I-70 REOPENED AFTER MASSIVE CRASH IN GLENWOOD CANYON

At about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Interstate 70 was closed in both directions through Glenwood Canyon as a pile-up involving 17 cars and seven semi-trucks occurred eastbound near mile marker 120. Eight people were taken by ambulance to area hospitals with injuries suffered in the incident. Fifteen of the 17 cars involved were disabled and required towing. Three semis were also towed. The highway reopened in both directions at 5:45 p.m.

GOVERNOR OF NEVADA DECLARES EMERGENCY

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak Wednesday declared a state of emergency for northern Nevada along the Sierra's eastern front due to the massive snowfall. The National Weather Service said, "Crews are battling fallen trees and power lines as well as seven-day snow totals of 6 to 11 feet." In addition to the snow, the NWS forecasts the next front coming in from the north will bring the region the "coldest air in nearly five years" with single-digit lows in Reno by Friday night, and temperatures well below zero early Saturday and Sunday in the Sierra and around Lake Tahoe. On Wednesday, I-80 was reopened from the California-Nevada line to near Truckee, California, but chains were mandatory for about a 40-mile (64-kilometer) stretch west of Truckee to Gold Run, California, for all vehicles except those with four-wheel drive and snow tires.

JETBLUE CUTS FLIGHTS DUE TO OMICRON, WEATHER

As U.S. airlines continue to struggle with weather and COVID-19 driven staffing issues, JetBlue Airways Corp. Wednesday said it would cancel about 1,280 flights through Jan. 13. The New York-based carrier said it was announcing the cancellations to give passengers a head start on adjusting their plans, rather than face last-minute announcements on the day of their travel. Wednesday marked the fifth consecutive day of more than 1,000 flight cancellations as snow in the Pacific Northwest and across the Midwest clogged airports. Seattle-based Alaska Air Group Inc. Tuesday canceled 20 percent of its flights from Seattle on Tuesday and Wednesday.

TELLURIDE FOUNDATION MOVES FORWARD WITH HOUSING PROJECTS

The Telluride Foundation had a concept to build affordable housing by utilizing donated land and a prefabricated home design along with low-cost construction financing to potentially construct 24 homes in Norwood, 14 homes in Ridgway and as many as 60 in Ouray. The foundation will now use a factory-built product from Facing West, a home manufacturer out of Buena Vista to build the homes. The plan is to break ground in Norwood in early March for 24 homes on 2.6 acres of county-owned land. In Ridgway, a citizen's donation allowed the foundation to buy an acre of land in the town's historic residential core and the foundation's plans have been approved by the town's planning and zoning commission.

SNOWPACK IN EAGLE COUNTY GAINING ON THE "NEW" NORMAL

As of Wednesday, Dec. 29, the snow measurement on Vail Mountain stood at 92 percent of the 30-year median. The series of snow storms made a significant change in the snowpack total. On Dec. 23, the snow measurement was 65 percent of normal. The Copper Mountain site was 97 percent of normal and the Fremont Pass site was 110 percent of normal. However, there is a "new normal." The National Resources Conservation Service changes the 30-year median every 10 years. As a result, the 30-year median is now 1990 to the end of the 2020 snow year. As a result, the huge snow years in the 1980s are now not included, while some of the relatively dry years, including the all-time low 2011-12 year is now included. Using the former 30-year standard, Vail Mountain would be at 89 percent of the median instead of 92 percent.

RANCH NEAR STEAMBOAT IS LOCALE OF REALITY TV SHOW

Last spring, from the middle of May to the middle of June, the reality TV show "Relatively Famous: Ranch Rules" was shot at the Saddleback Ranch, about 17 miles from Steamboat Springs. The show will air on E! Entertainment Television in January. The show features children of eight celebrities who have to live and work as ranch hands for four weeks to reopen a working ranch following the pandemic. Directing the work of these new ranch hands is Jerad Iacovetto, whose family has owned the 8,000-acre ranch for four generations. This is the second time the Saddleback Ranch, which is three miles from Milner off Routt County Road 179, has been selected as the site for a reality TV show. In 2005, the Saddleback Ranch was the venue for E! Entertainment’s show “Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive.”

MASK MANDATE GOES BACK INTO EFFECT TODAY, DEC. 30

Because of the skyrocketing increase in COVID-19 case numbers, the Summit County Board of Health held an emergency meeting Wednesday, Dec. 29. The board considered the recommendation from Summit County Public Health Director Amy Wineland that the county institute a mask mandate in public indoor spaces again. The Summit County commissioners, acting in the capacity of the Summit County Board of Health, agreed with the recommendation and the indoor mask mandate will begin Dec. 30.

WHAT CHANGES COVID BROUGHT TO THE WORLD'S CITIES

Year Two of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about innovations in architecture, technology, equality, climate and transportation in cities across the globe. Here is a sampling of some of the changes undertaken:

• One-Minute City: Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo instituted the concept of the 15-minute city. Now Sweden has an initiative called Street Moves, which is pushing for the one-minute city. While the 15-minute city aims to give residents access to daily essentials within walking or biking distance of their homes, the one-minute city focuses on the public space just beyond the front door. The concept is being tested in Stockholm and other cities and the Swedish government plans to take it nationwide.
• Affordable Water From Vending Machines: Nairobi is installing 10 water vending machines in the city's slum. The stations are token-operated, with the M-Pesa mobile money platform providing the means of securing tokens. For as little as 50 Kenyan shillings (less the 50 cents U.S.) enough water to fill a jerrycan is dispensed.
• Smart Cities: In February, Toyota broke ground on Woven City, a 175-acre high-tech metropolis at the base of Mount Fuji. It will become a living laboratory to test how urban centers can adapt to fully self-driving vehicles.

WORDS OF THE YEAR

Here are the selections of Word of the Year from a variety of sources:

• Dictionary.com: "Allyship"
• Oxford English Dictionary: "Vax"
• Merriam-Webster: "Vaccine"
• Glasgow, Scotland-based Collins Dictionary: "NFT"

There are several variants emanating from DeFi, or decentralized finance, the widest term for a group of phenomena including blockchains, cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens:

• "Stonks" for stocks
• "Hodl" for hold
• "Laser Eyes" for avatars on Twitter, representing their laser focus on getting rich with crypto
• "Diamond Hands" for unwillingness to sell in a panic (the opposite of paper hands)