Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Business

Legislators favor lighter touch to regulating business audits contracted by cities
Approved, State, The Sum & Substance

Legislators favor lighter touch to regulating business audits contracted by cities

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance Given the options of taking an aggressive or conservative approach to combatting “trigger audits,” Colorado legislators appear to have chosen the latter. The Sales and Use Tax Simplification Task Force last week unanimously approved a bill for drafting that would require any that any third-party auditors contracted by cities maintain the same confidentiality with collected data that Colorado governments would use. It also will send a letter to the Colorado Department of Revenue calling on it to convene a task force to help increase the number of businesses using the existing SUTS tax-filing system — a change that it believes would boost compliance with state law. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE SUM & SUBSTANCE
Natural Grocers says theft, safety issues behind closure of Colfax Avenue location in Denver
Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Natural Grocers says theft, safety issues behind closure of Colfax Avenue location in Denver

By Tori Mason | CBS Colorado Natural Grocers will close its downtown Denver store at the corner of Colfax and Washington at the end of the month. The company says the decision was made after careful consideration of its operating challenges, including theft and safety issues. The store is located in a crime hotspot for the Denver Police Department. A Walmart further east on Colfax in Aurora also closed this year for issues related to crime. In a statement, Kemper Isely, Co-President of Natural Grocers, said: "We have been actively working to address the theft and safety issues impacting our store at Colfax and Washington for some time. Despite our investment in security and loss prevention strategies over the years, these factors have continued to challenge our ability t...
National concerns leave Colorado biz leaders less confident in late ’24
Approved, BizWest, State

National concerns leave Colorado biz leaders less confident in late ’24

By Lucas High | BizWest Heading into the fourth quarter of 2024, Colorado business leaders are feeling less confident about the state of the economy. The University of Colorado Leeds Business Confidence Index for the final quarter of 2024 was down nearly four points from the preceding quarter, based largely on national-level issues such as next month’s presidential election and inflation.  The index figure heading into the fourth quarter was 46.7. An LBCI score — which is based on impressions of the state economy, national economy, industry sales, industry profits, industry hiring and capital expenditures — of 50 is neutral.  READ THE FULL STORY AT BIZWEST
Can one guy run 15,500 businesses from out of state? Attorney general sues on fraudulent filings
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Can one guy run 15,500 businesses from out of state? Attorney general sues on fraudulent filings

By Tamara Chuang | Colorado Sun The number of new companies created in Colorado in the past two years may not have set all-time records after all, after officials discovered more than 15,500 fraudulent business filings last year by a man who used a stranger’s home address. The Colorado Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday filed a consent judgment in Denver District Court to settle allegations against defendant Marcio Garcia Andrade for violating the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. Andrade, who doesn’t live in Colorado, was accused of filing the new business formations between February 2022 and August 2023 that were linked to a Northglenn townhome address “without the knowledge or consent of the homeowner and resident,” according to the AG’s lawsuit. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE ...
‘It’s challenging’: Why some Denver restaurant owners are looking to expand business elsewhere
Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

‘It’s challenging’: Why some Denver restaurant owners are looking to expand business elsewhere

By Ashley Portillo | CBS Colorado While many Denver restaurants have closed their doors over the past year, some restaurant owners are taking their businesses elsewhere or expanding outside the city limits. Due to a multitude of concerns, the owner of Benny Blanco's Slice of the Bronx made the decision to relocate his business to Arvada. Other challenges led the owner of ten restaurants in Denver, including Guard and Grace and Tag Burger Bar, to expand his business to Houston. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Number of new Colorado businesses drops 21.7% nearly a year after filing-fee discount ends
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Number of new Colorado businesses drops 21.7% nearly a year after filing-fee discount ends

By Tamara Chuang | The Colorado Sun A 21.7% dip in folks filing to start a business in Colorado during the second quarter was largely attributed to the end of a program more than a year ago that reduced filing fees to $1, according to the latest quarterly data from the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office. “It was the sharpest decrease year-over-year in the state (that) we’ve been tracking since 2005. That’s both in percentage terms and absolute numbers,” said Brian Lewandowski, executive director of University of Colorado’s Business Research Division, which analyzed the data for the Secretary of State’s Office.  New business filings reached a second-quarter high last year at 54,940. The fee returned to $50 in June 2023 and now, one year later, filings dropped to 43,029 for t...
Conn’s HomePlus closing all stores nationwide, including six in Colorado
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Conn’s HomePlus closing all stores nationwide, including six in Colorado

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Some Coloradans might be able to find a great deal on furniture, appliances, electronics, bedding and more as Conn's HomePlus prepares to close all of its stores nationwide. In July, the retailer announced plans to close a little less than half of its locations as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. Instead, it will shutter all 174 stores, eliminating about 4,000 jobs in 15 states. The top of the company's website on Tuesday displayed a "Going out of business sale" banner, boasting 30-50% off everything in store and on the website. Conn's HomePlus operates six locations in Colorado, a search of the website details. These include:7360 W. 52nd. Ave., Arvada.60 S. Abilene St., Aurora.340 N. Academy Blvd., Colorado Springs.550 E. 102nd Ave...
Big Lots shuttering more than half of Colorado locations among 300 nationwide
Approved, BizWest, State

Big Lots shuttering more than half of Colorado locations among 300 nationwide

By Christopher Wood | BizWest Discount retailer Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) will close more than half of its remaining Colorado stores, including locations in Greeley and Longmont. The Columbus, Ohio-based company is closing almost 300 stores nationwide, including at least eight of its 14 locations in Colorado. The closures come a year and a half after Big Lots shuttered locations in Fort Collins, Arvada, Denver and Englewood. READ THE FULL STORY AT BIZWEST
Merger between Kroger, Albertsons on hold until Denver court rules on state lawsuit
Approved, kdvr.com, State

Merger between Kroger, Albertsons on hold until Denver court rules on state lawsuit

By Maddie Rhodes | Fox 31 News The Kroger and Albertsons merger has been put on pause until Denver’s district court rules on the lawsuit brought on by the state of Colorado. The two grocery store chains announced their plans to merge, however, this was met with much controversy as many said this would create a monopoly. In February, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued to block the $24.6 billion merger between the grocery chains, saying the lack of competition would lead to higher grocery prices and lower wages for workers. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
Platte River to break ground on largest solar project in Northern Colorado
Approved, BizWest, Local

Platte River to break ground on largest solar project in Northern Colorado

By BizWest Platte River Power Authority will officially break ground on its Black Hollow Solar project, which will provide enough electricity to power more than 36,000 homes a year. The authority will host a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday to commemorate its largest solar project to date, the Black Hollow Solar project. The plan is to complete it by 2025 and deliver roughly 367,000 megawatt-hours of energy to Platte River’s system every year, according to a news release. The pandemic, tariffs and other challenges delayed the project for three years, the release said. READ THE FULL STORY AT BIZWEST