911 calls are never ignored, but sorting out which alerts from Apple iPhone 14s and watches are real is “a tremendous drain” on resort town resources.
Pitkin County
Posted inCrime and Courts
10 Colorado communities support lawsuit to block Utah oil trains along Colorado River
Cities and counties the tracks run through want to support appeal of 2020 federal approval of Utah’s Uinta Basin Railway, which routes waxy crude oil trains through Colorado
Posted inBusiness, Housing, News
Buying frenzy slows but home prices remain sky-high in Colorado mountain towns
The blistering pace of home sales in Colorado’s mountain communities is slowing. Finally. After sales volume and prices more than doubled in Colorado’s high country valleys between 2019 and 2021, the number of home sales in six Colorado mountain counties declined through May compared with the same period in 2021. And while prices remain sky-high, […]
Posted inBusiness, Housing, News
Colorado high country commissioners blast Airbnb report that disconnects short-term rentals from housing crisis
A group of 15 commissioners from seven mountain counties is blasting a recent study commissioned by short-term rental giant Airbnb that dismissed the idea that short-term rentals are eroding worker housing in Colorado’s high country. “Airbnb narrowly focused on positive impacts, and facts appear selected to craft a story that is not entirely true, especially […]
Posted inGrowth, News, Outsider
Colorado mountain towns feel more crowded than ever. But census data shows the population has barely changed.
Mick Ireland knows Pitkin County’s streets. The former Aspen mayor and 30-year politico has knocked on thousands of his neighbors’ doors over the years, promoting candidates and ballot issues as well as helping to register voters. So when the 2020 census report showed entire blocks in Pitkin County — not city blocks but the small […]
Posted inColoradans, Education, News
Desperate for affordable homes, teachers in Colorado’s high country turn to Habitat for Humanity
GYPSUM — Brenda Saucedo has lived in Eagle County all her life, but with housing prices that have become out of reach and a daughter to care for, the place she considers home once left her homeless. Three years ago, Saucedo, of Gypsum, turned to a shelter while figuring out how to piece together a […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors, Outsider
Record high calls for help are stressing Colorado’s mountain firefighters, emergency responders
There are more people living in their vacation homes in Colorado’s resort communities. There are more people visiting and staying in short-term rental homes. “But it’s a challenge to quantify any of this,” said Jake Andersen, deputy chief of operations for the Aspen Fire Protection District. Fire chiefs like Andersen can gauge one impact of […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Outsider
The source of Colorado’s high country housing crisis: a doubling of home prices and sales
The rules are changing in the high country. As the labor crisis lingers, community leaders are beginning to address the root cause of the challenges that are strangling mountain valleys. They are cracking down on short-term rentals. Redirecting the flow of tax dollars toward affordable housing. Adjusting economies anchored in tourism to focus on residents, […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, Equity, Housing, News
This is the first net-zero affordable housing project in Colorado’s high country. It certainly won’t be the last.
Jeremy Duncan enjoys scrolling through apps and websites regularly to check his family’s energy consumption at his home in Basalt. “Holy Cross shows you how much you are saving, and SolarEdge has a feature where you can look at solar panels and see which panels are used most,” Duncan said. “You can break it down […]
Posted inCOVID, News
Summit County reinstates mask mandate as Colorado’s high country becomes one of the nation’s COVID hotspots
Health officials in Summit County reinstated an indoor mask-wearing mandate Thursday as Colorado’s high country becomes one of the nation’s worst COVID-19 hotspots. The mountain-community surge is happening while tourists flock to ski resorts for the busy holiday season. The new mask-wearing order, which is in effect until Jan. 31, requires anyone age 2 or […]