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Brandon: Critical questions in need of answers
Hopefully we’re crossing summer activities off the to-do list as we all know fall is waiting in the wings. I finally got out in the woods and experienced nature — and I feel better, almost. Not even nature can drown out the discord surrounding the decisions du jour that loom over Aspen. I’m with you, Aspen — until death do us part — but we’ve got some weighty choices to make.
BOCC moves ahead on ASE ballot measure
Residents and officials at a Wednesday meeting disagreed on how a county-initiated measure would interact with another measure introduced though a citizen petition for this November’s ballot. Pitkin County commissioners moved forward in approving the county-initiated ballot measure during the meeting, drawing criticism and some praise from members of...
Pitkin County officials, residents continue to go head-to-head over airport ballot questions
The Pitkin County Board of Commissioners and Our Airport Our Vote continue their power struggle over decision-making at the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport. Pitkin County commissioners unanimously voted to move Our Airport Our Vote’s Nov. 5 ballot title forward, contingent upon some edits. Our Airport Our Vote, an issue committee...
Newly launched housing buy-down effort gains momentum
A new, regional effort to convert private residences into affordable housing has officially been launched and is gaining steam in the Roaring Fork Valley. Aspen, Snowmass, and Pitkin County have so far contributed a combined $1.7 million to support what’s called the Good Deeds program being spearheaded by the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit started in 2020 that serves the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys.
Another airport-related question on PitCo voters’ radar
It appears voters will be asked to approve or reject a proposed amendment to the Pitkin County Home Rule Charter that would empower county commissioners to decide the local airport’s current and future layout and design plans without those decisions being challenged at the ballot box. The Pitkin Board...
Pitkin County commissioners update resolution language for potential November airport ballot question
The Pitkin County Board of Commissioners discussed updating the language of a potential November airport ballot question during a special meeting Tuesday. The resolution will amend Article II of the county’s governing document, the Home Rule Charter, to “authorize and empower the Board of County Commissioners to Approve and Implement a Physical Layout and attendant Regulatory Plan for the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport that meets local and federal regulation and requirements, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the Pitkin County Home Rule Charter.”
Midnight heli-vac rescues camper 'going in and out of consciousness' in high-elevation terrain
A nighttime rescue was initiated to save a camper near Aspen, Colorado on August 12. According to a press release from the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office, the local dispatch center received a Garmin inReach SOS alert at about 9:35 p.m. on Monday related to a camper who was experiencing severe shortness of breath and was going in and out of consciousness at the base of Belleview Mountain near West Maroon Pass. While officials didn't provide a specific elevation for the incident, terrain in this area...
Good Deeds affordable housing program grows in Roaring Fork Valley
Please see the following press release from the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition. this development-neutral approach “buys down” a market rate home to a more affordable or attainable price for a local income earner in exchange for a permanent deed restriction being added to the property. The West...
Cars, buses, e-bikes, and pedestrians: How Aspen leaders are looking to make the city a safer place
The city of Aspen held three safety improvement walking tours Monday to address growing concerns surrounding transportation safety. During the first tour of the day, the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, Aspen police officers, city engineers, a parks and recreation ranger, WE-cycle representatives, a Roaring Fork Transportation Authority manager, and an Alta Planning + Design safety specialist gathered outside of City Hall and embarked on a 90-minute tour around Aspen.
Sick hiker rescued on West Maroon Pass
On Monday night, a sick hiker was rescued from the base of Belleview Mountain near West Maroon Pass, according to a midnight PitkinAlert. The hiker was a 44-year-old from Minnesota with a severe headache and difficulty breathing. At approximately, 9:35 p.m., the Pitkin County Regional Emergency Dispatch Center and the...
New trails in Colorado under scrutiny as sliver of Carbondale to Crested Butte Trail gets approval
It’s been eight years since Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper announced his “Colorado The Beautiful” plan to connect 16 gaps in trails across the state, championing development of the highest profile trails, many of which had been in the works for many years. Only one trail on the...
Aspen Real Estate Snapshot, Aug. 12
Below is the highest- and lowest-priced closing on a free-market, private, whole-ownership sale from the most recent Pitkin County Clerk & Recorder’s Office report. This luxurious home in Aspen has six bedrooms and nine bathrooms. $24,500,000. Low. Redstone. This 10,000-square-foot lot in Redstone is ideal for a new home.
ASE advisory board member 'shocked' BOCC moving to thwart citizen's initiative on airport
Note: This letter originally was sent to Pitkin County commissioners Steve Child, Patti Clapper, Francie Jacober, Kelly McNicholas Kury and Greg Poschman. At a meeting today, the commissioners will consider placing an item on the Nov. 5 ballot which, if approved, would give the county's elected officials greater authority over future decisions regarding the airport.
Delta rising at Aspen airport?
As a Pitkin County voter, I’m pleased to see information about the airport expansion recently made available by the Community Coalition for a 21st Century Airport (“New airport coalition touches down,” July 30, Aspen Daily News) and Bill Tomcich in his guest commentary (“Embraer E-175s are just right for ASE,” Aug. 8, Aspen Daily News).
Columnists mired in false conflict on airport
Unfortunately, some of the recent columnists opposing airport expansion have allowed themselves to be drawn into a false conflict over commercial plane size, tourist visitation and pillow counts. The truly relevant aircraft to our discussion is not the E-175, but the G-650. The E-175 already meets the existing standard. The...
Richards: Action needed now for Aspen’s growth
New climate tipping points appear daily — extreme heat domes everywhere; rising oceans water temperatures and coral bleaching events; powerful hurricanes; world-wide, “500 year flood”-producing rainstorms; massive melting of glaciers; drought; crop failure; and global wildfires. Aspen and Pitkin County were quick to begin preserving much of...
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