 |
|
Mammoth opts out of skateboard laws As a result, the question arose: should Mammoth Lakes regulate skateboarders? The village council ultimately decided to leave well enough alone, but the conversation reported by The Sheet suggests plenty of pent-up peeves. “Just be aware that cars don’t know what to do with you,” said Mayor Jo Bacon. Skip Harvey, a council member, surprised the young skateboarders in the audience when he told them that back in the day he had been a skater, too. In fact, he had run a skate shop. “I can relate to the fun and sense of freedom you feel,” he told a delegation of skaters who had testified in opposition to new rules. “Plus, it’s a great physical workout, which is what we’re all about up here. But you need to police yourselves and set examples for other riders. Don’t just go blowing through stop signs.” “The prospect of not having an adequate airport is the greatest threat to the area’s economic viability since silver markets went bust… and put local mining operations out of business,” says the newspaper in an editorial. Ketchum was the inspiration for most other resort towns of the West. Its initial access was by railroad. However, rails long ago were ripped up and the airport that serves the resort area falls far short in its ability to accommodate the sort of planes than serve Aspen, Vail and Steamboat, not to mention Park City, just 45 minutes from a major international airport. The existing airport, located in Hailey, down-valley from Ketchum, needs to expand if it’s to accommodate larger planes. The alternative was to build an entirely new airport, outside the mountains, which was the plan until the Federal Aviation Administration suspended environmental review, citing both ballooning costs and impacts to sage grouse. The Express discerns three groups, each with simple answers – including expanding bus or van transportation to more distant airports at Twin Falls or Boise. But none, it says, are necessarily coming to grips with the situation. “Seen clearly, the reality should lead us to put pettiness and parochial rivalries aside,” the editorial stated. “No solutions will be perfect, but not finding a solution simply is not an option.” In Colorado, Aspen has already done so, but only as applied to the community’s two grocery stores. The ban takes effect in May. Down-valley, Carbondale last week voted to follow in Aspen’s path. Basalt seems to be headed toward a fee on both plastic and paper bags. In Aspen, always a place of contention, there is dissent in the pages of The Aspen Daily News. Columnist Jeremy Madden, obviously infatuated with alliteration, says the ban shows “the depth of the degradation and depravity that has come to define the disintegration and demise of Aspen.” He argues that if the town were more honest, it would ban all bags, not just from grocery stores, and not just plastic. “Ban plastic bags full of medical marijuana, ban plastic bags for vegetables, ban plastic bags of coke, ban plastic bags of Botox, ban plastic bags of sushi, ban plastic bags of poop…” However, just keeping the gondola operating is not the only key, said speakers said at a recent meeting. There must also be events and other programming, such as an Oktoberfest. And, not least, stores and restaurants would have to stay open longer in the shoulder seasons. At a recent forum, Nathan Rafferty, president of Ski Utah, declared that 90 percent of people support the interconnect, maybe even 99 percent. The potential, says Michael Berry, president of the National Ski Area Association, is huge. “What we’re seeing at Canyons now is a game-changer.” Another tantalizing prospect is the connection of Park City and Alta and Snowbird, also close in proximity. “Six miles as the crow flies, Alta and Snowbird are winning accolades for terrain. What if you could connect them? You’d create a pretty compelling product,” said Rafferty. Perzanowski had a prior alcohol conviction in 2006, reports the Vail Daily. When the judge asked about the “Vail lifestyle,” Perzanowski described it as “ski hard, party harder.” He said he regrets not finding an AA community after his first conviction. The victim was an All-American swimmer and an honors graduate from an Ivy League college who was working in his family’s oil and gas business. Spanish Peaks, another private ski, golf and real estate complex, has closed and entered Chapter 7 bankruptcy. It reports $50 million in assets and $500 million in debt. It also boasts more acreage than Vail and more vertical than Jackson Hole. Both claims assume terrain at the Big Sky ski area, to which the private ski areas are connected. The Yellowstone Club, a third private ski area adjacent to Big Sky, also went bankrupt. – Allen Best |