It’s unfailingly ironic, yet entirely expected, liberal Democrats characterize themselves as “progressive” and yet feel an insatiable need to promote policies that’ve been tried before, often repeatedly, and reliably fail at every attempt. Partly to redirect attention away from his signature debacle — there are many competing for the honor, but Obamacare wins insomuch as […]
Kelly Sloan, The Business Times Mesa County Commissioners have adopted a 2014 budget that reflects lower revenue and spending levels overall, but still includes allocations for two business development organizations. Proposed cuts to the budgets of the sheriff’s department and district attorney’s offices were not implemented. Mesa County Administrator Tom Fisher said projected revenues for 2014 […]
Kelly Sloan, The Business Times Previously one of the most active energy development companies in Western Colorado, Encana has announced it’s suspending drilling operations in the Piceance Basin. Sandy Kent, community relations director for Encana, confirmed the company has no plans for drilling in 2014, although production operations will continue at existing wells. Encana also will […]
Kelly Sloan, The Business Times The idling of a Western Colorado coal mine following a fire comes at a time when lower prices and stricter regulations already pose challenges to the coal industry. Oxbow Mining announced plans to idle its Elk Creek Mine near Somerset, laying off another 115 employees. The move follows a fire in […]
Kelly Sloan, The Business Times Even as energy development in Colorado increases and creates more jobs and higher tax revenues in the process, the industry faces efforts to ban a crucial component of production. The threat is significant since about 95 percent of oil and natural gas wells in Colorado undergo hydraulic fracturing. “No fracking means no […]
As much as the Barack Obama administration generally approaches international affairs as someone with the mechanical inclination of Queen Victoria might approach a garage, the Iranian nuclear deal and Chinese saber-rattling in the East China Sea had to offer a welcome distraction from the ongoing cataclysm that is the administration’s (now unintentionally) defining achievement — […]
Kelly Sloan, The Business Times Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has vowed to look into the appropriation of nearly $4 million in bonus payments from federal mineral lease sales local government officials say rightfully should be distributed. “We’ll put it on a fast track,” Hickenlooper said during a meeting in Rifle with the Associated Governments of […]
Kelly Sloan, The Business Times Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper appears sympathetic to concerns federal land-use policies to protect sage grouse habitat could hurt the economy in Western Colorado. Meeting with elected government officials during a swing through the Western Slope that included stops in Craig, Naturita and Rifle, Hickenlooper discussed a variety of regional issues, […]
Democrats find themselves standing shell-shocked among the ruins of their signature socio-economic achievement of the past decade. Sure, they’re putting on a brave face, frantically spinning each new revelation of just how complete the failure of Obamacare is becoming, fanatically combing hill and vale for some snippet of… well, if not good news, then at […]
Kelly Sloan, The Business Times Some city employees could receive higher wages under efforts to bring Grand Junction in line with the pay scales of other municipalities and the general labor market, city officials say. The raises — labeled “market rate adjustments” — come in the wake of a salary survey that compared the wages […]