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Gasoline prices dropped by nearly a fifth between September and November and meat and poultry prices fell by 6.7% in metro Denver, leading to the first bi-monthly decline in consumer inflation in 14 months, according to an update Tuesday from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Between September and November, prices in Denver fell by 0.34%. This was the first two-month period of deflation since September of last year,” said Cole Anderson, a research analyst with the Common Sense Institute, in an emailed report. The…

Electric vehicles, both new and used, remain more expensive than comparable models that are gasoline-powered. But the gap is closing rapidly. After skyrocketing during the pandemic, used car prices across the board are softening, with the average annual decline running 3.6% in Denver and 5.1% nationally as of October, according to a study from online car shopping site iSeeCars. For used electric vehicles (EVs), prices are down by about a third nationally in the past year. And if that trend continues, it is only a matter…

A landlord at 18th and Blake in LoDo wants permission to evict a convenience store that the landlord blames for difficulties leasing office space above the store. “The 7-Eleven at the premises attracts vagrancy and crime,” its landlord alleges. In September 2021, Seattle-based Unico paid $61.2 million for the five-story office building at 1755 Blake St. 7-Eleven had been a ground-floor tenant for 11 years by that time and had just signed a lease extension to stay there through June 2026, court records show. Unico says…

A Durango-based electric cooperative that has vocally criticized the practices of Tri-State Generation and Transmission has filed a lawsuit accusing the utility of being “sneaky and underhanded.” The La Plata Electric Association is seeking to end its contract with the power supplier or be compensated for damages it says it has suffered. The lawsuit accuses Tri-State, a wholesale power provider, of breach of contract. The electric cooperative is among Colorado rural electric associations that have explored leaving…

Denver city leaders on Monday will vote on new rules that could dictate how East Colfax Avenue looks and functions for decades. But whether those rules, already in place on other busy streets, are a poor fit for the thoroughfare remains a point of debate. If approved by the City Council, the package of proposed zoning changes will govern future development for hundreds of properties between Sherman and Yosemite streets with an eye toward ensuring ample shopfronts and more space for sidewalk users along Colfax. The measure…

Stoney Jesseph said adios to a restaurant he opened on South Broadway in 2021. The restaurateur, who owns three remaining Stoney’s locations around Colorado, said the one at 30 S. Broadway branded Stoney’s Cantina never made a profit. The biggest culprit: a year of road and sidewalk construction on the bustling commercial strip. “You can’t ride. You can’t walk down a whole block. It’s a nightmare down here. You can’t get anywhere,” Jesseph said, adding that sales fell by 60 percent once construction commenced. “From what…

Lower mortgage rates motivated some buyers to get busy last month, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the seasonal slowdown seen this time of year in metro Denver’s housing market, according to a monthly update from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors. Buyers closed on 2,664 homes and condos last month, a 15.9% drop from the 3,169 homes sold in October. November closings were down 14% year-over-year and through the first 11 months of 2023, with the overall sales volume is down by nearly a fifth. Properties took longer…

Colorado’s economy next year won’t be a bed of roses, with job gains running at their slowest pace since 2011 and commercial real estate under extreme stress. But neither will it be a bed of thorns, as inflation eases and a recession doesn’t set in, according to the 2024 Colorado Business Economic Outlook. “It is a slower-growth story. There are positive nuggets in there. We aren’t forecasting a recession and we expect a continued abundance of job opportunities for people,” said Brian Lewandowski, executive director of…

SEATTLE — Alaska Airlines said Sunday it agreed to buy Hawaiian Airlines in a $1.9 billion deal, including debt, putting it on track for a potential clash with a Biden administration that has shown wariness about higher fares in the industry. The combined company would keep both airlines’ brands, rooted in the nation’s 49th and 50th states. Alaska will pay $18 in cash for each share of Hawaiian, whose stock closed Friday at $4.86 after losing just over half its value in the year so far. The deal also includes $900…

Chick-fil-A is touching down for seconds at Denver International Airport. A second location of the Georgia-based fast-food chain is planned for Concourse A, according to a contract going before the Denver City Council. Skyport Holdings LLC, a concessionaire that already has a presence at the airport, plans to operate the restaurant in 1,700 square feet at the “core” of the concourse, where passengers emerge after getting off the shuttle from the main terminal. The contract still needs to be approved. It would be the…