by Mark Smiley | Aug 1, 2014 | General Featured
by James Bowie
Former Glendale City Manager Veggo Frederick Larsen II died at age 61 at his residence in Palmetto, Florida. The cause of death was not reported other than it was “unexpected.” He was city manager of Glendale in tumultuous times from October 1999 to May 2002. After leaving Glendale he joined a recycling firm in Texas. It does not appear that he was employed at the time of his death.
Larsen was born to a prominent family in Hamden, Connecticut, and was a graduate of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He had two brothers and two sisters. The sibling he was closest to, Eric Larsen, passed away several years ago. His grandfather and namesake, Veggo F. Larsen, was president of the Connecticut State Golf Association in 1956 and 1957 and helped to instill a love of the game of golf into his grandson. His father, Edwin Veggo Larsen, was a real estate developer and predeceased his son by less than two years. Prior to becoming the city manager of Glendale, Larsen was in the real estate business in Colorado and then the New York area.
In the spring of 1998 the Glendale businesses and residents formed a political group called the Glendale Tea Party and swept its slate of candidates to office in the City Council. That fall a new city manager was to be chosen. Chuck Bonniwell (publisher of the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle) was an old friend of Larsen and proposed him for city manager.
Larsen described his selection in an article in Westword concerning the initial get-together of the six city manager candidates and city officials: “When Chuck’s girlfriend shows up and gives me a big hug. Oh, they knew. They knew there was a rat in the woodpile — they just didn’t know which one.”
Bonniwell’s remembrance of the event was somewhat different. “I supported him along with a majority of the City Council. They were not really any hidden agendas. He was the leading candidate for the city manager position, but he certainly could have unimpressed the council members in which case they would have chosen someone else. Veggo always had a wonderful way of making the mundane seem very fun and dramatic.”
Larsen later led a highly publicized revolt against his original supporters. In 2002 Bonniwell and other members of the Glendale Tea Party supported a new set of candidates who prevailed at the ballot box in 2002 and fired Larsen. Bonniwell noted, “Veggo was an immensely engaging and intelligent individual who could have been an extraordinary city manager in Glendale or anywhere else. But he never wanted to be beholden to anyone, which is fine, but in the end it meant he never worked for or with anyone for very long. He had a job he could have retired at many years later. Instead he was on the street once again looking for employment after just three plus years.”
Former Glendale Mayor Mark Smiley remembers Larsen’s extraordinary gift with words, “He was a National Merit Scholar in high school and was always making up palindromes [words or sentences read the same forward or backward, i.e. civic] when he got bored at City Council meetings. He could be wonderfully fun.”
Present mayor of Glendale and Colorado gubernatorial candidate Mike Dunafon remarked, “I always liked Veggo even after he stabbed everyone in the back. He had everything going for him, but could never quite put it all together. He was missing that piece that makes very talented people successful, which is to see things from more than one’s own limited perspective, no matter how bright you are.”
One of Larsen’s accomplishments while city manager of Glendale was to establish a relationship with the city of Playa del Carmen, Mexico, which became the official “Sister City” of Glendale in 2004. He got the then Glendale Fire Department to donate a fire engine, that the department was in the process of decommissioning, to Playa del Carmen. He even drove the truck down to the Mexican city, a distance of almost 1,700 miles.
Bonniwell summed up, “Veggo was a little like Andy Dufresne in the movie Shawshank Redemption with Playa del Carmen being his Zihuatanejo. Unfortunately, like all of us to a certain extent, the bars of his Shawshank Penitentiary were imposed on him by his own mind. Unlike Andy Dufresne he never really escaped that self imposed prison.”
Larsen left 75 percent of his estate to the “Make a Wish” Foundation.
by Mark Smiley | Aug 1, 2014 | Main Articles
Wine, Ales On Rails And Dinner Excursions
You’ve seen the signals: Freeway traffic, construction slowdowns, plus long hours at the office. It’s summertime and as that old Cole Porter tune seems to sugge
st, now’s the time to Get Out of Town!
Here’s a cool thought: How about a sojourn through time, natural beauty and a railroad experience that you won’t find anywhere else? The Georgetown Loop Railroad is the encounter you’ve dreamed about while waiting through those Denver traffic delays — beautiful backcountry splendor you can view while relaxing over wine or dinner. Not only is it close to home, but you can choose from a number of unique packages and programs that will help you quickly lose track of time.
One of the most popular is the Georgetown Loop Dinner Train departing from Silver Plume at 6:30 p.m. (6 p.m. in Oct.), and heading down to Georgetown during the first course. After a brief stop at the Devil’s Gate station, you’ll enjoy dinner atop the Devil’s Gate high bridge overlooking historic Georgetown. Along with a complimentary glass of wine during dinner there is a fully stocked bar. Dessert is served during the travel back to the original st
ation. Dinner trains are offered most Fridays and Saturdays through October.
Wines, Ales & Mines
Also extremely well liked are the Wine and Hors d’oeuvres Trains that received rave reviews last year. Thus this year new and exciting wines from vineyards across the world have been added to share with travelers. These are matched with a selection of light culinary accompaniments to please the palate. Enjoy this while sitting in enclosed coaches atop the Devil’s Gate High Bridge above beautiful Clear Creek.
There are also evening trains known as Ales on Rails that are offered throughout the summer and fall months, and are a fun and casual way to enjoy the Rocky Mountains. Voyagers enjoy dining on light culinary fare paired with Colorado micro brew beers.
Adventure trips such as the Tunnel to Another Time mine tours are available. From now thorough the end of September explorers can enhance their train rides with an optional walking tour of the Lebanon Silver Mine, located at the halfway point on the railroad. The tour takes you 500 feet into a mine tunnel bored in the 1870s. Guides will point out rich veins of silver and tell you about early-day mining. The temperature inside the mine is a constant 44 degrees Fahrenheit, so bring a jacket or buy one in well-stocked gift stores. The tour also includes visits to the manager’s office, the miners’ change room and the tool shed. Information: 888-456-6777 or www.george townlooprr.com.
by Mark Smiley | Aug 1, 2014 | Main Articles
Attorney David Lane Calls Settlement Little More Than ‘Hush Money’
by Mark Smiley
The City of Denver announced the largest civil suit settlement in the municipality’s history at $3.25 million to former city jail inmate Jamal Hunter. The settlement appears to have made Hunter and his attorneys Rathod|Mohamedbhai LLC happy, but few others. The settlement has received federal court and City Council approval. Federal District Court Judge John L. Kane preconditioned his approval to a myriad of reforms, all of which the City of Denver has agreed to perform.
As more videotapes have been revealed showing more sheriff’s deputies abusing inmates at the city jail, the settlement has been met with little enthusiasm. Well-known litigator David Lane blasted the city saying the settlement was little more than hush money and declaring, “They will pay any amount to avoid the embarras
sment of exposing their officers to public scrutiny.”
Critics indicate it is not just the police officers and sheriff’s deputies that the city has to be embarrassed about and cover up, but now it is also their city attorneys and district attorneys. Veteran Assistant District Attorney Stuart Shapiro was caught running an apparently fake investigation on one of the sheriff’s deputies for the purpose of witness intimidation and tampering utilizing two Denver police sergeants from the Internal Affairs Bureau.
Court watcher, Linda Pierson, noted, “An entire criminal witness tampering and intimidation scheme was being run out of the City Attorney’s Office — and not a single charge of any kind has been brought to date against the assistant City Attorney, the Denver police officers or even the sheriff’s deputy they were supposed to be investigating. Unbelievably sad.”
The unfolding scandal has, however, resulted in an ever increasing number of self- imposed external reviews of the various legal and law enforcement agencies. Rec
ently demoted Sheriff Gary Wilson had four task forces underway to give recommendation while the Denver Human Services is reviewing the Sheriff’s Department’s policies and procedures. Mayor Hancock got into the act announcing his very own independent review of the Sheriff’s Department by a yet to be determined entity. City Attorney Scott Martinez in turn announced an independent review of his entire office, including himself, by a local law firm to be determined by “competitive bidding.”
Observers were quick to dismiss the sudden scurry of investigations. Trish Abbott noted, “It is standard operating procedure when you are in damage control mode. Governor Chris Christie employed it in his Bridgegate scandal and Hillary Clinton did the same for Benghazi. They will all be whitewash reports wrapped around a scam settlement within the original sham investigation.”
Abbott went on to note, “As part of the whitewash there will be dozens of recommendations from a myriad of reports that will be enthusiastically adopted by the City Attorney’s Office, the Sheriff’s Department and the Police Department none of which will make an iota of difference. Nothing will change. Scott Martinez will get to repeat his almost comical mantra that attorneys at the City Attorney’s Office are held to nothing but ‘the highest of professional standards.’ Mayor Hancock will get to hug whomever is his latest choice for sheriff and call him the ‘best sheriff in the country’ just like all of his other sad sack choices for the same position. Plaintiffs’ attorneys will continue to make millions while every egregious mega settlement will be characterized as one more chance for ‘Denver to move forward.’”
Other observers note that one of the main problems is that no one has ever been held accountable or acknowledged error within the City and County of Denver. City Attorney Scott Martinez began his press conference on the settlement insisting that the multi-million dollar payout was not an admission of liability or wrong-doing. Mayor Hancock demoted Denver Sheriff Gary Wilson while emphasizing he did nothing wrong and it was his department as a whole that had let him down. Not a single Denver sheriff’s deputy or police officer has been charged with excessive force in this century.
It is expected that the multi-million dollar settlement will result in a significant number of new lawsuits being filed. David Lane is scheduled to take to trial in September the wrongful death case of homeless preacher Marvin Booker killed in a jail house scuffle with sheriff’s deputies, but that too is expected to settle for millions of dollars.
In June alone the number of jailhouse complaints has risen over 30 percent. “It is time to take the Brink’s truck up to City Hall and empty out the city treasury,” declared Abbott. “Everybody and anybody the sheriff’s deputies have kicked around at the jail over the last few years is going to sue and collect, and every indication is that the number of such people is going to be quite high. The sheer incompetence and venality of the Sheriff’s Department, the Police Department, the City Attorney’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office is staggering. Every attorney in the plaintiff’s bar is licking their lips to get in on the action.”
Attorneys indicate that the key to getting a multi-million dollar settlement out of the city 
will be to try to obtain the internal e-mails over the last seven years between the City Attorney’s Office and the Internal Affairs Bureaus of the Police Department and the Sheriff’s Department.
“Those documents are pure gold,” stated Scott Brock. “The fact that Judge Kane might order their production is what brought the city to its knees in the Jamal Hunter case. No one believes that Stuart Shapiro is the only one in the City Attorney’s running what appears to be a criminal operation. There are present and former members of the City Attorney’s Office all over Denver that are very concerned. The multi-million dollar Hunter settlement will look like peanuts in a few years. There are going to be a lot of very rich former city jail inmates running around this city, not to mention their lawyers.”
by Mark Smiley | Aug 1, 2014 | Glendale City News
by Marco Cummings
Writer for and on behalf of the City of Glendale
The summer weather isn’t the only thing heating up this time of year. The month of August also ushers in the heated competition of the Serevi RugbyTown Sevens (SRS) tournament, which will take place in Glendale on Aug. 15-17 at Infinity Park.
Rugby 7s is a faster paced version of the traditional 15-a-side rugby union, which is a sport that will debut at the Olympics at the Rio 2016 Games.
“It’s competitive, fast and skillful,” Glendale Raptors head coach Andre Snyman said of the competition. “We as a team like to play at this high level of competition, as it gives our players a great way to measure themselves against some of the best players out there.”
The Raptors will be participating as tournament hosts, having invited a variety of world-class rugby teams to RugbyTown, USA.
Glendale’s tournament offers high stakes. Seventeen teams from seven coun
tries (including three national teams) will be competing for the winner-take-all $10,000 purse as well as an automatic bid to the 2014 Bayleys Fiji Coral Coast Sevens, in the homeland of Serevi founder and rugby legend Waisale Serevi, the “King of 7s.”
In addition to the national and club teams, each branch of the United States armed forces will be fielding a side. Each military team is made up of active duty and reserve servicemen.
The United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard won’t be the only military presence at the SRS tournament. The Royal Air Force Spitfires will also make the trip from the U.K. This year marks the Spitfires’ third visit to the City of Glendale.
“Our best moments have to be the awesome welcome we get from the city and its residents every time we visit RugbyTown, USA,” remarked Royal Air Force manager Steven Mills. “The facilities and the commentary team are awesome too!”
Long travel times have not deterred many of this year’s entrants to the SRS tournament. Bermuda will endure over eight hours of travel time before training and competing at the Mile High altitude, where the team will make its second appearance at the Serevi RugbyTown Sevens.
Bermuda will be one of two Caribbean participants in this year’s edition of the Serevi RugbyTown Sevens. Team Bahamas will make its inaugural appearance at the SRS tournament.
However, the teams from England and the Caribbean may not be the most exotic, nor the most well-traveled in this year’s tournament. The Republic of Georgia Rugby Club Academia is also scheduled to make an appearance. Hailing from a country nestled in the Caucasus region, which marks the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, the Georgian team is comprised of 13 ruggers and four coaches and trainers, many of whom are involved with the Georgian National Team.
Of course, one needn’t leave the defending SRS Champions out of the conversation. The USA All-Americans will look to defend their 2013 crown by making a visit to this year’s tournament. The team is comprised of many of the best collegiate talent from across the United States. Despite only being founded in 2011, the All-Americans already have many accolades on their résumés.
In addition to last year’s SRS Championship, they were SRS plate winners in 2012 and champions of USA Rugby’s All Star 7’s Cup that same year.
The All-Americans are just one of multiple former SRS champions making a return to the tournament in 2014. The USA Falcons, 2012 winners of the Serevi RugbyTown Sevens Championship will also make an appearance at this year’s tournament.
The Falcons serve as the development team for the U.S. Eagles National Sevens Team and one of multiple teams in the SRS tournament that boast players in the USA Men’s Eagles Sevens National Team player pool (including the Raptors).
Another SRS team loaded with up and coming talent on its roster is the Northeast Olympic Development Academy. The Northeast Rugby ODA has been sanctioned by USA Rugby as the official Academy in the Northeast USA and a designated pathway to USA Eagles selection.
Rounding out the American teams is the Texas-based Negro y Azul. The “Black and Blue” were Serevi Invitational Plate Champions in 2013 and are hoping to add a Serevi RugbyTown Sevens Championship to their trophy case in Austin.
While the United States will certainly be well represented at SRS, the Americans’ neighbors north and south of the border will also have teams in the hunt.
The Lionheart Elite 7s out of Edmonton will represent the Canadians. The globetrotting team earned a championship on home soil at the Vancouver 7s tournament in 2012, but holds hardware from as far away as Dubai.
The Mexican National Team (Mexico Serpientes) will visit Glendale from south of the border. Formalized in 2003, the Mexican Federation of Rugby, B.C. (FMRU) is relatively new on the stage of world competition, but “Los Serpientes” are beginning to make noise. Most recently, Mexico’s U19 team finished as 2014 NACRA Cup Champions held during the third weekend of July.
In addition to the rugby action, Glendale will host a Bruises and Brews beer fest on Saturday, Aug. 16 and a Taste of Glendale on Sunday, Aug. 17. The beer fest will feature unlimited tastings from 20 local craft breweries and distilleries while the “Taste of Glendale” will offer meals and treats priced at $5 or less from a selection of local eateries.
So whether you’re a newcomer or an avid rugger, there’s sure to be something you’ll enjoy at this year’s Serevi RugbyTown Sevens.쇓
