Sales tax collections continue to outpace 2010

Sales and use tax collections, a key indicator of retail activity, continue to come in ahead of last year in Mesa County, the latest government reports confirm. The City of Grand Junction reported collecting a total of more than $4.3 million in sales and use taxes in October, an increase of more than 4.2 percent […]

Colorado Small Business Index retreats

A monthly measure of economic conditions for small businesses in Colorado has retreated, although somewhat faster growth nationally could help. “Any improvement in what has been to date meager U.S. economic growth would pay dividends for Colorado’s small business sector,” said Jeff Thredgold, a corporate economist who calculates the Vectra Bank Colorado Small Business Index […]

More school cuts mulled in wake of election results

Phil Castle, The Business Times Officials will continue to look for ways to cut the budget for Mesa County School District 51 following the defeat of a ballot measure that would have temporarily increased property tax revenues. While it’s still too early to know for sure,  another $4 million to $5 million in cuts could be […]

U.S. rebound likely modest and slow

Phil Castle, The Business Times Craig Hakkio expects the United States economy to continue to grow rather dip back into recession. But recovery likely will remain slow. And it could take a long time to regain what was lost in the aftermath of a housing bust and financial crisis, said Hakkio, a special advisor on economic […]

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 […]