• The City of Lafayette has been certified as a Gold Level Solar Friendly Community by a partnership between local governments and the solar industry. The certification is bestowed upon communities adopting best practices in permitting, inspection, planning and public education to help residents go solar. The program is led by the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association and includes the cities of Denver, Fort Collins and Golden, Boulder County, the Rocky Mountain Institute and the American Solar Energy Society.
• The City of Fort Collins is offering zero interest loans for home improvement projects that remove mold, radon, and wood smoke from homes. Information: .
• Several stores at Park Meadows will host a job fair, hiring full-time and part-time associates for permanent and seasonal positions, from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday in the Macy’s Court area of the mall.
• Tables to Farms, a new program created by Boulder County and Denver area chefs and restaurateurs, has been launched to help Boulder County farmers whose crops were lost or severely damaged by the September floods.Through November, participating restaurants will collect donations from customers, with the proceeds going directly to Boulder County farms through the Local Food Shift Group’s Front Range Farm Relief Fund.
• Endurance House, a specialty retailer catering to triathlon and marathon competitors and to runners and walkers of all abilities, opened recently at 13640 Orchard Parkway in Westminster.
•E3 LLC, a Boulder-based independent oil and gas exploration and production company, reported the highest 24-hour initial production rate of a horizontal Niobrara well drilled in the North Park Basin in Jackson County. The Hebron #3-12H well flowed approximately 1,054 barrels of oil in a 24-hour test period.
• Acorn Petroleum in Colorado has joined the Smoker Friendly private label tobacco program. Acorn operates eight convenience stores in southern and western Colorado.
• Monfort College of Business at the University of Northern Colorado is accepting entries for its fifth annual Entrepreneurial Challenge through Nov. 8. The competition is open to Colorado-based start-up ventures or businesses that have begun development, but have not received payment for the sale of products or services. Information: .
• Watermark Residential has begun construction of Watermark at Southlands, a 300-unit upscale apartment community in Aurora at East Orchard Road and South Aurora Parkway in Aurora. Completion is expected in June 2015.
• The Arvada Economic Development Association has received bronze excellence in economic development award for its 2013 project in the category of general purpose brochure for communities with populations of 25,000 – 200,000 from the International Economic Development Council. AEDA in partnership with Rassman Design produces the annual Community Profile of the City of Arvada.
• 212 Fitness, a personal training facility, will kick off its grand opening celebration, during the week of Oct. 21. Formerly called The Women’s Gym, the facility is on the northwest corner of Kipling Street and Bowles Avenue.
• The Newton Leadership Chair at the University of Colorado-Boulder, will create the Newton Leadership Studies Minor, launching in the spring 2014 semester.
