Welcome to a Valley Roundup. I’m Carolyn Sackariason.
Property tax revenue has plummeted in Garfield County as the natural gas industry has slowed down. As a result, the future of public services like libraries looks bleak.
The Aspen City Council is hoping to take up a proposal to ban retail chain stores downtown after it completes its overhaul on the land-use code.
Meanwhile, the retail climate in Glenwood Springs is healthy for locally owned businesses. And when the new Grand Avenue Bridge is built, they are banking on it being even better.
Speaking of the bridge, the construction of it is on schedule and should be open this time next year. Just in time for Aspen’s busiest time of the year. Many say the $125 million project is necessitated by Aspen’s consumption needs.
And, while the bridge replacement is the biggest infrastructure project on the Western Slope in decades, downtown Aspen’s pedestrian malls are going to get ripped up soon so the 60-year-old utilities underneath can be replaced.
Finally, a forum focused on immigration was held this past weekend and was attended by law enforcement and many concerned citizens. Most attendees were reassured that the Latino population in the valley is safe from deportation.
Joining me this week are Randy Essex, editor and publisher of the Glenwood Post Independent, Andy Stone and Roger Marolt, columnists for the Aspen Times, and Curtis Wackerle, editor of the Aspen Daily News.