Local & Regional Government

Carbondale is moving forward with plans to reduce traffic and improve bike and pedestrian access on 8th Street, which intersects Main Street near the end of downtown. The town says people raised concerns about narrow sidewalks and limited access for bikes on a street with plenty of car traffic in residential areas.

Glenwood Springs holds a ribbon cutting ceremony for the 27th Street Bridge at 2 pm. Wednesday. The bridge reopened in late December after months of construction and delays. Now, the city says things are running smoothly so far, and all that remains are a few finishing touches.

Colorado is holding its first presidential primary in 20 years on March 3.

Ballots were mailed to registered voters on Feb. 10. If you are a registered as a Democrat or Republican, you will receive that party's ballot. If you are not registered with a party, you will be sent both party's primary ballots and will be allowed to only return one. 

The Town of Snowmass Village signed a resolution in support of a state bill that would repeal language banning local governments from regulating plastics. 

Existing language, signed into law in 2017, preempts local governments from requiring or prohibiting “the use or sale of specific types of plastic materials or products or restrict or mandate containers, packaging, or labeling for any consumer products.”

A recycling dropoff center in Basalt shut down on Friday after Pitkin County pulled funding, and Basalt and Eagle County couldn’t pay new higher rates to keep it open. Now, the town and Eagle County will host a pair of events where people can bring hard-to-dispose of items, such as large electronics, paint, motor oil, tires and yard waste. 

The City of Aspen is moving forward with an updated budget and timeline for the next phase of affordable housing at Burlingame Ranch. The planned development would include 79 affordable condos adjacent to the existing Burlingame Ranch, which is across from Aspen Pitkin County airport.

On Wednesday, the Pitkin County Board of Commissioners will consider raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco to 21. Under the new measure, the county would fine retailers $1,000 if they are caught selling to underage people.

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.

Starting Tuesday, Basalt residents who want to run for one of the three open Basalt Town Council seats or for mayor can pick up their paperwork and start gathering signatures.

Basalt Town Councilman Bill Infante will hold an event that morning at Starbucks in Willits from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. to answer questions from potential candidates.

Beginning Thursday, Jan. 2, immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally can be issued a valid state driver's license from the Glenwood Springs Division of Motor Vehicles.

The Colorado Road and Community Safety Act, passed in 2013, allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain these drivers licenses, but only from four Division of Motor Vehicle offices in the state.

Just after Christmas, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration raised the nationwide minimum age to buy tobacco and nicotine vaping products to 21. Pitkin County health officials, who had previously sought local regulation to reduce youth tobacco use, are still pressing on with plans to make the same change in the county.

Across the nation, upgrades are coming to the way wireless signal reaches the phone in your pocket. Small cell technology, as it’s called, will lead to the installation of lots of new transmitters. Due to a combination of state and federal regulations, Aspen will not have much control over that process when the cells come to town.

Colorado has the highest rate of youth electronic cigarette use in the nation, and use among high schoolers in Pitkin County is among the highest in the state. Now, the county is considering measures to change that.

On Monday, the Snowmass Town Council got a look at the size and location of buildings that would make up a proposed overhaul of Snowmass Center. Richard Shaw, a landscape architect working with Eastwood Snowmass on plans for the renovations, led a tour for council members and residents. 

The four finalists for Glenwood Springs' chief of police include one who oversaw the aftermath of a deadly shooting earlier this year and another who was recently placed on paid leave.

The City of Aspen hosts a “Feedback Forum” next week, where officials are hoping to get public input on four different city projects. The open meetings will be held on Dec. 4 at the Limelight hotel in Aspen.

An organization in Carbondale helps people who are homeless shower at the local recreation center.  Now, Carbondale Homeless Assistance could receive financial support from the town to help fund the program. 

“We’re at war. These are battles we need to win.”

Mayor Jonathan Godes stood in front of a large room of City Hall lined up next to other city officials at the recent rollout of the “Don’t Strip Glenwood” campaign. 

The city is designating $1.25 million to fight Rocky Mountain Resources’ proposed limestone mine expansion. City officials say if that expansion is approved, it could decimate their tourist town. 

Molly Dove, Morning Edition Host: In its meeting a couple of weeks ago, the Pitkin County Board of Commissioners talked about whether or not to accept a piece of donated land, just upvalley of Woody Creek off of Juniper Hill Road. When they first considered accepting the donated land, there were some questions raised as to whether or not the county should do so. To help break it down, we're joined by reporter Alex Hager. Give us some background on this, where exactly is this land that we're talking about?

Basalt is getting closer to updating its master plan, a community vision that guides the town's leadership in making decisions about land use and development. Wednesday night, residents got to throw in their chips, literally, with some ideas gleaned from previous community outreach and stakeholder meetings.

The Pitkin County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the development of a new solar farm near Woody Creek on Wednesday evening. The decision came after an extensive special meeting that featured the presentation of studies of the project’s potential impacts to the area and a lengthy public comment period.

The Basalt Affordable Housing Committee wants to see a new regional housing coalition succeed. At a meeting with town council on Tuesday, it asked the town of Basalt for $10,000 to help establish the coalition. 

The idea of one committee that would tackle affordable housing up and down the Roaring Fork Valley came out a regional housing study released earlier this year.