COVID Updates
Vaccine Distribution enters new phase. Colorado has entered Phase 1B.4 of the vaccine distribution which opens eligibility up to those 50 years of age and older, as well as many frontline workers in education, food services, agriculture and those 16 – 49 with one high-risk factor. For a complete list of who is eligible in Phase 1B.4, as well as resources for finding and booking a vaccine appointment, visit www.Jeffco.us/covid-vaccine
Appointments to Get the COVID Vaccine (Eligibility)
State of Colorado’s Find Out Where You Can Get Vaccinated page | Lutheran Medical Center | JCPH Clinic in Arvada (70+ only) | www.vaccinespotter.org/CO/
Jefferson County Public Health’s COVID-19 Vaccine Call Center: 303-239-7000 | State Hotline to answer questions, including location of vaccine providers: 1-877-268-2926. It is staffed 24 hours a day
Golden Testing Sites
Mines COVID Testing | Jeffco Fairgrounds COVID Testing
Jefferson County Case Summary:
Cases in Jeffco – Fri: 39,198 | Mon: 39,418 (+220)
Deaths in Jeffco – Fri: 775 | Mon: 777 (+2)
Currently Hospitalized in Jeffco – Fri: 29 | Mon: 29 (unchanged)
Known Cases in Golden – Thurs: 1589 | Mon: 1605 (+16)
Recovered – Fri: 37,427 | Mon: 37,707 (+280)
More Public Health References
School of Mines COVID-19 case page. | Sign up for exposure notifications | CDC | Colorado | Jefferson County | City of Golden
Virtual Events
8-9AM Golden Chamber Coffee Connections
10:15-10:30AM Toddler Time with the Library
1-3PM Zoom into Watercolor with Janet Nunn
1:30PM Triad Rekindle Reconnect (Senior Safety)
6-7PM Recursos Digitales
6-7PM SAT Strategies (waitlisted)
6:30PM City Council Regular Business Meeting
Tonight’s consent agenda includes the award of a $240,000 contract for design work on the intersection of US 6 and Heritage Road. They will hold a public hearing on a change to Golden’s ordinance regarding solicitation, peddling, and poll taking.
The business meeting will be followed by a much-anticipated study session with the Planning Commission. They will be discussing the proposed Zoning Code Rewrite. The rewrite originated with the objective to prevent homes in our older, traditional neighborhoods from being dwarfed by new construction–or worse, demolished and then replaced by new construction. The consultants suggest that large condos/townhouses be replaced by small cottages instead.
As the code discussions progressed, several other objectives crept in, including the wish to devote less land to parking and a need for land to build affordable housing. As a result, there are several items that are proving controversial. Of these, the one causing the most distress among homeowners is the suggestion that lots in single family home neighborhoods be eligible to subdivide into smaller lots, with a house on each.
The planning department put together a 49 minute video explaining their intentions with code rewrite. The public comments submitted through Guiding Golden are available online. Public comments received via email will be added to the meeting packet after 5PM.
PUBLIC COMMENT: Members of the public wishing to provide public comment on items not on the agenda or agenda items not subject to a public hearing shall submit comments via email to PublicComment@cityofgolden.net prior to 3:00 pm on meeting dates or may participate with live virtual public comment at meetings in which a public comment period is listed on the agenda by pre-registering for the meeting at REGISTER HERE. *Please note, public comment emails are compiled and posted on the website shortly after 5pm on the day of the meeting.
Real World Golden
4PM till they run out – Prime Rid Tuesday at the Buffalo Rose
5-8PM Buffalo Rose fund-raiser: 15% of net sales will go to Outdoor Lab. Live Music!
Golden History Moment
88 Years Ago
The March 23, 1933 Colorado Transcript reported that “ST. PAUL POLICE CHIEF IS VICTIM OF FREAK ACCIDENT AT GOLDEN.” The Chief was in Colorado investigating a kidnapping case and was driving past the Rock Rest on South Golden Road. His “police car, traveling at a high rate of speed, hit a bump in the highway. With terrific impact, Chief Dahill was hurled against the top of the car with his head striking a cover-bow. He suffered deep cuts in the scalp and a severed artery.”
The Transcript of that era was always describing gruesome car accidents on South Golden Road, with lots of broken limbs, skull fractures, and internal injuries. Just two examples: a baby died in a crash in 1927, while her grandfather, who was driving the car, suffered a fractured hip and punctured lung. In 1934, woman was run over after being thrown from her car, as evidenced by “marks on her clothing” (tire tracks?).
The drivers occasionally reported that their cars had malfunctioned, with steering wheels or breaks refusing to function. The articles generally mentioned that the cars had been going “at a high rate of speed.”
Interestingly, Jefferson County’s Attorney found himself arguing in favor of high speeds in 1923. This was a power struggle with Denver police: since Denver had helped pay for the road between Denver and Golden, the Denver police took it upon themselves to ticket speeders for the entire length of the road. Denver had a speed limit of 25MPH; whereas the default state limit was 35MPH. Denver asserted that they owned the road and could enforce the Denver speed limit all the way out to Golden. Jefferson County Attorney John Vivian (who went on to become Governor) was just waiting for a Jefferson County resident to be stopped by a Denver cop. He wanted to take the matter to the Supreme Court.
The articles often implied but never definitively stated that alcohol was a factor. Police must not have had a way to test for drunkenness at that time. A 1930 article talked about a man who’s in favor of dry laws because he makes his living picking up empty pint flasks along South Golden Road and selling them for 5 cents each.
Road conditions also contributed to the number of accidents. As late as 1950, the Transcript described South Golden Road as a “beaten up, cracked, chuck-hole-filled, narrow, old-fashioned road…. You cross four railroad tracks on this four-mile strip. Two of the tracks built close together in a v-shaped dip throw a person’s car up into the air to land you never know where. The other crossing is constructed at a slant-eyed angle with high banks concealing the view of the approach of interurban cars and trains. The fourth crossing is also slantwise and muddled by numerous telephone poles and buildings. It is only through the extreme carefulness of drivers that more accidents do not occur on this road.”
Many thanks to the Golden History Museum for providing the online cache of historic Transcripts, and to the Golden Transcript for documenting our history since 1866!
