Business

The county’s businesses will have an opportunity to connect with one another during the Jeffco Business Resource Center’s Business Resource Expo next week.

The free event, at the Jeffco Fairgrounds from 8 to 10:30 a.m. Sept. 23, will let a variety of companies make connections that could prove vital. The event also provides information on low-cost or free services available at the Business Resource Center, said Amira Watters, the center’s executive director.

Two years after placing a moratorium on all businesses related to retail marijuana, Jeffco’s county commissioners are set to allow testing of the drug.

But a ban will remain in place on grow operations and retail sales outlets of pot in areas of the county outside municipalities.

The commissioners gave initial approval July 21 to an ordinance that would allow marijuana plants and marijuana-infused products to be tested in laboratory settings. The board is set to officially vote on the measure during a yet-unscheduled public hearing.

For decades, the Columbine Lounge has been an old standby in South Jeffco. But in June it became the site of a new dream.

The 40-year-old establishment at 7660 S. Pierce St. was bought by Cheryl Gonska on June 1. The former lunch lady at Jeffco Schools fulfilled a 17-year-old dream to own her own bar and traded in a younger clientele for one of legal drinking age.

The Littleton City Council has decided not to expand the number of days each month that downtown merchants can have sidewalk displays.

The council voted 4-2 on June 2 to retain the current policy, which limits displays to three days each month and requires a city permit. Councilman Bruce Beckman was absent at the meeting.

The current ordinance, which was approved by the council in May 2014, has met opposition from downtown merchants. The latest proposed changes would have allowed sidewalk displays 365 days a year while still requiring a permit.