Broncos: Not so much a rout of the Chiefs as a gift from K.C.
Re: “Broncos prove they belong in playoffs with rout of Chiefs,” Jan. 6 sports commentary
Please thank sports columnist Troy Renck for my early morning laugh with his column about the big rout. He thinks Sunday’s win was a win? It was a beautiful late Christmas gift wrapped up beautifully with a bow on it from the Hunt and Reid families. What a gift. Orange and Blue, at least you can enjoy the giddiness for a week. Enjoy.
Jay Weinstein, Denver
Bring justice to the rental market, ban price-fixing software
Re: “Report: Software pushing rents up,” Dec. 31 news story
Thanks to The Denver Post for the latest story on the ways landlords use stealth to raise apartment rents.
This story, detailing how software RealPage’s algorithm enables apartment owners to make unjustified rent increases, explains what’s been happening at our apartments over the past few years.
I have lived 10 years in a considerably depreciated former military apartment complex in Denver. Built to house officers’ families, it was decent, but not luxury, housing. Standards for plumbing and wiring were different in the 1960s, but these have only barely improved to meet present expectations.
The place suited me fine, as a fixed-income senior, when I first moved in. The rent fit my budget. However, every year since then the rent has risen by almost 10%. One year, facing the usual increase, I asked a management representative how they justified this when no improvements had been made to my unit.
“We go by the market,” I was told, which right away suggested price fixing. Now I see what was really happening. “Tenants in Denver shouldered the second-highest extra cost each month of RealPage’s algorithm,” the article explains.
It’s sad that our lawmakers were unable to ban the software, but one can hope that bringing this issue to light will help us bring justice to the rental market.
Frances Rossi, Denver
Zoning exemptions raise questions
Re: “West Denver Neighborhoods: City brakes on some zoning changes,” Jan. 2 news story
Your article concerning the hold on the redevelopment/gentrification in six west Denver neighborhoods raises an interesting question. You report that Denver City Councilwoman Jamie Torres believes that seven new row homes are not always better for the community than one older home. The logic seems to be that the one older home will allow one family to build generational wealth.
The question for the councilwoman is: Will the families who buy the townhomes not also generate generational wealth? And will the increased property tax revenue allow the councilwoman to fund the financial assistance to current residents for upgrades and improvements that she seeks?
More broadly, how is it equitable to exempt six neighborhoods from redevelopment/gentrification while allowing similar projects to proceed in other neighborhoods? If densification is supposed to be good for Denver, why should this policy not apply universally across the entire city? Or is this simply an attempt by Councilwoman Torres to preserve the demographics that got her elected to the City Council in the first place?
Guy Wroble, Denver
Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns, editorials and more.
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail.
Originally Published:
