NEWS Briefs & NOTES from your editor, 4/6/23

LYONS TREE BRANCH PICK UP – Saturday, April 22, 8 am -noon. Residents only. The limb drop off will be held in conjunction with an open house and tour of the Public Works Facility along with a Meet and Greet with the Board of Trustees.

TRAVELLING – URGENT NEWS: (1) DIA Economy parking lot: 2,000 spots will be closed off for repairs until October. ====== (2) look at your driver’s license for a star in the corner– Do you have a REAL ID? Beginning May 3, 2023, every air traveler 18 years of age and older will need a state-issued REAL ID-compliant license or identification card, enhanced driver’s license, or another acceptable form of ID (such as a passport), to fly within the United States. (This deadline was delayed during the pandemic) Guests can also visit the DHS REAL ID website and click on their state on the map or visit www.tsa.gov.

GUN VIOLENCE: BOULDER COUNTY School Kids joined other students nationwide to leave classes and form a protest Wednesday, April 5 … demanding something concrete be done to stop further gun violence in schools. They had poignant signs, like “am I next?” == The Nashville shooter got off: 152 bullet rounds, 126 rifle rounds, and 26 9MM rounds. Yea, this isn’t someone going in with a simple gun to shoot one person.

SPRING BREAK: People were posting lots of spring break photos on Facebook! And it was all adults! From Pete Ditmon in waist-deep powder skiing to Chastidee Bolkovatz having cocktails in Hawaii!

MEET OUR MAYOR – Most people I talk with do not know that there is a monthly opportunity (started recently) where people can meet the mayor and at least one other board of Trustee member, and talk about the Town of Lyons. The next one is Saturday, April 22, 2023 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. “Meet and Greet.”  This one will be held at the Town’s Public Works Facility and the public is welcome to chat with some of your BOT as well as tour the facility

DOG LICENSES DUE: due in May, and Town has a promotion during the month of April for “discount dog days” to help residents out. Proof of rabies vaccination is required, and all dogs must be on a leash. Go to Town Hall.

BOULDER LIBRARY broke ground this week on the new North Boulder Library, the city’s first new branch in 36 years. They were joined by community leaders, elected officials, and the public. Watch for the site at 4500 13th St.

The LONGMONT LIBRARY  will be closed on Friday, April 7 for an All Staff Training Day and on Sunday, April 9 for the Easter holiday.

CLICK IT, TICKET IT: Starting April 3, the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Colorado State Patrol (CSP) and 27 local law enforcement agencies throughout Colorado will begin the first seat belt enforcement period of 2023. The Click It or Ticket enforcement campaign will run through April 19. Seat belt use was lowest among pickup truck drivers and high among SUVs. 

UPDATE on BOULDER’S FARMERS MARKET (open April 1): Eleven agricultural organizations are receiving grants from Boulder County to catalyze regenerative practices, education, market infrastructure and more. = 2023 Sustainable Food & Agriculture Funds = One of those is the Boulder County Farmers Market (BCFM), which opened its Saturday markets in Longmont and Boulder on April 1. They closed up during the pandemic and did deliveries to under served communities. The farmers market also offers the Double Up Food Bucks program, which doubles up to $20 in fresh fruit and vegetable purchases for those with SNAP benefits. (See our previous article on who the other recipients were, including our school district).

ELDORADO PARK & RIDE, popular trail:  Starting as early as April 3, the Colorado Department of Transportation, the City of Boulder and Boulder County will install several new safety improvements at the Eldorado Park-n-Ride near the Marshall Mesa Trailhead south of Boulder. It will help with traffic flow and safety issues with pedestrians and bike riders. (A larger scale renovation of the Marshall Mesa Trailhead will begin in late 2024.)

U PUMP IT, Lyons, closed – as we reported last week, the renters of the gas station have closed. The mumbled reasons for closure by the cashiers ranged from the cost to update pumps to not making enough money, and more. Some people were told there were new renters and others were told “I don’t know what’s going to happen to it.” Someone said it was owned by Peerless, but I looked up both Peerless and U Pump It and it was not listed among the individual businesses. Some info online says it is a Valero station. We have no conclusive evidence of either, and it’s not worth spending hours finding it out, is it? 

WARNING SIREN TESTING: Outdoor emergency warning sirens Audible testing will occur on the first Monday of the month from May to August in Lyons. This is aimed to be heard outside, not in the house. See our ARTICLE for all the details! Including how to sign up for phone call warnings.

PASSPORTS: (1) Saturday April 8 – Is it hard for you to get to the Lyons post office to apply for a passport during the week? This Saturday you can go to Ft Collins and get it done on a Saturday (any County resident). ARTICLE. (2) ==LYONS Post office== There have been numerous postings on the “Lyons Happenings” Facebook page that people are having problems getting their passports through the Lyons Post Office. Their appointments are often cancelled at the last minute. The reason is because the branch is very short handed, and if there is not enough staff that day, passport application appointments are cancelled. The post office manager is not authorized to make a public statement, but, off the record, she has been trying to remove the responsibility from the Lyons branch until they are able to be fully staffed again. Facebook posters said that they have gone to other branches and had it done swiftly; so, please do consider checking for other locations.

Thor’s PET STORE: The new pet store in town will have a “soft opening” this coming week. They aim to have a big grand opening at the end of April. We will be publishing lots of details about what to find in the store. They have a big supply of the most popular quality pet foods; so check it out. Save yourself a trip to Longmont.

PHARR furniture had their moving sale last week, 20% off. We will have an article letting you know where they are moving to. They are stocking up on summer furniture, with chairs and picnic tables being big sellers. You can get it personalized!

LONGMONT SURVEY to add a new library/recreation/arts center. The results now in: 60% said they’d support it, but when you break it down, only 29% of those same respondents said they would “definitely” support a new branch library and just 31% said they would “probably” vote for it. Same for the rec center: 56% of survey respondents said that they would vote yes for a new recreation center. And out of those, just 27% indicated they would “definitely” support it and 29% said they would “probably” vote for it.

BOULDER STREET PARKING: rates have gone up 50 cents = $2/hour in high demand areas. The city-owned garages will stay the same.

PRESCRIBED BURN: DELAYED? == Firefighters on the Boulder Ranger District of the Roosevelt National Forest are monitoring conditions to begin operations on the Forsythe II Prescribed Burn, located 7 miles southwest of Boulder and 5.5 miles east of Nederland, as soon as April 7, 2023. We checked with them to see if it would still happen after the state experienced multiple fires this past week, and they responded: Firefighters are still monitoring conditions on the site, especially after the snow. It is still possible for the burn to take place as soon as Friday if conditions allow.

OLDEST BRIDGE in COLORADO – while this may not affect you?? It may be an interesting piece of history:  CDOT will be replacing the oldest bridge in the state’s highway system; built in 1911, and widened in 1966. —  Construction has started to replace the Alameda Avenue (Colorado Highway 26) bridge over the South Platte River, a project designed to improve safety for drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians.

Local nonprofit Can’d Aid has been raising funds to build the  Berthoud Adaptive Park Project, the first public inclusive playground for children and people of all abilities in the area for the last two years. They are half way to reaching their goal of $500,000!

===GOVERNMENT===

On Tuesday, NASA introduced the astronauts who will be going to the moon. They plan to go to areas previously not explored.

Our US Rep JOE NEGUSE report 4/3/23: Last week, I joined my friend and colleague, Republican Congressman John Curtis of Utah, as well as U.S. Senators Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Steve Daines (R-MT), to reintroduce the Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus. I created this congressional caucus after the Cameron Peak and East Troublesome Fires to elevate awareness and bipartisan consensus around wildfire management, mitigation, preparedness, and recovery. Together, we will build on past efforts and take further action to prevent and recover from wildfires. I also launched the bipartisan Colorado River Caucus this month, which includes members from the Upper and Lower Basin States, and will focus on working to support water conservation efforts and address the water crisis facing the West. 

DENVER voted to elect a mayor this Tuesday, April 5. A whopping 16 candidates ran; and none got a majority of the vote, so two top winners will do a run off in two months. Only 19% of the Denver citizens voted, perhaps overwhelmed? The vast majority of voters were people over 65 years old.

As a note “in history”, on April 4, 2023, for the first time a US president received an indictment issued by a Manhattan court grand jury for his alleged role in a scandal stemming from hush money payments made during his campaign for president. Trump was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

===SPECIAL SPORTS NEWS===  BASKETBALL: March Madness was REALLY madness this year. None of the top 1, 2 or 3 teams made it to the final 4. === BASEBALL:  National Opening Day, Sat April 1, for the first time in decades all 30 teams played! And the Rockies were winning games this past week. Their Opening HOME Game is Thurs. April 6. 

===ACTIVITIES===See THINGS TO DO for more info.

April 16, 10 a.m. – 3p.m.  – Arvada’s annual KITE Festival. See our Things to DO for a lot of details about this fun spring event.

ART SHOW: our Lyons local Jennifer Jarrett is having her first solo show beginning Friday, April 7; Art Walk in Boulder on 1015 Pearl St, Ozo Coffee., 4-7 p.m. Go on down and cheer her on.

April 12 – Lyons Arts & Humanities Commission – 2nd Quarterly Lyons Art Show opening — OPENING RECEPTION: at the Lyons Library at 5:30 p.m., an introduction to the show’s solo artist Linda Backup, whose art will be on display in the library through July. Then, to the Town Hall Art Show (432 5th Avenue) where the Residents’ art follows the theme of “Oh, the places you’ve gone.”– At the library: Local Marianne Wesson will be playing her hammered dulcimer; Macarena Anguita Schrodt offers her popular empanadas; and beverages, will be available. – next week we will have more details on Linda and her solo exhibit. See our full ARTICLE for more details and samples.

KIDS DRAMA – DROP IN Classes – Thursdays and Fridays in April and May. $35, contact DraMagic Theater: esther.v.zyl@gmail.com. This is the same group that recently put on the well-loved children’s play in the Lyons library. (PS the “Yellow Barn” that they meet in is a “finished” building!)

RUNNING Event – Slow and Steady Comeback Series – Picture Rock Trail Head – Sat. April 15, 8:30 a.m. “Let’s do an out and back for about 70 minutes. Do as much as you want or as little as you want. Slow and steady pace. All are welcome, bring water and snacks, No Dogs allowed on the trail. I’ll be in a Black 4Runner with a RTT.” – by Jenny Burns of Human Potential Running Series. See Facebook events page.

PICKLEBALL – (1) Pinewood residents – at Estes Park Recreation Center – For you beginner and intermediate pickle ball players. It started with a fun round-robin tournament on April 1 with a prize for the winner; and the April Pickleball Clinic is filling up fast. There is a fee for the classes. Go to their Rec Center pages.—(2) Town of Lyons: Come get in on the fun!  The Multisport Court at Bohn Park is where the action is every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday all year long.  Bring a racquet and a ball if you have one. Open to anyone old enough to play. (3) Longmont Recreation has a Pickleball group (4) If local Lyons folks want to add their games to our “news briefs”, please write us.

2nd Annual Earth Day clean-up event on Friday, April 21st, from 3-5 pm. Calling all volunteers! Sponsored by Gateway Realty (Dan Siddall). More info to come.

PLANET BLUEGRASS TICKETS for sale to LOCALS only on April 1^st at Spirit Hound Distillers. – If you missed it, you still have a chance to buy tickets at the box office (see our ARTICLE last week); or, go to Planet Bluegrass web page and see the blogging section where people talk about returning tickets/selling them. 

Main Stage and A-Lodge Rock Garden are starting their OUTDOOR concerts this weekend. Watch their Facebook pages for more info.

===What’s new for 2022 tax law?===
Although several pandemic-related tax benefits have expired, taxpayers will benefit from higher standard deductions as well as more generous tax brackets and Earned Income Credit allowances. Colorado has created new tax benefits regarding retirement earnings, enhanced earned income and child tax credits; a Senior Housing Tax Credit (if not claiming the senior property tax exemption); and a tax credit for certain pre-kindergarten educators. See our ARTICLE for more information.=== Colorado sales tax rebate! This year that rebate is at least $153 for each full-year resident born before 2004.

REMINDER: (1) The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals.

(2) Get A head Colorado.org = a public information campaign encouraging tax filing in CO

(3) Tax Help Colorado provides free in-person tax preparation and help. Connect with an IRS-certified volunteer to get your taxes done at a location near you. 

(4) Also AARP trained help at Estes Park library and Longmont Senior Center. (check their requirements!)

(5) On IRS.gov, the IRS offers helpful online tools and resources for taxpayers getting ready to file their 2022 tax return.