DENVER — A bill that would have eased crooks' lives but penalized the retailers they victimize was shot down in the last legislative session after a barrage of protests.
It would have prohibited peace officers from arresting a person based solely on a petty offense. Rep. Jennifer Bacon (D-Denver) who introduced the bill said it would help people of color. "These arrests, commonly tied to behavioral health, substance use, or homelessness, are often exacerbated by jail," she said.
The Colorado/Wyoming Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association jumped into the resulting fray along with scores of law enforcement, government and retail opponents.
Grier Bailey, executive director, said, "This legislation says that a person can willfully disregard the law. Small convenience stores are seventy percent owned by Colorado families. Taking tools away from law enforcement gives shop owners no options if someone is harming the family business. It also harms communities."
More than thirty crimes would have been covered by the proposed legislation, including shoplifting, prostitution, arson, check fraud, harassment and exposure.
Opponents included the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, County Sheriffs of Colorado, the Colorado Municipal League, Colorado Retail Council, the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance, even an international group, the Council of Shopping Centers, Building Owners and Managers, whose members feared it could have a wider effect outside Colorado.
Christopher Howes, president of the Colorado Retail Council, said, "Retailers already experience daily challenges with trespassing, product theft, harassment of customers and illegal drug use in their stores. This could exacerbate these problems."
Had it passed, Pueblo Police Chief Chrisf Noeller mused, "All I could do would be to write the person a citation. I couldn't use force to remove them from the property because I can only use force in arrests. I could keep writing them tickets and hope that at some point they would get frustrated with getting tickets and stop their behavior."
The bill was quickly put in cold storage in the House Judiciary Committee.
AURORA — A 14-year-old boy died because he wanted a vape canister without paying the convenience store for it.
He was part of an armed gang that stole several canisters from the store, then were confronted by police who had monitored the group after one officer noticed them entering the store wearing medical masks and hoodies and called for backup.
Two were arrested and four fled. The 14-year-old armed robber was shot during the struggle to arrest him. He died later at a hospital.
PUEBLO — Purse snatching at the pump is a growing trend here.
Police reminded the public it is especially important right now not to leave their belongings in a car as they fill up. They said the thieves are looking for lone women. They will drive close to their vehicles, reach out, grab the bag and speed away, often before the victim even realizes what has happened.
TRINIDAD — "After forty-eight years, I decided it was time to spend more time with family," said Ray Duran, explaining why he sold his eight stores to Alta Convenience, a joint venture of Fortress Investment Group LLC and Phillips 66 Co.
J. R. Duran, the founder, started as a fuel delivery driver in 1957 before opening Duran Oil Co., in 1977 with his wife and son.
When his father died, Ray Duran took over, operating as JR's Fuel Stop. "Our hometown has been wonderful. That is why I never moved away. I look forward to seeing the retail stores grow."
PARACHUTE — Love's Travel Stops has opened a new location here, off Interstate 70 at Exit 75.
The facility includes 50 spaces for trucks, 65 for cars, 8 for RVs and seven diesel bays in its 14,000 square feet. Showers, laundry, an RV dump, and a Mobile to Go Zone with the latest GPS, headsets and smartphone accessories are other features.
"We are excited to open our sixteenth location in Colorado," said Shane Wharton, president. "We're adding another safe, clean space where travelers can experience great customer service in a friendly environment with a staff that will get them back on the road quickly."
DENVER — Gasoline prices in Colorado were 22 cents higher than the average in the rest of the country this summer.
A recent price of a gallon of unleaded was $3.81, compared to the average national price of $3.59. Diesel was selling at $3.92.
Pueblo street prices ran the highest for unleaded at $3.97. Colorado Springs posted an average of $3.80, Denver, $3.78, and Grand Junction, $3.82.
A month earlier the state average stood at $3.58.
The rapid rise came despite the re-opening of the state's only refinery, the Suncor refinery, which shut down in December because of damage done to the plant by severe weather.
Higher state taxes (or fees as they are labeled) contributed to the high price, along with high demand and unsettling world news, industry officials said.
WELLINGTON — Gasoline retailers in Colorado have not been in a hurry to add EV charging stations because of the high cost and low demand. Kum & Go is an exception.
The company picked Wellington to install EV stations as a place where it could offer the service with cheaper overhead.
Utilities charge businesses what they call "demand charges," which apply when stores draw a lot of power at once. If four EV vehicles are charging at once the cost for the gasoline station is enormous and they can't pass it onto customers without a lot of pushback.
Also, some oil companies that own gas stations see no profit in competing against themselves.
But Wellington is headquarters for Xcel Energy, so the draw doesn't cost as much.
Kum & Go also has battery backups there, drawing energy throughout the day, so that it doesn't have such a huge surge at one time.
Other stations are investigating the feasibility of using solar power to augment their resources.
DENVER — The state has offered some stores relief from the delivery fees which kicked in this year.
A new law now exempts retailers from paying the fees if their retail sales total $500,000 or less.
The delivery fee, now set at 28 cents a delivery — even if only one of the items delivered fits the fee criteria — has caused havoc as retailers tried to figure out how to report the money it gets to the government. The state has made it more difficult by requiring a separate form, which many businesses do not have computer setups to handle.
LONGMONT — Take5 is expanding its lube network in Colorado.
The latest entry is a location in Longmont, which also is the first one built from the ground up. It replaces a Pizza Hut.
Management chose the site because it is near a grocery store and has high visibility and accessibility.
Originally published in the September 2023 issue of the O&A Marketing News.
© KAL Publications Inc. 2023