Friday, January 20, 2006
MORATORIUM IN GLENWOOD?
The Glenwood Springs City Council voted unanimously Thursday to draft an ordinance for City Council consideration in February that would place a moratorium on all new development on the south side of the city for six months to study future sewer, transit and transportation needs.
-GS Post-Independent, 01.20.06

INSTITUTE CEO ON UAL BOARD
Walter Isaacson, president and CEO of The Aspen Institute, was named to the board of directors for United Airlines, one of five new members selected to the board by the airline’s committee of unsecured creditors. A bankruptcy court judge is expected to formally approve the carrier’s reorganization plan today, after 37 months in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
-Aspen Daily News, 01.20.06

OFF TO PLUTO…AND, BEYOND
NASA’s $700 million New Horizons mission to Pluto launched at noon MST Thursday, with Alan Stern, the Southwest Research Institute scientist from Boulder, leading the mission and the central instrument of the payload is Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.’s Ralph instrument which will map the surface of Pluto.
-Boulder Daily Camera, 01.20.06

JAPAN BANS BEEF, AGAIN
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced Friday his country will halt imports of American beef after a recent shipment was found that may contain material considered at risk for mad cow disease.
-Associated Press, 01.20.06

ARVADA FIRM ACQUIRED
Arvada’s Mark VII Equipment, the third-largest U.S. carwash equipment maker, has been acquired by WashTec AG, of Germany, the world’s largest supplier of carwash equipment. The sale price was not disclosed, but the cash deal will allow expansion of Mark VII.
-Denver Post, 01.20.09

MUSIC DOWNLOADS: $1B
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry reported worldwide sales of music via the Internet and mobile phones hit $1.1 billion last year, almost triple 2004 sales.
-Associated Press, 01.20.06

POWERING UP FOR COUNTRY JAM
Country Jam 2006, scheduled for June 22-25 in Mack, will feature four new acts: Rockie Lynne, Jason Aldean, Trick Pony and Sawyer Brown. The new performers will join a line up that includes Alan Jackson, Sugarland, and Trace Adkins, among others, with Early Bird tickets now on sale. Check www.countryjam.com.
-GJ Daily Sentinel, 01.20.06

BLU & DIXIE: THEIR NOSES KNOW
Until three years ago, none of the ski mountains in Eagle County had avalanche rescue dogs. Now, Beaver Creek Resort employs two certified rescue dogs, Blu and Dixie, to find backcountry skiers buried in avalanches. The dogs and handlers work at Beaver Creek, but can be deployed to Vail Mountain, which doesn’t have it own rescue dogs, or by helicopter to other backcountry areas.
-Vail Daily, 01.19.06

BOOKS OF THE YEAR
From the USA Today “2005: Books in review”:
-No. 1 Best Seller: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling;
-20% of the sales in 2005 were children’s or youth titles;
-41 books about Sudoku had made the top 300 sellers during the year;
-Top cookbook: Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats, Rachael Ray
-USA Today, 01.19.06

MV: ALLOCATION FOR HOUSING
The Mountain Village Town Council Thursday authorized earnest money for a contract to purchase 103 acres of land just southeast of Norwood on the San Miguel River as a site for affordable housing. The town is conducting due diligence on the property, which is priced at nearly $4 million.
-Telluride Daily Planet, 01.20.06

OIL & GAS LEASES COMING
The San Miguel County commissioners are working with the Bureau of Land Management to remove some parcels of land from the nearly 40,000 acres of county land to be included in an oil and gas auction on Feb. 9. The deadline for requests to have parcels removed from the auction is Jan. 25.
-Telluride Daily Planet, 01.20.06

ELK MTN. PLAN MOVES ON
The Routt County Planning Commission Thursday recommended approval for the Elk Mountain Ranch land preservation exemption, the county’s largest land preservation subdivision project. The application is for 62 five-acre lots on 1,797 acres, with 1,325 acres left in open space. The commission called the project a model for future projects.
-Steamboat Pilot, 01.20.06

PLANNING IN MESA COUNTY
Nearly 100 people attended a meeting Thursday night of the Mesa County Planning Commission to testify on a proposal that would redefine how people can subdivide their land. In general, landowners agreed farmland should be kept in agriculture, while property owners in areas like Kannah Creek argued for higher density in areas where crops don’t grow.
-GJ Daily Sentinel, 01.20.06

MOONLIGHTING AT LOVELAND
The Colorado State Patrol responded to the full moon party on Loveland Pass last weekend, where as many as 300 skiers and riders were enjoying the powder fields in the moonlight. The CSP were responding to a request from a tanker truck driver who couldn’t pass the cars parked on the highway and used their loudspeaker system to ask those parked illegally to move their vehicles.
-Summit Daily, 01.19.06

FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS
From a survey of first-time homebuyers:
Median age: 32
Median household income: $57,200
Median down payment: 2%
Purchased with no money down: 43%

-USA Today, 01.19.06

HOME PRICES
Median single-family home price in October, 2005:
West $322,000
Northeast $241,000
South $194,000
Midwest $168,000

-USA Today, 01.20.06

THE HOUSING BUBBLE?
Do you feel housing in the U.S. is overvalued or undervalued?
Overvalued 73%
About right 19%
Undervalued 5%
No answer 4%

-USA Today, 01.19.06

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