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Basalt town council is considering cutting the little-used “One Percent For The Arts” program. It was intended to help fund the town’s public art, but officials say it’s proven impractical. 

At a council meeting last week, town manager Ryan Mahoney said that the program, which requires one percent of the cost of constructing or remodeling town buildings go toward public art, was a good concept, in theory. 

"But, in practice, we haven’t been consistent about collecting that one percent for the arts or charging ourselves for it," he said.

• 'Witches' Pantry' Could Be Gone If Mining Company Expands
• Anderson Ranch's Andrea Wallace Shows Decade-Long Project On Boyhood
• Climate Change, And Our Response To It, Is Making Life Hard For Desert Tortoises

Welcome to another week in the Roaring Fork Valley! This is Week in the Arts, a curated list of upcoming exhibitions and events.

Anderson Ranch director of photography and new media Andrea Wallace has been taking pictures of her son and his best friend for the past decade, as part of a project that looks at boyhood, friendship and the construction of gender.

Witches’ Pantry is a cave recently discovered in the boundaries of Rocky Mountain Resources’ proposed expansion of the Mid-Continent Quarry in Glenwood Springs. 

If the mining company’s proposal is approved, the cave and all the potential science within it could be destroyed, according to the cavers who discovered it.

When a mountain lion has been treed by hunting dogs, the animal looks distinctly catlike: powerful, annoyed and, yes, bored. 

Whit Whitaker and other winter sportsmen have hunted mountain lions in the Roaring Fork River valley for decades, but until this week, a small triangle of land above Aspen has been off-limits. 

• Garfield County Steps Up Hepatitis A Vaccination Efforts
• 'The Scenic Route' Shows Different Side Of Alex Ferreira At 5Point Aspen
• Mountain Lion Hunting Expands Near Aspen

Garfield County is increasing efforts to get people vaccinated in the face of a hepatitis A outbreak in Colorado.

Hepatitis A is a liver infection that typically affects drug users, people experiencing homelessness and men who are sexually active with other men. The risk of illness to the general public is low. It causes nausea and vomiting for weeks or even months. 

5Point Aspen returns to the Wheeler Opera House this weekend with two nights of short films about outdoor adventurers of all shapes and sizes. The program includes a film about local Olympian Alex Ferreira that’s less about skiing into a halfpipe, and more about stepping into another culture.

• Sunlight Mountain Opens New Trails For First Time Since 1993
• Sarah Roy Brings Back Colorado Biennial Juried Show To Red Brick
• Life After Coal: Mining Towns In SW Colorado Race To Survive Another Energy Burst

Earlier this week, Red Brick Center for the Arts executive director Sarah Roy was in the long hallway of the gallery lighting the artwork for the 2020 Colorado Juried exhibit. She meticulously directed spotlights, moving one an inch higher, shifting others a bit to the left or right, on nearly forty different works from artists all over the state.

Sunlight Mountain is opening up new runs for the first time since 1993, as part of a four million dollar expansion. The Glenwood Springs resort will open five new runs this season, adding 500 vertical feet to the mountain’s East Ridge section. 

• Aspen Seeking Public Input On Lumberyard Affordable Housing
• Aspen Chapel Gallery's '6X17' Showcases Area High Schoolers' Art

Wednesday and Thursday night, the City of Aspen is hosting public open houses to gather input input on an affordable housing development at the Aspen Lumberyard near the Aspen Airport Business Center. 

Previous meetings gave the city guidance on what kind of facilities will be included in the project. Public input and conversations with city council identified desires for housing, parking space, childcare facilities and easy access to public transportation.

Artwork from area high school students is up for “adoption” at the Aspen Chapel Gallery. The show "6 X 17" supports art departments at six local high schools: Aspen, Basalt, Roaring Fork, Colorado Rocky Mountain School, Glenwood Springs and Yampah Mountain.

• As State Lawmakers Return To Work, Gov. Polis Weighs In On Looming Debates
• Garfield County Sheriff: Suspect In Officer-Involved Shooting Brandished Weapon, Ignored Orders
• 'Betty The Yeti' Encourages Robotics For Young Students, Male Or Female

Two members of Aspen High School’s robotics team have written and illustrated a children’s book, "Betty the Yeti," that extols the joys of STEM -- science, technology, engineering and math. 

Author Jeremy Martin and illustrator Tilly Swanson sat down with kindergarteners at Aspen Elementary School last Friday to read the book, talk about robotics and show off the robotics team's robot. 

• Scholarship Money Authorized For Garfield County Colorado Mountain College Students
• Aspen Middle Schoolers Express The 'Need For Green' In Wintersköl Snow Sculpture
• Peak Health Alliance Visits Garfield County As Part Of Push To Lower Insurance Premiums

Four teams carved elaborate snow sculptures in downtown Aspen over the weekend, competing in Wintersculpt, part of the Wintersköl celebration. One team made up of students at Aspen Middle School called themselves “Need for Green."

Health-care cooperative Peak Health Alliance holds two meetings in the area this week as part of a Garfield County effort to lower insurance premiums for residents.  

Nonprofit Peak Health Alliance, which got its start in Summit County, bargains with health insurance carriers on behalf of its members, which include individuals and businesses. 

Welcome to another week in the Roaring Fork Valley! This is Week in the Arts, a curated list of upcoming exhibitions and events. 

For the second year, Garfield County Board of Commissioners authorized the Colorado Mountain College Foundation to apply on the county’s behalf for $75,000 in scholarship funds.

The state’s Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative, or COSI, provides scholarship funds for 501c3 nonprofit organizations to administer. Each such nonprofit must be authorized by a county partner to apply for the funds, and then the nonprofit pledges to provide matching funds.

• Soupskol Makes Return To Aspen's Winterskol Celebration
• Aspen Gay Ski Week Kicks Off With Increased Focus On Welcoming Families