that ended in the Class 5A state championship game, which it dropped to classification newcomer Riverdale Ridge. Led by Centennial League Coach of the Year Caley Mitchell, the Cougars featured an excellent blend of experience in key places and young up-and-comers who will keep the future bright. The sophomore class, in particular, was outstanding for Cherokee Trail.
A pair of All-Aurora first team picks came from it in Sydney Cobb and Emma Rice, who were both contributors in a variety of ways and both were part of a contingent of six All-Centennial League first team picks for Cherokee Trail. Rice tied for the most wins on the mound of any local pitchers with 12 — against just two losses — compiled a 3.24 ERA and struck out 96 batters in just 75 2/3 innings, while she finished second among Aurora hitters with 11 home runs
Grandview had the area’s most complete player in junior Sasha Kennedy, an irresistible force who dictated a lot for her Wolves. Kennedy won the Centennial League’s Player of the Year award and made the All-State first team in the wake of a season in which she hit .588 with area bests in hits (57, including 14 for extra bases) and stolen bases (53), while she also scored 42 runs and homered three times (including twice in Grandview’s 5A state tournament win over Chatfield).
The Wolves had a handful of All-Centennial League first team picks as well, including one of the area’s stalwarts on the mound in Kamaya Soniea-Harris. The senior right-hander racked up 12 wins to tie Rice for Aurora area honors, while her 2.61 ERA was more impressive because she pitched 110 innings (which was 30-plus more than the next best pitcher in the city) and she registered a city-best 118 strikeouts.
Eaglecrest had the area’s top catcher in senior Kaitlyn Hendrian, who was strong behind the plate and provided all the leadership the Raptors could need. The All-Centennial League first team pick also packed plenty of pop, as she tied the Eaglecrest program single season home run record of newly inducted school Hall of Famer Kailey Wilson with 12, which ranked her fifth in 5A. Hendrian also ranked third in the league with 40 and she hit .457.
Vista PEAK Prep got a new head coach in John Waller and took a step forward as it not only won the first league championship in program history (as it defeated Denver South in a memorable regular season finale that needed extra innings to decide), but qualified for the regional postseason for the first time as well.
Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora
the Class 5A
BOTTOM: On the mound, in the field
at
Lotus School For Excellence senior Biruk Begashaw poses with the runner-up medal he got in the Class 2A boys cross country state championship race at Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs. BELOW TOP: Regis Jesuit senior Braeden Focht earned another spot on the All-Aurora Boys Cross Country Team for his 32nd-place finish in the 5A state race. BELOW MIDDLE: Cherokee Trail junior Dylan Smith secured 33rd place in the 5A state meet to get onto the All-Aurora first team. BELOW BOTTOM: Senior Kimi Bulto (129), who along with freshman Abdinasir Hassan, gave Rangeview its first state meet representation since 2018, finished in 89th place in the 5A state race to grab one of the last spots on the All-Aurora Boys Cross Country Team.
PHOTOS BY COURTNEY OAKES/AURORA SENTINEL
from 12
The Bison were driven by a number of versatile talents, including junior Amara Herrera, who was the 5A/4A City League Player of the Year. Herrera had the area’s highest batting average for players with more than 50 official at-bats at .589, a total that came on 53 base hits, including 18 for extra bases, while she also drove in 23 runs. Herrera had an outstanding .63o on base percentage and scored 47 runs (one behind teammate Jaya Gray for the team and City League lead), while on the mound, she went 4-0 with a 3.68 ERA. Senior Nayely Duran fills the All-Aurora spot at designated hitter, though she also was a stalwart behind the plate for the Bison. Duran came through with several of the most key hits on the season for Vista PEAK Prep on her way to a .518 batting average as well as 45 RBI, which put her one off Cobb’s pace among city players and was second-most in the City League.
Overland played an independent schedule this season, so there were no all-league accolades to be had, but sophomore Michaela Halton would have been in line for plenty. For a Trailblazers team that went 12-5, Halton had a .619 batting average, had a handful of home runs and drove in 27 runs, while she also picked up six wins on the mound plus a save.
FIVE PROGRAMS REPRESENTED ON 2024 ALL-AURORA
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY TEAM
The best in boys cross country in Aurora came from all corners of the city, as runners from five different programs make up the 2024 Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Boys Cross Country Team, which is based on state meet performance.
Two of those top talents came away from the season with medals as top-10 finishers in Class 2A runner-up Biruk Begashaw, a senior from Lotus School For Excellence as well as Grandview senior Colton White, who placed 10th in a loaded 5A race.
Begashaw came out determined to become his family’s second state champion — his older brother, Kidus, was the 2020 2A winner — and was better than every other runner in the field save for Colorado Springs Christian School’s Andrew Bel, who would not be denied his second straight state title. Begashaw saved his best for last, as his time of 16 minutes, 16.21 seconds, set his PR by 16 seconds. For the season, he posted nine top-10 finishes.
White capped a strong prep career with an epic performance in the 5A state meet, which was the strongest it had been in quite some time with the addition of runners from programs that moved up such as team state champion Niwot. White had run the
state meet three previous times and posted far-andaway his best finish in 10th (90 places higher than in 2023, when he battled injury) with of 15:46.20 that was his third-fastest of the season. White began his season with a sizeable win in the Aurora City Championship race — which featured just five teams — and he went on to place in the top 10 in six of his seven races. His lowest finishes was 15th at the Liberty Bell Invitational at which he set his PR with 15:18. Regis Jesuit senior Braeden Focht qualified for the state meet for the third time and he finished as the second Aurora runner across the finish line in the 5A race in 32nd place. Focht had an outstanding season in which he had seven races in which he finished in the top eight, including a victory at the Northfield Nighthawk Invitational, while he was the runner-up at both the Arapahoe Warrior Invitational and the 5A Region 1 meet. Focht established his PR of 14:58 (a program record) during a seventh-place finish at the Liberty Bell Invitational.
Once place behind Focht came Cherokee Trail junior Dylan Smith, who also ran at the state meet for a third time. Smith paced the Cougars — Aurora’s lone team qualifier, who finished 13th in the 5A standings — with a 33rd-place finish that was 22 spots higher than in 2023. His season included a three races in which he placed in the top seven — headed by a runner-up result at Wash Park at the Roadrunners Invitational — while he established a PR of 15:34.90 during the Cougars’ trip to Portland, Oregon, to run in the Nike XC race.
›› See ALL-AURORA, 14
ABOVE:
Perfect 10: Grandview senior Colton White achieved his goal of making it onto the medal podiium in the Class 5A boys cross country state race with a 10th-place showing. (Photo by Courtney Oakes/Aurora Sentinel)
the Cougars and earned spots on the 2024 Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Girls Cross Country Team.
Below top: Eaglecrest sophomore Jenna Winn began the 2024 season by winning the Aurora City Championship girls race and finished the season with a 96th-place result in the 5A state race. She was the first Eaglecrest girls runner at the state meet in nearly a decade.
Below bottom: Cherokee Trail sophomore Anneli Reite
ran her third-fastest time of the season at the 5A state meet, in which she placed 124th and made it onto the All-Aurora first team.
›› ALL-AURORA, from 13
Cherokee Trail was the only program with multiple All-Aurora first teamers as Smith is joined by junior Josh Chaedeayne and Carter Getty, who finished 64th and 72nd, respectively, at the state meet. Chaedeayne’s season included two top-10 finishes — seventh at the Roadrunners Invitational and eighth at the Region 1 meet — and his PR came with a 16:06.10 at the Liberty Bell Invitational, while Getty’s top-10 finish came with a third-place result at the Roadrunners Invitational, while he was just outside the top 10 at the Centennial League Championship meet in 11th place. Like much of the Cherokee Trail team, Getty’s PR came on the trip to Portland when he ran 15:53.30 at sea level.
the exact same 66th spot. Her season included two races in which she broke 19 minutes (at the Liberty Bell Invitational and the Nike XC meet in Portland, where she earned a PR of 18:56.10), while her top individual place of the season came with her seventh-place showing at the Centennial League Championships.
For more on these stories, visit aurorasentinel. com/preps
Rangeview hadn’t had a state runner since 2019, but ended up with two in the duo of senior Kimi Bulto and freshman Abdinasir Hassan, who pushed each other to make it possible. Bulto had come within range of state qualification in the past, but the arrival of the eager Hassan proved to be a turning point in his quest. To cap a strong season that include a trio of top-10 finishes — a win at the Denver North Viking Invitational, a fifth-place showing at the Aurora City Championship meet and the ninth at the Region 1 meet that earned him his state spot. Bulto’s PR of 16:18.90 came at the Liberty Bell Invitational.
TEAM QUALIFIER CHEROKEE TRAIL LEADS
ALL-AURORA GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY TEAM
The area representation in this season’s Class 5A girls state cross country meet consisted of only the team from Cherokee Trail and an individual in sophomore Jenna Winn of Eaglecrest.
So the composition of the 2024 Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Girls Cross Country Team — which is determined by state performance — is heavy with Cougars (as expected) to go along with Winn.
Cherokee Trail returned to the state meet as a team after missing out a season ago with a team largely made up of sophomores and freshmen. Sophomore Jade McDaniel made the state meet as an individual in 2023 and she was glad to have company this season after her team secured the last spot in regionals. McDaniel ran her second state meet seven seconds after than her first, but with the depth of the field increased, finished in
Two fellow sophomores joined McDaniel on the All-Aurora team in Clara Kapfer and Anneli Reite. Kapfer was the second area runner across the finish line behind her teammate as she recorded a time of 19:57.63 that put her 82nd. It was a season of growth for Kapfer, whose best time last season was 22:53, but dropped to a PR of 19:27.50 at the Nike race in Portland. Reite also ran her personal best time at sea level with a time of 20:06 and she ran one other time that was faster than the 21:12.1 at the state meet that put her in 124th place. Reite’s highest individual place of the season came at the Centennial League Championships, where she was 20th.
Cherokee Trail also had a pair of freshmen make the All-Aurora first team in Reese Kass and Elle Van Fossen, who were 135th and 141st, respectively, at the state meet. Van Fossen saved her fastest racing for the end of the season, when her PR of 21:37.30 at the Region 1 race was just slightly faster than 21:38.21 she ran at state. Her highest individual results came at the Centennial League championships, at which she took ninth. Kass, meanwhile, had a season-high finish of seventh place at the Liberty Bell Invitational, while her PR of 21:04.80 came in Portland. She recorded a 21:31.40 at the Region 1 meet (at which she was 36th) to help her team make state, where she ran 21:52.72.
Winn broke a drought of nearly a decade for the Eaglecrest girls at the 5A state meet and she was the third-fastest local once she got there. Winn ran a time of 20:11.54 to finish in 96th place in a performance that came a week after she ran her fastest race of the season with the 19:49 at the Region 1 meet that put her 12th and punched her state ticket. Winn opened the season with a victory at the Aurora City Championship meet and she went on to finish in the top-10 four other times (seventh at the Steve Lohman Invitational, eighth at the Longs Peak Invitational and ninth at the Roadrunners Invitational at Wash Park and at the Centennial League Championships.
Right: Cherokee Trail sophomores Jade McDaniel (203) and Clara Kapfer (200) leave the starting line at the beginning of the Class 5A girls state cross country race at the Norris Penrose Event Center. McDaniel finished 66th and Kapfer 82nd as they paced
(204)
PHOTOS BY COURTNEY
OAKES/AURORA SENTINEL
to waive any informality, technicality or irregularity in any Bid, to disregard all non-conforming, non-responsive, conditional or alternate Bids, to negotiate contract terms with the Successful Bidder, to require statements or evidence of Bidders’ qualifications, including financial statements, and to accept the proposal that is in the opinion of the Owner in its best interest. Owner also reserves the right to extend the Bidding period by Addendum if it appears in its interest to do so. Any questions concerning this bid shall be directed in writing to: Jeff Blankenship at Jeff@Silverbluffcompanies.com no later than December 6th, 2024. Publication: December 5, 2024 Sentinel
IRON WORKS VILLAGE METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NOTICE CONCERNING 2024 BUDGET AMENDMENT AND PROPOSED 2025 BUDGET NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN to all interested parties that the necessity has arisen to amend the Iron Works Village Metropolitan District 2024 Budget, if necessary, and that a proposed 2025 Budget has been submitted to the Board of Directors of the Iron Works Village Metropolitan District; and that copies of the Amended 2024 Budget and Proposed 2025 Budget have been filed at the District’s offices, 141 Union Boulevard, Suite 150, Lakewood, Colorado, where the same are open for public inspection; and that adoption of the Resolution Amending the 2024 Budget and Resolution Adopting the 2025 Budget will be considered at a public meeting of the Board of Directors of the District on Tuesday, December 10, 2024 at 5:15 p.m. This District Board meeting will be held via Zoom and can be joined through the directions below:
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/ j/86267550643?pwd=V3RnRGRtWkRyUlZZc1VMWTJFZjFHdz09
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Any elector within the District may, at any time prior to the final adoption of the Resolution to Amend the 2024 Budget and adopt the 2025 Budget, inspect and file or register any objections thereto.
IRON WORKS VILLAGE METROPOLITAN DISTRICT By /s/ Peggy Ripko Secretary
Publication: December 5, 2024 Sentinel
NOTICE OF FINAL PAYMENT
NOTICE is hereby given that the Aerotropolis Area Coordinating Metropolitan District of Adams County, Colorado, will authorize final payment on or after December 23, 2024 to Knight Industries, LLC, a Colorado limited liability company of Foxfield, CO, for all work done by said contractor in construction or work on the Environmental Remediation, Building Demolition, and Water Well Plugging and Abatement project, performed within the Aurora Highlands development in Aurora, County of Adams, State of Colorado.
Any person, co-partnership, association of persons, company or corporation that has furnished labor, materials, team hire, sustenance, provisions, provender, or other supplies used or consumed by such contractors or their subcontractors, in or about the performance of the work contracted to be done or that supplied rental machinery, tools, or equipment to the extent used in the prosecution of the work, and whose claim therefor has not been paid by the contractor or its subcontractors, at any time up to and including the time of final settlement for the work contracted to be done, is required to file a verified statement of the amount due and unpaid, and an
account of such claim, to the Aerotropolis Area Coordinating Metropolitan District, c/o AECOM, Inc., 7595 Technology Way Suite 200, Denver, CO 80237, on or before the date and time hereinabove shown for final payment. Failure on the part of any claimant to file such verified statement of claim prior to such final settlement will release the Aerotropolis Area Coordinating Metropolitan District, its directors, officers, agents, and employees, of and from any and all liability for such claim. BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AEROTROPOLIS AREA COORDINATING METROPOLITAN DISTRICT
First Publication: December 5, 2024
Final Publication: December 12, 2024 Sentinel NOTICE OF HEARING ON PROPOSED 2025 BUDGETS AND 2024 BUDGET AMENDMENTS
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the proposed budgets for the ensuing year of 2025 have been submitted to the Parkside at City Centre Metropolitan District and the Parkside at City Centre Business Improvement District (collectively, the “Districts”). Such proposed budgets will be considered at a meeting and public hearing of the Boards of Directors of the Districts to be held on December 9, 2024 at 12:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter, via telephone and videoconference. To attend and participate by telephone, dial (669) 254 – 5252 and enter passcode 927883. Information regarding public participation by videoconference will be available at least 24 hours prior to the meeting and public hearing online at www.parksideatcitycentremd.com and www.parksideatcitycentrebid.com.
NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that amendments to the 2024 budgets of the Districts may also be considered at the above-referenced meeting and public hearing of the Boards of Directors of the Districts. Copies of the proposed 2025 budgets and the amended 2024 budgets, if required, are available for public inspection at the offices of Simmons & Wheeler, PC, located at 304 Inverness Way South, Suite 490, Englewood, CO 80112. Any interested elector within the Districts may, at any time prior to final adoption of the 2025 budgets and the amended 2024 budgets, if required, file or register any objections thereto.
PARKSIDE AT CITY CENTRE METROPOLITAN DISTRICT AND PARKSIDE AT CITY CENTRE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
By: /s/ Tim Fredregill,
President
Publication: December 5, 2024
Sentinel
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AS TO AMENDED 2024 BUDGET AND PROPOSED 2025 BUDGET
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a proposed 2025 budget has been submitted to the EAST BEND METROPOLITAN DISTRICT, for the fiscal year 2025. A copy of such proposed budget has been filed in the office of the accountant, CliftonLarsonAllen, 8390 E. Crescent Pkwy, Suite 300, Greenwood Village, Colorado, 80111, where the same is open for public inspection. Such proposed budget will be considered at a special meeting of the East Bend Metropolitan District to be held at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, December 9, 2024. If necessary, an amended 2024 budget will be filed in the office of the accountant and open for public inspection for consideration at the special meeting of the Board. The meeting will be held via telecommunication platform. Any interested elector of the East Bend Metropolitan District may inspect the amended and proposed budgets and file or register any objections at any time prior to the final adoption of the proposed 2025 budget and 2024 amended budget.
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METROPOLITAN DISTRICT By: /s/ ERB LAW, LLC
Attorneys for the District
Publication: December 5, 2024 Sentinel
NOTICE OF VACANCY ON THE BOARDS OF DIRECTORS OF KINGS POINT SOUTH
METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 3
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and particularly to the electors of the Kings Point South Metropolitan District No. 3 (the“District”), City of Aurora, Douglas County, Colorado.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to Section 32-1-808, C.R.S., that one or more vacancies currently exist on the Boards of Directors of the Districts. Any qualified, eligible elector of the Districts interested in serving on the Boards of Directors for the Districts should file a Letter of Interest with the Boards by 5:00 p.m., on Monday, December 16, 2024.
Letters of Interest should be sent to Kings Point South Metropolitan District No. 3, c/o WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WALDRON, 2154 E. Commons Ave., Suite 2000, Centennial, CO 80122. KINGS POINT SOUTH
METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 3 By: /s/ WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WALDRON Attorneys at Law
Publication: December 5, 2024 Sentinel
NOTICE TO ELIGIBLE ELECTORS OF HORIZON METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NOS. 1 – 10
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that one or more vacancies exist on the Boards of Directors of the HORIZON METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NOS. 1 – 10 (the “Districts”), County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado. Pursuant to Section 32-1-808(2)(a)(1), C.R.S., any qualified eligible elector of the Districts may file a letter of interest in filling the Boards’ vacancies. A letter of interest may be filed at the office of Icenogle Seaver Pogue, P.C. located at 4725 South Monaco Street, Suite 360, Denver, Colorado 80237. BY ORDER OF THE BOARDS OF DIRECTORS: HORIZON METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NOS. 1 – 10 /s/ ICENOGLE SEAVER POGUE, P.C.
Publication: December 5, 2024 Sentinel
Public Notice of Contractor’s Final Settlement
Pursuant to 1973 C.R.S. 38-26-107, notice is hereby given that on/or after the 3rd day of December, 2024, final settlement with A.D Miller Construction will be made by the Joint District No. 28J of the Counties of Adams and Arapahoe, Aurora Public Schools for and on account of the General Construction Contract for APS Sable Elementary Conversion to Child Development Center/Project # 3323-24 and that any person, co- partnership, association, company, or corporation who has an unpaid claim against any of the contractors for or on account of the furnishing of labor, materials, team hire, sustenance, provisions, provender, or other supplies used or consumed by such contractors, or any of their subcontractors, in or about the performance of said work may file at any time up to and including said time of such final settlement on/or after, 3rd day of December, 2024, a verified statement of the amount due and unpaid on account of such claim with the Board of Education of said school district at the office of:
Support Services Aurora Public Schools 15701 E. 1st Avenue Aurora, CO 80011
Failure on the part of a claimant to file such statements prior to such final settlement will relieve said school district from all and any liability for such claimant’s claim.
JOINT DISTRICT NO. 28J OF THE COUNTIES OF ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE
WEEK PAST
The week past in Aurora prep sports MONDAY, DEC. 2: On the first day of the winter prep sports season, the Aurora Central boys basketball team got started on the campaign with a 54-27 home victory over Regis Groff. The Trojans trailed by a point at halftime, but outscored the Fusion 40-14 in the second half to earn the win. Deon Davis Jr. had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Alex Flores scored 14 to pace Aurora Central. Ual Yonas added nine points and Ben Camara had eight points and nine rebounds for the Trojans. ...The Cherokee Trail boys basketball team dropped a 57-52 contest to Frederick at home to open the season. ...In a season-opening matchup of powerhouse girls programs from last season, the Cherokee Trail girls basketball team fell at Legend 54-41. ... SATURDAY, NOV. 30: The Grandview ice hockey team traveled to Colorado Springs for a matinee contest with Pine Creek and fell 10-2 at Hobson Arena. The Wolves got goals from two players — Archer Arnold and Emilio Kukic — while Andrew Alfieri and Tommy Wu picked up assists. ...The Regis Jesuit boys basketball team picked up a 70-64 victory over Rangeview in a Foundation Game that doesn’t count in the standings. Eric Fiedler and Lucas Dickinson played big roles in the final minutes for Regis Jesuit, which topped a Rangeview team that had an experienced lineup that included LaDavian King , who transferred from Eaglecrest. ...The Overland boys basketball team played host to Denver South in a competitive Foundation Game that didn’t count in the standings. ... TUESDAY, NOV. 26 :
The Regis Jesuit ice hockey team opened its season with a 6-3 road win against Resurrection Christian. Avery Osgood scored two goals, while Beau Paton, Cedar Regan, Harry Sorensen and Nolan Williams also scored. Sorensen joined Parker Brinner, Vincent Cieslak,
FULL PHOTO GALLERIES FOUND AT COURTNEYOAKES.SMUGMUG.COM
Alexander Stellino and Alexander Warot with assists. Goalie Easton Sparks picked up the win with 17 saves. ... MONDAY, NOV. 25: G randview High School had its Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Heritage Eagle Bend in which original selection Michaela Onyenwere (a former basketball star who is now in the WNBA) and Brie Oakley (who was Gatorade’s Athlete of the Year in cross country during her career at the school) were in attendance.
ABOVE: Regis Jesuit’s Lucas Dickinson, right, challenges a shot by Rangeview’s Yasin Sekue (1) during the second half of a Foundation Game between local boys basketball teams Nov. 30 LEFT : Overland’s Kymani Eason (2) brings the ball up the floor in a Foundation Game contest against Denver South on the Trail Blazers’ home floor Nov. 30.
POINTS IN THE PAINT: Aurora Central senior Ben Camara (5) rises up for a short shot attempt in the lane during a season-opening boys basketball contest against Regis Groff on Dec. 2. Camara chipped in eight points and nine rebounds in the Trojans’ 54-27 victory. ( Photo by Courtney Oakes/Aurora Sentinel )
Editorials Sentinel
Aurora should heed science before spending $40m on homelessness program
After about four years of Aurora leaders striking, repeatedly, at the heart of the region’s pernicious homeless crisis, the city is ready to move ahead, and spend more money.
If luck, rather than science and internationally accepted best practices prevail, housed and unhoused Aurora residents will see fewer homeless people camping in public places, or invisibly being homeless at someone’s house.
An Aurora City Council, rife with lawmakers who frequently wish against accepted science and reality rather than embrace it, said it is determined to successfully address the homeless crisis, again.
If you weren’t listening to the same lawmakers almost four years ago, the message is pretty much the same.
Led by Mayor Mike Coffman, the city council has backed, again, a “work first” approach to trying to coax homeless people out of their tents and out of city parks and medians and into a $40 million shelter and service center.
Next year, the city will complete converting the now-closed Crowne Plaza Hotel in far northwest Aurora into a homeless “Navigation Center.”
Hotel rooms will be reserved for homeless people who commit to work and sobriety programs, if there’s space. Others sent to the center after being removed from public camping sites can use an overnight congregate shelter, if there’s space.
The rest of the center will be for job training and health and social services.
The estimated cost of running the project is at least $2 million a year, funded by the city and surrounding counties.
If you’re wondering how well the city’s tough-love, work-first mandate went during the last almost four years, you only have to look for yourself in parks, alleys, open spaces and at bus stops.
The most recent Point in Time count of homeless people in the region made clear there are just about the same number of unhoused and housed homeless people now as there were before Aurora implemented its “this is it” camping ban in 2021.
Denver has had one type of homeless camping ban or another for about a decade.
They don’t work. They simply herd homeless people from place to place, from city to city.
It isn’t that Aurora lawmakers weren’t warned that a ban on homeless camping would both just harass homeless people into moving somewhere nearby.
Ready to up the ante, new requirements in the making will allow police to ticket homeless people who don’t, or can’t, move along to a new camping site, moving them closer to fines and jail time for vagrancy and trespassing.
The city has been repeatedly warned that making homelessness a criminal, jailable offense, at great expense to taxpayers, will only end with turning homeless people back to this same community to continue being homeless, and now with a criminal record.
Expert after expert, study after study contradicts the majority on city council supporting insistence that tough-love programs will make a difference in the problem here.
While centralized services make good sense in addressing a population with serious commuting problems, reserving services for those who meet the desires of city leaders will result in no or little change in the problem.
The list of accredited, vetted studies from not just across the nation, but around the world, are consistent and compelling. If a community provides shelter to someone who has none, regardless of psychiatric, addiction or other problems, the odds of them regaining the ability to house and care for themselves increases over requiring “good” behavior before being granted a safe place to live.
Here are just a few:
“At Home/Chez Soi: Final Report” by Health Canada and the Mental Health Commission of Canada in 2014 — The study found that Housing First was highly effective in reducing homelessness and improving quality of life for participants.
“The National Evaluation of the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2013. Although not focused solely on Housing First, this evaluation demonstrated that rapid rehousing significantly reduced homelessness in the United States.
“The Effectiveness of Housing First Programs” by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in 2016 — This review of Housing First programs compiled evidence from multiple studies and concluded that Housing First is one of the most effective models for reducing homelessness, improving housing stability, and supporting mental health recovery.
“The HUD-VASH Program: Housing First for Veterans” by The National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in 2020 — The HUD-VASH program, which combines Housing First with case management services for veterans, has shown high success rates in reducing homelessness among veterans. The program has been widely cited as a model for combining housing and supportive services to address homelessness effectively.
There are dozens more.
It isn’t that there won’t be homeless people willing to fill hotel rooms at the city’s Navigation Center. It’s just that thousands of homeless people will remain that way because of restrictions that offer no more chance of success than just, first, making sure a homeless person has a safe place to sleep.
Tragically, as the city moves toward this evolving approach, Aurora is closing sites where tiny Pallet shelters have provided just the safe sleeping space, without stiff commitments, that have allowed people to move out and into permanent housing, instead of a tent along I-225.
There is no cure for the problem, because it’s complex and varied. As long as there are communities, there will be homeless people among them.
But real science shows that increasing access to affordable housing, education, job training and healthcare — without restrictions — make huge strides in ensuring people are able to care for themselves, off the streets.
While the city is engaged in negotiating details with a contractor, Aurora officials should seek out experts to advise them on how best to operate this new center and fashion changes in laws to work toward and not against the goal of helping people without homes acquire one.
Acting now can save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, only to reach the same conclusion in three or four years that taxpayers can clearly see for themselves from the last three or four years.
Cursing the curtains for cursive
The death of cursive handwriting reared its ugly head during the recent presidential election.
Since 2010, according to Yahoo News, many states have dropped cursive writing from their curricula as they shifted to Common Core State Standards for English.
As a result, many Gen Z Americans lack a distinctive cursive signature, which posed a problem for Gen Z voters who used mail-in ballots last month.
Since officials had great difficulty matching Gen Z mail-in-ballot signatures to the signatures the government had on file for them, many of their ballots were tossed.
This problem has renewed interest in the cursive debate.
As it goes, the origin of cursive dates back centuries. It was the result of technological innovations in writing — inkwells and quill pens made from goose feathers.
Since the ink dripped when you lifted the quill from the paper, it made sense to connect letters and words together in one flowing line — and cursive writing was born.
My mother and father were taught to master cursive in the 1940s. Both mastered incredibly elegant handwriting.
I grew up in the 1970s, the era of Bic ballpoint pens. Such pens didn’t leak and, technically, didn’t require cursive writing. But the good nuns of St. Germaine Catholic School made us master it anyway.
They’d be horrified to see the chicken scratch I write now, though I have an excuse.
I am a product of the electronic era. I do all my writing on a computer. I’ve become very fast at keying-in my thoughts.
When I write by hand, though, I am so agitated by the slowness, I rush it along. My dad joked that I should have been a doctor!
In any event, with such modern technological innovations, some argue that cursive is no longer needed and is also costly and time-consuming to teach.
Curses to that, say others.
More than a decade ago, Katie Zezima argued in The New York Times that if people are not taught cursive, they’ll be more at risk of forgery; printing in block letters is much easier to replicate.
And the development of fine motor skills will be thwarted, she added.
Besides, she asked, how will people unfamiliar with cursive read important documents, such as the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution?
To be sure, it has become such a growing problem that the government is spending taxpayer money to transcribe historical cursive documents, so that Gen Z can read them.
I’m certainly a proponent of moving forward with innovation. I’m able to run a communications and video-production business from anywhere on Earth without any need for cursive handwriting.
Then again, I wonder that in our eagerness to advance, we tossed out the baby with the bath water.
The mail-in-ballot issue certainly should make us see the need for distinct cursive signatures, but there’s a human element to keeping cursive, too.
One of my most prized possessions is a letter written by my father’s father in 1924 consoling a woman whose mother had just died. He wrote the letter when he was 21.
I was given the letter in 1997 by the son of the woman my grandfather wrote the letter to. I was struck by how similar my grandfather’s writing style was to my father’s — how similar his writing style was to mine — and I was moved by the beauty and artfulness of his signature.
I can’t imagine a world in which letters written in cursive are no longer left behind for future generations to cherish.
See Tom Purcell’s syndicated column, humor books and funny videos featuring his dog, Thurber, at TomPurcell.com. Email him at Tom@TomPurcell.com.
TOM PURCELL, CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST
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