A federal judge has ordered city officials in Denver to give seven-day notices before clearing out illegal homeless encampments in the city. Judge William Martinez ruled on Monday that Denver must give a week’s notice before each sweep, regardless of the size of the encampments, after finding out that city officials had not done so […]
Housing
Posted inBusiness, Economy, Growth, Housing, News, Politics and Government
Colorado’s stagnant budget isn’t helping the shrinking middle class, report finds
Colorado’s middle class is shrinking, and the lifestyle long associated with it — home ownership, a car, college savings and occasional vacations — is getting harder to achieve. That’s been the economic trend in the state, and across the country, for decades. But new research suggests Colorado’s public investments — or lack of them — […]
Posted inHealth, Housing, News, Politics and Government
How one block on Pearl Street represents Denver’s stubborn homelessness crisis
“I’m going to shoot him!” The man’s shouts echoed in the street at 2 a.m. as he rummaged through his belongings for a gun. Screams and yelling erupted in the encampment on Pearl Street, where about 25 people are living in tents, keeping warm with makeshift fire pits fueled by propane tanks inside blanket- and […]
Posted inHousing, News
As some Colorado mobile home parks mull selling, resident co-ops seek to become their own landlords
When Colorado lawmakers recently turned their attention to mobile home parks for the first time in decades, one particular bill inspired some residents to start thinking big — beyond the chronic battles with park owners over rising rents and questionable evictions. A new provision in the Mobile Home Park Act, which went into effect in […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Economy, Energy, Environment, Health, Housing, News, Politics and Government
Colorado is behind on targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions. How far should the state push industry to get there?
The Polis administration is set this month to complete its “roadmap” for cutting Colorado’s greenhouse gas emissions, but critics question whether the route is clear enough — and the milestones realistic enough — to get Colorado where it needs to go. In a nod to some of the challenges, air quality and energy officials are […]
Posted inHousing, Opinion, Opinion Columns
Nicolais: 2020 left us with at least one parting gift
For all the tumult and heartache, 2020 left us primed for hope and opportunity in the New Year. After a year like no other in living memory, it may be the perfect thing to remind of us that normal is wonderful. While the first few weeks and months will still have lingering aftershocks from the […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Health, Housing
In a Colorado long-term care facility during coronavirus, and desperate to get out
Kevin Mooney had spent his career at a bank in Phoenix, when he was laid off in 2010. They gave him a lovely crystal statuette to recognize his quarter century of service — before showing him the door. Then in his late 50s, Mooney was terrified that he wouldn’t ever be able to find work again. […]
Posted inColoradans, Housing, News
New programs aim to house Colorado foster youth who end up homeless
Olivia Potter spent her high school years in foster care, then set off on her own at 18. She drifted from a short stint at her dad’s house in Montrose, where his one last chance to show her he was “a good human being” fell short, to a boyfriend’s college dorm room in Grand Junction. […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, Housing, News, Newsletters, Outdoors, Outsider
Coronavirus drives blistering sales of Colorado mountain homes, sets 2020 as historic high mark
Prices are at record highs. Supplies of mountain homes for sale have never been lower. Across Colorado’s high country, resort community real estate sales have set records since July. Through October, the total real estate sales from six Colorado resort counties are nearly $1 billion greater than all sales last year. “It’s Biblical,” George Harvey, […]