Highway 160 slated for $12 million

Highway 160 east of Durango could soon get a much-needed help in the form of $12 million in federal funds.

Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., helped secure passage of a bill Monday night that will provide money for improvements on the stretch of Highway 160 from east of Elmore’s Corner to Colorado Highway 3. The bill now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to pass. 

The $12 million will be in addition to $4.8 million in federal funds that already has been earmarked for the Durango area through 2011.

This funding will go toward construction of a fourth lane on Highway 160 between Grandview and Farmington Hill and relocation of the County Road 222 and Highway 160 intersection, said Richard Reynolds, the Region 5 director for the Colorado Department of Transportation. “These are high priority and vital safety improvements for this area,” he said.

Rural Colorado often competes with the bigger cities for road and highway improvement funds, making the $12 million even more vital, Salazar said.

La Plata County Commissioner Joelle Riddle said the county was pleased to hear of the news. “These funds help enable us to provide safe and efficient travel in our county,” she said. “Passage of this bill in the House is a great first step, and we are hopeful the Senate will pass this bill as soon as possible.”

Salazar is the only Coloradan on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Ritter signs landmark energy bill

Gov. Bill Ritter today signed two centerpieces of Colorado’s “New Energy Economy” legislation agenda into law Tuesday.

House Bill 1281 and its companion bill, Senate Bill 100, will, among other things, double the renewable energy standard established by voters in 2004 with Amendment 37. Under the new legislation, large investor-owned utilities like Xcel must now provide 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar by 2020. Likewise, municipal utilities and rural electric providers, such as La Plata Electric Association, must provide 10 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. They had been excluded from the requirements under Amendment 37.

The theory behind the bills is that they will break the “chicken and egg” cycle whereby wind companies don’t build turbines until there is adequate capacity, and utilities don’t build capacity until there are turbines.

This will be accomplished by offset providing electric utilities with a 3-to-1 credit for investment in solar energy. Furthermore, electric utilities subject to rate regulation will be required to identify high-potential wind-energy locations as well as “Energy Resource Zones,” where transmission constraints hinder the delivery of electricity. These utilities are then required to develop plans to improve transmission capacity. The bill allows utilities to recover costs during construction.

 “Voters set the stage in 2004 with the passage of Amendment 37,” Gov. Ritter said. “Today, we amplify that commitment by doubling our renewable energy standard through House Bill 1281 and by making it easier to load wind power onto the electric grid through Senate Bill 100.”

It is estimated that the bills will provide economic benefits, particularly to rural Colorado, by providing 4,100 jobs and $50 million in lease payments to farmers, ranchers and other landowners for wind farms, crops and solar parks.

“These new laws will improve our economic security, our environmental security and our national security,” the governor added. “They will breathe new economic life into rural Colorado. They will create new jobs, and they will say to the rest of the world, ‘Colorado is open for business in what will be one of the most important industries of the 21^st Century.’”

Mountain states top for growth

It should come as no surprise, but the Rocky Mountain states are outpacing the rest of the country in terms of growth. A recent USA Today report pointed to above-average growth in mountain states and a slow down in home construction and prices along both coasts.

In general, U.S. economic growth has slowed, according to the story, which pointed to a suffering domestic auto industry, declining home construction and a buildup in business inventory. However, the slowdown has behaved differently in different places. Florida and California’s housing markets are both

taking major hits, thanks largely to excessively high prices. Michigan and Ohio are both in recession, because of manufacturing woes.

However, the Rocky Mountain states are boasting faster growth and lower unemployment rates than the rest of the country. “Northern Colorado is going to outpace the U.S.,” Martin Shields, a regional economist at Colorado State University, told the paper. “Like the rest of the economy, health care is going to be a driver. The manufacturing sector here has really bottomed out. We can’t lose much more. All of our (negatives) have really gone away.”

Chuck Ward, Qwest Communications’ president for Colorado, added that the state and the West have several advantages over the rest of the nation. “Energy is a key part of the Western economy, but so is tourism, so is alternative energy,” he said. “We have a very interesting advantage in the West because of our educated work force.”

Currently, the Rocky Mountain region has seven of the nine fastest-growing states, and an economist credited immigration, mining and growth in the technological sector.

Record Colorado ski season on target

Colorado ski areas are on pace to post another record season. Last week, Colorado Ski Country USA, a trade association representing 26 Colorado resorts, announced its members have maintained last year’s positive momentum and look to better 2005-06 numbers. Through Feb. 28, Colorado ski resorts had hosted 8.5 million skiers and snowboarders, an increase of 19,271 visits over the same time last year.

“We are very pleased with our results thus far,” said Rob Perlman, CSCUSA president and CEO. “The Colorado ski industry set a record last year by hosting more than 12.5 million skiers and snowboarders. It’s been our goal to maintain that growth in an effort to firmly establish a new benchmark for the industry. It is very exciting to see we are one step closer toward achieving that goal.”

Colorado is also more than 720,000 skier visits ahead of its five-year, year-to-date average for this time period. The state has reported a steady three-year growth trend through its second period; further demonstrating momentum for the country’s largest ski state.

“We anticipate momentum to continue to build as we enter the spring skiing and riding season,” continued Perlman. “March and April are always two of the best months to enjoy Colorado’s high country.”

National group boosts local housing

A national home-building alliance will add an affordable home to La Plata County this summer. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Habitat for Humanity International have combined forces, allowing Habitat for Humanity of La Plata County to expand its home-building capacity by one home in 2007. The home will be part of the Casitas de Florida town home complex on Florida Road.

The alliance brings together thousands of volunteers and financial support from Thrivent Financial. That support will translate into more than $100,000 for local efforts.

“The Thrivent grant and the support of the local Lutheran congregations is an incredible opportunity for us as a rural community,” said Connie Imig, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of La Plata County. “We don’t have the big city corporate sponsors to help us build homes..”

Mesa Verde busts rogue outfitter

Mesa Verde National Park isn’t giving away any freebies. In February, the nearby park won a court case against a bicycle tour operator who had been guiding trips without a permit. Nancy Redpath pled guilty to entering a designated fee area without paying the required fees or possessing applicable permits. 

Redpath is the owner/operator of Imagine Tours from Davis, CA. The online company touts affordable outdoor adventures and was operating a bicycle touring business in the park. Last August, she got caught. Mesa Verde park rangers observed the activity and conducted an investigation. 

During her initial court appearance, Redpath pled guilty to both charges and was sentenced to pay a fine of $3,000 on the first count, and a fine of $5,000 suspended for  one year on the second count with unsupervised probation for that period of time.

– compiled by Missy Votel and Will Sands