AURORA NOW CONNECTED: RTD R- LINE OPENS TODAY

The Regional Transportation District will begin train service today from Lone Tree and Aurora to Denver with the launch of the R-Line. There will be a ribbon cutting service at the Iliff Station between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. and patrons can ride free all day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The 22-mile R-Line runs from Lincoln Station in Lone Tree to Peoria Station in Aurora where commuters can transfer to the University of Colorado A Line to continue downtown to Union Station or to Denver International Airport. The R-Line serves 16 stations.

LONGMONT COUNCIL AGREES TO SMUCKER'S DEAL

The Longmont City Council Tuesday gave unanimous approval to a $6.5 million economic incentives package for the J.M. Smucker Company's proposed $340 million manufacturing facility. Longmont city officials and the Longmont Economic Development Project said the Smucker's project will create at least 250 full-time jobs in the initial facility and another 250 jobs when a second phase is completed. Upon build out of the second phase the project will generate about $12.34 million. The incentives include rebates for building permit and plan review fees, rebates for Longmont's sales and use taxes on construction materials and other rebates.

THE DOW ON A 10-DAY RUN

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Thursday closed higher for the tenth day in a row. That has not happened since March 2013. The blue chip index Thursday closed up 35 points to set yet another closing high of 20810.32. The 10-day streak puts the Dow within striking distance of the all-time winning streak of 14 straight that dates back to 1897. The eleven-days in a row mark has not occurred since January 1992.

ANOTHER RECORD YEAR FOR RETAIL IN GLENWOOD

Retail sales activity in Glenwood Springs in 2016 set a record for the second consecutive year. There was approximately $477.5 million in sales which returned nearly $17.6 million in sales taxes, an increase of 4.2 percent over the record year of 2015 and the first time sales tax collections topped $17 million. Tourism-related figures topped the overall retail numbers as sales tax on hotel and motel stays was up 8.1 percent, bringing in $1.7 million on $47 million in activity.

NEW STUDY: RIVER LOSING WATER DUE TO GLOBAL WARMING

A new study from hydrology researchers Brad Udall of Colorado State University and Jonathan Overpack of the University of Arizona which is published in the journal Water Resources Research concludes that a warming atmosphere induced by climate change is reducing the amount of water in the Colorado River. The river's volume has dropped more than 19 percent during the ongoing drought since 2000, but the shortage of moisture from rain and snow can account for only about two-thirds of the decline. The rest comes from global warming drawing more water out of the Colorado River Basin's waterways, snowbanks, plants and soil by evaporation and other means.

NO STATE MONEY FOR RURAL TRANSIT

A representative from the Colorado Public Interest Research Group (CoPIRG) was in Telluride this week to discuss a recently released report on funding for rural transit with local officials. The report is from the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) and shows Colorado ranks 28th in the country in per-capita expenditures on rural public transit. Colorado invests $2.61 per person per year on public transit, while the national average is $53.90. To address the problem locally, the towns of Telluride and Mountain Village, along with San Miguel County, recently established the San Miguel Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART).

MOUNTAIN VILLAGE PROMOTES NEW DESIGN REGULATIONS

Earlier this month, the Mountain Village Town Council approved new design regulations for buildings in town that will go into effect March 19. According to a news release from the town, "The previous regulations favored stone, wood timbers and logs to create solid, heavy and thick structures." The new regulations now allow more flexibility in building materials for the base of the building, including steel and glass. Roof designs can now include options other than gable roofs which were defined as the standard in the old regulations.

VALLECITO ICE FISHING TOURNAMENT CANCELED AGAIN

It has been another warm winter and because of the warm weather the depth of the ice buildup is not substantial enough to allow traffic on the ice-covered lake. As a result, the Vallecito Conservation and Sporting Association has canceled this year's Vallecito Lake Ice Fishing Tournament. This is the second time in the last five years the event has been altered because of an unsound base of ice. It is not just Vallecito, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Wisconsin have all experienced a loss of ice on lakes leading to closures or restrictions.

PLENTY OF INTEREST IN CHAMONIX: 102 APPLICANTS SO FAR

The town of Vail initially put a March 31 deadline for applications for the 32 townhomes available at the Chamonix project in West Vail. This week, the deadline was moved to March 17 in order to gauge the interest in order to decide whether to build all 32 units at once or in phases and speed up the construction timetable. As of Wednesday, there were 102 completed applications submitted for the May 17 drawing.

STEAMBOAT STAYS BUSY, STRONG WEEKEND NUMBERS

About 14,500 visitors are expected to be in town Saturday, according to the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association’s lodging barometer released Wednesday. The figure represents 96 percent capacity at area lodging properties, with downtown occupancy at 100 percent. On the mountain, both hotels and condos are forecast at 96 percent capacity. Lodging is expected to dip to 11,200 visitors by Wednesday.

MOST RELIABLE CARS

A new survey from J.D. Power ranking auto brands by problems reported by owners of 2014 models in the past 12 months: Owners of 2014 models reported 156 issues per 100 cars in the past 12 months, on average. The lowest:
1. (tie) Lexus: 110
1. (tie) Porsche: 110
3. Toyota: 123
4. Buick: 126
5. Mercedes-Benz: 131
6. Hyundai: 133
7. BMW: 139
8. Chevrolet: 142
9. Honda: 143
10. Jaguar: 144