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Alpine Fax
Billie | 13 February 2006
Monday, February 13, 2006
HOTEL COLORADO: $2M REDO
The historic Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs, built in 1893, is undergoing a $2 million makeover on the first floor that will open fireplaces, completely remodel the bar and restaurant, adding a faux waterfall in the restaurant and renovate the lobby with new carpet, hardwood floors and furniture. The new restaurant and bar are slated to open in July.
-GS Post-Independent, 02.12.06
24 HOURS OF RECORDS
One hundred people participated in the first 24 Hours of Sunlight and two world records were set, skiing 50,100 vertical feet, the most vertical feet skied by a human in 24 hours. The race raised $15,000 for the Heuga Center for multiple sclerosis in Avon, and race producers Granny Gear and RealTime, with race inventor Mike Marolt and Sunlight Mountain Resort agreed to do the event again next year.
-GS Post-Independent, 02.13.06
TED AT 2
Low-cost United Airlines carrier Ted turns two years old this week. Ted now has 257 daily flights, including 43 out of Denver, and carries about 27,000 customers daily. Ted’s average load factor is more than 83% since its launch in 2004.
-Denver Post, 02.13.06
DENVER GOES FOR CONVENTION
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has sent a letter to the Democratic National Committee, officially becoming a bidder to hold the 2008 convention. Denver has not hosted a Democratic National Convention since 1908.
-Denver Post, 02.12.06
THE BIG, WHITE APPLE
The storm that buried the Northeast yesterday dumped 26.9 inches of snow in Central Park in New York, the most since record-keeping began in 1869. The storm disrupted power to more than 220,000 homes, most of them in the Washington-Baltimore area.
-NY Times, 02.13.06
VW TO CUT 20,000 JOBS
Volkswagen announced a restructuring that could cut up to 20,000 jobs in the next three years. VW, which employs more than 340,000 jobs worldwide, will also adjust factory capacity at its production plants.
-USA Today, 02.13.06
BLUE SKY ANNEXATION
The Montrose Planning Commission approved the proposed zoning last week for the Blue Sky addition and the annexation proposal will go before the Montrose City Council March 2. The project would be the largest annexation ever to the city, a 545-acre addition, including a 93-acre commercial zone and a residential area that would add an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 people.
-Montrose Daily Press, 02.10.06
TELLURIDE HOUSING LOTTERY
Applications for a housing lottery for thirteen units at the new Mendota project are due March 3, with the random drawing to be held March 8. There are two studios, one one-bedroom, eight two-bedroom and two three-bedroom units, priced from $129,000 to $303,000. Applications are available online at www.smrha.org.
-Telluride Daily Planet, 02.13.06
HOME EXPO COMING
The 12th annual Home Improvement and Building Exposition sponsored by the San Juan County Home Builders Association will be March 3 and 4 at the McGee Park Convention Center in Farmington. More than 200 vendors will be on hand and will include a “Taste of Home,” featuring samples from area restaurants and caterers.
-Farmington Daily Times, 02.13.06
IMPACT OF PILT CUTS
Last week, President Bush proposed a 16% reduction, totaling $34.5 million, for the Payments in Lieu of Taxes, which pays money to counties that contain federal land to cover the loss in property-taxes. The proposed cut would reduce PILT payments to La Plata County by $90,000 and a total of $2 million in the state.
-Durango Herald, 02.13.06
VAIL: RECORD SALES TAX
The Town of Vail is projecting it will take in $16.5 million in sales tax collections in 2005, up from $15.5 million a year earlier, and the highest sales tax collection ever. The town also recorded more in construction value, $245 million, in 2005, and estimates it received $6.2 million last year from the real estate transfer tax.
-Vail Daily, 02.12.06
93 YEARS OF WINTER CARNIVAL
Hundreds of spectators crowded on Lincoln Avenue in downtown Steamboat Springs over the weekend for skijoring and other events as part of the 93rd annual Winter Carnival. Pulled by horses, skiers and snowboarders competed, with the donkey jump featuring a jump in the middle of the street, and riding a shovel, also pulled by horse. The Winter Carnival began in 1914, bringing miners and ranchers to participate in winter games.
-Steamboat Pilot, 02.12/13.06
VR TAKES OVER RETAIL
Vail Resorts will take over the commercial space at the Beaver Run Resort and Conference Center at the end of the winter season. For Vail Resorts and Canadian-based Beaver Run Development, the move is a strategic one, designed to provide consistent and seamless service to their guests.
-Summit Daily, 02.12.06
TELLURIDE VOTE TUESDAY
The town of Telluride will hold a special election Tuesday asking voters to provide direction for the Town Council as to whether to proceed with negotiations with major landowner San Miguel Valley Corp. on the valley floor or whether to go to condemnation of the property. The ballot question has 12 subparagraphs, is 17 inches long, but culminates in a “yes” or “no” response.
-GJ Daily Sentinel, 02.13.06
GRAZING FEES GOING DOWN
Ranchers who graze livestock on federal lands will pay less this summer, as the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management have reduced the fee for an animal unit month from $1.79 to $1.56, beginning in March. The calculation of an AUM fee is based on a formula that is derived from the costs of raising livestock and the overall strength of the livestock market. Even with the relatively strong livestock market in the U.S., the cost of fuel and other costs have risen as well. The $1.56 AUM fee applies to federal grazing in all states from the Midwest to the West Coast.
-Montrose Daily Press, 02.11.06
RODEO HQ LEAVING C. SPRINGS
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, which have been in Colorado Springs since 1979 are moving to Albuquerque, N.M. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said the move will bring 85 full-time jobs and 50,000 Hall of Fame visitors annually to New Mexico. The PRCA owns land in northwest Colorado Springs valued at $1.5 million and the Pro Rodeo Hall of Champions owns a parcel with the same address valued at $5 million.
-Colorado Springs Gazette, 02.12.06
MORE SKIING, MORE SKIERS
-Skiable acres in Colorado, 1994-1995 season: 26,539
-Skiable acres in Colorado, 2004-2005 season: 37,791
-Skier visits in Colorado, 1994-1995: 11,105,106
-Skier visits in Colorado, 2004-2005: 11,815,572
-Rocky Mountain News, 02.11.06
