New West Network

My Page: Mitzi Rapkin

Environmental Hole in One

A $3.4 million project to replace the Aspen Golf Club's irrigation system and build new landscaping is geared at making the course more environmentally friendly and visually appealing the Aspen Times is reporting.

The replacement began in fall 2005 and is currently ahead of its projected August completion date. The project, funded by open space bonds, is expected to save between 55 and 60 million gallons of water each year. [more]

Literacy in the Making

In December 2004 Julie Fox-Rubin made a bold move. She took a ten-year old literacy program housed at the Basalt Library and converted it into a non-profit with it's own location, mission and fundraising challenges.

Less than two years later, the program now called English In Action is thriving and the Aspen Times reports that it is expanding to Aspen. [more]

Fuel up for Free

Aspen’s got gas. That would be unleaded or diesel not naturally produced methane. The Aspen Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a free gas give away. If guests stay at one of 15 participating properties, they will receive a voucher for up to $50 dollars in free gas at the Aspen Store (which is nearly $4/gallon so it might not get people in their Hummers very far.)

The throngs may start coming, free gas or not. Yesterday Independence Pass, a summer-only highway that connects Aspen with Twin Lakes opened to the public as did the road up to the Maroon Bells, one of the most popular destinations for tourists in Aspen. [more]

Delta to Compete with United

Delta Air Lines may be a little behindBill Tomcich, the liaison between the resort and the airline industry and the President of Stay Aspen Snowmass,Delta Air Lines may be a little behind United when it comes to fixing its financial woes, but strategically, they are giving United Airlines a run for their money by attempting to soar into the Aspen market full-time.

In March, Delta announced it would begin one daily flight between Salt Lake City and Aspen beginning June 8th. Before the planes were soaring, demand was and Delta doubled the flight frequency in July and August to twice a day between Salt Lake and Aspen.

Yesterday, the airline announced it would be offering daily service between Salt Lake and Aspen and would add two daily flights during the winter ski season and will offer year-round flights if the market supports it. [more]

Are End Credits Near?

A few weeks ago the building housing one of the only two movie theaters in Aspen was sold to developers who are axing the movie house in favor of office space and housing.

That left one movie theater in Aspen with a precarious future. The building it is housed in, The Isis is also for sale. In an effort to keep a movie theater in existence in downtown Aspen, the City Council made moves to buy the Isis building in order to ensure it remains leased as a film house.

The sellers offered the building to the City for $8.75 million with a $500,000 non-refundable deposit. Even if the City put the deposit down, the issue would have had to go to the voters in November to see if they approved the deal. [more]

City Buildings Getting Greener

As the City begins to implement the plan, it will be adding to ethics that are already in place at the Aspen Skiing Company.The City of Aspen’s Canary Initiative Project The City of Aspen’s Canary Initiative Project is aimed at reducing global warming pollution, informing the public about impacts from and solutions to global warming and to advocate for action.

Taking the project to heart, the City of Aspen is currently enacting what is called a “High Performance Building Process,” to incorporate the most environmentally responsible building solutions to every construction project the City embarks on.

High performance buildings use less energy, cost less to operate and are more durable and produce fewer greenhouse gases. The short and long term benefits of instituting such a program are that more buildings don’t necessarily have to mean an addition of global warming pollution or a drain on resources.

While the plan does not prescribe specific measures, like which company to buy carpet from, it lays out a set of guidelines to follow.
[more]

Median Home Price $1 million

That old theory of what goes up must go down is true in the Aspen area real estate market. No, you can’t buy a home in Aspen for the reduced price of a few hundred grand, but the high price of housing which is always up in Aspen is going down (valley).

A report in today’s Aspen Times says that the average price for a home in Basalt (what used to be Aspen’s working class haven) is now above $1 million.

Real estate agent Wendy Lucas did an analysis for the Aspen Times and said, “the prices are getting higher and higher.” [more]

La Tribuna hits Newsstands

Two months ago Colorado Mountain News Media, a company that owns virtually all the newspapers between Summit County and Aspen, bought La Misión, the Roaring Fork Valley's Spanish-language newspaper.

Luis Polar, founder and editor of La Misión which started in Basalt as a nonprofit grassroots newspaper for Spanish speakers throughout the valley. Polar is still the editor but the name was changed to La Tribuna and the first issue hit the newsstands earlier this month. With the new name also comes an expansion of the paper’s distribution along the I-70 corridor from the Eisenhower Tunnel to Grand Junction. [more]

Snow Back on the Scene

Snow, which is long gone from the City of Aspen, will be making its reappearance on Snowmass Mountain for three weekends this summer. For terrain park hungry junkies who have put their snowboards away, the weekends of June 10th, 17th and 24th will offer them the opportunity to go big in a terrain park called Velvet Falls Glacier.

Aspen Skiing Company spokesman Jeff Hanle told the Aspen Times, “We stockpiled a bunch of snow at the end of the season when we were shutting down. It’s pretty cool. It’s something we’ve never done before. We’re kind of excited to offer it – see what the response is.” [more]

Commissioners to Hold Hearing

Pitkin County Commissioners, based in Aspen, decided yesterday to hold a hearing at the end of June on civil liberties and the Bill of Rights. Both the Aspen Times and the Aspen Daily News are reporting today that the Commissioners are concerned about the actions the federal government has been taking lately with regard to personal freedom.

The Daily News is reporting that Commissioners Dorthea Farris and Patti Clapper believe they’ve both been on a “watch list.”

The move by the Commissioners was instigated by the Woody Creek Caucus which passed a ‘Bill of Rights Defense Resolution’ late in March. Woody Creek was the home of the late Hunter S. Thompson and home to a passionate group of citizens unafraid to express their opinions. [more]