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ALpine Fax
Billie | 9 January 2006
Monday, January 09, 2006
GLENWOOD SALES SOAR
Sales tax revenues in Glenwood Springs in November totaled $998,263, up a whopping 33% over the $747,872 in November 2004. The city’s lodging tax, which generates funds for tourism promotion, had $30,298 in collections, up from $25,284 in November 2004. Overall, sales tax collections for the first 11 months of 2005 were almost 9% higher than the corresponding period in 2004.
-GS Post-Independent, 01.09.06
SALES UP, LODGING DOWN
Retail sales in Aspen in November were up 7% over November 2004, and retail sales for the first 11 months of the 2005 totaled $380.4 million, an increase of 10.1% over the same period in 2004. Lodging tax collections fell by 17.5% in November 2005, compared with November 2004, but year-to-date lodging tax collections were still 11.1% better than the first 11 months of 2004.
-Aspen Daily News, 01.07.06
GO TO DENVER, SKI ASPEN
The Aspen Skiing Co. will offer its four-day Classic Pass again Friday and Saturday at Christy Sports locations in FlatIron Crossing and Park Meadow shopping centers in Broomfield and Littleton. The price is $149 for adults or about $37 a day. The single-day adult lift ticket is $78 at Aspen, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Buttermilk.
-Denver Post, 01.08.06
FIRE THREATENS AGUILAR
A controlled burn, thought to be extinguished, rekindled Saturday night when wind gusts of nearly 75 mph blew across Las Animas and Huefano counties, burning 6,000 acres, destroying up to five homes and forcing the evacuation of 100 households. The blaze was threatening 215 homes, including the town of Aguilar.
-Denver Post, 01.09.06
THE HILTON IS BACK
Stonebridge Cos., based in Arapahoe County, will hold a ground-breaking ceremony this week for the 12-story Hilton Garden Inn at 14th and Welton streets, the first Hilton hotel in downtown Denver in about 20 years. The last downtown Hilton closed in the mid-1980s and was rebranded as the Adam’s Mark.
-Rocky Mountain News, 01.07.06
NEW PROPERTY FIRM
StrollAway, a start-up company formed by four Denver entrepreneurs, was developed for owners who want to sell their property in disaster-affected areas, such as New Orleans and other hurricane-ravaged areas. The service is free to property owners, eliminates real estate commissions and will donate 10% of profits to the American Red Cross.
-Denver Post, 01.09.06
AG WATER OK’D FOR LEASING
Members who hold shares in the Pine River Irrigation District have signed an agreement last week allowing members to lease unused water from Vallecito Reservoir for uses other than agriculture. The Pine River Irrigation District is interested in leasing as much as 2,000 acre-feet to the proposed La Plata Archuleta Water District.
-Durango Herald, 01.09.06
BUSES FULL, DRIVERS NEEDED
Steamboat Springs Transit carried over 9,000 passengers on Dec. 30 and New Year’s Eve, even though the transit service doesn’t have enough drivers to operate at the desired level for regular service. Passenger counts have been up since August, with double-digit percentage increases every month compared to the same months in 2004.
-Steamboat Pilot, 01.09.06
A RECORD FOR KETTLE CAMPAIGN
The Salvation Army’s kettle campaign in Steamboat Springs had a record year, bringing in $16,750 over the holiday season. In 2004, the kettle campaign brought in $12,091. The organization had about 215 volunteers working over the holidays, ringing bells for more than 200 hours from Thanksgiving to Christmas.
-Steamboat Pilot, 01.09.06
DROUGHT IS BACK
Despite heavy snow in Colorado’s northern and central mountains, snowfall has been below average along the urban Front Range, and almost non-existent in the southwest. The Wolf Creek Ski Area, which usually leads the state with an average snowfall of 435 inches, had received only 82 inches as of last Friday.
-Durango Herald, 01.08.06
THE LYNX ARE BACK
The Colorado Division of Wildlife reports lynx are thriving in the state, thanks to a re-introduction program, continued releases, with a total of 204 lynx released since 1999 and, importantly, to the survival of kittens bred by lynx that were released, with 101 kittens born in Colorado. Forty-three lynx have been located in the White River National Forest.
-Summit Daily, 01.08.06
NO SMOKING NEAR LIFTS?
The Eagle County commissioners are expected to vote tomorrow on a proposal that would ban smoking in all unincorporated Eagle County, which includes all lifts at Beaver Creek Mountain and several lifts at Vail Mountain. Not all lifts at Vail Mountain would be included in the ban, as some are within the town of Vail and will not be covered.
-Aspen Times, 01.08.06
NEW ECONOMIC PUBLICATION
The Entrepreneurial Business Institute of Mesa State College has published its first issue of “EBI EconoBiz”, a newsletter that reviews the status of the Grand Valley’s economy and is scheduled for publication every three months. The publication looks at sales-tax revenue, building permits, real estate sales, tourism data, and other data. The newsletter is available at www.mesastate.edu/ebi.
-GJ Daily Sentinel, 01.08.06
I-70 WORK BEGINS
Work to repair damage to Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon from a rockslide on New Year’s Day will begin today. The $70,000 project will repair the hole in bridge deck at mile marker 124.9 that closed one of the eastbound lanes of the highway. The work is scheduled for completion Feb. 3.
-Vail Daily, 01.08.06
BLUE SUN: FARM TO TANK
Westminster-based Blue Sun Biodiesel LLC has developed a high quality 20% Canola-based bio-diesel fuel produced from seed grown by independent farmers in Colorado, Kansas and throughout the high plains. The low-emission fuel can be used safely by anyone who drives a diesel, without modification. Blue Sun opened a new processing and distribution terminal in Alamosa about a year ago that blends 600 gallons a minute. Blue Sun bio-diesel powers the entire fleet of 400 school buses for Denver Public Schools and is running one diesel locomotive on a Santa Fe Railroad tourist line.
-ColoradoBiz, January 2006
TAKE A SWIG AND SPEAK
While traveling through Europe a few years ago, Steve Margolin found that he always had two things: his water bottle and his phrase book. Margolin, in true entrepreneurial fashion, put the two together, and started Bottles in Translation when he got home. Bottles in Translation has 32-ounce Nalgene water bottles with 100 words or phrases in Spanish, Italian or French. Check it out at www.bottlesintranslation.com.
-ColoradoBiz, January 2006
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK 2006
Forecast for 2006 from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado for selected sectors:
Natural resources and mining: 1,700 additional workers
Construction: Total valuation will rise 8.8%
Leisure and hospitality: 5,600 jobs added
Agriculture: Livestock sales of $3.9 billion, 3rd-highest ever
-Rocky Mountain News, 01.07.06
THE DOW IS ON THE MOVE
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is now at a 4 ½ -year high, just 40+ points from 11,000 and has gained every trading day in the new year:
Jan. 3: +130
Jan.4: +33
Jan. 5: +3
Jan. 6: +77
-USA Today, 01.09.06
