Phil Castle, The Business Times While a pandemic derailed what was forecast as a good year for the Mesa County economy in 2020, there are opportunities to get back on track in 2021. The unemployment rate has retreated nearly seven points since peaking in April even as the labor force has grown and wages have […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Employment is expected to grow in Colorado next year, but not enough to recoup job losses attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions. Payrolls are expected to increase 40,500 in 2021, about a third of estimated job losses for 2020, according to the latest Colorado Business Economic Outlook. The […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times As a fourth-generation rancher on a century old family operation in Eastern Colorado, Wil Bledsoe brings a long-term perspective to the agricultural and food industry in the state. His takeaway from 2020 and his prediction for what could happen in 2021? “Always expect the unexpected.” Bledsoe was among five panelists […]
’Tis the season. For, among other things, holiday newsletters. You know, those annual missives you receive, typically from distant relations. You only met once, and that was at a family reunion 15 years ago in Iowa. But every year since, they’ve confided in intimate detail what’s occurred in their lives. And it’s always amazing. Too […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times With a month left to go in 2020, real estate activity in Mesa County has nearly matched sales and dollar volume levels for 2019. Even as persistent demand and low interest rates have bolstered activity in the midst of a pandemic, low inventories have kept residential sales from increasing even […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Employers can take steps to not only avoid the spread of coronavirus, but also prepare for what to do in the event an employee tests positive for COVID-19. “Really, this boils down to planning and communication,” said Jennifer Cleerdin, vice president of quality and compliance at Capco, a Grand Junction-based […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Diane Schwenke preaches what she believes to be two equally important holiday messages: shop local to support Grand Valley businesses and stay safe in the midst of a pandemic. Schwenke hopes the messages remain more complementary than contrary because the outcome of the holiday shopping season — and for some […]
I fight as a newspaper journalist to write tight. I endeavor to reach a conclusion without using too many words to get there. I prefer lean, muscular prose to corpulent bloviation. Compared to some writers, though, I’m a profligate who squanders words the way a drunken sailor spends money. I’m talking about you, Theodor Geisel. […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times The monthly unemployment rate remains unchanged in Mesa County even as the work force and labor demand increase. Those trends offer encouragement in the midst of a surge in COVID-19 cases in the county, said Curtis Englehart, director of the Mesa County Workforce Center in Grand Junction. “There were some […]
I’ve heard a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind. I’ve also seen evidence for just the opposite. A cluttered desk is a sign of genius. A quote attributed to no less a genius than Albert Einstein poses a good question: Of what, then, is an empty desk a sign? The debate over […]