😬 Restaurant Shockers 🥾 Crews Gulch Trail 🍰 Bundt Cake

Issue #25-290 10/17/25

Author

Sandy Zuniga
17 Oct • Reading Time: 19 minutes

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COS Town Tidings #25-290

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🤣 Today’s Chuckle

📰 Solar Rates Safe… This Time ☀️

📰 Local Toy Drive in Jeopardy 🧸

📰 What Health Inspectors Found Will Shock You😬

Recipe: 🍰 Pumpkin Bundt Cake

📆 Local Events + Concerts, Farmers Markets & Fall Fairs/Festivals

🌤 COS Weather - Mostly sunny and warm

Recreation: 🥾 Crews Gulch Trail Connects Parks & Nature

 

Scientists are working on new solar energy panels

👉They want a material that absorbs and releases the most radiating heat. The consensus, car seats! 🤣

 

📲 Your VIP Pass to Colorado Springs Starts Now

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☀️ Solar Rates Safe… This Time

☀️ Solar Rates Safe… This Time City Council Halts Solar Rate Hike (Temporarily)

Colorado Springs City Council has asked Colorado Springs Utilities to remove a proposed demand fee for solar users from its 2026 rate case, avoiding what could have been a $25–$50 increase to monthly bills for thousands of net metering customers.

CSU said the new fee was needed to offset grid costs when solar customers rely on power during expensive evening hours, but residents voiced concerns that the quick change would penalize those who invested in renewable energy. With a narrow 5–4 vote, Council kept the current flat-rate structure in place while reserving the possibility of revisiting the issue later. The full 2026 rate case—minus solar changes—will go to a vote on Oct. 28. Full Story

 

🌟Pendleton Heating & Cooling

 

🧸 Local Toy Drive in Jeopardy

Local Toy Drive in Jeopardy Toys for Tots Needs Help

If you’ve ever donated or volunteered with Toys for Tots, you know how much joy it brings to kids and families during the holiday season. But this year, the local Pikes Peak Marine Corps League chapter is facing a big challenge: they don’t have a warehouse to store and sort the thousands of donated toys needed for the 2025 giveaway. The space they’ve relied on for years is no longer available, and time is running short to secure a new location. Full Story

 

Baskin Financial Planning

 

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😬 What Health Inspectors Found Will Shock You

La Carreta Mexican Restaurant (E Pikes Peak Ave): Temporarily shut down

Health inspectors made their rounds again, and as always, it was a mixed week in Colorado Springs. While some spots were flagged for serious cleanliness concerns—including one restaurant that was temporarily shut down—others stood out for their commitment to keeping things spotless. Here’s a quick look at the latest food safety updates:

🚫 Shut Down or Flagged for Violations:

  • La Carreta Mexican Restaurant (E Pikes Peak Ave):

    • Temporarily shut down

    • 25 violations including mice, cockroaches, old food, unsafe temps, and handwashing without soap

    • To-go containers found stored in the mop sink

    • Cracks under exit doors Full Story

  • La Patrona (N Academy Blvd):

    • 11 violations

    • Moldy hot dogs, improper food temps, and missing date labels

  • BBQ & Hotpot Story (Powers & Carefree):

    • 13 violations

    • Moldy food, undated items, uncovered buffet food, and no sanitizer in the dish machine

🥇 Top Scores! Several local favorites earned top marks. It’s a good reminder that food safety isn’t just about inspection day—it’s a commitment every single shift.

Rosie’s Diner (Monument)

✅ High Scores:

  • Jet’s Pizza (Stetson Hills Blvd):

    • Perfect health inspection score

  • Wing It Plus (Chapel Hills Mall):

    • High score with strong cleanliness practices

  • Santana’s Mexican Food (N Academy Blvd):

    • Scored well in recent inspection

  • Rosie’s Diner (Monument):

    • Passed with flying colors

    • Built in the 1950s and still sparkling clean

    • Known for old-school charm and attention to detail

Health inspection results across El Paso County are available online for those wanting to check their favorite spots.

*Note: Most local restaurants take food safety incredibly seriously. In fact, many owners respond to violations swiftly and thoroughly, often making fixes the same day while they wait for reinspection. 

 

Nature's Start Bread Company

🍞 Fresh Baked Sourdough breads, pastries 
📍3312 Austin Bluffs (Inside The Cupcake Doctor): 
M-Sat, 9am-6pm & Sun, 10am-2pm
(Seasonal Items Added)

 

🍰 Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Recipe by fearless dining

This fluffy, light, gluten-free pumpkin Bundt cake is full of warm fall flavors and topped with sweet vanilla icing. Moist, tender, and perfectly spiced—it’s a show-stopping dessert for any fall party.

 

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Wild Birds Unlimited COS

 

🎉 Events Calendar! (More events including FREE, click here) 

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📆 Sample Local Events

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*Weather Permitting

👩‍🌾 Farmers Markets - Weather permitting

🎶 Fall Concerts - Weather permitting

🍂 Fall Festivals, Fairs & Activities - Weather permitting

 

Colorado Springs Weather

 

🥾 Crews Gulch Trail Connects Parks & Nature

Crews Gulch Trail Connects Parks & Nature

If you’ve never explored the Crews Gulch Trail in the Security-Widefield area, it might be time to lace up your walking shoes. This peaceful 2.5-mile path weaves through tree-lined neighborhoods and parks, hugging a gentle riparian corridor that’s surprisingly serene for being so close to home. What makes this trail special is how it quietly links key pockets of our community—like John Ceresa Memorial Park, Widefield Community Park, and even the Fountain Creek Regional Trail—with plans to eventually connect all the way to Bluestem Prairie Open Space.

The surface is a mix of gravel and pavement, and while there are a few street crossings, the trail is accessible and family-friendly.

Location: Park at Widefield Park (1300 Fontaine, COS) or at John Ceresa Memorial Park (1580 Leigh Ln, Fountain)

 

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