• Claire Deliman
• Bret Hedican and Kristi Yamaguchi with daughters Emma and Keara. The family will attend the Springs' festival.

Colorado Springs is a true Olympic city.

Home to the USOC. Home to the Olympic Training Center. Home to myriad national governing bodies for amateur sports. Hike our trails, and you just might get passed by a future superstar of the world stage (you'll probably also get passed by some obscenely-fit senior citizen, but that's another matter entirely).

Yes, indeed, we have credentials. And if you remember, we paid for those credentials — $32.48 million plus interest in an economic development deal.

What we didn't have, at least until recently, was an inkling of PR sense. Aside from the occasional stamp on city stationary and that much-maligned rooftop mural near Colorado Avenue and I-25, the city hasn't done much to toot its own horn about amateur sports.

That could be changing. This year, the city is throwing a party for the opening of the Olympic Games in London. And we've even got some big stars in attendance, like Olympians Kristi Yamaguchi (figure skating) and Bret Hedican (hockey).

Read on to learn more:

Olympic Downtown Celebration to be held July 27
Fireworks and a special torch lighting to cap off free community party

As American athletes get ready to represent our country in London, Colorado Springs citizens here in “Little London” will don red, white and blue in support of Team USA at the Olympic Downtown Celebration from 4-10 p.m., Friday, July 27. The free event will coincide with NBC’s broadcast of the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in London, which will be shown on a 15- by 27-feet high-definition video screen at the intersection of Colorado and Tejon, right in front of the U.S. Olympic Committee headquarters building. Event details will be shared with attendees at today’s Olympic Family Luncheon, sponsored by the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation.

“The Downtown Olympic Celebration will be a great way to celebrate together as a community how very fortunate we are to be home to the United States Olympic Committee, U.S. Paralympics and 22 Olympic national governing bodies,” said Mayor Bach. “Many of the athletes competing in London will have trained here at some point in their careers and we look forward to cheering them on as they compete at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

While the Opening Ceremony broadcast is tentatively slated to start at 6 p.m. Mountain Time (NBC will announce official start time later this summer), the party will kick off a full two hours earlier at 4 p.m. with a variety of family-friendly entertainment that will continue throughout the night. All events are free, and will include:

• Two entertainment stages, featuring music, performances and interviews with local celebrities, including Olympians and Paralympians from past Games
• Autograph sessions with Olympians and Paralympians
• Maximum Velocity, a high-flying BMX performance stunt team
• Flying Aces All-Stars, Olympic and world champions acrobatic athletes performing some of the coolest trampoline tricks around
• Synthetic “Ice” Rink in July, featuring interactive events and complimentary skate use from U.S. Figure Skating, USA Hockey and USA Curling – all in the middle of the street!
• Miniature tennis court for kids’ play with U.S. Tennis Association
• Children’s Gravity Play Area, complete with inflatable slides, portable climbing walls and more (at no charge!)
• Interactive sport activities with the U.S. National Guard.

The evening will be capped off with a very special Colorado Springs torch lighting that coincides with the lighting of the official Olympic torch in London.

Olympians Kristi Yamaguchi (figure skating) and Bret Hedican (hockey), who met at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville and married in 2000, will represent U.S. athletes as they light the local torch. Yamaguchi is the 1992 Olympic ladies figure skating champion, a best-selling author, philanthropist and a winner of the popular Dancing with the Stars television show. Hedican won the 2006 Stanley Cup with the NHL Carolina Hurricanes and is a TV sports analyst covering the NHL San Jose Sharks. They have two daughters, Keara Kiyomi, 8, and Emma Yoshiko, 6.

There really is an everything-must-go dynamic at Freedom Communications, and it's only further proven by the sale, announced today, of the company's Texas assets to AIM Media Texas. These include the Brownsville Herald, El Nuevo Heraldo, the Harlingen Valley Morning Star, the Monitor in McAllen, the Odessa American and the Mid Valley Town Crier in Weslaco.

"The attractiveness of these properties is entirely due to their strong performance and the hard work of their associates," says Freedom CEO Mitch Stern in a news release. "The sale furthers our goal of providing value to our shareholders while at the same time increasing the financial strength of Freedom."

Apparently shareholders' value is increased by selling strong-performing properties. Weird. Freedom's creditors must really want to exit the news business. Anyway, here's the company's flagship paper, the Orange County Register — reportedly also in negotiations to be sold — on the transaction:

AIM Media Texas is a new entity created for the purchase of Freedom's Texas properties. Jeremy L. Halbreich, chairman and chief executive, is the former president and general manager of the Dallas Morning News.

More recently he was the chairman and chief executive of Sun-Times Media LLC, which owned the Chicago Sun-Times. Prior to that, he headed Texas-based American Consolidated Media, which owns newspapers and other publications in nine states.

——— ORIGINAL POST: May 17, 9:34 A.M. ———

Freedom Communications, the parent company of the Gazette, has issued a press release announcing it sold four more of its newspapers to an affiliate of Philadelphia-based private equity firm Versa Capital Management.

It has reached agreement to sell the Telegraph in Alton, IL, the Journal-Courier in Jacksonville, IL, the Sedalia Democrat in Sedalia, MO and the Lima News in Lima, OH ...

The transaction, terms of which were not disclosed, is expected to close within the next thirty days. Substantially all current employees will transition to the new company.

"With their commitment to providing the accurate and timely information that their communities want and deserve, these properties showcase, through the hard work of their associates, what community journalism is all about. We believe that commitment and tradition will be carried on by the new ownership," said Freedom CEO Mitch Stern.

Recently, Freedom made news when it was revealed it's likely in talks to sell its flagship paper: the Orange County Register.

There has to be a better way to discourage that notorious "butt sex."

As News Channel 7 in Denver, reported, "two mothers chaperoning the Manitou Springs High School prom are accused of spraying Lysol disinfectant on teens for dirty dancing and calling the girls whores' and 'sluts.'

...

The parents, Jennifer Farmer and Hannah Rockey, were cited for harassment, for allegedly 'directing obscene language to another in a public place.'"

According to the police report, Farmer and Rockey told at least one of the girls involved in the incident that she and her friends "were advertising butt sex" before the alleged dousing.

From The Smoking Gun:

Officer Scott Stone, who was working a security detail at the prom, told investigators that he had spoken with Farmer and Rockey after arriving at the dance around 8 PM. He recalled that the chaperones—who were dressed in combat boots, military fatigues, and military undershirt—noted that “some of the kids were becoming disruptive and were being explicit while dancing.”

Farmer, a former school board member, reported that “she had ways to deter the behavior,” recalled Stone, who added that the woman noted she “would use Lysol spray, flashlight, or another unknown object” to deter students “from certain styles of dancing.” Both chaperones told the cop that bumping and grinding was “filthy” and “similar to what you would see on MTV.”

Next, according to the police report, Rockey allegedly "proceeded to spray Lysol at them, which got on their clothing, mouth and eyes. The spray caused the students to cough and leave the area."

This story is just so weird and wrong that it has naturally gone viral, getting picked up by ABC News and Jezebel among other outlets.

For once, it's not Colorado Springs that's the laughingstock of national media. Thank you, Manitou.

• U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn

Local liberty activist David Kelly knows how to host a fun political forum: keep the speeches short, the questions lively but civil, and the beer flowing.

Kelly recently dropped the Liberty on the Rocks affiliation, and re-branded his forum Liberty First, but it's still the same core group, and the same format, that it has been for the past two-and-a-half years.

I've only been to the Dublin House once for a Liberty on the Rocks meeting, and I was impressed with Kelly's ability to wrangle the sometimes rowdy crowd of libertarians and liberty activists that make up what he lovingly calls "the lion's den."

It's a fun night, regardless of your political leaning.

And next Tuesday, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Dublin House, 1850 Dominion Way, U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn will be walking into the den.

What should he expect?

He'll have about two minutes to stump, then it will be on to un-screened questions from the crowd.

"My people are going to do their homework," says Kelly. "He is going to get some honest questions from some honest people. I'm expecting people giving him some hard questions."

While this is a conservative group, Kelly says that Lamborn shouldn't assume that they will all be supporters. Kelly assumes that about half are supporting Lamborn's opponent, Robert Blaha.

"At times he will be well-received," says Kelly, "and at times he will have some former supporters asking why he deserves their vote."

This is a free event, and the public is welcome.

• Rep. Marsha Looper

With yesterday's filing, we have gotten a first glimpse into the campaign finances of Rep. Marsha Looper.

As we all know, Looper, a Republican, is running in a primary against House Majority Leader Amy Stephens. So far, this primary competition has been notable for the particularly nasty tone it has taken.

What we learn from the filing: Looper's money has come almost entirely out of her own pocket.

According to TRACER, the Secretary of State's campaign finance website, Looper has contributed a stunning $123,961 to her campaign.

Wow, right?

Well, not that wowing, actually.

According to Looper campaign staff, that number is off by about $90,000. Apparently a clerical error added a zero to a $10,000 contribution. She has actually donated to her campaign roughly $34,000 between Jan. 26 to May 2, the time period this filing covers.

Still, her money makes up the lion's share of the roughly $37,000 that she has raised.

• Pam Zubeck
• Sports Corp.'s Doug Martin, the city's Mary Scott, and USA Swimming's Emily Silver promoting the swim cap competition..

In one of his more bizarre news conferences, Springs Mayor Steve Bach yielded the floor to others to roll out two initiatives that some might consider pretty wacky.

We'll take them in order of wackiness, and finish up with Bach's latest reminder of how broke the city is.

First, the city is partnering with USA Swimming, the Rocky Mountain State Games and Colorado Springs Sports Corp. to bring the community together to try to break the record for the LARGEST GATHERING OF PEOPLE WEARING SWIM CAPS.

This record is held by Tybee Island, Ga., with 2,049 people, set on Jan. 1, 2012.

City spokeswoman Mary Scott, who used to work for USA Swimming, introduced the event, planned for July 27 at America the Beautiful Park. The first 5,000 people to show up will get one of the 5,000 donated swim caps.

"I think we can definitely break the record, if not smash it," Doug Martin with the Sports Corp. said, adding that people only have to wear the caps for 10 minutes. (Whew. I was wondering what you do with swim-cap hair afterward.)

• Pam Zubeck
• Jim Bensberg and John Hazlehurst roll out their vision for the top of the world.

Second on the wacky-meter is a proposal headed by former El Paso County Commissioner Jim Bensberg and former Springs Councilman (and current Indy columnist) John Hazlehurst to rustle up the money to demolish the old Pikes Peak Summit House and build a new one, costing at least $12 million. Bach assured everyone that no tax money would be involved.

This plan has been floated for at least two decades, because the Summit House sits on jacks to keep it from sinking into the peak's permafrost. Hazlehurst, a Springs native with a passion for history, was knocking around the room before the news conference with a copy of a 1943 newspaper that carried photos of mules used to tote building materials up the mountain to build the Summit House.

The peak gets a half-million visitors a year, Hazlehurst noted, who are "overwhelmingly disappointed when they get there."

The design has already been done by a local architect for a spacious lodge with several parking lots. Here are the renderings:

• Pam Zubeck

"This is fairly close to shovel-ready," Hazlehurst said. "Of course, getting the shovels up there will cost many millions of dollars."

Bensberg likened the project to replacing The Broadmoor's Ice Palace with the World Arena, a project built with mostly donated funds, though the city and county did participate. Such a project, Hazlehurst said, is "not beyond our grasp."

Then he good-naturedly blamed Bach for being "the maniac responsible here," saying he and Bach were having a chat some months ago when Hazlehurst said, "Can't you do something about that?" To which Bach responded, "Why don't you do something about it?"

Fire Chief Rick Brown talked about his initiative to host wellness checks for citizens at city fire stations. He said the city hopes to partner with the Centura and Memorial health systems, as well as other health care providers, to reduce the number of people here who seek medical treatment only in emergency rooms.

"If we do this properly, we could be considered an absolute hallmark across the country in building community," he said.

• What firefighters will do between wellness checks.

Brown also revealed that he and Police Chief Pete Carey are discussing authorizing firefighters to cite citizens for city code violations. In essence, they would add "code enforcement officer" to their firefighter titles.

There's certainly no doubt firefighters are in a position hundreds of times a month to observe violations ... but really?

Brown said the details are still being worked out in the spirit of Bach's edict to "do more with what we have."

In another matter, Bach commented on the Today's Homes fiasco, in which the Canadian company built townhomes several feet higher than permitted in northeast Colorado Springs. The city ordered the structures moved or lowered a few weeks ago, but in the last few days, the company closed its local office.

"We're hoping the company will step up," Bach said, adding that Today's Homes has an ethical duty to comply with the city's rules.

He also said the city would meet with the Regional Building Department about the issue. "What happened in the inspection process?" Bach said. "Why didn't the inspector pick up that the foundation was too high?"

Ya think?

Lastly, Bach lamented the city's lack of funds in the face of a billion-dollar backlog of stormwater, road and bridge projects. He's searching for "efficiencies," he said, to free up money and has told City Councilors, who serve as the Utilities Board, to do the same with that city enterprise.

Anyway, other than Bach reminding people — again — that the city is "headed for insolvency," and that he continues to "rethink everything we're doing" and to find ways to "reinvent the way we deliver services," that's it from the city halls of power. For now.

• Rep. Marsha Looper

As the House Judiciary Committee considered (and approved later Thursday night) Senate Bill 2 (Concerning Authorization of Civil Unions), the campaign for Rep. Marsha Looper came out with a press statement urging her fellow Republicans to kill the bill.

This, it would appear, was her effort to finally lay to rest the accusations that the Republican from Calhan was supportive of civil unions.

House Majority Leader Amy Stephens, and her supporters, have been beating up on Looper since the two launched primary challenges in HD 19 by pointing to an article written by the Gazette's John Schroyer, in which Schroyer reported that Looper was open to the idea of civil unions.

He describes that saga here.

Now, Looper is saying she is absolutely opposed to Senate Bill 2. In her statement, she channels former Sen. Dave Schultheis, a supporter in her current race, by calling civil unions a "dangerous step of redefining marriage." Marriage between one man and one woman, she continues, happens to be one of the most sacrosanct underpinnings of our democratic experiment, and the proponents of civil unions are threatening to "create severe and long-term societal consequences."

It's hard to miss where she officially stands on the issue, now.

Read her full press release.

Civil Unions and the Progressive Agenda…

Many political elites on both side of the aisle believe now is the time to redefine marriage between one man and one woman, and fundamentally change our culture. Unfortunately, Senate Bill 2 provides them the legislative vehicle to accomplish their goal.

I strongly oppose Senate Bill 2 and believe it takes the dangerous step of redefining marriage. The voters of Colorado have spoken, they do not want marriage redefined and it is not appropriate for 100 elected officials to override their wishes.

Since 2003, there have been numerous policies implemented that provide sexual orientation protections, benefits for domestic partners, designated beneficiary agreements and alternative lifestyle educational requirements that erode our nation’s traditional family and religious principles.

The argument that two individuals do not have statutory authority in matters of finances, property, medical and end of life decisions is not accurate. In 2009 the Democrat controlled House, Senate and Governor’s office, passed House Bill 1260 – The Colorado Designated Beneficiary Act allowing two people to enter into agreements providing each other rights;

• to jointly acquire property;

• to be the designated as beneficiary in non-probate transfers related to death;

• to be designated as the beneficiary in a life or health insurance policy, retirement plan;

• to have priority appointment as personal representative;

• to make nursing home and hospital visits;

• to make medical decisions;

• to inherit property

Unfortunately, one of our nation’s most sacred and important principles, marriage between one man and one woman is again under assault at the Colorado State Capitol and your help is needed! Please call your State Legislators today at 800-811-7647 and ask them to oppose Senate Bill 2! Any type of civil union policy will create severe and long-term societal consequences.