LEADVILLE —A coffee shop downtown finally got fed up with the question and posted an answer: No, you cannot leave your bicycle in here. Everyone has a $10,000 bike. The sign got laughs from the locals, who’ve earned the right by living year-round at 10,000 feet to poke fun at Front Range and out-of-state tourists […]
worker shortage
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors, Outsider
Colorado’s mountain resorts cut back their summer offerings as labor crisis persists
Vail Resorts announced its summer plans at its major resorts last week and one thing was conspicuously absent. Ziplining and canopy tours, once the foundation of an industry-wide expansion of summer amenities, have been dropped from the resort operator’s offerings at Vail and Breckenridge, apparently a victim of the labor crisis strangling ski areas. Company […]
Posted inNews
“Glorified homelessness”: Even tiny Silverton is experiencing the housing crisis that’s crushing mountain workers
SILVERTON — Julian Roberts is lighting a campfire on the outskirts of Silverton, wind whipping smoke toward the painted school bus where he lives with his fiancée. He’s been camping out for weeks in the picturesque town of 600, nestled in a caldera among southwest Colorado’s highest peaks. It was a choice at first. It […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, News
What’s Working: Colorado’s labor force is missing older adults, parents of young kids and international workers
The labor stories keep getting shared, and not just here on What’s Working. If you wander over to Facebook, the conversation has been quite lively around some of The Colorado Sun’s recent job stories, such as this one and this one. There are a number of folks who cannot find a job, so if you’re […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, Housing, News, Outdoors
Students who kept Colorado’s resort-town economies alive during COVID are now headed back to school
A sign outside Butte Bagels advises customers that this popular breakfast stop, in the alley behind the Crested Butte post office, is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. A gaggle of tourists gathers close to peer at the sign, at the “help wanted” sign next to it, and through the darkened windows before they give up and […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, News
Supply chain problems — from salsa to sheet metal — are hampering Colorado businesses’ coronavirus recovery
Salsa -maker Amy Lasley used to throw away the disposable gloves she wears during food preparation. But as the price of nitrile gloves skyrocketed in recent months, she’s started to disinfect them with bleach and reuse them for cleaning outside the kitchen. Other items are more expensive, too: The glass jars she packs her salsa […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, News
What’s Working: More Coloradans are working or looking for work now than before the pandemic
Signs of a strong job recovery in Colorado were evident in new data that shows more Coloradans were working or were looking for a job in April than before the pandemic. According to state Department of Labor and Employment officials, there were nearly 3.2 million Coloradans participating in the labor force in April, compared with […]
Posted inCOVID, Education, Health, News
Colorado eases license rules to let foreign-trained health workers help during coronavirus
By Markian Hawryluk, Kaiser Health News As hospitals nationwide struggle with the latest COVID-19 surge, it’s not so much beds or ventilators in short supply. It’s the people to care for the sick. Yet a large, highly skilled workforce of foreign-educated doctors, nurses and other health practitioners is going largely untapped due to licensing and credentialing […]
Posted inBusiness, Growth, Health, News, Politics and Government
As Coloradans grow older, there’s a push for policies that benefit all ages
Janine Vanderburg led 42 workshops across the state in 2018 to learn about the concerns older adults had about aging or ageism. One issue became clear. Adults were working longer — and wanted to — but they often felt discrimination in the workplace or during the hiring process. “People said, ‘That workplace discrimination issue that […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government
A Colorado lawmaker brought a short-term rental bill he never intended to pass. It created an uproar.
State Sen. Bob Gardner wanted to start a conversation. He’s incited a statewide uproar instead. The Colorado Springs Republican introduced a bill at the Colorado Capitol that would change the property tax assessment category for short-term rentals to commercial from residential. That would increase the taxation rate more than four-fold from a projected 7.1% in […]