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Colorado - Wed. 11/13/24 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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WAYMO OPENS ROBOTAXI SERVICE TO ANYONE IN L.A.
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Alphabet-owned Waymo is removing the waitlist for its self-driving service in Los Angeles, marking its largest expansion yet. Starting Tuesday, anyone in LA will be able to use the Waymo One app to hail a self-driving robotaxi throughout nearly 80 square miles of Los Angeles County. That includes the 300,000 Angelenos who have been on Waymo’s waitlist. With more than 3.8 million people, LA marks the third and largest city where the company’s robotaxi service is now fully available. It follows San Francisco, where Waymo One opened citywide in June. The company opened the service in Phoenix in 2020. Waymo closed a $5.6 billion funding round in October to expand its robotaxi service across the U.S. The robotaxi company now sees more than 150,000 paid rides per week across its three markets via the Waymo One app.
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WYATTS TOWING SHUTS DOWN IN COLORADO
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The Denver-area towing giant Wyatts Towing, which has been investigated by the Colorado attorney general, accused by state legislators of breaking the law and targeted by hundreds of consumer complaints, has been purchased by another local towing operator, Elite Towing. A spokesperson for the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, said Wyatts’ attorneys notified the department earlier this year about a change in ownership. On Tuesday, the phone number listed for Wyatts rang through to Elite Towing. An operator who answered the phone said “Wyatts Towing no longer exists.” Wyatts’ tow yard on Brighton Boulevard in north Denver showed a “permanently closed” tag on Google on Tuesday. A sign in front of the property says, “building for lease, yard for lease.” In March, Wyatts owners sold off their tow companies in Georgia and Texas to a portfolio company. Wyatts in December agreed to pay $1 million as part of a settlement with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.
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CITY COUNCIL APPROVES DENVER'S $4.4 BILLION 2025 BUDGET
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The Denver City Council unanimously approved a $4.4 billion budget for the city next year. The finalized 2025 document calls for $1.76 billion in general fund spending, 0.6 percent more than the $1.75 billion budgeted on city services this year and includes limits on hiring across most departments. The administration is committed to spending $60 million on creating or preserving nearly 1,400 units of affordable housing and $58 million in economic development spending including support for local entrepreneurs and minority-owned businesses. Officials say the 2025 budget also includes $2 million to support legal help for people facing evictions. It also includes $1.1 million to boost support grants available to local businesses impacted by major infrastructure projects like the installation of the East Colfax Avenue bus rapid transit line and added $1.5 million for youth programs in response to council requests.
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COLORADO SHERIFF WHO FROZE TO DEATH TO BE HONORED IN NATIONAL MEMORIAL
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Chaffee County’s first elected sheriff, who reportedly froze to death in 1881 after becoming stranded while trying to evict claim jumpers at a mine west of Buena Vista, will be honored next year when his name is added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. Lucien Morgan was 45 when he died in the line of duty due to weather exposure on Jones Mountain, a 13,218-foot peak.
The Rocky Mountain News dated May 15, 1881, reads, "The County Sheriff Insane and Lost on the Mountains. Wandering in Delirium. BUENA VISTA, Colorado, May 14. — On Tuesday morning last Sheriff Morgan, of this place, went up to Jones Mountain to serve some papers, and was taken with a fit of delirium. In the afternoon he was closely watched, but early Wednesday morning he escaped from his companions, hatless and with no shoes. Since that time nothing has been seen or heard of him. The citizens raised a purse of one hundred dollars reward for him and everything is being done that will lead to his recovery.” Morgan’s body was found 11 days later, covered below 5 feet of snow in a gulch on South Cottonwood Creek, about 3 miles from the cabin where he was last seen.
Morgan’s name was added to the Colorado Law Enforcement Memorial in Golden last year and will be added to the memorial in D.C. on May 13 at the 37th annual Candlelit Vigil during National Police Week. The memorial honors more than 24,000 officers who died while on the job, dating back to 1786. There are 1,743 officers who died in the line of duty in the 1800s on the memorial, including 48 from Colorado.
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COLORADO MASTER IRRIGATOR PROGRAM EXPANDING TO DELTA-MESA REGION
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The Colorado Master Irrigator has been awarded a Water Plan Grant of more than $1.2 million from the Colorado Water Conservation Board. This investment will allow COMI to expand across the state, bringing water-saving education and practices to the Delta-Mesa region and the Arkansas Valley and South Platte basins, adding to its programs in the Republican River Basin, San Luis Valley and Four Corners area. COMI has graduated more than 200 participants representing more than 200,000 irrigated acres. COMI is offering incentives of up to $2,000 in compensation to graduates of the 32-hour course, designed to help them implement water-saving tools and practices introduced during the program. COMI graduates are eligible for priority consideration in applications to the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Environmental Quality Incentives Program financial assistance for tools and practices. The Delta-Mesa program begins on Tuesdays, Feb. 4, 2025.
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SACCOMANNO FOUNDATION AWARDS $962K IN SCHOLARSHIPS
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The Saccomanno Higher Education Foundation has provided its 2024 round of scholarships, totaling more than $960,000 for 181 students. The foundation, founded by Geno and Virginia Saccomanno in 1992, provides scholarships to students from Mesa County as well as Utah’s Carbon County, Geno’s home county. The foundation, now run by the Saccomanno’s children, eclipsed $21 million in scholarships awarded this year.
- Of the $962,250 in scholarships awarded to 181 students (up from 160 last year), 50 percent went toward 78 students attending Colorado Mesa University ($420,750). Last year, the foundation provided 63 scholarships to CMU.
- Another $64,000 went toward 13 scholarships to Utah State University, up from $50,250 last year.
- The rest of the scholarships awarded will help students from Mesa and Carbon counties attend other colleges in Colorado and Utah as well as institutions in Illinois, Texas, California, New York, Kansas, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Arizona, Wisconsin, Virginia, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, Alabama, Washington, Connecticut, Indiana and Wyoming.
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COLORADO SEN. CHRIS HANSEN TO LEAD LPEA
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Colorado state Sen. Chris Hansen has been named the next CEO of La Plata Electric Association. Hansen will resign his seat sometime in the coming months. The Democrat represents central and southeastern Denver in the state Senate and was just reelected with 84 percent of the vote. Hansen replaces former CEO Jessica Matlock. Hansen has worked in energy sector economics and data analytics for over 20 years. He served eight years in the statehouse, three as a representative and five years as a senator and served on both chambers’ appropriations committees every year he’s been in office. He is also the executive director of the Institute for Western Energy. Hansen takes the helm of the organization as it moves toward an April 2026 departure from its restrictive contract with Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association.
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CORE TRANSIT NAMED AGENCY OF THE YEAR AT COLORADO CONFERENCE
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Core Transit was honored with the Large Community Transit Agency of the Year award at the Colorado Association of Transit Agencies conference in September. The award recognizes outstanding best practices or projects undertaken by transit agencies serving communities of over 15,000 people. Core Transit experienced tremendous growth over the past few years, with annual ridership approaching 1.3 million. Ridership in the third quarter of 2024 alone increased by up to 60 percent over the same period last year. Core Transit has maintained a trip completion rate of over 99 percent. Core Transit recently posted nine operator positions for the upcoming winter service increase and received well over 40 applications. Visit CoreTransit.org to learn more about upcoming winter schedule enhancements, sign up for alerts, and browse the careers page.
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES NEAR 28% OF ALL SALES IN COLORADO
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Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids constituted 27.8 percent of all new car sales in Colorado during this year’s third quarter, making Colorado second in the nation in proportion of sales, behind only California. It also puts Colorado slightly ahead of the trajectory it identified as being necessary to have 940,000 EVs or hybrids on its roads by 2030. It had 151,000 as of October. It needs 157,000 by year’s end to stay on its pace, and Mike Salisbury, the Colorado Energy Office’s director of transportation, said the state will likely exceed that target by several thousand. The combination of tax credits offered by Colorado and the federal government have put wind into the sales of EVs and hybrids. EVs in the U.S. altogether constitute about 11 percent of all new-car sales. The world average is about 25 percent. In China, EVs are on track to be 45 percent of all new car sales this year. EVs now cost less in every U.S. state except West Virginia and Maine.
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SUMMIT COUNTY PLEDGES $1 MILLION TOWARD PURCHASE OF OPEN SPACE
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The Summit Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously Nov. 12, to dedicate $1 million toward the purchase of open space near Silverthorne. The 11-acre parcel is adjacent to Willow Creek open space owned by the county and the Ruby Ranch neighborhood. The town of Silverthorne is under contract to purchase the property for $2 million, with the county agreeing to split the costs 50/50. The Silverthorne’s Parks, Open Space and Trails Master Plan identifies the Lowe parcel as a potential location to provide trail connections. There is also “an incredible amount of cultural history” on the parcel, including a few properties that are in “fair to poor condition” but which are enough of a “historical asset,” that interpretive signage could be installed. The parcel also contains wetlands and wildlife habitat, including for elk. Following the purchase of the property, the county would work with the town of Silverthorne to finalize an intergovernmental agreement.
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AMENDED TAX RETURN VS. SUPERSEDING TAX RETURN
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What’s the difference between an amended tax return and a superseding return? Amended returns can be filed to correct or change information on a timely filed return, after the original or extended due date has passed. However, a superseding return is a rare opportunity to change or correct a filed return before the original or extended due date. Why does this matter? Some tax elections you make are irrevocable (for example, the election to carry forward a tax overpayment to the next year). Such a change can be made only on an original return. A timely filed superseding return takes the place of the original return. Here’s more: https://bit.ly/4fv9woY
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SAFEST STATES IN AMERICA 2024
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Certain states keep their residents safer than others. To determine the safest states in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 52 key safety indicators grouped into five different categories. The data set ranges from assaults per capita to the total loss amount from climate disasters per capita to the unemployment rate. Colorado is number 43 on the list.
Top Ten Safest States in 2024:
- Vermont
- New Hampshire
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Utah
- Hawaii
- Connecticut
- Minnesota
- Rhode Island
- Wyoming
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MARKET UPDATE - 11/12/2024 Close
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(Courtesy of Alpine Bank Wealth Management*)
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Canadian dollar (per U.S. dollar)
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Mexican peso (per U.S. dollar)
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30-year fixed mortgage rate (Freddie Mac 11/07/2024)
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*Not FDIC insured. May lose value. Not guaranteed by the bank.
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Alpine Bank is an independent, employee-owned organization with headquarters in Glenwood Springs and banking offices across Colorado's Western Slope, mountains and Front Range. Alpine Bank serves customers with retail, business, wealth management*, mortgage and electronic banking services. Learn more at alpinebank.com.
*Alpine Bank Wealth Management services are not FDIC insured, may lose value and are not guaranteed by the bank.
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