Whether 23-year-old William Schuette’s intervention in a burglary in Commerce City a couple of years ago made him a vigilante or a Good Samaritan is a call we’ll have to leave to others. But his conviction last week for second-degree murder in the shooting death of burglary suspect James Martinez, 24, does make at least one thing clear: Colorado’s crime wave has hit home in our community and has left people on edge. 

Commerce City’s new public safety chief — who has been serving as interim police chief — brings an impressive resumé to his latest post. 

Rick Myers, who started Monday as the director of public safety for the Commerce City Police Department, has a career in public safety that spans more than four decades,

The Commerce City Historical Society is hosting a fundraiser Wednesday at 4 p.m. to buy and restore the historic Bakke house. It’s the city’s oldest house, built in 1892, and the Bakke Preservation Project aims to make sure the vintage structure at 6140 Holly St. in Commerce City gets the respect it deserves well into the future. Tickets are now on sale.

Our very own state Sen. Dominick Moreno is stepping away from the state Senate — where he has been serving as Senate Majority Leader — to accept a high-level appointment in the administration of recently elected Denver Mayor Mick Johnston. The Denver Gazette gives details…

The Adams 14 Education Foundation, which offers wide-ranging support to our local school district, has brought in new leadership. The foundation posted an announcement to social media detailing the development…

Talk about a sudden-death ending. When Commerce City’s council decides time is up, it apparently doesn’t matter what’s going on at the moment. It’s lights out.

Some folks recently found that out the hard way when presenting the council with the latest details of a major residential development planned for the city. Just as their presentation was getting underway — and the presenters were about to take questions from the council — Mayor Ben Huseman interrupted…

Chambers of commerce exist all over the world. They do not have a direct role in creating laws or regulations, though they may be effective in influencing regulators and legislators with their organized lobbying efforts.

Anyone who has followed Commerce City government over the past few years knows it has been a bumpy ride. That’s true in a number of ways, and one of them is the high turnover among senior staff at City Hall.

Over the past several years, the City Council of Commerce City sometimes has resembled a game of musical chairs. Council members have come and gone all too often, resigning and being replaced by council appointees. Blink, and you’d miss it.

And at least a couple of times, a council replacement actually was chosen by a coin toss after the council had deadlocked on filling a vacancy. Yes, a coin toss.

Ward III City Council member Renée Chacon is a political novice on council but a longtime activist in the environmental movement. Appointed in January to fill the remaining months in the term of former council member Rick Davis, who resigned in December, Chacon is an outspoken critic of Commerce City’s Suncor refinery and an advocate of “climate justice.”

Without knowing the past you lose your path to the future. We are standing on the shoulders of those who made the way for us in Commerce City. Come and learn about them so you can create your own future. The Commerce City Museum is located at 6505 east 60th Avenue. We are inviting all to visit and learn the Commerce City History.

There’s renewed talk of developing a long-awaited entertainment district around Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, home of the Colorado Rapids. Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, the Rapids’ owner (owner of the Nuggets and Avs, as well), is talking to Commerce City Hall about plans for restarting the project.

Six City Council seats including the mayor’s will be on this November’s municipal ballot. Yet, only one City Council incumbent so far has formally filed for reelection. Mayor Pro Tem and Ward II council member Jennifer Allen-Thomas’ four-year term ends this year, and she has filed her candidate affidavit and the registration form for her candidate committee for a run to retain her seat on the November ballot.

It’s good for the environment to recycle old electronic gear like TVs, computer screens, printers, etc. And there are plenty of vendors in the metro Denver area that will be glad to accept your recycled goods for a small fee. Some are even located in Commerce City, where they pay local taxes and support the city’s economy.

The Nov. 7 election seems like a long way into the future, but time flies, and it’s not too soon to get up to speed on politics at City Hall. After all, change could come to Commerce City’s council in the upcoming election, depending on which current council members decide to run again as well as who else steps forward to seek office.