Looking for lead in Jefferson County Schools - #lakewoodnews

Jefferson County Schools is hunting for lead this summer in its buildings.

In a matter of weeks, the district has found sinks, drinking fountains and hose hookups that tested positive for elevated levels of lead at the following schools: Green Mountain, Kendrick Lakes, Ralston, Westgate, Bergen Meadow, Bradford, Deane, Eiber, Slater, Stony Creek, Edgewater, Ute Meadows and Foster elementary schools.

Tests at Pennington, Coronado, Hutchinson and Miller elementary schools found no elevated levels of lead.

Each school was tested at numerous water sources. Ralston had nine high-lead spots; Slater had eight; Bergen Meadow had five; Ute Meadows had four; Deane had three; Green Mountain, Edgewater, Stony Creek and Foster had two; and Kendrick Lakes, Bradford and Westgate had one.

All locations were either a sink inside a classroom or food service prep area, a drinking fountain or a sink hookup.

The Environmental Protection Agency requires any water location that tests higher than 15 parts per billion be remediated. Most sites with positive tests were slightly above the suggested level, but a sink at Foster and Ute Meadows showed levels above 66 parts per billion, and two sinks at Slater tested above 100 parts per billion.

The EPA cautions that there is no known safe level of lead consumption.

Diana Wilson, Jeffco's chief communication officer, said that every school in the district will be checked over the summer.

This hunt for lead was initiated after Arvada's Jeffco Head Start building, a former Jeffco Schools building, tested positive for lead in April, Wilson said. Staff wanted to check the water quality to ensure the safety of the district's 86,000 students and its facilities. She was not aware of any other Colorado school district conducting such a survey.

Approximately 69 percent of Jeffco facilities are 29 to 68 years old, so Wilson warned more schools could see high levels of lead.

The estimated cost to test all the schools is $7,500. There is no cost estimate yet for fixing each lead-high site. Wilson said each water source will not be used until it tests below the EPA's lead threshold.

New schools are being tested daily. The district plans on testing all 154 district schools, and taking appropriate remediation steps by the time school starts in the fall. Wilson added that the district is willing to contract out additional testing and remediation work to ensure that schools are safe.

Families who have attended schools found with elevated lead levels are being notified right away by the district, Wilson said.

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Looking-for-lead-in-Jefferson-County-Schools,224581

Martin, Dingfelder change CSP command

from Valley Courier - News http://www.alamosanews.com/V2_news_articles.php

SLV seeks to boost tourism

from Valley Courier - News http://www.alamosanews.com/V2_news_articles.php

Valley Educators Credit Union robbed

from Valley Courier - News http://www.alamosanews.com/V2_news_articles.php

Eclectic mix shines at Arvada Center - #lakewoodnews

It's going to be a star-filled summer at the Arvada Center with its Summer Stage Concert Series, present by Swallow Hill Music.

For the third year, the two organizations are bringing an eclectic mix of performances to the center's outdoor amphitheater.

"Swallow Hill does a great job of balancing acts that we know the community loves with new acts," said Philip Sneed, the center's executive director. "I'm more excited about this year's lineup than any year before."

The series is sponsored by Lutheran Medical Center, Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, Brookfield Residential and Colorado Creative Industries.

Musicians visiting the Arvada Center this year include Jonny Lang, Robert Earl Keen, Reverend Horton Heat and Clint Black.

"Arvada is changing, and we wanted to reflect that with some of the acts we've booked," said Barry Osborne, marketing manager with Swallow Hill. "We've got some great openers for the shows as well --; performers who are really complimentary to the headliners."

In addition to these nationally known performers, the Colorado Symphony, Colorado Ballet and Denver Brass will also be performing.

"These are the performers we booked for the center, and we always get a good turnout for them," Sneed said. "We're always trying to get just the right balance of performers, and I think we've gotten closer this year than ever before."

A significant change for this year's season is the Arvada Center will be handling its own food and beverage sales for the first time. The change reflects the center's position as its own entity instead of being owned by the City of Arvada.

"It's exciting for us, because we're going to be able to provide options to audiences that we haven't been," Sneed said. "We'll be able to offer higher-scale food options, which are more in line with what our concert audiences want."

Osborne and Sneed said the partnership between the two nonprofits has been a boon for both organizations and audiences all over the metro area.

"We love working with the Arvada Center and showing people that it has this great outdoor space," Osborne said. "It has a great summer vibe. Really, the center is a full four-season venue."

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://arvadapress.com/stories/Eclectic-mix-shines-at-Arvada-Center,223244?branding=15

Perlmutter: 'Silence is no longer an option' - #lakewoodnews

Congressman Ed Perlmutter in a telephone town hall meeting last week encouraged his constituents to speak out again gun violence.

The telephone town hall meeting was part of the National Day of Action for Commonsense Gun Violence Protection, and came just a week or so after Perlmutter participated in the historic "sit-in" filibuster with dozens of other Democratic members of the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. The sit-in was staged to force a vote on pending gun reform measures.

Joining Perlmutter on the call last week were two family members who had lost loved ones in mass shootings. Tom Mauser lost his son, Daniel Mauser, in the shooting at Columbine High School April 20, 1999; Lakewood Police Officer Dave Hoover lost his nephew, A.J. Boik, during the Aurora Theater shooting July 20, 2012.

"After having felt these tragedies so close to home and in such a personal way, it is time to take action. Silence is no longer an option," Perlmutter said. "It shouldn't take members of Congress holding a protest to get a vote on common sense gun violence prevention measures that are supported by the majority of the American people."

Hoover said it is the responsibility of lawmakers to do more than offer condolences or empty promises.

"Our family, and all of those families who have lost loved ones to senseless acts of gun violence, deserve better than this," Hoover said. "We all deserve to know our elected officials are trying to do the right thing and not walking away from these tragic events asking for a moment of silence, or saying `It's such a shame,' and `I wish we could have done something.'"

"I am grateful for the legislators who are supporting common sense gun laws and I applaud them for taking a stand for what is right," he added.

Mauser, too, urged against complacency.

"Despite the tragedy I've faced, I continue to be optimistic and hopeful about what we can reasonably do in this country to reduce the terrible toll of gun violence," Mauser said. "We can't simply continue with `business as usual.' That option is too deadly."

The National Day of Action came after House Democrats demonstrated with a sit-in "protest" for 26 hours on the House Floor, demanding that House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Republicans allow an immediate vote on what they said were bipartisan, commonsense gun violence prevention legislation to help keep guns out of dangerous hands.

The two bills included:

Bipartisan legislation to expand and strengthen the background check system; and

The bipartisan "No Fly, No Buy" bill to keep guns out of the hands of suspected terrorists. To date, House Republicans have voted 14 times to block consideration of the bill, according to Perlmutter.

"As lawmakers, we have a responsibility to ensure our constituent's voices are heard and pass responsible gun violence prevention laws that respect the Second Amendment but still protect our communities," Perlmutter said.

As part of the National Day of Action, House Democrats, families, and advocates are held dozens of events nationwide to demand immediate action from Congress.

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Perlmutter-Silence-is-no-longer-an-option,223245

Glenn to challenge Bennet for Senate - #lakewoodnews

Darryl Glenn, an El Paso County commissioner from deeply conservative Colorado Springs, rode endorsements from Sen. Ted Cruz and other big names on the right to win Colorado's Republican Senate primary and face a well-funded Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet in November.

Glenn's decisive victory in the June 28 five-way primary set up an uphill battle with Bennet, once considered vulnerable in this swing state for his close association with President Barack Obama. Only two years ago, Coloradans ousted Democratic Sen. Mark Udall and replaced him with then-U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner.

Having outflanked his fellow conservatives to secure the nomination, Glenn now has to tack to the center --; as Gardner did in 2014 --; to woo enough of Colorado's independent voters, who outnumber both registered Republicans and Democrats.

Glenn said he was confident he could expand his appeal to moderates and independents.

"What we found out during the campaign is that Coloradans care about the Iran deal, Obamacare and excessive regulations that are hurting working families. Michael Bennet has to account for it," Glenn said.

Bennet, meanwhile, has been raising millions for his re-election and aired campaign ads featuring his work for Coloradans while the Republicans slugged it out.

Glenn, a self-described Christian constitutional conservative, has embraced Donald Trump, suggested working with Democrats isn't a priority, and condemned Bennet's support for the Iran nuclear deal, health overhaul and environmental regulations that hurt the coal industry.

"Darryl Glenn in the Senate would rubber-stamp Donald Trump's agenda," said Bennet campaign spokesman Andrew Zucker. "He's too extreme for Colorado."

Glenn won late endorsements from Cruz, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and the Senate Conservatives Fund, which poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into his campaign.

He defeated Robert Blaha, a Colorado Springs businessman; Jack Graham, a retired businessman from Fort Collins who appealed to the party's moderates; former Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier; and former state Rep. Jon Keyser, a decorated combat veteran who focused nearly exclusively on national security.

Keyser, the national GOP's early favorite, stumbled over fraudulent petition signatures submitted by his campaign to qualify for the primary.

Ryan Call, a former chair of the Colorado GOP, said Glenn "hasn't had his own voice and his own campaign driving the message --; it's largely the outside groups driving a stronger conservative message." But he said he hoped Glenn could tailor his campaign to capture moderates --; as Gardner did when he eased his stand on abortion --; in the general election.

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://highlandsranchherald.net/stories/Glenn-to-challenge-Bennet-for-Senate,223246?branding=15