BELMAR SHOPPING CENTER IN LAKEWOOD IN FORECLOSURE, FACING SALE

Belmar Shopping Center, the exclusive retail center for Lakewood with some 80 local and national outlets, is in foreclosure, according to documents filed in Jefferson County. In October, a public notice filed by the Jefferson County Public Treasurer’s Office showed the center’s owner, Belmar Commercial Owner LP, owes $108.8 million on an original $111 million loan. The debt holders on the property have filed the necessary papers to force a sale under the deed. A public auction date was set for Feb. 25. Belmar, located at Alameda and Wadsworth, opened in 2004, a modern makeover of the former Villa Italia Shopping Center which had been located there.

AAA SURVEY: COLORADANS STILL CONCERNED ABOUT TRAVELING DUE TO COVID-19

Colorado AAA released results of a survey by AAA Travel which showed that even after the rollout of vaccine inoculations, 80 percent of Coloradans do not plan to travel in 2021. The survey also found 66 percent of Coloradans canceled or rescheduled their 2020 travel plans and 60 percent had fears about getting sick as a reason not to travel, with 56 percent citing concerns about the number of COVID cases. Just 32 percent of Coloradans report being comfortable with taking a commercial flight and 47 percent say they would feel safe in a hotel. By contrast, 84 percent say they would be fine in a car for a road trip if they were to travel and 73 percent are comfortable camping. Fifty-one percent of those surveyed also said they are driving less due to the pandemic.

HALF OF COLORADANS AGED 70 AND OLDER HAVE RECEIVED VACCINE

The Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment reported that as of Wednesday, 570,482 people in the state have received the first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, while another 239,285 people have received their second shot. Included in those numbers, half of Colorado residents who are 70 or older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. This week, the state began vaccinating those between the ages of 65 and 69 and about 27,000 people in that age demographic had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

RECENT STORMS HAVE BROUGHT SNOWPACK BACK, BUT STILL BELOW NORMAL

The snowpack in Colorado as of Wednesday was at 85 percent of median, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Services. That is up from 74 percent just under a month ago, and reflects a wetter recent weather pattern that has dropped multiple feet of powder on some Colorado ski areas. The snowpack in the Upper Colorado River Basin now stands at 82 percent of median, while the snowpack in the Gunnison Basin registers 79 percent of median. The news continues to get better as the National Weather Service in Grand Junction notes there are a series of storms due to move through western Colorado for the rest of the week.

REDEVELOPMENT OF SOPRIS SHOPPING CENTER GETS OK

The town of Carbondale Board of Trustees Tuesday approved plans for the new Carbondale Center Place, a redevelopment of the existing 30,000-square-foot Sopris Shopping Center at the corner of Colorado Hwy. 133 and Colorado Ave. The Center Place is a mixed-use development with 76 residential units, a three-story expansion of the existing Sopris Self-Storage business and 10,000 square feet of commercial/retail space. There were nine businesses in the former Sopris Shopping Center, including four restaurants.

MESA COUNTY ON TRACK FOR 3,000 VACCINATIONS A WEEK

Public health officials in Mesa County believe that they are on track to increase delivery of COVID-19 vaccinations and see the delivery of 3,000 vaccinations a week for the next few weeks. To date, there have been over 14,000 doses administered in the county, including 3,600 second doses, with about 60 percent of the estimated 21,000 people 70 and over having received vaccination. The goal is to reach 80 percent of those 70 and over with vaccinations by the end of the month. As of Sunday, those who sign up on the Mesa County Public Health website are now receiving a confirmation email.

MONTROSE COUNTY DROPS DOWN TO LEVEL YELLOW

As a result of the change in regulations in the state’s new, updated dial system, Dial 2.0, Montrose County has moved from Level Orange back to Level Yellow as of this week. Under the previous dial-system the state looked at the number of cases over a two-week period, and now under 2.0, cases are evaluated on a one-week basis. For Level Yellow, restaurants can increase capacity to 50 percent, up from 25 percent under Level Orange and last call for alcohol is now 11 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. Gym capacities, as well as retail, personal services, and other activities go to 50 percent.

BUSTANG NOW HAS SERVICE FROM TELLURIDE TO GRAND JUNCTION

The Bustang Outrider, the transit system of the Colorado Dept. of Transportation that provides connecting routes for Bustang, is now operating from Telluride to Grand Junction with scheduled stops in Placerville, Ridgway, Montrose, Olathe, and Delta. The Bustang Outrider service is on an ADA-compliant, 38-passenger coach with restrooms and bike racks, however due to COVID-19, capacity is limited to half. Masks are required for drivers and passengers. The one-way fare from Telluride to Grand Junction is $22 and fares may be computed on the basis of 17-cents per mile. Complete information is available at: ridebustang.com.

FIRST CASES OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE DISCOVERED IN S.W. COLORADO

Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced this week that 18 deer have tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease in an area stretching from Dove Creek to Wolf Creek. Seventeen of the positive cases of the fatal neurological disease were located in agricultural areas near Cortez. It is the first time animals have tested positive for CWD in southwest Colorado. CPW requires all hunters who take down a deer to have it tested for CWD, and during the 2020 hunting season, 18 of 1,489 harvested deer tested positive.

YAMPA VALLEY SUSTAINABILITY COUNCIL GIVES 2021 AWARDS BY ZOOM

The Yampa Valley Sustainability Council Wednesday gave out its annual Sustainability Awards, but in keeping with all activities this year, the awards were presented on Zoom. Among the award winners this year:

• Snow Bowl, Sustainable Business of the Year
• The Yampa Valley Community Foundation, “Shining Star” award
• Innovative Regeneration Colorado, Recycler of the Year
• Kelly Romero Heaney, Steamboat water resources manager, Sustainable Government Official
• Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, Partner of the Year
• Brian Ashley and Meredith Rose, Volunteers of the Year
• Community Agriculture Alliance, Sustainable Community Leader

THE VACCINE PASSPORT IS IN THE WORKS

Many people look forward to the day when travel, especially international travel, begins to return, safely, again. International travelers know well the “yellow card.” The “yellow card” was the signed, stamped sheet known as an International Certification of Vaccination or Prophylaxis which provided proof that the traveler had been vaccinated against diseases such as yellow fever, rubella, cholera or other diseases.
Now, among governments and in the travel industry there is considerable work to establish the “vaccine passport.” The challenge right now is creating a document or app that is accepted around the world, that protects privacy and is accessible to people regardless of their wealth or access to smartphones. The International Air Transport Association is one of the leading organizations working on digital solutions to streamline the travel credentialing process for years, with the idea to have all pertinent information on your phone. In addition to I.A.T.A., IBM has been developing its own Digital Health Pass that would enable individuals to present proof of vaccination or a negative test to gain access to a public location, such as a sports stadium, airplane, university or workplace.

THE YEAR OF THE OX

Friday, Feb. 12, begins the lunar new year, year 4719 on the Chinese calendar. Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, is the longest national holiday of the year:

• It begins Feb. 12 and ends Feb. 26 with the Lantern Festival
• In China, all stores are closed during the first five days of the Spring Festival, with some not opening until the very end
• Preparations for the new year and the beginning of Spring Festival is the Laba Festival of lunar December, which was Jan. 20 - this is the day to pray to ancestors and gods (such as door gods) for fortune and a successful harvest
• Featured food is Laba porridge
• That was followed by Little Year, Feb. 4 - another day to pray to ancestors and gods and to clean the house to sweep away bad luck and pray to the stove god
• New Year’s Eve, Feb. 11, there is the reunion dinner, the most important meal of the year and after dinner children receive red envelopes with money - “new year’s money” or “lucky money”
• After New Year’s Day, each day until Feb. 26 has a specific name and activities

THE YEAR OF THE OX

• The Ox is the second of all zodiac animals
• The Ox is associated with the Earthly Branch
• It is associated with the hours 1-3 in the morning
• The Ox is yang

Lucky things for Oxen

• Colors: blue, yellow, green
• Numbers: 1, 4
• Flowers: lily of the valley and lucky bamboo
• Directions of auspiciousness: East, Southeast
• Directions of wealth: Northwest
• Directions of love: South

Unlucky things

• Colors: red, brown
• Numbers: 3, 6