Economic prognostications offer good and bad news

A fresh take on the outlook for the local, state and national economies offers some encouragement, but also raises concerns about the effects of slowing in the energy sector as well as diminishing confidence among Colorado business leaders. Two economists with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City detailed their outlooks during an economic forum […]

Grouse ruling reflects value of collaboration

It’s not often groups representing energy companies, ranchers and environmentalists agree about much of anything. So it’s significant those groups praised the announcement a listing of the greater sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act isn’t warranted because of efforts already under way across the West to protect the bird and its habitat. Concerns remain […]

Why are we killing the goose that lays the golden eggs?

Business owners and managers can be forgiven if they’re convinced there’s a determined plot afoot in our country to go after the proverbial geese that lay the golden eggs — if not to kill the geese outright, then substantially hamper egg production. How else to explain the various regulations and rulings affecting everything from energy […]

Are you ready for some football? That would be nice

This is normally my favorite time of year. Fall and football has been intertwined in my life, bringing back fond memories of the crisp mornings and sunny afternoons of game days, changing leaves and the beauty in all of the colors, hot cider and donuts, Halloween and just the innocent, wonderful time in my younger […]

Given lemons, make lemonade

Entrepreneurs have a knack for not only recognizing and meeting needs in a marketplace, but also responding to changing conditions. Given proverbial lemons, they make lemonade. A Grand Junction couple offers an excellent example of this ability. Faced with a downturn in the energy sector their machine shop serves, Lindsey and Aaron Robinson decided to […]

Press candidates to talk about what really matters

The recent debate between the Republican contenders campaigning for election as president illustrates the disconnect that can occur between what concerns voters and what candidates to elected offices spend most of their time talking about. Prior to the GOP debate, Gallup released a list of questions Americans would ask the presidential hopefuls if they had […]

Happy anniversary

Several Grand Valley businesses are celebrating anniversaries, among them Colorado Document Security, Safari Ltd. and Pollux Clothing. It’s not the milestones themselves that are necessarily newsworthy, but what they represent: Enterprises that have survived what are typically challenging early years to evolve into sustainable operations. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, only half of […]

Paint-by-numbers economy: Picture both uplifting and worrisome

If the Mesa County economy were a paint-by-numbers portrait, some features would be bright and encouraging, but others still dark and discouraging. Count among the uplifting colors those associated with first-half numbers for sales and lodging tax collections and particularly real estate sales. Count among the ominous colors those associated with the latest numbers for […]

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