Edge returns to publication to fill void in Lakewood coverage
LAKEWOOD – The Edge is resuming publication after a three-month hiatus.
The publication, which first went on line nearly three years ago, will publish as news events demand, a departure from the previous goal of daily updates.
Resumption of publication came after a number of requests for continued coverage of Lakewood and Jefferson County, requests that multiplied after the contentious November election. And recent City Council actions emphasize the need to push for greater transparency in government.
“Transparency is not limited to a financial website, nor is it confined with the city’s checkbook,” said Edge Editor Charley Able. “Transparency includes an open process in which citizens are aware of not only what is brought forward by City Council, but those issues Council decide not to pursue.”
And City Council’s new marching orders, discussed during Council’s annual planning retreat last month in Boulder, reportedly suggest Council members must be part of the “prevailing” side in any vote in order to be effective and that any dissent should be avoided.
Among the looming issues the Edge will cover include the proposed development of Green Gables Golf Course. The proposal is pending after developers submitted an application to Jefferson County rather than seeking annexation to Lakewood, which virtually surrounds the property in question on the southeast corner of West Jewell Avenue and South Wadsworth Boulevard.
The idea of developing under county rules – and a sales tax rate nearly 30 percent lower than nearby Lakewood merchants must charge – encountered stiff opposition in its initial neighborhood meetings.
Council also will soon be deciding the fate of a rezoning application from Colorado Christian University, part of an expansion plan to almost completely rebuild or refurbish the campus on the south side of West Alameda Avenue between Garrison and Carr streets. CCU officials were relatively lavish in their contributions to incumbents with opposition in November’s election. Early neighborhood meetings about the CCU redevelopment drew a measure of support from its Ward 1 and Ward 3 neighbors.
The Edge also will try to keep its readers aware of Jeffco Public School’s plans to deal with a widening gap between expenses and revenues. Hints of a tax increase are circulating amid threats of increasing class size and cutting or elimination of essential programs – including elementary school instrumental music programs.
The Edge also encourages citizen journalism, coverage of your neighborhoods, your issues and your opinions. Articles in opinion pieces can be submitted to info@lakewoodedge.com. We also will print church, club and other civic announcements as well as youth-sports related announcements.
