“As home prices have continued to rise, it has become tougher and tougher for first-time buyers to purchase homes, especially in Durango. Average wages in La Plata County kept pace with home prices fairly well until 2017, when home prices really started to climb out of reach, said Roger Zalneraitis, executive director of the La Plata County Economic Development Alliance,” reports The Durango Herald. “For example, in February 2016, a homeowner would need to earn about $61,000 annually to qualify to buy a $397,585 home, which was the average home price at the time across most of La Plata County, according to data compiled by the alliance. The annual income required was calculated based on buyers putting 20 percent down on a home and paying 28 percent of their income toward their mortgage.”
“Ever heard of ‘Denverization’? In Kansas City, Mo., it’s a 13-letter word for gentrification, and it doesn’t come with Mile High City perks such as plentiful sunshine and nearby ski slopes,” reports The Denver Post. “The Kansas City Star published an editorial last week under the headline ‘Stop the Denverization of Kansas City. Troost doesn’t need to be hipster-friendly.’ The editorial decries city policy that has allowed for new money and development to pour into the city’s East Side without any giveback from builders or protection for low-income residents now being priced out of their once-overlooked, minority neighborhoods.”
“In January, a federal appeals court heard arguments that a ban on females going topless in public was either a safeguard against pandemonium or sexist discrimination. Almost a year later, the three-judge panel in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals still hasn’t ruled on Fort Collins’ topless ban,” reports The Fort Collins Coloradoan. “The court hasn’t blown any deadlines or broken any rules. It’s just not moving with haste. ‘I would have expected to get a ruling by now, if I’m being honest,’ said Andrew McNulty, the attorney for advocates of Free the Nipple, a national movement that argues any ban on topless women is discriminatory. He predicted a ruling in two to four months. ‘This is a very unusually long time. But there is no deadline. Whenever the court decides to rule is when the court decides to rule.'”
“Alex Hyland, of Windsor, spent more than 250 days this year on the road, traveling to rodeos, community barbecues, schools and anywhere she was invited to talk about rodeos and agriculture,” reports The Greeley Tribune. “When she was named Miss Rodeo Colorado this year, Hyland was excited to take up the mantle and serve as an ambassador for the sport she loves. That excitement hasn’t dimmed as she approaches the Miss Rodeo America Competition, held during the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, which runs from Dec. 6-15.”
“Larimer County has approved a lease allowing Extraction Oil and Gas to horizontally drill beneath the Little Thompson Farm, a preserved property south of Berthoud that is currently and will remain a working farm,” reports The Loveland Reporter-Herald. “This site, if drilled, will constitute the first oil production on any preserved open space owned by Larimer County — acres that have seen many firsts, from pioneers traversing and settling the land to a water-sharing agreement in 2017.”
“Colorado Springs’ single-family housing market is still going strong — just not quite as strong as last year,” reports The Colorado Springs Gazette. “A tight supply of homes available for purchase has contributed to a months-long decline in sales, as has a traditional late-year slowdown in buying and selling, said Joe Clement, broker-owner of Re/Max Properties in Colorado Springs.”
“A sixth reading on more lax regulations for accessory dwelling units was final Tuesday night on changes that have been in the works for decades in Boulder and that were intended to allow more of the structures to be built in the city,” reports The Boulder Daily Camera.
“Despite a significant reduction in the price, the city of Steamboat Springs and Routt County are not jumping at the opportunity to purchase a large commercial building on the west side of town for office space,” reports The Steamboat Pilot & Today. “The former Steamboat Pilot & Today office building at the corner of Elk River Road and Curve Plaza has 10,680 square feet of office space and 12,542 square feet of warehouse space. Worldwest LLC, the former owner of the newspaper, was trying to sell the building along with 1.7 acres of vacant land along U.S. Highway 40 for $5.5 million.”
