COLORADANS HAVING DIFFICULTY KEEPING UP WITH POWER BILLS

Arcadia, a firm that connects utility customers with community solar and wind sources, reports that power bills in Colorado are rising and that one-in-four Colorado households are behind in payment of their power bills. Arcadia studied more than 3,900 Colorado households that closely matched the state's overall age, income and homeownership rates and the study revealed that the average shortfalls on paying bills rose from $509.81 in 2019 to $849.46 in January 2021. One reason for the increase is that more people are working and schooling from home, thus increasing the consumption of electricity and natural gas.

DPS RETURNS TO IN-CLASSROOM SCHOOLING AFTER SPRING BREAK

Spring Break for Denver Public Schools is the last week in March and when students return on April 5, DPS officials want schools to operate "as close to full strength as possible," meaning middle school students and high school students will be back in classrooms. The district will maintain the regulation requiring a minimum of three feet between students and adults in each classroom but the cap on class size will increase from 17 to 35 and the limit on cohorts any teacher can interact with during a day will be removed. DPS expects all teachers to be vaccinated by the end of spring break.

30-YEAR MORTGAGE RATE RISES ABOVE 3 PERCENT

Mortgage-finance giant Freddie Mac Thursday said the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.02 percent in its weekly report of mortgage rates. It was the fifth consecutive week the most popular home loan has gone up and marked the first time since July the rate has risen above 3 percent. When the rate dropped to 2.98 percent in July, it was the first time the rate had dropped below 3 percent in the 50 years of record-keeping. Mortgage rates tend to move in the same direction as the yield on the 10-year Treasury which has been rising, topping 1.5 percent at the closing of markets on Thursday.

GWS COUNCIL GOES WITH AIRPORT TUNNEL DESIGN FOR SOUTH BRIDGE PROJECT

The Glenwood Springs City Council Thursday voted 4-3 in favor of the option to tunnel under the runway at the city's airport to connect to the South Bridge, which connects Midland Avenue to Colorado Highway 82 with a bridge over the Roaring Fork River. The runway tunnel option increases the estimated cost of the project to $56 million, but the other option under consideration would remove part of the runway. That option was not completely dismissed as council passes a second motion to analyze that option by conducting an airspace study and track the number of flights over the course of several months. The tunnel option still depends on the city securing funding for the additional $6 million in cost.

SKICO'S METHANE-CAPTURE PLANT: SOLID INVESTMENT

The Aspen Skiing Co. this week released the first progress report on its methane-capture plant at the Elk Creek Mine at Somerset that converts methane from the coal mine into electricity. Skico invested $5.34 million into the plant on the west side of McClure Pass, which opened in 2012, with the expectation that it would recoup its investment in 10-15 years. In the progress report, Skico shows that only $750,000 is outstanding from its original investment after eight full years of operation. The plant generates between $100,000 to $150,000 in revenue per month from electricity and carbon credit sales to Holy Cross Energy.

INTERIOR NOMINEE HAALAND PASSES SENATE COMMITTEE

The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Thursday voted 11-9 in favor of nominee Sen. Debra Haaland, D-N.M., to be the next Secretary of Interior. Haaland secured key votes from Energy Committee Chairman Joe Manchin, D.-W.V., and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. The Haaland nomination now goes to full Senate, where it is expected to pass. She will become the first Native American Interior secretary. One critical decision facing Haaland will be the future of the Bureau of Land Management headquarters relocation to Grand Junction. During questioning from the Senate Committee, nominee Haaland said, if approved as secretary, she would travel to Grand Junction to visit the BLM headquarters.

GRAND JUNCTION CITY HALL SET TO REOPEN

Grand Junction City Manager Greg Caton said Thursday that with Mesa County moving to Level Yellow on the state's COVID-19 dial, the city would reopen City Hall on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays beginning next week. Caton said the three-day-a-week schedule is similar to the operating hours last fall and it is designed to not conflict with municipal court activities, which take place Tuesdays and Thursdays. Face masks will still be required to enter the building. The city will reopen Orchard Mesa Pool, Bookcliff Activity Center and Lincoln Park Stadium Hospitality Suite on March 15. All outdoor park facilities are open.

SAN JUAN RIVER REOPENS FOR FISHING

The state of New Mexico announced on Feb. 27 that it was reopening state parks to nonresidents and with that reopening, the Quality Waters stretch of the San Juan River below Navajo Dam was opened to out-of-state anglers. The Quality Waters stretch of the San Juan is a 4.5-mile stretch that is considered one of the best trout fisheries in North America. It had been closed to nonresidents since March 16, 2020. It reopened briefly in the early summer, but all New Mexico parks were closed to nonresidents on July 13.

WHY CALIFORNIANS ARE BUYING HOMES IN COLORADO, OR IDAHO, OR MONTANA, ETC.

• There were 9 million Americans who relocated in 2020, with huge numbers leaving California, according to moving contracts from Atlas Van Lines
• California became an "outbound" state, with more people moving out rather than moving in, for the first time in 25 years
• The reason: cost of living and taxes
• The median cost of a home in California: $625,000
• That's more than two-times higher than the national average of $270,000
• It is considerably higher than the median cost of a home in Idaho: $349,000 (Idaho had the highest ratio of people moving in last year)
• Income taxes in California are quite high, with many Californians paying 12.3 percent in 2020-21
• According to Best Places' Cost of Living index, where the national average cost of living is 100, California checks in at 149.9

DURANGO ARTS CENTER CALL TO ARTISTS

The Durango Arts Center has announced a Call to Artists for its upcoming Gallery Show "Sui Generis." The Latin meaning of “Sui Generis” is of its own kind. The show is open to all ages and media types. The arts center is accepting many forms of artistic expression: paintings, photography, sculptures, and poetry to name a few. The application deadline is March 9, with drop off taking place March 11-13. The exhibition begins March 16. For more information or to apply, visit the link below or e-mail jen@durangoarts.org.