AURORA — The State of Colorado has issued a Cease and Desist order to a convenience store here to stop "practicing medicine without a license."
La Morenita was cited after the board said it drew customers by claiming to "treat any human disease."
However one woman not only did not get well after she received three penicillin injections, the board said, but suffered a reaction that sent her to the emergency room.
That type of medical care is the result of a broken medical system that the poor cannot afford, said Maria Zubia, health equity director of Adelante Community Development.
There also are issues of language and trust that keep the poor away from medical professionals and that draws them to a place like La Morenita, she said.
"People can't afford regular care and "If your life depends on it why wouldn't you do it?" [seek alternative help].
DENVER — A state fee on gasoline jumped to three cents on unleaded and four cents on diesel in July.
The fee sparked outrage among conservatives who said calling it a fee was the state's way of getting around the TABOR law which requires a vote of the people when taxes are raised beyond a certain limit. They alleged a tax by any other name is still a tax.
The Colorado tax on gasoline has stayed at 22 cents for many years and the fee is an attempt to gain more money for roads and highways in dire need of repair.
The fee was to have kicked in last year, starting at two cents a gallon, and increasing each year. The Governor delayed the start until April of this year because of the economic situation. From two cents in April it went to the scheduled three cents in July.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Apparently there is so much competition in the crime business here that some crooks are having to work very hard for very little money.
In two separate incidents, thieves who have been given the moniker "The Bobcat Bandits" broke into a construction site and drove a piece of heavy equipment to a nearby car wash where they smashed it into the premises to heist a coin machine.
In the first case they got up in the predawn hours to pick up a bobcat and drive next door where they destroyed an $80,000 coin changing machine that contained a few hundred quarters.
Police were alerted but did not come for a long time, citing other, "higher priority calls in the area" that day.
Officials with the City of Colorado Springs couldn't fathom how the thieves got into the city's locked construction site.
The mother of the owner of the car wash asked, "What are they going to do with all those quarters?"
A day later two men caught on camera slept a little later, picking up a skid loader at a construction site next to a car wash on the opposite side of town and barreled into the office of the wash.
That pretty well destroyed the business, inflicting $250,000 worth of damage to machines, a boiler, and an exterior wall they brought down.
"I can't believe they did this for maybe $50 worth of coins," said owner Don Johnson. "I take the cash out every night."
Because the water line was broken the city had to shut off power in the area.
Johnson has had it. He is putting the business up to sell because he said it was not the first time it was targeted by thieves.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Gas & Grass is now one of the largest medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado. An attempt to expand by joining a campaign to allow sale for recreational purposes was defeated at the polls.
Gas & Grass operates as a separate entity next to the Native Roots gas station in two locations here. It can't sell food or drink as the gas station can.
The parent company, Altitude Organic, contributed $268,000 toward the effort to make recreational marijuana legal in the city as it is in nearby Manitou Springs.
The management has tried to gain people's trust by being active in the community, even allowing employees paid time off to volunteer for social causes.
PUEBLO — The success of its first foray into Colorado has led Big Splash Car Wash to expand to Pueblo.
The Kansas City-based chain opened its initial wash in Colorado Springs in 2020. "We've been overwhelmed by the positive response from our customers," said Jason Cunningham, who owns the business with his wife Claire.
The facility has state-of-the-art equipment, including a super smooth flat belt conveyor, license plate recognition, and camera-guided loading systems. But what Cunningham brags about most is the environmental approach to cleaning by recycling the water.
MEAD — Agfinity has broken ground on a project that will include a Cenex branded fuel station, retail space, and selected cooperative services and products.
It is being built in the heart of downtown Mead and the developers believe it will greatly benefit the community. City officials agree.
"To me this is more than a c-store and fuel pumps; it's an important part of the greater effort to connect our community and a major step in stimulating next-level economic development in Mead," said Mayor Colleen Whitlow.
DENVER — A convenience store that was the hope of its owner to fill a void of fresh fruit and vegetables in a low income neighborhood had to close after only a year in operation despite a gargantuan effort to keep it afloat. Another is trying to make a go of it.
It took two years and an initial $20,000 worth of redesigning to meet the city's requirements before LaSheita Sayer could get a permit to open her Melody Market in the Five Points neighborhood.
Once she opened it was everything she dreamed of: 1,400 different products, a variety of fresh foods, and a cultural ambience celebrating black history. Soft music and friendly staff greeted the customers. But it wasn't enough to offset the ensuing problems.
Maintenance on the old building was a huge drain on Sayer's finances and the closure of some nearby businesses that provided foot traffic reduced her business income — in one instance, by fifteen percent.
Natasha Butler, a New York transplant, loved the bodega she frequented in that city and decided to replicate it in Five Points in Denver. Like Sayer, it took her more than a year of untangling red tape to open.
She sells the basics such as cereal, bread, paper towels and laundry detergent.
Like a New York bodega owner, she also has a variety of goods catering to the taste of the neighborhood which are not readily available elsewhere. On her sandwich menu is a Jersey Shore hero, The Italian Situation, made with genoa ham, hot capicola and provolone, the Prius, a veggie offering, and the Dumbo, a roast beef sandwich.
She views promoting other local businesses as vital. She has partnered with local companies to provide locally made items. There's Little Man Ice Cream, 3rd Bird Kombucha made by a local resident, Mile High Pie Company's offerings, Queen City Collective's coffee, Susan's Samosas for frozen handmade South Sudanese samosas, and Hazlo for elixirs for making mocktails and cocktails.
Her approach to people is to converse with them. "I don't want our interactions to be purely transactional,"said Butler. "There's so much about our society that is so quick and transactional. People don't take the time to make that kind of small talk with their cashiers."
So far the reception has been good, she says. Construction workers on a break stop by. A local tattoo parlor has been her biggest supporter, using the ATM and grabbing snacks for long sessions.
Originally published in the August 2023 issue of the O&A Marketing News.
© KAL Publications Inc. 2023