ALPINE BANK HOLIDAY HOURS

All Alpine Bank branches will be closing at 3 p.m. today, Dec. 24, and will be closed Saturday, Dec. 25 in observance of the Christmas holiday. We invite you to use Alpine Online or the Alpine Mobile app for 24/7 banking access, even when we are closed. Learn more at the link below.

MORE HOLIDAY TRAVEL WOES, UNITED, DELTA CANCEL FLIGHTS

United and Delta airlines Thursday announced they preemptively canceled almost 200 Christmas Eve flights. In its announcement, United Airlines said the cancellations were due to staffing shortages caused by COVID-19. United, in its statement cited the "spike" in Omicron cases, saying the increase in Omicron cases "has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation. As a result, we’ve unfortunately had to cancel some flights and are notifying impacted customers in advance of them coming to the airport."

S&P 500 HAS ANOTHER RECORD CLOSE

The S&P 500 had its 68th record close in 2021. The S&P closed at 4725.79, up 29.23. It marked the third consecutive day of the index rising and followed a Wednesday session during which strong economic data helped ease investors’ concerns about the risks posed by COVID-19 and inflation. Most global markets will close Dec. 24 or Dec. 31, or both, but all the major stock indexes in the U.S. will be trading both Dec. 24 and Dec. 31.

NEW YORK SCALES DOWN NEW YEAR'S EVE CELEBRATION

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio Thursday said the New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square will be scaled back, but not canceled, as a new outbreak of COVID-19 cases sweep across the city and state. Attendance at the city's annual celebration will be limited to 15,000, compared to the normal attendance of more than 50,000. Visitors cannot begin gathering until 3 p.m. Mask are required and those ages 5 and up must also show they are fully vaccinated.

SKICO ASKS FOR SKIERS AND BOARDERS TO MASK UP IN GONDOLA LINES

The Aspen Skiing Co. Thursday is asking customers to wear a mask while waiting in line to board the Silver Queen Gondola at Aspen Mountain and the Elk Camp Gondola at Snowmass. Previously they were only required to wear a mask once they entered a gondola cabin. Skico will not enforce the requirement for a mask, but rely on voluntary compliance. The skiing company requires all employees to be vaccinated and employees are now required to wear masks while loading chairlifts.

INNOVATIVE EASEMENT PRESERVES WETLANDS

The Colorado West Land Trust is working with the Crawford Clipper Ditch Co. and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to permanently conserve 42.5 acres of wetlands in Delta County. The easement is made in conjunction with the ditch company's participation in the Bureau of Reclamation's salinity-control program. The program is designed to reduce the salt and selenium leaching into the Colorado River and its tributaries by lining ditches or replacing them with pipes. The federal Salinity Control Act requires the replacement of any habitat lost due to leaching of water through unlined ditches and that can be accomplished by creating new wetlands or by permanently conserving existing wetlands. That is what was accomplished by the land trust and Crawford Clipper Ditch Co.

CO WEST EXPANDS OPERATIONS, BOOSTS PAY AND BENEFITS

CO West Transportation serves several Western Slope communities, owning and operating Alpine Express, Telluride Express and Go Alpine in Colorado; Mountain All-Weather Shuttle Transportation in Mammoth Lakes, California; and partners with Bustang Outrider, the bus service provided by the Colorado Dept. of Transportation. The Ogilvie Family Limited Partnership owns CO West Transportation and has provided funding for the expansion of the fleet of vehicles, adding 17 Chevy Suburbans, 33 vans (11-14 passengers) and nine coaches (25-plus passengers) in the past six months, with more vehicles coming. The owners have also provided $1.35 million for additional pay and employee benefits, including higher pay rates and bonus packages.

FAESSLERS NAMED 2022 VAIL VALLEY CITIZENS OF THE YEAR

Johannes and Rosana Faessler, who own and operate the Sonnenalp Resort of Vail have been named the 2022 Vail Valley Citizens of the Year. The couple also established the Sonnenalp Foundation and the Sonnenalp Breast Imaging Center. They also host the annual Scramble Against Cancer and the Casual Bicycle Classic. They will be honored at the 2022 Black Diamond Ball at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort & Spa on Feb. 18, 2022. The award is bestowed by the Vail Valley Foundation.

BUSINESS BOOKS FOR THE HOLIDAYS

The Wall Street Journal's Belinda Lanks offers these business books for the holidays. A collection of books that offer insight and guidance for negotiating the work-life balance and resetting for a post-pandemic career:

• Out of Office: The Big Problem and Bigger Promise of Working from Home by Charlie Warzel and Anne Helen Petersen
• Remote Inc. by Robert C. Pozen and Alexandra Samuel
• Reset: A Leader’s Guide to Work in an Age of Upheaval by Johnny C. Taylor Jr.
• Mother of Invention: How Good Ideas Get Ignored in an Economy Built for Men by Katrine Marcal
• Work Disrupted: Opportunity, Resilience, and Growth in the Accelerated Future of Work by Jeff Schwartz

THE BEST OF COFFEE TABLE BOOKS FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON

• The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, Paul McCartney
• Frida Kahlo: The Complete Paintings, Luis-Martin Lozano, et al.
• Anne Leibovitz: Wonderland, Annie Leibovitz
• Sacred Nile, Chester Higgins with Betsy Kissam
• There and Back, Jimmy Chin
• Seeing Silence, Aspen's own Pete McBride