Friday, December 30, 2005
LINING UP TO LAND
On Monday, 350 planes went in and out of Aspen/Pitkin Airport, well beyond the 14 to 15 that can land per hour. Last year, on the same day, 313 planes came in and out. The computerized landing system which books landing slots received 30,000 hits this year and more than 100 private jets were denied a landing slot this year at the airport.
-Denver Post, 12.30.05

LIVE IN SNOWMASS, GET $50
Starting Monday, Snowmass Village residents will have 10 weeks to apply for their annual $50 sales-tax-rebate. The rebate was instituted following voter approval of a 2002 sales tax increase from 1% to 3.5%, and last year the town issued $35,000 to 700 residents.
-Aspen Daily News, 12.30.05

STATE: 4TH ON GROWTH LIST
Colorado ranks fourth in the nation in economic competitiveness, in a study to be released today by the Beacon Hill Institute of Suffolk University. The states were judged in eight categories.
-Boulder Daily Camera, 12.30.05

5 IPOS THIS YEAR
Five Colorado companies went public in 2005, the largest number of initial public stock offerings in the state since 2000, when 13 companies went public. This year’s IPO group raised more than $450.5 million from investors.
-Denver Post, 12.30.05

FASTEST-GROWING
The fastest-growing cities in the state this year were those on the perimeter of Denver, led by Erie with a 26.1% increase. The other fastest-growing were Commerce City, Castle Rock, Parker and Brighton.
-Rocky Mountain News, 12.30.05

HILTON: REUNITES
Hilton Hotel Corp. will acquire the lodging unit of Hilton Group PLC in a $5.71 deal that will reunite the domestic and international Hilton brand for the first time since 1964. The deal will leave Hilton Hotels with almost 2,800 hotels with 475,000 rooms in 80 countries.
-Wall Street Journal, 12.30.05

WALGREENS PROPOSAL BACK
Pedersen Development Co. of Denver has submitted a revised plan for a Walgreens store on a site off U.S. Highway 20 in the Steamboat Crossings commercial center. The developers have proposed to build 15 or 16 affordable residential condominiums on another area in the Steamboat Crossing site.
-Steamboat Pilot, 12.30.05

NEW YEAR’S IN STEAMBOAT
The Steamboat Ski Touring Center, at the Sheraton Steamboat Golf Course, will hold the 20th annual New Year’s Relay at 10 a.m. Saturday. Also on tap for New Year’s Eve is the Torchlight Parade and fireworks show at Steamboat Ski Area.
-Steamboat Pilot, 12.30.05

TOUGH DRIVING
A winter snow with wind gusts up to 75 mph blew across the mountains Thursday, closing Loveland Pass and Vail Pass at various times. At the Eisenhower Tunnel, traffic was stopped each hour to let vehicles carrying hazardous materials pass through after Loveland Pass was closed. Another storm is due in Saturday, followed by another on Monday.
-Vail Daily, 12.29.05

WATER PLAN GOES FORWARD
The Grand Mesa Water Task Force has received a draft engineering report that indicates it is feasible to build two reservoirs east of Cedaredge with a hydroelectric plant between them and re-establish an old pumping station on the Gunnison River. The Task Force will review the plan Jan. 11 and begin a public review process in March.
-GJ Daily Sentinel, 12.30.05

SKI-IN, SKI-OUT AT ITS BEST
Following the reopening of the Two Elk Lodge restaurant in 1999, after an arson fire destroyed it a year earlier, the general manager, Doug Wooldridge, moved into the lodge. Wooldridge lives at the top of Vail Mountain, 11,220 feet above sea level, takes care of staffing and scheduling the 100 employees and travels in and out on skis, snowboard or snowmobile in the winter and winds down on a dirt road in the summer.
-Vail Daily, 12.29.05

GJ TEEN NEW YEAR’S PARTY
The Grand Junction Youth Council will host its third annual Teen New Year’s Eve Party at the Two Rivers Convention Center. All eighth- through 12th-graders, with a valid school ID, are invited to the drug-free, alcohol-free party from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Some 300-400 teens have attended the annual party.
-GJ Daily Sentinel, 12.30.05

RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR
The ideal way to spend New Year’s Eve:
With close friends at someone’s house or other subdued location 32%
Romantic dinner for two 14%
With family at home 13%
All-inclusive party 7%
Watching ball drop live in Times Square 7%
With family at cozy venue outside the home 6%
-USA Today, 12.29.05

PARTY HARDY?
How many holiday parties between Thanksgiving and New Year’s we attend each year:
1-3: 55%
4-6: 28%
7-10: 5%
More than 10: 2%
None: 10%
-USA Today, 12.27.05

DID YOU BREAK THE BUDGET?
What people say about their holiday spending habits:
I exceed my spending limit 40%
I do not set a limit 39%
I stick to my spending limit 19%
I spend less than my limit 2%
-USA Today, 12.27.05

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