of Colorado Health & Tech Centers

BY FREDA MIKLIN STAFF WRITER

Afshin Safavi, Ph.D., is a biological scientist and serial entrepreneur who recently completed a four-year term on the Cherry Hills Village City Council.

His newest project is Colorado Health & Tech Centers (CHTC), which he envisions as eventually having ten locations around the state where primary care medi- cine, biotechnology research, biomanufacturing, and technology/artificial intelligence (AI) co-exist in a synergistic and collaborative workspace.

Safavi told The Villager, “Primary care doctors have great ideas because they see patients every day. Working close by researchers will lead to innovations in the areas of medicine where they are most needed.” He believes the I-25 corridor, in proximity to hospitals, is the optimal location for CHTC sites.

Safavi also believes that post-COVID, “People don’t want to live far away from their work sites and companies are willing to have two or three locations to attract the best talent. Attracting and retaining top talent is one of the biggest challenges employers face. That is why I plan to build smaller campuses all around Colorado.”

He continued, “With minimal advertising, Colorado is now eighth in the nation in biotechnology,” which he explained is, “the use of biologics, which he told us includes human cells, animal cells, bacteria, viruses, and yeast, and technology to create the next generation of medicine.”

Safavi first purchased five locations, including some buildings and some raw land, in Denver, Aurora (near Fitzsimmons Innovation Campus), and Colorado Springs, where he planned to build the first CHTC locations. Before he got started, he heard about a four-story, vacant 164,000-square foot Class-A building in Greenwood Village that was headed to auction. Located on 6.24 acres at 5800 S. Quebec Street, it was built in 1980 and renovated in 1998. The owners had purchased it in 2013 for $27 million. Safavi thought the building might be a great location for CHTC. When the auction did not produce a buyer, he worked with the selling broker and eventually acquired the property for the unexpected price of $5 million.

It was only after he bought the building, Safavi told us, he found out that, in addition to the 700 parking spots that

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2023 Lexus 990A Is All-Electric Luxury

I’m slowly learning about all-electric vehicles. So far, I’ve found that they’re very fast, very economical, and very hard to find an efficient charging station when badly needed. In simple English… I like the electric car concept, but locating charging stations that are open, working, and not busy is challenging.

Recently, driving a super deluxe Lexus 990A luxury allwheel drive to the mountains and arriving at a hotel in Silverthorne all the charging stations were full; some with cars not charging but parked in the spaces.

Fortunately, I was able to establish a charging station and the luxury Lexus dash informed me it would take nine hours to fully charge. That was late at night, so by the next morning the car was fully charged with 218 miles of mileage that was the maximum distance that this luxury Lexus could travel from charging station to charging station. Leaving, the next morning it is uphill to the top of Vail pass and 40 kw disappeared. I learned that the air conditioning unit demanded about 25 percent of the kw power, add headlights and the mileage drops significantly. Factory statistics from Lexus indi- cated 95 MPGs at the rate of 102 miles in the city and 87 highway/ per 100 miles. I think this is on flat land without headlights and air conditioning.

I was able to charge the Lexus at the Lodge Hotel on a Porsche charging station in the hotel basement that was fast and inexpensive.

Leaving Vail for the return to the city the mileage was 179 and dropped to 88 at home arrival. Once on E470 the car seemed to be thirsty for electrical juice and I turned off the air-conditioning unit.

What did I learn; all-electric cars are very fast with instant acceleration. The cars are ahead of the necessary support system to make them versatile for longer drives. The Lexus 990A at a man-

By H. Throttle

ufacturer’s suggested retail price of $64,000 seems reasonable for such a sleek design, plush velvet interior, and a bevy of options.

While the concept of all-electric seems practical, the major roadblock at this moment is lack of uniform charging stations and locations. Tourists, or even a traveler to Grand Junction, could not make the trip on one full charge. What tourist or traveler wishes to spend nine-hours charging the vehicle, or even four-hours?

The vehicle is outstanding, the handling, drive, acceleration, assessorial, LED lights, and navigation, are exceptional. Just don’t venture too far from home as mountain drives use more KWs.

Emerald Ash Borer identified and confirmed in Arapahoe County

SUBMITTED BY THE CITY OF CENTENNIAL

Arapahoe County has identified its first case of Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive insect that infests and kills North American species of ash trees. The case was detected in a small area in northeast Littleton and was confirmed by Arapahoe County agencies, Colorado State University Extension specialists, and experts from surrounding municipalities.

Emerald Ash Borer was first discovered in Colorado in Boulder County in 2013. Since then, the destructive wood-boring beetles have been found in Broomfield, Larimer, Erie and Thornton. Littleton has not had a confirmed case of EAB until this June. The town of Carbondale also recently reported a confirmed case discovered on June 16.

“EAB is the most destructive insect pest in trees that we have ever seen in North America. Homeowners and HOAs with ash trees will eventually have a significant financial decision to make whether they choose to treat their ash trees with insecticides or remove them,” says Lisa Mason, Horticulture Specialist and Entomologist at Colorado State University Extension in Arapahoe County.

Emerald Ash Borer beetles target – and eventually kill – North American ash tree species including green and white varieties, and their cultivars such as “autumn purple ash,” a popular white ash variety in Colorado. On average, 15% of urban trees are ash trees.

“An unhealthy ash tree doesn’t mean it has EAB,” said Mason. “Look for the distinctive D-shaped exit holes, bark splits and S-shaped tunnels called galleries underneath the bark, gradual canopy thinning and dieback, abnormal shoots of growth, smaller than normal leaves, and heavy woodpecker activity.”

Residents can take steps to protect healthy ash trees, but certain options such as insecticide treatments depend on the size and health of each tree. Since Emerald Ash Borer kills trees over a period of several years, trees that are not candidates for insecticide treatments will eventually need to be removed. Residents should follow available guidelines for properly disposing of any infested wood.

“EAB has spread slower than expected in Colorado giving people time to make the right decision,” according to Mason. “One study showed that healthy ash trees can be treated with emamectin benzoate successfully after EAB has infested the tree as long as the tree hasn’t lost more than approximately 30% of the canopy.”

Arapahoe County municipalities are currently prioritizing ash tree insecticide treatment and removal. Other services and community programs may be available to residents to help subsidize the costs of treatment or removal and to mitigate the impacts of Emerald Ash Borer on private property.

A very attractive feature on the 990A is a solid glass roof that changed shades with a control touch from clear, to opaque. Another feature is a very large center color screen. The air conditioning works well, and the Mark Levinson sound system is magic in the deluxe interior cabin.

Overall, this is an outstanding vehicle with assembly in Toyota, Aichi, Japan with “Ether” paint and quality assembly. The challenge is the vehicle is better than the supporting energy source. No doubt, in months and years to come, charging stations will be as abundant as present service stations.

For now, check out the hybrid crossovers that have the 2.5L engines, and Lithium battery support leading up to 50 mpg and selfcharging.

No worries, and no waiting.

For questions about Emerald Ash Borer as well as possible diagnosis and treatment options, contact CSU Extension-Arapahoe County at MasterGardener@arapahoegov. com or 303-730-1920.

Elections are really about people when selecting elected officials for HOAs, city council, county offices, and the state legislature. In Arapahoe County we even elected Aurora resident Bill Owens as Governor of Colorado, the last area GOP to serve in that capacity. The sad thing about elections is someone loses. Voters these days get many confusing messages; it seems the campaigns that have the most money tend to win, on either side. But the good thing is that we get to meet and greet a lot of new people. If you participate in either party, or even splinter groups, you get to make many new friends. In some cases, you share the same political viewpoint about local, state, and national government with those whom you tend to agree. These days it is hard to even talk politics in a rational way with almost anyone. Families may have different views; logic doesn’t sway people anymore.

If you weren’t frightened of this killer syndrome, you should sign up for the TV show “Naked and Afraid.”

BY BOB SWEENEY

We wondered during the middle of the epidemic if things would ever return to normal. Well, for the most part, I think many things have returned to normal. A few people still wear masks and jokesters on TV say that is because they want to hide their faces.

Work at home has been revolutionized, with computer skills and technology, working at home has become the normal. During Covid traffic was minimal, today a whole lot of drivers are headed back to work in a big hurry. I’ve never driven with so many speeders, me included.

Some pundits think that the Supreme Court ruling on abortion may be a key factor in the 2024 election. Others may be more concerned about the border, the economy, and one of the worst things ongoing is the costly war in Ukraine. Also, drugs are killing more Americans than Covid, we must address this terrible scourge. At the end of the Trump administration COVID19 arrived and scared all of us.

Travel, entertainment, concerts, sporting events, all seem to be back in fashion, but with higher ticket prices. Probably one of the gifts from Covid is inflation. The labor force grew thin in almost all professions and wages increased. Today, while the Federal Reserve estimates inflation at around five percent, it is much higher, especially in the food industry. Meal prices in restaurants have increased at least 30 percent with the cost of food and labor. Even at McDonalds burgers range upwards towards $10 with some special lower package deals. It seems that restaurants and brew pubs are busier than ever with many people dining out. Is it the higher cost of food at the grocery stores, or people just wanting to get out of the house after several years of staying home? My opinion would be a little of both. Because of Covid, people did stay home, and as a result saved some money. This has resulted in a rising stock market, busy airlines, and cruises. The travel industry has been bustling and people are spanning the globe once again. A very good thing for young and old. No matter what the Federal Reserve does, labor is not going to decrease in cost. The price of energy is not going to drop as America is no longer energy efficient as in the Trump years. If labor and energy rise, the cost of producing food must increase with supply and demand. The high cost of water, fuel, and transportation increase food costs. It feels good to be less concerned about Covid, even though some folks are playing the blame game on how it was handled. In my opinion, it was handled pretty good, starting with President Trump moving rapidly on producing vaccines. President Biden moved fast on the vaccine distribution and issuing financial aid in many areas. Bottom line is that most of us survived, but over one million Americans perished from the epidemic. We will never know for sure where it came from. The message it sent is that we need to have our medicines developed and manufactured here in America. No doubt the intense workload and stress

California here I come – For the US Open

When one thinks of attending a major sporting event, like the Super Bowl or World Series, one imagines sitting in an arena or stadium for a few hours, watching the entire contest at once.

When it comes to golf tournaments or championships, the arena is spread over hundreds of acres with no single spot to see all the action at once.

We had the great opportunity to attend the US Open golf championship a few weeks ago in Los Angeles and I will recount some of the highlights.

The US Open is played on a different course every year, unlike the Masters which is always played on the same course. This year the Open was at the Los Angeles Country Club. The club has two 18-hole courses, one for the tournament, and the other used for foot traffic and parking.

Tickets for the US Open are on our doctors, nurses, and hospitals have made them better trained, equipped, and experienced to deal with the trauma of an epidemic. Kudos to these medical professionals and to the senior citizen residences who did their best to care for patients and protect them, as much as possible, from the epidemic that targeted seniors.

Inflation will be with us for a long time in some areas. The labor shortage will continue, especially in nursing, pilots, military recruitment, law enforcement and teaching.

The best way to handle student loan debts is to offer special deals for these positions. The next president should lower the interest rates on these student loans. Students should not be penalized with high interest for paying for their educations. Forgiveness no, but interest lowered with special skill incentives to wipe out the debts. The first GOP debate for presidential candidates is August 14, 2023; so here we go again. I hope that the candidates can discuss something besides drugs in the White House and Hunter Biden’s laptop.

Let’s leave the garbage out and establish legal immigration so people won’t have to wade a river to reach America.

Lastly, we need to spend, whatever it takes, to end crime and homelessness on the streets of our cities. We must stop the drug scourge to save our nation.

The next elected leader will have a tough job.

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We walked about 10 miles or 20,000 steps, according to my watch.

BY BRIAN C. JOONDEPH

pricey but readily available, compared to the Masters which operates via a lottery system. We opted for higher end tickets which included a hospitality venue located along the 14th fairway, with a lavish spread of food and beverages. One can park at a particular hole – tee, fairway, or green – and there are often bleachers set up at these locations. Or one can follow a particular player or pairing from hole to hole. Or as we did, a combination of both, eventually settling in the hospitality tent to watch the final parings play through on Saturday afternoon.

Walking the course allowed us to see the Playboy Mansion and Lionel Ritchie’s behemoth home, both along the course.

As golf is not played under a domed stadium, weather can be a factor – wet or dry, hot or cool, sunny or cloudy. Sunscreen is a must as is good walking footwear.

Thursday and Friday there are twice the number of players, playing in threesomes. Only half make the cut to the weekend where they then play in pairs. Most of the big-name players were there and depending on your vantage point, you can get quite close to them as they walk by.

Players are focused on the task at hand, not chatting with fans or signing autographs. With huge prestige and prize money on the line, the pressure on the players is immense.

For average golfers, attending such a tournament is one big golf lesson, watching the best golfers in the world play a challenging course, getting themselves out of the same trouble that weekend golfers like me get into. But the pros get into trouble far less often and are much better at getting back in the game compared to us weekend warriors.

Portable phone chargers are available as phone batteries rapidly drain as we take photos and videos. Several merchandise stores dot the course so everyone can come home with a US Open hat or shirt.

And of course, there is Los Angeles and Malibu, which we visited on Sunday and Monday, a nice complement to a day on the golf links.

For golfers, this is a bucket list item and as the Open is at a different spot each year, there will always be a convenient course to get to. For non-golfers, it will be an extremely fun eye-opening introduction to golf, as it was for my traveling buddy.

Don’t forget the myriad other tournaments including the Women’s US Open and amateur and seniors opens. Some even come to metro Denver courses.

And one of this year’s highlights was a local kid, Wyndham Clark, winning the US Open, and we were there watching it. For a different type of vacation, consider attending a future US Open golf championship.

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Reverend Martin Niemoller

“In Germany, the Nazis first came for the communists and I didn’t speak up because wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the Jews and didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists and didn’t speak up because wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn’t speak up because was a Protestant. Then they came for me and by that time there was no one left to speak for me!”

2020 Member