21 minute read
CALENDAR
Thu 8/18
THIRD THURSDAY CONCERT | MOTOWN NIGHT – 1960s | AUG 18 | 5 to 10 pm | PLAZA AT BELMAR
@ 5pm Belmar, Lakewood. meghan@meghan dougherty.com, 720-460-1978
Featured
Melissa Etheridge @ 7:30pm Arvada Center for the Arts and Hu‐manities, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd, Arvada
Featured
Featured
Sat 8/20
Rocky Mountain Record Show pre‐sented by VMP - August 20th, 2022 FIRSTHAND MAKERS MARKET | AUG 20 | 10 am – 5 pm | THE ORCHARD TOWN CENTER | MACY’S PARKING LOT
@ 10am The Orchard Town Center, 14697 Delaware Street, Westminster. meghan@meghan dougherty.com, 720-460-1978
Featured
FARM-TO-TABLE DINNER! @ 6pm 5820 Lowell Blvd, 5820 Lowell Boulevard, Denver. dappelha@ regis.edu, 303-901-3356 Tim Ostdiek: House Concert
@ 6pm House Concert, Longmont
Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants
@ 6:10pm / $11-$285 Coors Field, 2001 Blake St., Denver
Featured
Adam Doleac @ 7pm SALT & ACRES, 9490 Co Rd 25, Fort Lupton Gregory Alan Isakov
@ 7:30pm Boettcher Hall, 1000 14th Street, Denver
Phat Daddy
@ 9pm Hoffbrau, 9110 Wadsworth Pkwy, West‐minster Featured
Colorado Rapids vs. Houston Dynamo @ 7pm / $25-$338 DICK'S Sporting Goods Park, 6000 Victory Way, Commerce City
Sun 8/21
Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants
@ 1:10pm / $10-$285 Coors Field, 2001 Blake St., Denver
DATE PACKAGE - Immersive Van Gogh Denver (Peak)
@ 3pm Lighthouse Denver, 3900 Elati Street, Den‐ver
Mon 8/22
@ 5:30pm Lighthouse Denver, 3900 Elati Street, Den‐ver
Tue 8/23
Ryan Hutchens: Songwriter Night at Broadway Roxy
@ 6pm Broadway Roxy, 554 S Broadway, Denver
Featured
Featured
Wed 8/24
powered by
Featured
Homeschool Bird Banding! Day 1 @ 9am / Free Barr Lake State Park, 13401 Pica‐dilly Rd, Brighton. 303-659-4348 ext. 49
Immersive Van Gogh (Off-Peak)
@ 1pm Lighthouse Denver, 3900 Elati Street, Den‐ver
Colorado Rockies vs. Texas Rangers
@ 1:10pm / $7-$285 Coors Field, 2001 Blake St., Denver
Lake Dillon Pontoon Ride
@ 2pm Fort Lupton Recreation & Parks De‐partment, 203 S Harrison, Fort Lupton. 303-857-4200
Immersive Van Gogh (Off-Peak)
@ 2pm Lighthouse Denver, 3900 Elati Street, Den‐ver
@ 2pm Lighthouse Denver, 3900 Elati Street, Den‐ver
Immersive King Tut - Denver
@ 6:30pm Lighthouse Denver, 3900 Elati Street, Den‐ver
Thu 8/25
Featured
Justin Garber: Live Music @ Odde's Music Grill @ 7pm Odde's Music Grill, 9975 Wadsworth Pkwy N2, Westminster Shift
@ 8:30pm Cervantes Other Side, 2637 Welton Street, Denver
Flix and Kicks
The city of Brighton’s annual Flix and Kicks series of summer concerts returns this summer at Carmichael Park, 650 E. Southern St.
The lineup concludes at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18, with a concert by the group Titonic. Admission is free. Seating is fi rst-come, fi rstserved.
Chamber golf tournament
The Greater Brighton Chamber of Commerce’s annual golf tournament starts at 8 a.m. Friday, Aug. 19, at Todd Creek Golf Course.
The price for breakfast, lunch and a round of golf is $150. A foursome runs $700.
Call 303-659-0223.
Brighton Oasis
The Brighton Oasis Family Aquatic Park is heading into its end-of-season schedule. The water park will be open Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Labor Day
For questions, please contact 303655-2200.
Full moon bike rides
The city of Brighton’s Full Moon Bike rides continue this summer with a new addition — an advanced rider group and a recreational rider group for each ride. The two groups start at different times.
According to a city news release, advanced riders are “strong and fearless bicyclists or enthused and confi dent bicyclists.” Recreational riders “are confi dent in their safety or people who would enjoy bicycling if they felt safer doing it.”
The meeting area is on the south side of Brighton City Hall, 500 S. Fourth Ave.
The schedule looks like this:
Saturday, Sept. 10: Harvest Moon. Sign-up from 5:30 to 6 p.m., and the event starts at 6 p.m. Advanced riders begin at 6:15 p.m., and recreational riders start 10 minutes later.
Bike riders have to sign a waiver before their fi rst ride. It’s good for all Bike Brighton rides and events through Dec. 31.
Call Mark Heidt, assistant director of parks and recreation and bike program coordinator, at 303655-2170 or email mehidt@brightonco.gov.
Armory Performing Arts Center concerts
The city of Brighton announced its lineup for concerts at the Armory Performing Arts Center, 300 Strong St.
Sept. 9: “Forever Flannel Night” — Rooster, an Alice in Chains tribute, plus TEN, Colorado’s Pearl Jam tribute band, and Bleach D, a Nirvana tribute band, at 7 p.m.
Sept. 30: FACE vocal band, an allvocal band, at 7 p.m.
Oct. 1: Mr. Majestyk’s 8-TRack Revival, a ‘70s rock and pop band, 7 p.m.
Oct. 29: Yesterday, The Beatles Tribute, at 7 p.m.
Nov. 18: The Long Run, performs its annual “Alter Eagles” set at 8 p.m.
Nov. 19: The Long Run, Colorado’s tribute to the Eagles, at 8 p.m.
Tickets are available at brightonarmory.org. Contact Gary Montoya, events and downtown initiative manager, at gmontoya@ brightonco.gov.
Touch a Truck
The city of Brighton’s fourth annual Touch-A-Truck event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, in the parking lot of City Hall, 500 S. Fourth Ave.
It’s a chance for youngsters to get behind the wheel, climb and explore vehicles of all shapes and sizes -- police cars, fi re trucks, a Flight for Life helicopter, tractors, snow plows and loaders -- and meet the people who operate them. The Brighton Fire Rescue District will present its safety expo.
The Bike Brighton Bike Rodeo is part of the agenda, too. Youngsters will be guided through a safety course to learn about skills for safe bike riding. There will be a drawing for bike accessories, according to a release.
Call 303-655-2218.
CASA’s Old Hollywood evening
The Court Appointed Special Advocates program in Adams County is hosting an evening in old Hollywood from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, at Balistreri Vineyards, 1946 E. 66th Ave.
Aside from red carpets, cinema, and music, there will be food and wine from the vineyards and an auction. Proceeds help CASA move closer toward providing a volulnteer for every child in need.
Visit https://cbo.io/tickets/ casa17/indulge for ticket information.
Trash Bash
The City of Brighton’s last Trash Bash for the year is the weekend of Friday, Sept. 23, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Brighton Wastewater Treatment Facility, 325 N. Kuner Road. Those with special needs can call the city for pick-up service Wednesday, Sept. 21, and Thursday, Sept. 22.
Acceptable items include furniture, cabinets, appliances (not refrigerators/freezers), bicycles, cutup carpet, doors, stereos, lawn/yard equipment, mattresses/box springs and bundled branches less than 5 feet in length. Call 303-655-2087.
Hope Floats Water Lantern Festival
The Richard Lambert Foundation’s Hope Floats Water Lantern Festival runs from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, at Barr Lake State Park, 13401 Picadilly Road, Brighton.
The event includes live music from West Highway 7, a local band that plays songs from country-Western singers Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings. The Magic Food Bus and Revned BBQ Food Truck are going to handle the food. There will be local vendors and a chance to decorate lanterns with messages before they are released.
Call 720-408-8417.
Gummball 5K
The fi fth annual Gummball Rally will be Saturday, Oct. 1, at Adams County Regional Park, 9755 Henderson Road, Brighton. The 5K walk/ run is in honor of former Adams County Sheriff’s Deputy Heath Gumm, who died in the line of duty in 2018.
The cost is $30 for racers 13 and older and $10 for 12 and younger. Those 12 and younger get in free. Each includes a shirt/swag bag guaranteed with entry by Sept. 14.
Packets will be available for pickup at 4201 E. 72nd Ave. from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30. Proceeds benefi t a nonprofi t that supports law enforcement and fi rst responders.
For more information, email tracykilgore71@gmail.com.
ONGOING
Boards/commissionsThe city of Brighton has openings on severeal of its volunteer boards and commissions. The list includes:
Planning commission: Two alternate members
Board of appeals: Several member openings
Parks and recreation advisory board: One Ward 2 member, two alternate members and one agriculture/farming member
Brighton Urban Renewal Authority: Three /members
Historic preservation commission: Two alternate members and two professional members
Brighton Housing Authority: Two alternate members
Lodging tax advisory committee: One lodging provider member and two alternate members
District plan commission: One city of Brighton commissioner
Fill out a form online here:www. brightonco.gov/199/Vacancies
Museum volunteers
The Brighton City Museum needs volulnteers to help with visitors, resesarch and collection projectbased duties.
Call Bill Armstrong, museum specialist, at 303-655-2288.
Water audit program
The city of Brighton and Resource Central teamed up to provide a free water audit for businesses and homeowner associations. The program aims to help residents and cities increase water use effi ciencies and reach conservation goals.
Call 303-999-3824 or visit https:// www.brightonco.gov/589/WaterAudit-Program
COVID vaccination clinics
Adams County and Tri-County Health are offering free vaccination clinics from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Anythink Brighton, 327 E. Bridge St.
COVID-19 rapid tests at the Brighton Recreation Center
As part of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s community distribution program, the Brighton Recreation Center is offering free at-home COVID-19 rapid test kits to the public. Come to rec center, 555 N/ 11th Ave., Mondays - Thursdays 5:30 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fridays 5:30 a.m. - 7 p.m., Saturdays 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.). Kits will be made available to the public while supplies last.
Staff will be distributing the iHealth rapid antigen tests (selfcollected lower nasal swab), which have received emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration for home use by patients 2 and older. Results should be available in approximately 15 minutes.
Email cdphe_covidtesting@ state.co.us or call 1-877-268-2926.
EAGLE VIEWADULT CENTER
1150 Prairie Center Parkway • Brighton, CO 80601 • 303-655-2075 • www.brightonco.gov
Eagle View Adult Center Update –Aug 17 - 24, 2022
Eagle View Adult Center is open Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Call 303-655-2075 for more information. e July and August Newsletter is available.
Cards, Games and Pool
If you like to play games like bridge, pinochle, dominos, scrabble and pool… Eagle View is the place to get connected. Check out the newsletter for playing times.
VOA Lunch
A hot, nutritious lunch is provided by Volunteers of America, Mondays and ursdays at 11:30 a.m. Please reserve your VOA meal in advance: For Mondays reserve the ursday before, for ursdays reserve the Monday before.! Call Eleanor at 303-655-2271 between 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., Mon. & urs. Daily meal donations are appreciated. $2.50 Donation per meal if age 60+. $8.50 Mandatory charge if under 60
Scams on Social Media
Social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn are attractive for staying connected to others. Learn how to avoid social networking scams and keep your information safe. Presenter: Mark Fetterho from AARP ElderWatch. 1:30 p.m. Tues. Aug 23. Free. Deadline: Fri. Aug 19
“Back to School” Class Showcase
Did you know that Eagle View o ers over 35 di erent classes throughout the year? ere will be class demonstrations, giveaways, and just plain fun as you try out some of the classes. See for yourself what learning opportunities are available at EVAC. 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. Wed. Aug 24. Free
Spellbinders Storytelling
Stories help us make sense of our world, impart a lesson, pass down history, and more. ey can teach us how to love, to forgive and to strive to be better. Free but please register. 1:15 p.m. urs. Aug 25. Deadline: Tues. Aug 23
Traveling Vietnam
Vietnam is blessed by a rich civilization, lush scenery, and friendly people. It’s also a land of contrasts, with frenetic cities and peaceful countryside. Speaker Joe Wiggins will share photos, stories and insights gained as he traveled from Saigon to Hanoi. 1:30 p.m. Tues. Aug 30. $5. Deadline: urs. Aug 25
To Schedule a Virtual Tour or for more info call Nellie at: 303-659-4148
the grocery store and gas pump, home buyers have adopted a more cautious attitude,” Cooper Thayer, a Douglas County Realtor, said in the association’s report.
Early pandemic years affected demand
Surging prices for consumer goods such as gas and food helped catapult U.S. infl ation to a new four-decade peak in June, the Associated Press reported.
Infl ation can occur when demand for a good exceeds the production capacity for that good, driving up prices. It can also happen when production costs increase and result in price hikes, for example.
The government fi ghts infl ation by raising what are called interest rates, or the amount a lender charges a borrower for a loan. A country’s central bank — such as the Federal Reserve in the U.S. — causes interest rates to rise or fall.
By sharply raising interest rates, the Fed hopes to tamp down consumer demand. Higher rates will make it more expensive to carry a credit card balance, get a car loan or buy a house, National Public Radio reported.
The hike in interest rates is a main factor driving the increase in the pool of available homes, but the dizzying level of housing prices themselves appears to be slowing demand down too, Leprino said.
“I wouldn’t say it was totally unexpected. You can’t have the kind of price appreciation that we’ve had” and not see a slowdown at some point, said Leprino, using a term for an increase in price.
In July 2021, the metro Denver area saw an 18% increase in median sales price compared to the prior year. Statewide, the increase in that time was nearly 19%, sitting at $525,000.
When looking at the current market, the public should “remember that 2021 was an exceptional year for real estate, fueled by historically low interest rates and unprecedented buyer demand,” Durango-area Realtor Jarrod Nixon said in the report.
When employers decided employees didn’t have to be in the offi ce amid the pandemic, some people had more fl exibility in where they were going to live and drove up suburban home prices, Ron Throupe, an associate professor of real estate, said in a University of Denver article. People suddenly began looking at housing in new ways, Leprino said.
“It was their offi ce, their home, their gym, their schools for the kids, and suddenly people needed way more space,” Leprino added.
Home prices ‘always go up’
But housing prices had been on a steep upward swing for years in Colorado even before the pandemic.
“I think everybody’s spent the past 14 years or so waiting for the next shoe to drop,” wondering whether a new housing recession will occur, Leprino said.
But “we’ve just gone down to a simmer now,” Leprino added.
The yearslong stretch of high housing prices in Colorado — particularly in metro Denver — raises the question: When will housing become more affordable again?
In the historical trend of home prices, there may be short-term regressions in price: 2007 and the next couple years are good examples, Leprino said.
“But by 2014, we had more than rebounded the prices of what they would have already been had the dip not taken place,” Leprino continued.
“In a long-term scenario, (housing prices) always go up,” Leprino added.
One factor that makes the housing market so stubborn: Colorado has long been an attractive destination for people moving from out of state.
Colorado experienced a positive “net migration” during the 25 years dating back to the early 1990s, according to a 2018 article from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Net migration is the difference between the number of people coming into and the number of people leaving an area.
An estimated one-third of net migrants that came to Colorado from 2010 to 2016 were from California, Illinois and New York, while migrants left Colorado for Wyoming, South Carolina and Arkansas. Overall, Colorado attracted more individuals than it lost from most states, according to the reserve bank article.
“Denver has been such a draw for people for so long because it was inexpensive, because it’s clean, because it’s safe,” but those attributes aren’t quite as true today, Leprino said.
While Leprino notes that he is not an economist, he guessed that demand from people who want to move to metro Denver from outside of Colorado — as well as demand from people wanting to move to metro Denver from other places within Colorado — could theoretically decrease based on a myriad of factors. Chief among those could be crime, cost of living, quality of education, and aspects such as traffi c or access to jobs, Leprino said.
“I don’t think (Denver’s quality of life) is in jeopardy but do see that either demand going down because of these factors or more building — or a combination of both — would ease housing shortages,” said Leprino, who is CEO of the real-estate brokerage Remingo in metro Denver.
Net migration into Colorado in 2020 is estimated at 27,000, according to the state Demography Offi ce’s website. That’s the lowest number since 2005, according to the site, and represents a large drop from recent years.
Workers’ pay not keeping pace
Fewer buyers bought homes in Denver this June than any time over the previous six months, according to the Realtors association report. The downtick in sales is a cause of the increased inventory, or available housing, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the rate of new housing construction isn’t making much of a difference, Leprino said.
“I don’t think it’s making any difference whatsoever in prices,” Leprino said, adding that “we are so far behind” in housing supply. He didn’t want to speculate regarding how much more construction it would take to make housing more affordable.
Because housing prices always go up in the long term, the Colorado Association of Realtors says purchasing real estate is a strong investment “because you’re never going to lose money” in the long term, Leprino said.
The other side of that coin: Homebuying only grows further out of reach for people living on lower incomes, particularly because the rise in housing prices in recent decades far outstrips the increase in what American families earn.
In the last decade, the median
A jump in the supply of available homes means buyers now have a better chance of purchasing a house, but prices in metro Denver and Colorado at large remain notori-
ously expensive. SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGE
VEHICLES & EQUIPMENT AUCTION
430+ ITEMS SELL NO RESERVE! WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24
DR1269 ‘19 Chevy Silverado 5500 flatbed truck
DB7951 ‘55 Ford F100 pickup truck
BRIGHTON
DR1268 ‘15 Dodge Ram 3500HD Crew Cab pickup
DP4705 ‘05 Fleetwood Bounder RV KI9288 ‘16 Ford F550 Super Duty flatbed truck
INVENTORY INCLUDES: pickups, flatbed trucks, forklift, utility/service trucks, passenger vehicles, tractors, campers, RVs, cargo trailer, dump truck, motorcycle, equipment trailers, shuttle bus, classic vehicles, lawn mowers and more. All items are sold “AS IS.” 10% buyers premium applies. 866.608.9283
COVID guidance gets easier for K-12 schools
Minimize disruption, stay alert is core message from state o cials
BY ERICA MELTZER CHALKBEAT
There are no mask mandates and no quarantine rules in Colorado’s COVID guidance for the 2022-23 school year, but public health officials say they’re still tracking the disease and want school administrators to be open and honest with families about cases and clusters.
New guidance released Aug. 10 largely treats COVID like other communicable diseases, continuing a policy the state established in February at the end of the first omicron wave. At the same time, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is continuing to make free rapid antigen tests widely available to schools and child care centers, both for weekly testing programs and for students to use at home.
Colorado saw high levels of COVID-19 all summer, with a sustained plateau in hospitalizations that began to decline this month. Bailey Fosdick, a member of the state’s COVID modeling team at the Colorado School of Public Health, said the lack of mitigation measures like masking may contribute to some spread in classrooms, but the combination of vaccination and recent infection should put a brake on transmission.
“Even with school starting, all of our models suggest cases and hospitalizations will continue to decline through at least the end of September,” Fosdick said. “And that’s due to the high levels of infections we saw in the spring and summer. We estimate that we still have quite a bit of immunity in the population, particularly immunity from severe disease.”
State Epidemiologist Rachel Herlihy said the new guidance aims to minimize disruptions for students and families while remaining alert for signs of clusters or higher transmission that might indicate a need for stepped-up precautions. Colorado is in a very different position than it was two years ago, she said, and that warrants a new approach.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.Read more at chalkbeat.org.
MARKET
home price rose roughly 30% and incomes crept up just 11% over the same time period, according to a Bankrate analysis of data from the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index, CNBC reported in 2021.
Over 50 years, the difference is even starker. After accounting for inflation, home prices have jumped 118% since 1965, while income has only increased by 15%, according to a separate report by online brokerage Clever Real Estate, based on census data, CNBC reported.
Throupe, the associate University of Denver professor, said in the DU article that “there’s no one solution” to the housing crisis.
“It’s going to have to be a group of items for getting people into property. It’s not one size fits all,” Throupe said in the article. “Some of it is government programs. Some of it is cooperation. They need to expand on existing programs and other programs to fit different needs.”
The Colorado Association of Realtors defines the seven-county Denver metro area as Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties.
The association’s most recent report as of early August, dated July 13, is based on June 2022 numbers.
WHY IS INFLATION SO HIGH?
A combination of factors boosted inflation to such high levels.
After the coronavirus pandemic led to lockdowns and other restrictive measures that disrupted global supply chains — and governments issued stimulus checks and increased unemployment benefits to blunt the impact of those measures on individuals and small businesses — the post-vaccine economy bounced back, and demand quickly outpaced supply, according to the website Investopedia.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 led to a series of economic sanctions and trade restrictions on Russia, limiting the world’s supply of oil and gas, according to the financial information site.
At the same time, food prices rose as Ukraine’s large grain harvests could not be exported. As fuel and food prices rose, it led to similar increases down the value chains, according to the site.
Breathe Easy & Relax!
SINUS PROBLEMS? ALLERGIES? ASTHMA? DUST PROBLEM? HEADACHES? HIGH POWER BILLS? IF IT’S IN YOUR DUCTS, IT’S IN YOUR LUNGS
Our mission is to lower energy costs and provide the healthiest quality air possible. For anyone, business or residential, we will increase e ciency of your system by using the very latest techniques, the latest technologies and top of the line products. We will provide the highest quality of work possible. Our professional sta will assure a high level of professionalism that cannot be matched in our industry. We guarantee our products and services.
We Will Beat Any Price With Superior Quality 100% Guarantee
$49
CLEAN OUT SPECIAL
10 Vents, 1 Return, & 1 Main. FREE system analysis/inspection.
Call for details. Additional vents priced separately. We service all areas. Offer expires 9/30/22.
FREE
DRYER VENT CLEANING
WITH ANY COMPLETE AIR DUCT SYSTEM CLEANING.
Call for details. Offer expires 9/30/22.
50% OFF
HOSPITAL GRADE SANITIZER
HELPS WITH GERMS & BACTERIA
With purchase of complete ductwork cleaning. Offer expires 9/30/22.
Call or visit us online today to schedule an appointment!
