Summer stopped easing in and just arrived. We go from low 90s today to 98 by Tuesday, the kind of stretch where the shady side of the street becomes prime real estate. It's also garage-sale weekend, so a good chunk of 80127 will be out on driveways by 7:30 this morning regardless. Bring water, bring small bills, and don't save your browsing for 1 p.m. when the asphalt's radiating. And that golf-ball hail that dented half the metro's cars Monday? Welcome to June in Colorado, where the sky refuses to pick a lane.

No sponsor in this spot today, so I'll point it at you. The Hogback Post grows almost entirely by word of mouth, and the referral program pays you back for it. Send one neighbor who subscribes and you get the Foothills Cheat Sheet, a one-page PDF of trail access, native plants, and local numbers worth keeping. Three referrals earns an 80127 sticker. Your link's at the bottom of every issue, this one included.

Littleton's about to make a multimillion-dollar decision, and it called a special meeting to do it. You might remember the restaurant project I flagged in April, the one reported to be tied to Peyton Manning. It has a name now, 1st Street Farms, and council votes Tuesday on whether to help pay for it. Gastamo Group, a Denver hospitality company, wants to build a farm-to-table restaurant, an event space, and a recreational field on 2.7 acres at Mineral and Santa Fe in the RiverPark area. Reporting pegs the full project around $28 million. The incentive agreement on Tuesday's agenda spells out the city's share: a $2 million forgivable loan for public infrastructure (forgiven if the developer finishes those improvements within five years), a 100% rebate of the project's city sales and use taxes for five years, and about $93,000 in waived permit fees, all capped at $5.5 million in today's dollars. It'd be among the first deals under the city's economic partnership incentive policy. The vote is at a special council meeting Tuesday, June 9, 6:30 p.m. at the Littleton Center, 2255 W Berry Ave. Council took it up June 2, so Tuesday is the decision. Whether you read it as a smart bet on the riverfront or public money chasing a famous name, that's the room to be in. Public comment is open.

One more for the calendar. The sewer and stormwater rate study, the one with the 25% and 60% increases floated for 2027 and 2028, is back before council June 16, the city says. If Tuesday's the flashy meeting, this is the one that lands on your monthly bill. Asking questions now is free, asking after the vote isn't.

And the Shea Homes rezoning in TrailMark still hasn't been rescheduled. July 21 is the tentative target, nothing's confirmed, nothing to do yet.

TrailMark Annual Garage Sale + Kidz Market. Friday and Saturday, June 5 and 6, 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., across the TrailMark neighborhood. This lands in your inbox the morning the sale opens, so consider it your heads-up: dozens of driveways, one weekend, and the map's past 45 homes and climbing. The part I'd drive over for is the Kidz Market, where neighborhood kids run their own stands (cookies, breakfast burritos, crafts, whatever they dreamed up) while a secret shopper scores them on initiative, service, and enthusiasm. Winner takes home a $100 Main Event gift card. Watch for the golf cart making rounds with free donuts and cold drinks. Map of every house is at bit.ly/GarageSaleMap2026.

Dutch Ridge community yard sale. Saturday, June 6, 9 a.m. to noon. A cluster of homes on South Independence and West Ontario, with camping gear, furniture, board games, and the usual driveway treasure. A second neighborhood sale the same morning, so plan a loop.

Divine Bovine. Saturday, June 6, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Littleton Museum. Free, all ages, butter churning and an oxen-style obstacle course. Mentioned it last week, still a genuinely good free morning.

Coal Mine Spring Festival. Saturday, June 13, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., 9729 W Coal Mine Ave. Free, with handmade vendors, bounce houses, live music, and food. If the downtown Block Party that same day (circus theme, fireworks, full rundown last issue) sounds like a lot, this is the mellower morning.

Standing stuff. Summer Concert Series, Wednesdays at 6:30 on the Littleton Museum lawn. Downtown Farmers Market, Saturdays 8 to 1 (no market June 13). And the Pokémon GO crew still runs Raid Hour Wednesdays at 5:50 p.m. at the Clement Park skate park.

Backpack Up Plan makes dehydrated trail meals, and the person behind them grew up right here in TrailMark. Lexie Ross started the company after she and her boyfriend got tired of sad backcountry dinners and she began dehydrating her own. The meals are all vegetarian or vegan, built to hit the calorie and protein numbers you actually need on a long day out. She launched in February, so this is her first real summer in business. Catch her at the Golden Farmers Market this Saturday (June 6) or the Downtown Littleton Block Party on the 13th, or order at backpackupplan.com. Hogback Post readers get 10% off with code HOGBACKPOST, just mention the issue.

Cellar 36 is finally open on South Simms. I flagged it as "coming soon" way back in our very first issue, and since most of you signed up after that, consider this the it's-actually-here update. It's the second act from the Bistro 36 team, the French spot on Belleview, except this one's Italian: red-sauce comfort food, scratch cooking, and a wine bar, priced like they want you to come back. The name's a family thing, 36 for the year co-owner Michael Cote's grandmother Danielle was born, the cook he grew up next to. Best part for us, it's right here in 80127. Menu's at cellar36eatery.com.

It's about to be hot, hot enough that the trail decision gets made by 9 a.m. or not at all. Get on South Valley Park or the Hogback early, carry more water than feels necessary, and turn back before the open stretches turn into a griddle. The rattlesnakes are out sunning on the warm rock, so watch your footing on the scrambles and keep dogs leashed. Afternoon storms are possible Friday, Saturday, and Monday, which in this heat means lightning, not relief, so don't be the tallest thing on an exposed ridge when the clouds stack up. Check Jeffco's fire restrictions before any open flame.

About that hail. Monday's storm dropped golf-ball hail across the metro, Littleton included, and you can set your watch by what comes next: the door-knockers. The Facebook groups are already filling with out-of-town roofing crews promising to "handle your insurance." Some are fine. Plenty aren't. Before you sign anything, get the company's physical Colorado address, make sure nobody's offering to "cover your deductible" (that's insurance fraud, and you're the one holding the bag), and call your own insurer first. A real inspection can wait a week. A storm-chaser's "today only" pitch is the tell.

About 20 homes closed in 80127 over the past week, and the top of the market had a moment. Three sold north of $1.7 million, all in Ken Caryl Valley: a six-bedroom on Mountain Laurel Drive at $1,739,000, a place on Deerwood Drive at $1,835,000 (the week's high), and a five-bedroom on South Nelson Street at $1,725,000. That's a lot of seven-figure-plus in one ZIP in seven days. The median landed around $717,000. The floor moved too: a 993-square-foot condo on South Alkire closed at $325,000 and a Victoria Place unit went for $412,500. Every tier traded hands, but the high end is where the action was.

The first real heat wave of the year. Today's 91 with a slim late-afternoon storm chance, Saturday jumps to 94 with a 20% shot at an afternoon storm, Sunday hits 96, and Tuesday tops out near 97 and breezy. Nights stay merciful in the high 50s, so open the windows after dark and bank that cool air before the next day cooks. Monday carries a small storm chance too. Otherwise, it's officially sunscreen season.

If you set up a table this weekend, send me a photo and I'll run the best ones next issue. If your kid's working the Kidz Market, I want to hear how the secret shopper treated them. Selling, buying, or just walking the neighborhood with a coffee quietly judging other people's patio furniture, it all counts. This is the weekend 80127 turns its garages inside out, and that's exactly what this newsletter exists to point at.

That's the week. Forward this to one neighbor who'd like it, that's still the main way the Hogback Post grows, and the referral link below gets you a few things for doing it.

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Joey

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