Phil Castle, The Business Times Tax collections reflect increasing sales in the Grand Valley and, in turn, an improving economy. “I think, overall, the economy seems to be doing better,” said Eleanor Thomas, budget manager for Mesa County. The county reported an 8.9 percent increase in sales and use tax collections in February compared to […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Collaboration and innovation have helped provide better health care at a lower cost, but challenges and complexities continue to effect transparency and especially affordability, local administrators say. Progress could come slow, said Steve ErkenBrach, president and chief executive officer of Rocky Mountain Health Plans. “This is not a light switch. […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Elizabeth Fogarty views her new role as not only involving efforts to market the Grand Valley as an attractive destination, but also managing that destination in a way that promotes quality of life — in other words, making sure it’s a nice place to visit and you’d want to live […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times The unemployment rate spiked again in January, but remains below the level of a year ago. Meanwhile, increasing job orders and decreasing claims for unemployment benefits bode well for an improving labor market in Mesa County. “It’s setting us up on a platform to really start the year off great,” […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Real estate activity continues to accelerate in Mesa County with large year-over-year proportional gains in sales and dollar volume. “The good times continue,” said Robert Bray, chief executive officer of Bray Real Estate in Grand Junction. While low inventories affect the market, the overall trend is expected to continue. “I don’t […]
American writer and humorist Mark Twain once complained newspaper reports of his death were exaggerated. At the time, they were. More than a century later, the question isn’t so much whether or not Twain is dead. Spoiler alert: he is. The question these days is whether or not newspapers could die, too. From some vantage […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times John Hager offers what he considers the perfect option for controlling weeds, one that’s instantly lethal for weeds, yet completely safe for people, pets and other landscaping. “I can drink what I’m using,” Hager said. That’s because Hager is using hot water — steam, actually. Hager and his wife, Connie, […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times While consumers tend to focus on the price of prescription medications, Dana Malick wants them to consider other aspects of the pharmaceutical industry. Drug companies set what are called list prices for medications, but a number of factors related to a complex supply change affect what people pay for prescriptions […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Buoyed in part by stronger holiday sales, tax collections continue to increase in the Grand Valley. The City of Grand Junction reported a 6.1 percent increase in sales and use tax collections in January compared to the same month last year. Mesa County reported an even larger proportional gain at […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times While a growing engineering degree program and new computer science and engineering building at Colorado Mesa University constitute important steps, a group seeks support for additional efforts to attract high-tech companies to the Grand Valley. Even small firms would pay high salaries and bring in dollars that would promote the […]