Flowers bouquet price war erupts; trust funders consoled

Never one to miss a good fight, the Eye has been watching the knock-down drag-out war waged in the retail business the old-fashioned way: Battle of the Signs. A new flower shop on 28th Street at Valmont, Flowerama, has sparked competition from its neighbor directly across the street, Boulder Gardens Florist. Each store now has large signs by the road and blaze orange window signs displaying their prices of a dozen roses and a fresh bouquet. Flowerama’s bouquet last week: $4.99. Boulder Gardens’ bouquet: $4.98. Now that’s war! Sturtz & Copeland around the corner hasn’t decided to get in on the action yet.

How do you measure worth? Money, it seems, is a common denominator in this equation, but what happens when your self-worth doesn’t add up to the balance in your bank account?

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The Eye has recently been witness to money’s irony. It seems there are a lot of trust-fund folks who feel imprisoned by their inheritance. To help them deal with the unfortunate side effects of not having to worry about where their next meal will come from, The Wealth Conservancy, a Boulder-based firm that specializes in financial planning and counseling, is holding a workshop in Aspen on May 18 to 21 addressing the challenges of inherited wealth.

Experiencing its own troubles dealing with a lack of green flow, the Eye has some advice for these unfortunate souls: Hand it over.

The Eye got its first look at the Redstone Review, the newest newspaper to join Boulder County’s hot media competition. The Lyons paper is owned and published by Susan deCastro McCann, a former business editor at the Longmont Times-Call as well as former freelance writer for the Business Report, and Ardelle Gifford.

With only two publications completed and no staff, the two women have pulled together their friends, family members, old high-school class mates, college roommates and local residents to write for the paper.

Redstone is a monthly publication that has sections covering history, business, schools, sports, humor, government, neighbors and garden.Right now, McCann and Gifford have no plans for expansion, but are keeping the possibility open.

The Eye’s taste buds got the test during a recent hardhat media tour of the FlatIron Crossing mall in Broomfield.

Officials from Westcor Development Co., the Phoenix-based developer that manages the mall, were in town to introduce 11 new retailers that will occupy FlatIron Café, a quick-service food court inside the $212 million shopping complex.

The new tenants are: Paradise Bakery, Muscle Beach Lemonade and Hot Dogs, McDonald’s, Dairy Queen, Ranch 1, Mediterranean Café, Panda Express, Rubio’s Fish Tacos, Steak Escape, Yoshi’s and Richie’s Neighborhood Pizzeria, which is owned by the colorful Richie Palmer, the current husband of actress Raquel Welch.

“I didn’t want to put one of my pizzerias in a mall,´ said Palmer, who was on hand for the event. “But when I saw what this place was like, I decided to be a part of it.”

Palmer said members from the cast of the television series “The Sopranos” will be at FlatIron Crossing for the opening of his pizzeria.

So OK, the Eye reads everything, right? It/he/she spotted the fact that awards-maker John Haertling of Haertling Studio in Boulder also created the December cover of A&E, the magazine for Awards & Engraving Professionals. The cover shows a beautiful piece of engraved flagstone — actually created as a computer rendering John revealed to The Eye. To see more of John’s work — he’s been the awards designer for Esprit, the Boulder Tech Incubator, the Daily Camera’s Pacesetter awards and many others — visit www.haertling.com.

An all new Entertainment Mecca has opened in Littleton. Oh yeah, it’s hip, it’s hot, it’s big-time fun!

The Eye can’t wait to check out the new Fat City, a 140,000-square-foot entertainment facility, formerly known as Fun Plex. The first phase of the renovation has been completed, including a 40-lane bowling facility. And this is not your typical bowling alley. It has Surround Sound speakers, digital music, 20 100-inch televisions, fog machines and special-effects lighting.

With bright yellow, orange and turquoise coloring, custom leather sofas, zebra-patterned carpet, a Lucky Strike Bar and a Diner, the Eye wonders who could concentrate on bowling?

Fat City, located at 9670 W. Coal Mine Ave., will be opening an interactive play structure, virtual reality games, a video arcade, a “cosmic” miniature golf, a retro skating arena and laser tag this summer.

The Eye hopes to dodge being “arrested” and driven to “jail” by Sunset Limousine for the 2000 Boulder Lock-up.

The Boulder Lock-up is a fund-raising event to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association and will be held on Tuesday, April 11.

Participants will either be arrested or can turn themselves in at The Broker Inn for one hour between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. They will then attempt to raise bail in the form of donations from the community. Money raised through the lock up directly benefits children and adults in Colorado who have been diagnosed with muscular dystrophy by helping to raise their quality of life through MDA services.

The People’s Clinic is holding a fund-raiser on April 7 to continue to support the more than 35,000 uninsured Boulder County residents. The community health center has chosen the new NetLibrary building to hold its 15th annual gala event, Casino Médical. For $45, attendees can expect food, beer, wine, the music of the Legendary 4-Nikators and gambling Las Vegas style. The Eye bets People’s Clinic medics will be on hand to assist those gamblers who lose it all. Call Ann Saxour for tickets. (303) 449-0858, ext. 116.