Wednesday, February 01, 2006
X GAMES: CROWDS DOWN
On Saturday and Sunday, which are typically the busiest days of the Winter X Games, crowds were down about 1,000 people, compared with last year. Saturday there were huge crowds, with about 28,250 people in attendance, but Sunday there were “only” 15,800. Through Monday, 62,150 had attended the games.
-Aspen Times, 02.01.06

ISABEL MACE DIES
Isabel Mace, who with her husband Stuart, built and ran the Toklat lodge, restaurants, gallery and gift shop for more than 50 years, died Monday. She was 87 years old. Toklat served as the family’s home, a gallery and in the 1950s, a filming site for the “Sergeant Preston of the Yukon” television series.
-Aspen Times, 02.01.06

HUGE TECH CENTER DEAL
In a blockbuster deal, Shea Homes and Shea Properties, owner of Highlands Ranch, bought 1,300 acres of developable land at the Denver Tech Center and the 800-acre Meridian Village, eight buildings and the Marina Square Shopping Center. The deal was valued at $150 million.
-Rocky Mountain News, 02.01.06

COMEBACK FOR BISON
The Colorado-based National Bison Association reports that about 35,000 bison were processed nationwide last year, up 17% from 2004. Although a healthy increase, the cattle industry processes about 125,000 cattle a day.
-Associated Press, 02.01.06

FED: ANOTHER RATE INCREASE
In his last major act as chairman, Alan Greenspan guided the Federal Reserve Tuesday to a 14th-consecutive quarter-point interest rate increase, boosting short-term rates to 4.5% and banks responded by boosting the prime rate to 7.5%.
-USA Today, 02.01.06

GOOGLE TANKS
Google Inc.’s shares fell $53.65, or about 12%, in after-hours trading after the company reported that fourth-quarter profit increased 82%, far short of Wall Street’s expectations.
-Wall Street Journal, 02.01.06

SLINGBOX GETS CASH
Colorado-based media giants EchoStar Communications and John Malone’s Liberty Media contributed a $46.6 million investment in the maker of Slingbox, which allows viewers to watch their living-room television from anywhere in the world via a wireless Internet connection.
-Rocky Mountain News, 02.01.06

UNITED WAY: 85% OF GOAL
United Way of Mesa County has reached 85% of its fund-raising goal of $1.2 million, according to United Way officials and the Home Loan Taste of the Grand Valley, the organization’s biggest fund raiser, is yet to come, scheduled for March 27. The Taste features more than 50 booths, with food and drink, and raised $28,000 last year.
-GJ Daily Sentinel, 02.01.06

JUSTICE CENTER BUILDER
The Routt County Board of Commissioners Tuesday selected FCI Constructors to build the county’s new controversial justice center. FCI submitted a bid of $13,289,000, the lowest of the four companies competing for the project. County officials anticipate breaking ground in April and the construction will take an estimated 16 months.
-Steamboat Pilot, 02.01.06

OSCARS, BY THE NUMBERS
Oscar nominations, with U.S. gross and 2005 box-office ranking:
Brokeback Mountain 8 nominations …$51.6 million …52nd
Crash …………………6 …………………$53.4 million …48th
Good Night, and Good Luck ..6 ……….$25.2 million ..99th
Memoirs of a Geisha .6 …………………..$54.0 million ..47th
-Wall Street Journal, 02.01.06

WATER DEAL CLOSER
Water officials from the Colorado River Basin states reached agreement on a wide-ranging drought management plan they will propose to the Interior Secretary this week. The plan protects the upper-basin states by allowing officials to adjust the amount of water released from Lake Powell and also protects California, Nevada and Arizona. It urges the federal government to pressure Mexico in times of drought to take less water.
-Associated Press, 02.01.06

VF PLAN: MOVE THE RIVER?
Remediation plans for the San Miguel River on the Valley Floor were the primary topic for the Telluride Town Council meeting Tuesday. Although surveys and studies must be undertaken, moving the river back to its original state on the Valley Floor and river restoration were generally agreed to be needed.
-Telluride Daily Planet, 02.01.06

S. UTES: ENRON LOSS REPAYMENT
The Southern Ute Indian Tribe has managed to recover more than $3 million in debt resulting from the bankruptcy of energy giant Enron. In December, the tribe’s Red Willow Production Co., sold a debt claim of $3.27 million to Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. The debt came from November 2001 gas sales, when Enron defaulted on payments.
-Durango Herald, 02.01.06

FLOODS IN THE FUTURE?
With the snowpack in the Blue River Basin at more than 150% of normal, water commission officials are starting to prepare for flooding this spring. Residents of streamside areas can get information at the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s Web site, cwcb.state.co.us/Flood_Intro.htm. The flood potential is as high as it has been in eight to ten years.
-Summit Daily, 01.31.06

MOOSE MOVE SUCCESSFUL
With the most recent transplant of 24 moose in mid-January on Grand Mesa from Huntsville, Utah, there are now 46 moose on the Mesa. The goal of the Colorado Division of Wildlife is to move 25 moose a year for the first five years of the program, the single-largest transplant operation of DOW.
-GJ Daily Sentinel, 02.01.06

BIODIESEL SURVEY IS OUT
Last week, the San Juan Biodiesel Cooperative mailed about 800 surveys to farmers in Montezuma, Dolores and San Miguel counties, and growers in San Juan County, Utah, to assess interest in raising sunflowers and canola for processing into biodiesel. There will be meetings on biodiesel in Pleasant View, Feb. 7; Monticello, Utah, Feb.7; Dolores, Feb. 8 and Lewis-Arriola, Feb. 23.
-Cortez Journal, 01.31.06

LOYALTY FOR NONPROFITS
Alpine Bank offers the Loyalty Check Card Collection as a vehicle for bank customers to strengthen and support the communities where they live and work. Each time the Loyalty Check Card is used by the customer, Alpine Bank donates ten cents to the loyalty category of their choice. Charitable organizations in all Alpine Bank communities are invited to participate in this exciting program. The Loyalty Collection offers customers a choice from one of the following four Loyalty Check Card Groups: Arts - is a unique opportunity to help fund arts and culture in your community; Community - will benefit organizations that meet support, and strengthen human needs; Education - will offer support for local school related programs; and Environment - helps local groups restore, preserve and protect the ecosystems that are important to our daily lives. For more information about the Loyalty Check Card Collection, please contac t your local Alpine Bank.

READING THE PAPER
Top U.S. newspapers by average weekday readership, in millions:
USA TODAY 7.1
Wall Street Journal 5.1
New York Times 5.0
New York Daily News 2.7
Los Angeles Times 2.4
-USA Today, 01.31.06

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