The Gazette letters

Making downtown thrive

Want to set the record straight on Bread and Butter. We do have a downtown grocery store. On September 19, the Downtown Partnership hosted its 28th Annual Breakfast at Ed Robson Arena on the Colorado College Campus with an audience of more than 700 people. Keynote speaker Jay Renkens, of the consulting group MIG, previewed the forthcoming Elevate Downtown Colorado Springs Plan, set to be finalized in 2026.

The updates to this plan are rooted in months of community engagement that drew input from thousands of Colorado Springs residents citywide. While the plan outlines five major goals supported by dozens of action steps, much of the keynote and subsequent media coverage centered on the call for a full-service grocery store to serve the 8,000 people who will soon call downtown home.

That need is real — but it’s also true that it hasn’t gone unanswered. In 2020, Bread & Butter Neighborhood Market opened on Nevada Avenue, founded by two local women — Aubrey Day and Stacy Poore — who anticipated this very challenge. Bread & Butter offers fresh produce, meats, cheeses, prepared foods, pantry staples, spirits, and more — all with a welcoming neighborhood feel. In 2023, it was honored with a Downtown Star Award from the Downtown Partnership for helping address food scarcity Downtown.

More recently, The Warehouse announced plans to open Urban Grocer in the New South End of Downtown in 2026, further expanding grocery options for residents and workers.

As downtown continues to grow, it’s worth celebrating not only the thoughtful, community-driven planning shaping what’s ahead, but also the incredible entrepreneurs and community members who have been meeting this need for years. Their dedication, creativity, and investment have laid the foundation for today’s momentum — proving what is possible long before the vision was formalized. This combination of long-standing grassroots leadership and forward-looking planning ensures that downtown’s future builds on the strength of those who have already been making it thrive.

Jen Furda

Colorado Springs

Confronting the causes

I am writing in regards to the op/ed on Wednesday, September 24, headed “A call to confront Colorado’s mental health crisis”.

It seems to me that you correctly identify the victims, and the need for mental health intervention, but far from “confront[ing]” the mental health crisis, you skirt the issues and fail to acknowledge and identify the root causes of said crisis.

Treating the end result of a disease falls far short of confronting the causes and proscribes the possibility of eliminating some or all of the malady. I am talking about the societal ills that we ignore and refuse to confront for fear of condemning our economic and political structures.

I think we need to address the normalization of so many detrimental aspects of modern society. I think we need to look at the fear of the future engendered by unfettered technology, social media, and artificial intelligence. I think we need to confront gun violence and the fear and uncertainty it creates. I think we need to strengthen our education system to compete with the best in the world and foster an informed and confident citizenry.

I think we should also address the widespread reliance on highly processed foods and the chemicals within that lead to unhealthy minds and bodies.

I think it is time to reform our government and tax structure to promote the rights of workers and the responsibilities of those who benefit from their labor.

These, among many other concerns, are what seem to me to need the attention and consideration regarding the historically high levels of anxiety and dysfunction in our society today.

Mark Weingartner

Colorado Springs

The media and Charlie Kirk

There has been so much gaslighting by the media on the assassination of Charlie Kirk that it’s hard to know where to begin.

Let’s begin with motive. To the vast majority of Americans, the killer, Tyler Robinson, was no doubt driven by his leftist ideology to murder a popular conservative. Kirk’s cultural positions, grounded in his Christian beliefs that include loving others enough to speak the truth to them graciously, were viewed by Robinson as “hateful.” His leftist ideology became apparent within the first two days when it was revealed that shell casings contained “Hey Fascist! CATCH!” and “O Bella ciao, Bella ciao Bella ciao Ciao, ciao!,” a phrase embraced by anti-fascist movements. That Sunday, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said, based on the investigation, “there was clearly a Leftist ideology.” Yet the following week, Reuters, AP, and other media were still claiming his motive was obscure. (Gazette, Reuters Sept. 16, AP Sept. 17.) Reuters went so far as to include an assertion by an “expert on democracy,” without any evidence, that the shell casing inscriptions suggested that Robinson had an affiliation with a movement associated with a far-right activist. (Gazette, Sept.14.)

Second, as the Gazette’s editorial board observed, by all unbiased accounts Kirk was known for engaging those who disagreed with him “in cordial and respectful debate.” But as Kirk’s influence increased following his assassination, some media began gaslighting Americans about his demeanor and character. Reuters, for example, labeled him “divisive” and a “political operative” with a “combative style.” (Gazette, Sept. 15.) Such words are never used by the media to characterize speakers on the Left and their positions, only those on the Right.

Third, the national media is trying hard to convince Americans that such violence is occurring equally on both sides of the ideological spectrum. In reality, while there have been a few incidents of violence by misguided persons on the Right, the great majority of this ideologically-driven violence is coming from the Left.

Doug Barth

Colorado Springs