Home Care In Erie, CO

Renovation Signals Agency’s Erie Expansion, Pivotal Investment in Innovation District

Kate Philips & Co. (kate & co.) kicked off renovations of its new headquarters at located in a 155-year-old building located at 111 W. 11th St. in downtown Erie with a wrecking ball ceremony and press conference today, marking an exciting milestone in the company’s growth.

“Today marks an exciting milestone and new chapter at kate & co.,” said CEO Kate Philips. “This new space will not only serve as the heart of our operations but also strengthen our commitment to fostering creativity, collaboration, and community engagement right here in Erie.

“It’s a testament to our foundational strength and sign of our deep partnerships locally, that we chose Erie as homebase for our future growth. The forward progress of generations is key to Erie’s future and we are proud to play a small part in Erie’s ongoing renaissance.”

kate & co. is a WBNEC-certified communications and marketing agency based in Erie, serving clients across nine states. With a team of 13 skilled professionals, the company offers customized marketing and communications services, with an expertise in public affairs. Expanding its presence to downtown Erie, the company is joining the thriving business hub and continuing its investment in the region. The company is joining the thriving business hub where women-owned businesses are making an impact and helping shape the community’s future.

“As a long-term client of kate & co., it’s been my pleasure to watch this team grow – always with a keen eye on the betterment of Erie,“ said Perry Wood, Director of the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority. “kate & co. is a confident team of communicators, offering expert strategic marketing guidance and creativity. Over the past decade, kate & co. has become known as a reliable source of energy – this team cares about the future of our community – delivering exceptional work no matter the assignment.”

Once construction is complete, the company will relocate its operations from its current office at HUB International, 1250 Tower Ln., to the building at 111 W. 11th St. The new office is designed to inspire collaboration, providing a dynamic and inclusive environment that blends creativity with productivity.

kate & co. is partnering with Avon Design Group, LLC. and Spaulding Banks Project Management to bring the vision of a modern marketing agency, with the heart of old Erie to life in downtown Erie. Work kicked off today with the demolition of the building at 115 West 11th St., which will make way for renovations to begin on the 7,513 square-foot brick structure, which was once home to Porter Consulting Engineers PC.

“We’re proud that one of Erie’s own is taking on the transformation of this historic property,” said, Mayor Joe Schember, City of Erie. “This project will preserve a piece of Erie’s history and contribute to the revitalization of downtown Erie – projects like this require more than a capital stack, they require a love of Erie, and an eye on the future.”

Originally constructed in 1870, the building will preserve many of its iconic features, such as the iron fire escape, vintage printing press, and exposed brick interior walls. The building has sat vacant for several years. Its renovation will help catalyze investment and continued revitalization in the aging corner of downtown Erie.

The renovated building will feature an in-house printshop, a green space, a private parking lot, a rooftop deck, and office space. The first floor will house an event space to be utilized for local gatherings and events.

For more information about the new office building and the company’s future plans, visit 111.kateco.com.

The following is an interview with John Melody, who co-owns the UPICK6 bars as well as Bay House and Pier 6. It is part of a series of stories devoted toErie Restaurant Week, which runs Jan. 17-26.

John Melody originally bought his first bar, Cornerstone, 809 E. 38th St., more than 20 years ago. Since then, he's built an Irish bar, Molly Brannigans, on State Street. That has been sold and closed, but he's not looking back. During the construction of Molly's, he met Russel Stachewicz, and together they've built the U PICK 6 family of pubs (Tap House, Public House, Harbor House, John Russell Brewing Co.,) as well as Bay House Oyster Bar & Restaurant, and Pier 6 Rooftop Bar & Restaurant.

Question: It's been a tough road for restaurateurs since COVID. Are things improving?

Answer: We’re happy to say things are improving. We are proud of the fact that we are still here. We had restaurants under construction when COVID hit but, with hard work and community support, we persevered.

What is something you're excited about for 2025?

With the weather we have had, everyone in the bar/restaurant business is looking forward to the good weather and the beautiful summers Erie has.

What do you wish Erie restaurants would do more of?

There are so many good local restaurants in Erie County. The more support the restaurants get the more we can support the communities we work and live in.

What about your restaurants are you particularly proud of?

We are proud to be part of this great community! We are proud of the people that work with us and the product and service that we deliver on a daily basis.

What does it take to be a successful restaurant owner in Erie?

Dedication, a strong belief in your concept. Staff and service are extremely important. And if you're a little bit nuts that probably helps too!

Contact Jennie Geisler at[email protected]. Find her weekly newsletter athttps://profile.goerie.com/newsletters/erielicious/.

Concerned about drilling oil wells close to a new Erie housing development, state regulators asked Civitas Resources to look at an alternative site. When the company came back and said there wasn’t an alternative it got a greenlight Wednesday on its original plan.

The Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission approved Civitas’ plan to drill 26 wells, which would extend 5 miles underneath Erie from a 19-acre location in Weld County just outside city limits.

The so-called Draco site is next to the Southern Land Company’s planned 1,400-home subdivision, which would include 72 homes within the 2,000-foot health and safety setback established by the ECMC. There are also tentative plans for a park and school in the same area. Southern said on Thursday that construction of the 72 homes, school and park will not begin until after drilling, fracking and truck traffic related to the Draco pad are complete.

“There’s a point we’ve been seeing, where oil and gas development and subdivisions are colliding with one another,” Commissioner John Messner said. “I think this is a really good example of where that’s happening. And I think we’re starting to see it more often.”

Messner said at the Draco site there were simply too many homes inside the buffer, as well as the prospect of school too close by. He said the 2,000-foot setback wasn’t just for the time the wells were being drilled and fracked, “but for the lifetime of the operation.”

Civitas, through its subsidiary Extraction Oil and Gas, committed to a broad range of best management practices, air monitoring, the use of quieter, less-polluting electrical drill rigs and pipelines for natural gas, water and wastewater to cut truck traffic.

The company said it would also plug and abandon 22 old wells and 18 other oil and gas sites, and remove 37 old tanks as part of the drilling plan. The goal is to have the wells completed within three years, before most of the new homes are built.

“This is one of the best if not the best applications to come before us,” Commissioner Mike Cross said. “They went above and beyond.”

The vote was 4-1, with Messner casting the sole no vote.

However, in November other commissioners had doubts about the site and whether Civitas had made a sufficient effort to find an alternative location for the drilling.

A potential alternative was adjacent to the former Neuhauser Landfill, which had been tainted with chemicals. The site has been remediated and capped with a protective cover; any activity that might send stormwater onto the site would be a violation of state regulations.

Moving away from the landfill put the drill site close to the Vista Ridge development. In February 2024, the ECMC rejected a plan by Civitas to drill 18 wells near the subdivision.

Civitas argued that the Draco site wasn’t only the most viable site, but it was the best.

Commissioner Trisha Oeth said in November she “did not feel that the applicant had sufficiently demonstrated that they had first avoided all potential impacts. Given the additional work that has been done since that time, I am now convinced that the applicant has met their burden.”

The Draco drilling plan had sparked strong community opposition with more than 120 letters in opposition filed by Erie residents and a grassroots organization — the Flatiron Meadows O&G Monitoring Group — formed to oppose the drilling plan.

“I am very disappointed, emotional,” said Sami Carroll, founder of the monitoring group. “I feel too much emphasis was placed on the alternative location analysis rather than the reasons the original application was not approvable, except for Mesner.”

“This is going to set a really bad precedent, especially with federal environmental protections being eliminated,” Carroll said. “They will set up all along the Weld County border and drill into Boulder County.

Women working in Erie County simultaneously experience lower pay and more significant barriers to success relative to men, according to a new report released by the ILR Buffalo Co-Lab.

Researchers found that even after factoring in education, experience, occupation and industry, the adjusted average hourly wage for women is $2.74 less than for men – and the gap widens with higher education. Women with graduate or professional degrees earn $3.68 per hour less than equally qualified men, amounting to nearly $7,700 less per year.

“I’m gratified that women have come a long way in the last 100 years, but this report shows we’ve still got a long way to go,” said Cathy Creighton, director of the Buffalo Co-Lab. “I’m not surprised by the fact that there is a gender wage gap, but I think what is surprising is that the report shows that you can’t credential your way out of gender discrimination in the workplace.”

The report, “Lower Pay and Greater Barriers to Success: An Examination of Gender Inequality in the Erie County, NY Labor Market,” was co-authored by Creighton and Russell Weaver, director of research at the Buffalo Co-Lab. It was commissioned by the County of Erie and undertaken in collaboration with the county’s Commission on the Status of Women.

In addition to persistent pay gaps, the report found that women:

“The top industries in Erie County – health care, social assistance and educational services, are dominated by female workers,” Weaver said. “They just don’t get the money from those industries. On top of that, the industries that women are in are industries that have been systematically devalued for decades.

“There have been no reinvestments in educational services or health care, and they’re currently being gutted,” he said, “so I don’t see how we’ll be able to close the gender wage gap without a real concerted effort.”

According to the report, addressing these issues will require bold policy interventions, corporate accountability and cultural shifts to ensure that women receive equal pay, opportunities and representation in decision-making positions.

The researchers’ recommendations to affect positive change include:

For quantitative analysis, the researchers used data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, Public Use Microdata Samples and the Current Population Survey Earner Study. For their qualitative analysis, they conducted five focus groups with 24 working women from key industries in Erie County, including health care, education, food service and public administration.

“The data showed that women are paid unequally at work,” Creighton said, “but it was through the focus groups that we learned that women are fully aware that they’re paid unequally at work, and that they have to work harder and talk louder, and find workarounds in order to keep their place.”

Said Weaver: “That’s something that we don’t have access to in datasets. We need to hear about those experiences. If we’re just looking at data, and we see that there’s a pay gap, we can make recommendations for things like pay transparency. But by holding these focus groups and having these conversations and dialogs, they turn what are ‘I’ problems into ‘we’ problems, and they help light that organizing fire.”

Julie Greco is a senior communications specialist for the ILR School.

New video obtained by The Buffalo News sheds more light on what happened the night Erie County Sheriff's Office Chief of Narcotics Daniel "DJ" Granville allegedly crashed into multiple parked cars.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A new video is shedding more light on what happened the night Erie County Sheriff's Office Chief of Narcotics Daniel "DJ" Granville allegedly crashed into multiple parked cars on Buffalo’s West Side.

The video, obtained by The Buffalo News, appears to show Granville driving the wrong way down Prospect Avenue before crashing into two parked cars. He then slowly backs up and drives away. In the footage, a woman can be heard screaming after the crash, questioning what happened.

As previously reported, Granville is accused of hitting seven parked cars that night in April 2024. This new footage captures just two of those collisions.

WATCH: Photos show damaged Erie County Sheriff's Office pick-up truck involved in alleged hit-and-run cover-up

The Cost to Taxpayers

Settlements related to the alleged incident have already cost Erie County taxpayers nearly $60,000.

When asked about the crash during a news conference on March 11, Erie County Sheriff John Garcia dismissed concerns, saying: “It’s a car accident…it’s allegedly unless I hear otherwise, which I haven’t.”

WATCH: Erie County Lawmakers call for investigation into alleged hit-and-run cover-up

Records reviewed by 7 News' Michael Wooten show that after the press conference, Granville took sick days on the following Thursday and Friday and then remained off for the entire next week. It remains unclear whether he has returned to work.

No Signs of a Medical Emergency

There have been questions about whether the alleged crash was due to a medical episode.

However, I confirmed that neither the Buffalo Fire Department nor AMR ambulance crews responded to the scene that night, indicating no medical emergency was reported.

Lawmakers Demand Answers

City and county lawmakers continue to push for more information.

Buffalo attorney provides insight

Buffalo attorney John Elmore joined Voices to provide insight on the alleged cover-up now that this video has been obtained. You can watch the conversation below.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Copyright 2025 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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