RTD TO RECONSIDER VOTE TURNING DOWN NATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR MUSEUM

The board of the Regional Transportation District Tuesday ended up deadlocked in a vote on whether to sublease a gravel lot near Civic Center Park to be used as an entrance for the new National Medal of Honor Museum. Denver and Arlington, Texas are the finalists as the site for the new museum. The tie vote essentially defeated the motion to approve the plan. However, after a request from Gov. Jared Polis, the RTD board is reconsidering the vote and issued a statement that the board will consider the sublease again at its next meeting, Sept. 24.

COMMENT ON DENVER'S HOUSING PLAN

The Denver Economic Development & Opportunity office last week released a draft version of the city’s 2020 Housing Action Plan. The 61-page document was drafted with the guidance of the city's five-year housing plan adopted in 2018, with input from the city's housing advisory committee. Now, Denver residents have until Oct. 10 to comment on the housing plan and spending priorities. The plan shows the city has more than $30.6 million available for housing next year. The plan is available online, in English and Spanish, at https://dpo.st/draftplan.

SNOWSTANG SET FOR A-BASIN, LOVELAND AND STEAMBOAT

In July, the Colorado Department of Transportation announced that Loveland and Arapahoe Basin ski areas would participate in the Snowstang bus service this winter. Now, the city of Steamboat Springs has committed to cover 60 percent of the cost of the program, so Steamboat will have Snowstang service as well. Roundtrip fares for Loveland and A-Basin will be $25 for adults, with discounts for seniors and children. The Steamboat fare will be $40. There will be 40 days of service to each resort, running weekends from Dec. 14 through April 19, plus Martin Luther King Junior and Presidents' Day holidays.

ANB BANK TO APPEAL P&Z DECISION TO GLENWOOD CITY COUNCIL

The Glenwood Planning & Zoning Commission in July unanimously denied a proposal from ANB Bank to construct a two-story building in downtown Glenwood for the bank and office space. Tonight, ANB Bank will appeal that decision of the P&Z Commission to the Glenwood City Council at the council's regularly scheduled meeting which begins at 6:45 p.m. The bank purchased the property at 910 Grand Avenue for its proposed building, but needs council approval before it can begin demolish the buildings on the site and begin construction of its building.

NEW 27TH STREET BRIDGE IN PLACE IN GLENWOOD SPRINGS, BUT STILL NOT OPEN

Construction crews have placed the new 27th Street Bridge over the Roaring Fork River in Glenwood Springs into place, but there is still some finishing work required and according to a Glenwood city official, "Motorists should still plan for the bridge to be closed through Friday." As a result the motorists are advised to use the detour over the 8th Street Bridge, and cyclists and pedestrians should use the Old Cardiff or 14th Street bridges. However, the river has reopened, so there are no longer restrictions on use of the Roaring Fork River.

MONTANA GROUP FILES SUIT OVER BLM HEADQUARTERS MOVE TO GJ

The Whitefish, Montana-based Western Values Project Wednesday filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. asking the court to force the Department of Interior to release public documents related to its decision to relocate the headquarters of the Bureau of Land Management to Grand Junction and relocate other BLM personnel to other western states. In addition to requesting the release of information under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, the lawsuit seeks all correspondence between dozens of Interior and BLM officials related to its relocation plans.

10 MILLION TONS OF URANIUM MILL TAILINGS MOVED FROM MOAB

The Department of Energy and its contractors have now moved 10 million tons of uranium mill tailings from a site about three miles northwest of Moab, Utah along the Colorado River and U.S. Highway 191 to a disposal site in Crescent Junction about 30 miles away. There are an estimated 16 tons of material to be moved, so far more than 60 percent has been moved to the disposal site. The tailings are being shipped by rail in locked steel containers to Crescent Junction. The disposal cell there is being capped with multiple layers of native soils and rock.

MONTROSE NOW HAS HEMP PROCESSING PLANT

Matt Miles has been through boom and bust times in western Colorado and North Dakota and has been a real estate developer. Now, Miles has turned his attention to hemp and has constructed the first hemp processing plant in Montrose, at B Road and U.S. Highway 50 north of Montrose. The plant will be in full operation by Sept. 27. Miles has a fleet of 36 specially equipped trailers to haul the hemp from the fields to the plant where it is dried then goes through the extraction process. The crude oil CBD extracted from the hemp is chilled and processed into a pure CBD product available for sale.

NWS MODIFYING RADAR SYSTEM TO IMPROVE FOUR CORNERS FORECASTING

The Four Corners has always been a blind spot for weather radar systems operating in Grand Junction, Albuquerque and Flagstaff. That is about to change as the National Weather Service is proposing to lower the elevation of one of its radar systems in Grand Junction. If implemented, the change would involve a software adjustment that would "vastly improve" forecasting in eastern Utah and southwest Colorado, including Cortez as well as farther north to Silverton and even Purgatory Resort. However, La Plata County and Durango would remain a blind spot in the radar coverage. A permanent adjustment for the radar system in the Durango area has been funded but not installed.

FLC RECEIVES $2 MILLION IN FREE CONSULTING SERVICES

Entangled Solutions, a San Francisco-based consulting firm, has selected Fort Lewis College to receive $2 million in free consulting services over the next two years. The services are directed at helping FLC boost enrollment, increase revenue and build business partnerships. Entangled Solutions put out a request for applications for the service and FLC was the only school selected. The company was seeking a rural school and interested in FLC because of its diverse student body.

VAIL TOWN COUNCIL TO HEAR BOOTH HEIGHTS APPEAL

On August 26, the Vail Planning and Environmental Commission approved the Booth Heights housing proposal by a 4-3 vote. That decision could have been reviewed by the Vail Town Council if a majority of council members voted in favor of a review. However, the town council voted 4-3 not to review the decision. The council could also be forced to review the decision if a citizen group "with standing" appealed the decision. There were 22 citizen appeals and one of those was deemed to have standing. As a result, the Vail Town Council will review the Booth Heights decision by the Planning and Environmental Commission.

THE BAHAMAS: IN MOURNING, BUT STILL OPEN FOR BUSINESS

The Bahamas remains a nation in mourning for those who lost their lives and had their homes destroyed by Hurricane Dorian, a category 5 storm that obliterated Great Abaco Island and flooded a good part of Grand Bahama. As the nation mourns however, the Bahamas need tourists to return. It is a nation dependent upon tourism. The tourism ministry notes the Bahamas is a collection of 700 islands covering 750 miles and of the 16 islands that are major tourist destinations, 14 are "open for business." Nassau, the top tourism destination, although losing power for a few hours, was virtually undamaged. Nassau was 100 miles from the center of Dorian. Bahamas is bracing for a huge hit to its national economy, just at a point when it needs an influx of cash. The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism is working very carefully to strike a balance between the need for solace and still pushing a "soft launch" campaign to attract tourists.

GOOD BAROMETER OF POPULATION GROWTH: HOW MANY AIRPLANES NEEDED?

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus released its annual global market outlet Wednesday. Airbus predicted:

• The world will need 47,680 jets by 2038
• At present, there are about 23,000 jets worldwide
• The breakdown for 2038: 39,210 new planes required; 8,470 will remain from today
• In making its projection, Airbus cited a United Nations forecast which estimates the global number of people living in cities will increase more than 27 percent by 2035, to around 5.6 billion
• Airbus sees the rise of mega-cities in Asia and Africa as the drivers of global aviation