The monthly unemployment rate in Mesa County slipped in February from a seasonal peak, confirming assessments that local labor conditions have improved since the beginning of the year. Gilbert Lujan, supervisor of the Mesa County Workforce Center in Grand Junction, expects the jobless rate to keep trending downward. “I think it will continue with the […]
The opening of the Fruita Community Center marked the culmination of years of planning — as well as contention that resulted at one point in a tie vote over whether or not to increase the municipal sales tax rate to fund the facility. Voters finally approved a 1 percent sales tax hike in the spring […]
“In the West, when you touch water, you touch everything.” — Wayne Aspinall, congressman from Colorado, 1949 to 1973 “Water: We have it, the Front Range wants it.” — oft-mentioned phrase by residents of Western Colorado Wayne Aspinall, one of the leaders in efforts to dam and store river water in the West, offered sage […]
Water wars are as infamous as battles between sheep and cattle ranchers in Western Colorado lore. But while opponents in livestock conflicts rarely resort to fisticuffs any more, negotiations over water rights can still come close to resembling old-fashioned street fights. Water companies in the Grand Valley have a different tale to tell, though. The […]
In the midst of a discussion about increasing production of natural gas in Western Colorado this year, the energy industry is grappling with national reports about contamination from fluids disposed of following hydraulic fracturing — a process also called fracking. The contaminants, which sometimes include chemicals from the fracking process as well as salts and […]
In light of predictions the Colorado population will double over the next 40 years, people who use and manage water are working to ensure there’ll be enough of the “liquid gold” to go around. Everyone in the state — and in the West, for that matter — will feel the effects of such efforts. Those […]
My family and I just took our fourth trip to Denver in the last month. To be honest, it was the family twice and my wife alone for two of them. Nonetheless, we’ve driven up and over the mountains a total of eight times over that span. Since I’m not big on driving, and my […]
If Dwayne Romero could wave a magic wand and instantly bring back a vibrant economy to Colorado, he would. As it turns out, the new executive director of the Office of Economic Development and International Trade just happens to have a magic wand, a sparkly one he borrowed from his 5-year-old daughter shortly after he […]
Kristin Hoaglund has received a jump start on career development as the youngest member of a local chapter of an association for administrative professionals. “It’s been a great benefit,” said Hoaglund, a credit administrator and 24-year-old president of the Book Cliff Chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP). Hoaglund said she’s gained knowledge […]
As the new director of economic development in Colorado, Dwayne Romero doesn’t expect to wave a magic wand and instantly create jobs. Romero likes the symbolism, though, of working what he calls some “new magic” through creativity and collaboration in the face of limited resources. That’s why he’s brought a magic wand he borrowed from […]