IN A RED-HOT YEAR FOR REAL ESTATE, VACATION HOMES LED THE WAY IN SALES

A new study by the National Association of Realtors showed that in a year of booming real estate sales, vacation homes were the hottest selling properties. In the study, NAR defined a vacation-home county as one where seasonally vacant and recreational-use housing accounted for at least 20 percent of the housing inventory. Nineteen out of Colorado’s 64 counties met the definition. In the Mountain West, which includes Colorado, sales rose 18.8 percent in vacation home counties versus 11.5 percent for non-vacation home counties. Median home prices also increased twice as fast in resort areas, 20 percent vs. 10.1 percent.

DENVER, FORT COLLINS HAVE INCREASINGLY BAD AIR POLLUTION

Metro Denver and Fort Collins rank increasingly high on the list of the worst U.S. cities for air pollution. Only the Los Angeles area and parts of California’s Central Valley now consistently outperform Colorado’s Front Range cities with their levels of ground-level ozone, which is linked to hospitalizations, ER visits and thousands of premature deaths. Metro Denver ranked eighth-worst for ozone, up from 10th in 2020 and 12th in 2019, according to a compilation of federal data by the American Lung Association. Fort Collins jumped to 17th-worst, up from 19th in 2020 and 24th in 2019. Across the West, ozone pollution has intensified, driven by a combination of factors that air quality authorities warn may no longer be controllable: a warming climate, aridity and wildfires.

JUNETEENTH IS MADE FEDERAL HOLIDAY

President Joe Biden is scheduled Thursday to sign a bill into law making June 19, or Juneteenth, an official federal holiday. The U.S. House voted 415-14 Wednesday to make Juneteenth a national holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S. The vote in the House followed a unanimous vote in favor in the Senate Tuesday. It is the first new federal holiday created by Congress in nearly four decades. The law would give the day the same status as Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and other federal holidays.

“ABOVE NORMAL SIGNIFICANT FIRE RISK” THIS SUMMER

A new report from the Predictive Services team for federal agencies gave federal land managers in western Colorado more cause for concern as it forecast “above normal significant fire risk” until August. There is little relief expected from the monsoon this summer, except for the high mountain regions of southwest Colorado. As a result, the significant risk for wildfires is not expected to diminish until September. These conditions prompted the White River National Forest to institute Stage 1 fire restrictions beginning tomorrow (Friday, June 18).

RED MOUNTAIN MANSION IN ASPEN SELLS FOR RECORD $72.5 MILLION

A mansion at the base of Aspen’s Red Mountain, owned by Lewis A. Sanders, founder and chief executive of New York investment firm Sanders Capital, sold for a record sales price for a single-family home in Colorado of $72.5 million. The buyer is Patrick Dovigi, a retired Canadian professional hockey player turned entrepreneur. Mr. Dovigi is president and CEO of Green For Life Environmental, a Canadian environmental services and waste management company. A 22,000-square-foot, 11-bedroom compound sits on 4 ½ acres and includes a guesthouse.

MORE STAGE 1 RESTRICTIONS GOING INTO EFFECT

Federal land managers across western Colorado Wednesday announced that Stage 1 fire restrictions would go into place on Friday. Stage 1 restrictions will be implemented on lands of the White River National Forest and on lands of the Colorado River Valley Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management and BLM lands in Mesa County. Wednesday, BLM-administered lands in Moffat County, Grand County, Rio Blanco County, Jackson County, Eagle County, Summit County and Larimer County went under Stage 1 restrictions, as well as lands administered by the Kremmling, White River and Little Snake field offices.

WILDFIRE ON BLM LAND EAST OF DURANGO SCORCHES 70 ACRES, 75 PERCENT CONTAINED

A wildfire on Bureau of Land Management land about eight miles east of Durango in La Plata County was reported at about 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The fire quickly grew to 40 acres in an hour and to 70 acres in two hours. It forced the evacuation of about 12 homes in a half-mile radius of the fire. Residents within a 2-mile radius were put on pre-evacuation notice. As of Wednesday night, no structures had been affected and the blaze was 75 percent contained.

VAIL TOWN COUNCIL MOVES TO EXPAND TOWN’S DEED-RESTRICTED HOUSING

The Vail Town Council Tuesday moved ahead with the process of creating 72 new deed-restricted housing units in a building known as the Residences at Main Vail. The project is to be built on Lot 3 at Middle Creek and is awaiting final Design Review Board approval and a final agreement between the town and Triumph Development, but those are expected by July and the project is on track for completion in the fall of 2022. The 72 units will house more than 200 Vail residents. On Tuesday, the town council moved unanimously to have staff proceed with the agreement with Triumph which will give the town ownership of the project. The council also looked at options for bonds to finance the estimated $24.4 million cost of the project.

STEAMBOAT COUNCIL OK’S PLAN TO TAKE PROPERTY TAX ISSUE TO VOTERS

The Steamboat Springs City Council Tuesday voted 5-2 on first reading of an ordinance to create a 2-mill property tax to fund parks and recreation and take the issue to the voters in November. The council will have a second reading on the ordinance at its July 6 meeting. If it passes, it would then go to the voters in November. The council has been debating the issue of the property tax and where the proceeds would go for about six months. The property tax measure is designed to reduce the city’s heavy reliance on sales tax which is unreliable and dependent on too many external factors.

EUROPE FINALLY OPENS TO U.S. TOURISTS

The European Union Wednesday added the United States to its “white list” of countries from which tourists can enter. It is the first time that European countries have opened to American tourists since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020. Moreover, it increases the options for Americans’ travel plans and gives a huge boost to the continent’s crucial tourism industry. Japan, Australia, Israel and several other countries are already on the EU white list. Countries added this week with the U.S. include Serbia and Lebanon. Some EU countries heavily dependent on tourism, including Italy and Greece, have already opened to Americans. The U.S. still has not opened to tourists from the EU, though there have been meetings between the two sides to discuss the issue. In deciding which countries to add to the list, which is normally revisited every two weeks, the EU considers the infection rate and whether a country has opened to European tourists.

WORLD’S “MOST LIVEABLE CITIES”

A new survey of “liveability” in 140 cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a sister company of The Economist, gave high rankings to the containment of the effects of COVID-19, and as a result, Auckland, New Zealand topped the ranking for the first time. The rankings:

• Auckland
• Zurich
• Honolulu
• Budapest
• New York/Montevideo
• London
• Abu Dhabi/Moscow/Beijing