It was only six years ago when I helped on the Jeffco School Bond initiative. It included details about how much was going to be spent and where. The community was surveyed for priorities and needed changes. The $567 million bond narrowly passed. We were getting new schools, air conditioning in old buildings, lead pipes
What’s Wheat Ridge all about? A question we hear from our friends, relatives and sometimes even our neighbors. What’s in the water that makes this town so filled with drama, yet inspiring and fun, a place where people carry grudges and drop them at a dime to help each other? A town where lanes are
There was one message drilled into every K-12 student’s head: go to college or you’ll never find a job. Nearly a year after receiving my degree, I suspect I was lied to. I don’t want to point fingers. But, when feeling bitter about my minimum wage job, my university seems like a great place to
UPS, FedEx, DHL or Amazon. Who will Wheat Ridge choose as their exclusive single-package delivery company? All those trucks throughout the day, every day. Just imagine the damage to our roads and noise pollution. 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week! Some deliver commercially and some drive all the way to my house
Wheat Ridge has always been a place of conversations. From 1969, when there were debates, door knocking and map drawing, defining our future and determining our identity against those larger cities wanting to impose themselves on our community. The pendulum has swung from one side to the other. There were conservative years where spending was
There she was, staring back at me from the Facebook page of Animal Rescue of the Rockies. A sad, skinny, bedraggled pit bull. It was love at first sight. I waited 37 years to adopt a dog; a decision I did not enter into lightly. During the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, animal rescues
It was a great article and we appreciate you publishing it! I personally lived and grew up in Wheat Ridge and have so many fond memories of a great community! I have heard from several Wheat Ridge residents that they saw and read the article, Thanks, Carol Congrove Vieira Ask The Young People About ‘The
The Marshall Fire really started a conversation around the #GoBag. If you had just five minutes to evacuate and leave your home, what would you take with you? Food? Water? Just how much can you take? I’ve been asking my friends, family and clients, even strangers on chairlifts I meet every Wednesday. The most common
There’s something to be said about a “Good thing worth waiting for” or “Patience is a virtue” and “Good things come to those that wait.” These days “the long game” has been on my mind for many reasons. The growth of Wheat Ridge has been slow and steady. From the amazing recreation center on Kipling
We keep hearing about the supply chain: boats stuck in harbor without labor to unload or deliver goods to retail and food distributors; not enough servers and kitchen staff to prepare and deliver the food to your table. In our case the issue came to a head over the holidays. Getting a notice that after
When I sit down for a quiet moment, I’m overwhelmed that it’s already December. 2022 is weeks away, we’ve lived through another year of a global pandemic, and the movie, “Love Actually,” blessed our movie theaters 18 years ago. Time seems to be flying by at rapid speeds. Regardless of what your individual experience has
When I initially wrote this article, I realized I had been writing about 2020 instead of ’21. But like so many, these last two years feel like one long one. We seem to have a 12- to 18-month time lapse. We plant memories around important dates and events. Like Christmas (that we missed), birthdays (not
As this column is falling into your hands, the marketing messages have ramped up as to how this is the happiest time of year, reminding us that we should buy this and that. This time of year is so much more complicated. Many of us are triggered by seeing family members we don’t see often,
Editor’s note: A longtime Wheat Ridge resident recently wrote the Neighborhood Gazette about “outrageous crime” in our city, presenting as evidence: her catalytic converter and a neighbor’s laptops (two!) had been stolen from their respective vehicles; homelessness and panhandling continues unabated; and she received two ballots in the mail. “I would love some answers
By the time this is printed, the elections will have been counted and a winner declared in my hotly contested District 3 City Council race in Wheat Ridge. The two different-styled candidates are equally caring and capable but, interestingly enough, both attract extreme views, actions and opinions that often taint their original message. Being a
As humans we crave communication in some fashion or another. As parents we look for regular news from our grown kids, maybe from each other as well. As employees, we look for regular communication from our bosses and coworkers. As citizens we look for updates from our city and local politicians – politicians that eagerly
August was a tough month and I’m glad it’s over. I spent two weeks in bed fighting COVID-19. Thankfully, I was surrounded by knowledgeable and caring people who checked in on me throughout the ordeal. I still can’t smell a thing and I’m physically feeling beat up, but I’m not dead. That’s most likely because
Who was the greatest of all time (GOAT)? Always a fun debate. How do you compare athletes, artists, even presidents in different times with different equipment and conditions? These conversations always included athletes that have passed away or have retired. But now we are insisting on placing that label on young people and pushing enormous
With COVID-19 cases declining across the nation and 50 percent of Coloradans fully vaccinated by Father’s Day, is it possible that many aspects of pre-pandemic life may return this summer? A response in the affirmative may mean that summer 2021 marks a return to a familiar summer. Current publications state that people are eager to
Hold the presses! 72 percent of Wheat Ridge citizens point to the Neighborhood Gazette as their main source of news and information. That was one of the findings in the latest city census – up from 68 percent in 2018. When I bought the Gazette, friends and business associates warned me that apparently, “No one
Families who are experiencing homelessness pose a unique set of problems for communities. The reasons for their homelessness are similar to those for people who are homeless who are not part of a family unit. The pandemic, coupled with the Denver rental market, has contributed to the inability of some families to find housing. Without
Since the COVID-19 virus was first reported in Wuhan, China, on Dec. 31, 2019, its deadly wrath has controlled day-to-day lives worldwide. Adhering to restrictions and health mandates significantly altered and ultimately changed how people learned, worked and interacted. With the formidable Colorado restrictions and imposed county health dictates this year, is it possible that
As the front wheel of my scooter sank into the pothole, the rattling inside my helmet was loud and from the corner of my eye I watched in slow motion as my phone flew off into the air, landing on the asphalt to its catastrophic demise. This was the beginning of my long weekend that
