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Hiker fined for not carrying bear spray The requirements were instituted because of a history of encounters with grizzly bears. Mountain bikers have been banned entirely from the trail during summer, because they can more easily surprise grizzlies than hikers. Parks Canada officials explain that bears are drawn to the berry patches, and while eating berries, are distracted. That results is an increased likelihood of a bear being surprised by humans – and charging. Summit County already has a big Wal-Mart plus a Target, and a study predicts this new big box franchise will impact 100 businesses directly or indirectly, with losses of up to 12 percent, reports the Summit Daily News. The newspaper quoted Stacy Mitchell, author of Big Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-retailers and the Fight for America’s Independent Businesses. She said there’s no tried-and-true approach for a small business trying to compete with the franchise giants. Customer service helps, but businesses should also emphasize to customers the effect of where they spend their dollars, said Mitchell. Money spent at big stores, she says, leaves the community. But there were more probing questions, too, according to accounts in the local newspapers. His principal griller was Walter Isaacson, former chief executive of CNN and managing editor of Time. Now director of the Aspen Institute, the sponsor of the session, Isaacson asked Armstrong the status of the federal grand jury investigation into allegations that he used drugs while competing in the Tour de France. “I don’t know exactly,” said Armstrong. “I only know what I read in the paper.” When Isaacson asked Armstrong if he had received a letter from the federal government saying he is the target of an investigation, Armstrong said “no,” quipping, “The New York Times lands on my doorstep every morning. So if that counts as a letter, then yes.” According to an account in the Aspen Daily News, Armstrong pointed out that the alleged doping with which the U.S. government takes issue was based on cycling practices nine to 12 years ago in France. “What’s next? Are we going to start policing cricket,” he asked. Armstrong also talked about cancer, which he suffered when he was 26, and his efforts to help raise $400 million for cancer research. And he applauded Aspenites for mostly leaving him alone when he’s there as a second-home owner. Few places in the world can ever be re-created, he said, and Aspen is one of them. “I wasn’t born here. I wasn’t raised here, but I got here as soon as I could,” he added. Staging this tour is quite expensive for ski towns. Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte together pitched in $40,000 plus staffing time, while the ski area operator, Crested Butte Mountain Resort, put up hotel rooms and food. In Aspen, as of mid-July, bookings for rooms during for the two days most directly impacted by the event stood at about 42 percent. That’s up considerably from last year. However, a “very significant chunk” of the increase is due to the free and reduced-price rooms hoteliers are giving race personnel, said Bill Tomcich, who directs Stay Aspen Snowmass, the central reservations agency. No doubt, bookings will pick up as the race week approaches. Also helping will be confirmation that the top Tour de France finishers will race in Colorado. The Denver Post reports that Cadel Evans of Australia, the winner in France, has now confirmed. It’s hard to tell whether it will prove to be as challenging as the Tour de France. The Alps are steeper but at lower elevation. Financing such castles is difficult, of course, and James Fangmeyer, the co-founder of Triumph, says many lenders recoil when they hear “spec” in a proposal. “But we made a calculated decision to proceed,” he told the Vail Daily. The 150 people who attended her luncheon event ponied up anywhere from $1,000 to merely eat and listen to her 28-minute speech, to $10,000 for those with greater privileges, such as getting their photographs taken together. Audience members, who were mostly female, were “captivated” by Obama’s speech, The Aspen Times reported, although at least some couldn’t help but note she didn’t say anything about the debt crisis. Afterward, she kicked off her shoes and walked in the grass while mingling with supporters. Earlier in the day, she raised $420,000 for her husband’s re-election effort during a stop near Park City. The fund-raiser was held at the home of an investor with Barclays Wealth. Donors delivered up to $35,800 each, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. The Aspen event was sponsored by Jim Crown, the managing partner of the Aspen Skiing Co. on behalf of the Lester Crown family. The Crowns, like the Obamas, hail from Chicago. Both resorts went bankrupt. In the Yellowstone case, Blixseth has been ordered to pay $40 million to creditors. The AP says his fortune has collapsed from $1.3 billion to $200 million. The Tamarack case is muddled. Jean-Pierre Boespflug, the majority partner, has failed to show at court-ordered hearings, racking up fines of $5,000 a day since June. Meanwhile, talks have broken off with an investment group from the Boise area that had wanted to pick up the bankrupt resort. The investor group led by Matthew Hutcheson had originally offered $40 million for the $250 million construction loan from Credit Suisse. The Bank of America wants to remove and sell the ski lifts at Tamarack but homeowners are trying to block it. After the bankruptcy filing, ski area operations were suspended, but limited operations resumed last winter. – Allen Best |