Arvada Chamber of Commerce to participate in National Civics Bee pilot Program will bring national social

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e Arvada Chamber of Commerce announced on Feb. 1 that it would be hosting the regional portion of the National Civics Bee for Je erson County this spring, the rst time the humanities competition has been held in Colorado.

e competition is open to any middle schooler (6th to 8th grade) in Je erson County, including students from public, private and charter schools. e competition features two portions; an essay contest that will yield 20 nalists to compete in a live quiz competition. e top three nishers of the regional quiz competition will compete a statewide championship round.

e National Civics Bee is run by the United States Chamber of Commerce Foundation. is year’s Colorado pilot program will be evaluated in order to plan future iterations of the competition in the Centennial State.

time and money spent on long commutes, more air pollution, and greater economic and workforce challenges,” Polis said. Polis added that rising housing prices are “putting the dream of homeownership out of range for more and more Coloradans.” e governor’s assessment squares with the ndings of Colorado Community Media in our four-week series exploring what many experts say is a housing crisis — one that a ects practically everyone in the Denver area.

Lower-income workers are seeing larger chunks of their paychecks go to landlords. Young families can’t nd starter homes they can a ord. Retirees don’t see any attractive options for moving and downsizing, meaning their homes stay o the market, helping keep prices high.

“Just look west,” Polis said in his address. “In California, decades of poor planning has led to interruptions of drinking water and electricity for entire towns and cities, average home prices over $1 million in major cities and 16lane freeways” with “bumper-to-

SEE STRESSES, P14 e Buena Vista, Craig, Denver Metro and Greater Pueblo Chambers of Commerce will all be hosting regional civic bee competitions similar to what the Arvada Chamber will organize for Je co. New Mexico, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Texas and Washington all host Civics Bees. e deadline for submissions for the essay portion of the contest — the guidelines of which are posted on the Arvada Chamber’s website — is Feb. 23. e regional winner will receive $500, while the state winner will receive $1,000. Arvada Chamber of Commerce President Kami Welch