ASSEMBLING A SINGLE COLORADO PROPOSAL FOR AMAZON FACILITY

The Colorado Office of Economic Development is requesting that cities and developers submit their proposals to be the site of a new campus for Amazon and the state office will select one to be the single submission from Colorado. The requirements, outlined by Amazon, include: access to transit, within a 45-minute drive of an international airport and within 20 minutes of a major population center. The proposal will be drafted for review by Gov. John Hickenlooper by Oct. 6 and submitted to Amazon by the Oct. 19 deadline.

GOOGLE PAYS NEARLY $131M FOR CAMPUS IN BOULDER

Denver-based Forum Real Estate Group began building two buildings as the beginning of the campus for Google in Boulder in 2015. The site was at the southwest corner of 30th and Pearl Streets in Boulder, near the Twenty-Ninth Street mall and a future transit hub. Forum completed the buildings in July and now Google has paid nearly $131 million for those properties and the adjacent land that make up the campus. The original plan was for Google to lease the buildings, but the huge tech firm decided to buy them instead.

SMALL BUSINESSES GET INFORMATION ON HOW TO SECURE BIG CONTRACTS

The Regional Transportation District, Colorado Department of Transportation, the City and County of Denver and Denver International Airport joined together Thursday to host the first Colorado Small Business Collaboration Conference. The conference brought together industry professionals and state, local and federal agencies to present information on how companies can secure contracts from the multi-billion projects that are on tap for the state over the next decade. Workshops addressed certifications, contract negotiations, and marketing among many other topics.

STEVE AND MIKE MAROLT IN THE U.S. SKI AND SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame Thursday announced the eight athletes and "sport builders" that will be inducted into the hall of fame in a ceremony at Squaw Valley, California in April. Aspen twins and ski mountaineers Steve and Mike Marolt will be inducted as members of the class of 2017. The hall of fame noted, "They [the Marolts] spent most of their lives climbing and skiing, entirely together, without exception, nearly 50 of the highest and greatest peaks in the world." The Marolts will join their uncle, Bill Marolt, who was inducted in 1993.

ANOTHER WINTER FORECAST FOR THE ROARING FORK VALLEY

Meteorologist Cory Gates told a group assembled at the Limelight in Aspen for AspenWeather.net's annual winter outlook party, that the outlook is generally good for snow in the Roaring Fork Valley this winter. Gates said the early models are showing conditions related to a "weak La Niña" system setting up, meaning normal to slightly above normal snowfall for the Roaring Fork Valley. His forecast for October to early May: 340 inches for the Snowmass Ski Area; 325 for Aspen Highlands; and 307 for Aspen Mountain.

LOGGING TO BEGIN NEXT YEAR IN SAN MIGUEL COUNTY

The San Miguel County commissioners Thursday made a slight modification in the special use permit for Buen Tiempo Forest Reforestation LLC of Glenwood Springs, but agreed to the permit for Buen Tiempo to begin logging on an 86-acre parcel near the end of Fall Creek Road in 2018. Logging will take place over two years, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, except there will be no logging on Fridays of special-event weekends or on federal holidays. The number of logging trips will be limited to 30 per week.

PUBLIC LANDS DAY CELEBRATIONS

September 30 is National Public Lands Day, which, according to the website of the Bureau of Land Management, is the "nation's largest single-day volunteer event for public lands." In Telluride, local organizations, including the Sheep Mountain Alliance, San Miguel Bike Alliance and the Telluride Mountain Club will have their celebration on Sept. 28 with a group hike on the Jud Wiebe Trail, a mountain bike ride and an update on trails from the U.S. Forest Service.

EPA USES TOXIC WASTE FOR ROAD IMPROVEMENTS

Some local citizens, Silverton Trustees and San Juan County commissioners have raised concerns over the Environmental Protection Agency using potentially toxic waste material for road improvements on County Road 53, a dirt road in the San Juan Mountains. The EPA acknowledged that the road was covered with mine waste rock taken from the base of the Mogul Mine, a mine on the list of toxic sites in the Animas River drainage. The EPA agreed to remove the mine waste rock used on the road and return the road to its original condition.

WINTER VALLEY FIRE IN MOFFAT COUNTY AT 3,500 ACRES, CLOSES U.S. HWY. 40

The Winter Valley Fire, which broke out about noon Thursday a mile and half south of Elk Springs in Moffat County, blew up in the afternoon as 50 mph winds swept the blaze from 500 acres to 3,500 in the span of just 30 minutes. The fire endangered 25 to 30 homes in the Deerlodge Park area and forced the closure of U.S. Highway 40 in both directions from Maybell to Elk Springs. Oil and gas structures, a communications tower and a tower of the Federal Aviation Administration were also threatened.

NEED TO REPLACE YOUR PASSPORT?

Timely information for those in hurricane ravaged areas, or if you went swimming with your passport in your swimsuit. Passports that have water damage can no longer be used, and should be replaced. Apply in person to replace a damaged passport at an acceptance facility or passport agency. You’ll need the following:

• The damaged U.S. passport
• A signed statement explaining the damage
• Form DS-11 (Application for U.S. passport)
• Citizenship evidence (i.e., birth or naturalization certificate)
• A photocopy of citizenship evidence
• Present ID (physical copy)
• A photocopy of that ID
• One passport photo
• Paid fees