DENVER RESTAURANTS MOVE TO 100 PERCENT CAPACITY TOMORROW

Tomorrow, Friday, April 16, the state of Colorado turns over control of COVID-19 public health measures to local authorities and the city of Denver will move to Level Blue and continue to operate under the state's color-coded dial for the next 30 days, as will most other metro counties, including Adams, Arapahoe, Jefferson, Boulder and Broomfield. Under Level Blue, restaurants and gyms in the Denver area will operate at 100 percent capacity, with the provision that social distancing requirements remain in place. Denver will no longer require masks to be worn outdoors, although masks are still required in indoor settings and on public transportation.

WHICH STATE IS GREENEST?

Personal finance website WalletHub Wednesday released a study of 2021's Greenest States. The study compared the 50 states across 25 key metrics that address the environment’s current health and residents’ environmental-friendliness. Some of the data used were green buildings per capita and the share of energy consumption from renewable resources. Colorado ranked 17th. WalletHub's greenest states: 1. Vermont; 2. New York; 3. Massachusetts; 4. Maryland; 5. California. WalletHub's least green states: 50. West Virginia; 49. Louisiana; 48. Mississippi; 47. Alabama; 46. Kentucky; 45. Wyoming.

EVER HEARD OF HOLLY HILLS? IT IS SECOND-BEST PLACE TO LIVE IN THE U.S.

News compiling website Stacker.com recently released its best places to live in the United States. Stacker used the 2020 rankings from Niche to make its list. Niche’s formula ranked places to live based on many factors, including the cost of living, educational level of residents, housing, and public schools. Holly Hills, a suburb south of Denver in Arapahoe County, ranked second-best in the country. About 2,800 people live in Holly Hills and it has a median household income of $132,955. Ranking first in the Niche ranking was Chesterbrook, Pa.

COINBASE HAS STRONG NASDAQ OPENING

Coinbase Global Inc. set a reference price of $250 for its opening Wednesday on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. There were no trades executed at that price, however, as Coinbase opened at $381. Shares rose to a high of $429.54 in the first few minutes of trading, and ended its opening session at $328.28, or a valuation of $85 billion. Coinbase lists for trading some 50 cryptocurrencies besides bitcoin, with more than 56 million customers in 100 countries. Its valuation of $85 billion is comparable with Facebook Inc.'s on its first day of trading in 2012 and Airbnb Inc.'s last year.

PITKIN COUNTY TO KEEP MORE WATER IN THE ROARING FORK VIA COMPLICATED PACT

The Pitkin County commissioners Wednesday unanimously approved on first reading an intergovernmental agreement and memorandum of understanding with the city of Aurora and the Bureau of Reclamation that would keep an additional 100 acre-feet of water flowing in the upper Roaring Fork River. The agreements are a result of a settlement of a water court case in 2018 which allowed Aurora to continue to divert water out of the headwaters of the Fryingpan River basin and send it to the Front Range through the Busk-Ivanhoe system in exchange for leaving more water in the Roaring Fork.

DEVELOPMENT OF FORMER PAN AND FORK SITE IN BASALT MOVING QUICKLY

The Basalt Town Council Tuesday heard a presentation from developers Tim Belinski and Andrew Light on their project at the former Pan and Fork Mobile Home Park site west of Basalt. The project will include 24 residences, 11,500 square feet of commercial and office space and a 3,000-square-foot restaurant. The developers said the restaurant would open by the end of the year. The town of Basalt will expand the Basalt River Park at the site, with a band shell-climbing wall, a "great lawn" in front of the band shell, a water feature, picnic areas, trails and play areas.

FRONTIER AIRLINES RETURNING TO GJ AIRPORT

Frontier Airlines Tuesday announced it will again provide nonstop service from Grand Junction to Denver International Airport three times a week beginning June 8. Frontier previously offered a flight between Grand Junction and Denver but ended it in 2009. Frontier is also beginning nonstop service between DIA four times a week in June. The low-cost carrier will also have new nonstop service from DIA to Anchorage, Alaska and Kalispell, Montana. Frontier will offer flights from GJT to DIA on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, using aircraft with 186 seats.

WEST SLOPE AMBULANCE SERVICE EXPANDS SERVICES FOR WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS

EMS Unlimited, a Steamboat Springs based provider of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) was founded in 2012. For the 2020 wildfire season, EMS Unlimited has dedicated two ambulances and associated staff to wildfire response, deploying staff and equipment from Hayden. EMS Unlimited announced this week that it has added a Rapid Extraction Module (REM) rescue team to its services. The REM Team will deliver services using a custom fabricated UTV, capable of transporting injured patients in an enclosed cab. The UTV will have a team of four specially trained EMTs and Paramedics.

EAGLE COUNTY REGIONAL AIRPORT WILL HAVE MORE FLIGHTS THIS SUMMER

Officials of the Eagle County Regional Airport Wednesday announced that EGE will have an increase in flights this summer. Delta Air Lines will begin offering daily, non-stop service to Atlanta June 5. American Airlines will offer a new nonstop service to Chicago starting June 3. American will continue its nonstop flights to Dallas/Fort Worth. United Airlines will continue its daily service to Denver International Airport. The complete flight schedule for EGE is available at: FlyVail.com.

$3 MILLION IN IMPROVEMENTS COMING TO THE FRISCO BAY MARINA

The Frisco Town Council Tuesday agreed to three contracts totaling about $3.1 million for work at the Frisco Bay Marina this summer. Three projects were funded, including the replacement of the 30-year-old water and sewage facilities, and a new office building to provide more space for customer service and retail. There also will be a new fuel system installed. The marina currently does not have a working fuel system.

VW GEARING UP TO TAKE ON TESLA IN WORLD EV MARKET

To date, Tesla has dominated the world's electric vehicle market, including the emerging compact crossover SUV market. Demand for Tesla's Model Y and Model 3 in China follows strong first-quarter deliveries and it has reignited investor optimism about the world's most-valuable automaker holding on to its leadership position in the increasingly crowded EV market. Volkswagen AG, Europe's biggest carmaker, unveiled its new Audi Q4 e-tron Wednesday. It is VW's primary competitor to Tesla in the fast-growing compact SUV market.
The Audi Q4 is among a dozen models, including VW's ID.4 and an electric version of the Porsche Macan that is expected to thrust VW Group past Tesla by 2023 in the number of EV deliveries. VW has set a target of selling some 600,000 purely battery-powered cars this year as it seeks to gain ground on Tesla. The Audi Q4 e-tron is directed to take on Tesla with more than 300 miles of battery range and a mid-range price of $55,000. In addition to the mid-range Q4 e-tron, Audi introduced its $121,000 e-tron GT sports car in February as Tesla amped up its Model S sedan with a new performance version.

WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES FOR THE WEALTHY

Private Swiss bank, Bank Julius Baer, released its Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report 2021. It ranked the world's most expensive cities for high- and ultra-high net worth individuals (NHWIs), those with $1 million or more in investible assets. The ranking is based on the price of a basket of luxury goods representing discretionary purchases by HNWIs across the 25 global cities. Most expensive cities 2021:

1. Shanghai
2. Tokyo
3. Hong Kong
4. Monaco
5. Taipei
6. Zurich
7. Paris
8. London
9. Singapore
10. New York