Archive for Current Events

Denver Bike Share Program

May 18, 2010 · Filed under Being Green, Current Events · Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Denver has a newly implemented bike sharing program with around 400 bikes, which is miles ahead of the rest of the country. Adopting the program from European countries such as Paris, Barcelona and Rome, Denver has taken one more step to become Green.

Denver B-cycle is a joint program of Denver Bike Sharing, a local non profit, and B-cycle LLC. Denver Bike Sharing has enlisted the help of B-cycle to supply the technology and hardware required to implement a bike sharing system in the Denver area. GPS and other wireless technologies associated with the system allows users to track how many miles they’ve ridden, calories burned and estimated carbon footprint savings earned. You can even use a smartphone to see if a dock is full or where space is available.

Residents and frequent users will be able to obtain unlimited access to the system by purchasing an annual membership online. Alternatively, both residents and tourists with a valid credit card will be able to purchase a weekly or monthly membership online. Daily memberships will be available for purchase onlineor at the B-cycle stations. Stations are still available for hosting as well as sponsorship opportunities.

Membership Options & Fees

The following membership fees are the base fees to use the Denver B-cycle system.

Length of Membership Fee
24 Hour Membership $5
7 Day Membership $20
30 Day Membership $30
Yearly Membership $65

Usage Fees per Ride

Usage fees are designed to keep rides short and promote constant use and turnover of bikes. The longer the trip, the higher the usage fee.

Total Duration
of Ride		 Fee per 30-minute Segment Total Fee
0-30 minutes Included $0.00
31-60 minutes + $1.10 $1.10
61-90 minutes + $2.20 $3.30
91-120 minutes + $3.30 $6.60
Additional charge per 30 minute segment + $4.40 $11.00+

Applicable local and state sales tax of 7.72% included.

If you forget to bring the bike back, it will cost $1,000 to replace. And that’s a direct debit right out of the credit card you listed when you signed up. Lose a B-card? That’s a $5 fee. And it costs $10 to replace a B-cycle key.

Click here to find the closest station to you.

For more information on memberships, visit Denver.Bcycle.com.

To read the full Denver Post article here
Libby’s Denver

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Colorado loves the iPad

April 20, 2010 · Filed under Current Events, Life in Colorado · Tagged , , ,

Just as a fun piece of trivia, according to the Denver Business Journal, Denver ranks 7th in iPad sales across the country. Following are the top ten cities; San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland; Boston; San Diego; New York City; Washington; Chicago; Denver; Monterey-Salinas, Calif.; Santa Barbara-Santa Marina-San Luis Obispo, Calif.; and Las Vegas.

Learn more about me at Libby’s Denver

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Snob Shop Closes

March 18, 2010 · Filed under Current Events

The consignment king in Cherry Creek, The Snob Shop, has closed. The Snob Shop off Detroit and  E. 6th Avenue has been a long time staple in Cherry Creek while other business opened and closed it seemed The Snob Shop was resilient to all the change. As reported by the Denver post, the store has had difficulties paying consigners over the past three years and abruptly closed their doors this week. The silver lining? My Best Friend’s Closet is open and is just a few doors down.

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IKEA to open Fall 2011

March 16, 2010 · Filed under Current Events

IKEA has announced that they plan to open in Fall 2011. Ground breaking is planned in a few months. The 415,000-square-foot store, with 1,500 parking spaces, will be located on 13.5-acres just west of I-25 and north of Park Meadows Mall, between Dry Creek and County Line roads.

The IKEA store will feature 50 different room-settings, three complete model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, baby-care rooms, and a 500-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes.

The finished store will employ about 400, IKEA said. Construction will generate about 500 jobs, the company said last year.

The store will be the company’s first in the U.S. to incorporate a geothermal component as part of the heating and cooling system, allowing heat to be pumped either from or into the ground, depending on weather conditions. Geothermal Systems of Colorado has been contracted to install the geothermal component.

IKEA, founded in Sweden in 1943 and now headquartered in the Netherlands, operates some 300 stores in 38 nations, including 37 in the U.S.

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2010/03/15/daily17.html

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Starbucks’ New Promotions

July 12, 2009 · Filed under Current Events · Tagged , , , ,

I’m the first to admit that I’m somewhat of a Starbucks rat. I wanted to share that the treat receipts are back. If you enjoy a beverage in the morning you can bring your receipt back after 2pm and get a grande size frozen treat for $2.

As far as the treats, I’m happy to announce that Starbucks now offers Gluten free pastries as a nice dietary option to the rest of the line-up. I will note that the Valencia Orange Cake is a bit sticky and tends to produce sticky strings off every bite. It’s not perfect, but a great start.

Finally, you may have noticed the jelly beans by the register. If you have a chance, take the $1 gamble and try them. I was pleasantly surprised with how flavorful they are.

www.Starbucks.com

Libby’s Denver

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Forbes Magazine Votes Denver #1 City to Purchase a Home

June 26, 2009 · Filed under Current Events · Tagged , , , ,

The rest of the country is finally taking note that Denver is pulling out of this down turn in the market ahead of the country! Below are some links to the articles. Following are some of the highlights …

The report ranked the 25 largest U.S. metro areas on the basis of change in price per square foot, frequency of real-estate transactions, and how evenly distributed home-sales activity is in a metro area.

“Denver tops the list,” Forbes said. “It had 25 percent of its property sales occur within approximately 25 percent of the city’s ZIP codes. This means sales in various parts of the city were fairly evenly distributed, showing proportionate activity. The further a city deviates from the 25 percent mark, the less evenly distributed the market is in that city, and thus the lower that city ranks.”

Forbes also determined that average price per square foot of housing space increased 5.7 percent in Denver between February and March of this year, and that transactions decreased 8.4 percent between March 2008 and March 2009, less of a drop than many cities.

“Denver scores very well in terms of being able to bring people into a stable housing market,” the magazine quoted Moody’s economist Christopher Cornell as saying. “It has better growth potential than most cities today.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/06/22/daily46.html

http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/22/cities-deals-home-lifestyle-real-estate-home-buying.html

Learn more about me at Libby’s Denver

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First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

April 16, 2009 · Filed under Current Events · Tagged , , ,

For all the First Time Home Buyers out there, now is the time to Buy!

Interest rates are below 5%, prices are down and with an $8,000 tax credit from the government, it couldn’t be a better time to Buy.

A First Time Home Buyer is defined as a person who has not owned a home in three years. So, even if you’ve owned a home in the past, but own a home currently, you could be eligible to take part in the $8,000 credit!

This tax credit is slightly different from the $7,500 credit offered last year. The previous tax credit was more or a loan where Home Buyers were required to pay back the $7,500 over time. This new credit is an $8,000 gift from the government! As long as you close on your new home by December 1, 2009 (please don’t confuse this with December 31, 2009), you are eligible for the credit. Don’t forget to claim the credit on your 2009 taxes.

There are various loan programs available to make your new purchase a bit easier. You can do an FHA loan, which is a federally insured loan, which requires 3.5% of the purchase price as a down payment. You can also obtain a Conventional Loan and put down either 5%, 10% or 20% down on your new home.

If you need some help with a down payment, The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority rolled out a mortgage program Tuesday that advances a new federal tax credit for first-time home buyers so they can purchase a home more easily. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, first-time home buyers who purchase a property before Dec. 1 can receive 10 percent of the price, up to $8,000, back as a tax credit. The catch is that many potential buyers don’t have enough money to cover the down payment to buy a home and obtain the credit. But if they could qualify, they could, in theory, find a way to make a purchase and get the credit. CHFA’s JumpStart program breaks the trap by lending up to $6,000 or 3.5 percent of a home’s purchase price, whichever is less, to cover closing and down-payment costs. That second mortgage comes with no interest and no payments due until June 30, 2010. CHFA also will provide a 30- year, fixed- rate first mortgage to qualified borrowers.
Read the whole story in The Denver Post.

If you have any other questions please feel free to call me at 720-935-0412.

Happy Buying

Learn more about me at Libby’s Denver

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27th Annual Cherry Creek Sneak

March 31, 2009 · Filed under Current Events · Tagged , , ,

It’s time to dust off the tennies and get ready for the 27th Annual Cherry Creek Sneak on Sunday, April 26, 2009!

The events will run as follows:

8:00am – 5K Run/Walk
8:20am – 1/2 Mile Sneak Fun Run
8:55am – 1 Mile Student Sprint
9:15am – 5 Mile Run/Walk

To register on-line visit www.CherryCreekSneak.com (the site will be open until noon on Friday, April 24th). When you register please remember to sign up under the “Kentwood” team so that part of your entry fee will be donated to a local school.

If you want to register in person, you can visit select Sports Authority locations and select American National Bank locations (please refer to the website for specific locations). These sites will be open from Monday, March 30 through Saturday, April 25th at noon. Registration the day of the Race will be available at the Registration Tent located at First Avenue and Steel Street starting at 7am.

Entry Fees are as follow:

Adults – $35 ($40 day of the race)
Kids (under the age of 17) – $20 ($25 day of the race)
Seniors (over the age of 60) – $20 ($25 day of the race)
Family Four Pack (2 adults & 2 children)- $90 ($100 day of the race)

Parking will be available in the Kentwood at Cherry Creek parking garage, located 2 blocks from the start line, upon special reservation. Please contact Libby at Libby@LibbysDenver.com

Have fun!

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The Rocky Mountain News

February 27, 2009 · Filed under Current Events · Tagged , , ,

Goodbye to the Rocky Mountain News
It’s a sad day today in Denver as we say goodbye to the Rocky Mountain News, which is just shy of its’ 150th Anniversary. The final edition was delivered early this morning with a touching tribute to the paper’s history and details of what to expect with the Post as the only paper in town. The most poignant message, was “Rocky kept swinging until the very end. Paper won four Pulitzers since 2000, but couldn’t weather economic storm.”
If you’re concerned about the future of your subscription, you will begin receiving the Denver Post tomorrow with their first Saturday edition. starting tomorrow. Please take a look at the tributes posted at http://www.rockymountainnews.com/.
Thanks for the memories …
Learn more about me at Libby’s Denver

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