Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. One question on Centennial ballots this year is about how the city pays for its streets. Below is what the city says that measure would do, plus a new fall leaf program and what's on (and off) the city calendar this week.

The sales tax question on the Nov. 3 ballot

City Council approved putting a measure on the Nov. 3 ballot that would raise Centennial's sales and use tax rate from 2.5% to 3.5%, according to the city's measure information page. The city projects the one-percentage-point increase would bring in about $27 million a year.

The city's case rests on a funding gap. Its page says the city has about $15 million a year in dedicated revenue for its street infrastructure. It also says maintaining that infrastructure takes a minimum of about $35 million each year, which leaves a shortfall of roughly $20 million. The city adds that its General Fund savings and reserves are projected to run out by 2028.

Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, so the end of the week will be full of costumes and candy. In the days before it, there's a quieter and genuinely useful program for a different crowd: older adults and the family members, partners and neighbors who help look after them. Arapahoe Libraries is hosting an Older Adult Resource Fair at Koelbel Library on Friday morning. The following Monday, the library system offers a short online storytime for grown-ups. Here are the details, plus a few ideas for making the most of the fair.

Friday, Oct. 30: Older Adult Resource Fair

The City of Centennial's events directory describes this as an open house "to learn about resources available for older adults." It runs for two and a half hours, and an open house generally lets you come and go.

When: Friday, Oct. 30, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The question in front of you

Centennial voters have one week to decide Ballot Issue 2A. At its Aug. 11 meeting, City Council voted to place the measure on the Nov. 3 ballot. It asks whether to raise the City's sales and use tax by 1% for transportation (city news release).

If approved, the city's share of the sales and use tax would rise from 2.5% to 3.5%. The city's project page estimates that would raise about $27 million a year. Under Resolution 2026-R-26 in the Aug. 11 council packet, the higher rate would begin Jan. 1, 2027. Council would still need to adopt an ordinance to put it into effect.

Why the city says it's needed

Hello, friends. Beau here, Chief Canine Correspondent, reporting from Halloween week with my nose on high alert.

Halloween lands on Saturday, Oct. 31. That means candy bowls by front doors, pillowcases full of loot on living room floors, and a certain species of furry investigator pretending not to notice any of it. Let's be honest: in the Case of the Missing Fun-Size Bar, dogs are usually the prime suspect. We have the motive, the nose and, as a species, a long record of counter-surfing.

So this week's Labrador-led investigation flips the script. Let's keep the evidence out of reach in the first place.

Why this week matters

Find your next pizza-night destination with five Pulse Eats editorial picks in Centennial.

Big Bill’s and LuBo’s offer New York-style options, Via 313 brings Detroit-style squares, Parry’s SouthGlenn pairs pizza with a broad group menu, and Rosati’s adds Chicago-style choices.

Explore addresses, suggested starting points, and practical ordering tips before choosing your next local pie.

This is a Book Spotlight, not a review. No one at Centennial Pulse has read the book for this piece. What follows draws on the award announcement, an interview with the author and a published review.

The 2026 Colorado Book Awards were presented Sept. 26 at the Tivoli Turnhalle in Denver. The Creative Nonfiction prize went to Devon O'Neil's The Way Out: A True Story of Survival in the Heart of the Rockies (HarperOne), according to Colorado Humanities. It was chosen over two other finalists, Craig Childs's The Wild Dark and Vauhini Vara's Searches. A month later, snow is returning to the high country and backcountry season is getting underway, which makes this a timely book to know about.

What it's about

According to Colorado Public Radio, the story begins in January 2017. Two Colorado skiers became separated from their backcountry group and were stranded in dangerous weather, and rescue efforts were stymied. One of the skiers survived. Volunteers helped by heading into the Sawatch Range during a major snowstorm.

A profile drawn from public sources.

Have you waited at an intersection beside a wrapped traffic signal box, or caught live music at Centennial Center Park? There's a good chance the Centennial Arts and Cultural Foundation (CACF) had a hand in it.

Who they are

CACF is an independent nonprofit established in 2021. Its own Art In Our City page states plainly that it is not affiliated with the City of Centennial. According to its Colorado Gives profile, the foundation grew out of residents who saw a need to embrace the city's arts, culture and history and decided a nonprofit was the best way to do it.

Three weeks ago, the Denver Broncos were 2-2 and still carrying a 31-10 season-opening loss at Kansas City. Now they're 5-2 after Sunday's 30-16 win at Arizona, their third straight victory. The timing is interesting: the Chiefs come to Empower Field at Mile High this Sunday.

The big-play game

Denver's offense hit on the kind of chunk plays that swing road games. RJ Harvey scored on a 52-yard touchdown, and Marvin Mims picked up 47 yards to set up a JK Dobbins touchdown, according to Pro Football Talk. The site counted those two plays and a long run by Bo Nix among the four longest plays of Denver's season. That means much of the year's big-play output arrived in a single afternoon.

Closer than 30-16 looks

Denver Water's ban on lawn watering took effect Oct. 1, and it puts fall yard work in an odd spot. Spray zones need to be shut down before hard freezes, but trees and shrubs still shouldn't head into winter dry. Here's a plan for the next two weeks.

First, check who supplies your water

The rules below are Denver Water's. Check your water bill to see who supplies your home. If it isn't Denver Water, look up your provider's own rules before you plan winter watering.

What's allowed

Late October in Centennial has a way of rearranging dinner plans. The mornings turn crisp, the light fades earlier, and suddenly a cold salad sounds a lot less appealing than a steaming bowl of broth and noodles. If ramen weather has arrived at your house, here's a local name worth knowing: Denma Sushi & Ramen.

A chef-owner with deep roots in Japanese cooking

Denma's website introduces Owner and Head Chef Sean Hwang, who has more than 19 years of experience in Japanese culinary arts. According to the restaurant, he trained and worked in Southern California and Colorado. The site sums up the kitchen's mission plainly: authentic Japanese cuisine.

That background matters because Denma covers a lot of ground. Sushi and ramen are different disciplines. One leans on knife work, rice and restraint. The other depends on patient broth-making and noodle texture. A chef-owner with nearly two decades in Japanese cooking makes a two-sided menu like this one worth exploring.

Why this week

Late October in Centennial brings earlier sunsets, more time indoors and the usual season of sniffles. That makes it a good week to give your home's busiest surfaces some attention, without turning the kitchen into a chemistry lab.

A note on sources: Rubi didn't supply tips for this week's column. Every tip below comes from the CDC's guidance on when and how to clean and disinfect your home, plus your own product labels where noted. When Rubi's own advice appears here, it will be labeled as hers.

Cleaning and disinfecting are different jobs

Halloween lands on Saturday this year, and the week before it changes the neighborhood walk. Porches that were plain last week now hold inflatables, fog machines and life-size skeletons. By the weekend, sidewalks fill with small, excited people in capes and masks. Some dogs take it all in stride. Others stiffen, stare, or start pulling toward or away from the unfamiliar.

This week's skill gives owners a calm, rehearsed option for those moments: the "let's go" U-turn.

Why a U-turn fits this week

Recent Kacy's Corner columns have been building toward this. The Secret to Better Centennial Walks framed loose-leash walking as teaching a dog that staying connected with its person makes the walk work better for both of them. Fall Walks, Hidden Hazards looked at cooler trails, curious noses and darker evenings. And the Halloween doorbell drill helped dogs prepare for the front door before trick-or-treaters arrive.

Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. this Sunday, Nov. 1, when clocks fall back to 1 a.m. Your phone will handle itself. Plenty of other things in the house won't, and a few of them matter more than the oven clock. Here are five small resets that fit comfortably into the hour you get back.

1. Press the test button on every smoke alarm

Fire-safety guidance based on the National Fire Protection Association's recommendations is simple: test smoke alarms once a month with the test button, and make sure there is one in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement. Alarms with replaceable batteries need a fresh battery at least once a year. Any alarm, whatever its battery, should be replaced 10 years after its manufacture date, which is printed on the back.

2. Check your carbon monoxide alarms, too

Late October in Centennial has its own soundtrack: rakes scraping driveways, a leaf blower somewhere down the block, the crunch of a sidewalk nobody has gotten to yet. It's yard-work season. For a lot of households, it's also a quiet test of how much one person can manage alone.

The City of Centennial's events directory listed a Fall Leaf Drop-Off Event for Sunday, Oct. 25, described as the city's first and hosted by the city and Jacobs. Its stated goal was practical: help residents clear their yards and keep leaves out of streets and storm drains.

A first-time event like that is a small piece of civic infrastructure. It's also a reminder of something that never shows up in a directory. Not everyone on your street can easily bag a yard's worth of leaves, haul the bags to a car, and drive them somewhere.

The help that's easy to miss