Phil Castle, The Business Times Increasing tax collections continue to reflect what local officials describe as improving economic conditions. The City of Grand Junction reported a 5.1 percent increase in year-over-year sales and use tax collections in its November report. Mesa County reported a smaller gain at 1.4 percent. Since tax reports lag a month […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Bonnie Petersen expects to continue to advocate for Western Colorado interests, but also narrow her focus, as the new executive director of the Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado. “I just think we can do some really good things for Western Colorado through AGNC,” Petersen said. Petersen plans to begin working […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Patrick Wall says he’s learned a lot from his business courses at Colorado Mesa University, but even more from the various entrepreneurial activities in which he’s been involved. Wall works at the Point, a student-run pub on the CMU campus in Grand Junction. He also participates in the Entrepreneurship Club […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Robert Bray has watched the real estate market slowly but steadily improve in Mesa County over the past three years — and 2014 has been no exception. Both the number of real estate transactions and dollar volume of those deals so far this year continue to outpace last year. While […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Jesse Lanci searched high and low for a product that would help him groom his mustache. The Grand Junction man finally found what he was looking for right under his nose in a product he developed himself. Now the inventive entrepreneur hopes to sell others on his all-natural mustache wax […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times The monthly unemployment rate in Mesa County continues to retreat as increasingly confident employers step up hiring. “I think there’s a sense there’s a little more optimism among employers,” said Suzie Miller, manager of business services at the Mesa County Workforce Center in Grand Junction. According to the latest estimates […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times The answers to four questions posed to members of a small business advocacy organization in Colorado will once again help determine how the group lobbies on state and national issues. The questions deal with a range of issues, including paid sick leave, unemployment benefits, federal spending and wage discrimination. The […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times A locally published magazine has expanded its operation by selling locally produced products. The effort constitutes an extension of a brand that celebrates the local lifestyle, said Krystyn Hartman, publisher of Grand Valley Magazine. “It’s an obvious extension of our magazine brand,” Hartman said. “Every product has a story, and […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times As difficult as it is for him to believe, Lee Mathis acknowledges reluctantly that not everyone likes cheesecake. That’s why Mathis continues to expand the product line of his operation beyond the decadent gourmet cheesecakes for which his company initially was named. First it was savory appetizer cheesecake spreads. Now […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times A total of nearly $5.2 million worth of loans were issued in Mesa County during the last fiscal year under two federal programs designed to bolster small business access to financing. Lending levels under the U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) and 504 programs remain below prerecession levels. But as business […]