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 new step, but a little sad of not seeing the paper on my front porch. I do however love that we remain (according to city survey) by far the most read (nongovernment) publication in Wheat Ridge. Thank you for that.
In a perfect world, door-to-door delivery would continue and would cover every house. But the reality is that labor is short and accuracy is far from perfect, not to mention the weather. I didn’t mind driving out to those that called me about their paper being wet or missing, or delivering Echter’s gift cards to those our delivery crew might have accidentally stepped on their flowers. But the call from the genius who took the time to spell his name and share his address before promising to pull a gun on me if he ever saw my paper on his porch was just too much to swallow.
2022 proved to be very much the opposite of ‘21: social, very active and fighting back the habits we adopted in ‘21. The masks were long gone and gatherings mostly in person. After two years of being stuck indoors, people had a better appreciation of their time and became very selective on where and with whom they would spend their free time. Many abandoned Zoom and went back to the office and met their coworkers in person for the first time.
2022 proved to be a great year for local art. Art on the Farm continued to highlight artists and their craft. Art in the Barn, sponsored by the Neighborhood Gazette and the City of Wheat Ridge, raised $3,000s for art scholarships for young artists looking to further their education. It was a good year for artists here in Wheat Ridge forming multiple groups and organizations. But maybe it’s time for something new. We are still passionate about art here at the Gazette but could be shifting to performing art and sponsoring plays, concerts and the gathering of people for live shows.
Sadly, It’s been harder to ignore hate around us these days. From politically and religiously inspired speeches and social media posts from the likes of Kanye that spew vile messages to their millions of followers. There’s always the argument of separating the art from the artist or the actor from the acting. But there comes a time where you have to draw a line and say “enough.”
2023 is going to be an amazing year for Wheat Ridge, Edgewater and Mountain View. I urge you to get out and visit local shops and restaurants. Spend your dollar right here and attend city council meetings. Get involved. Volunteer. Donate. Join a commission or committee in your city and maybe even write an article for the Neighborhood Gazette.
Happy holidays to everyone.
As always, thanks for reading.
Contact Neighborhood Gazette Publisher Guy Nahmiach at WRGazette@gmail.com or 303-999-5789.
