SIX MORE COMMUNITIES VOTE TO ESTABLISH MUNICIPAL BROADBAND

Six more Colorado communities this week have voted to overturn a 2005 state law that prohibits local governments from setting up their own broadband network, joining 86 others in the state that have already done so. Voters in Severance, Lake City, Lyons, Frisco, Firestone and Limon voted overwhelmingly in favor of allowing municipal broadband Tuesday. The Colorado Broadband Office says that 77 percent of rural areas in the state now have access to broadband service.

FACEBOOK ADMITS 87 MILLION HAD DATA ACCESSED

Facebook Wednesday revealed that as many as 87 million people may have had their data accessed in the Cambridge Analytics privacy scandal, that is a substantial increase over the 50 million disclosed in published reports. The announcement came as congressional officials said CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify before Congress next week. Facebook also unveiled a new privacy policy that seeks to clarify its data collection and use.

BOX OFFICE RESULTS IN 2017: DOWN IN U.S., UP OVERSEAS

In the U.S. and Canada, box office receipts were down 2 percent to $11.1 billion in 2017, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. However, the international box office surged 7 percent to $29.5 billion, pushing the global box office to $40.6 billion, a 5 percent increase over a year earlier. Box office in China, the world's second largest market, grew 21 percent to $7.9 billion. Russia grew 22 percent to $1 billion, while Brazil was up 15 percent, to $900 million.

HOUSING SURVEY ON THE WAY

The Garfield County Housing Authority is teaming with municipalities and counties from Aspen to Parachute in a survey of regional housing needs. This week, survey forms were sent to a random sample of households within the study area. The mailing went to a total of 6,000 households and results will be tabulated and analyzed by research consultants RRC Associates and EPS, which have been hired to complete the needs assessment. The results of the survey will form the basis of a possible future ballot issue asking voters whether to form and fund a regional housing authority.

SKI COUNTRY MUM ON SKIER NUMBERS

Colorado Ski Country USA has traditionally released skier-visit numbers for its member resorts three times a year: early season through the end of December, mid-March showing January-February results, then year-end totals at the association's annual meeting. This season, Ski Country reported business was down 13 percent at its member resorts through December, but abruptly decided it will no longer release skier visits during the season. The Aspen Skiing Co., which is a member of Colorado Ski Country USA, reported visits were down 20 percent through December compared to the previous season. Skico officials say business has improved since then and February was up over February 2017, but the improvement was not enough to offset the decline at the beginning of the season.

UTAH COUNTIES LOOK AT RAIL CONNECTION TO COLORADO TO TRANSPORT OIL

The Seven County Infrastructure Coalition, a collection of eastern Utah counties, is looking to create a rail connection to connect the oil production areas in the northeastern Uinta Basin with the national railroad system, via a line that would cross over the state line to either Craig or Rifle. Currently, about 80,000 barrels of oil a day from the Uinta Basin are sent to Salt Lake City refineries, However, those refineries are now almost at capacity and the energy companies in the Uinta Basin would like to increase production. Preliminary estimates for a railroad into Colorado are between $750 million and $1.5 billion.

PERSON CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR STARTING FIRE

The Mesa County Sheriff's Office Wednesday said an individual came forth and admitted responsibility for starting the fire Monday night in the Rosevale area that destroyed a mobile home and multiple buildings and vehicles. The person was repairing a flat tire from a lawn mower by "beading" it with fire and had tossed away the stick that was used to ignite material on the tire in the beading process. The Mesa County District Attorney's Office is now considering whether it will file charges in the case.

DURANGO WELCOME CENTER TO BE OUTLET FOR MESA VERDE

The Durango Area Tourism Office has agreed to sell advance tickets for tours in Mesa Verde National Park to Cliff Palace, Balcony House and Long House, in an arrangement with Mesa Verde National Park and the Mesa Verde Museum Association. The Mesa Verde Museum Association is a nonprofit that operates bookstores and special programs in the park. The new MVMA bookstore will open in the Durango Welcome Center at 802 Main Avenue on Monday and ticket sales will begin April 15.

STEAMBOAT COUNCIL APPROVES PRESERVATION PLAN FOR ARNOLD BARN

The Steamboat Springs City Council Tuesday agreed to a plan for lighting the historic Arnold Barn at night, which was the last step in the final approval for the preservation plan for the barn. After a 4-3 vote, the historic structure will be moved from its current location in the corner of the Meadows Lot to the corner of Mount Werner Circle and Mount Werner Drive. It will become the landmark for the entrance of the Steamboat Ski Resort area. In addition to the lighting plan, the council approved putting parking spaces at the site, installing interpretative signs and making the provision that no commercial signage or logos would ever be displayed on the barn.

SUMMIT COUNTY: SIXTH IN HEALTH FACTORS, NINTH IN HEALTH OUTCOMES

The annual report on health in Colorado's 58 counties by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin's Population Health Institute ranked Summit County ninth in health outcomes and sixth in health factors. The survey uses 30 different statistical categories. In the report, Summit ranked second in "length of life," the county had a very low obesity rate, as well as top ratings in access to exercise opportunities and education.

BIKE-SHARING COMPANY LATEST PAWN IN CHINESE INTERNET WARS

Meituan Dianping, the privately-held Chinese smartphone app, internet giant is acquiring Mobike in a deal that values the three-year-old bike-sharing startup at about $3.4 billion. The deal pushes Tencent Holdings, owner of Meituan to the forefront in two key markets, on-demand delivery and bike-sharing. Those are areas in which Tencent's competitor, Alibaba Group Holding Inc., is a major force with its bike-sharing company Ofo and its food-delivery service Ele.me. Meituan has merged with Dianping and grown into a super-app offering everything from group-buying deals and ride hailing to travel packages and payments. Meituan offers customers the ability to order up hot meals, groceries, massages, haircuts and manicures at home or in the office. Meituan has begun discussions to go public in Hong Kong as soon as this year and is also considering offering shares in China, if policies allow. The company could be valued as high as $60 billion.

BLOOMBERG VICE INDEX

The Bloomberg Global Vice Index tracks the weekly cost of a basket filled with a pack of cigarettes, a bottle of an alcoholic beverage, a gram of amphetamine-type stimulants, a gram of cannabis, a gram of cocaine, and a gram of opioids. The price in the U.S. would be $617.10.
The most expensive:

• Japan: $1,366.40 USD
• New Zealand: $1,241.60
• Australia: $1,028.70

Least expensive:

• Congo: $18.30
• Laos: $33.40
• Togo: $51.10