LETTERS

Did voters not pay attention to what was being said during campaigns for City Council seats? Or did those campaigning City Council members give voters a message inconsistent with their plans for aggravating the housing crisis? If so, voters should so remember when voting later this year.

Chris Stimpson, Westminster

More to Phillips story than in profile

You pro led the two ornton mayoral candidates. When asked about the removal of Jacque Phillips from council, Jan Kulmann “...said she wished Phillips brought up the issue earlier to have a collaborative conver- tactics based on one year,” said Lindsay DeFrates, a spokeswoman for the Colorado River Water Conservation District in Glenwood Springs. “It’s such a long game. We need to be sure we are prepared for a hotter, drier future.” is year’s epic snow in the Yampa Valley means plenty of water for ranchers to grow grass this summer. Beyond that, little can be said. sation about it.” is issue was raised during public comments on Jan. 25, 2022, by one of Jan Kulmann’s close associates, who consults on political campaigns for some of her allies. ere was a meeting to discuss the issue with outside legal counsel shortly thereafter, where that outside counsel strongly cautioned against taking any action. Phillips was removed by a split council on Feb. 8, based solely on a single mortgage rider on a second home. at is a total elapsed time of two weeks. It is not the deliberative timeline of a leader who wants to have “collaborative conversation.”

Allen Best tracks the energy and water transitions in Colorado and beyond at BigPivots.com. He welcomes comments and contributions.

It was a naked power play by Jan Kulmann to remove an opponent whom she clearly and openly dislikes.

David Suka, ornton

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Type in “restaurant” on Google Maps and set the lter to “open 24 hours.” You’ll be hard-pressed to nd any local restaurants serving up food to the night owls, late workers and early risers.

Unless you’re seeking around-the-clock Mexican food.

“We’re open 24 hours, and it’s something fresh, you know?” said Govanny Alvarado, a member of the family who runs Alvarado’s Mexican Fast Food. Compared to other restaurants, “you can taste the di erence,” Alvarado said.

e new Englewood spot that opened in August adds to a small but mighty list of Mexican joints that o er all-day, all-night service in the Denver metro area — a type of restaurant that’s becoming more di cult to nd since the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

“Most people like us, you know, we’re always looking for a late-night snack,” said Alvarado, 21, adding that his family “understands the struggle” to nd restaurants that are open late.

His family members, longtime workers in the Mexican fast-food industry, gained experience at his uncle’s restaurant in Arizona. ey later started working for Taco Star and Tacos Rapidos, two chains with 24-hour locations in the metro area, Alvarado said.

“And Taco Star, the one in ornton here, that’s where my dad worked, and that’s where I started as well when I was young,” Alvarado said of the location near 84th Avenue and Washington Street.

When his family members had the chance to start their own restaurant about six years ago, they opened Tacos Los Compas — another 24-hour eatery, near downtown Denver and the Auraria Campus.

“Most of the people that I’ve known or talked to customer-wise, they’re all from Arizona or California, and they all say they miss that taste of authentic Mexican food,” Alvarado said.

Carrying on authentic recipes is part of the job as well for Tamale Kitchen, a longstanding family business with locations around the metro area.

What makes the restaurant unique is “the green chile, the New Mexico-style red chile, the tamale avors, just the avors in general of just old grandma recipe — the beans, the rice, everything’s grandma’s recipes,” said Jose Bishop, owner of the Westminster and Northglenn locations.

e restaurant grew out of an e ort to sell tamales door to door in 1980, and the rst Tamale Kitchen opened in Lakewood in 1981, according to its website.

Its Northglenn location at 104th Avenue and Huron Street stays open around the clock on the weekends, running from 5 a.m. Friday through 10 p.m. Sunday.

e business has expanded to eight locations, stretching from Adams County all the way to Highlands Ranch, and some are franchises run by people outside the family, Bishop said.

Familiar places see challenges

Alvarado noted that after the COVID-19 pandemic shook up the