Reports abound that two adult black bears and a baby bear have come out of hibernation and are roaming Aspen.

Last week, multiple calls came in to officials at Aspen Mountain and the state Division of Wildlife claiming that an adult bear was sighted at Aspen Mountain in Bingo Slot. For the past two weeks, the Division of Wildlife has been hearing reports about a bear seen roaming around near Cemetery Lane. Officials think that there is enough distance between the two spots that two bears have come out of hibernation. Tuesday, two people reported that a baby bear was seen at the Marolt Open Space, foraging for food.

Officials speculate that some bears are late to find dens, and that they sometimes end up hibernating near roads, or a place where avalanche control work disturbs them. This isn’t the first time people have seen bears in the middle of winter. A bear came out of hibernation last year in Silverthorne. They are likely, however, to return to hibernation within a few days.

Click here to read Kimberly Nicoletti’s article about the bears in the Aspen Times. 

The Potbelly Perspective Lecture Series starts off with a bang this winter with guest Tanja Rojs Grmovsek, a Slovenian climber. She will present slides and a lecture titled “On the Rocks: From the Mountains of Slovenia to the First All-Female Ascent of Cerro Torre in Patagonia” at the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies.

Tanja has climbed the Slovenian Alps, Dolomites and French Alps, as well as big walls of Patagonia, Mexico, Peru, Norway, United States, Cuba and China.

The lecture will be held tonight, Wednesday, January 04, at 7:30 at the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies. ACES is located at the end of Puppy Smith Street, behind the Aspen post office. Admission is free for members of ACES, $3 for adults, and $2 for kids.

Take a break from the crowded ski slopes and learn about wildlife in the Rocky Mountains. Ski a run at Snowmass with a naturalist from the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) and learn about birds, animals, and trees that you might not notice on an every day ski run. You will explore the habitat of Rocky Mountain animals, learn about tracking animals in winter, and learn facts about avalanches. You may even spot a rabbit, deer, or hawk!

The nature ski tour is free (lift ticket and ski equipment required)! Take advantage of this educational activity with the kids. The tours begin at the Wapiti Wildlife Center, located at the top of the Elk Camp lift. After your run, check out the Wildlife Center and get toasty at the public warming hut!

Tours are offered every day throughout the ski season from 11 AM to 1 PM, and last about 45 minutes. Children need to be 7 years or older. Participants are required to be intermediate skiers. No reservations are necessary. Call (970) 925-5756 for more information.

Trying to think about what to do this weekend to celebrate New Years, here are some ideas of what is going on locally. (more…)

Try your hand at a snow sculpture.  Snowmass Village 2006 Wintersculpt snow carving competition is January 12 –14.  A key element in Aspen’s annual winter carnival the Wintersculpt draws people from all around the state to join together in snowy creative spirit on Hyman Avenue and Cooper Street in Aspen.

Eight teams will be selected to participate in the competition and team will have 48 hours to create a sculpture from an 8’x8’ slab of ice.  The wining team will received up to $1500 in prize money and sculptures will be scored on creativity, originality and technical excellence.

Applications and information are available at www.andersonranch.org, or contact Meghan Coyle, development assistant, at 923-3181, ext. 212, or by e-mail at mcoyle@andersonranch.org. Entries must be received by Wednesday, Jan. 4.

Colleen Truden made history recently by being the first Colorado District Attorney to be recalled from office.  She was voted out by Roaring Fork Valley residents on Tuesday by almost a five to one margin.  Martin Beeson won the vote to replace her and will take office within the next two months.  Truden discounted the extremely lopsided results of the election, saying she doesn’t "put any stock in the number of people" who voted for the recall.  She claimed that the recall organizers encouraged people who didn’t support her from the beginning, so "what a surprise."  Truden stated she still has a large number of supporters in the valley, but didn’t speculate as to why they didn’t bother to cast their votes on Tuesday.

Truden believes she was the victim of a "beautiful, classic smear campaign."  In an interview with reporter Dennis Webb, she continually referred to the unfairness of the situation, stating that she took "the high road" and that apparently the media wanted to focus on the negative publicity.  "You guys don’t care about me," she said - a seemingly bizarre comment to make to a newspaper reporter.

Truden’s detractors assert that she was dishonest with the press from the moment she was elected, lying to reporters about not paying her husband for some work in her office (she did in fact put him on the payroll for some computer work).  Recall supporters also point out how she initially disputed the facts about the way in which assistant attornies left office.  Reportedly much of her staff wanted to leave shortly after she took office, but volunteered to stay until Truden found replacements for them.  Instead, every one of them was escorted out by Truden employees on the same day they tendered their resignations.

Asked how she would help to ease the transition to District Attorney Beeson, Truden said she will "afford him every courtesy Mac Myers afforded me" - despite the fact that Beeson had nothing to do with the transition from Myers to Truden.  Truden claims Myers left the office in disarray and poor financial straits (despite the protestations of many employees of the office at the time), and apparently intends to make the transition hard for Beeson.  Truden’s tendency to bring personal issues into professional situations has been a recurring issue during the recall campaign.

Truden ended the interview by referring to her office’s many "wonderful accomplishments" that never saw print in the local papers, but she did not go into more detail.  She said she believed that it doesn’t matter at this point because "the damage is done.  The citizens lose."  Apparently, 80% of resident voters disagree with her.

The Symphony of the Valley has its first concert to the season called “classics for (and by) Kids”

The concert is at Glenwood Springs High School 7:30 PM on Saturday, October 15th and Sunday at 2:00 PM in Aspen at the Aspen District Theater.

The concert is focused on kids with songs like Babes in toyland, The little engine that could, Fantasia and more.

Tickets are $5 for kids, $8 for seniors, and $10 for adults.

A Saturday morning trip to the Aspen Farmers Market is a delight for the senses with the smell of red and green chilies roasting over a charcoal fire, the glorious sight of all the colors of the market contrasting with the green and gold of the leaves on the mountain in the background. The relaxing touch of the onsite masseur, accompanied by the soft strumming of a guitar at the entrance to the market along with the yummy fresh baked goods and homegrown organic vegetables and herbs all add to the experience to make it a memorable morning meandering around the stalls.

The market is open on Saturdays at Hunter and Hopkins Sts. From 8 a.m. - 3 p.m., June 18 - Oct. 29.