Brand new Arvada Aquatics Center set for Nov. 23 grand opening
petition pool manufactured in Italy, a secondary 25-yard pool with warmer water for swim lessons and exercise classes, a diving well, a spectator seating area for over 800 spectators and on-deck seating for over 600 and ADA accessible locker rooms.
BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Forty- ve years after Meyers Pool opened its doors, a new natatorium is coming to town; the Arvada Aquatics Center.
e Arvada Aquatics Center — or AAC, as the building’s exterior signage displays — will debut to the public with a grand opening celebration that will take place from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 23 and include a ribbon cutting, facility tours, and family-friendly activities.
e 50,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility includes a 50-meter Myrtha com-
City of Arvada Project Manager Kim Vagher said the project shows the bene t of local government agencies working together, as the AAC was completed through an intergovernmental agreement between the City of Arvada, Je erson County Public Schools and the Apex Parks and Recreation District.
“ e completion of this state-of-the-art aquatics facility has been a once-in-alifetime opportunity,” Vagher said. “ is project exempli es the great work we can accomplish to improve access to highquality competition and recreation amenities when we come together as partner organizations.
“Je co Public Schools and Apex Park
What will become of Feret’s council seat as she moves onto the state house?
BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
What happens when an Arvada city councilmember moves onto bigger things? e city is currently getting a crash course in council succession procedure, as At-Large City Councilmember Lisa Feret recently won the Colorado House District 24 seat and resigned from council. What unfolds next is a process Arvada hasn’t seen since 2014, when then-City Councilmember Rachel Zenzinger became a state senator and left a vacant seat on council, which was lled by Gerald Marks by appointment.
Feret resigned from city council on Veterans Day, Nov. 11 — a decision she felt was “ tting” because she is the rst female veteran to serve on city council. Applications to ll the seat for the rest of Feret’s term, which expires in 2025, may be submitted to the city clerk’s o ce until midnight on Nov. 24.
From there, all six remaining councilmembers will review every application with a rubric before narrowing down the eld to an unspeci ed number of nalists. e nalists will be posted on the city’s website on Dec. 3, at which time the public can comment on the nalists to the city clerk. e deadline for public comments is Dec. 10.
and Recreation District have been critical in the success of the project and the investment in the quality of life for the Arvada community and swimmers and divers throughout the region,” Vagher continued.
Robert McDonald, Principal in Charge and Project Manager at Ohlson Lavoie Corporation, the architects behind the project, highlighted the use the pool has for competitions — the diving well is equipped with three 1-meter-springboards, three 3-metter springboards, and a 3-meter and 5-meter platform, making it the only facility of its caliber in Colorado besides the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
“ e Arvada Aquatics Center represents the future of recreation and competition for our community,” McDonald said. “With its comprehensive design, this facility not only provides a space for athletic excellence but also strengthens our community bonds.”
Finally, the remaining six members of council will interview the nalists on Dec. 13, followed by a vote by city council, which will nalize the appointment. e swearing-in will be held sometime after then, at a time agreed upon by city council and the appointee.
Feret said she hopes her replacement is a “team player.”
“ e most important quality is the ability to work together and be a team player,” Feret said. “ ere are a lot of opinions and ideas that council will have to collectively decide on — and they are never easy topics being discussed. e ability to understand other people’s perspectives and respectfully disagree is imperative for the collective success of council and the city.”
The inside of the Arvada Aquatics Center, with the Myrtha pool at center.
COURTESY CITY OF ARVADA
FERET
A recent council discussion on Nov. 4 to formalize the city’s policy for lling council vacancies saw many councilmembers disagree on what the policy should cover, leading to council voting down the resolution so that the city team can rework it.
A revised version of the policy has not been presented to council yet, but the city is proceeding as if the policy was enacted.
“We could function generally as if we had a policy in place,”
City Attorney Rachel Morris said. “We could proceed along this path. After the policy is formally adopted, we will nish out the process.”
e disagreement stemmed from dissenting comments responding to Councilmember John Marriott stating that anyone who seeks another o ce should resign from city council as soon as election results are “not in question” for the other o cer they’re seeking.
“If someone were elected to, let’s say the state legislature, immediately upon election, they will be attending and getting orientation from the legislature,” Marriott said. “ ey will certainly need to bring on sta members, they will without a doubt be meeting with lobbyists to talk about the ve bills they’re going to run in the legislature.
“ ey will certainly be in contact with the caucus they will want to participate in in the legislature,” Marriott continued. “I think that’s a good thing, I think that’s what someone in the legislature should do. however, if someone is performing those
ground.”
at statement, amongst others Marriott made during the discussion, ru ed feathers on council including Councilmember Bob Fifer, who said that Marriott was “talk(ing) out of both sides of (his) mouth” since Marriott ran for mayor last fall. Marriott clari ed that the mayor holds many of the same responsibilities as councilmembers in Arvada.
Arvada Mayor Lauren Simpson said that she hopes to nd a quali ed candidate through the appointment process.
“I’m looking for someone who has a demonstrated record of service with the community, and someone who knows the issues well,” Simpson said.
To apply for the vacancy, an applicant must submit a letter with the following information to the City Clerk’s O ce at 8101 Ralston Road, along with the council eligibility certi cation:
1. Detailed contact information including name, address, phone number and email address,
2. How long you have lived in the City of Arvada,
3. Education,
4. Employment/professional experience,
5. Experience as a member of a board, committee, or commission charged with deliberative decision-making. Include length of time served, attendance record, leadership positions, and speci c contributions,
6. Availability for attendance at regular and special City Council meetings and workshops,
to serve on City Council appointed boards and commissions, and attend retreats, trainings, and ceremonial events (City Council members generally spend 10-20 hours per week on city business), and
8. A statement as to why you want to serve on the Arvada City Council.
Q&A with Lisa Feret
In light of Feret’s leaving city council, the Arvada Press conducted an exit interview of sorts with her.
Arvada Press: What are your biggest takeaways from your
Lisa Feret: Nothing is as simple as it seems and no policy is perfect.
It is also very clear to me that people love this city. I have so much respect for former elected o cials that continue to lean in and serve out community.
I love running into people like Ken Fellman who pours his heart into the Arvada Center or sitting at our weekly Kiwanis breakfast with Mark McGo , Bob Dyer, Ron Sloan and many
other former leaders in Arvada. It is clear we are part of a com-
A.P.: What are the things you’ve accomplished on council that you feel most proud of?
L.F.: I remember 6 years ago; I drafted a housing committee proposal as an engaged citizen and it went nowhere. A few years later, I was elected to city council, and I submitted that same proposal which was nally was approved and launched! I am so proud of how much we have focused on housing a ordability during my time on council.
A.P.: What qualities do you hope to see in your replacement on council?
L.F.: e most important quality is the ability to work together and be a team player. ere are a lot of opinions and ideas that council will have to collectively decide on - and they are never easy topics being discussed. e ability to understand other people’s perspectives and respectfully disagree is imperative for the collective success of council and the city.
A.P.: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
L.F.: is role is tough — there is a growing list of needs for the city and limited amount of funds. Everyone on council joins because they love our city and want to help. As I transition into this new role at the state and a new leader steps into the role of City Councilmember, I ask that you give them grace and assume positive intent.
We all care so much for our city and our neighbors. Let’s continue to work together to solve these tough challenges!
Lisa Feret
At-Large City Councilmember Lisa Feret recently won the Colorado House District 24 seat and resigned from council.
PHOTO BY RYLEE DUNN.
If Buyers & Sellers Were ‘on the Fence’ Awaiting Election Results, Where Are They Now?
The conventional wisdom a month ago was that buyers and sellers were holding off of their plans, waiting to see who won the presidential election. But that wasn’t entirely true. In fact, the number of closings this October were higher than last October, and the number of sellers who put their homes on the market was markedly higher than the prior two Octobers.
Nevertheless, the numbers for all three of the Octobers that occurred after the 2022 spike in interest rates pale in comparison to the statistics for the three prior Octobers, when interest rates were low. Here are the stats from REcolorado for the 20-mile radius of downtown Denver:
Even dispelling that conventional wisdom, however, we can’t deny that there were some jitters about this year’s election which were putting a damper on some members of the public acting on their desires to buy or sell real estate. In fact, the election may have spurred some buyers and sellers to start making plans who had no thoughts of moving if the election went “their way.”
Enter Redfin, which commissioned an Ipsos survey to find out how the election results impacted the real estate market. The results are worth sharing.
The survey was done on the Thursday and Friday after the election and reached 1,005 U.S. residents — 416 Republicans and 381 Democrats, 486 men and 509 women, and 302 people aged 1834, 347 people aged 35-54, and 356 people aged 55+. 553 respondents were homeowners and 330 were renters; 427 reported earning under $50,000, 379 earn between $50,000 and $100,000, and 199 earn over $100,000. The survey responses are summarized in the chart at right.
Here are some highlights from the survey which you may find interesting, as I did:
Of the 22% of respondents who replied that they are more likely
to move after the election, 36% said they are considering a move to another country, and 26% are thinking about moving to another state. This was a national survey, so perhaps those considering a move to another state live in one of the 13 states which severely restrict or ban abortions. Since Colorado is not one of those states which restrict abortion — and in fact just passed a constitutional amendment protecting reproductive rights — the survey suggests that we may see an influx of people moving here for that reason. A separate survey commissioned by Redfin found that 27% of U.S. residents would be hesitant to live in an area where most residents don’t share their political views.
Reminiscent of 2016, Google searches about leaving the country spiked following Donald Trump’s victory.
Here are the percentage increases for searches “moving to…” these countries:
New Zealand—up 7,600 percent
Germany—up 4,200 percent.
Netherlands—up 3,233 percent.
Ireland—up 2,400 percent.
Norway—up 1,150 percent.
Australia—up 1,150 percent
Portugal—up 1,100 percent
Also, more general searches for “Moving to Europe” surged by 1,566 percent. Searches for “Moving to English-Speaking Countries” surged by 1,328 percent.
Theoretically, such sentiment could spur real estate activity, but I’m not
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Jim was born in Boulder but has lived in South Golden since the 8th grade, when he went to Bell Middle School. After graduating from Golden High School he earned a bachelor's degree in business management from Western State College in Gunnison, then returned to Golden. For eight years he was a driver with UPS, which familiarized him with the entire Denver metro area. He was a new agent with Jim Smith at Coldwell Banker 20 years ago, then joined Jim at RE/MAX Alliance for a couple years before joining Golden Real Estate as one of our first broker associates. You won’t find any agent more familiar with Golden than Jim Swanson!
aware of any Americans who acted on such Google searches in 2016, and I don’t expect to see many now. I know that Rita and I have no plans to leave the country. Moves based on reproductive freedom, however, I think will occur — including by gynecologists, as has already been reported.
Some other observations from the Redfin-Ipsos survey included the following: Of the respondents who said they are more likely to move post-election, 17% said the results of the election have made them more likely to consider buying a new home. 12% said the results have made them more likely to consider selling their current home. Roughly the same share (13%) are now more likely to rent a home.
In a September Ipsos survey also commissioned by Redfin, 23% of would-be first-time home buyers said they were waiting until after the election, wanting to
Of those surveyed, 22% say they'll consider moving now that the election is over. Among them, 36% are considering relocating to another country, while 26% are thinking about moving to a different state
see what the winning candidate might do to increase the availability of affordable housing. Given that Kamala Harris had promised $25,000 down payment grants to first-time homebuyers, it makes sense that they would wait to see if she won instead of buying a home using today’s more modest incentives. Maybe those buyers will indeed get off the fence now that she lost and Donald Trump made no such promise.
Call Wendy Renee, our in-house loan officer, if you’d like to know about the already existing programs for first-time homebuyers. Her cell number is below.
Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ Is Great, But Too Expensive
When Elon Musk first introduced it, I was skeptical of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software (FSD) ever working in a way that I would find safe and effective. Others must be skeptical, too, because Tesla recently enabled a free 45-day trial of the software in suitably equipped cars, including my 2023 Tesla Model Y. My free trial expires on Nov. 24th.
Having bad-mouthed FSD in the past, I owe it to Tesla and my readers to share my favorable impression of it after putting many miles on my Model Y using FSD, including a road trip to Las Vegas.
In town, I was impressed that the car slows down for speed bumps and dips. How does it know they are there?
With the earlier Autosteer software, my Teslas were dependent on recognizing painted lane markings and would not cross a solid line, but FSD has no problem crossing solid lines when it is safe to do so — for example, giving a wide berth to a bicyclist by crossing the double yellow line, but only when no cars are coming in the opposite direction.
I was impressed at how it handled construction zones. Picture a construction zone with 2½ lanes of a 3-lane interstate closed off with traffic cones. My Tesla simply straddled the solid line between the cones and the edge of the pavement.
I never thought the software would be good at roundabouts, but it is perfect. It slows down (as it does on any curve) and assesses whether another car is remaining in the roundabout and whether a car to the left is entering the roundabout.
And here’s one area where the software is indeed safer than most humans: it assesses cars that are approaching from a road or driveway. If it looks like the vehicle might not stop or yield, the Tesla slows down to make sure. This wide perception alone could eliminate T-bone col-
lisions with cars running red lights. If I’m in the right lane and it sees a car entering the highway, it shifts to the left lane, assuming there’s an opening. Otherwise it slows down to let the car merge, assuming the spacing is right. It also does well merging from the on-ramp. It responds to other cars’ turn signals, slowing to allow them to merge. It would also move to the left when it spotted a stopped vehicle in the breakdown lane.
It recognizes pedestrians and how they are moving, such as toward a crosswalk. At night on an unlit street, it saw a pedestrian in dark clothing that I didn’t see. I also love the display of surrounding traffic, bicycles and curbs on the screen. In slow traffic, it stops to let a pedestrian cross the street. At stop signs, it knows when it can turn left or right onto a busy arterial, or I can press the accelerator to make a bolder entry than it wanted.
FSD’s full name is now “Full SelfDriving (Supervised.)” A camera mounted above the rear view mirror monitors the driver. If you are not looking straight ahead, it alerts you to “Pay Attention to the Road.” This replaces earlier Autosteer software which required you to apply slight turning pressure to the steering wheel every so often to prove you’re there. Somehow, driving at night when the cabin is pitch dark, the camera still knows when I’m not looking ahead. When the car detects bad weather it warns that FSD is “degraded,” and it will require the driver to take over when it can’t trust itself to make good decisions.
I’d pay for this improved FSD if it were more affordable, but $99/month or the $8,000 purchase price is simply too high. I’ll let the free trial lapse. I have more to say, and screenshots are included, on the posting of this article at http://RealEstateToday.substack.com
Loveland Ski Area opens for the season
BY CHRIS KOEBERL CKOEBERL@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Loveland Ski Area welcomed skiers and snowboarders to Dillon where 8 inches of fresh powder was waiting for the rst run of the 2024-25 season. Dozens of eager skiers showed up hours before the rst chair.
Chet’s Dream chair lift ferried the rst skiers and boarders 1,000 vertical feet up where Loveland sta said an 18-inch base of snow covered the mountain. In the days leading up to the rst chair at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 9, Loveland Ambassa-
dor of Snow Parker the Snow Dog was hard at work ensuring the snow conditions met his high standards, according to Loveland Ski Area Marketing Manager Dustin Schaefer.
e Chet’s Dream lift provides access to Cat Walk, Mambo, and Home Run runs, Schaefer said. is season Loveland will be open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends and holidays. Loveland Ski Area has always been considered a “locals’ ski area” catering to Clear Creek County residents, according to Schaefer.
The sun will come up tomorrow and bet your bottom dollar I-70 will be closed at the base of Floyd Hill
Seasonal morning closures on I-70 are in e ect again to reduce crashes due to sun glare
BY CHRIS KOEBERL CKOEBERL@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
e Colorado Department of Transportation and Clear Creek County Sheri ’s O ce will be closing I-70 eastbound at the base of Floyd Hill during the morning hours when the intense sunshine can blind drivers.
e sheri ’s department said the closures typically take place between 6:308 a.m. and last for about an hour on sunny days through February.
e closure was implemented annually a few years ago as a result of frequent, multiple crashes on Floyd Hill as the sun rose over the hilltop and blinded drivers, according to Clear Creek County Sheri Matt Harris.
“As the weeks pass and the days grow longer, the closure will begin a little earlier and will still last for about an hour,” Harris said. “In addition to accident frequency, factors that determined the closure are speed, tra c volume, distance the sun glare severely impacts sight and
Early morning sun glare forces closure of
duration that the sun’s position causes a dangerous glare.”
A detour is in place which takes eastbound drivers onto Highway 6 East to Highway 40 East back to I-70 East. e detour adds less than 1 mile and, with the new roundabout at Homestead Road, takes only a few additional minutes, according to the sheri ’s department.
CDOT recommends drivers leave either earlier or later than normal to avoid the closure and detours.
If motorists have questions about the frequent closures, CDOT urges them to visit COtrip.org.
First chair at Loveland Ski Area in Dillon Nov. 9.
Skiers enjoy opening day at Loveland Ski Area in Dillon Nov. 9. PHOTOS
I-70.
PHOTO BY CHRIS KOEBERL
Je erson County School Board set to approve sale of three closed schools for nearly $9 million
BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SGLASSMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
e Je erson County school board is expected to approve the sale of three surplus properties in November, netting close to $9 million. e properties — Glennon Heights, Vivian and ompson Elementary Schools — are slated to be sold following a process driven by extensive public input and collaboration with advisory committees, according to Je co Public Schools Chief Operating O cer Je Gatlin.
e district’s Property Disposition Advisory Committee and ad hoc members speci c to each property’s surrounding neighborhood spent months gathering community input to guide the sales process.
Gatlin the top priorities included neighborhood compatibility, minimal disruption from new developments, facility reuse and the preservation of green spaces.
“I want to express a warm message of gratitude to the community members who served on our Property Disposition Advisory Committee, including those who were the ad hoc members,” said Superintendent Tracy Dorland. “I believe they provided great representation of the immediate community’s interests and concerns as we work through this process.”
Dorland said she believed that the open, collaborative process with the community has helped build trust with
those invested in what happens to the closed school sites.
Property sales recommendations
e Property Disposition Advisory Committee, which includes ad-hoc members from each a ected community, unanimously recommended the following:
• Glennon Heights: Allow Jacob Academy, an early childhood care provider, to purchase the building and surrounding property for $3 million. eir pro-
posal to repurpose the existing facility won strong backing due to its minimal neighborhood disruption and alignment with community needs. e committee rejected competing bids from home developers over concerns about lengthy entitlement processes and potential disruption to nearby homeowners.
• Vivian: Accept a proposal from Carlson Homes for approximately $2,550,000. e developer o ered a lower-density
housing plan than its competitor, which aligned more with community input. rough the entitlement process, Carlson can accommodate up to 3 acres of park/open space.
• ompson: Move forward with an o er from Evoke Behavioral Health, which provides services to people with intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and emotional/behavioral disorders for $2.75 million. According to the committee, their proposal to reuse the building promises a swift transition and will expand services for children with autism and other special needs, tting well with district values.
Addressing board concerns
Some board members sought assurances that the recommendations would not negatively impact the district’s o erings. For instance, Danielle Varda wanted to understand the current supply and demand for preschool programs around the Glennon Heights property to ensure that adding Jacob Academy’s program wouldn’t lead to oversaturation. Dorland promised to provide more information to the board regarding the number of preschool sites the district has nearby but explained that Jacob Academy primarily serves infants, o ers before and after school hours, and that those students will matriculate into Jeffco schools once they go to kindergarten. e school board’s upcoming vote will likely nalize these recommendations.
REVERSE MORTGAGES MADE
Je co’s Property Disposition Advisory Committee unanimously reccomended selling Glennon Heights Elementary to preschool provider Jacob Academy.
BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SGLASSMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Cortney Clabaugh isn’t your average 21-year-old from Lakewood. While many college students juggle classes and parttime jobs, Clabaugh splits her time between earning a Business Management degree at the University of Colorado Denver and captivating rodeo audiences with her adrenaline-pumping trick-riding performances.
Clabaugh, who graduated from Green Mountain High School, discovered the world of trick riding (think gymnastics on a horse) at age 12.
“Growing up, I was drawn to gymnastics, and when I saw trick riding, it’s kind of like the perfect blend of gymnastics and horseback riding, which were two things that I loved,” she said.
She started learning how to trick ride with the Westernaires, a youth equestrian organization, where she spent a decade honing her craft before deciding to go solo.
“I knew that it was something that I wanted to do at a higher level. I just didn’t know really where to start,” she said.
Trick riding isn’t for the faint of heart.
“You’re essentially hanging o your horse at high speeds,” Clabaugh explained. e sport requires immense trust and communication between rider and horse.
“You and your horse are a team,” she
“A
continued. “If either of you is o , it can get dangerous quickly. It takes a lot of time and e ort to get to the higher level.”
For Clabaugh, becoming a professional meant aiming for her Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association card, a coveted credential that’s no small feat to obtain. e journey to earn a PRCA card starts with securing a PRCA permit, which requires riders to perform at ve non-PRCA rodeos and submit evaluation reports alongside two recommendation letters, one from a top- ve specialty act and another from a top- ve rodeo announcer.
Getting those recommendations takes time,” Clabaugh said. “I had to gure out who quali ed to write these letters because it’s not just anyone. ey have to have earned their status recently.”
Clabaugh earned her permit in September 2023 after a year of working her way through the rodeo circuit. From there, she performed at ve more PRCA rodeos to secure her full card in 2024, achieving her goal in record time.
“Even at the PRCA level, you still have to prove yourself,” Clabaugh noted. “ ere are performers who have been doing this for years, and every performance is an opportunity to show that you belong.” ough winter in Colorado makes training challenging, Clabaugh is committed to her craft. “I train all year round,” she said, explaining that the unpredictable weather can make it di cult, but she nds a way to stay prepared. “It gets tough with the snow, but I always nd a way to get outside and keep my horses and myself in shape.”
A Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens
Adapted by Richard Hellesen
Music by David de Berry
Directed by Anthony Powell
Clabaugh performs a ticked called the hippodrome.
COURTESY PHOTO
JOURNEY
lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com
KRISTEN FIORE West Metro Editor
is intense dedication keeps her on top of her game and allows her to expand her presence in the rodeo world. While she’s performed at rodeos in Colorado, Texas and Wyoming, Clabaugh hopes her new PRCA status will help broaden her reach.
“I’m hoping that I book across the country. I want to go to new states and meet new people,” she said.
Her success has also brought her a loyal fanbase, especially among younger audiences.
“ ere’s a lot of people who come up to you at the rodeo,” she said. “I love that I know other people are looking up to me. It’s really important to always strive to do your best because there’s always someone watching who might want to do that someday.”
With her PRCA card now in hand, Clabaugh said she continues to challenge herself and develop new skills. One of her next goals is to perfect a shoulder stand, a trick she previously mastered but is eager to improve for her solo performances.
“For me, it’s more about mental preparation and courage,” she said. “I know I can physically do it, and my horses can do it. It’s just about breaking through the mental barriers.”
For Clabaugh, trick riding is more than a sport; it’s a lifestyle and a passion she hopes to make her full-time career.
“Every performance is a chance to get better and connect with the audience,” she said. “Knowing that the next performance could be better than the last is what keeps me going.”
Clabaugh will perform during the National Finals Breakaway Roping in Las Vegas this December. Local fans can catch her in action and witness her talent and dedication to the sport at the 2025 Evergreen PRCA rodeo. She also lists her whereabouts on her website.
With her eyes set on thrilling more audiences and perfecting her craft, Clabaugh is determined to take trick riding to new heights, one breathtaking performance at a time.
MEET LEXI!
Lexi
kfiore@coloradocommunitymedia.com
RYLEE DUNN Community Editor rdunn@coloradocommunitymedia.com
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Clabaugh performs a full stroud layout.
COURTESY PHOTOS
Clabaugh performs a full stroud layout.
Clabaugh performs a trick called the back breaker.
Clabaugh performs a trick called the back breaker.
With a focused heart and mind, you can traverse your mountain
Our heart and mindset can carry us through any di culty. For me, there is an explorer who I think of when I need to be reminded of this idea.
Ernest Shackleton was an Irish born explorer who led an expedition to cross Antarctica on dog sleds. Shackleton planned extensively for the 1914 trip, studying and seeking to prepare for every contingency. Months after starting out, the ship that Shackleton enlisted, e Endurance, became trapped and eventually was crushed by sea ice near the edge of Antarctica. is disaster left the expedition without shelter or transportation, stuck alone near the bottom of the world. With this devastating turn of events, Shackleton moved his goal from crossing Antarctica to seeing that the entire crew survived the ordeal. With that change in emphasis, he and the expedition began a heroic crossing of ice and sea in unbelievably di cult conditions.
After traveling 600 nautical miles in little more than row boats, it became clear
In a challenging time for many people, lm o ers both an escape and a way to create empathy for people you may not understand or have given much thought to.
OF ENCOURAGEMENT
that a smaller party would need to leave the main group and attempt to reach help. To save the group, Shackleton and ve others made a very dangerous 850-mile open ocean crossing and eventually reached South Georgia Island. Landing on this sparsely populated land was not enough. To save the crew, the group needed to go to the shing post on the opposite side of the island and their only option for getting there was to cross a very dangerous set of island mountains… in the dead of winter.
Once on land, the men took assessment of what they had to support their climb and three people were selected to hike the island. e trio had limited food and only carried 50 feet of rope, screws they pushed through the soles of their shoes and a carpenter’s cutting tool for the climb. With
these simple items, the party made the 32-mile overland journey in 36 hours and ultimately saved the whole crew. e entire adventure is a spectacular achievement, but the nal overland journey is a thing of wonder. How could a malnourished, ill-equipped group of three cross a mountain range in the middle of winter? Two groups have since made treks covering the same route Shackleton and his two companions traversed. Both groups were rested, well nourished, equipped with the newest technology, and dumbfounded by what the Shackleton group accomplished.
People continue to try to explain how the team could make that type of hike under such conditions. I believe the explanation for their success lies in the heart and mindset of Shackleton. Ernest Shackleton had a singular focus and drive. He believed in his core that they could overcome the ordeal. It made all the di erence for the expedition.
We, like Shackleton, have an ability to do amazing things in the middle of unex-
The power of story in a shifting world COMING ATTRACTIONS
at’s the genre’s true power and was made manifest in the diverse o erings of the 47th annual Denver Film Festival.
With so many genres and themes to explore, audiences were spoiled for choice. For myself, I was drawn to stories that focused on people making it through di cult times and nding beauty and strength along the way.
‘The Brutalist’ Release Date: Dec. 20
pected struggles. It is very important, that as we as individuals work to overcome our struggles, we remember that we have everything we need to be successful.
Like Shackleton, with a focused heart and mind, you can traverse your mountain.
I hope that you will nd inspiration in my words and share those words of encouragement with those who need it. I would love to hear from you as you nd helpful morsels in these columns and as you nd ways to encourage those around you. I can be contacted at jim.roome@ gmail.com.
Jim Roome lives in Arvada with his wife Beth. He spent 34 years in public education. Lessons learned from the one two punch of being diagnosed with MS shortly before his best friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer led him into a new pursuit as a freelance writer and speaker. He uses his life experiences and love of stories to inspire, educate and encourage local, national and international audiences.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
More aging-friendly housing needed in Je co
Here are four upcoming lms that I hope will provide inspiration for the future.
‘Blitz’
Release Date: Nov. 22 on Apple TV+ e latest feature from the brilliant British lmmaker Steve McQueen, “Blitz” tells the story of Rita (Saorsie Ronan, reliably outstanding) and her son George (Elliott He ernan, making a more than promising debut), as they attempt to make it through the German blitzkrieg air attacks during the beginning of WWII.
You may think the lm is an adventure-survival story, but McQueen is after bigger themes. He has a poet’s eye for catching every detail and bit of humanity possible, and he brings that gaze to bear on a story that pulls elements from both Dickens and Ulysses (Homer’s and Joyce’s). e result is a journey through the underworld that touches on everything from race and othering to caste and nding a home in a new country.
e lm is overstu ed with ideas, and while that could turn o those looking for a jolt of adrenaline, give me a movie with something to say over empty sound and fury any day. Anyone who complains about a director like McQueen swinging for the fences is, as George says, “all mouth, no trousers.”
One of the most anticipated movies of the year, A24’s monumental “ e Brutalist” tackles the kinds of questions creatives have been wrestling with since time immemorial: What makes a creation worth your time and e ort? What are you willing to give up for that creation? And is there such a thing as paying too much for your creativity?
Clocking in at three-and-a-half hours, the lm focuses on Hungarian-born architect László Toth (Adrien Brody), a Holocaust survivor who arrives in America and nds himself working on a massive project for industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce). When László is reunited with his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones), he hopes he can nally restart his creative career. But this is America, and in this country, it’s never that simple. Brody has never been better and Pearce is fascinating as a barely controlled man used to getting what he wants. Be sure to save a cheer for Jones, who is all steel spine and agile wit. is is lmmaking in the grandest and most classical sense, with scope and ambition to spare. You don’t really see movies like this anymore - do yourself a favor and don’t miss it.
‘Chain Reactions’ Release Date: TBA
A celebration of the 50th anniversary of Tobe Hooper’s legendary “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Chain Reactions” is a documentary made by the same team behind “Memory” (a study of “Alien”) and “Leap of Faith” (a discussion of “ e Exorcist” and my favorite lm of 2019). e lm features interviews with Patton Oswalt, Takashi Miike, Alexandra Heller-
Nicholas, Stephen King and Karyn Kusama, all creatives with a love of horror and an awe of Hooper’s achievement. While this might all seem like a movie that only appeals to horror nerds, it delves into the power of American myth-making and the way the country can hurt its own residents. As Kusama reads Hooper’s lm, what the director is saying is, “I’m not optimistic for America, but beauty still has a place.” Especially given recent events, the lm hits with an extra punch.
‘Emilia Perez’
Release Date: Available on Net ix e winner of the festival’s Rare Pearl Award, Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez” is already one of the year’s most talked about lms. And I guarantee you’ve never seen anything quite like it.
Zoe Saldana gives one of the most scorching performances of her career, bringing re and grace to her role of a lawyer in Mexico City hired by a gang leader to help change his life. What starts as a single job turns into a years-long project that brings her into close contact with Jessi (a never-better Selena Gomez) and a whole world she never dreamed of. It wouldn’t be fair to give much more away about the plot, but it tackles all the major themes one could want: identity, the sins we try to leave behind and how much change is possible.
Oh, and did I mention it’s practically an opera, with song and dance numbers spread throughout?
Audiard’s lm goes as big as life but never squanders a character moment. And all praise to Karla Sofía Gascón, as the titular Emilia Perez, who brings the depth of a Shakespearean character to the role.
e aim of “Emilia Perez” is to sweep the audience away, and it succeeds in every way. It gets under your skin and stays there.
Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail.com.
In response to CCM reporter Suzie Glassman’s recent article in the Je co Transcript about population shifts in Jeffco, the League of Women Voters of Jefferson County urges Je erson County to prioritize the expansion of aging-friendly housing options in its 15-Year Housing Continuum Strategic Plan. We also call for policy changes that promote community planning, accessible design standards, and opportunities for home modi cations and repairs speci cally tailored for older adults, especially those on xed incomes. It is vital for Je erson County (both unincorporated Je co and its municipalities) to proactively address the demographic shifts that are already occurring. LWV Je co supports manufactured homes, accessory dwelling units, shared housing and accessible homes for older adults that provide ease of living with safety, security, and special accommodations, such as elevators, wide doorways, and single oor living. Currently, much of our housing stock is not equipped to meet the needs of an aging population. We strongly encourage Je erson County to focus on the creation and preservation of housing options that are dedicated to and a ordable for older adults.
Christina Manthey, President of the League of Women Voters of Je erson County
In response to article about Rocky Flats film e Arvada Press’s article on a lm tackling the legacy of the Rocky Flats nuclear trigger factory continues the long running battle on these types of closed facilities locally. e Rocky Flats plant and the Rocky Mountain Arsenal are both examples and reminders in our Metro area of these long-time pollution disasters and superfund sites aftere ects into the present. From the content of this particular article and lm, their main purpose appears to promote more fears and paranoia than a complete legacy of Rocky Flats.
Clarke Reader WORDS
Jim Roome
Local businesses collecting donations for Thanksgiving event
FILE PHOTO BY CORINNE WESTEMAN
Annual Dignity Tuesday will be Nov. 26 at Golden Pantry & Thrift
BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
With anksgiving just around the corner, local businesses and nonpro ts are working to ensure everyone has a complete holiday meal.
e fourth annual Dignity Tuesday event will be noon Nov. 26 at the Golden Pantry & rift at 1401 Ford St.
Anyone who needs a anksgiving meal is welcome to pick up turkeys, hams, pies and other traditional xings at that time.
Chuck Lontine of 96.9 e Cloud, who helped start Dignity Tuesday in 2021, said this year’s event wouldn’t be possible without both returning and new business partners.
He said anyone who’d like to support this year’s event can do so by dropping o cranberries, stu ng, yams and other nonperishable side dishes at:
• Body in Balance at 755 Heritage Road;
• Café 13 at 1301 Arapahoe St.;
• Golden Real Estate at 1214 Washington Ave.; and
• Morris & Mae at 18475 W. Colfax Ave.
Anyone who donates will be eligible for a gift card from Fat Sully’s Pizza, Miners Saloon or the Old Capitol Grill, Lontine added.
Since 2021, Dignity Tuesday volunteers have distributed more than 5 tons of fresh meats, bread, produce, pies and other traditional xings the Tuesday before anksgiving.
While the location has varied each year, from the BGOLDN food pantry to Lakewood’s Mile Hi Church, Lontine and his partners said they want to ensure everyone has a meal for anksgiving — and some leftovers too.
“It’s people helping other people,” Leah Hahn of Body In Balance Wellness Center said at last year’s event. “It brings the true meaning of the holiday out and puts it into action.”
For more information ahead of Dignity Tuesday, visit goldenpantryandthrift.org.
OBITUARIES
Lawrence Victor
October 5, 1934 - October 18, 2024
Lawrence Victor DeVischer, a Boulder native, passed away at 90 years of age on October 18, 2024 at Denver Hospice in Denver Colorado. Lawrence was born to Arthur and Mary DeVischer on October 5, 1934, and was in the middle of 12 children. Lawrence attended school at Sacred Heart, Casey Junior High and Boulder High School. In his younger years, Lawrence, a.k.a. Larry, worked alongside his father in a range of entrepreneurial endeavors, including heading into the mountains cutting down trees and setting up Boulder’s only Christmas tree lot and construction projects around Boulder. Later, Larry began to work at the Ideal Market in Boulder in 1955 moving from Bag Boy to Produce Manager. He met and married Mary Alice Dehn at the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Boulder, Colorado, in 1955 and moved to Florida. ey had one daughter, LaQuae born in 1956. Larry and Mary divorced, bringing Larry back to Boulder. Larry met and subsequently married Jo Ann Jensen who was a policewoman in Boulder. ey picked up and moved to California for new opportunities as Larry would join State Farm Insurance in San Francisco as an insurance agent in 1963. Settled in San Francisco, and nding success with his sales skill and witty charisma in selling insurance in his own o ce, Larry and Jo Ann welcomed a daughter, Debra in 1965. Larry and Jo Ann divorced in 1968. Larry married Sally Marie Ahern Lewis and lived in San Francisco with Sally and his stepsons,
Charles and Michael Manner. His insurance practice continued to thrive, and he would work with State Farm until he retired. Larry and Sally moved to Santa Rosa and lived on a farm with Sally’s family. Larry always said he enjoyed growing fresh vegetables on the farm and took great pride in his home grown tomatoes. When his wife Sally passed in 2005, Larry moved back to Colorado and moved in with his older sister Sally with whom he lived until he passed. His older sister, Sally, ever the nurse who was always doting and taking care of her little brother, said Larry was a wonderful brother, who had a generous heart, good sense of humor and wonderful singing voice. Larry has three surviving siblings, Sally Darby (CO), Janice DeVischer (CO), and Jean Belyeu (CO). Also surviving him are two daughters, LaQuae Howard (FL) and Debra Taweel (CA), stepson Michael Manner (CA), and three grandchildren, he was so proud of, Taylor, Haley and Brodie Taweel (CA), and his nieces, Kelly Darby (CO) Tracey Sutherland (CO), and nephew, Jack Darby (FL). Stepson Charles Manner and nephew, Chad Darby preceded him in death. His memorial service is being held at Sacred Heart of Mary Church 6739 South Boulder Road at 11 AM on Friday, November 22. Following the interment a reception at Sacred Heart of Mary reception hall will be held. If attending the reception, please RSVP Debra at dtaweel@gmail.com.
e purpose of both was stated as mainly for newer or unaware members of our communities of radiation from the plutonium triggers built at the site. mRadiation from radon gases though in Colorado homes is likely a more serious radiation threat to Coloradans’ health. Rocky Flats operation and closing have been in the news for decades — national news stories of “nuns” being arrested in protests in the1960s to more recent reports of minuet plutonium ndings in air and soil samples locally. I just wonder why these recent problems didn’t occur a few years ago when massive downwind soil digging and grading of the Candelas housing development happened. ese rich home owners do have to sign waivers in the purchases of these dream homes properties. e fact is downwind
radiation possibilities cover a wide area of the northern metro area and waivers for the plant’s radiation in homes go much further to the east and south. Also not mentioned in the article was “ e Rocky Flats Coalition of Local Governments” established February 1999 or “ e Rocky Flats Stewardship Council” which was formed in February 2006. Going to a meeting does enlighten, informs and updates community members on current situations at the closed plant site.
If you are still worried about radiation exposures, please do some homework on your own to better understand the real meaning of the reported gures and their relationship to your present health. Films are easy and nice to get information on any subject but do keep in mind they are usually the products of the certain opinions of its producers and directors, and they may not hold all the facts you might need for your own views on a subject.
Gary Sco eld, Arvada
“Larry” DeVischer
A Dignity Tuesday recipient puts together a box of Thanksgiving foods Nov. 21 at the third annual Dignity Tuesday. Several Golden businesses are collecting nonperishable foods for the fourth annual Dignity Tuesday event, which will be Nov. 26 at the Golden Pantry & Thrift.
COOKING IN THE CLOUDS
Air pressure, humidity and temperature di erences have impacts on everyday cooking at mountain elevations
BY CHRIS KOEBERL CKOEBERL@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
For well-versed mountain locals cooking at high altitudes of 7,500 feet and above, cooking things longer, adding additional water to recipes or subtracting certain ingredients is almost second nature. For others, it can be confusing, frustrating and disastrous.
ere is science behind it all, and according to Colorado State University experts, changes that in uence “cooking at altitude” start at just 3,000 feet above sea level.
Inside the Terra Building at Colorado State University Spur in Denver, the Ardent Mills Teaching and Culinary Center provides a complete modern industrial and commercial-sized kitchen and laboratory.
e Spur campus includes the Vida (health) and Hydro (water) educational buildings as well, but it’s easy to spot the Terra (cooking) building; it’s the one with the big green avocado-shaped window.
Once inside, you can see the kitchen surrounded by glass walls and gleaming stainless steel tables and shelves. Massive 10-burner industrial gas stoves and ovens to match line the walls along with a collection of cooking utensils that would be
the envy of amateur cooks everywhere. is is one of Culinary Dietitian Bailey Carr’s o ces.
Carr received her Bachelor’s degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from Ohio State University and a degree in Culinary Arts from the Auguste Esco er School in Boulder.
Now, she is the forward face of the nutritional and cooking education classes o ered at Spur.
Carr said she creates recipes that turn into menus which she can teach to kids, adults and families. Her goal is to eliminate the fear of cooking while cooking together.
However, enjoying the cooking process coincides with successful cooking, Carr said. Knowing how and what ingredients to adjust and understanding the temperature and air pressure di erences at various altitudes is critical to success. ere are only a couple of environmental factors that a ect high-altitude cooking — air pressure and humidity — but the implications of these two conditions on cooking are exponential, according to cooking science.
Published by CSU, “A Guide to High Elevation Food Preparation” breaks down the numbers at which changes are initiated. It is even referenced by the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service in its high-altitude cooking material.
The basic fundamentals: Lower air pressure at altitude
Air pressure decreases as altitudes increase. In other words, the blanket of air above us is lighter, according to meteorological science.
“We are at a higher elevation, which means we have less air pressure, which really informs all of the nuances of cooking. It’s the main reason we have to adjust everything we do at altitude to achieve proper results,” Carr said.
at means many things take longer to cook, especially in water, because the boiling point of water drops with every foot of elevation, illustrated by this boiling point chart provided by CSU:
• Sea Level: 212 degrees
• 2,000 feet: 208 degrees
• 5,000 feet: 203 degrees
• 7,500 feet: 198 degrees
• 10,000 feet: 194 degrees
No matter how high the cooking temperature is, water cannot exceed its own boiling point. Even if the heat is turned up, the water will simply boil away faster and whatever you are cooking will dry out faster, according to the USDA.
For instance, a “three-minute egg” will likely take ve minutes at 5,000 feet because it’s cooking at a lower temperature.
Speci c dishes such asrice require approximately 15-20% more water and extended cook time due to the lower temperature of the boiling water, and the rice should be covered to retain the moisture, according to Carr.
A chemical reaction known as gelatinization between the water and the starch in the rice requires a certain temperature, which is made more di cult by the lower boiling point at altitude, Carr said.
Meats such as chicken or beef can require up to 15% more time to cook and dry out faster due to low humidity above 5,000 feet, according to food studies.
Cookies are especially challenging in the mountains as a balance between liquids and our must be maintained..
e high volume of sugar and fat in most cookie recipes can cause cookies to sprawl on the baking sheet. e sugar and fat are considered liquids as they liquify with heat, Carr said, suggesting a reduction in the use of baking powder or soda and fat/sugar in the recipe.
Carr suggests increasing the amount of our in the recipe and the baking temperature by approximately 25 degrees.
Slow cookers are also a ected at altitude because the contents will simmer at a lower temperature making it more di cult for the food to reach safe temperatures for bacteria to be destroyed, according to the USDA.
Gas burner on industrial stove at CSU Spur campus in Denver.
Avocado-shaped window at Terra building in CSU Spur campus in Denver.
Edelweiss Pastry Shop at 1520 Miner St. in Idaho Springs. PHOTOS BY CHRIS KOEBERL
COOKING
e USDA suggests cooking food at a temperature of at least 200 degrees for the rst hour of cooking to ensure any bacteria is destroyed. Most bread machines will o er tips and settings for high-elevation baking, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind, Carr said. Typically you want to decrease yeast by a ¼ to ½ teaspoon for each 2 ½ teaspoon package called for in the recipe. Add one to two tablespoons of additional liquid per cup of our, but too much liquid could cause issues during the mixing cycle, according to Carr.
Even above 3,000 feet, cakes can be a challenge. Decreased air pressure can lead to “excessive rising,” causing the cake to fall, according to researchers.
When leavening (allowing the mixture to rise), researchers suggest reducing baking powder or soda by as much as 50% from the receipt while increasing the baking temperature by 25 degrees. e increased temperature helps set the batter before the cells are formed and may also reduce the total baking time, according to research.
Evaporation at altitude can lead to a higher concentration of sugar, which researchers consider a liquid when cooking. Decreasing the amount of sugar in the recipe will help to sustain the cellular structure and the cake. Perhaps the pinnacle of baking at altitude is the delicate, light and akeypastry. For that, Colorado Community Media visited Edelweiss Pastry Shop at 1520 Miner St. in Idaho Springs where Chef Rebecca Hu and her partner Larry Dungan have been making sweet and savory pastries by hand since 2017.
Hu said she’s been cooking and baking since she was 12 years old in her parents’ restaurant in Glenwood Springs, “Rosi’s” opened in 1977. “It’s something I know how to do and I’m good at it,” Hu said.
“I would cook breakfast for the family and I had to stand on a chair to ip the sausages because I couldn’t reach the stovetop,” Hu said. As Hu started out cooking and baking on her own, she followed in her German heritage of making pastries and said she learned every-
thing from her mother who was originally from Bavaria.
It’s di cult for Hu to say how to adjust recipes for cooking at altitude, for her she said, “It’s just the way I do it.” However, she recognized some of the advice of other experts.
“With cake mix or dough, you’ll want to reduce the liquid, which includes sugar, and increase the our until you nd that right consistency,” she said.
Feeling the consistency of the dough is the key.
“ e thing with me is, I’ve done it so long I can tell just by the look and feel of the batter, to adjust our, I can just tell,” Hu said.
When it comes to baking ourless chocolate cakes or quiches, Hu revealed a couple of tricks of the trade.
For one, when baking ourless chocolate creations, Hu likes to put the batter in mufn cups placed onto a shallow pan with a thin layer of water under the cups to compensate for the lack of humidity during baking.
“If I don’t put the water in there when I pull them out after they’re done they sink,” Hu said.
e science of cooking or baking at altitude consists of trial and error which is eventually converted to formulas for amateur or professional chefs to follow. Spur is a good example of the science of cooking but not the soul, both Carr and Hu said.
Carr said her love for cooking started at birth but accelerated later in life when her grandmother was ill.
“It’s just been who I am, so it’s been a natural life-long passion that really grew even more when I watched my beloved grandmother become diagnosed with ovarian cancer. It was devastating.”
When her grandmother was released from the hospital, Carr said she was given a recipe book for smoothies targeted toward helpful recovery. at’s when Carr said she realized combining ingredients and cooking could do more than feed people.
“I realized that love of cooking could actually help heal or nourish people, ever since I’ve been on one track,” she said. “How can I cook and serve people in this way but also use these recipes to optimize wellness and help folks and their bodies?”
Sharing her knowledge, education and passion for cooking as a family is what Carr said feeds her soul.
“It’s ful llment, it’s the best feeling ever… to know a seed is planted in a family and they can continue to grow in it and reap the fruits and bene ts over the course of their life,” she said.
All three buildings at the CSU Spur campus in Denver are open to the public the second Saturday of every month for free cooking instruction. Details on cooking classes and events can be found at https:// csuspur.org/spur-events/.
Culinary Dietitian Bailey Carr in the CSU Terra building kitchen.
PHOTOS BY CHRIS KOEBERL
Apple tarts fresh from the oven at Edelweiss Pastry Shop in Idaho Springs.
Selected pastries at Edelweiss Pastry Shop in Idaho Springs.
Eclairs at Edelweiss Pastry Shop in Idaho Springs.
Evergreen resident launches Facebook page
“Snow on Patio Furniture” has one simple, light-hearted mission
BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Evergreen resident Tullie Lochner was contentedly watching snow accumulate on her patio set Nov. 7 when inspiration struck. Wanting to share the feeling it gave her, she launched a new Facebook page, called “Snow on Patio Furniture. Its mission is simple and selfstated.
“A place to share your photos of snow on patio furniture; anything else will be deleted,” reads the “About” section.
Far from being ordinary, Lochner nds such photos beautiful and comforting.
“It provides context of size and scale of a storm using everyday items, and also captures the peaceful mood of looking out your window at the snow,” she said. “ at’s so much more fun to think about and look at right now than so many other things.”
e page is gaining traction quickly, growing from Lochner’s friends to include several
Evergreen-area followers she doesn’t yet know. And that’s just what she’d hoped for. than Evergreen,” she said. “I mountain community,” one
her photo of a snow-powdered chair under a slender aspen.
“It’s the only way we measure around here!,” wrote another.
Lochner, a former Arizona resident, said she’s been captivated by snow since she and her husband Stephen moved to Colorado a few years ago.
“I had never seen more than a couple inches at a time, and I was fascinated by how it accumulates,” she said. “I also like to take photos, and I think snow on patio furniture makes for an interesting shot.”
Photos of snow on patio furniture are popular because, as 9News anchor Kyle Clark said, “It’s easy.” Clark went on a tongue-in-cheek rant about such photos in 2013, documented in a YouTube video with 842,000 views in which he urged Coloradans to be more original.
But that video came out long before Lochner moved to Colorado. And she thinks Clark’s missing out.
woman wrote, posting a photo of an item so laden with snow
“Very mindful. Very demure,” wrote another contributor about
“Since I don’t watch the news or know who he is, I’ll keep doing my thing and protect my peace,” she said. “Our group members are people who know how to nd joy in the simple things. at’s simply wonderful.”
Evergreen resident Tullie Lochner, who recently created the “Snow on Patio Furniture” Facebook page, poses in the back yard with her favorite models.
Barrels & Bottles Brewery at Camp George West, 1055 Orchard St, Golden
Santana
@ 7pm
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 W Alameda Pkwy, Morrison
Live @ The Rose - Josh Blackburn Band
@ 7pm / $20
Buffalo Rose, 1119 Washington Avenue, Golden. information@buffalorose.net
Korey Foss @ Sloan's @ 6pm
Sloan's Bar & Grill, 5850 W 25th Ave, Edgewater
Ryan Chrys & The Rough Cuts: Annual Olde Town Arvada Tree Lighting @ 6:30pm Olde Town Arvada - Business Improvement Dis‐trict, 7307 Grandview Ave, Arvada
Live @ The Rose - Petty Nicks Experience @ 7pm / $25
Buffalo Rose, 1119 Washington Av‐enue, Golden. information@buf falorose.net
Morbid Angel @ 5:45pm The Oriental Theater, 4335 W 44th Ave, Denver Fulci @ 6pm The Oriental Theater, 4335 W 44th Ave, Denver
Buffalo Rose, 1119 Washington Ave, Golden
Mon 12/02
Mighty Tots Gymnastics (4yo) - Dec
@ 10:15am
Dec 2nd - Dec 23rd
Wulf Recreation Center, 5300 S Olive Road, Evergreen. 720-880-1000
Denver Broncos v Cleveland Browns
VIP Tailgate @ 3:15pm / $135
Empower Field At Mile High, Denver
Girls Hot Shots Gymnastics (4-6yo)Dec
@ 4:15pm
Dec 2nd - Dec 18th
Wulf Recreation Center, 5300 S Olive Road, Evergreen. 720-880-1000
Youth - Teen Pre Climbing Team, M/W, 5pm @ 5pm
Dec 2nd - Dec 30th
Buchanan Park Recreation Center, 32003 Elling‐wood Trail, Evergreen. 720-880-1000
Girls Pre-Team Gymnastics (6-17yo)Dec @ 5:45pm
Dec 2nd - Dec 18th
Wulf Recreation Center, 5300 S Olive Road, Evergreen. 720-880-1000
Tue 12/03
ARTS: Step-by-Step Painting @ Highland @ 10am
Denver Parks and Recreation (HIG), 2880 Osce‐loa St., Denver. 720-913-0654
Hip Hop 1 @ 4pm
Dec 3rd - Dec 17th
Wulf Recreation Center, 5300 S Olive Road, Evergreen. 720-880-1000
Youth Climbing Class, Tues, 4:30pm @ 4:30pm Dec 3rd - Dec 17th
Buchanan Park Recreation Center, 32003 Elling‐wood Trail, Evergreen. 720-880-1000
Peter Mayer's Stars & Promises 25th Anniversary Christmas Tour @ 7pm
Buchanan Park Recreation Center, 32003 Elling‐wood Trail, Evergreen. 720-880-1000
Sarah Brightman @ 7:30pm Buell Theatre, Denver
Overnight closures on Lookout Mountain Road start this month
Testing underway for new gates
BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
After years of discussion and months of planning, Je erson County Open Space has installed new gates to close a 4.1-mile stretch of Lookout Mountain Road overnight.
Starting Nov. 12, locals should expect intermittent overnight closures as o cials program and test the system. Workers will also be in the area installing signs and putting the nal touches on the gate sites, Open Space con rmed.
Permanent overnight closures are scheduled to start in December, but ofcials said they will announce the exact date once it’s nalized.
Open Space’s Mary Ann Bonnell, who’s been leading the project, clari ed that while the agency and its partners had hoped to have the gates ready for full overnight closures by Nov. 11, she said recent weather and other complications pushed things back a few weeks.
However, after such a long process, she and many Golden-area residents are excited to see the gates nally installed.
Residents on both sides of Lookout Mountain Road have generally supported closing the road overnight, as gun re and other illegal activity have become more frequent and serious. In fact, many pushed Je co Open Space to install the gates before summer, but o cials said Nov. 11 was the earliest possible date giv-
en the project’s legal requirements and practical scope. roughout the process, including at public meetings this summer, some locals have asked Open Space for access codes so they could continue to use the roads overnight, as they have for decades.
However, Bonnell has outlined several safety problems with that proposal, including potentially sharing their codes with others, visitors “piggybacking” o them as they drive through the gates, and endangering the pedestrians and cyclists using the roadway overnight.
e gates can be opened and closed remotely, she’s explained, and local rst responders can access them to open evacuation routes or respond to other emergencies. Other administrators, like the local water district and the antenna operators, will have access codes as well, Bonnell con rmed.
Once the road is permanently closed overnight, Golden Police o cers and Je co Sheri ’s deputies have con rmed they’ll continue to patrol along the road for problems. ey’ll also keep a close eye on the surrounding areas to ensure the illegal behaviors don’t move into the neighborhoods and parking lots.
With overnight closures starting this winter, Bonnell said law enforcement won’t be handling as high of volume of people or vehicle tra c as in the summer. So, she expected a more gradual learning curve for anyone wanting to visit the area overnight, whether for good or ill.
“Hopefully, the word will get out that this is not the place to go,” she said.
SEE CLOSURES, P15
On Nov. 12, a Je erson County Open Space crew works on Lookout Mountain Road’s new lower gate site. JCOS said it would start testing and programming the gates Nov. 12, and permanent overnight closures were scheduled to start in December.
PHOTO BY CORINNE WESTEMAN
Report: Housing crisis linked to billionaire investors
BY ERIC GALATAS
PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE
Denver’s homeless population hit an all-time high in 2024 but there is actually no shortage of available housing units, according to a new report.
Omar Ocampo, researcher at the Institute for Policy Studies and the report’s co-author, said much of the housing built over the past two decades is not homes for people. ose units, many of which remain vacant, are being used by hedge funds and the wealthy as a safe and profitable place to park large sums of untaxed wealth.
“We have seen, over the past decade or so, a boom in luxury real estate,” Ocampo observed. “Basically, the only people who can a ord it are people who are ultrahigh net worth, or at the top of the income distribution.”
e report showed how corporations and wealthy investors from across the globe have amassed large tracts of single and multifamily residential units since the housing market crash in 2008. e scale of the purchases has put upward pressure on prices, causing rents to skyrocket and putting homeownership out of reach for millions.
CLOSURES
Meanwhile, Lookout Mountain Road will be open overnight for pedestrians and cyclists only.
e agency will monitor how many and which kind of users visit the roadway at night, with Bonnell said she’s excited to visit the roadway herself and see how popular it becomes.
Pedestrians and cyclists can’t use the trails, pullouts or restrooms, and signs
ere are 16 million vacant homes across the U.S., which means there are 28 homes for every American experiencing homelessness.
Developers can apply for tax incentives to build a ordable housing but the pro t margins for luxury units are simply too large for all but nonpro t builders to resist. Ocampo pointed to the Homes Act, recently introduced in the U.S. House, as one way to turn things around for the vast majority of Americans who cannot a ord what the marketplace is building.
“We need public investment and to establish a housing development authority, which authorizes hundreds of billions of dollars to develop permanently a ordable housing,” Ocampo contended
Corporations have also increased their earnings by converting rental stock into short-term vacation homes. Ocampo noted a shareholder report by executives at Blackstone, which now owns more than 300,000 residential units across the U.S., promising pro ts as rental stock went down.
“Chronic housing shortages meant their ability to raise prices and be able to extract more wealth from vulnerable working-class tenants,” Ocampo added. is article comes from a sharing agreement with AP StoryShare.
will be posted at each gate site informing people of overnight rules. If problems continue overnight, Open Space o cials have said those privileges can be taken away.
Additionally, the agency will have several rounds of trash cleanup, gra ti removal and other work to address problem behaviors currently tied to the area’s overnight activity, she continued.
Bonnell said the gates and overnight closures wouldn’t have been possible without the community’s support, describing how nearly everyone agreed: “ is is the right thing to do for the mountain.”
For more information, visit je co.us.
The Ives apartment complex in Wheat Ridge.
UCHealth agrees to $23 million settlement with feds
Provider denies accusation of overbilling for some emergency care
BY JOHN INGOLD THE COLORADO SUN
UCHealth, the state’s largest medical provider, has reached a $23 million settlement with federal authorities over allegations that it overbilled for emergency care at its hospitals, the Colorado U.S. Attorney’s O ce announced Nov. 12.
e allegations claim that UCHealth hospitals from Nov. 1, 2017, through March 31, 2021, automatically used the most expensive billing code possible for certain emergency department claims submitted to government health coverage programs Medicare and TRICARE, which is for members of the U.S. military and retirees.
Using this billing code without having proper justi cation violates the Fair Claims Act, the feds allege.
“Improperly billing federal health care programs drains valuable government resources needed to provide medical care to millions of Americans,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a statement. “We will pursue health care providers that defraud the taxpayers by knowingly submitting in ated or unsupported claims.”
UCHealth denied wrongdoing.
“UCHealth is pleased to see the end of this lengthy and resource-intensive investigation,” UCHealth spokesman Dan Weaver said in a statement. “UCHealth denies these allegations, but we agreed to the settlement to avoid potentially lengthy and costly litigation. e settlement allows us to focus our resources on providing excellent patient care.”
The complex world of hospital billing e allegations dive deep into the complex world of hospital billing. When a
hospital wants to charge for a service, it uses a billing code to identify what the service is. Sometimes, a single service could be charged under a range of billing codes, depending on the severity of the patient and the amount of hospital resources that care uses up. is is the case with so-called evaluation and management — or E&M — services in emergency departments. Basically, this is the charge for walking into the emergency room for treatment.
Emergency visits can be billed using one of ve Current Procedural Terminology, or CPT, billing codes: 99281 through 99285. e former is for the least severe cases — the ones that probably didn’t need to come into the ER to begin with. e latter is for the most severe — critical situations with immediate risk of death.
e feds allege that UCHealth automatically charged a visit using CPT 99285 if its health care providers checked a patient’s vital signs more times than the total number of hours that the patient was present in the ER. In other words, if a patient spent three hours in the ER and had their vitals checked four times, the Department of Justice alleges that UCHealth would automatically code that as a level-5 ER visit under CPT 99285. is didn’t apply, though, to patients spending less than an hour in the ER.
e feds say that UCHealth used the highest-level code “despite the severity of the patient’s medical condition or the hospital resources used to manage the patient’s health and treatment.”
“ e United States alleged that UCHealth knew that its automatic coding rule associated with monitoring of vital signs did not satisfy the requirements for billing to Medicare and TRICARE because it did not reasonably reect the facility resources used by the UCHealth hospitals,” the Colorado U.S. Attorney’s O ce wrote in a news release.
“We will hold accountable health care companies who adopt automatic coding practices that lead to unnecessary and improper billing,” Acting Colorado U.S. Attorney Matt Kirsch said in a statement.
Growing concerns about ‘upcoding’
When hospitals charge a higher-level billing code than appropriate, it is known as “upcoding.” e practice has become a major focus for researchers trying to understand why U.S. health care spending is so high.
One analysis published in 2019 found that the percentage of ER visits coded using 99285 rose to 27% in 2017 from 17% in 2008, while the use of the three leastsevere code levels dropped. An analysis of Colorado claims data by the Center for Improving Value in Health Care found that 99285 had become the most commonly billed E&M code in the state by 2016, up from third in 2009.
Another study found that 30% of the growth in Colorado’s spending on ER services was due to upcoding. e state had by far the highest amount spending per ER visit of the four states included in the analysis.
e price di erences between the codes can be signi cant. According to state-collected data posted on ColoradoHospitalPrices.com, for an ER visit at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital coded as 99281 — the least-severe level — Medicare pays $85.89, while some private health insurers pay as much as $700. For an ER visit coded as 99285, Medicare pays $621.39, and some private health insurers pay more than $6,000.
Whistleblower complaint
e allegations about UCHealth’s improper billing rst came to the feds’ attention via a whistleblower complaint led by a former UCHealth employee. e whistleblower, an Arvada man named Timothy Sanders, wrote in a complaint led in 2021 that he worked as a “revenue recovery auditor” whose job it was to resolve complaints from patients who believe they had been overcharged.
Sanders said he discovered that an automated system was falsely billing patients under 99285 and that not only did UCHealth o cials know about this but they had no intention of doing anything about it.
“What Sanders learned was that
UCHealth would reduce an emergency services bill if a patient complained, but otherwise UCHealth would take no steps to make sure a given emergency services bill was correct,” the complaint Sanders led states.
Under federal law, whistleblowers are entitled to a share of the settlement money that the government collects. Sanders is due to receive $3.91 million from the proceeds of Tuesday’s settlement, according to the U.S. Attorney’s O ce. UCHealth operates more than a dozen hospitals and hundreds of clinics across Colorado. In a given year, it treats roughly 3 million patients. UCHealth brought in more than $8 billion in revenue from treating patients during the scal year that ended in June, according to an audited nancial report led with federal regulators. It made more than $500 million in pro t on patient care.
Rolling in investment gains and other revenue sources, the health system made more than $1 billion in pro t last scal year. is story was printed through a news sharing agreement with e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned nonpro t based in Denver that covers the state.
Fixed data error, inches Colorado closer to climate goals
greenhouse gas inventory released two years ago.
Colorado is poised to miss its ambitious targets to cut climate-warming pollution by 2025 and 2030, but a newly updated assessment suggests the state has made more progress than anticipated and will nearly hit both benchmarks.
A set of laws signed in the last ve years requires the state to rapidly cut pollution driving global warming. Colorado is now obligated to reduce its total greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent by 2025, 50 percent by 2030, and to eliminate any contribution to climate change by 2050. Each of those benchmarks is measured against the state’s 2005 emission levels.
e Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Colorado Energy O ce released a revised report last week suggesting the state has inched closer to meeting the initial targets. According to the updated estimates, the state will still miss both of its self-imposed deadlines — but should hit its 2025 goal in 2026 and its 2030 goal in 2031. ose projections mark a slight improvement over a previous
Unlike other states, Colorado hasn’t adopted a cap-and-trade market or other policies to force private companies to cut emissions. e state has instead o ered a wide array of incentives and regulated speci c industries to encourage a shift to climate-friendly technology.
“A lot of places have set goals, not that many have made real progress,” said Will Toor, the director of the Colorado Energy O ce. “What we’re seeing is that the allof-government approach that’s targeting emissions from all ve major sectors — transportation, electricity generation, industrial emissions, oil and gas, buildings — really is setting us on a trajectory towards deep emissions reductions.”
e revised estimates don’t impact the main trends driving the state’s climate progress. In general, the state has made the biggest gains toward its climate goals by regulating oil and gas production and closing coal- red power plants in favor of renewables. It’s had a far harder time slashing transportation emissions due to a deep reliance on fossil fuel-powered cars and trucks.
e latest apparent improvement, however, isn’t driven by a sudden change in driving habits or new renewable energy projects. It’s largely the result of correcting a data error.
A helpful miscalculation
Clay Clarke, the supervisor of the climate change unit inside the state health and environment department, said the biggest reason Colorado now appears closer to its goals was a correction to the state’s estimates of historical emissions from the oil and gas sector. By xing the error, his sta discovered that the state’s current policies would result in larger cuts than previously anticipated.
e mistake occurred in a set of spreadsheets estimating past pollution from fossil fuel operations. A calculation error resulted in the state underestimating the climate impact of natural gas leaks from fossil fuel operations. Since the historic emissions are roughly 30 percent higher than previously thought, the state now expects it’s on track to achieve even deeper reductions, said Kate Malloy, a spokesperson for the health and environment agency.
e latest emissions inventory also attempts to estimate the e ect of policies designed to shift housing closer to jobs and transit. In 2024, Gov. Jared Polis successfully pushed a package of land-use bills through the legislature to encourage more development within cities near major bus and rail routes.
e updated inventory estimates those policies should shift the state closer to its climate goals in the future. While Toor said the new laws won’t do much for the 2025 or 2030 goals, they should signi cantly reduce the emissions related to new development by 2050.
Western Resource Advocates, an organization tracking Colorado’s climate progress, declined to comment on the new report until they had time to complete a more thorough review.
Danny Katz, the executive director of the Colorado Public Interest Research Group, said he doesn’t have the technical expertise to check the state’s math, but he said the updated estimates appear to align with his views of the state’s climate progress.
The exterior of the University of Colorado Hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, photographed on Oct. 18, 2019. The hospital is the flagship of the UCHealth system. PHOTO BY JOHN INGOLD/THE COLORADO SUN
How to support your community and get civically engaged
BY CPR NEWS
At this time of year, you may be asking yourself, “How can I make a positive impact?”
Whether the 2024 election or the spirit of the holiday season has inspired you, there are many ways you can get involved in your community and help shape its future.
We spoke to Evan Weissman, founder of Warm Cookies of the Revolution, to share some ideas. e nonpro t uses art and creativity to make challenging issues more accessible through events, videos and other formats.
Identify what you’re working for or against Weissman said the rst step to creating positive change is deciding where and how to focus your energy. What do you want topreventorobstruct? What do you want to protect or construct?
“You want to be defensive about the things that you don’t like, that you want to be [in community] with other people to try to stop,” Weissman said. “ at could be volunteering with organizations that are going to be defending things that the federal government is most likely going to be attacking” he explained, listing issues such as immigration and LGBTQ rights.
Weissman also encouraged people to think, “What are the constructive things that I want to be involved with civically?” is could be mentoring a student, leading a skillshare, or engaging in other actions that promote justice and equality.
Traditional approaches to civic engagement If you’re feeling inspired to create civic change, Weissman said, there are a few ways to go about it.
You can take a typical approach, such as calling your representatives or attend-
CLIMATE
“We need to recognize that a lot of these are projections. We need to keep working toward those clear signs that we’re not continuing to warm the planet, like 100 percent renewable energy or having zeroemission vehicles on the road,” Katz said. Unlike other states, Colorado hasn’t adopted a cap-and-trade market or other policies to force private companies to cut emissions. e state has instead o ered a wide array of incentives and regulated speci c industries to encourage a shift to climate-friendly technology.
“A lot of places have set goals, not that many have made real progress,” said Will Toor, the director of the Colorado Energy O ce. “What we’re seeing is that the allof-government approach that’s targeting emissions from all ve major sectors — transportation, electricity generation, industrial emissions, oil and gas, buildings — really is setting us on a trajectory towards deep emissions reductions.”
e revised estimates don’t impact the main trends driving the state’s climate progress. In general, the state has made the biggest gains toward its climate goals by regulating oil and gas production and closing coal- red power plants in favor of renewables. It’s had a far harder time slashing transportation emissionsdue to a deep reliance on fossil fuel-powered cars and trucks. e latest emissions inventory also at-
ing city or town council meetings. Or, you can automate feedback to your representatives by subscribing to Issue Voter Issue Voter allows you to sign up for alerts based on your location and the topics you care about, regardless of political a liation. Once you create an account, Weissman explained, you’ll get a message like, “Hey, this vote is coming up about military. Here’s what the proponents are saying, here’s what the objectors are saying.” en, you can simply click a button in the message and Issue Voter will send an automated email with your name and information to the appropriate representative, articulating your support for, or opposition to, the measure.
Creative approaches to civic engagement
Disinterested in, or unable to, engage in traditional approaches like writing your representative or attending a public meeting? You’re not alone. ese approaches “can be hard for a lot of people,” Weissman admitted. “[Public meetings] are challenging because they’re often not held at good times. ey maybe don’t have all languages represented … they might not have childcare.”
Plus, taking action “with other people is pretty key,” Weissman emphasized. at’s something you don’t get from making a call or writing a letter.
“Even if you’re someone who’s shy or introverted,” Weissman said, “I still think that things don’t feel as challenging and impossible when you can do them together.”
As a part of Warm Cookies programming, residents of Aurora can also take advantage of a $500 stipend to host a civic party, and residents of Silverthorne and Leadville can participate in crosscultural community gatherings in the
tempts to estimate the e ect of policies designed to shift housing closer to jobs and transit. In 2024, Gov. Jared Polis successfully pushed a package of land-use bills through the legislature to encouragemore development within cities near major bus and rail routes.
e updated inventory estimates those policies should shift the state closer to its climate goals in the future. While Toor said the new laws won’t do much for the 2025 or 2030 goals, they should signi cantly reduce the emissions related to new development by 2050.
Western Resource Advocates, an organization tracking Colorado’s climate progress, declined to comment on the new report until they had time to complete a more thorough review.
Danny Katz, the executive director of the Colorado Public Interest Research Group, said he doesn’t have the technical expertise to check the state’s math, but he said the updated estimates appear to align with his views of the state’s climate progress.
“We need to recognize that a lot of these are projections. We need to keep working toward those clear signs that we’re not continuing to warm the planet, like 100 percent renewable energy or having zeroemission vehicles on the road,” Katz said.
Editor’s note: Western Resource Advocates is a nancial supporter of CPR News. Financial supporters have no editorial in uence. is story is from CPR News, a nonpro t public broadcaster serving Colorado. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org.
coming months.
Here’s a list of accessible – and fun –ways to collaborate with others and create positive change in your community:
- Create a civically-minded book or craft club
- Lead a mutual aid fundraiser
- Start a community fridge or food pantry
- Lead a winter clothing or holiday toy drive
- Donate blood
- Start an identity-based discussion or activity group
- Create and distribute care packages to people experiencing homelessness
- Volunteer at a local animal shelter or
foster animals at home
- Mentor a student
- O er community yoga, meditation, tai chi or breathwork
- Lead a clean-up for a park, riverbank, or other public space
- Volunteer as a conversationalist to help someone learn a new language
- Donate money or other resources to a cause you believe in Do you have other ideas for civic / community engagement? Email us at linda@ cotln.org.
is story is from CPR News, a nonprofit public broadcaster serving Colorado. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org.
ST. JOANOF ARC
Proclaiming Christ from the Mountains to the Plains www.StJoanArvada.org 12735 W 58th Ave · 80002 · 303-420-1232
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 Green Mountain Presbyterian Church 12900 W Alameda Pkwy Lakewood, CO 80228 303-985-8733 www.gmpc.net Sunday Worship 10:00AM
To advertise your place of worship in this section, call Erin at 303-566-4074 or email eaddenbrooke@ColoradoCommunityMedia.com
Golden’s Bob Burrell picks up trash July 29 in Parfet Park. The City of Golden hosted a weekly Clear Creek corridor cleanup throughout the summer, with dozens of community members volunteering their time. FILE PHOTO BY CORINNE WESTEMAN
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Which Colorado county loves Cybertrucks the most?
413 Cybertrucks are registered in state
trucks by number and the eighth most by percentage.
8. Larimer County Cybertrucks:
BY HANNAH METZGER WESTWORD
Does seeing a Cybertruck barreling down the street ruin your day? If so, there are a few Colorado counties you should avoid.
Tesla’s electric pickup truck has developed a divisive reputation since it hit the scene one year ago, from safety and software issues leading to ve separate recalls issued for the vehicles to viral trunk nger-crushing incidents and aesthetic complaints about the bizarre futuristic design.
But that hasn’t stopped hundreds of Coloradans from shelling out upwards of $100,000 for the polarizing pickup. ere are 413 Cybertrucks currently registered across Colorado, according to the Division of Motor Vehicles.
Only nine of Colorado’s 64 counties have more than 10 Cybertrucks registered. Over two dozen others have 10 or fewer: Alamosa, Broom eld, Cha ee, Clear Creek, Delta, Eagle, Elbert, Fremont, Gar eld, Gilpin, Grand, Gunnison, Huerfano, La Plata, Lake, Lincoln, Mesa, Park, Pitkin, Pueblo, Rio Grande, Routt, San Miguel, Summit and Teller.
Westword ranked the state’s counties by number of Cybertrucks based on DMV data from Oct. 31, including analyses of each county’s total vehicles registered from the latest annual report by the Colorado Department of Revenue.
Here is where Coloradans are most likely to encounter the 7,000-pound stainless-steel boxes on wheels (and Elon Musk fanboys):
9. Weld County Cybertrucks:
24
Total registered vehicles: 399,674
Percentage of Cybertrucks: 0.006 percent
Roughly one in every 16,500 vehicles registered in Larimer County is a Cybertruck. at’s the eighth most Cybertrucks by number and the fth most by percentage.
7. Denver County Cybertrucks:
28
Total registered vehicles: 609,894
Percentage of Cybertrucks: 0.0046 percent
Roughly one in every 22,000 vehicles registered in Denver County is a Cybertruck. at’s the seventh most Cybertrucks by number and the ninth most by percentage.
6. Adams County Cybertrucks: 33
Total registered vehicles: 580,166
Percentage of Cybertrucks: 0.0057 percent
Roughly one in every 17,500 vehicles registered in Adams County is a Cybertruck. at’s the sixth most Cybertrucks by number and the sixth most by percentage.
5. Boulder County Cybertrucks: 34
Total registered vehicles: 305,534
Percentage of Cybertrucks: 0.0111 percent
Roughly one in every 9,000 vehicles registered in Boulder County is a Cybertruck. at’s the fth most Cybertrucks by number and the second most by percentage.
4. El Paso County Cybertrucks:
21
Total registered vehicles: 440,338
Percentage of Cybertrucks: 0.0048 percent
Roughly one in every 21,000 vehicles registered in Weld County is a Cybertruck. at’s the ninth most Cyber-
42
Total registered vehicles: 754,550
Percentage of Cybertrucks: 0.0056 percent
Roughly one in every 18,000 vehicles registered in El Paso County is a Cybertruck. at’s the fourth most Cybertrucks by number and the seventh most by percentage.
3. Douglas County Cybertrucks: 49
Total registered vehicles: 419,835
Percentage of Cybertrucks: 0.0117 percent
Roughly one in every 8,500 vehicles registered in Douglas County is a Cybertruck. at’s the third most Cybertrucks by number and the rst most by percentage.
2. Arapahoe County Cybertrucks: 55
Total registered vehicles: 586,430
Percentage of Cybertrucks: 0.0094 percent
Roughly one in every 10,500 vehicles registered in Arapahoe County is a Cybertruck. at’s the second most Cybertrucks by number and the fourth most by percentage.
1. Je erson County Cybertrucks: 58
Total registered vehicles: 591,809
Percentage of Cybertrucks: 0.0098 percent
Roughly one in every 10,000 vehicles registered in Je erson County are Cybertrucks. at’s the rst most Cybertrucks by number and the third most by percentage.
Printed with permission from Westword, an alternative weekly that has celebrated Denver culture since 1977.
Bridge security at DIA is going away forever
Checkpoint
will be closed as terminal overhaul
moves ahead
BY ANDY KINNEY DENVERITE
Denver International Airport will soon close its bridge security checkpoint as the Great Hall construction project gets somewhat closer to completion.
e bridge checkpoint has been a slightly secret option for some travelers, sometimes o ering shorter wait times when the main hall is packed. It sits on the elevated building segment that connects the Great Hall, where passengers check in, and Concourse A, which is one of the airport’s terminals.
e changes will happen in a few phases:
Starting now, the bridge checkpoint and general access to the bridge will close from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. on Monday through ursday nights. Everyone will have to use the airport’s train system to get to Concourse A during this time.
Starting Dec. 9, the bridge security checkpoint will stop operating regularly e checkpoint might be reactivated when there’s an “urgent need,” but don’t count on it. You’ll still be able to use the bridge if your ight arrives at an A gate and you want to walk to the Great Hall, but not the other way around.
Starting later in 2025, there will no longer be a security checkpoint on the bridge. But it will still be a bridge! Departing passengers who have gone through the new West and the coming-soon East security checkpoints can take it to the concourse, or arriving passengers can walk to the Great Hall.
e changes are part of the Great Hall renovation that has stretched across several years. A major focus of the project is to revamp the airport’s cumbersome security checkpoints. One new checkpoint, West Security, has already opened on the Great Hall’s top oor. Instead of funneling travelers into just a couple security lanes, it stacks up more than a dozen screening stations.
A matching checkpoint, East Security, is expected to open by the third quarter of 2025. is story is from Denverite, a Denver news site. Used by permission. For more, and to support Denverite, visit denverite.com.
