Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Small Business Impact

When a remodel turns into a $60,000 lesson: One builder’s run-in with Colorado’s regulatory system
Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

When a remodel turns into a $60,000 lesson: One builder’s run-in with Colorado’s regulatory system

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice When Rob Treta started expanding a small home for his girlfriend in Arvada, he thought he was dealing with a familiar problem—delays. “I submitted the plans and I said, ‘Hey, tell me what I need to do,’” Treta said. “They told me three to four weeks. It took 22 weeks. Nobody ever mentioned asbestos.” Treta has been building in Colorado for 30 years. He has worked across multiple counties, pulled permits, remodeled homes and built from the ground up. What changed isn’t entirely clear—but Treta said what he ran into felt unlike anything he had seen in decades of building. “I’ve probably built 60, 70 projects in my 30 years,” he said. “And I’ve never run into this before. Never.” This wasn’t how his projects usually went. It star...
Colorado PUC Moves to Regulate Planned Power Shutoffs After Xcel Outages
CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado PUC Moves to Regulate Planned Power Shutoffs After Xcel Outages

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado After four Xcel power shutoffs in the past nine months, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission is taking action. The director of the PUC told state lawmakers the regulatory agency is creating rules to help mitigate the impact of "Public Safety Power Shutoffs," which are meant to reduce the risk of a wildfire in high wind events. The news came during a hearing by the Colorado House and Senate energy committees, where lawmakers grilled the president of Xcel, Robert Kenney. Republic state Sen. Byron Pelton, who represents Morgan County, told Kenney, when power is cut to feed lots in rural Colorado, cattle lose access to water. Democratic state Sen. Tammy Story, who represents Jefferson County, says the shutoffs have h...
$12K in tools stolen from Colorado contractor’s van: Reward offered
Fox31, Approved, Local

$12K in tools stolen from Colorado contractor’s van: Reward offered

By Shaul Turner | Fox 31 WESTMINSTER, Colo. (KDVR) — Sewer analysis and repair tools valued at more than $12,000 were stolen from a business’s van right next to the busy intersection of Lowell Boulevard and 68th Street in Westminster. Security video obtained by FOX31 shows a man boldly unloading the tools from an Our Drain and Sewer Company van in an apartment parking lot. The case is still being investigated, but one employee is hoping someone will come forward with more information. Ron Patin tells FOX31 a maintenance worker notified him that someone had broken into the van just after 3 a.m. on July 28. “You can see the guy hopping out of the van, dropping our stuff on the ground, picking it up like it was no big deal,” he said. Patin says the thief took brand...
Six Outages in Weeks: Littleton Demands Answers From Xcel
Local, Approved, kdvr.com

Six Outages in Weeks: Littleton Demands Answers From Xcel

By Nicole Fierro | KDVR Fox 31 LITTLETON, Colo. (KDVR) — A Littleton neighborhood is reaching out to the FOX31 Problem Solvers for help after a number of recent power outages. From businesses to families, the power outages are impacting people in different ways: wages lost, medical risks for people relying on oxygen, and no air conditioning in high temperatures. “They just redid all of our power poles and stuff and you would assume new would be even better,” said resident Kristi Myers. “And now we’re having problems.” From Kristi Myers in the Kingsley cul-de-sac to Kenneth Katzenmeier at the Columbine Bar and Restaurant on Pierce Street, power problems have been striking where they work and live a number of times since June. “Since June, we have had five or six outages,” Mye...
Grand Junction officials question costs and business revenue loss from bike lane project
The Business Times, Approved, Local

Grand Junction officials question costs and business revenue loss from bike lane project

By Brandon Leuallen | The Business Times Plans to finalize protected bike lanes on Fourth and Fifth Streets this summer could cost the City of Grand Junction additional money in curb cut work and remove more downtown parking spaces. That raises a broader conversation about the cost of implementation and the city’s downtown parking system, including the financial viability of potential changes. Curb Cuts and Parking Losses The vote to revert to two lanes with a protected bike lane may require cutting curbs at intersections where there is currently not enough space to fit both vehicle lanes and the bike lane. This cost was not included in the May 29 special meeting when the City Council reversed a prior decision to end the pilot project. Councilmember Anna Stout asked, “So ...
The COvid Chronicles May 16–23, 2020: Deaths dipped—but the definition got slippery
Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

The COvid Chronicles May 16–23, 2020: Deaths dipped—but the definition got slippery

By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board The fifth installment of RMV’s COvid Chronicles covers the strangest stretch yet—when deaths dipped, testing peaked, and the state quietly admitted not every COVID death was what they claimed. The contradictions were harder to hide, the public wasn’t playing along, and the illusion was cracking. Yes, these installments are longer than our usual coverage. So was the list of lies. We’re not about to shrink the story. More than two months into government-mandated shutdowns, Coloradans had lost patience—and begun reclaiming their fearlessness. After surrendering jobs, shuttering schools, isolating loved ones, and forfeiting springtime rites of faith and family, many started asking the obvious: What was all this really for? Yes, people had gotten...

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