Phil Castle,The Business Times Western Colorado wineries joined in an opportunity to market their products directly to an important demographic — Front Range consumers. Out of 42 wineries pouring at the Colorado Urban Winefest set up in Sculpture Park in downtown Denver, 18 were from the Western Slope, said Cassidee Shull, executive director of the […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Sales tax collections in Grand Junction and Mesa County continue to outpace last year and remain on track to return to pre-recession levels. The trend bodes well not only for government coffers, but also retail activity in the Grand Valley. According to a city report for May, a total of more than […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times:: Nate Porter counts himself among the fortunate Grand Valley home builders who not only survived the recession, but also managed to grow their operations. “We’ve continued to grow, and it’s been a blessing,” says Porter, president and owner of Porter Homes. “I just feel like one of the luckiest guys […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times: The Mesa County unemployment rate has declined to its lowest level of the year, defying what’s usually a seasonal bump in the jobless rate attributed to students looking for summer jobs. Moreover, labor demand as tracked by another measure remains at its highest level in four years. Taken together, the […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Libby Collins and Mary Hughes gush nearly effusively in describing the business support that’s made it possible to preserve a Grand Valley landmark as a recreational area. “Having them as part of this project has been spectacular,” said Collins, a coordinator with the Mesa Land Trust. Hughes, development officer with […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Rosemary Litz grows nearly 50 lavender plants as part of the meticulous landscaping surrounding her Grand Junction home. The rounded bushes with purple blooms add color and fragrance to the serene setting. But for Litz, lavender constitutes a growing enterprise in another sense. She harvests blooms from the plants to […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times From a conference room at Reynolds Polymer Technology in Grand Junction, Mark Miller can see a whole world of potential markets. Even as demand in the United States for the acrylic components Reynolds Polymer manufactures for aquariums, architectural features and swimming pools lags along with the economy, exports to such […]
Dale Beede enumerates the goals he achieved in purchasing a new car that runs on compressed natural gas. Support the energy industry that supports his commercial real estate firm. Check. Help reduce dependence on foreign oil, if only a little bit. Check. Reduce automotive emissions. Check. Save money. Check. “This was a win-win for me,” […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times: The pace of real estate activity in Mesa County has picked up with year-over-year gains in sales and dollar volume of about 30 percent in May. What’s more, higher sales and lower inventories have combined to push up home prices. “It is picking up a smidge more momentum,” said Annette […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Tony Gagliardi gives the Colorado Legislature better-than- average grades for a session that was, on the whole, less rancorous than average. “I give this session a B. I thought there was some progress made,” said Gagliardi, the state director of the National Federation of Independent Business. That progress included small […]