Phil Castle, The Business Times The monthly unemployment rate in Mesa County once again spiked in January, but at 9.2 percent was at the lowest level for the month since 2009. Other measures of the local labor market offer at least some consolation conditions are slowly improving, said Suzie Miller, business services manager at the […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Robert Bryce compares various sources of energy in part by density — how much power can be produced in a given amount of space. Such low-density renewable energy sources as wind and solar power simply require too much space to keep pace on a global scale with an increasingly power-hungry […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times As research and development proceeds in efforts to economically extract oil from shale, issues related to the social and environmental effects, not to mention water use, of commercial-scale production, remain. But so does the promise of a vast resource whose richest formations of all lie beneath Western Colorado. “Stopping now […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Coal will continue to play a leading role in meeting growing energy demand if not in the United States, then elsewhere in the world. “The rest of the world is going to use coal,” said Frank Clemente, professor emeritus of social sciences and energy policy at Pennsylvania State University. The […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Technological advancements in producing oil and natural gas have positioned North America to achieve energy independence within perhaps a dozen years. But that prospect still depends on an energy policy based on facts, not assertions or myths, said John Felmy, chief economist for the American Petroleum Institute. “If there’s anything […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Apartment vacancy rates in Grand Junction more than doubled during the fourth quarter of 2012 as winter weather discouraged potential tenants from looking for housing. But rental activity is expected to rebound with the coming spring. According to the latest results of a survey conducted for the Colorado Division of […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Increasing real estate activity and decreasing foreclosure activity bode well for what’s expected to be continued recovery in the Grand Junction market in 2013. While just two months of statistics on real estate sales and foreclosure filings and sales don’t yet constitute a trend, the numbers offer an encouraging start […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Having lived through the best and worst of economic times during her more than 30-year legal career in Grand Junction, Betty Bechtel believes the area is poised for growth beyond that associated with boom and bust energy cycles. “I feel right now we’re on a positive incline,” Bechtel said. “I […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Rich Lopez envisions an organization that not only will help businesses, but also establish lasting connections with a growing Latino population in Western Colorado. “We have to connect the non-Latinos with the Latino people. What I’m doing is to provide a bridge to accomplish these things,” says Lopez, the president […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times A member of a family that for 140 years has operated what’s become an iconic Colorado business will share his experiences and advice at annual event celebrating entrepreneurship. Pete Coors, an executive with Molson Coors and MillerCoors, will deliver the keynote address at the Colorado Mesa University Entrepreneurship Day April […]