Ear to the ground
“I’m feeling the ‘Bern’ – it’s like 500 degrees in here.”
– Local caucusgoer responding to Tuesday night’s overcrowded conditions
Cover boy
If you’ve wistfully perused your latest Patagonia catalog yet, chances are you recognized a familiar scene on the front cover. The clothing magnate’s spring edition features none other than local cycling/climbing adventurers Steve Fassbinder, better known as Doom, and Adam Zurn. The photo, taken somewhere in “Navajoland, Utah,” was taken by comrade in self-support pain and suffering, Andrew Burr.
The cover photo, as well as one on the inside page, features their “Foolz Tour,” which includes seven days and seven unclimbed desert towers. The triple threat excursion entails fat bikes, pack rafts and climbing gear.
If the sheer amount of gear management required for such an endeavor boggles the mind, consider this is a regular thing for the foolz, who make the outing – and several others like it – an annual event.
For more on the adventures of Doom, including a harrowing packraft run through Lava Falls, check out his blog: therepublicof doom.blogspot.com/
Power trip
Is your electric bill burning a hole in your pocket? Starting this week, there could be some relief, provided you’re OK doing laundry in the wee hours of the night.
La Plata Electric Association announced extended hours and a new, lower rate for its off-peak rate program starting March 1.
Known as Time of Use, or TOU, the rate is applied during hours of off-peak usage. The new off-peak hours are 1-5 p.m. and 11 p.m.-7 a.m. daily, plus all day Sunday, and Thanksgiving and Christmas. Previously, the rate did not include daytime hours of 1-5 p.m.
Members of LPEA that sign up for the TOU program will enjoy a lower cost when using electricity during these times: 5.9¢ per kWh. This is nearly an 8 percent reduction from the previous off-peak rate of 6.5¢ per kWh and about a third of the “on-peak” rate of 16.8¢ per kWh. Participants will still be charged the same base charge of $21.50 per month.
“With a reduced ‘off-peak’ Time-of-Use rate, we hope to add an incentive for members to shift their electricity usage to those lower-cost time periods,” LPEA’s Dan Harms, manager of rates, technology and energy policy, said.
To sign up, account holders need only call LPEA headquarters, 970-247-5786, to speak to a customer service representative. “It’s fairly simple, not a big deal,” an LPEA customer service representative said Tuesday. “Many meters can be programmed from here, internally.”
TOU participants can expect to start seeing lower bills as soon as April, reflecting electricity consumption in March. For more info, go to www.lpea.coop.