Sending a wakeup call

Residents and business owners are sadly fighting to keep a popular neighborhood corridor accessible by motor vehicles instead of limited to bicycle traffic.

No one should be alarmed about that. Similar decisions are made every day.

What is alarming and should be a wakeup call to every Coloradan and American is this decision is being made by a non-elected government agency void of the representative democracy our forefathers passed down to us.

Decisions effecting our livelihoods, and our pursuit of happiness made by a few appointed by a king rather than duly elected officials is hardly the government envisioned almost 250 years ago when proud, brave men sacrificed their fortunes and sometimes their lives because they believed in a government of the people, by the people, and for the people — not a monarchy!

Citizens of that road near Sloan’s Lake and every Coloradan must demand a representative democracy. An appointed government agency should do its job and make recommendations, but all such final decisions should be made only by a duly elected body of government!

May God continue to bless our United States of America!

Paul Gremse

Denver

Toyota recall problems

This problem might be of interest to anyone looking for a new car. In 2021, I purchased a new Toyota Rav4. It has performed as expected and I am happy with it except has had an open safety recall for months (passenger airbag sensor) that I have not been able to resolve. The original “interim notice” indicated it would be corrected in “third quarter 2024, depending upon parts”. We are there now, and I still cannot get a repair scheduled.

After no success at the dealer level, I called Toyota and was transferred to a “customer advocate”. After checking Vin numbers, etc., he tells me “more bad news”. It is now a “phased recall” and the Western States, including Colorado, are in Group 9, which will be started in about March of 2026 (not a typo — 2026).

Their solution is “don’t use the passenger seat”, which is not acceptable.

Over the years, I have had three Toyotas and this is the first time I have had this type of a problem.

This is not just a Rav4 issue, but includes a number of popular models. It is ridiculous to expect someone to wait two years to fix a problem that prevents them from using the passenger seat of a relatively new car for the next 2 years. Buyer beware!

Dave Krebs

Centennial

Questionable project

As a concerned resident of Arapahoe County, I strongly urge Colorado’s Energy and Carbon Management Commission to reject the Lowry Ranch Comprehensive Area Plan (CAP). The Lowry Ranch CAP would consist of 156 new fracking wells in the east metro area.

If approved in their current proposed locations, the project would bring oil and gas wells as close as just over 3,000 feet from existing homes and the Aurora Reservoir.

The CAP could pose a threat to the infrastructure of the nearby Lowry Landfill Superfund Site, a concern that the US Environmental Protection Agency has articulated. The CAP could degrade the bedrock in the area and cause toxins from the landfill to leach into the surrounding soil and the Denver Basin Aquifer. This is an unacceptable risk.

The oil and gas wells proposed under the Lowry Ranch CAP would also contribute to worsening air quality, when the Front Range has already been deemed in “severe” non-attainment of federal air quality standards for ozone. Oil and gas development is the leading contributor to ground-level ozone on the Front Range, and we cannot afford to permit further large-scale industrial activities that will undermine our air quality.

To protect human health and the environment, the ECMC should reject the Lowry Ranch CAP.

Amy Allen

Littleton