REOPEN

Public Health and Environment for reopening clearance.

As of March 23, the library’s sorter reopened for returned items, which allows librarians to restock shelves and pull books on hold for pickup. Curbside pickup and drop-off at the Arvada library are available in the back alley behind the library.

Responding to concerns of parents who have worried about meth contamination spreading to pages of books that would be potentially handled by children, Todd said the JCPL team is working with experts at CDPHE and following their guidance.

“All of the research they’ve pointed us towards indicates that’s not a concern,” Todd said. “Of course, this is an ongoing point of interest, and we are staying in touch with CDPHE and following the experts for guidance.”

Todd said the library will reopen when its staff can ensure the safety of patrons.

“We’re eager to reopen the Ar-

Turn To The Colorado Sun For News Across The State

The Colorado Sun is a journalist-owned, award-winning news outlet that strives to cover all of Colorado so that our state — our community — can better understand itself.

In this way, The Sun contributes to a more vibrant, informed and whole Colorado.

The Sun, launched in 2018, is committed to fact-based, in-depth and non-partisan journalism. It covers everything from politics and culture to the outdoor industry and vada library and very excited for that,” Todd said. “We’re making positive progress to do so in a safe way for all our patrons.”

The Arvada Library is back to its normal hours as of March 27. In an FAQ page posted to the library’s website, details for how future meth contamination incidents might be avoided are spelled out.

“JCPL is investigating piloting environmental sensors at the Arvada Library,” the statement says. “These sensors show promise in detecting incidents of smoking and vaping in the areas where they’re installed. The company that manu- education.

Now, The Colorado Sun co-owns this and other Colorado Community Media newspapers as a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy. The Sun is CCM’s partner for

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factures this equipment states that they are capable of detecting methamphetamine smoke. We are investigating integration of the detectors and notification protocols into our cameras and security systems.

“In addition to detection systems, JCPL is hiring a part time position to assist our Safety and Security coordinator,” the statement continues. “The intent of the hire is to share some of the workload so that we can apply more focus on identifying and addressing behaviors that impact our ability to be a safe and welcoming space for all. “ statewide news.

For Colorado Sun stories, opinions and more, and to support The Sun’s misssion as a member or subscriber, visit coloradosun. com.

What’s the Story With Zillow? Specifically, Why Do Most Real Estate Agents Dislike Zillow?

Zillow may be the #1 fixture on the American real estate scene, and it has certainly worked hard to earn your trust and patronage. But many people don’t know how Zillow relates to the rest of our industry and why many real estate brokers/agents don’t trust it the way most homeowners, buyers and sellers do.

When I first entered the business two decades ago, Zillow was already in the business of displaying all real estate listings nationwide, as it does now. Its business model (revenue stream) was to sell agents ZIP codes where they would be displayed next to each listing so that buyers who are interested in that listing would click on one of those “premier” agents to see and possibly buy the house.

The cost of being one of those Prem- ier Agents varied by location, and Zillow would sell each ZIP code to multiple agents, so each agent would get a percentage of those buyer leads based on how much they paid. Keep in mind that to get those leads had little or nothing to do with how good or knowledgeable that agent was. Their qualification was simply that they paid to be there — as much as $1,000 or more per month for each ZIP code. Many agents have built their entire book of business this way, spending thousands of dollars per month to do so.

It has been a very successful business model, and it antagonized listing agents because their name was not shown next to their listings until recently, as I’ll explain below. That’s the origin of the our community’s discontent with Zillow.

Some Widely Used Electrical Panels Are Defective

A recent blog post from Alpine Building Performance LLC addressed an issue which is well known to long-time real estate brokers like those of us at Golden Real Estate, and worth sharing with owners of older (1960s to 1980s) homes. If your home has one of these breaker panels, you can expect it to be an expensive inspection issue raised by your buyer’s inspector. Here’s that blog post:

The two most notorious defective electrical panels are the Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Stab-Loc panels manufactured from the 1950s-1980s and the Zinsco and later Sylvania Electrical panels largely used in the 1970s.

A lesser known, but equally problematic electrical panel was the Challenger brand electrical panel in the 1970s and ’80s and has similar issues with overheating and faulty circuit breaker function. All 3 of these panels were recalled and are considered safety hazards that should be replaced.

What is the cost to replace one of those electrical panels? The blog post suggest a price range of $4,000 to $7,000, but my clients have seen much lower prices from the electricians I have recommended.

We replaced two such panels in our storefront with a single new panel for $1,500, but that was because there was very little rerunning of service lines and no finished wall to break into and rebuild. The FPE panels were on a brick wall in a backroom, so they were removed and the new panel placed on the same brick wall.

In a typical home, there is more work to do, but the replacements I have overseen for my clients were in the $2,000 to $3,000 range — again using electricians I recommended who are lone eagles, not employees of a big electrical contractor.

Price Reduced on Golden Home With Views!

Zillow, as you may know, has experimented — usually with success — in capitalizing on their impressive public presence. The “Zestimate” has been particularly effective, and Zillow’s computer is good at reminding every homeowner with an email address what the current estimate of their home’s worth is.

One of their experiments was to enter the “iBuyer” business where they would actually buy homes and flip them for a profit. Their major competitors, who are still doing that, were OpenDoor and OfferPad. Like those competitors, Zillow started losing money when the market softened, but Zillow was smart to exit that business quickly. They appear to have sold all the Denver area homes that they purchased under that program.

A big change that occurred a few years ago was that Zillow became a brokerage itself, which entitled it to receive a direct feed of listings from every MLS in the country. They don’t have a Denver office, but they do have a few agents with Colorado licenses. As you are likely aware, the member brokerages of every MLS can display on their website all the currently active, coming soon or pending listings of that MLS. That’s true of www.goldenrealestate.com, and now it is true of www.zillow.com

This represented a big change for Zillow, because it now had to abide by the same rules as other brokerages, which included displaying the listing agent’s name, phone number and email address, but when you click on “Contact Agent,” the lead goes to a “Premier Agent” who paid Zillow to get website leads like that. The fact that listing agents are now listed with contact info next to their listings and Premier Agents are not displayed anymore has softened but not completely overcome the antipathy that Zillow created in the past.

Interesting Postscript to Last Week’s Column About Fertilizer

From reader Jim Borland:

Yes, nitrogen fertilizer can be used to make a bomb à la Oklahoma City bombing, though I doubt that the nitrogen fertilizer in Miracle Gro’s potting mix contributed much if anything to the fire that resulted from the insertion of a cigarette butt into the soil. What you missed in taking a picture of the package was the other part of the contents besides the fertilizer. All potting soils these days are made of synthetic products including those made by Miracle Gro. In the case of this particular potting mix it consists of forest products (shredded and chipped wood and bark), coir (shredded coconut husks), composts, peat, sphagnum peat moss, perlite and wetting agent. All but the perlite and wetting agent are flammable, especially when dry. In this case the soil was undoubtedly not moistened as most soils are that have live plants in them. The nitrogen part of the fertilizer is contained within prills or small plastic coated spheres, here called Osmocote, that release nitrogen with each watering. After a couple of waterings the nitrogen is gone, leaving only the plastic capsule behind. Even with no fertilizer, this and other artificial soils are flammable, and care must be taken when located in a place convenient for snuffing out cigarettes.

Price Reduced on Downtown Denver Loft!

$495,000

$1,495,000

This solar-powered home at 359 Canyon Point Circle was a model home for the Village at Mountain Ridge, the subdivision west of Highway 93 backing to the Mt. Galbraith Park. (There’s a trailhead to the park’s 5 miles of hiking trails within the subdivision.) The seller has made many improvements to the home since buying it in 2002, including a total renovation of the gourmet kitchen and master bathroom, plus adding 11 5 kW of solar panels which meet all the electrical needs of the home. The main-floor deck was also completely rebuilt with composite decking, metal railings and a breakfast bar for enjoying the sunrises over South Table Mountain

If you're looking for loft living, this unit at 2000 Arapahoe Street #204 is as good as it gets! Walk to EVERYTHING in Downtown Denver — Coors Field, Performing Arts Complex, 16th Street Mall, Lodo, Union Station, shopping, restaurants, and light rail, including the A-line to DIA. The 12-foot ceiling and four massive pillars, plus HUGE windows to nearby skyscrapers — this is the loft life you've been looking for! You could rent out two of the three included garage spaces for $150-200 each, too! This is a rare opportunity, so act fast. No open houses. Call us or your agent for a private showing!