Potter Palooza coming to the Avalon Theatre

A Harry Potter Family Film Festival All 8 Harry Potter films will be shown The Historic Avalon Theatre will be showing all eight of the Harry Potter films Thanksgiving week 11/21-11/27. The cost to see the films are $2.50 each, or you can see all eight films for $20 with our Golden Snitch Pass (limited […]

Outlook bright for employment in solar industry

Heidi Ihrke has watched her solar energy business grow from two employees to 20 over the past six years, a reflection in part of the kind of growth that has made Colorado a top state for employment in the industry. “Colorado promotes a good environment for solar to flourish,” says Ihrke, co-founder and co-owner of […]

Fed economist: Colorado recovery steady but moderate

Mark Snead’s outlook for the Colorado economy has changed over the past two years. An economist and lead officer of the Denver branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Snead presented a forecast in Grand Junction in 2009 in which he predicted an economic rebound in Colorado would lag behind the rest of […]

Small business optimism index edges up

A monthly index tracking optimism among small business owners has increased for a second consecutive month, but not yet  enough to reflect a significant change in outlook. The National Federation of Independent Business reported its Small Business Optimism Index rose 1.3 points in October to 90.2. Even with gains over the past two months, the […]

Idaho firm wins latest contract for Moab cleanup

An Idaho-based company will oversee continued cleanup efforts at a former uranium ore processing mill near Moab, Utah, under a federal contract worth more than $121 million over the next five years. The Department of Energy announced it had awarded a competitive small business contract worth $121.2 million to Portage, an engineering and environmental remediation […]

Trends reflect improving real estate market in Mesa County

Phil Castle, The Business Times:  Annette Miller believes the Mesa County real estate market is still moving through a proverbial valley, and a wide one at that. But if recent trends continue, the market slowly will move out of that valley. Real estate sales remain on pace to top last year and reverse a four-year downward […]

Job gains not yet enough to substantially curb joblessness

Payrolls continue to grow, but not yet enough to substantially reduce unemployment in the United States. According to the latest Labor Department estimates, nonfarm payrolls rose 80,000 in October while the jobless rate dipped a tenth to an even 9 percent. The private sector added 104,000 jobs, while government employment continued to trend downward with […]

Economic development planning focuses on community image

What attributes best characterize Mesa County? Is it the small-town atmosphere combined with big city amenities, the variety of outdoor recreational activities readily available or the caring nature of the residents? Those were among the ideas suggested during a brainstorming session for conveying a community image that promotes economic development. “They’re all very positive and, […]