Hey neighbors,

I'm writing this mid-week and the forecast for Friday (as I hit send) calls for snow, one to three inches, with a Freeze Warning overnight. Snowpack is at 4% of median, the worst on record, and Colorado is giving us a spring storm on the day this issue ships. Take it as a freebie, cover the tomatoes, and don't mistake three April inches for an actual answer.

One other note before we get into it. A lot of you wrote back after Issue #2. This week's inbox had the first nomination for a neighbor profile (yes, we're starting Meet Your Neighbors, more on that at the bottom) and enough church recommendations to actually start the directory I promised. Keep them coming.

Monday is a heavy day on the local calendar. Let's start there.

Columbine turns 27 on Monday. April 20 marks 27 years since the shooting. The Columbine Memorial in Clement Park (7306 W. Bowles Ave) is open during park hours, one of the quieter places in 80127 to spend a few minutes if you want to. Governor Polis has designated April 20 as Colorado's Day of Service and Recommitment. No formal ceremony at the memorial this year; the state frames the day around volunteer hours. ColumbineServes.org has a statewide list. If you had a kid there in 1999, you already know what the day feels like. If you didn't, know that this town does not forget.

Jeffco's new Wildfire Resiliency Code takes effect July 1, and if you own in Ken Caryl you should know what it says now, not in June. The Board of County Commissioners adopted it March 10. For properties inside the Wildland-Urban Interface overlay (parts of Ken Caryl qualify), new construction and exterior renovations will require Class A roofing, fire-resistant siding and decking, and non-combustible fencing within eight feet of the house. No junipers within 30 feet. Check the overlay map at Jeffco.us before you pull a deck permit this spring. The rules are real and the enforcement starts in ten weeks.

Saturday April 18: Block 100 Flea Market at Aspen Grove, 10 AM to 2 PM, 7301 S. Santa Fe. Vintage, vendors, and the first dry day after Friday's weird storm.

Saturday April 18: Pokémon GO Riolu Hatch Day, 10:50 AM to noon, starting at Bega Park and walking Downtown Littleton. New to these pages: the Littleton Pokémon GO Community runs hosted meetups in town for trainers looking to be the very best, like no one ever was. All skill levels, kids and families included. Raid Hour every Wednesday, 5:50 PM at the Clement Park skate park, walking the park until 7. Full calendar in the Niantic Campfire app.

Monday April 20: Colorado Day of Service and Recommitment. The Columbine Memorial at Clement Park is open during park hours. Volunteer opportunities listed at ColumbineServes.org.

Wednesday April 22: Women in Leadership Conference, 8 AM to 12:30 PM at Arapahoe Community College, 5900 S. Santa Fe. Littleton Business Chamber's third annual. Details and registration at LittletonBusinessChamber.org.

Wednesday April 22: Earth Day Raid Hour + Clement Park cleanup. The Pokémon GO group partners with Foothills Park District for a park cleanup. Meet at the skate park at 4 PM, tools provided, raids kick off at 6.

Saturday April 25: 9th Annual South Platte River Clean-Up, 9 AM to noon. Meet at the Riverside Downs lot on the Mary Carter Greenway, near Pedal Bike Shop. Gloves and bags provided. SouthPlatteRenewCO.gov.

Sunday April 26: Littleton is for Locavores! (4th annual), 11 AM to 4 PM at 5641 S. Nevada St. A day of local food producers, makers, and educators.

Anna Isabella Cai is starting small Italian cooking classes out of her Littleton home. Neapolitan baking and family recipes she brought with her when she moved to the US from Italy in 2022. Small class sizes, materials fee only. She posted about it in one of the local Facebook groups this week, and it's exactly the kind of thing that makes a town feel like a town. Reply to this email and I'll pass you her info.

Abiding Hope Nature School at 5707 S. Simms is the nature-based preschool I mentioned briefly in last week's faith directory aside. Ages six weeks through six years, nature-based curriculum, and a reader with a kid enrolled there tipped me off that the kids are starting bee-keeping this spring. I'm trying to line up a visit.

The Revitalization Incentive Grant closes April 30. $100K in city money for Littleton storefront improvements (façade, signage, exterior lighting, ADA, landscaping). Up to $20K per project as a 50% match. If you've been sitting on a project, you've got two weeks. Contact Jamie Crout, Senior Economic Development Specialist, at 303-734-8094 or [email protected].

Waterton Canyon closes to the public weekdays from April 27 through May 8 for Denver Water's annual dust mitigation. Weekends stay open. If you want to walk it this spring without the closure hassle, your window is this weekend, next weekend, and then every weekend during the closure. (Denver Water adjusted the dates from what I had earlier in the week. Note the start is Monday April 27, not the 28th.)

Bears are still active. Same note as last week, still the right note. Trash inside until morning, no bird feeders if you can help it, and if you see one in the neighborhood, report it to CPW.

A reader ask: off-leash trails near 80127. Someone asked in one of the local Facebook groups this week for off-leash-friendly trails near the foothills and the thread fizzled with no real answers. So I'm passing the question along. If you know a good one, hit reply and I'll put together a roundup.

Colorado formally declared Stage 1 drought on March 25 with a 20% reduction target. South Platte basin snowpack is 4% of median, the worst on record since measurements started in 1941. Stage 1 watering restrictions stay in effect through mid-to-late May, and a reader wrote in last week to flag that a lot of her younger neighbors don't know the rules exist. If that's your street, forward this. Friday's snowstorm is great for the lawn and does not move the needle.

BAM Broadband is actively running fiber in Ken Caryl Valley. Orange flags, trenching crews, utility marking, the whole bit. Coverage is partial right now and more neighborhoods (Heirloom, Wynterbrooke, Bradford Place, Traditions) are slated for later in the year. No firm turn-up date for most addresses yet. Call 720-851-1111 for availability at yours.

Freeze Warning tonight. NWS has us under a Freeze Warning from 8 PM Friday through 8 AM Saturday. If you've already put tender annuals or tomato starts in the ground, cover them tonight.

March 2026 Redfin snapshot for 80127: median sale price is $699,900, up 4.0% year over year. Price per square foot is $291, up 7.8% year over year. Median days on market is 35, up from 24 a year ago. Sale-to-list ratio is 99.1%.

Translation: prices are still climbing, but homes are sitting roughly a third longer than last spring. Buyers have a little more breathing room this time around, and the homes that get priced right are still trading at or near ask. If you're thinking about listing this summer, the Resource Central Garden In A Box pickup window opens in May. With the drought where it is, xeriscape is going to matter more for curb appeal this year than last. ResourceCentral.org/gardens.

Friday (today): High around 40, snow likely with 1 to 3 inches possible. Freeze Warning in effect from 8 PM tonight through 8 AM Saturday. Cover the tomatoes.
Saturday: High 57, sunny once the morning freeze burns off. Flea market weather.
Sunday: High 72, sunny. The pick of the weekend by a mile.
Monday: High 77, mostly sunny. From snow to near 80 in three days. Colorado being Colorado.

There's a woman in the local Facebook groups who runs a dog rescue, and she's posted every day this week about needing fosters. Luna, Bear, Holly Berry, Sonic, Mabel. The rescue paused taking new dogs because every foster slot is full.

Fostering is the part of rescue nobody sees. You take a dog for a few weeks, give it a couch and a name, then hand it to someone who keeps it forever. A rescue saves a hundred dogs a year because a hundred people each took one for a month. When fostering stops, the pipeline stops.

If you've got a spare room and a soft spot, search "Olya Alexeyeva" on Facebook (she posts in several of the local groups), or share this section with someone who might.

Two quick notes before I go. The Faith in the Foothills directory has five churches in so far (Abiding Hope, Mission Hills, The Bridge, Colorado Church, Rockland) and I'm still collecting. Reply if you've got one to add.

Meet Your Neighbors is a new section pitched by a reader last week. Her example: during the fall 2025 federal furlough, one of her neighbors set up outdoor shelves stocked with food and household basics so anyone who needed help could just come take what they needed. Exactly the kind of thing that never shows up in local news. Launching in the next issue or two. If there's someone in 80127 who does a quiet exceptional thing for the neighborhood, nominate them and include a way to reach them (her rule, not mine).

Forward this to one person who lives here. That's how this grows.

Joey

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