Being part of the Wheat Ridge team, presenting at the All America City Conference, was a huge honor. We were asked to each wear a “Wheat Ridge t-shirt”. The presentation described what and how the city had addressed the recent racism and anti-semitic attacks on our town and how we dealt with it. We had
Kids have a bad habit of asking for something over and over and over until parents break down and say “OK”. Some may experience these battles in shopping centers, restaurants and of course at home. The energy from both sides spent on a very predictable outcome, while funny sometimes, is an absolute drain on everyone
I walked out of the restaurant and held the door open for the person walking in… And he just kept walking. I said “you’re welcome” and got no reaction back. What happened to “thank you?” Letting someone into your lane during traffic, there used to be a wave of a hand, as if to say
I live on a street that has everything. Cats and dogs, squirrels and birds, kids, babies, families, young and not so young. We probably use three or four different waste pick up companies. We drive different cars and have different homes. Some days we cross the street and talk with our neighbors. Sometimes we cross
Every few years the City of Wheat Ridge hires a marketing firm to survey its residents. Rising to the top spot: 77% of residents point to the Neighborhood Gazette as one of their most used sources of news and information. That was the result of the last survey. Higher than any other publications, websites or
“24 and there’s so much more” sang Neil Young, and that’s how I feel about this new year. If it’s one thing I learned in 2023 is that there are no promised tomorrows. Appreciate your friends, leave nothing unsaid, plant that tree, buy those chickens. Build that shed. Forget that permit. Take that vacation. Ask
Let’s make 2024 the year we identify our true friends and build on that list. Take stock of who’s around you. That is my New Year’s resolution. I have more than 2000 contacts on my phone and yet don’t stay in touch with nearly as many as I’d like to. Your sphere is made of
My dad always told me that he would rather see the KKK march down main street in full daylight for all to see, rather than have them meet in dark basements. Last week at council, several speakers, using fake names, signed up for public speaking to get their three minutes to talk about rounding up
I remember the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 standing in the parking lot at work, watching that second plane go into the towers right in front of me. I also remember those inside my office that were cheering the falling of the towers and the murder of 3,000 people. Earlier this month when I learned
Just take a moment to look around and see the amazing things happening all around us. I was invited recently to the Optimist Club meeting and found myself standing in a room of people reciting an oath to be positive and to look at the sunny side of things. It was an hour of laughter,
Election time is always interesting in Wheat Ridge. These days, much more subdued than ever. We have a city council that is all in agreement. All green lights on the dais for just about every proposition, amendment, idea or spending request from the city. Many that follow city council meetings have been voicing their concerns
The expression of “be careful for what you wish for” was never as right as that Saturday when I set up the Neighborhood Gazette booth at the Blues and BBQ Festival in Edgewater. Displaying a banner that reads “I will talk to anyone about anything” brought on more attention than I expected. The festival began
The waste collection company we currently use just sent us a note that as of July, they will only pick up garbage in their branded trash cans and will no longer pick up garbage bags that are not inside their trash cans. This replaces the six-bag allowance we had up to now. We compost and
June is here and not a minute too soon. May was a tough month to swallow, with senseless crime, selfish politics, insane property taxes and the end of an era for some of our schools. Of course, let’s not forget the crazy rains and the rabbits that invaded our gardens. It’s like the modern version
I’m always hearing that “change is hard.” The way we educate our students, the way we eat, what is now acceptable to say, or even stand for. We’re told to accept change or be “canceled.” The Beatles sang about life changing “forever but not for better.” But I would argue that not all is lost
Thank you Clancy’s for putting on another amazing St. Patrick’s Day festival. Four thousand people came through the doors, paying an easy $3 entry fee, which raised $12,000, of which more than half went to two charities and the rest helped pay for the tents. The event attracted a huge amount of people from outside
I felt someone shaking my arm and then his voice came through: “Sir, can you hear me, are you alright?” The last thing I remember was my right ski lifting off the snow…and then blackness. Losing consciousness is never a good thing and I don’t know how long I was out for. But being woken
What defines perfection for you? For some it’s a perfect score on an exam. A baseball game won with no runs from the opposing team. For others it’s more of a feeling of perfection. The sound of shifting from second gear into third at 7,000 rpm, the fly line landing perfectly still and the sound
After 18 years the Neighborhood Gazette will now be found in your mailbox – weatherproof, windproof and certainly shortage-of-labor-proof. It will still be available, of course, in stacks at the Wheat Ridge Rec Center, city halls (Wheat Ridge, Edgewater and Mountain View), local restaurants, bars and coffee shops as well. I am excited by this
Over the last number of years I’ve lowered my expectations of people, my city and even myself. Mostly as a defense mechanism to not be disappointed when things don’t go my way or just generally don’t work out. I know I’m not alone in doing so. I’m slowly starting to reverse that. I’m sure there’s
On Sept. 4, Wheat Ridge Police Department clocked a driver going 133 mph on I-70. Shocking and dangerous? Absolutely! So are the speedsters driving through our neighborhoods. But there comes a time to call out the opposite: the ones just crawling on 38th Avenue at speeds well below what small mammals travel at. 28 mph
To declare this year’s Carnation Festival as best-ever would be the understatement of the year. The music was absolutely my favorite part of my festival. Clearly tribute bands are very well supported and loved, from Journey, Led Zeppelin and, of course, the Lizard King and his Doors were absolutely fantastic. Great idea with the second
As a real estate broker I always ask those moving to Wheat Ridge: Did you move here because of how we are, or how you’d like us to be? The answers vary of course. We are human beings and change is the constant in our lives. Our meals, our opinions, our clothes and the list
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
