Jeffco Transcript July 17, 2025

Golden agrees to buy DeLong Park sidewalk

BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CORINNE@COTLN.ORG

Funding freeze threatens Je co student services

Superintendent warns of impact from frozen federal education

grants

BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SUZIE@COTLN.ORG

ousands of Je co students could lose access to language support, counseling and community-based services this school year after the U.S. Department of Education froze key federal funding streams with little warning.  e decision puts approximately $3 million in planned programming at risk, district leaders said.

Superintendent Tracy Dorland and the Je erson County school board called the move “late and unexpected,” warning that the district had already budgeted the funds for professional development, English learner support, student engagement and family outreach.

WESTMINSTER WINDOW

Since Golden’s DeLong Park opened in June 2022, people have pushed their strollers, walked their dogs and jogged with friends along the park’s sidewalks. But, unbeknownst to many of them, one of those sidewalks was mistakenly built in a neighboring yard. And now, three years later, the City of Golden and the construction company are xing it.

e Golden City Council approved buying about 2,700 square feet of land at 400 24th St. at its July 8 meeting. at’s where the sidewalk was built and the city will use money from design company IMEG, LLC to do so, city sta con rmed.

e Pallagi family, the current property owners, will receive $80,000 for the sidewalk-impacted land and $7,000 for fence installation.

e parties will close on the land purchase later this summer.

‘We don’t know why it happened’

In 2017, the City of Golden bought a 1-acre residential property o 23rd Street from the DeLong family. e long-term plan was to turn it into a park.

residents hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for it on June 7, 2022.

Assistant to the City Manager Steve Glueck con rmed how DeLong Park was designed in 2019, which included a completed property survey. e design included using city right of way for Vernon Street — which had never been built out as a street — to put a sidewalk between 23rd and 24th streets, Glueck explained.

“In the preparation of nal construction plans, the sidewalk connection was erroneously shifted down the hill to a location closer to the corridor for the abandoned Welch Ditch,” he stated in a council memo.

“ e connection was subsequently constructed in that location, encroaching on and e ectively cutting o part of the property at 400 24th Street.”

Joseph David Pallagi and his family have owned 400 24th St. since 1988. Pallagi reportedly tried to tell project representatives about the encroachment during construction in 2021, and again in fall 2024, according to Glueck’s memo.

WESTMINSTER WINDOW

e project was in the planning, design and construction process for about ve years, according to previous Transcript coverage, and about 80 city o cials and

After the July 8 meeting, Glueck said it’s unclear exactly whom Pallagi tried to tell, whether it was city employees or elected o cials, or someone from the construction company. Pallagi then had health problems and didn’t pursue it further, until he ran into a Golden Public Works employee last fall.

At that time, he brought the issue up

again, and the city looked into it. Glueck said that once the mistake was veri ed, the city sought a resolution with the Pallagi family and IMEG.

After several weeks of meetings and negotiations and after agreeing it would be too di cult to move the sidewalk, all three parties found a resolution, Glueck said.

Now that the City Council has approved it, the parties plan to close on the land transaction in late July or early August, Glueck said.

Glueck wrote to City Council that IMEG, which did the park’s nal construction plans, believed there was likely a miscommunication among the park design team. However, “accountability for the error lies with them,” Glueck wrote.

On July 8, he added: “We can document what happened, but we don’t know why it happened.”

us, the company is paying Golden $87,000 so the city can buy the impacted land and pay the Pallagi family to install a fence.

is includes the 6-foot-wide sidewalk, the square footage between the sidewalk and the park boundary, and a 3-foot-wide bu er on the other side, Glueck described.

In the council memo, he also stated how IMEG is covering all the city’s direct costs, including some legal reimbursements. e only exceptions are the “minimal” closing costs and the insurance policy, which the city is paying.

“Failure to release these funds creates signi cant impacts on our student programming at a time when Jeffco is already drawing on reserves and preparing for substantial reductions in FY 27,” a district spokesperson said. Because of federal supplanting rules, the district is legally barred from using its general fund to ll the gap, even if the federal funding is restored later.

A district already under strain

Even before the freeze, the district was grappling with a $60 million structural de cit heading into the 2025–26 school year. Despite closing 21 schools and making $20 million in cuts since 2021, the district still faces mounting cost pressures tied to ination, compensation increases and growing special education needs. Enrollment declines are expected to further impact funding, with a projected loss of 800 students per year in both 2026–27 and 2027–28. Because Colorado ties K–12 funding to student count, that drop will lead to additional revenue loss and potential sta ng reductions.

Colorado ranks 43rd in the nation for per-pupil education funding, a reality that leaves districts like Je co especially vulnerable to sudden shifts in federal support.

Golden’s DeLong Park, seen from overhead, has a sidewalk running through the residential property at 400 24th St.

COURTESY

Je co Transcript (ISSN 1089-9197)

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More Red Rocks Ranch homeowners left high and dry

People waiting to close on homes with no water in development

BY JANE REUTER JANE@COTLN.ORG

As another 90-degree July day begins, a watering truck makes its way slowly around the Red Rocks Ranch neighborhood, a crew of three stopping to water each young tree.  e grass around the trees, owers and landscaping on nearby banks has long since browned and withered, and the crew’s only hope is to save the saplings, they said.

In the nearby park, a cherry red water slide, the centerpiece of a children’s splash pad and playground, is fenced o and silent, with no water to serve it.

And around the Denver metro area and beyond, a reported 30 prospective Red Rocks Ranch homeowners are living in hotels, Airbnbs and with family members, waiting to close on new homes that have no water taps to serve them.

Confused buyers, who say they are getting minimal information about the delay, are exchanging theories on a private Facebook page and pointing ngers in every direction — including at the Town of Morrison, the Mount Carbon Metro District and builder Lennar Homes.

“I’ve been continually told when I talk to Lennar that it’ll be another two weeks,” said Mary Ann Mcshan, who signed a contract to purchase a Red Rocks Ranch home in March. “ ey say the town of Morrison is going to vote, and then they say, ‘Well, they didn’t approve it. It’ll be another two weeks.’”

Information is scarce

Red Rocks Ranch is not part of incorporated Morrison, but the small town of less than 400 residents is the source of water and wastewater for what will someday be a community more than four times its size. Mount Carbon agreed to build the town infrastructure required to meet the development’s needs, but hasn’t yet completed all that work or nished a required update to its intergovernmental agreement with Morrison.

what I want. I love the home. I just want information.”

It’s the second time in less than a year that prospective Red Rocks Ranch homeowners have been left in limbo as the metro district continues negotiating for water with Morrison.

Holding firm

But this time, the town is holding rm — as it warned it would in 2024 — on completion of the IGA between it and Mount Carbon, the agency charged with providing water and sewer to the unincorporated development.

“ e town is disappointed that future homeowners have been put into this situation yet again,” Morrison Town Manager Mallory Nassau wrote in a July 2 email. “ e town has been working diligently with MCMD on a restated IGA … ere are currently signi cant infrastructure improvements that must be completed prior to the town issuing additional taps.”

e issue is not new or unknown. As part of its obligations, Mount Carbon paid to improve the town’s wastewater treatment plant and for the construction of a new water treatment plant.

But the water plant is fed by untreated water from Bear Creek, and while the current supply is enough for Morrison, it isn’t enough for the neighboring development. To tap into additional town water rights, Mount Carbon must pay to build a new diversion on Bear Creek west of the plant, along with a pump station and pipeline to transport the water.

e issue was made clear last fall when the town put the brakes on issuing more taps, saying it’s not obligated to do so until the 2008 IGA is rewritten — an e ort that’s been under way for years. It nevertheless held a special meeting in October 2024, granting the district’s request to convert two irrigation meters into 39 residential taps. at allowed 39 homeowners who had also been unable to close to move into the development.

One town trustee issued a warning to Mount Carbon and Lennar at the Oct. 9 special meeting.

“You don’t make promises about water if you don’t have the infrastructure to deliver it,” he said. “I will be pressing the other members of my board to vote ‘no’ for future water taps if we don’t have the infrastructure to deliver it.”

the cost of their temporary living quarters.

“I want to be informed, and to know I’m not making a mistake,” she said. “I feel as someone who’s about to spend a very large amount of money on a home, the homeowners are not the ones who should be caught in the middle of this.”

and reliably provide the service to David O’Leary, an attorney for Mount Carbon, said in October 2024 that he believed the new IGA would be ready in about a month.

Nine months later, it remains un nished and unapproved. And the conversation about its irrigation meters to residential taps has left Red Rocks Ranch with no water for its landscaping or splash pad.

CORRECTIONS

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Despite the information Mcshan says she was given, the town has not posted any recent agenda items on the IGA, or scheduled any special meetings on the issue. Morrison’s attorney is, however, meeting regularly with Mount Carbon’s legal counsel on the issue.

“I don’t understand why it’s so secretive,” Mcshan said. “ e homeowners are su ering and the parties involved don’t seem to care that much. ey’re not communicating with us, and homes are still being sold.

“I could probably get out of my contract but that’s not necessarily

Wearing thin

But Mcshan said Lennar told her a di erent story.

“ e salesperson I worked with said there were ve remaining water meters, and if I went under contract that week, I’d get one of those,” she said. “I had the impression I’d be able to close by midMay. I’ve since learned, it sounds like those ve meters were temporary, and used for testing.”

McShan, who sold a home in Denver and is living in her Winter Park condo as she waits to close, said the lack of information is wearing on her and the other prospective homeowners. She also

While Sutton — the trustee who warned Red Rocks Ranch in public about the issuance of future water taps — recently left the board, the town remains committed to ensuring the IGA is in place before it agrees to issue more taps.

“ e original IGA dates back to 2008 and limits the issuance of taps based on MCMD completing infrastructure improvements,” wrote Nassau, adding those improvements include ensuring the “town’s water and wastewater systems would be adequately upgraded prior to serving end users.

“We are committed to providing water and sewer to Red Rocks Ranch, noting that this requires MCMD to meet their infrastructure obligations, so we may safely

Lennar’s Red Rocks Ranch website says it is “actively selling” and o ering “incredible deals.”

A representative of homebuilder Lennar Homes, who identi ed himself only as “Aaron,” could not explain why Lennar continues to sell homes despite its awareness of the ongoing water problems. He said only that they are “caught in the middle,” and hoping for a swift resolution.

None of the Mount Carbon Metro District’s board members returned requests for comment. “I don’t know who’s at fault,” Mcshan said. “But I do wonder, what was the situation with the IGA? What did they know while contracts were being signed?”

A team from Golden’s Environmental Landworks, hired to water Red Rocks Ranch’s landscaping, waters young trees near the development’s entrance July 9. PHOTOS BY JANE REUTER

A Red Rocks Ranch monument sign stands next to the completed children’s playground and splash pad, which is double fenced and unavailable to use.

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‘Golden Real Estate’ Is Now ‘Century 21 Golden Real Estate’ — What It Means to You (and Me)

Notice the logo at the bottom right corner of this ad. It’s unchanged except for the addition of the “CENTURY 21®” branding. Last week, I finalized an “asset purchase agreement” with the owner of several other Century 21 franchise branches in Colorado, headquartered at Century 21 Elevated Real Estate in Grand Junction.

They also purchased the Century 21 branch across the street from us in downtown Golden, and will be closing that office, inviting its agents to affiliate with our office.

quickly attracted some broker associates, which made the enterprise more viable.

my continuation of this column by contacting me if you’d like to buy or list a home. If I can’t serve you myself, I’ll refer you to the

broker associate who I believe will serve you with the same professionalism as I would. Thanks for your support!

This is a big change for me, of course. I started Golden Real Estate, Inc., the same month that Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone in 2007.

At the time, I had been a RE/MAX Alliance broker associate for four years. I was purchasing a building on South Golden Road (currently the Golden Outpost), and RE/MAX wouldn’t allow it to be a RE/MAX office, because there were already three franchise offices (including my own) within a few miles. My solution was to start a new brokerage, which I was able to do, having attained licensure as an “employing broker” the year before. My vision had been to create a new RE/MAX franchise with the name “RE/MAX Sustainable Living.”

A big reason (for me) to purchase that building was its frontage on South Golden Road, where I could park the box truck which I was providing free to buyers and sellers. At the RE/MAX office, the truck was parked out of sight behind their office building. On South Golden Road it would stand as a billboard promoting me.

So, Golden Real Estate, Inc. was born, and I

I followed through on my sustainability values by adding 5kW of rooftop solar panels and, later on, another 15kW of ground-mounted solar panels to power not only the office and its heat pump HVAC system, but also my electric vehicles, those of my broker associates, and even those of the general public. It was a good life. Toward the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, a storefront became available next to the Ace Hi Tavern, and I moved Golden Real Estate into it, renting out the building on South Golden Road, but continuing to park our box truck there. Finally, I sold the building to Joe & Stacy Fowler of the Golden Hayride, who have done an amazing job of converting it into a venue called the Golden Outpost. I’m so impressed with their improvement of the site.

So what does this change to a Century 21 branch mean to you, my readers and clients? Not much, really. All our broker associates have signed on with the new owners, and I’m committing to staying as managing broker for another 12 months, after which I may stay or choose to retire. Since I’ll be 78 years old, probably the latter.

One difference you’ll notice is that this advertising becomes my sole expense, not the company’s, so I’ll continue it as long as it brings me clients. I will continue to promote our broker associates’ listings, as you see below with Greg Kraft’s new listing in Belmar, and get a small referral fee from them when I refer a reader who contacts me about listing or buying a home. In other words, please support

What’s In and What’s Out With Kitchen Improvements

The National Kitchen & Bath Association recently published a report on the changes in kitchen design. Fortunately, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) summarized the report, which would cost you $2,995 to purchase. Here are some of what was written. (Find a link to the full NAR article at http:// RealEstateToday.substack.com.)

“Kitchens in 2025 are becoming about self -expression, combined with playful sophistication. As such, the colors and materials homeowners choose are becoming important—and they’re moving beyond just white,” says the NAR article.

“Color is leading the charge. Seventy-one percent of design respondents say their clients prefer colorful kitchens that reflect personali-

ty. Whether subtly or boldly, color is entering the kitchen, with pops of color being brought in through backsplashes, kitchen islands, wallpapers and even accent walls,” says the article.

The top trending kitchen colors? Green, blue, and brown — in that order. All-white and all-gray kitchens are giving way to earth tones.

These Past ‘Real Estate Today’ Columns May Interest You

Clickable links for each column can be found at www.JimSmithColumns.com

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posted on our Real Estate Today Substack blog. Scan the QR code at left to open and subscribe to it — free of course. Each article and listing is there, often with additional content and graphics, plus useful hyperlinks.

My other Substack is Talking Turkey, a left-of-center political blog. It is not in print anywhere. Click on the QR code at right if you would like to see what I have to say.

Just Listed: 1-Bedroom Condo in Heart of Belmar

$419,900

April 10, 2025 — The Typical Wood-Frame, SiteBuilt Home So Common Since the ’90s May Soon Be a Thing of the Past

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This penthouse condo at 7130 W. Alaska Dr. #D offers incredible views and natural light with floor to ceiling windows on the north and south facing walls. Hardwood floors throughout except for the main bedroom and office, which are carpeted. A wall mounted 65" flatscreen TV is in the living room and there is an electric fireplace. There is a second electric fireplace in the bedroom. The kitchen is completely equipped with GE stainless steel appliances and there are granite countertops for easy cleaning. The stacked washer/dryer is located in a closet along the hallway and in an adjacent closet is the Climate Master Water Source Heat Pump which was installed in March 2020 at a cost of $8,000. This unit provides superior and reliable heating and cooling throughout the year. There is a deeded parking space and storage area (#6) on the 2nd floor of the adjacent parking structure. A flexible non-conforming bonus room offers space for an office or other needs. Located in the heart of Belmar, shopping, restaurants and other amenities are only footsteps from the front door. Come enjoy the convenience of this great condo. See listing agent Greg Kraft’s narrated video tour at www. GRElistings.com, or call him at 720-353-1922 to see it.

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$250,000

Rarely does one find a condo complex that is so well managed and provides so many amenities for the monthly dues. Heat and hot water are included. This unit at 3460 S. Poplar St. #307 in the Morningside complex has been nicely updated except for the kitchen, with new flooring and an enclosed balcony. The building's laundry room serves only as backup, since you have a spacious laundry room in the unit. When visiting, there's a keycard so you can visit the community center across the street at 7100 S Poplar. You'll be so impressed at the condition of the indoor and outdoor swimming pools, the separate spas for men & women, each including a steam room, sauna and fitness equipment. Included is one reserved space in the secure garden-level garage. A storage locker is also included. Take my narrated video tour of both the condo and the fitness center at www.GRElistings.com, then call me at 303-525-1851 to arrange a private showing. You’ll agree with me, this is one of the best condo communities ever!

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Feb. 22, 2024 — Most Sellers Don’t Know How to Interview a Listing Agent. Here’s Some Guidance.

Dec. 21, 2023 — D.R. Horton Inks Deal to Build Homes With OSB Made From Grass Instead of Wood

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Sept. 28, 2023 — Insurance Companies Are Pulling Out of California. Is That in Our Future?

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Mar. 16, 2023 — Here Are Some Ways to Make Your Home More Accommodating to Seniors Feb. 9, 2023 — Understanding Indoor Air Quality and How It’s Managed in Super-Insulated Homes

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Oct. 6, 2022 — How to Make Sure That the House You Buy Will Not Be a ‘Money Pit’ Sept. 22, 2022 — What Steps Can You Take to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient?

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Dec. 2, 2021 — My Favorite Home Improvements When Purchasing a New-to-Me Home

Retro is in. “Design elements of the 1950s and 1970s are showing up in kitchens today,” the article says. That’s good news for a listing I have coming up next month in Golden’s Beverly Heights. It has a wood cooking stove that is only avail-able for purchase outside of closing. 47% of kitchen professionals also tout minimalism in cabinetry and hardware. 2-BR Condo in Denver’s Morningside Complex

Oct. 14, 2021 — Court Rules That Sending an Email Can Bind You, Even Without Signing It Oct. 7, 2021 — What Are the Most Common Foundation Issues You Might Encounter in a Home?

Food Bank of the Rockies steps up capacity

New facility coming this winter

BY ISABEL GUZMAN IGUZMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In Colorado, one in eight people, and one in seven children struggle with food insecurity, according to Feeding America, which is a national hunger-relief charity. With the proposed new restrictions on SNAP eligibility, Food Bank of the Rockies is preparing for growing needs.

is winter, the food bank will open a new distribution center in Aurora on East 38th Avenue that spans 270,000 squarefeet. e new building will double the cold storage space the organization has for fresh and frozen food, quadruple the kitchen space and triple its volunteering capacity from the current main distribution center at 10700 E. 45th Ave. in Denver.

“We are seeing this increased need that’s coming at a time when just in the last several months, we have lost about 7% of Food Bank of the Rockies’ total food supply in government commodity food,” said Ering Pulling, the organization’s president and CEO. “ at’s why this new building can’t come soon enough.”

e new facility emerges from Food Bank of the Rockies’ $75 million capital campaign, funded by donors. e food bank is 15% away from its nancial goal and Cal Fulenwider, the capital campaign committee chair, and the Fulenwider Family Foundation are providing a $500,000 matching gift.

Amid a slash in government support, Pulling said the new facility is ahead of schedule and costs remain under budget, providing a hopeful glance into the future of the food bank’s new distribution center.

For Martha King, a volunteer for the food bank since 2020, the bigger space for volunteers to e ciently transport and package food is what she’s looking forward to the most.

“At (the Denver distribution center), we’re always bumping into each other. It’s like I-25 rush hour,” she said.

Food Bank of the Rockies is the largest food bank organization in the region, serving Wyoming and most of Colorado. Since establishing 47 years ago, the organization has grown alongside the growing needs of

Don’t

people facing hunger.

In 1978, Kathy Hackwith Growth began saving bread that was being tossed out by grocery stores, despite still being in good condition. She gave the bread to people and started the Colorado Food Clearing House, which then became Food Bank of the Rockies. Today, the food bank saves food from more than 800 stores and 150 food distributors across Colorado and Wyoming.

Pulling said the food bank has outgrown the current facility after operating there for 19 years — which has limited the amount of food donations it can accept and distribute, in addition to signi cantly impacting how many volunteers can be hosted. e new facility is designed to increase capacity for food storage and volunteering opportunities, enhance e ciency and provide a larger array of fresh produce, Pulling said.

“(By) doubling our refrigeration capacity, I no longer have to worry about not having enough room when met with a great opportunity to bring in produce and perishables,” said Kelly Green, Food Bank of the Rockies’ chief operating o cer.

“Sometimes (at our current facility), a load appears and we can’t t it in. So we have to say no and then they go somewhere else.”

In addition to the larger refrigeration area, some food donation receiving docks

will also be refrigerated so that if fresh or frozen food arrives after the morning team of volunteers have completed their shift, the load is safely kept in the dock for the next morning.

“When you’re dealing with fresh produce, you’ve got to move with incredible velocity — something an old building simply didn’t allow us to do. But the new facility will allow us to change that, with more loading docks, greater access for our trucks and adequate staging throughout the building,” said Steven Kullberg, chief of sta at Food Bank of the Rockies.

e ability to retain fresh food is a huge advantage that also helps reduce food waste and promote sustainability, Green said.

e new facility will also have a 13-megawatt solar panel system that will aim to power 100% of the center’s energy. It will also store energy into batteries for back-up power systems in case of an outage, in addition to 10 dual-part vehicle charging stations which will power two trucks for local deliveries.

In February 2023, the solar panels that the food bank installed on top of the Grand Junction facility generated 100 kilowatts — enough power for an electric car to travel the globe 2.4 times — which is about a quarter of the building’s power.

e new distribution center will also include cardboard recycling via the cardboard bailing system, a machine that compresses and bundles cardboard waste into dense, manageable bales for recycling. e food bank said the revenue generated from recycling cardboard will be reinvested into providing more food.

“I don’t let anything go to waste,” said Patricia Heib, an Arapahoe County resident who has been coming to the Food Bank of the Rockies for groceries for nearly a year after being let go from the U.S. Postal Service.

Heib grew up in a family of six kids and looked after her younger siblings while her parents served in the military and worked. She learned how to make food last and dollars stretch, she said. When she lost her postal service job, she leaned on her church, which connected her with food resources to help her ll her pantry.  at’s when Heib discovered the Food Bank of the Rockies. She said at rst, she felt embarrassed to ask for help, but now is comfortable using local resources to keep food on the table.

“I have a master’s degree in social work. I have worked in human services for years, helping people — and you know what, everybody needs help. Everybody is one paycheck away from needing help,” Heib said.

A rendering of Food Bank of the Rockies’ new distribution center kitchen. PHOTOS COURTESY FOOD BANK OF THE ROCKIES

Food Bank of the Rockies will open its new distribution center in Aurora this winter.

Hickenlooper renews call to repeal Comstock Act

States have used 1873 act to limit medical abortions

BY SARA WILSON COLORADO NEWSLINE

U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper is renewing a call to repeal part of a 19th-century law that conservative activists have used to restrict medication abortion access in cities across the country.

“ ese extreme Republicans and dustcovered laws from 1873 should not be directing a women’s right to make her own health care decisions,” the Colorado Democrat said during a virtual panel with Colorado OB-GYNs and reproductive health leaders.

Hickenlooper is a sponsor of the Stop Comstock Act, which would repeal the Comstock Act of 1873, a measure that outlaws the mailing of “lewd” and “indecent” material. Anti-abortion activists have sought enforcement of the dormant law to essentially enact bans on many abortions, including medication abor-

tions where patients receive mifepristone and other drugs in the mail after consulting with a doctor. Mifepristone is also used in many miscarriage treatments.

e federal tax break and spending cut bill signed into law by President Donald Trump last week cuts Medicaid reimbursements for Planned Parenthood — though that provision was temporarily blocked by a judge — and advocates worry that it could add strain to an already under-attack reproductive health system.

“We know that many of those people (on Medicaid) will not be able to seek care and other institutions or other avenues, and we know that places that are able to continue providing sexual health care are going to face increased demand and increased weight,” said Dr. Rebecca Cohen, a Colorado OB-GYN.

Pueblo City Council has voted twice since 2022 to oppose a proposed city ordinance that would have used the Comstock Act to restrict abortion access in the city. In October 2024, the council voted 4-3 to kill the ordinance before it

moved to a nal vote. If it had passed in Pueblo, it almost certainly would have been struck down due to Colorado’s Reproductive Health Equity Act.

“Abortion opponents have seized on the idea that the Comstock Act could be misused to ban the mailing of mifepristone and other drugs used in medication abortions,” Cobalt President Karen Middleton said.

Backers of the so-called “Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn” project have helped over 20 local governments, mostly in Texas, pass ordinances to ban abortion by enforcing the federal law, most recently Big Sandy in Texas with a population of about 1,300.

Hickenlooper called the legislative effort a “marathon.” Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the U.S. Senate and a 220-212 majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“ e issue with this circumstance, like every circumstance, is there are a number of reasonable, moderate Republicans that have been pushed to the corner, and they are threatened with primaries with tens of billions of dollars against

them if they violate anything that the White House is trying to push,” he said. “At some point, when we have a breakthrough election, this will be the kind of thing — all the debris that is accumulated from the Trump years — we’ll be able to clean it out.”

Melisa Hidalgo-Cuellar, the chair of the Cobalt Abortion Fund, said the organization has seen a nearly 1,200% increase in funding for people accessing care at telehealth-only clinics that mail abortion medication to patients. It can be di cult to travel to a brick-and-mortar clinic for people without reliable transportation, who don’t have child care or who live far from a physical clinic.

“You really see that people are opting for this because it’s a more convenient and a ordable option for a lot of abortion seekers,” Hidalgo-Cuellar said. Hickenlooper’s bill was assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee when it was introduced.

is story is from Colorado Newsline. Used by permission. For more, and to support the news organization, visit coloradonewsline.com.

Colorado considers challenging ‘energy emergency’

January declaration invoked by BLM to fast-track train facility expansion

BY DAVID O. WILLIAMS COLORADO NEWSLINE

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser’s o ce will consider joining a lawsuit challenging President Donald

Trump’s declaration in January of a national energy emergency, he told Newsline in an exclusive interview.

e Trump administration’s Bureau of Land Management invoked the emergency declaration to complete accelerated environmental review of a permit to expand a loading facility near Price, Utah for oil coming out of the nearby Uinta Basin. e expansion could increase oil capacity on the main rail line through Colorado by up to 80,000 barrels a day. It’s anticipated that the expansion of

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what’s known as the Wildcat Loadout facility — located on publicly owned federal lands — and other nearby facilities will allow the trucking and transfer to rail of up to 75% of the oil proposed for transport in the Uinta Basin Railway project. Eagle County and state o cials have long opposed increased oil trains along the Colorado River.

In a June 27 letter to Jerry Davis, acting Utah state director for the BLM, Weiser wrote that an expedited environmental assessment for the proposed Wildcat rightof-way expansion would be a “violation of applicable laws and regulations” that would block proper public input and “subject Colorado communities to signi cant economic, environmental, and health and safety risks.”

Trump’s energy emergency executive order. Calling it a “fake” emergency designed to line the pockets of Big Oil, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown pointed to the order’s exclusion of clean energy projects as it strips away vital environmental protections.

e May lawsuit claims Trump’s declaration of a national energy emergency is a violation of the National Emergencies Act itself, which is designed to prevent frivolous or partisan declarations.

“We don’t think it is a real emergency,” Weiser said Saturday. “Up until now, this national energy emergency order hasn’t a ected Colorado. But given these dynamics (of the expedited BLM approval), we’re going to be looking at that to make sure that we can do all we can to protect Colorado.”

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Weiser argued there is no national energy emergency given the United States produced more oil last year than any nation in history, and he urged the BLM to follow standard, legally required procedures in reviewing the project. An attorney for Eagle County and an environmental group that successfully sued the federal government to delay the rail project, also sent letters.

However, the BLM issued its approval, nding “no signi cant impact” related to the expansion, which Colorado opposes due to increased derailment, wild re and oil-spill risks, and the agency directly cited its authority under Trump’s January executive order declaring a national energy emergency, allowing for the fast-tracking of fossil fuel projects.

Before a recent fundraiser here for his 2026 gubernatorial campaign, Weiser said he had not heard about the expedited approval of the Wildcat Loadout or had time to debrief the ruling.

“I am sorry to hear that. I’m not shocked, but it’s a sign of the times we’re in — the lack of stewardship to protect our land, air, and water is appalling,” Weiser said. “We’re going to have to be creative to nd every way we can to make sure that these decisions aren’t being made hastily with long-term, harmful consequences.”

In May, 15 states — led by the attorneys general in Washington and California — led a lawsuit challenging the legality of

Brown and California Attorney General Rob Bonta cited what they deemed illegal fast-tracking of environmental reviews by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in violation of the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, among other key environmental laws.

“ e only ‘emergency’ is that the president disagrees with policies to address climate change in Washington state and elsewhere,” Brown wrote in May. “He is illegally using emergency authorities to keep the nation reliant on energy sources like coal, oil and gas.”

Weiser has previously said he will keep all of his options open in opposing the Uinta Basin oil expansion as it seeks to vastly expand oil-train tra c along the headwaters of the endangered Colorado River, which supplies water to more than 40 million people. e BLM approval in a two-week window now has him questioning Trump’s national energy emergency rules.

“So we didn’t have an ability to make this case [back in May], but we at the time said that we would be looking closely at whether and when it would a ect Colorado and we’d be ready to le,” Weiser said Saturday. “And with this, now we have to look at it.” is story is from Colorado Newsline. Used by permission. For more, and to support the news organization, visit coloradonewsline.com.

‘Oh My Gawd’ mural is back

After months of restoration work the mural is ready to

be re-hung

BY CHRISTOPHER KOEBERL CHRIS@COTLN.ORG

e restored mural titled “Oh My Gawd Road” was unveiled at its temporary home in Citizens Park in Idaho Springs in time for July 4th festivities.

For decades, the mural depicting downtown Idaho Springs and the infamous ‘Oh My Gawd’ Road” hung on the outside of the “brown barn” adjacent to the former Citywide bank and future headquarters of Idaho Springs Police at 1744 Miner St.

e wooden mural is painted as an amalgamation of the city of Idaho Springs with people, cars, trucks and wooden structures.

e original design was painted by a local artist Wendall Pugh, in the early ‘90s, according to Director of the Historical Society of Idaho Springs, Jan Boland.

However, years of weather, wind and sun took a toll on the mural’s paint as it faded into the past.

Hearing about the idea to restore the

mural, the Clear Creek School Board offered the gymnasium at the old Carlson Elementary School building as a workshop. Since the mural is approximately 10 feet tall and at least 24 feet across, the gym provided plenty of room to spread out.

When the original reconstruction artist Shawn Cox was forced to step away from the project due to health issues, new Clear Creek County resident Keith Prossick was asked to step in and nish the project.

Prossick, who recently moved to the county from New York, owns and operates the Anomaly Art Gallery in Georgetown, said he was honored at the request and relished the challenge of restoring the iconic mural for Idaho Springs, especially since he is new to the county.

Community support

“I’ve always thought volunteering is the best way to get to know people and introduce yourself to the community,” Prossick said.

At least a half-dozen public services in Idaho Springs and local businesses donated time, space and money to complete the mural restoration project.

e Colorado Mountain Bike Association provided a $500 donation to the project and is starting a tax-deductible donation option for anyone else inter-

ested in supporting the restoration efforts, according to COMBA Director Gary Moore.

e Clear Creek Fire Authority helped to break down the plywood panels inside the former Carlson gym and transport them to Citizens Park on July 3 where hundreds of people would gather for 4th of July celebrations.

Prossick watched the mural reassembled with pride, he said, returning a symbol to the town.

“I get a joy out of saving things, a lot of

things in my gallery are things that I have saved or restored. e ability to bring it back to life, it’s just something I like to do,” Prossick said.

“Oh My Gawd Road” in Idaho Springs earned its name by reputation, according to many locals.

O cially, it’s Virginia Canyon Scenic Drive in Clear Creek County. e gravel road in Idaho Springs is described by many residents as a narrow, curving, dirt and rock lane that will have you shouting, “Oh My Gawd!” over and over.

Golden targets amplified music downtown

Public hearing scheduled for July 22 council meeting

BY CORINNE WATERMAN CORINNE@COTLN.ORG

Downtown Golden may soon be a little quieter, as city o cials are considering an ordinance that would restrict ampli ed music.

e draft ordinance would only apply to public right of way, such as streets, sidewalks and alleyways, within the Downtown Development Authority boundaries. It wouldn’t a ect special events or private properties, including commercial businesses that host outdoor musical performances.

Acoustic music would still be allowed. Megaphones would also be allowed as long as they weren’t being used to amplify music, including singing, Golden sta members have clari ed.

e City Council has scheduled an ordinance second reading and public hearing about the issue at its July 22 meeting. Anyone wishing to submit written or verbal comments may do so at that time.

If passed at the July 22 meeting, city sta said the ordinance would take e ect on or around July 30.

“ is is not about banning street musicians,” City Councilor Patty Evans said at a June 10 work session. “ … ey have some really great talent; it just needs to be quieter.”

‘The amplification has gotten out of control’ Evans and other councilors said they’ve received numerous complaints about street musicians — sometimes called buskers — playing so loudly that downtown employees can’t hear their customers if the business’ doors are open. In city documents and meetings, City Manager Scott Vargo and Police Chief Joe Harvey have described how the city’s

current ordinance can be di cult to enforce, as outdoor music is required to be 65 decibels or less.

City employees are trained to use measurement devices, but wind, crowd noise and tra c can interfere with the readings.

However, Vargo and Harvey said the bigger problems is that, when a city employee contacts someone using an amplication device and asks them to turn it, they will only do so temporarily — until the city employee has left the immediate area. us, the problems persist.

“It’s not that we don’t try to enforce existing regulations,” Vargo said at the June 10 work session. “It’s just a much more di cult enforcement technique that we have to go through.”

us, City Councilors and Downtown Development Authority members have been discussing this issue, considering various iterations of an ordinance. e current iteration only tackles ampli ed music in the public right of way, but city o cials may revisit similar issues later in the year, they said.

e councilors at the June 10 work session were generally in favor of restricting ampli ed music, with Councilor Lisa Vitry saying she’s heard from local businesses that “the ampli cation has gotten out of control.”

Evans even said she’d be in favor of expanding the ordinance beyond the DDA boundaries, so it could bene t other nearby areas too.

Councilor Don Cameron, who’s been working on this ordinance with Councilor Bill Fisher for several months, added that some other municipalities have similar restrictions. He said Boulder has a decades-old ordinance that doesn’t allow any ampli ed music on the Pearl Street walking mall. Additionally, those who play acoustic music are required to move every 30 minutes.

With speakers and the like restricted in downtown Golden, Vargo and Harvey believed this would be easier and more

e cient to enforce versus the current 65-decibel noise limit.

Any music at special events or com-

mercial venues would still be subject to it, though, along with other existing city ordinances, they clari ed.

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The restored mural titled “Oh My Gawd Road” was unveiled at its temporary home in Citizens Park in Idaho Springs in time for July 4th festivities. PHOTOS BY CHRIS KOEBERL

Rockies fans reminded, baseball is more than winning

Fireworks shows, Military Appreciation headline a weekend of baseball

BY JOHN RENFROW

JOHN@COTLN.ORG

To cap an extravagant Fourth of July weekend on the diamond, the Colorado Rockies went all out to celebrate local veterans and military members with a parade on July 6.

It was the nale of a packed weekend of promotions, including back-to-back reworks shows following the rst two games against the Chicago White Sox on July 4 and 5.

Despite losing the rst two series games by a combined score of 13-5, the Rockies rallied on Sunday to win 6-4 in front of the home crowd. In the face of a brutal season, Colorado fans arrived in droves to root on their local team and enjoy some holiday festivities.

Plus, the weather cooperated to make for a beautiful long weekend.

e Military Appreciation game on Sunday was opened by a parade around the out eld honoring past and present military members. Players shook hands with veterans in gratitude and reverence as everyone took a momentary step back from sports.

ere was also a pregame salute from multiple military branches, a national anthem performance by a veteran in uniform and an on- eld presentation of an enormous American ag.

Master Sergeant Christopher Nemeir

PHOTO BY JOHN RENFROW

was honored as the Hero of the Game.

In a back-and-forth game full of explosive innings, home runs from Michael Toglia and Mickey Moniak helped push Colorado over the edge to end the homestand with a win. Moniak also had a triple and an RBI double in the game, carrying the Rockies to a victory.

Catcher Hunter Goodman was also announced as a 2025 MLB All-Star, as fans celebrated the news on the jumbotron during the game.

ough the Rockies are a lowly 21-70 (as of July 8), Colorado fans knew there was no place they’d rather be on the Fourth of July than Coors Field.

REVERSE MORTGAGES

A near-sold-out crowd celebrates the Fourth of July at Coors Field with a fireworks show after the game. Despite the loss on July 5 to Chicago, Rockies fans packed the house and stayed for the show.

COURTESY OF TAYLOR WRIGHT

A massive on-field display of the American flag opened the Military Appreciation Game before the Colorado Rockies took on the Chicago White Sox on July 6. Colorado won 6-4.

Taste of Arvada brings together local eateries

Showcase of local bites and sips dodges rainstorm

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A rolling thunderstorm cleared just before locals descended upon the Greater Arvada Chamber of Commerce’s annual showcase of the city’s best bites and sips. Once the skies cleared, it was time for folks to sample some of Arvada’s best eateries, bakeries and co ee shops.

Folks lined up around the Apex Center on July 10 to get a taste of the o erings, which ranged from

drinks to desserts to mini-dinner plates. Local organizations, such as the Arvada Historical Society, also participated in the event, which featured appearances by Mayor Lauren Simpson and city councilmembers, including Randy Moorman.

Wichita Run and Deeply Rooted Music School provided the tunes for the occasion, which got folks on their feet and grooving along.

Some of the standout samples included AJ’s Deli and sister restaurant Jack’s Bar and Grill’s chili, 239 Sweet Street’s cookies, Snooze’s Burrata toast and GQue Barbeque’s pork belly and coleslaw, the latter of which earned itself a line around the corner of the gymnasium.

Attendees voted on their favorite samples in a variety of categories. To see the list of winners, check arvadapress.com or next week’s print edition.

Footers Catering gave folks a taste of their cuisine.

The Arvada Historical Society held a table at this year’s event, advertising the upcoming Cemetery Tour.

The Arvada Tavern had desert and drink samples. PHOTOS BY RYLEE DUNN

My MS symptoms have been more acute this week. It is not that they are getting worse; it is just that things have been harder to do these past few days. Walking takes more energy than I would like, getting in and out of the car is more difcult, things like that. As I have navigated through this week, I have been thinking a lot about dreams and goals. I have wondered if I have set ridiculous or unattainable goals for myself. And gone as far as to grapple with the question, “Are dreams for the future a good thing, not particularly helpful but not a bad thing, or in some way detrimental to our view of reality?”

While mulling over these questions, I realized we all, at some point, struggle with this kind of question. So, I want to share a window into my thought process, hoping you will nd encouragement in

VOICES

Keep dreaming and moving forward

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

the ideas I put forth. For me, physically, I dream of completing a 5K. My rst choice would be to do it at a jog, but honestly, just being able to cover that distance, even if it were with the aid of a walking stick, would be very exciting. is dream is why, when on a particularly bad day, I nd myself counter sur ng to just move around a room, I wonder if visions of a 5K help or hinder me?

After looking at it from many di erent sides, I have concluded that dreams and goals are not only good for me, but they are the best thing I can do. Dreams set standards for me beyond my immediate.

ey give me something to work toward. More than that, they keep me from boxing myself in or limiting my world. My dreams keep me doing my exercises, and slowly, I am watching my strength return. ere are dangers in dreams and goals. Dreams that come with inaction are little more than the equivalent of our mind’s behavior as a couch potato. We watch reels of what we can imagine, but never strive to reach that place. We can become complacent and satis ed simply by imagining a better world for ourselves, doing nothing to achieve that vision.

On the other hand, dreams that are accompanied by us mentally berating ourselves, because we are not reaching a goal as quickly as we think we should, are equally detrimental. Our self-critics are the most brutal naysayers we will ever face, and they are often the voice stopping us.

We the People: The soul of America

American culture has many virtues. Near the top is society’s languid, easygoing, unhurried pace. It borders on torpor. It’s uplifting to observe strangers smiling and o ering greetings when they pass and so many rolling with punches, not getting into ti s over trivial slights. And you can’t beat the civility, comity, and respect with which Americans treat each other, even those with whom they strongly disagree. But what warms the heart’s cockles most is the populace’s appreciation for good-natured ribbing, chucklecausing humor, which can only be attributed to Americans being one big happy family.

OK, back to Earth. What was your reaction while reading that? Were you ba ed, scratching your head? Did you smile, catching the irony? Did it induce some other reaction, perhaps causing you to have an eye-popping, jaw-tightening, teeth-grinding sensation? Or was it between or a blend of light-heartedness and intensity?

American culture has an array of virtues, but, of course, none of those listed above. And therein lies our problem. We’re a frenetic people, which Merriam-Webster de nes as “marked by fast and energetic, disordered, or anxietydriven activity.”

My intention here isn’t to deliberate on American virtues but to ascertain why we’re not only a hurrying people but also why it’s a prime cause of our fragmentation. It comes down a four-letter word: T-I-M-E. We’ve been subjugated by it and blithely march in accordance with its directive.

Our language reinforces that. ink about why we call the time piece many wear on their wrist a “watch.” ink of verbs associated with time like spend or earn, gain or lose, use or waste. Each treats time as a commodity, an object, something tangible. at’s disconcerting enough, but there’s

e sweet spot in dreams and goals comes in the combination of imagination and action. It is in that zone where we both celebrate advances and recognize areas where improvement is needed that dreams can change our world. My hope for you is that in your struggle, whatever it is, you will dream big, take steps toward your dream, and celebrate every motion forward.

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. Contact him at jim.roome@gmail.com.

Halftime adjustments

a more sinister aspect of time today: It’s been monetized. Time is money! And as the old maxim goes, waste not, want not. Except that time isn’t like other items you can waste then later replenish, assuming you’re a uent. Unlike other commodities, you can’t restock time. It keeps ticking no matter if you spend yours dawdling or working feverishly.

Ticking. ink of how that correlates to time. Ticking of a clock, although nowadays clocks rarely tick. ey used to beginning with the invention of the mechanized time piece. Before that, people referenced a sun dial, which worked, of course, only on sunny days. But before either of them, time as we know it didn’t exist. Nature ruled.

Modern time isn’t just a commodity that can be measured, apportioned, or spent, however. We moderns have developed a psychological and emotional relationship with it. For example, it can drag on or y by. Paradoxically though, they generally cause the opposite impact of what our behavior yearns for. Time drags when we’re bored, impatient, or in a hurry. It ies when we’re engaged in something meaningful like working on a craft, reading a book, or hiking a trail. Or watching the sun rise or set.

In her short book “Time,” Polishborn Eva Ho man dissects Americans’ relation to time. Having grown up under communist rule in post-WWII Eastern Europe, she has the advantage of perspective on a number of angles. ere, she says, time crawled, but here time is everything, particularly money. And they’re intricately interwoven.

In America, wealth as a barome-

ter of standing—success—increasingly has noxious consequences at the personal level. Ho man posits the pressure for upward mobility with its accompanying characteristics including extreme competition and shame for not making it big with salaries, promotions, houses—the list goes on—is a serious stress inducer. Her point resonated with me because of a conversation I had with someone that’s etched in my memory. He said he was “driven” when it came to his lifestyle choices and career success.

“Really,” I replied. “Driven is passive voice, which means something must be driving you. What is it?”

at exchange happened when he was in his thirties, but now in middle age, he’s happily questioning that.

But the problem with commoditizing time doesn’t reside solely at the personal level. It carries over to cultural, ethnic, and racial attitudes that foster stereotypical assumptions and assertions about di erent groups’ practices and work ethic. And those are injurious and can be lethal for a democratic society.

Ho man cites Romanian poet Carmen Firan, who likewise grew up in the gray communist world. Firan posits in America it’s sold everywhere and is even included in our throwaway parting line— Have a nice day—used to get a customer to hurry along.

“ e Soul,” Firan suggests, “is lying lonely somewhere on a shrink’s chair, in front a computer screen or in a cell phone.” She wrote that in 2008, which adds an ironic twist to the old saw that says the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Jerry Fabyanic is a former Clear Creek Courant columnist and author of “Sisyphus Wins” and “Food for ought: Essays on Mind and Spirit.”

IWINNING WORDS

n sports, halftime is more than a breather; it’s a recalibration. It’s a chance for coaches and players to analyze what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to change to win. Even with hours of prep and lm study, surprises happen. e opposing team may roll out a new strategy. Injuries change the game. Momentum swings. And regardless of the scoreboard, teams don’t coast. Even when they’re up by 20, great teams use halftime to regroup and refocus. Because one good half doesn’t win the game.

So here we are, our own halftime. Six months into the year. e locker room of life. What’s our score? Are we winning, losing, or tied? Some of us may be riding high, crushing goals, building relationships, and running on momentum. If that’s you, celebrate the wins, but don’t take your foot o the gas. What got you here may not get you through the next six months. Double down on what’s working and stay humble. Great teams don’t assume the second half will be just like the rst.

Others might nd themselves breaking even. You’re in the game, but not ahead. Like a team tied at the half, you’ve got options: you can settle, or you can surge. e second half is wide open, and a clear shift in strategy, attitude, or energy could create that breakthrough you’ve been waiting for. And then there are those of us who feel like the rst half hit like a blitz. e losses weren’t just on paper; they were personal. Maybe you lost a job, a deal, a relationship, or even someone you loved. Maybe the hits were emotional, nancial, or physical. And no amount of preparation could’ve stopped the storm that came.

If that’s your halftime story, hear this: the second half is not cancelled.

is is where I want to o er real encouragement. I’ve seen too many people write o the rest of the year when the rst half goes sideways. ey call it a “lost season” and start counting down to January 1. at mindset will keep you down. As the saying goes, ghters don’t lose because they get knocked down. ey lose because they stay knocked down. It’s time to get back up.

Zig Ziglar said, “If we don’t like who we are, what we are, and where we are, we can change who we are, what we are, and where we are by changing what we put into our mind.” at’s not theory. at’s truth. Our mindset is the control center of our outcomes. And what we feed it matters: positivity, scripture, wise counsel, hope.

And if we’ve been brought to our knees in the rst half, maybe our second half starts right there, on our knees in prayer. Surrender doesn’t mean defeat. It means you’re no longer trying to ght every battle alone. God has been with you every step of the way. He’s not leaving you now. In fact, He’s waiting for you to lean in. Whether it’s prayer, community, or trusted

Jim Roome

JERRY FABYANIC Columnist

Break bread at Bell Projects

Bread often feels less like a food and more like an elemental fact of life. Practically every culture has their own form of bread and along with water, it’s treated as one of the basic elements of life.

All the meanings of bread are explored in the Bell Projects’, 2822 E. 17th Ave. in Denver, second e Bread Show, which is on display through Sunday, Aug. 3. e biennial exhibition features 25 artists working in a range of styles, from sculpture, painting, ber, and photography to collage, installation and mixed media, all exploring the power of the food.

“ ere’s something so simple about bread, but when you think about it, it has so much cultural and family signicance,” said Lindsey Bell, curatorial director at Bell Projects. “ e artists went really deep with the idea of bread — they just took it and ran with it.”

is year’s participating artists come from Denver and beyond and include Miguel Aguilar, Tramaine Gardner, Christy Pyle and Brandon Vargas. e show was originally launched in 2023 and nd artists re ecting on themes as diverse as “sustenance, family rituals, food politics, labor, nostalgia, and joy,” according to provided information.

“It’s wonderful to see so many di erent interpretations on display. e exhibit moves from more serious interpretations to fun puns and plays on words,” Bell said. “Bread can mean so many things, including money, so there’s a lot of creative freedom. e artists took a lot of care to create something meaningful.”

Bell added that some of the works on display get particularly powerful, tackling contemporary concerns like the politics of consumption, communal rituals and the layered symbolism bread carries across cultures.

No matter what your personal feelings are about bread, the hope is visitors come away thinking di erently about the food and what it means to their lives.

“We hope that when people leave, they’re will be something new on their mind when they next interact with bread. It’s something so simple, but it’s also a universal connector that binds us all together,” Bell said. “ is is my favorite show we do and it’s a real treat to put on an exhibition like this.”

More information is available at www. bell-projects.com

Take a Vacation from Life at Walker Fine Art

To say we’re living in stressful times would be the biggest of understatements. Add that to the fact that the summer is so busy and hot, and we could all use a little calm and quiet.

Denver’s Walker Fine Art Gallery, 300 West 11th Ave. No. A, has just the re-

COMING ATTRACTIONS

advisors, tap into your sources and resources. is is not the time to isolate. I’ve lived through my share of rough rst halves. Seasons where the light at the end of the tunnel seemed far o . But I’ve also lived to see how everything can change in a matter of months. If we choose to shift. If we choose to believe. If we choose to act. Now is the time to regroup, recharge, and realign. Let’s make the adjustments. Let’s take the lessons from the rst half and apply them with re to the second. Let’s not just play the second half.

Clarke Reader

prieve you need with Untethered. It features the work of Sabin Aell, Derrick Breidenthal, eresa Clowes, George Kozmon and Sara Sanderson, all of whom provide an oasis with works “inspired by wide-open landscapes, elemental textures and organic rhythms,” according to provided information.

If you’re looking for a bit of a mini vacation, this is your exhibit. And don’t miss the opening reception from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, July 18. Details are available at https://www. walker neart.com/.

Make the Trip to Oz at Littleton Town Hall Arts Center

People are never going to tire of the story of “ e Wizard of Oz,” and there are all kinds of versions of the tale to cater to every audience. e Littleton Town Hall Arts Center is bringing a youth perspective to the fairytale with “ e Wizard of Oz Jr.”

e show runs at the Center, 2450 Main St. in Littleton, from Friday, July 18 through Saturday, the 26th. Performances are at 7 p.m. on the 18th and 26th and 11 a.m. Monday through Friday. Presented by the Teen Intensive eater Program, the story of Dorothy, Toto, Tinman, Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion comes to delightful life as they journey down the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City. Get tickets at https:// townhallartscenter.org/event/wizardof-oz-jr-performances/.

Clarke’s Concert of the Week — Alabama Shakes at Red Rocks

e Alabama Shakes only released two albums in the 2010s, but still managed to make an enormous impact on the alt-rock world. Fronted by powerhouse vocalist Brittany Howard, the band wonderfully blended classic rock, blues and soul, and the end result was both familiar and new. e group has been on hiatus since 2018 but they’re working on new music and are getting back on the road.

e Alabama Shakes are coming to Red Rocks, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway in Morrison, at 8 p.m. on Sunday, July 20. ey’ll be joined by Lee Fields, a fantastic R&B singer. is is a concert many people have been eagerly awaiting, so don’t miss out. Get tickets at www.axs.com.

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

Let’s win it. Let’s go. Where are you halfway through 2025? What is your second-half strategy? If you would like to know more about my faith or why I rely on it so much, or if you just want to share your story, I would love to hear it at gotonorton@gmail.com. And whether we are maintaining our lead or building our comeback strategy, when we play both halves with passion and purpose, it really will be a better-than-good life.

Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.

HUD cuts threaten 55 Arvada households

Federal funding up in the air as rents rise

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Fifty- ve households receiving assistance in Arvada might see their funding cut o , as the Department of Housing and Urban Development has informed the Arvada Housing Authority that they are anticipating funding cuts in the near future.

Carrie Espinosa, Arvada’s manager of housing preservation and resources, presented at the July 8 Arvada Housing Authority meeting — which is composed of the seven city councilmembers — and discussed the challenges facing the city’s housing assistance program.

Espinosa said that the formula that HUD uses to allocate funding includes an in ation factor informed by fair market rents that has mostly stayed stagnant as rents have increased. is has left the city with a $925,000 budget shortfall.

“What we have is a situation where our budget fell at, but our costs continue to

increase, which puts us in a shortfall situation,” Espinosa said. “At this time, we are projecting about a $925,000 (shortfall) come December 2025. We are closely working with our local HUD o ce and the HUD shortfall prevention team to determine what those are.”

She added that the city applied for additional funding in June, but won’t know if that funding is approved for a few months. If the funding doesn’t come through, up to 55 households in Arvada might lose their housing.

“HUD has stated that they are anticipating funding cuts in the near future and they are telling housing authorities to take steps to decrease the overall number of families they serve,” Espinosa said.

“We are in conversation with HUD about what that looks like.”

When asked what would happen to the 55 households if they lost their housing, Epinosa said there was a high chance they would be evicted. Espinosa also noted that there were over 3,000 waitlist applications in January and that the waitlist will now remain stagnant as these changes are sorted out.

“I think most of them would be evict-

Having a ball on the water

Whitewater Park hosts race with yoga balls

BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CORINNE@COTLN.ORG

When playing sports outdoors, there can be some interference from the elements — the wind, rain or snow.

But it is unusual to navigate the ball around a mine eld of tubers, swimmers and other kayakers.

Still, six teams of kayakers managed it July 10, as the Colorado Whitewater Association hosted its annual downriver race – but with a new format.

Rather than a strict individual sprint down the creek, as in previous years, this year’s was a ball race.

e kayakers grouped into teams of two or three, and together, navigated a yoga ball about 200-300 yards down the creek and across the nish line. ey were allowed to hit their own ball with their paddles or hands, but couldn’t interfere with the other teams’.

Between heats, the kayakers were strat-

MEET BEAR!

Bear (311192) is a 14-year-old male Labrador Retriever. This sweet guy is looking for a home where he can go on leisurely walks around the neighborhood before settling down for a long afternoon nap in the sun. Bear brings his big smile and wagging tail everywhere he goes! He is available to households without kids.

egizing ways to improve but ultimately said they were having a lot of fun.

“ e competition seems erce,” Boulder’s Jake Davidson said before the race started. “I expect it will be a battle of wills.”

e teams competed in a tournament, with two teams going head-to-head for most heats. e exception was the socalled “monster loser’s bracket,” where the three teams that lost in the rst round competed simultaneously. e winning team would reintegrate into the main bracket.

Team H2O not only survived the threeway elimination round but ultimately came back to win the entire tournament.

Winners received gift cards to local businesses for their e orts.

CWA board member Nik White, who helped organize the downriver race, described how the CWA has been hosting events like this and the Golden-based kayak rodeo for 25 years. With more than 700 members across the state, he said it’s a great way to bring kayakers together in Golden during summer.

‘A battle of wills’ Downriver race participants weren’t required to be CWA members to participate,

ed,” Espinosa said.

She added that the average household size of the at-risk population is about three. Councilmember Sharon Abrose, acting as an AHA commissioner, noted that the average annual income of these individuals is roughly $16,000.

Councilmember Bob Fifer, acting an AHA commissioner, asked Espinosa to report back in 90 days with an update, which Mayor Lauren SImpson, acting as AHA chairperson, concurred with.

“ is completely goes against what this council has been trying to do,” Fifer said. “ is is the one area that I feel like is the most impactful when it comes to homelessness or soon-to-be unhoused. If this program goes away, this is the thin line between having a home and not. is is where we have to focus all of our attention to stop this.”

Mindy Mohr, a member of Arvadans for Progressive Action, said that the impacted individuals are mostly disabled and elderly.

“ ese are predominantly the disabled and elderly residents that our Housing Authority serves,” Mohr said. “ is would add to the homelessness in Arvada.”

but registration was free for members.

As such, Lakewood’s Andrew Daw signed up for a membership just before the race. Golden’s Courtney Kloor, his teammate, convinced Daw to join her and another teammate for the race, with

the three of them competing under the name Whitewater Wackos.

Kloor said, in general, there are several types of kayaks, each with their own pros and cons. e playboats are smaller but maneuver better, while the half-slices are longer but go faster. e team had a mix of playboats and half-slices.

Some types of kayaks wouldn’t be practical for this type of event, she said, because it would likely involve hitting rocks and other boats. So, plastic kayaks were better, since they can take the hits better.

Kloor said she’s done a few minor races before, but had never done a team event. Daw, meanwhile, said he’d never competed in any kayaking event before, but was eager to try. Davidson and his fellow Boulderite Jonathan Russell, who competed as Team Tech Ballers, said they’d competed in other CWA events in Golden before but had never done a ball race. e two said they go kayaking together regularly, with Davidson believing that their synergy would help them in the competition.

Quadra-Fire Discovery Series Wood Stove

Espinosa said that she would work with Simpson to nd a time to report back to AHA within the next few months.

Fact sheet about the people served by the Arvada Housing Authority. COURTESY CITY OF ARVADA

Members of Team Whitewater Wackos hit their yoga ball during the July 10 downriver race at the Clear Creek Whitewater Park. CORINNE WESTEMAN

Mines teams win RMAC awards for academic excellence

Men’s XC, indoor track & field teams honored at conference banquet

BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CORINNE@COTLN.ORG

e national title-winning Colorado School of Mines men’s cross country runners aren’t just at the top of the podium. ey’re at the top of the classroom, too.

e Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference recently announced the 2024-25 Brechler Award winners, recognizing the top-performing academic teams across the conference’s 22 sponsored sports.

e Mines men’s cross country and men’s indoor track & eld teams were among the winners.

Regis and Colorado Mesa led the member universities, with four recipient teams each. Chadron State followed with three, and Mines tied Black Hills State and Westminster with two each.

e Mines men’s cross country team’s win is the program’s rst since the award was established in 2012-13, the Orediggers con rmed in a recent press release.

e two Mines teams and the other the Brechler Award-winning teams were scheduled to be recognized at the July 10 RMAC awards banquet in Colorado Springs. is year’s Brechler Awards, named after former RMAC Commissioner Paul W. Brechler, was based on the highest team GPA from the 2024-25 academic year, the RMAC described in its press release.

e team GPA includes all student-

WHITEWATER

On

23, members

athletes who were on the institution’s NCAA eligibility list, and is calculated by dividing the total quality points for each semester by the total number of credits.

e Mines men’s cross country team produced a 3.595 GPA, Mines Athletics con rmed, while the men’s indoor track & eld team had a 3.563 GPA — winning its second-straight Brechler Award and fth overall.

Several Orediggers compete on both

‘A great way to spend the summer’ Overall, Davidson and Russell said Golden’s Clear Creek Whitewater Park is one of their favorite kayaking spots. Davidson estimated that they visit it every other week in the summer. Russell summarized the experience as: “We come for Clear Creek and stay for the Mexican food.”

e creek’s also a convenient location for Golden-area kayakers like Kloor and Daw.

Daw said he started learning kayaking about a year-and-a-half ago, and while he said it’s harder than it looks, he also didn’t want people to be intimidated by it the way he’d been.

e kayaking community is super-welcoming, he said. He can post on social media that

teams, as well as on the outdoor track & eld team.

In fall 2024, the Mines men’s cross country team went undefeated on the race course. e Orediggers swept the RMAC and NCAA Regional titles and eventually won their fourth NCAA Division II championship in 10 years. en, for the indoor track & eld season, the Orediggers had their best-ever nish at the NCAA Division II champion-

he wants to go boating and ask if anyone would want to go with him for safety and fun, and people will go with him.

“It’s not as scary as it seems,” he said.

Kloor, who’s been kayaking for three years and is a CWA member, said the sport is “a great way to spend the summer,” as it o ers the same thrill as downhill skiing. She also encouraged others to try it.

White said the CWA is hosting other events in Idaho Springs and the Bailey area later this month.

Overall, the CWA hosts events across the state and throughout the year, to give kayakers a chance to meet even during the o -season. It also partners with Golden and other cities on their whitewater features, he said, and has been promoting whitewater access and conservation for 70-plus years.

For more information, visit coloradowhitewater.org.

ships with six individual podium nishes and a third-place team trophy.

Right now, the Mines runners are on summer break, but o cial practices resume next month. en, both the men’s and women’s cross country teams kick o their 2025 competition schedule Sept. 20 at Denver’s Washington Park.

For more information, including Colorado School of Mines’ 2025-26 athletic calendar, visit MinesAthletics.com.

Nov.

of the Colorado School of Mines men’s cross country team celebrate winning the NCAA Division II national championship. They won their second national title in three years, and fourth in 10 years.

The Colorado School of Mines men’s track & field team celebrates taking third place at the NCAA Division II indoor championships March 13-15 in Indianapolis. This is the best-ever finish for a Mines track & field team at a national event.

Wild Aware urges drivers to watch out, slow down

Stats show 180 wild animals died on Evergreen’s Highway 74 in four-year period

BY JANE REUTER

JANE@COTLN.ORG

In four years, about 180 wild animals lost their lives on Highway 74 near Evergreen, among them 86 elk and 69 deer. And those only include the bodies reported between 2020 and 2024 by or to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

“It’s common that for every road kill animal, there are another one to ve not reported,” said Christie Greene, president of Wild Aware, a group dedicated to mitigating such collisions in the Evergreen area. “Because Evergreen Parkway is so visible, I would bet our ratio is more like one to one.”

Most of the area’s animals are struck by vehicles along the stretch of Highway 74 between Interstate 70 and Evergreen Lake. e numbers do not include livestock or pets.

Colorado State Patrol crash data, which is kept separately from the Colorado Department of Transportation’s data, recorded 646 wildlife-vehicle collisions on Jefferson County roads between 2015-2019. at made Je co the county with the second-highest number of wildlife-vehicle collisions. It trails only Douglas County. 30 seconds of open highway

Colorado 74 is particularly tough for animals because of the high level of tra c and lack of wildlife crossings.

“We cannot have a wildlife overpass or

underpass on Highway 74 because of land use and ownership,” Greene said. “ ere is no public land. ere’s county open space, Denver Mountain Parks and Je erson County open space. On either side of any of that are homes and businesses.”

Making it even tougher, an animal needs 30 seconds of open highway to safely cross.

“If the average daily tra c is 10,000 cars, it acts as a complete barrier for them,” Greene said. “ e average daily tra c at Lewis Ridge is 22,000 to 23,000 cars. at’s twice as many cars as is considered a physical barrier for an animal.”

Greene said early summer is the most potentially deadly time of year for area wildlife, and when drivers should be particularly attentive.

“June and July are tough up here because of calving season,” she said. “You’ve got bands of elk cows and calves going back and forth across the road.”

Wild Aware recently partnered with the Colorado State Patrol for wildlife/vehicle collision month. CSP has focused its social media on the message, ‘Give us a brake,’ which urges drivers not to honk at wildlife, but to instead ash your high beams, turn on your hazard lights and wait.

“Animals are unpredictable, so you don’t know what honking is going to make an animal do,” Greene said. “By ashing your lights, you’re warning people that something is ahead. If you come up on animals, use your best judgment. You may need to pull over on the shoulder and wait.” at can require time and patience.

“Because they go in little groups, they can take 20 to 30 minutes to cross,” Greene said. “You could go between little groups very, very slowly.”

Greene said animals that are struck by vehicles and killed are not always accounted for, in part because people may not make a report, the animal may run or walk o the road and die elsewhere and because some drivers may take the carcass home.

“You can count road kill, but miss counting animals who were picked up by people who want to bring them home or eat them,” she said.

It’s legal but requires a permit from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

For more information on their e orts to protect wildlife, visit Wild Aware.

Elk graze along Highway 74 in Evergreen in this 2023 file photo. FILE PHOTO

This graphic shows the number of wild animals killed on Highway 74 near Evergreen from 2020 to 2024 as well as what species of animals were killed. COURTESY WILD AWARE

Thu 7/17

Magoo @ 6pm

New Terrain Brewing Company, 16401 Table Mountain Pkwy, Golden Costa @ 8pm Larimer Lounge, 2721 Larimer St, Denver

Fri 7/18

Quavo @ 7pm

Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson St, Denver

Bison Bone @ 9pm

Hex Cougar & Malixe @ Temple @ 10pm Temple Denver, 1136 Broadway, Denver

Sploinky Rave @ 10pm Meow Wolf Denver, Denver

Sat 7/19

Black Wands: GOOD:AM w/ Estiva @ 11am Town Hall Collaborative, 525 Santa Fe Dr, Den‐ver

The Jauntee: Down By The River Music Festival @ 3pm

Cactus Jack's Saloon, 4651 County Hwy 73, Evergreen Lingo @ 5pm Tree House, 2719 Larimer St, Denver

J.Carmone Feat. Paranoid Image & Cosmic Smoke Dragon @ 5:30pm Larimer Lounge, 2721 Larimer St, Denver

Sun 7/20

Guttermouth @ 12pm Outdoors at the New National Western Center Yards, 5004 National Western Drive, Denver

Rodrigo y Gabriela @ 7pm

Wed 7/23

Arvada Center for the Arts and Human‐ities, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd, Arvada

Mon 7/21

Week 6 @ 8:30am / $75 Jul 21st - Jul 25th Milheim House, 1515 Race Street, Denver. 303519-8062

Sounds Exciting! The Kris Lager Band with Jenny Shawhan @ 5pm

Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park (for‐merly Lakewood Heritage Center), 801 S Yarrow St, Lakewood

Teague Starbuck @ 5pm

Beau Jo's Arvada, 7525 W 53rd Ave, Arvada

Last Train To Juarez: The Englewood Tavern, South Broadway, Englewood, Colorado, USA - Englewood, CO @ 5:30pm The Englewood Tavern, 4386 S Broadway, En‐glewood

Monsieur Periné w/Fruta Brutal @ 6:30pm Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St, Denver

Mumford & Sons w/ Madison Cunningham @ 8pm Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison

Tue 7/22

Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, En‐glewood

molly santana @ 7pm

Float Like A Buffalo: Evergreen Summerfest @ 12:30pm Buchanan Park Recreation Center, 32003 Ellingwood Trail, Evergreen

Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St, Den‐ver

The Railbenders: Coohills Beats on the Creek @ 7:30pm Coohills, 1400 Wewatta St, Denver

Hope MacGregor at Lot 46 Music Bar @ 7pm Lot 46 Music Bar, 5302 W 25th Ave, Edgewater

Chris Isaak @ 8pm

Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glenarm Place, Den‐ver

Lawmakers seek answsers on wolf reintroduction

Program costs have far exceeded initial estimate presented to voters

BY SARA WILSON NEWSLINE COLORADO

e head of Colorado Parks and Wildlife told lawmakers on Monday that it is the department’s “preference” to release more wolves into the state next year, despite calls to pause the reintroduction program. “I don’t have the right answer to whether or not a pause is the right thing to do, or get the last 15 (wolves) out and move on to the management piece,” CPW Director Je Davis said. “Every time we release more animals, it’s more emotional and di cult for us to pull o that operation, and it’s also challenging for the (livestock) producers at the same time.”

Davis appeared in front of the Colorado Legislature’s Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee to give an update on the state’s wolf reintroduction plan, which voters approved in 2020. Wildlife o cials have released 25 wolves in the state since December 2023 from Oregon and Canada.

e original goal was to release 10 to 15 per year for three to ve years, beginning in 2023, to get to a stable population of at least 50 wolves in the state.

Davis said the department’s preference is to sign a new agreement with British Columbia to relocate more wolves from Canada.

But the program is highly controversial, especially among rural Colorado farmers and ranchers who decry wolves killing their livestock. Between April 2024 and April 2025, wolves killed at least 25 cattle and sheep, according to the recently re-

leased annual report on the reintroduction e ort.

e Copper Creek pack was responsible for many livestock deaths in Grand County in 2023, prompting to CPW to capture the six wolves last September and release them alongside the Canadian wolves earlier this year in a di erent part of the state. at decision, producers said Monday, led to an erosion of trust in CPW.

“A depredating pack was known to have depredated in Oregon before they put them in Middle Park. ey had a serious impact there. ey packaged them up, put them away for a while and then they put them back out right in my backyard,” said Tom Harrington, a cattle producer in Roaring Fork Valley and previous president of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association.

A September 2024 petition led by a coalition of livestock associations and other agricultural interest groups requested a pause in CPW’s planned reintroductions until the department could implement strategies to prevent depredations. CPW’s commissionrejected the petitionin January.

“I believe that we need no more new releases until plans are in place and the basics are working,” Harrington said Monday. “We need metrics to measure the success of what this program is. I believe we can — and here comes that word that I really don’t like — coexist with the wolves that choose to not prey on our livestock.”

CPW has worked through some of the seven points of the petition, including dening “chronic depredation” as three or more depredations by the same wolf or wolves within 30 days. e division has also outlined a lethal removal approach that starts by killing one or two wolves, evaluating the pack’s behavior and its effect on depredation, then considering additional lethal removals. CPW also started a range rider program to deploy riders in

areas with high wolf con ict to “proactively haze predators using non-lethal techniques,” according to the annual report.

CPW killed a wolf for the rst time in May in Pitkin County.

“ e idea of a pause continues to make sense to me, if it creates more time for more robust implementation and completion of those seven items, and maybe now beyond those seven,” House Speaker Julie McCluskie, a Dillon Democrat, said. “But I think the entire reintroduction and restoration is at risk if we can’t get our legs underneath us and be in a position to do this the way we need to.”

Representatives from CPW also told lawmakers Monday that the cost of the reintroduction has reached about $3 million. In 2020, voters were given an estimate of about $800,000 for the program.

“I understand a lot of this money is going to ranchers and producers to help to compensate them,” Sen. Dylan Roberts, a Frisco Democrat, said. “ at’s money hopefully being well spent, but that’s also money in the state of Colorado right now — in the budget situation we’re in — that is not going to xing potholes in roads. It’s not going to classrooms across the state. It’s not going to people who are losing their health care and many who are about to lose their health care. is seems out of control.”

Davis said there are a lot of factors that go into realizing the reintroduction plan that were not considered in the ballot cost estimate, such as the state’s decision to compensate for livestock weight loss and fewer pregnancies due to wolf presence and the high cost of beef.

Thornton backs cities in their lawsuit against the state

BY MONTE WHALEY MONTE@COTLN.ORG

e City of ornton this week sent a clear message of support to six home rule cities suing the State of Colorado and Gov. Jared Polis for overstepping onto local land use policies. Westminster is one of the cities that is part of the lawsuit.

e six cities claim that two bills passed in the 2024 Legislature violate the Colo-

rado Constitution. e cities are seeking an injunction against the enforcement of the legislation as well as an executive order from Polis.

“I think we’ve seen over the last several years, many di erent attempts to take away home-rule authority,” ornton City Councilwoman Jessica Sandgren said Tuesday night. “We know what’s best for our city.”

Sandgren introduced a resolution backing the lawsuit, which the council

passed unanimously. Mayor Jan Kulmann added she wanted the city to send a copy of the resolution to Polis.

e resolution targets House Bill 241304 – regarding minimum parking requirements- and House Bill 24-1313 – aimed at housing in transit-oriented communities – that purport to place statewide mandates governing land use and zoning legislation on a limited group of home rule cities.

e resolution also cites Polis and

his executive order “declaring that municipalities failing to comply with the … bills…will be deprioritized for competitive or discretionary funding opportunities, including grants, contracts, loans, and tax credits.”

e resolution states that the City of ornton “a rms its longstanding support of the powers granted by the Constitution of the State of Colorado, which include home rule authority over zoning and land use planning.”

Colorado Parks and Wildlife placed GPS collars on two wolves in North Park on Feb. 2, 2023.

Male wolf 2101 has a gray coat and is in the foreground on the right. Male wolf 2301, believed to be the o spring of the gray colored wolf, has a black coat and is in the background on the left.

COURTESY COLORADO PARKS AND WILDLIFE

Evergreen Chorale performs at Carnegie Hall

Members of local group joined with choirs from cross the country

BY JANE REUTER JANE@COTLN.ORG

Fifty- ve members of the Evergreen Chorale achieved the moment of a lifetime this summer, performing in New York City’s Carnegie Hall.

e local group, ranging in age from 15 to 90, joined their voices June 29 with another 145 singers from across the United States. Together, they sang Elaine Hagenberg’s masterwork Illuminare and Sherry Blevins’ Tipping Point: A Choral Suite on Climate Change, accompanied by the New England Symphonic Ensemble.

“It was very exciting to sing in that beautiful hall in those perfect acoustics with a fabulous orchestra,” said Christine Gaudreau, the Evergreen Chorale’s artistic director. “We just loved it.”

Carnegie Hall, which opened in 1891, has set an international standard for musical excellence and is the aspirational destination for the world’s nest artists. Designated a National Historic Landmark, is famous for its stunning acoustics and beauty. Its smooth interior, halfdomes, and dome ceiling were designed to optimize sound quality.

It wasn’t the Evergreen Chorale’s rst time singing Illuminare, composed in 2021 and described as taking listeners “through a season of beauty and goodness that has been disrupted by darkness and confusion.” And Gaudreau thinks

the group’s initial performance may have been the key to the Carnegie Hall invitation.

“In fall 2023, we worked with Elaine Hagenberg and collaborated on this project with choirs from Colorado Christian University, fellow church and high school choirs to perform her larger piece together with the orchestra,” she said. “We had just a wonderful time working with her.

“Last summer, I received an invitation from Carnegie Hall to travel there to perform Illuminare. It seemed a wonderful opportunity to revisit that piece.”

Sampling the Big Apple

Evergreen Chorale members spent several days in New York City, visiting museums, seeing shows and exploring the city when they weren’t rehearsing. Several family members ew for the performance.

“After the concert, there was a midnight cruise around the Statue of Liberty, and quite a bit of celebration and joy,” Gaudreau said.

e Evergreen Chorale prides itself on drawing a multi-generational group of singers from both the foothills and the metro area.

“People drive far to sing with us,” she said. “ ey like what our choir o ers. We are a large choral group — 80 to 90 on average per concert — and we sing a wide variety of music. We’re very dedicated to excellence in choral music, and I think people also appreciate how many good singers we have. e talent level is quite high.”

Upcoming Evergreen Chorale performances are planned at Evergreen

Lutheran Church, Rockland Community Church, Armstrong Hall at Colorado Christian University and Denver’s Welshire Presbyterian among others. Rehearsals are held at Beth Evergreen and Lakewood.

Evergreen Chorale welcomes new members. While an audition is required, Gaudreau said it is not di cult. For more information on auditions, contact production manager Alex Woosley at alex@ovationwest.org

About 200 singers from throughout the U.S., including 55 from the Evergreen Chorale, prepare to sing at Carnegie Hall during a June 29 performance. COURTESY

CROWSSUPDRO ELZZ Crossword

1. TELEVISION: In the show “Ted Lasso,” what does the sign over the locker room doorway say?

2. ANIMAL KINGDOM: How many words are dogs believed to understand, on average?

3. U.S. STATES: Which two states don’t observe Daylight Savings Time?

4. LITERATURE: In the “Harry Potter” book series, how many balls are used in a Quidditch match?

5. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: Which company owns car makers Porsche and Audi?

6. GEOGRAPHY: Which country is home to Lake Como?

7. MOVIES: What are the names of Cinderella’s stepsisters?

8. ACRONYMS: What does the computer acronym DOS stand for?

9. MEDICAL: What is the condition called

TrIVIa

solar erythema?

10. PSYCHOLOGY: Someone su ering from alektorophobia is terri ed by what?

Answers

1. “Believe.”

2. Dogs generally know an average of 89 words and phrases, but the number can range from 15 to 215.

3. Hawaii and Arizona.

4. Four balls of three di erent types (the Qua e, two Bludgers and the Golden Snitch).

5. Volkswagen AG.

6. Italy.

7. Anastasia and Drizella.

8. Disk Operating System.

9. Sunburn.

10. Chickens.

(c) 2025 King Features Synd., Inc.

MARKETPLACE

FUNDING

Core student supports now at risk e programs impacted by the freeze are central to Je co’s e orts to support its diverse and increasingly high-needs student population.

In an internal message to sta obtained by the Colorado Trust for Local News, Dorland said the now-frozen funding had been budgeted to cover educator coaching, English as a Second Language and newcomer services, dropout prevention, truancy interventions and community outreach programs.

Dorland called the situation “deeply challenging,” noting in the email that the frozen funds had been budgeted for “essential student services and educator support.”

“If the funds are not released in the next month, we will be forced to reduce or eliminate some programming that was budgeted and planned for this year,” she said. Je co currently serves more than 4,700

English learners, about 6.4% of its total enrollment, according to data from the Colorado Department of Education.

Dorland noted that the district is seeing an increase in newcomer students, many of whom face language barriers and require both academic and emotional support to thrive.

e Title III funds now frozen are intended to help districts meet those needs.

Title I funding, which is used to support schools with high poverty rates, is not affected by the freeze.

But the complementary services funded through Titles II, III, and IV are now in jeopardy, which undermines Je co’s capacity to provide wraparound supports that help keep students in school and engaged.

“We are also seeking community partners to help ll critical service gaps, especially for the students and families who rely most on these important services,” Dorland said.

Advocacy and uncertainty

In her message to sta , Dorland described the funding freeze as “a deeply challenging situation that we did not create and cannot fully control,” but said Je co was taking action on multiple fronts.

City Hall, 8101 Ralston Rd., Arvada, when and where you may speak on the matter to consider the Rezoning and Major Comprehensive Plan Amendment for Allendale Elementary School. Members of the public may attend. To submit written public comment to be considered by the Commission, email comments to cedboardsandcommission@ arvada.org by 5 p.m. on 8/5/2025. Additional information can be obtained from https://www.arvadapermits.org/etrakit3/ search/project.aspx?activityno=DA2025-0013

CITY OF ARVADA PLANNING COMMISSION

/s/ Brandon Figliolino, Secretary Legal Notice No. Jeff 6135 Publication: July 17, 2025 Publisher: Jeffco Transcript Public Notice

DISTRICT COURT, JEFFERSON COUNTY COLORADO, 100 Jefferson County Parkway, Golden, Colorado 80401, Case No. 2025CV30459, Division: 7

Plaintiff: BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF THE COUNTY OF JEFFERSON, STATE OF COLORADO, v. Defendants: MARIA DEL CARMEN GOOD, in her individual capacity and as the Representative of the Estate of KENNETH L. GOOD; KENNETH M. GOOD; LILY J. GOOD; TIFFANY T. GOOD; ANTHONY E. GOOD; JACOB GOOD; FAITH GOOD; LAUREN GOOD; the COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION; PUBLIC TRUSTEE OF JEFFERSON COUNTY; JEFFERSON COUNTY TREASURER; JEFFERSON COUNTY ASSESSOR; FOOTHILLS METROPOLITAN RECREATION AND PARK DISTRICT; and all unknown persons who claim any interest in the subject matter of this action.

Attorneys for Plaintiff: JEFFERSON COUNTY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Amber J. Munck, #39531, Assistant County Attorney, Levi Stubbs, #50262, Assistant County Attorney, 100 Jefferson County Pkwy, Suite 5500, Golden, Colorado 80419, Phone: 303.271.8965, Email: amunck@ jeffco.us; lstubbs@jeffco.us.

SUMMONS, TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS:

You are hereby summoned and required to file with the clerk of this court an answer or other response to the attached Complaint. If service of the Summons and Complaint was made upon you within the State of Colorado, you are required to file your answer or other response within 21 days after such service upon you. If service of the Summons and Complaint was made upon you outside of the State of Colorado, you are required to

e district is actively advocating for the immediate release of the funds.

Dorland and the board of education added their names to the Joint Statement From Colorado Education Stakeholders on Withholding of Federal Funds, calling on the U.S. Department of Education to immediately release these congressionally appropriated funds and provide clear, public guidance to state and local education systems.

At the same time, district leaders are reviewing 2025 carryover funds and evaluating the feasibility of continuing some programs temporarily.

Sta ng decisions will follow established collective bargaining agreements, with impacted employees prioritized for reassignment wherever possible.

“Above all, we remain focused on protecting the student experience and minimizing disruption wherever possible,” Dorland said.

With the school year weeks away and no clear federal guidance, Je co faces tough choices, district leaders said. ey are urging families and community partners to stay informed and, where possible, help advocate for the release of the frozen funds.

file your answer or other response within 35 days after such service upon you. If you fail to file your answer or other response to the Complaint in writing within the applicable time period, judgment by default may be entered against you by the Court for the relief demanded in the complaint without further notice.

The following documents are served herewith: Complaint and District Court Cover Sheet. Dated this 27th day of March, 2025. By JEFFERSON COUNTY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Levi Stubbs, Amber J. Munck, Attorneys for Plaintiff.

LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF REAL PROPERTY THAT IS THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS ACTION; A part of the Northwest quarter of Section 29 and part of the Northeast quarter of Section 30, Township 5 South, Range 69 West of the Sixth Principal Meridian, County of Jefferson, State of Colorado, more particularly described as follows: Commencing at the Northeast corner of said Section 30; thence S89º19’32”W along the North line of said Section 30, 255.00 feet to the Point of Beginning; thence S17º28’49”E, 2,709.77 feet to the South line of the Northwest quarter of said Section 29; thence N89º58’27”W along said South line, 5.40 feet to the Easterly Right-of-way of C-470; thence along said Right-of-way the following courses: thence N18º58’22”W, 1,444.16 feet; thence N19º45’37”W, 900.00 feet; thence N14º00’32”W, 382.62 feet to the North line of said Section 30; thence along said North line, N89º19’32”E, 57.87 feet to the Point of Beginning.

Legal Notice No. Jeff 6110

First Publication: June 26, 2025

Last Publication: July 24, 2025

Publisher: Jeffco Transcript

PUBLIC NOTICE

The following ordinances were adopted by the City Council of the City of Arvada on second reading following the public hearing held on July 15, 2025:

Ordinance #4900 An Ordinance Repealing and Reenacting Section 2-95, Departments Established, and Retitling, Repealing, and Reenacting Section 2-96, Department Titles of the Arvada City Code to Reflect Changes in Department Names and Department Director Titles.

Ordinance #4901 An Ordinance Amending, Repealing, and Reenacting Various Sections of Article III, Fire Restrictions or Bans, of Chapter 42, Fire Prevention and Protection, of the Arvada City Code

Legal Notice No. Jeff 6134

Publication: July 17, 2025

Publisher: Jeffco Transcript

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Carol Lynn Houp, CAROL LYNN HOUP AKA CAROL L. HOUP AKA CAROL HOUP, Deceased Case Number: 2025PR030674

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to District Court of Jefferson County, Colorado on or before November 17, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred.

/s/Chelle LeBlanc Chelle LeBlanc Zalessky Law Group, LLC

Attorneys for Personal Representative 9725 E. Hampden Ave. #103 Denver, CO 80231

Legal Notice NO. 6133

First Publication: July 17, 2025

Last Publication: July 31, 2025

Publisher: Jeffco Transcript

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Grace Elizabeth Todd, a/k/a Grace E. Todd, a/k/a Grace Todd, Deceased Case Number: 2025PR030634

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the District Court of Jefferson County, Colorado on or before November 3, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred.

Dana Lewis, Personal Representative c/o 3i Law, LLC 2000 S. Colorado Blvd. Tower 1, Suite 10000 Denver, CO 80222

Legal Notice No. Jeff 6113

First Publication: July 3, 2025

Last Publication: July 17, 2025

Publisher: Jeffco Transcript

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Joyce K. Sager, aka Joyce Sager, and Joyce Katherine Sager, Deceased Case Number 2025PR30691

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the District Court of Jefferson County, Colorado on or before November 17, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred.

Glenn Sager Personal Representative 1988 Sacred Mountain Lane Brentwood, CA 94513

Legal Notice NO. Jeff 6129

First Publication: July 17, 2025

Last Publication: July 31, 2025 Publisher: Jeffco Transcript

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Mary E Puhr, aka Mary Elizabeth Puhr, Deceased Case Number : 2025PR030771

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the District Court of Jefferson County, Colorado on or before November 10, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred.

Micheal Puhr, Personal Representative 5420 Spur Cross Trail Parker, CO 80134

Legal Notice No. Jeff 6122

First Publication: July 10, 2025 Last Publication: July 24, 2025 Publisher: Jeffco Transcript

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Carol E Ladbury, Deceased Case Number: 2025PR230

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Jefferson County, Colorado on or before November 20, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred.

In Je co, federal funding cuts threaten programs that support English learners, student engagement, and family outreach. SHUTTERSTOCK