Arvada Press March 21, 2024

SNOW DAY P2

ENCOUNTERED A FIGHT. WHAT DO I DO?

“The answer is not simple because of all the different variables involved when witnessing a disturbance. If someone tries to stop a disturbance, remember the combatants may turn on you, have weapons you cannot see, or skills that could result in serious injuries. Part of the complexity of being a police officer is how to deal with these unknown situations that can be fluid and rapid. However, the primary thing that could be helpful regardless of your actions, is to be a good witness that can provide information and details to the police to help the investigation. Call 911 and provide details that will help responding officers understand where and what they are dealing with.” Todd Reeves Deputy Chief Arvada Police Department

Email Ed for the story and Todd’s full response

Some Arvadans took advantage of the snowy conditions and took to their sleds.

Snow Day

e ongoing snowfall on March 14 across Colorado buried cars and left people digging out their front doors.

Some areas, like Idaho Springs and Conifer, got hit hard, with around 30 inches of snow reported before noon on March 14. Most of the metro area contended with roughly a foot or more (Denver’s total as of noon ursday was about 9

inches, while Arvada had more than 16).

Kids got a snow day, hundreds of ights were canceled or delayed, courts were closed, roads shut down and more. In short, it was a big mess. But it was also beautiful, starting with the calm quiet everywhere.

And, we found signs of life. Here are some photos from our reporters and readers across the west metro area.

CORRECTION

A column in the March 14 newspapers titled “Listening to your heart: Emotions are the key for women’s heart health” ran with the wrong author’s name and photo. e correct author of the column is Lisa D. Heart, a former management executive who is now a heart-focused life coach and the founder of the ‘starts in the heart’ movement. She teaches

working women how to make selfcare a priority to prevent stressrelated diseases.

You can read the column online at coloradocommunitymedia. com/2024/03/13/listening-toyour-heart/

We regret this error. Send any corrections to West Metro Editor Kristen Fiore at k ore@coloradocommunitymedia.com.

STAFF REPORT

Jeri Lou Maus of Arvada attacks a foot of snow that fell overnight in the Hillcrest neighborhood in west Arvada.

PHOTO BY JANE REUTER

With part of the street plowed, a Golden Terrace resident surveys the afternoon’s snow accumulation on March 14. About 2 feet of snow fell across Golden during the March 13-15 storm.

PHOTO BY CORINNE WESTEMAN

What’s Behind the Buzz About ‘Indoor Air Quality’ & ‘Sick Building Syndrome’?

I remember decades ago, back in New York City, first hearing the term “sick building syndrome.” It had something to do with the chemicals from materials such as new carpet outgassing negatively affecting the health of office workers and home occupants.

More recently, we began hearing about “indoor air quality,” an issue that was addressed by HVAC and other vendors.

Next we started hearing about “volatile organic compounds” which was the name given to those chemicals that were out-gassing not just from carpeting but even from the paint applied to your walls. Merchants started advertising “low-VOC” products, not just paint and carpeting, that had less or none of the chemicals which could be harmful to human health.

In recent years, Americans and others became aware that plastic is not being recycled nearly enough, and in the past year we discovered that microplastics are even in bottled water. Fish in the ocean, it appears, have now consumed so much plastic that micro plastic is even in our sushi. Add that to reports of mercury contamination.

ever a gas burner is on, not just when your food is smoking. And let’s not forget the ever-present risk of home explosion in a home plumbed with natural gas. Now, that would be unhealthy!

But I digress. This is a real estate column, not a political column, and not a nutrition column, so let’s talk about the “healthy home movement” and how it’s expressed by different home builders and renovators.

That’s quite a list of health-impacting hazards added to the out-gassing from carpeting and wall paints of volatile organic compounds.

Since some of these hazards, unlike lead pipes and lead-based paint, are still legal, there’s a space in the housing market for builders who go to great lengths to reduce any and every possible hazard that could contribute to an unhealthy home. I’ll mention a couple below.

home cleaner.”

ERVs and HRVs are easy to install in new construction, but difficult to install as a retrofit, because they require the installation of extensive new ductwork of their own. Indeed, introducing such an appliance might be impossible in many homes. In such cases, an air scrubber would be an ideal solution, because it is simply installed within existing ductwork.

It has all culminated in what we know as the “healthy home movement.” Some home builders now promote the homes they build as healthy, not just efficient.

I appreciate this focus on making our homes healthier, especially for those with compromised immune systems.

Flint Michigan’s 2014 crisis involving lead in the water drawn from the Flint River and leaching from that city’s lead pipe service lines brought that issue to our consciousness and saw cities all around the country, including Denver, invest in replacing lead service lines in their older housing stock. Nothing epitomizes an unhealthy home quite as much as when the water from its faucets poisons those who live there, especially the children.

It was back in 1935 — before even my oldest sibling’s time — that DuPont introduced the advertising slogan “Better Living Through Chemistry,” and we all remember that one-word advice to Benjamin Braddock in the 1967 movie, “The Graduate” — “Plastics.”

Founded in 1992, the National Center for Lead-Safe Housing reflected the awareness of more wide-ranging in-home hazards when it changed its name to the National Center for Healthy Housing in 2001. (Its website is www.nchh.org )

One very serious home health hazard that was not recognized until 1986 was toxic black mold. Its scientific name is stachybotrys chartarum. Mold spores are all around us, including in our homes, but black mold can kill. The public became more aware of it following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. As the waters receded from homes, black mold soon covered the walls that had been underwater or experienced water intrusion.

In the real estate business, we are used to inspecting for lead and mold, but also for radon gas (which can cause lung cancer) and asbestos, which can be in drywall from China and in popcorn ceilings. It’s even in some of the glues that have been used to lay vinyl flooring.

Just within the last year, there has been new attention to the hazard of methane and carbon monoxide emissions from gas cooking ranges. You are advised to always run the exhaust fan (assuming it’s ducted to the outdoors, not just recirculating through a filter) when-

Price Reduced on 2-Bedroom, 2-Bath Arvada Condo

$335,000

Increasingly, home builders in America (and elsewhere) are taking to heart the need to look more deeply at the components and materials they put into the homes they are selling.

In the profiles of homes featured in the Metro Denver Green Homes Tour last October, there was frequent mention of Heat (or Energy) Recovery Ventilators (HRV or ERV). The best of these devices not only condition fresh air for temperature as it is brought into the home to replace air being exhausted, they also test for high levels of carbon dioxide (which is considered a pollutant at high levels), and also for VOCs in the home’s air.

From studying high performance homes including those in the green homes tours (both Denver and Boulder), I personally view an HRV, ERV or even a CERV (which contains a heat pump), an essential appliance in any modern home intended to be both energy efficient and healthy.

A fellow cruiser just told me about the air scrubber which he installed in his house. He reported that he and his wife felt the difference in just one day. I googled the phrase “air scrubber” since I hadn’t heard of this appliance, and they do exist as either an inline unit for your forced air ductwork or free-standing if you don’t have ductwork (such as in a home with hot water heat).

I have not seen a lot of progress among Denver area home builders when it comes to sustainability, so I’m not real hopeful for progress in addressing indoor air quality. When I represented a buyer in Jefferson County last year, I attended the meeting at which upgrades were discussed. All the homes were being outfitted with high-efficiency gas furnaces and A/C units. An upgrade to a heat pump system was simply not available.

Builders are also fighting laws which would require all-electric homes — that is, no natural gas lines serving new subdivisions. Such laws are being passed in other states or cities.

The US EPA has a program called “Indoor airPLUS” which sets a standard for achieving a healthy home by addressing all the contaminants mentioned above. Colorado-based Thrive Home Builders builds only Indoor airPluscertified homes and has won the EPA’s Leader Award eight years in a row. They are currently building homes starting at $449,900 in Broomfield, Lone Tree and Denver’s Loretto Heights. Call me or one of my broker associates below if you’d like us to show you those homes and represent you in a purchase.

Meritage is another Colorado builder of Indoor airPLUS-certified homes, but I was unable to get more information.

This week’s topic was inspired by an article I read on Probuilder.com titled “Breathe Easier — Healthy Homes Go Mainstream.” You’ll find a link to it at http://RealEstateToday.substack.com.

This 2-bedroom, 2-bath condo at 7700 Depew Street #1501 is in the well-maintained Wood Creek community that includes a pool and ample parking for you and your guests. Step inside to an open living room with a wood-burning fireplace and built-in shelves, dining area with patio doors and an all-white kitchen with tile floors. There is a bar-height counter between the living room and kitchen (see picture). The living and dining rooms are carpeted and freshly painted. The two bedrooms are at opposite ends of the condo, separated by the living area (see floor plan below). Both bedrooms have extensive closet space. Your private covered patio off the dining room has a secure storage closet with plenty of room and built-in shelves. The washer and dryer are included. Little Dry Creek trail is right outside your door. Walk to parks, shops, restaurants and transit. View a narrated video tour, drone video and magazine-quality still photos at www.GRElistings.com, then call listing agent Kathy Jonke at 303-990-7428 to request a showing. If you prefer, you can come to the open house she will be holding this Saturday, Mar. 23rd, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

To quote RhoadsEnergy.com’s blog post on air scrubbers, “It removes air pollution, VOCs, surface contaminants, pet dander, odors and dust. It provides a cleaner, healthier and more efficient home. This low maintenance device uses proprietary light waves along with a specialized catalytic process to keep your

Archive of Past Columns Is Online

Over the past two decades this column has appear in the Denver Post, and during that time I’ve written about every conceivable topic related to real estate, You can search that archive, listed by headline, and downloadable with a single click at www.JimSmithColumns.com

Jim Smith

Broker/Owner, 303-525-1851

Jim@GoldenRealEstate.com

1214 Washington Ave., Golden 80401

Broker Associates:

JIM SWANSON, 303-929-2727

CHUCK BROWN, 303-885-7855

DAVID DLUGASCH, 303-908-4835

GREG KRAFT, 720-353-1922

AUSTIN POTTORFF, 970-281-9071

KATHY JONKE, 303-990-7428

“Concentrate on giving and the getting will take care of itself.” —Anonymous

Arvada Center announces 2024-2025 theater season featuring Sara Bareilles-penned ‘Waitress’

Tony winner “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” to conclude slate of five shows

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Big things are afoot at the Arvada Center, as the venue announced its 2024-2025 season will include ve shows that “break the narrative and challenge the status quo,” according to Communications Specialist Les-

lie Simon.

e 2024-2025 season will run from Aug. 30 to May 11, 2025 and feature productions of “Waitress,” “Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really,” “Once Upon a Mattress,” “Clybourne Park” and “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.”

While Artistic Director Lynne Collins ultimately has the nal say about what shows get runs at the Arvada Center, audience interest, budget and rights availability also come into play. Collins said this year’s slate showcases stories that feature unexpected plot twists.

The Arvada Center’s upcoming season will feature Waitress, Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really; Once Upon a Mattress, Clybourne Park, and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. SHOW ART

THEATER

“As this season began to take shape, we realized that each of these stories share an upending of expectations,” Collins said. “ ey seem to be heading down familiar roads, but then they each surprise with plot twists and characters that subvert the narratives in big and small ways.”

Subscriptions for the season went on sale on March 15, and single tickets for the upcoming season go on sale on July 1.

‘Waitress’

Aug. 30 to Oct. 13 — Main Stage eatre

Book by Jessy Nelson; words and lyrics by Sara Bareilles

e season will kick o with a main stage production of “Waitress,” a Tony-award-nominated musical written by Sara Bareilles of “Love Song”

and “Brave” fame. e rights for the show just became available, according to the Arvada Center’s Director of Marketing and Communication Sarah Kolb, making this one of the rst productions of “Waitress”in Colorado.

e show highlights the power of friendship, chosen family, and excellent pie.

‘Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really’

Sept. 27 to Nov. 3 — Black Box eatre

By Katie Hamill; based on the novel by Bram Stoker

Another new show to the area, the feminist take on Bram Stoker’s classic tale is a mix of horror and comedy that centers on women.

‘Once Upon a Mattress’

Nov. 24 to Dec. 29 — Main Stage eatre

Music by Mary Rodgers, Lyrics by Marshall Barer; Book by Jay omp-

son, Dean Fuller and Marshall Barer

A comedic reinterpretation of “ e Princess and the Pea,” “Once Upon a Mattress” opened its rst run on Broadway in 1959 and has earned a place in the hearts of many with numerous runs and television adaptations.

‘Clybourne Park’

Feb. 14 to March 30, 2024 — Black Box eatre

By Bruce Norris

A sequel of sorts to Lorraine Hansberry’s seminal “A Rasin in the Sun,” “Clybourne Park”is a satirical look at gentri cation and highlights what’s been accomplished and what still needs to be done in the push for racial equity in America.

Kolb said the production would likely be tied in with readings and panel discussions about housing and gentri cation, though she added that the speci cs are not yet planned.

“It’s funny, but it has this dark satirical humor,” Kolb said. “It’s a piece that we’re really excited to bring to

our space.”

‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder’

March 28 to May 11, 2024 — Main Stage eatre

Music by Steven Lutvak, book by Robert L. Freedman; lyrics by Lutvak and Freedman

Finally, the season will cap o with “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” which won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Musical. In “Gentleman’s Guide,” a young Edwardian man discovers he is eighth in line to receive an Earldom — and resolves to murder his way into power.

“What’s really fun about this production is that all eight heirs are played by the same actor,” Kolb said. “Someone is going to get this scenestealing role — it’s a fun one to cap out the season with.”

Kolb added that the Arvada Center’s main fundraising gala will be murder-mystery-themed to tie into the show.

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Arvada Crime Briefs: Fight breaks out in Olde Town, crash on Wadsworth leads to injuries

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A ght that broke out in Olde Town was broken up by Arvada police o cers after escalating into an eight-person scu e which included a knife and a stick wielded by intoxicated individuals.

e fracas occurred just after midnight on March 5 at the intersection of Grandview Avenue and Webster Street. APD o cers determined that the ght began after three intoxicated men were denied service from a bar in the historic district and initiated a verbal altercation with three other individuals in the vicinity.

After one of the intoxicated men pushed over a shopping cart and another menaced two victims with a knife, the brawl escalated. One person intervened by striking one of the intoxicated men in the arm with a stick.

e non-intoxicated parties involved in the ght declined to press charges. Two of the intoxicated men were given summonses for disorderly conduct and all three were treated for alcohol intoxication.

Crash on Wadsworth

After 7 p.m. on March 8, APD ocers responded to a crash near 8400 Wadsworth Blvd. involving three

vehicles that appeared to sustain signi cant damage.

O cers determined that a black Audi driven by a single motorist heading southbound on Wadsworth attempted to make a left onto 84th Way on a yellow ashing arrow when it collided with a black Ford containing three individuals and a black Chevrolet driven by a single motorist. Arvada Police and Arvada Fire responded to reports of multiple injured parties. Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the initial crash and the investigation is ongoing.

After o cers closed Wadsworth Boulevard to clear the crash and treat injuries, a white Honda Accord bypassed the closure by driving onto a sidewalk and turning eastbound onto 84th Avenue around 8 p.m.

O cers attempted to conduct a tra c stop, but the driver did not obey and drove over another sidewalk, nearly striking several parked cars according to Arvada police. Ofcers were nally able to stop the car further down 84th Way, and the driver was taken into custody and jailed for a DUI, violation of a protection order, reckless driving, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle and active arrest warrants.

An Audi that was involved in the initial crash on Wadsworth Boulevard that closed the road in both directions. COURTESY ARVADA POLICE

Arvada business briefs: Outside the Box to expand into second location, STiX closes, Spice Room buys old Steuben’s building

Outside the Box Too will open in old Apricot Lane location on April 12

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Outside the Box — a shop selling home and garden goods curated by owners Dorn Nienaber and Chris Spears — opened its doors on April 1, 2022, but thanks to the warm reception the shop has garnered among Olde Town locals, the unique store will expand into another storefront this April.

Outside the Box Too! will open on April 12 in the space next to Fuzzy’s Tacos that Apricot Lane used to occupy. e duo behind the shop say the current store will essentially remain the same as it’s been but will expand to carry new categories including baby goods. e new shop will have a different selection of gifts and will feature more of a focus on home décor. Its selection will include

lamps, house plants, Coloradomade goods and local souvenirs — including Arvada gear.

Two employees joining the Outside the Box crew have enabled them to expand, the owners said.

“Katie was the former manager at Apricot Lane and former winner of the Hospitality Heroes award in Olde Town,” Nienaber and Spears said in an email. “Katie wears a lot of hats and helps with everything from merchandising to keeping things organized behind the register. If you saw the awesome painted windows of their current store during Christmas, those were painted by Katie.

“Christina joined us in January and is also instrumental in keeping our displays looking great and stockroom clean, but she also plays a special role as our in-store plant expert,” the duo continued.

“ rough her connection at a local wholesaler, we have added dozens of live plants and will be adding even more to the new store when it opens.”

POSTMASTER:

Outside the Box will expand into another location just feet away from their original spot in Olde Town, owners Chris Spears and Dorn Nienaber. PHOTO BY RYLEE DUNN

SEE EXPAND, P23

close, the air

Je co residents can monitor air quality through ‘Love My Air’ website

BY JO DAVIS JDAVIS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Spring means itchy eyes, watery noses and respiratory troubles for many Coloradans. Je erson County Public Health now has a tool to help. e Je erson County “Love My Air” program is here to inform residents about the air quality in their communities.

According to Pitts, the website offers the collected information in a way that the public can understand. is means the dashboard is for children as well.

not

like much. However,

Supervisor of Environmental Services for Je erson County Public Health and manager of the county’s Love My Air program Madison Pitts said the program is meant to help communities with their health.

“It is empowering to be able to understand what your exposures are,” Pitts said. “Not knowing is detrimental to our health.”

She added that the program’s aim is to get important air quality information into the hands of the people who need it. e monitors are the rst step in this process.

What is it?

e Love My Air program website gathers air quality measurements from all over the county. at information is available on LoveMyAir. com/Je co.

“Our goal is for children as well to be able to review our dashboard and understand what measures they need to take to protect their health,” Pitts said. “So, if you live near one of these monitors, you could go on the site and see what the particulate matter risk or air quality matter or air quality risk is to you in real-time.”

e Centers for Disease Control’s “Healthy Places” page explains that bad air can make allergies, asthma and other respiratory issues much worse.

“Particulate matter and ozone are known respiratory irritants that can aggravate asthma either by themselves or when combined with other environmental factors,” the CDC page read. “Recent health studies also suggest that particulate matter is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.”

Pitts said the monitors were located in 10 locations across the county.

Sign up for Colorado Community Media’s bilingual newsletter, La Ciudad

Language should not be a barrier to trustworthy news about your community.

El idioma no debería ser un obstáculo para acceder a noticias confiables que te interesan. Nuestro equipo de La Ciudad ofrece noticias tanto en inglés como en español.

To

Up

sensor does

look

it is designed to not only take particulate measurements at the location, but this sensor “box” also transmits the data. It is collected and presented on the Love My Air dashboard.

COURTESY OF JCPH

SEE QUALITY, P18

10 things you need to know about the proposed RTD changes coming in May

BY JO DAVIS JDAVIS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e Colorado Regional Transportation District is proposing some major changes to routes and schedules for the rest of 2024. It unveiled these proposed changes at a series of public meetings March 5-7 to get public feedback on the proposal, which RTD plans to implement in May.

Here’s what you need to know about the proposed changes.

1. Construction and improvements in key areas are a ecting most of the changes

RTD Community Engagement Manager Brandon Figliolino explained that the root of the proposed changes will be two construction projects. e rst is the coping panel project and the other is the reconstruction of ve “at-grade” crossings in downtown Denver.

“ e rst is our continued work on the coping panel project. is is a two-year project that began in

April of 2023 and is essentially repairing the caps on retaining walls along the I-25 corridor,” Figliolino explained. “During this time, tracks, or trains, rather, must be singletracked during the work areas to allow for work to happen in that right of way.”

Figliolino said half the work on the coping panel project has been done. However, RTD needs to get the remaining retaining walls done so that regular service can resume as scheduled in September 2024.

“ e other major rail project that is going to be impacting our service is the downtown rail reconstruction project,” Figliolino said. “Starting in the summer of 2024, the rst of four phases of work will begin to reconstruct other areas of the rail line. is rst phase that’s going to impact us in the summer of 2024 is the reconstruction of ve at-grade crossings along corridors downtown.”

Colorado Community Media owner purchases printing press, o ers lifeline to local news

BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Colorado Community Media’s two dozen newspapers will get a much-needed lifeline in the form of a printing press, allowing it to bring printing needs in-house while reducing costs and providing a longer-term solution for other publishers along the Front Range.

e National Trust for Local News, which owns Colorado Community Media, purchased the press after raising $900,000 in grant funding toward the project.

e donations came through the Colorado Media Project and its coalition of funders: the Bohemian Foundation, Gates Family Foundation and the Colorado Trust.

Amalie Nash, head of transformation for NTLN, said the hope is to start printing CCM’s newspapers on the press, located in northeast Denver, by the end of May. By

summer, the Trust plans to o er printing services to other newspapers seeking a more a ordable solution.

e e ort to buy the press began after Gannett Publishing Co., which owns the USA TODAY Network, announced it was closing its plant in Pueblo last August. With few places left to turn, more than 80 Colorado publications that relied on the Pueblo press, including those at CCM, scrambled to nd alternative solutions.

“We were faced with a decision point and had to gure out where to print instead,” Nash said. “So we started seeking bids and trying to gure out how we were going to continue to provide print products that people want.”

CCM wasn’t alone. e Colorado Media Project, a nonpartisan philanthropic initiative dedicated to

The National Trust for Local News, owner of Colorado Community Media, is aiming for a May start to printing its newspapers. COURTESY OF IMPRESSIONS WORLDWIDE

NEW PRESS

supporting and sustaining local news, surveyed publishers impacted by the Gannett press closure and found that one publication was forced to close. Several others were wrestling with whether to go digital-only, and at least three publishers of multiple papers opted to consolidate titles.

highlighted the nearly exhausted printing capacity statewide and ‘unsustainable’ cost increases. e report voices concern that continuing those trajectories could lead to the demise of a ‘sizeable number’ of publications.”

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Nash said CCM ultimately chose to contract with e Denver Post for printing, but did not consider it a long-term solution.

So, we asked: what if we came up with an option. What would that look like?”

NTLN began researching, talking to funding partners, and putting together a plan to buy a press.

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In October, e Colorado Sun reported that the ndings of a working group on the future of printing in Colorado, published by the Colorado Press Association, Colorado News Collaborative and the Colorado Media Project “underscored the blow of the Pueblo closure and

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“Since the National Trust for Local News purchased Colorado Community Media in 2021, our printing costs have gone up 60%, which was obviously very signicant for an operation of this size,” said Nash, adding that “we started having discussions around these larger commercial printers closing and the fact that there aren’t very many options in the Front Range.

“It’s heartening to think that we have an opportunity that helps us regulate our press costs better and that we have a real opportunity to help the media ecosystem in that way,” CCM Publisher Linda Shapley said.

While the print newspaper and magazine market has steadily declined since the mid-2000s, it’s still projected to earn $123.5 billion in the U.S. this year. Many communities still lack reliable internet access, and some people continue to prefer printed news, according to Nash.

And getting a paper copy to commemorate an event is still meaningful for many. Recently, parents whose children were featured in a bilingual newsletter dedicated to Commerce City reached out to Shapley, asking if there were printed copies available.

“You can show the story on your phone or a computer, but it’s just not the same,” she said.

At the same time, CCM has focused on its digital transformation, relaunching its websites last fall and introducing new newsletters.

Shapley said it’s important to give people news in all the formats they want it.

“As much as people talk about how print is going away, the fact of the matter is that it’s still here, and it needs support,” Shapley said.

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The death zone

Because of the dearth of oxygen, the region above 26,000 feet (8,000 meters) in mountaineering is referred to as the death zone. Only the hardiest or foolhardiest souls venture up to those regions. But in a sense, every person lives in the death zone. It’s part of life. One breath you’re here and before the next, you’re out of here. We prefer not to think of that because it’s a downer. After all, who wants to think of dying when they have so much living to do?

I recall how in my youth I thought I was invincible. Death only happened to others, like our soldiers and Marines slogging through the sauna of Vietnam and to old people. Old, as in what I am now. It’s true the odds of dying greatly increase if one’s in a war zone or if they live to a ripened age. At some point, a bomb might explode too close for comfort or the body wears out. But that doesn’t negate the reality that death happens to younger people for a range of rea-

JERRY FABYANIC

sons, from disease to bad luck and poor choices.

The subject of the Colorado GOP is a depressing one, which is why I have avoided writing about it. Kelly Maher published a spot-on, timely opinion piece about the Colorado GOP in the Denver Post on March 9. She notes correctly that the current Chairman of the Colorado GOP, Dave Williams, has used the resources of the Colorado GOP to support his candidacy for the GOP nomination in the 5th Congressional District. He has even used the resources of the state party to attack his primary opponents, e ectively negating the state GOP’s status as a neutral party in his primary contest according to Maher. is intolerable state of a airs should not be allowed to continue.

My intention here is to pick up where Kelly Maher left o and to propose several possible solutions to what is, in the eyes of many, a situation that should have never aris-

Generally, the thought of one’s death tends to be a distant concern. However, it becomes more pronounced in our consciousness at around the Medicare threshold age: 65. It’s then that we’re thought to have crossed into the gray stage of life, a limbo or transitional period, not necessarily at the ICU level but, nevertheless, a heartbeat away from being carted o to it or to the beyond given Nature’s ironclad law mandating that which lives must wither and die. at law certainly applies to our physical being. But what about the mind?

Consider whether one’s mind and body wither concurrently. Can one decline faster than the other?

Can one fall apart while the other remains relatively intact or even strengthens? ink about how many times you heard that someone was sharp as a tack up to the moment of their earthly departure. ink about physically t younger people whose minds are destroyed by Alzheimer’s or another malady.

It’s clear that our body and mind don’t age along a parallel course, but often we con ate them and conclude they do. When in my sixties, I ran seven marathons. Prior to that, I couldn’t run one, arguably because of my mindset. Today, I’d be hard pressed to run a half-marathon. Prior to age 65, I didn’t have the wherewithal to write a book, but since then I’ve written four, and a couple more are baking in my writer’s kiln. Further, I used to struggle making headway with the New York Times crossword puzzles. Now, I often crush them, even the weekend editions.

Based on those experiences, I’ve concluded that while my body is

slowing and my athletic prowess ebbing, the old noodle is getting stronger. And I’m not alone. Many give testament about adding life to their years by re ning their skills in their favorite pastimes, pursuing new ventures, or learning a new language. Or writing a book. So, what gives?

We like to say we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, yet we do exactly that with people not only with regard to race, gender, or sexual orientation, but also with their age and the shape or condition of their body. e plain truth is looks are deceiving whether in relation to a book cover or people. We often picture Albert Einstein as the face of brilliance but don’t with Stephen Hawking, whose body was horri cally contorted from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Yet, their IQs were equivalent, somewhere in the stratosphere.

Dave Williams has set a bad precedent

en. ese solutions are to prevent even worse dilemmas because what Dave Williams has set is a bad precedent that other Chairs can cite if they are ever called out on future misconduct.

e rst and most obvious solution is that Dave Williams has a choice to make. He can remain as Chairman of the Colorado GOP or he can run as a candidate in the 5th Congressional District GOP primary. Life has consequences, and one of the consequences is that making one choice prevents you from pursuing other choices. ere is nothing wrong with running for Congress but he must step down as Chairman to run. He should do so immediately. However, it seems reasonable to

presume that Williams will not step down. If that is the case then the current leadership of the Colorado GOP should take matters into their hands.

County chairs and bonus members were elected as members of the state central committee to help guide and vote on important matters before the Colorado GOP. As I see it, they have two options. ey can call for a vote of no-con dence on Chairman Williams before the full state central committee. ey can also sign a petition to ask Mr Williams to step down as Chairman.

Rather than looking at this from other vantage points, I think it would be good to examine this from the perspective of Chairman Williams. ere are no good alternatives for him if the County Chairs and Bonus Members pursue either option should he fail to resign. A petition calling on him to step aside will create the impression that he is

a career politician as would an ugly ght over a no-con dence motion. is would harm his chances in his Congressional primary because the perception would exist that he is just another politician who just wants power. A loss in that primary would also kill Willams career in elective politics in my opinion.

One option exists for the Chairman to save himself outside of resignation. at is if the county chairs and bonus members do nothing about him. It is possible that nothing will happen. If that occurs then things are all over for the Colorado GOP. e GOP’s end as an e ective force in state politics would be the legacy of Dave Williams as Chair because he set in motion this chain of events in the rst place. County chairs and bonus members have a job to do and they must not shirk it.

Joe Webb is the former chairman of the Je co Republican party.

JOE WEBB

Columnist

‘Noises O ,’ Laughs On

Making people laugh is no simple task. It takes skill and practice and more often than not, there are still no promises.

But there’s an almost scienti c precision to the humor in Michael Frayn’s play, “Noises O ,” which is closing out the Arvada Center’s 2023/2024 season.

“Audiences are going to belly laugh at this show,” said Noelia Antweiler, a performer in the production. “It’s the perfect comedy and I can guarantee laughs will happen.”

Directed by Geo rey Kent, “Noises O ” runs at the center’s Main Stage, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., from Friday, March 22, through Sunday, May 5. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday through Saturday, 1 p.m. on Wednesday, and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Antweiler calls the show a turducken of comedy, with all the action focusing on a touring troupe of performers putting on a show called “Nothing On.” e rst act lets the audience meet the characters in “Nothing On” and allows them to get a sense of the production.

In the second act, the stage rotates 180 degrees to provide a peak into everything going on behind the scenes with the actors and crew — needless to say, it’s complete chaos, with relationships and rivalries resulting in all kinds of hilarity. In the nal act, the stage rotates back to “Nothing On,” so audiences can see how this play within a play has progressed.

“ e play is so carefully written, it’s

e mind, like the rest of the body, needs to be exercised and fed healthy nutrients. roughout life, it’s an ongoing challenge to develop, strengthen and maintain it. Assuredly, it gets harder as we age, but harder doesn’t mean impossible. In fact, it’s quite possible to not only maintain mental acuity but also to increase it and to retrain the brain in the process. I see that in my senior role models, especially those who cite answers to crossword clues I’m clueless about.

almost like a dance piece. As a performer, you have to pay attention so you can gure out the choreography,” Antweiler explained. “ e comedy is all written into the script, but there’s still room for the actors to play.”

“Noises O ” is a true ensemble piece and the cast is made up of some true heavy hitters in the Denver theater scene, including Kate Gleason, Jenna Moll Reyes, Gareth Saxe, Shannan Steele and Adriane Leigh Robinson.

While the show is one of the great examples of a modern farce, it might not be as well known outside of theatrical circles. at will hopefully change as people in the metro area have the opportunity to experience all the di erent kinds of humor on o er in the play.

“ ere’s tons of physical humor, bawdy humor, verbal bits… it’s all there,” Antweiler said. “It’s di cult to pull o something like this. ere’s a misconception that this kind of theater is a frivolous thing, but a show can be silly and demanding and difcult and still really fun. I hope audiences come away with an appreciation both of comedy and theater.”

For tickets and information, visit https://arvadacenter.org/events/ noises-o .

SEE READER, P20

Rather than a downhill trajectory, I compare aging to climbing. Like for mountaineers tramping inexorably up through Mt. Everest’s or K2’s thin air, trekking through one’s later years is not for the faint of heart. It requires a steeliness that only a lifetime of conditioning can prepare one for. Nonetheless, the going can get tough. But when that happens, it helps to keep in mind that while our physical muscles are weakening and perhaps atrophying, we have others, intangible but just as real, that can be toned and put to use.

Jerry Fabyanic is the author of “Sisyphus Wins” and “Food for ought: Essays on Mind and Spirit.” He lives in Georgetown.

ANDERSON LouJean (Whitesides) Anderson

September 10, 1930 - March 6, 2024

LouJean Whitesides

ANDERSON, 93, passed away Wednesday, March 6, 2024, after a lengthy illness. She was a devoted member of e Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She was a member of the Arvada 2nd Ward until moving to Broom eld, Colorado, where she was a member of the Red Leaf Ward. She was a beloved wife,

HOLZER

mother, and scholar and she will be remembered for her many years teaching in the Je erson and Adams County schools. She spent her last years in Austin, TX. She was pre-deceased by her husband, Keith. She is survived by her three children: Greg, Linda (John), and Kent (Sonya). She is also survived by numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

February 28, 1943 - February 26, 2024

Martha Joanne Holzer passed away on Monday, February 26th, 2024, at 500 Willow Wood Lane in Delta, Colorado. She was 80 years old.

A viewing for the immediate family was held on ursday, February 29th, 2024, at Taylor Funeral Service & Crematory in Delta, Colorado. A memorial service will be held later this Spring at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.

Joanne, as she liked to go by, was born on February 28th, 1943, in Denver to Martha Broughton and father, Mack Burchett. She grew up in Holyoke, Colorado and graduated from Holyoke High School in 1961. She later continued her education to receive an associate degree from Front Range Community College.

She met Timothy Frank Holzer, and they were married at Shrine of St. Anne Catholic Parish in Arvada, Colorado where they lived for more than 50 years. Joanne made her way to Delta County making Delta her

home in 2019 to be close to family. She was a brilliant seamstress and quilter by trade. When Joanne was not at the sewing machine, she enjoyed gardening, genealogy, re nishing furniture and spending time with her children and grand kids.

Joanne is survived by her ve children; Michael, Je rey, Timothy, Christopher, and Amy; her three brothers Denny, Roger, and Jim; and her four grandchildren, Connor, Finley, Zoe, and Waylon. Joanne is preceded in death by her parents, her spouse Timothy Holzer, and her beloved Cocker Spaniel McGregor.

In lieu of owers, contributions can be made in Joanne Holzer’s name to: American Diabetes Association

Arrangements are under the care and direction of Taylor Funeral Service and Crematory. View the Internet obituary and sign the online guest registry at: www.taylorfuneralservice.com

Martha Joanne (Broughton) Holzer

Clarke Reader

Unique desserts hidden across the metro area

BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

ere’s something nostalgic about going to the local ice cream shop or bakery when in the mood for a sweet treat. Let’s face it, everyone has their go-to dessert shops and local businesses they like to support.

But sometimes, it’s fun to explore. And there are places across the Denver metro area that serve up delicious desserts for anyone’s preference.  With unique desserts being discovered all over the area, it would be nearly impossible to list every dessert shop. Here are a few that have made their way into people’s hearts and stomachs over the years.

Bahama Buck’s

8204 S University Blvd., Centennial, CO 80122 3003 W 104th Ave., Suite 500, Westminster, CO 80031

ere are not many dessert spots in the metro area that specialize in shaved ice, making Bahama Buck’s unique, especially with the original avor pairings the business plays with.

It’s more than a place to get a brightly-colored sweet treat. It’s a place for people to leave their troubles at the door, enjoy themselves in a lowpressure atmosphere and hang out with friends, said Adam Cotton, owner of the Centennial location.

“It’s kind of a mini vacation for all our guests,” Cotton said.

Bahama Buck’s encourages people to get creative by choosing from over 100 original gourmet avors and toppings. e company’s avor team has even worked with di erent companies to incorporate Oreo’s and candies such as Nerds with their desserts.

Staying true to the island vibe, common avors include mango, peach and blue coconut. One of the signature “snos” is the Shark Attack Sno, which is a berry colada avor with Sour Patch Sauce in the middle.

Just as guests can get creative and build their own by choosing what avors and toppings they want, the Centennial employees have the authority to play around and come up with di er-

ent concoctions, which often become avors of the week.

Bahama Buck’s can’t share its secrets to its perfectly smooth shaved ice, other than the fact that the ice is made on site and there was a lot of time put into the shaving process, Cotton said.

Bahama Buck’s encourages friendly gatherings by o ering card and board games to play. e

business also has island smoothies in which guests can choose from a variety of cream blends, or if they want a healthier substitution, fresh fruit blends.

Other menu items include Acai Bowls, Red Bull Infusions and Bahama Sodas.

Yonutz! is a dessert shop that smashes ice cream and donuts together. It opened its Greenwood Village location March 15.

PHOTO FROM YONUTZ INSTAGRAM

SWEET TREATS

For Cotton, what makes Bahama Buck’s successful are the people who help make the island experience come alive.

“What makes our product excellent and what makes our place excellent are the people we have working for us,” Cotton said.

Heaven Creamery

6955 S York St. #420, Centennial, CO 80122

7181 W. Alaska Drive, Lakewood, CO 80226

Heaven Creamery rst opened its doors in 2020 on the Streets at SouthGlenn in Centennial and has gained millennial and Gen Z attention. Since then, the store has expanded to include locations at Cherry Creek North, Five Points, Lakewood, Avon, Boulder and coming soon to Arvada.

With over 500 avors in constant rotation for customers to try, Heaven Creamery aims to educate and introduce people to healthier frozen desserts, according to its website. Heaven Creamery doesn’t use processed sugar or arti cial colors, avors, additives or ice cream llers, according to its website.

Instead, stevia, monk sugar, agave, cane sugar and/or honey are used as sweeteners for the ice cream, gelato, fruit pops, vegan gelato and sorbet.

“Our gelato, ice cream and sorbet is made with 70% less sugar than traditional ice cream,” the website states.

Each Heaven Creamery location has unique specialty desserts, including ice cream served with crepes, in a pineapple or coconut and more.

Mochinut

7530 S. University Blvd., Centennial, CO 80122 2222 S. Havana St., Unit A2, Aurora, CO 80014

At Mochinut, it’s about bringing diversity to American desserts.

e Mochinut franchise originated in Los Angeles and is popular for its Korean hotdogs and bubble tea, but it is also known for its mochi donuts. e franchise came to Aurora nearly three years ago and recently opened a second location in Centennial.

“I think that they’re a little bit more special than other donuts because they’re made with rice our,” said Erin Chung, manager of the Aurora location. “If you taste it, it’s very chewy like mochi, but then you can also feel the donut as well.”

A mochi donut is a fusion of the Japanese rice cake, also known as mochi, and American-style donuts.

Constructed with eight small, round dough balls in the shape of a circle, the mochi donut has a crisp exterior, but a soft and chewy inside due to the main ingredient: sticky sweet rice our.  ey are then coated and glazed with rotating avors and toppings such as cookies and fruits.  One of the most popular avors is Ube, which is a sweet potato base, topped with fruity pebbles. Other popular avors are the caramel churro, chocolate churro and the strawberry funnel.

are so many to choose from.

“A lot of people like to try di erent avors every week,” Chung said.

Customers can get a single mochi donut or a box of three, six or a dozen. Additionally, the Aurora location serves mochinut balls as well as soft serve in a cone or bowl.

Mango Mango Desserts

1133 S. Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO 80246

From a classic tiramisu to wa es to hot desserts, Mango Mango Desserts’ mission is “to make edible incredible.” Mango Mango Desserts in Denver is a franchise from New York’s Chinatown.

While dining in an elegant store, guests can partake in sophisticated desserts utilizing the mango. Some of the most popular dishes include Mango Mochi, Durian Dessert Bowl, Green Tea Mille Crepe and the Coconut Mango Infused Smoothie.

In addition to uniquely layered crepe cakes, Mango Mango Desserts have traditional avors mixed with modern desserts.

Mango ice cream can be paired with snow white mango juice sago and pomelo or strawberry mango juice sago and lychee jelly. Other dishes include a rice or watermelon ball, herbal jelly, mustang king durian, black rice and more.

Yonutz!

7939 E Arapahoe Road, Greenwood Village, CO 80112

Having to choose between ice cream or donuts won’t have to be an option thanks to Yonutz!, a colorful dessert shop that smashes the two desserts together. Yonutz opened its Greenwood Village location March 15.

e now-viral sensation, Yonutz SMASHED Donut, was created in 2018 in South Florida when

someone asked Tony Bahu how he was going to

“We ended up creating the smashed donut,” said Bahum Founder and CEO of Yonutz. “We’ve done donuts and ice cream before, but we never did it like this. It’s so decadent and fun and grand.”  It’s simple. You slice it, ll it, smash it, top it and eat it.

e donuts are made fresh in the store and then sliced in half. Guests can choose which avor of ice cream they want inside the donut before it’s smashed in a hot press and topped with any toppings such as chocolate sauce or candy.

“We know that people are looking for an experience, looking for something di erent, something fun, and so it just kind of all came together,” said Bahu.

After winning multiple Dessert Wars – even winning the national championships – and being featured on CNN’s Great Big Story, Bahu said the store was on people’s bucket lists, inspiring them to continue to expand their brand.

Some of the most popular avors are the Nutella Crunch, which was the creation that helped them win Dessert Wars, as well as Strawberry Shortcake and Bisco Cookie Butter.

Bahu wanted to come up with something more simple and recently came up with the Simple Smashed Donut. It is a smashed donut with any avor of ice cream inside, but instead of cutting it in half and decorating it with toppings, the donut is rolled in cinnamon sugar.

Although the ice cream is not homemade, Bahu said Yonutz! typically nds something that’s local or regional and works with that brand. e menu also includes Yonutz SMASHED Shakes and mini donuts.

“We’re really excited to be able to expand in Colorado,” Bahu said. “ ere’s so much liveliness and action going on there.”

Bahama Buck’s is a tropical hang-out that serves up airy shaved ice in over 100 flavors with a variety of toppings, island smoothies, Bahama Sodas and more. Guests can choose from crafted menu items or get creative and mix their own flavors.

PHOTO BY HALEY LENA

According to Figliolino, the rail and bus line adjustments due to construction are to keep rider inconvenience to a minimum.

“ e reason why we are doing these projects, for these times speci c closures is to help minimize the inconvenience to travelers and keep our system in a state of good repair,” he said. “It improves the safety and reliability of the system for our customers.”

2. The standard adjustments will be made to adjust for school closing for summer

“So typically, in May we adjust some of our routes to account for schools not being in session or for lower demand,” said RTD Senior Planner/Scheduler Maux Sullivan. Sullivan said the following routes will be adjusted:

• DASH, the Boulder/ Lafayette via Louisville bus route

• SKIP, the Boulder/Lafayette via Arapahoe bus route

• 11, the Mississippi Avenue route

• 20, the 20th Avenue route

• 24, the University Boulevard route

• 30, the South Federal Boulevard route

• 51, the Sheridan Boulevard route

• 65, the Monaco Parkway route

• 73, the Quebec Street route

proposed “to account for outdoor events and school not being open

“ ese are kind of just our more livan said. She went on to say that other routes will see minor adjust-

ments to allow for driver rest times and as a result of performance changes.

3. Changes to the Evergreen and Platte Valley Flex rides

“Our ex rides in Evergreen will be combining into one singular service area,” Sullivan said. “ e Platte Valley Flex ride will be taking on a more traditional ex ride service.”  Sullivan showed the proposed adjusted route for the Platte Valley Flex Ride route.

4. More free rides downtown thanks to construction

According to Sullivan, the Free Mall Ride runs every 4-5 minutes between stops but will go to every 10 minutes. e Free Metro Ride program will be reinstated.

Sullivan said the reduced mall ride service is to accommodate the reinstated metro rides. She said the reason for the changes is to accommodate downtown construction.

“So, for the free metro ride, we’re proposing reinstating it and not just during the peak periods weekday as it usually used to operate, but actually all day, seven days a week,” Sullivan said. “ is is really to allow greater exibility during the downtown rail reconstruction project. So that customers have other alternatives to reach their destination from Union Station into other parts of downtown.”

A driver waits outside his RTD bus at the 10th and Washington stop in downtown Golden.

Thu 3/28

Anthony D'Amato: Fantastic Cat @ Bluebird Theater

@ 7pm

Bluebird Theater, 3317 E Colfax Av, Denver

Shift

@ 8:30pm

Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom & Other Side, 2637 Welton St, Denver

Fri 3/29

trav!: opening @ the roxy @ 7pm

The Roxy Theater, 2549 Welton St, Den‐ver

Sugar Britches at Star Bar!

Sat 3/30

Bunny Trails at Belmar

Sun 3/31

Ryan Hutchens at Culinary Dropout @ 11am

Culinary Dropout, 4141 E 9th Ave, Denver

Scarface

@ 12pm / Free 439 S Upham St, 439 South Up‐ham Street, Lakewood. info@bel marcolorado.com, 303-742-1520

Moral Law @ 7pm HQ Homes, 582 S Broadway, Denver

SILVR SIREN

@ 8:30pm

Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom & Other Side, 2637 Welton St, Denver

@ 7pm

Ogden Theatre, 935 E. Colfax Ave., Denver

Baby Baby

@ 8pm

Lost Lake Lounge, 3602 E Colfax Ave, Denver

Tue 4/02

Jason D Williams @ 8pm Oriental Theater, 4335 W 44th Ave, Denver

Wed 4/03

The Power of Communal Drumming. “Building Community, Healing Together” @ 12pm Sculpture Park, 1345 Champa St., Denver

pluko @ 9pm

@ 9:30pm Star Bar, 2137 Larimer St, Denver

Ghost Woman @ 7pm

Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St, Denver

Bluebird Theater, 3317 E Colfax Av, Denver

Dale Watson @ 8pm

Oriental Theater, 4335 W 44th Ave, Denver

Jeff Crosby Band at Hi Dive @ 8pm Hi-Dive, 7 S Broadway, Denver

Wolf Van Elfmand @ 8pm Hi-Dive, 7 S Broadway, Denver

e monitors installed at the locations are:

• Edgewater Collective in Edgewater

• City of Golden – Ulysses Street in Golden

• City of Golden – West Colfax Avenue in Golden

• Edgewater Civic Center in Edgewater

• Dunston Middle School In Lakewood

• Freemont Elementary School In Arvada

• Je erson Jr/ Sr School in Edgewater

• Wheat Ridge Rec Center in Wheat Ridge

• Panorama Park in Wheat Ridge

• Lakewood United Methodist Church in Lakewood

e information from each moni-

tor is available on the Je erson County Love My Air webpage.

Je erson County’s program is modeled on Denver’s Love My Air Program, Pitts said. She added that the Je co program is both a replication and an extension of the Denver program.

How does it work?

Pitts said the monitors work by measuring particulate matter in the air.

“What we’re measuring for is PM2.5,” Pitts explained. “It is very important in the grand scheme of air quality because it is considered by experts to be the type of pollution with the greatest impact on human health.”

PM2.5 is particulate matter and 2.5 refers to the size of the matter, which is 2.5 micrometers in diameter according to Pitts.

ST. JOANOF ARC CATHOLICCHURCH

Proclaiming Christ from the Mountains to the Plains

www.StJoanArvada.org

12735 W 58th Ave · 80002 · 303-420-1232

Daily Masses: 8:30am, Mon-Sat

Confessions: 8am Tue-Fri; 7:30am & 4:00pm Sat

Saturday Vigil Mass: 5:00pm

Sunday Masses: 7:30, 9:00, 11:30am, 5:30pm

“Find Connection…Discover Faith”

Sunday Worship 10:00AM

Green Mountain Presbyterian Church 12900 W Alameda Pkwy Lakewood, CO 80228

303-985-8733

www.gmpc.net

“PM2.5 has the greatest impact because it is very small, very ne particles,” Pitts said. “ ey’re easily inhaled. To better explain, these particles are smaller than a grain of sand. ey’re even thinner than the thickness of a piece of hair.”

e small size is what makes PM2.5 a problem for the human body.

formation that the monitors collect. is includes making infographics and educational materials to help kids, families and older adults understand how to use the information. ose partners are:

• Je erson County Public Health

• DDPHE

“ ey’re easy to inhale and get into your lungs and then that directly causes respiratory issues,” Pitts said.

• City of Lakewood

• Sustainable Eiber

Advertise Your Place of Worship

Living Water Spiritual Community (Unity) LGBTQ+ SAFE

We meet in person with extraordinary live music on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month from 10:30a.m. to noon at: Activity Options, 7401 W. 59th Ave., Arvada, 80003.

All other Sunday meetings are on zoom from 10:30a.m. to noon.

Please phone: 720-576-9193, or email: livingwaterspiritualcommunity@gmail.com

Our website is: www.livingwaterunity.org

To advertise your place of worship in this section, call Erin at 303-566-4074 or email

eaddenbrooke@ColoradoCommunityMedia.com

e monitors measure the PM 2.5 in the air and then calculate the risk for people in the area.

Who paid for it?

Pitts said the program is paid for by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. According to a November 2022 announcement from Je co Public Health, the agency was selected to receive a grant of $225,954.25. It would fund a program to install air monitors that would monitor particulates from wild re smoke.

“ at grant was received by the county public health in June 2023,” Pitts said. “ at’s when we received the notice of award. It did take us a few months to obtain the monitors and get those deployed.”

Her team deployed most of the monitors and put them online in December 2023.

“We are still actively working on deploying the last monitor,” Pitts said.

e program has partners helping to maintain the monitors and to help get the word out about the in-

• Lakewood United Methodist Church

• Edgewater Collective

• City of Edgewater

• City of Golden

• City of Wheat Ridge

• Je erson County Public Schools

• CDPHE

Where to get more information

Pitts wants people to explore the Je erson County Love My Air webpage as a resource this allergy season and beyond.

“It also provides additional information on how to protect yourselves and especially if you’re included in one of those sensitive groups,” Pitts said. “ e way to protect yourself is to limit exposure,” Pitts said.

Pitts wants people to take charge of their respiratory health. is means knowing when they can go out and when to stay in.

“One of the main things to do is to stay indoors, which is very unfortunate. We are a very outdoor county, so we all love to be outdoors and explore outside.”

Go to LoveMyAir.com/Je co for more information.

The air sensors mounted throughout the county can look like boxes with open lids attached to the telephone poles at the location. COURTESY OF JCPH

CHANGES

5. The 0L route will increase to accommodate construction delays and detours

Sullivan has good news for the riders of the 0L South Broadway bus route.

“We’re proposing introducing all-day service on the zero L again to really account for the disruption that’s anticipated with the downtown rail reconstruction project,” Sullivan said.

6. 116 X will be reduced due to low ridership

“Route RX will be reduced due to low ridership consolidating the current afternoon trips into one trip that will depart Civic Center Station at 6:10 p.m.,” Sullivan said.

7. Expect rerouting and reductions of

service at the H, E and D lines

“With the coping panel project and the downtown rail reconstruction project there are major impacts to rail,” Sullivan explained. “So, the D line will be routed into Union Station during this time and the service span will be adjusted to from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays. And then on the weekends, 5 a.m. to 2 a.m.”

Sullivan explained that the E Line will have reduced service.

“So, it’s proposed that the E line would be every 60 minutes and then that service span would be the same as the D line,” Sullivan said.

She explained that the decision came from the RTD’s tracking of service in the summer of 2023. It was determined that reliable service was most important to E Line customers.

“So this is in response to make sure that we can provide a reliable schedule for customers throughout the project,” Sullivan said.

e H Line will be reduced to a

60-minute frequency and rerouted due to construction projects, according to Sullivan.

“So, service on the H line would be rerouted to Denver Union Station and then it’s proposed that the frequency would be every 60 minutes.”

8. Route 43 will serve as an A Line alternative route during the peak of the construction delays

“We’re directing customers to use route 43 which runs parallel to the L line corridor during this time,” Sullivan said. “And then for the N line, we’re proposing extending the service on Saturday evening, so one additional southbound trip at 11:13 p.m. and an additional northbound trip at 11:56 p.m. due to ridership demand.”

9. All light rail lines will be adjusted to match the modifications on lines directly affected by construction

“The service span change that’s

proposed is to match the other light rail lines and allow for a greater maintenance window. So that work can be done overnight,” Sullivan said.

10. ‘Zero Fare for Free Air’ continues through August 2024

Figliolino explained that the “Zero Fare for Free Air” program will continue as planned through August 2024. The program allows free ridership for students aged 19 years and younger.

“All that is required is a valid ID to prove that you are 19 years of age or younger. So, a driver’s license or a student ID works for all of that,” Figliolino said.

These are all proposed changes, officials stressed. Nothing is set yet. To send your feedback and to get more information on the proposed changes, call 303-2992004, email service.change@rtddenver.com or go to RTD-Denver. com.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Transit-oriented communities

I’m writing to raise awareness and urge Colorado legislators to support the Transit Oriented Communities bill (TOC) (HB24-1313), which o ers comprehensive solutions to the housing and climate crises in Colorado.

As a young Coloradan, I’ve witnessed rsthand how housing prices have skyrocketed. Rising housing

READER

‘The Music Man’ Marches to Lakewood

I’m going to be honest, I’m a little biased here – Meredith Wilson’s “ e Music Man” is my favorite musical, so whenever I see it’s playing somewhere nearby, I’m going to recommend seeing it. And when the company putting it on is the Performance Now eatre Company, it really is a mustsee.

“ e Music Man” is coming to the Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway, from Friday, March 22, through Sunday, April 7 Fridays – Sundays, March 22-April

costs are fracturing communities as people are priced out, and many are forced to move far from work and endure long commutes. is also adds to air pollution with more people driving long distances, harming our climate. Currently, I’m spending over half of my paycheck on rent, far more than what’s sustainable. Many, like me, are losing hope of ever owning a home in our

7. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Directed and choreographed by Kelly Van Oosbree, the show takes audiences to River City, Iowa, where Harold Hill is trying to convince the town to invest in instruments and uniforms for boys’ band that he swears he can put together.

Find information and tickets at Lakewood.org/LCCPresents.

The Parker Symphony O ers a World Music Tour

e Parker Symphony Orchestra is taking audiences on a world musical cruise for its 30th anniversary, and the second stop of the season is in Russia, Germany and Australia. e orchestra will be performing Richard Wagner’s

beloved state.

It’s time for the state legislature to step up and support local governments in adopting policies for affordable housing and better public transit. I wholeheartedly endorse the TOC bill because it will expand housing options and ensure a ordability for everyone while bene ting our climate. By passing this bill, we can not only protect our communi-

“Overture to the Flying Dutchman,” Peter Sculthorpe’s (from Australia) “Jabiru Dreaming,” Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 5,” and more.

“Excursion from Russia to Down Under,” will be held at the Parker Arts, Culture and Events Center, 20000 Pikes Peak Ave., at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 22. All the details can be found at https://parkersymphony.org/.

Clarke’s Concert of the Week — Ashley McBryde at the Ogden Theatre ere’s been a lot of great country tunes written in the last 24 years, but for my money, Ashley McBryde’s “A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega” is the best country song of the century so far. It hits just the right spot between heart-

ABOUT LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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ties but also safeguard our environment by reducing tra c pollution. Let’s not allow the dream of homeownership to slip further away from young Coloradans. It’s time to act and keep housing within reach for all. I urge Colorado legislators to vote in favor of the TOC bill and secure a brighter future for Colorado’s communities and climate.

Emily Chhay, Arvada

breaking and hopeful, with the kind of lyrics you can sing along to or just let wash over you. She released that song in 2018 and in the ensuing years, she’s continued to develop a wonderful discography. Last year she released her fourth album, “ e Devil I Know,” and it’s well worth your time.

In support of the album, McBryde will be playing at the Ogden eatre, 935 E. Colfax Ave. in Denver, at 8 p.m. on ursday, March 28. She’ll be joined by opener Kasey Tyndall. is is the perfect venue for McBryde, so get your tickets at www.ticketmaster.com.

Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@ hotmail.com.

newspaper.

• Letters must be no longer than 400 words.

• Letters should be exclusively submitted to Colorado Community Media and should not be submitted to other outlets or previously posted on websites or social media. Submitted letters become the property of CCM and should not be republished elsewhere.

Colorado lawmakers want more parents to get child care aid

BY ANN SCHIMKE CHALKBEAT COLORADO

Colorado helps about 17,000 lower-income families pay for child care each year through its child care subsidy program. at’s only a fraction of the families eligible for assistance, and yet there are millions of dollars left on the table every year.

eresa Ramirez, a single mother in Fort Collins, can attest to one reason why. Although she submitted her annual renewal paperwork early, a lag in getting it processed forced her to quit working for weeks after her baby’s subsidy was canceled.

Now, lawmakers are considering a bill that would overhaul the program, making it easier for families to access, boosting aid for some families, and making it more attractive for providers who accept subsidies.

e bill would also cover full tuition for child care employees with kids in child care regardless of family income — a major bene t given the industry’s chronically low wages.

House Bill 24-1223, sponsored by three Denver area Democrats, will be heard in the House Health and Human Services Committee on March 12.

e proposed improvements to Colorado’s subsidy program — ocially called the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program or CCCAP — come at a time when many families are struggling with the cost of living and some child care providers are raising tuition to cover their expanding costs. While lawmakers and advocates say it’s high time for xes that allow more families to get subsidies and entice more child care providers to accept them, one of the bill’s cosponsors said the price tag could be large. State legislative sta have not yet released the bill’s scal note, a detailed analysis of how much it will cost.

Kyle Piccola, vice president of communications and advocacy at Healthier Colorado, said he’s pleased the state is taking a “big holistic approach” to the child care subsidy bill.

“It’s a program that de nitely needs improvement,” he said.

Rep. Lorena Garcia, a co-sponsor of the bill, said she’s encountered no opposition to the spirit of the bill, but acknowledged the cost could be a stumbling block for some lawmakers.

“I’m con dent we’ll get it to a place where we’ll get it done,” she said.

Colorado’s $156 million child care subsidy program is funded by the federal government, the state, and counties. It’s available to homeless families as well as lower-income families in which parents are working, looking for work, or going to school. Most families who qualify for subsidies still pay a portion of child care costs in the form of a co-pay.

Several advocates and providers interviewed said the subsidy application, which is di erent in every county, can be invasive and intimidating. at can lead parents to skip it even if they need the help.

Nearly two-thirds of the state’s 64 counties use less than 75% of their subsidy dollars annually and this year, the program is on track to have up to $7 million in leftover funding, according to the Colorado Department of Early Childhood.

“It’s underutilized,” Garcia said.

More aid for families and incentives for child care providers

e bill would make a number of changes required by newly released federal rules aimed at reducing the cost of child care and some changes that are Colorado speci c. Key provisions of the bill include:

Limiting parent co-pays to no more than 7% of family income, down from the current cap of 14%.

Creating a uniform statewide application that doesn’t ask for extraneous information, such as custody agreements or child immunization records.

Allowing families to get or continue receiving child care aid for 90 days while their application or renewal paperwork is being reviewed, a provision that will help parents start working immediately and keep children in care.

Paying child care providers who accept subsidies based on the number of subsidized children enrolled, not on the number of days those children attend. Currently, providers can lose money for days the child is absent above the number allowed by their county.

Making child care employees eligible for full subsidies regardless of their family income.

Overall, the bill aims to better serve families that currently receive subsidies, attract new ones, and incentiv-

ize more child care providers to accept subsidies.

is year, nearly 26,000 Colorado children get subsidized care through the program, only about 11% of eligible children, according to estimates from Healthier Colorado. Just over 2,000 child care providers accept state subsidies, fewer than half of the state’s providers.

What parents and providers are saying

Ramirez, who lives with her four children in Fort Collins, described CCCAP subsidies as a lifeline that allowed her to work starting when her youngest child, 13-month-old Sarai, was six weeks old.

Ramirez brings home about $1,300 a month from her work cleaning houses. Her co-pay is $4 a month at e Family Center/La Familia, a family resource center that runs a highly rated child care program in the northern Colorado city. Her daughter loves it there, she said.

But when Ramirez lost her subsidy for a few weeks after her renewal application stalled, she had no choice but to bring Sarai home and decline all cleaning jobs. It’s the kind of wrinkle the subsidy bill could help x.

Under the bill, such cancellations would be averted by giving families what’s called “presumptive eligibility,” essentially a 90-day grace period in which subsidies would start or continue while o cials review applications or renewals.

Ramirez said anything in the bill that streamlines and strengthens the application and renewal process will make a di erence for families like hers.

Corinne Bernhardt, executive director of Young Peoples Learning Center in Fort Collins, said the plan to give full subsidies to employees will help about a quarter of her 25 sta members. It will also make it easier to hire new employees amid industry-wide labor shortages. e center’s current sta discount for child care isn’t always enough to get quali ed candidates with young children in the door, she said.

“To have to say, ‘Well, we can give you a 50%-o discount, but it’s still going to cost you $1,500 a month to bring your kid here, but we’re only going to pay you $17 an hour,’ a lot of people are like, ‘OK, I guess I’m just going to stay home,’” she said.

Bernhardt said she also likes the provision requiring that providers be reimbursed based on enrollment instead of attendance because it will reduce administrative hassles for her sta .

Overall, she believes by making much needed improvements to the state’s subsidy program, the bill will help Colorado’s economy.

“Parents can’t go into the workforce, if they can’t nd child care,” she said.

Chalkbeat is a nonpro t news site covering educational change in public schools.

Colorado’s child care subsidy program is underutilized even as many parents in the state struggle to pay for child care.

PHOTO BY ERIN KIRKLAND FOR CHALKBEAT

Our founding fathers were right

In his Farewell Address, the Father of our nation, George Washington, warned about the evils of political parties saying, “However political parties may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.” Both Jefferson and John Adams had similar admonitions about the evils of political parties.

Today, the two parties are forcing upon us two presidential candidates that 71% of us don’t want. We likely will be forced to vote for a candidate well past their prime and who has a poor personal popularity rating. Here is how it happened.

During most modern times, southern Democrats had beliefs much di erent than northern Democrats and served as a third party along

INJURIES

Two stopped cars

Around 7:30 a.m. on March 11, APD received a call from a woman who passed out behind the wheel of a car parked at the Shell Station on 64th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard. O cers arrived at the scene and arrested the driver for investigation of a DUID (driving under the in uence of drugs) and forged temporary plates.

On March 7 around 9:45 a.m., sta at Swanson Elementary let the school’s School Resource O cer know that a vehicle was stopped and

Other happenings

STiX, a hockey bar that opened on the corner of Olde Wadsworth Boulevard and Ralston Road in September

with Republicans and northern Democrats. en, in the early 1960s, President Johnson’s civil rights and voting rights victories caused the southern Democrats to switch parties to become Republicans. is left us with two functioning parties for the rst time since reconstruction. It was this move to a real two-party system in the 60s that led to the absolute power of both parties. I believe it is fair to say that the Democrats have become more liberal, and the Republicans have become more conservative. In fact, the parties don’t match up well with the views of most Americans. e truth is that the Democrats and the Republicans are too extreme for most of us voters.

A January 2024 Forbes article shows that the amount of voters who identify as independent is skyrock-

eting while Democrat and Republican identi cation is dwindling. Now 44% are independent or una liated with just 27% claiming to belong to one of the parties.

Here are the problems. Twentytwo states have closed primaries where independents can’t vote in the primaries or caucuses that nominate presidential candidates. Another dozen states make it dicult for una liated voters to participate in primaries. As such, less than 15% of voters select the candidate of each party.

It gets worse... e requirements to run for president as a third-party candidate are tough and that’s the way the parties want it. ey battle any such candidacies. e electoral college election system makes it unlikely that any party could win the necessary 270 electoral votes in a three- party race. In that case, the winner would be selected by the state parties, who of course are Republicans and Democrats. So, who would run as a third-party candidate knowing they can’t win

the presidency? My guess is that if Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Nikki Haley ran in a straight three-person race without the electoral college... Nikki wins.

But it is unlikely that will happen. Former President Trump likes to say that the election is rigged. Although not in the way he implies, the election is rigged. As George Washington warned, “unprincipled men have subverted the power of the people and usurped for themselves the reins of government.” ere is not a thing we can do to change this scenario. e parties call the signals and our elected o cials either go along or decide not to run for reelection.

Jim Rohrer of Evergreen is a business consultant and author of the books “Improve Your Bottom Line … Develop MVPs Today” and “Never Lose Your Job … Become a More Valuable Player.” Jim’s belief is that common sense is becoming less common. Contact Jim at jim.rohrer2@ gmail.com.

blocking tra c. e SRO located the unoccupied vehicle and determined that it had been stolen the night before in Lakewood. Witnesses report-

2022, closed permanently recently, Izabela Petrykowska, the executive director of the Arvada Economic Development Association said.

A writ of restitution was posted on the bar’s door in February of this year, stating that the business needed to vacate the building within ten days. Petrykowska said no other details

ed seeing the driver leave the vehicle shortly before the SRO arrived. A second o cer identi ed the driver at a nearby Walgreens and at-

about the closure are available. Finally, 9News is reporting that Spice Room — a popular Denverbased Indian restaurant — purchased the building formerly occupied by Steuben’s at 7355 Ralston Road in February. e restaurant is slated to open up shop in April, according to 9News.

tempted to take her into custody, at which point the suspect resisted arrest, injuring the o cer. Additional o cers arrived and the suspect was taken into custody.

She was jailed for motor vehicle theft, assault, criminal possession of a nancial device, possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting arrest, obstructing a peace o cer and four active arrest warrants, APD said.

Meet MR MCDREAMY!

MR MCDREAMY - 291161

Mr McDreamy is a 3-year-old Boxer and Lab mix. Mr McDreamy is a sturdy fella, full of fun and ready to share his excitement with his new family! This handsome fella was transferred to us from a local shelter and he is feeling a bit pent up and stressed with his lengthy shelter stay. Dreamy has enjoyed playtime with other likeminded dogs that enjoy rough housing around with their buddies when not putting the nose to work on awesome hiking trails! Meet with him today,

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Arvada Police believe alcohol is a factor in the crash.

COURTESY ARVADA POLICE

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Colorado leads on medical debt protections, even as health care costs soar

BY SARA WILSON COLORADO NEWSLINE

Lindsey Vance carried medical debt for nearly half her life.

e 41-year-old Denver resident is now both insured and in a better situation nancially. She was able to get her very rst credit card a few months ago.

“But my credit has been absolutely terrible my entire adult life because of the medical debt,” she said.

A recently-enacted law aims to help the estimated 700,000 Coloradans like Vance with medical debt by removing it from consumer credit reports. e law is one of several policies Colorado lawmakers have advanced in recent years to lessen the burden of medical debt. Another recent law caps the allowable interest on the debt and aims to ensure transparency with consumers. In conjunction with the state’s Hospital Discounted Care program, created in 2021 for uninsured and low-income patients, and other debt-related laws, experts say that Colorado is a leader among states when it comes to medical debt protection policies.

“Colorado is de nitely at the forefront, especially with the recently enacted legislation,” said Maanasa Kona, an assistant research professor

at Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms and author of a Commonwealth Fund report comparing states’ medical debt policies.

“It is some of the more ambitious actions we’ve seen states take,” she said.

Nationwide, about 100 million people have some form of health care debt, according to research by KFF Health News. e crisis is forcing millions of Americans to ration medical care, take on extra work and cut back on food, clothing and other essentials. Around Denver, medical debt is also exacerbating the city’s problem with housing a ordability.

e trailblazing credit reporting law, House Bill 23-1126, was one of two medical debt bills passed during Colorado’s 2023 legislative session. It requires credit reporting agencies to remove the debt from consumer reports, limiting who can see it.

About 11% of Coloradans have medical debt in collections with a median of $693, according to data from the Urban Institute. Nationally, 13% of people have medical debt in collections. An Urban Institute analysis found that many consumers saw their credit score improve as medical debt gets removed.

Colorado was the rst state to en-

act such a law, followed by New York.

e federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is developing new regulations that would bar credit reporting for medical debt nationally.

Another 2023 law, Senate Bill 2393, caps interest on medical debt at 3% per year, reducing it from 8%. e law also allows consumers to request documentation from a creditor or debt collector to ensure that the debt is accurate and stops debt collections if the consumer is in an appeals process.

“It’s hard to say what the impact will be, but I know from hearing testimony and seeing people talk about it, I’m really optimistic that it will make a change,” Sen. Lisa Cutter, a Littleton Democrat who ran the bill, said.

Colorado joins seven other states that limit interest. A provision in SB93 that would have required the original creditor to be named as a plainti in debt collection proceedings was stripped during its rst committee hearing. ousands of Colorado patients from UCHealth are sued every year, with a third-party debt collector instead of the hospital often named as the plainti in the lawsuit, according to a 9News/Colorado Sun investigation done in partnership with the Colorado News Collaborative and KFF Health News for the “Diagno-

sis: Debt Colorado” series, which includes this story.

“ at’s a huge piece that we’d like to tackle at some point,” Cutter said. “Transparency is the baseline. Nobody should argue about being transparent in how they deal with their debt and their consumers.”

Since the 2023 laws went into e ect less than a year ago, it is di cult to gauge the impact they have had on patients’ ability to manage medical debt costs. It is something experts are keeping tabs on. And medical debt protections are often a Band-Aid for “out of control” health care prices, Kona said.

Still, advocates say the e orts last year are major wins. At the Capitol last year, Vance testi ed at both the House and Senate committee hearings for the credit reporting law, lending a voice for Coloradans struggling to come out on top of their medical debt.

“Despite my best e orts to make any sort of payment, it always came down to having to choose between paying down my medical debt and paying necessities like rent and utilities,” she told lawmakers. “ is was my reality for many years.”

is story comes via the Colorado News Collaborative, of which Colorado Community Media is a partner.

A LETTER TO OUR READERS AND ADVERTISERS

To our loyal supporters,

We’re excited to tell you about a major expansion of our Colorado operation. We are launching a printing press to serve our publications, along with many other newspapers across the Front Range.

is unique project is a crucial step toward stabilizing our costs and ensuring you can continue to receive our news in all the ways that you want.

When the nonpro t National Trust for Local News purchased our 23 news brands in metro Denver in 2021, no one imagined we’d establish a new printing press. Our focus was squarely on digital transformation e orts that have included relaunching our websites and adding a series of new news products in the communities we serve.

However, rapidly rising costs associated with printing and distribution le us and many other publishers across the Front Range in a perilous position. While we know digital is our future, we also know many of our subscribers and advertisers still greatly value the printed newspaper, especially in areas where digital access may be limited.

Funds from the Colorado Media Project, Gates Family Foundation, Colorado Trust, and Bohemian Foundation enabled us to purchase a community printing press and secure a facility in Denver to begin operating it. We’re excited to kick o soon, with our newspapers set to be printed starting in May. We’ll bring on other publishers by the summer.

e new press should allow us to lower manufacturing costs – for ourselves and for other small local publishers – that will stabilize the bottom line and ultimately lead to reinvestments in our reporting resources and digital expansion. We’re strengthening our own business while supporting our fellow publishers.

We believe every community deserves a strong local news source. Your continued support fuels our passion and drive to innovate, adapt, and thrive in an ever-evolving media landscape. Together, we are shaping the future of local journalism in Colorado and beyond.

ank you for being part of this exciting milestone with us.

Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro CEO National Trust for Local News

Linda Shapley Publisher Colorado Community Media