COLORADO CONTRACTORS FACE DOWNTURN IN PROJECTS COMING ONLINE

Colorado has had a backlog of projects and that has kept contractors and crews busy through 2020. However, now the surplus has been exhausted and fewer projects are expected in the future due to disruptions from the COVID pandemic. A survey of 64 Colorado contractors indicated those contractors expect fewer projects in areas such as retail, office, lodging and higher education than there were in 2020. The areas where projects were likely to come from included health care, water and sewer projects, warehouse, apartments and manufacturing.

CONSUMER SPENDING IN COLORADO DROPS, EXCEPT FOR ALCOHOL

The U.S. Census Bureau Tuesday released a report detailing the annual change in sales tax collections from March to September for general sales as well as alcohol, motor fuels and tobacco. Sales tax collections in Colorado for general sales, including online sales fell in March (17.1 percent) from March 2019; April sales were down 9.1 percent and 2.1 percent in May. June had a slight rebound, up 1.2 percent; July was back down 0.85 percent; up 0.8 percent in August and up 5.5 percent in September. Alcohol sales showed a big increase in March (46.6 percent) as customers stocked up when stay-at-home orders went into effect. Tax collections on alcohol dropped in April (14.1 percent) but then were up every month through September, when sales were up 20.8 percent.

JEFF BEZOS IS OVERTAKEN BY ELON MUSK AS WORLD'S RICHEST

With the meteoric rise in value of Tesla Inc., the electric car manufacturer, Tesla owner Elon Musk has overtaken Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos as the world's richest person. With a $30 billion rise over the past year, Musk's net worth this week was estimated at around $195 billion. That tops the figure of Bezos by about $10 billion. The figures came from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Bezos had held the top spot for more than three years. On Thursday, alone, the shares of Tesla rose almost 8 percent. Forbes also tracks the assets of billionaires, and Forbes had Bezos still ahead of Musk by several billion dollars on Thursday.

PITCO TO CONSIDER TOTAL SHUTDOWN TO ADDRESS GROWTH OF COVID-19

On Monday afternoon, the Pitkin County Board of Health will hold a virtual meeting to decide on the path forward to address the rampant growth of COVID-19 in the county. The board, in this special meeting, will consider three options: to move fully into the state's Level Red restrictions, which would close indoor dining and cancel the few indoor events pending and permitted; a second option would be to review the restrictions Pitkin County imposed in March, which included only critical retail operations; a third option would to implement the state's Level Purple restrictions, which is basically a short-term, total shutdown, with only takeout from restaurants and curbside pickup for non-critical retail.

WINTER X GAMES STILL SET TO GO IN ASPEN, TV SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

On Thursday, ESPN announced its competition schedule for this year’s event at Buttermilk Ski Area, which is scheduled to go from Jan. 29-31, with a format that will be spectator-free. All motorized competitions, such as snowmobile and snow bike, won’t take place in 2021, nor will there be any concerts, a staple of the festival. The venue will be fenced off, and no spectators are allowed. The games will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, the ESPN app and on the X Games digital channels throughout the weekend. A complete list can be found at http://www.xgames.com.

GJ ADOPTS PARKS MASTER PLAN

The Grand Junction City Council Wednesday evening unanimously adopted the Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Master Plan. The master plan included about $150 million in potential capital projects over the next decade. The plan was developed by the city's Parks and Recreation Department, along with the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, in partnership with consultant Greenplay LLC. Short term projects identified in the plan include a community center at Lincoln Park, upgrades to the Blue Heron Boat Ramp and a Western Colorado Botanical Gardens Master Plan.

IN AN UNUSUAL YEAR, 2020 CITIZEN OF THE YEAR HAS TWO WINNERS

On Dec. 29, the Telluride Foundation's Board of Directors held its bi-annual meeting and faced the difficult decision of which of the nine nominees should be presented with the 2020 Citizen of the Year award. For the first time ever, the foundation board unanimously named two organizations as winners: San Miguel County Search and Rescue (SAR) and the founders of the Ouray County Good Neighbor Fund (OCGNF), Marti and Patrick O’Leary and Cat and Barthold Lichtenbelt. After all the nominations are submitted, past recipients of the award evaluate all the nominations and decide on the two finalists.

SOUTHWEST COLORADO ECONOMIC OUTLOOK 2021

Richard Wobbekind, senior economist with the Business Research Division of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder, told more than 200 attendees of the Southwest Colorado Economic Outlook 2021 that it will take three to four years for tourism to return to pre-COVID levels. Wobbekind noted that tourism in Colorado was down 52 percent in 2020. Other presenters documented the difficulties in creating livable wages in the region.

5-STAR CERTIFICATION PROGRAM IN ROUTT COUNTY STILL NOT IN THE WORKS

Although some businesses in Routt County have encouraged the county commissioners to apply for approval of a 5-Star certification program in the county, commissioners say the county is not yet eligible for the program and the county’s Board of Health has not applied. To apply for the 5-Star certification, county health officials would like to see the county at the state's Level Orange for 14 days, with data indicating that case numbers are declining. Currently, it is still at Level Red and case numbers continue upward.

SUMMIT SEES DECLINE IN NOVEMBER UNEMPLOYMENT, BUT NOT A TRUE INDICATOR

According to the Colorado Dept. of Labor and Unemployment, Summit County’s November unemployment rate was 6.8 percent. That is a decline from 7.9 percent in October. It was slightly above the statewide average of 6.2 percent for November. However, it must be noted that many in the county are not eligible for unemployment benefits, mainly due to the fact that an individual used up those benefits during the spring shutdown. Also, many of the unemployed have left the county due to not having a job or benefits.

BEST PLACES IN THE WORLD TO RETIRE IN 2021 ON $2,500 A MONTH

As we enter the new year and there is hope that 2021 will bring a return to normalcy, maybe it is time to think about places to retire. In its annual Global Retirement Index, International Living ranks the world’s top 25 retirement destinations across 10 categories, including cost of living, governance, retiree benefits, climate and health care. Here is InternationLiving.com’s annual list of the world’s best places to retire in 2021:

1. Costa Rica
2. Panama
3. Mexico
4. Colombia
5. Portugal
6. Ecuador
7. Malaysia
8. France
9. Malta
10. Vietnam