1) Mobile Visitor Center Electric Bike Stolen from Aurora Cycle Shop

Bicycles get stolen all the time. This theft is different. The stolen electric bicycle is a $20,000 bike specially designed for Visit Aurora. It was stolen from Hardt Family Cyclery in northwest Aurora, and store owner MacKenzie Hardt just wants it back.

The bicycle was taken on a July afternoon while the finishing touches were being put on the custom construction at Denver Custom Boat Builders in the same complex at 10255 E 25th Ave. That work was being done outside and Hardt says the thief waited for the right moment to take it, when the woodworker briefly stepped away.

Visit Aurora has already paid for the bicycle, so if it’s not recovered, Hardt and the woodworking shop are out a lot of money. And while that price tag for a bicycle seems high, this bike is one-of-a-kind.

It was set to debut July 20 as “a mobile hub for visitors, providing valuable information and enhancing the community experience,” says Bruce Dalton, president and CEO of Visit Aurora. He adds the organization is “deeply saddened” by the theft of a bike “created in collaboration with Aurora businesses.”

Hardt and Visit Aurora are asking the community for help. He has already spent time driving every alley and street near the shop and riding his own bicycle checking everywhere he can. Aurora Police officers are also looking for the custom bike.

“We’ve got some faith it’ll be recovered because it is so niche that you can’t sell it. You bring it to any pawn shop or any bike shop in the country and we’ll recover it. Everyone knows what it is,” Hardt says.

Anyone who has information or finds the bicycle is asked to call the shop at 720-255-1603.

2) Fireworks and Fires

The hot and dry weather combined with July Fourth fireworks caused fires in northeast Denver and across the metro area. In the Central Park neighborhood, three fires were reported in area parks on July 4 and 5: one fire in Central Park, one in Westerly Creek, and another in Greenway Park. The fires were all in dry open spaces and firefighters were able to extinguish them. The MCA is helping the Denver Fire Department and Denver Park Rangers in investigating all three of the incidents. As the hot summer continues, it’s important to call 911 if you see a fire or smoke.

3) More Apartments Coming to Central Park

A new apartment complex is planned for the area around the RTD Central Park station. The parking area closest to Smith Road is the location being considered for the complex, reducing the number of parking spaces from 1,521 to 870. RTD says the station has never used all the spaces there.

In late June, the RTD board voted to begin negotiations for the site development with Ulysses Development Group. The process is expected to take more than a year. The proposed project will be a mix of affordable and market rate units, with three-bedroom units to accommodate family needs.

In 2010, the board adopted a plan to encourage the creation of mixed-income communities near transit.

4) Campus Café Opens to Help the Homeless

Change Please Coffee has opened on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus at 2115 N Scranton St, Aurora. The business is now open Monday through Friday from 7am to 2pm. All of the profits from the café are used to support people experiencing homelessness, especially women with children. The women are trained to become baristas, helping them with job prospects and what the company called the “self-belief they need to thrive.”

5) Big Changes for The Hangar at Stanley Marketplace

A golf simulator bar is coming to the Central Park neighborhood. The hangar space at Stanley Marketplace will be home to the third Colorado location of The Local Drive Cocktail Bar & Golf Lounge.

According to Business Den, the new location is expected to feature two levels of Trackman golf simulators, volleyball courts, three bars, an outdoor patio, space for private events, and a stage for concerts. Stanley Marketplace is already directing people to the new business for information on booking large events of 100 people or more.

No opening date has been announced.

6) A Multi-Million Dollar Gift from a Music Superstar

The Celine Dion Foundation has given a $2 million philanthropic gift to the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. The singer was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome, a debilitating neurological disease. She has been treated in Colorado by Dr. Amanda Piquet and her team. The gift will help fund research into SPS, which currently has no cure. The disease causes muscle stiffness, painful spasms, and difficulty walking. It affects 2 in 100,000 people. Dion’s journey is chronicled in a documentary, “I am: Celine Dion.” Dr. Piquet appears in the documentary.

7) Celebrating Pride in August

Police departments report a spike in anti-LGBTQ+ incidents leading up to Pride events every year. During a United Against Hate community meeting at Cheluna Brewing at Stanley Marketplace, Zander Oklar, executive director of Aurora Pride, talked about the importance of creating a safe space for celebration, particularly for youth.

Oklar works with the Aurora Police Department to monitor social media and chat rooms to ensure safety at events, as well as providing educational resources, mental health support, sexual health services, job opportunities, and promoting LGBTQ+ artists and nonprofits.

This year the Aurora event is August 3 at Aurora Reservoir. “We’ve worked with a lot of security and all sorts of things to make sure that we’re in a safe place. That’s one of the reasons we do it at the reservoir. We can kind of restrict the entry and exit. We work with youth drag,” says Oklar. “So, it’s important for us that if those children are going to come, they’re going to be safe.”

In the future, the hope is to host an Aurora Pride parade down Colfax Ave. as a way for everyone in the area to be united in the celebration of the community.