Counterbalancing the good news about economic recovery in the Grand Valley is the increasingly worrisome news about sales tax collections. According to the latest monthly reports, sales tax collections dropped on a year-over-year basis 4.4 percent in Mesa County and 4.1 percent in Grand Junction. The declines are doubly troublesome because they reflect sales in […]
Kelly Sloan Former U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel can, and should, be honored for his service in Vietnam. It’s not for his heroism in 1967 and 1968 the nominee for secretary of defense ought to be evaluated, however, but for his analysis of the national security situation facing the nation in 2013 and beyond. There would […]
Studies that attempt to quantify economic effects tend to elicit the skeptical response the numbers are overblown. Using mistaken assumptions and unrealistic multipliers, studies invariably purport that a given industry sector or even an individual business contributes billions and billions of dollars to the economy. Fortunately, that’s not the case with studies detailing the economic […]
How many times have studies been conducted and plans been drafted only to have the results of all that time and hard work sit on a shelf, so much paper gathering dust? How often is what initially seemed an essential undertaking never realized? Fortunately, an economic development plan drafted for Mesa County has proved a […]
So we’ve survived the apocalypse supposedly foretold by the end of the ancient Mayan calendar. And we didn’t tumble off the so-called fiscal cliff, even though the last-minute deal worked out to avert tax hikes and automatic government spending cuts was rightfully panned by some as causing more harm than good. So what’s next for […]
In a response to a letter from an 8-year-old girl, the New York Sun opined in an editorial published in 1897 that yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. Francis Pharcellus Church wrote the words that remain famous more than a century later: “He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and […]
Those weary of reading gloomy news as a stubbornly slow economy grinds along can take heart as such words as “recovery” and “rebound” start appearing in headlines. By many accounts, the economic news is improving, if not markedly so. The latest economic outlook report from the University of Colorado is especially upbeat in forecasting business […]
In the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday and in recognition of the importance of an attitude of gratitude, here are some things for which Grand Valley business owners and managers can be thankful this year: The onset of the holiday shopping season. While no retailer longs for the long hours and hard work that comes […]
It was an interesting election year to say the least. Since what candidates and their parties tell voters resembles reality about as much as what parents tell their children about the tooth fairy, the weariness of months of electioneering occasionally was interrupted by brief moments of entertainment. A couple of notable examples included the attack […]
When I think about the ramifications of the upcoming election, it scares me to death, especially on the national scale. Everyone who knows me knows I don’t support President Barack Obama or his party pretty much across the board. But that doesn’t mean I think Mitt Romney is the answer. I simply don’t trust anyone […]