Ear to the ground:

“There are more people swimming in that river than at the Rec Center pool!”
– Candid observation of the recent storied carnage on the Animas River, facilitated by a few new drops and high flows unseen in years

Bearly summer

The river isn’t the only thing in town up and raging. Over the last few weeks, a mother bear and her two cubs have been spotted cruising garbage cans on the west side of town in the Crestview neighborhood.

To help spare the mom and cubs the fate of becoming nuisance bears – last year 12 bears in the area were put down by wildlife officials – BearSmart Durango is stepping in. This week, BearSmart began circulating fliers to be posted throughout the neighborhood, reminding people to be cognizant of their trash.

To download a sign, go to http://bearsmartdurango.org/lawn-sign/

At last, a reason to live in Buffalo

Still undecided on summer travel plans? Allow wallethub.com, “the personal finance social network,” to help. The site recently posted its list of the country’s best and worst cities for travel as well as the best and worst for staycations.
The survey compare the 100 largest cities in the U.S. based on 20 key metrics, ranging from the number of public golf courses and swimming pools per capita to the cost of maid services – in order to help consumers “make the best decisions for their wallets and enjoy a bit of fun this summer.”

As far as the best cities for travel, Chicago tops the list; followed by Washington, D.C.; New York, Charlotte, S.C.; and Philadelphia. Denver came in at a distant 30 with the California cities of Riverside, Sacramento and San Jose at the bottom of the list.
If you happen to live in Buffalo, N.Y. and are short on funds, then you’re in luck. That city topped the list for “best cities to staycation,” followed by Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Portland, Ore. Again, California bottomed out the list with Chula Vista, Fremont, Anaheim and Fresno.