A housing crisis solution with modular homes, philanthropy, unique lending and free land is threatened by local zoning and code regulations
Buena Vista
Posted inPolitics and Government
Buena Vista residents had to pay $166 to get mail. Now, the USPS says it will deliver for free.
Most Colorado communities have at least one way for residents to get their mail for free. But in Buena Vista, residents have for years had no option but to pay.
Posted inSocial Services
The sudden suspension of a Colorado prison-work program has thrown employers into disarray
The Take Two program was paused following an inmate escape earlier this year. Employers, already battling a tight labor market, say they were given no time to plan for the loss of labor.
Posted inNews
“A joke.” “TERRIBLE.” “Insane!!!”: Want mail in Buena Vista? That will be $134.
BUENA VISTA — Even in these politically divided times, one topic has united this 3,000-person town in Colorado’s high country: frustration with the local U.S. Postal Service office. Residents complain that prescriptions are lost. Bills come late. Mail goes to the wrong post office box, or is inexplicably returned to the sender. “A joke.” “TERRIBLE.” […]
Posted inHousing, News, Politics and Government
Colorado lawmakers are betting millions that factory-built homes are a solution to the housing crisis
Colorado lawmakers are aiming to increase the state’s stock of modular homes amid a statewide housing shortage that’s left many residents priced out of the market. House Bill 1282, known as the Innovative Housing Incentive Program, would create a $40 million loan program that modular homes manufacturers could use to pay workers and cover operating […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, Energy, News, Outsider
Solar-powered homes caught in crossfire as a rural Colorado electric co-op aims to squeeze more from second-home owners
A plan by the Sangre de Cristo Electric Association to squeeze more money from absent property owners is sparking a revolt among the cooperative’s members. The electric co-op wants to increase its monthly service charge while cutting the cost of power for customers who use the most electricity. As Colorado’s mountain communities struggle with the […]
Posted inBusiness, Music, News
Seven Peaks Festival pulls out of Buena Vista after county declines to raise its 5,000-person capacity cap
Live Nation on Friday canceled its Seven Peaks music and camping festival in Buena Vista and announced it was seeking a new location after the county declined to raise its coronavirus capacity limits for events. The world’s top concert promoter was seeking a permit to host as many as 20,000 spectators at the festival on […]
Posted inBusiness, Housing, News, Outsider
Modular housing is getting a second look as Colorado confronts a lack of affordable homes
BUENA VISTA — Charlie Chupp deflects the perceived perfection of his timing. As housing and construction costs skyrocket in Colorado, creating a labor crisis that threatens tourism and building industries in mountain communities, Chupp is six months from opening a modular housing production facility capable of churning out two fully-built, ready-to-assemble homes a day. The […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors, Transportation
Transportation board kills plan for trains to return to Colorado’s dormant Tennessee Pass
The Surface Transportation Board on Thursday rejected a plan by a rail operator to revive train traffic on Colorado’s mountainous Tennessee Pass Line. Colorado Midland & Pacific Railway Company — a new division of Texas-based Rio Grande Pacific Corp. — asked the transportation board on Dec. 31, 2020 for streamlined approval of its plan to […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Newsletters, Outsider, Transportation
Potential operator of trains on Colorado’s Tennessee Pass promises rail line wouldn’t transport crude oil
Colorado Midland & Pacific Railroad, which is vying to run trains across the long-dormant Tennessee Pass Line between Cañon City and Gypsum, promises it will never transport crude oil, coal or hazardous materials on the line. The nascent railroad operator’s plan to return trains to the line that has been idle since 1997 riled residents […]