Government

Aspen voters will decide in November whether to extend and double a 0.3% sales tax for schools to 0.6%, funding staff raises and operations as the district faces state funding shortfalls.

Verizon Wireless is set to boost cell coverage in midvalley areas as Pitkin County advances a lease for a tower expansion at its Crown Communications site. A 10-foot tower extension and generator will support Verizon service, with installation possibly starting this fall or next spring.

As a growing number of investors buy up mobile home parks, residents can face displacement due to redevelopment and rising rents. In response, state and local governments have passed legislation and policies in recent years aimed at protecting residents from being evicted or priced out, and some advocates want lawmakers and other stakeholders to do more to preserve one of the largest sources of affordable housing in Colorado.

The Aspen-Pitkin County Airport is taking over 28 tiedown spaces, updating lease terms and cleaning up lengthy waitlists. New size restrictions, updated fees and discounts are part of the changes.

A new study from Headwaters Economics shows that housing on public lands would have only a minimal impact on the West’s housing crisis, with most potential development being focused in a small number of states. Economist Megan Lawson also says that wildfire danger would be a huge risk to these potential homes.

In a 4–3 vote, the Basalt Town Council will charge STR license-holders $2,532 per bedroom starting in 2026. The move aims to ease housing impacts and raise $100,000 annually for affordable housing, but it’s drawing legal threats from some property owners.

Democrats said the bill was anti-public lands and anti-environment, even before Utah and Nevada representatives introduced an amendment to sell public lands in their states.

Prescribed burns can be a valuable tool when preventing damage from increasingly destructive and wildfires driven by climate change. These projects, however, require significant staffing and logistical planning, making their future uncertain as the federal government looks to slash federal agencies.

The Trump Administration is directing federal agencies like the Department of the Interior to ramp up mining operations on federal public lands. The order singles out copper, uranium, potash, and gold.

Freshman Representative Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.) is sponsoring a bill that would require Bureau of Land Management field offices across the west to adopt plans that would open up more lands to oil and gas drilling.