ISSUE #201: If You Ignore It, Will It Go Away? (8/28/21)

"In boxing, they say it's the punch you don't see coming that knocks you out. In the wider world, the reality we ignore or deny is the one that weakens our most impassioned efforts toward improvement."-- Katherine Dunn

I'm trying to keep the drumbeat going about Aspen's traffic woes, but for now, it appears that the city wants to ignore them. It's not unlike how they treat the most pressing issues with our subsidized housing program.

Read last Sunday's column HERE.

ISSUE #200: No Green Light at the Virtue Signal (8/15/21)

"Why do they call it RUSH hour when nothing moves?" -- Anonymous

City Council can be counted on to prioritize pet projects above community needs, and their three goals for the coming year are no different. It's mind-blowing how they can put childcare, subsidized housing and climate policies above the untenable traffic plaguing our town.

It's time to do something - anything - to find a solution. There is no political will (nor space) to build a huge parking lot so we have to think differently.

Read my column in yesterday's Aspen Times HERE.

ISSUE #199: The Myth of Pandora: Just Open The Box!! (8/1/21)

"Pandora's box had been opened and monsters had come out. But there had been something hidden at the bottom of Pandora's box. Something wonderful. Hope" -- Lisa Marie Rice

Sunday's column features my endorsement of the re-zoning of "the Pandora's terrain" on Aspen Mountain from Rural and Remote to Ski-Recreation in order to accommodate a 153-acre addition to in-bounds skiing.

The BOCC will be taking this up later in the month and it should be a no-brainer.

Read it HERE.

If you agree, I encourage you to sign THIS petition.

ISSUE #198: Compost This! (7/18/21)

"Do not spread compost on the weeds."

-- William Shakespeare

City council is currently meeting to set its goals for the next two years. One idea being considered - in an effort to address climate change and extend the lifespan of the county landfill - is mandatory residential composting. My column in Sunday's Aspen Times makes clear what a stinky idea I think this is. Read it HERE.

AND.. ABOUT THE PETITION TO RE-ALLOCATE WHEELER FUNDS This is a premature action to force a measure onto the November ballot that, if approved by 60% of the voters, will split the Wheeler Opera House's RETT proceeds in half, with half staying with the Wheeler and the other half going to other arts uses, including remodeling the district theater. I agree that the Wheeler's bloated coffers ($39.3 million) are an easy target and definitely warrant some careful consideration, but this citizen-driven reallocation is a direct bypass of the legislative process. I get it - city council has been inept at best of late when it comes to making good community-minded decisions, but the Wheeler RETT is in their crosshairs and it is already a priority for a November 2022 ballot measure. In the meantime, council intends to weigh the various community needs before determining the best beneficiary of any re-allocation. So, when asked to sign a petition this week, don't. Let's consider all the community needs before automatically reallocating just to arts, culture and music. In the end, these may indeed be the designated beneficiaries, but when the community is screaming for mental health and additional childcare funding, this petition leaves them in the dust.

ISSUE #197: Aspen's Stationary Parade: Going Nowhere Fast (7/4/21)

"It will be celebrated with pomp and parade, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other."

-- John Adams

Ahhh, the Fourth of July in Aspen. It's perhaps our most beloved holiday. This year, bars, restaurants, and music venues are open. This morning, the traditional "Boogie's" runs take place, and tomorrow, the Aspen Music Festival and School hosts its cherished free concert of patriotic music at the tent. Flags are flying, beds and bellies are full.

But the City of Aspen can't get out of its own way. Or ours. They have cancelled the parade. Wait until you read about what they're doing instead. It's illustrative of how they think on most every issue they face.

Destroying traditions in the name of progressive re-imaginings are NOT our community values.

Read my column in today's Aspen Times HERE.

Incidentally, the city has a survey out to gauge your enthusiasm for their destruction of our cherished traditions. Somehow they're under the impression that re-imagining (destroying) our timeworn yet valuable holiday traditions into something "new" is a community value. Please take the time to answer the quick survey HERE and let them know IT IS MOST DEFINITELY NOT!

Happy 245th Birthday, U.S.A!! And may God Bless America.

ISSUE #196: For APCHA, Leadership is the Issue (6/20/21)

"If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarves. But if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants."

-- David Ogilvy

Sunday's column reiterates the leadership vacuum at APCHA and the ill-conceived 2019 decision to seat elected representatives from both city council and the BOCC on the housing board. The inherent conflicts of interest are holding APCHA back.

Yet, hope springs eternal. The board recently and unanimously elected to change the housing guidelines to require a formal inspection of APCHA units prior to listing them for sale. The Red Ant has long advocated for such a move that, as of August 1, will begin to stem the deterioration of our housing inventory. No one will be able to list a pigsty for sale, and therefore there will be no more passing pigsties on to housing lottery winners! HOORAY!!

On the horizon for APHCA is the hiring of a new executive director. Read about the candidates HERE. As part of the 2019 restructuring, however, the ED will not report to the housing board but rather to the city manager, despite the fact that, by law, APCHA is neither a department of the city nor the county.

What could possibly go wrong?

Read my column HERE.

ISSUE #195: Historic Hysteria and the End of an Era (6/6/21)

"I cannot look at modern buildings without thinking of historical ones." -- Kevin McCloud

ASPEN TIMES COLUMN

For my long-time readers, the story of 312 W. Hyman Avenue is one you have read about in these pages for years. The saga recently ended, I think, when the city sold the 1950s-era prefabricated "kit" home it had controversially purchased in 2007 and dubiously preserved as historic.

The sale of this non-performing asset is being heralded within city hall for bringing a nearly half-million dollar "profit" to the housing development fund when, conservatively, the place was sold for millions less than it should have.

The whole story is a shameful chapter for the city and one that illustrates the dictatorial historic preservation game, how ill-equipped the city is to deal in real estate, and how clueless our elected leaders are in determining and executing sound fiscal policy.

Read my column in yesterday's Aspen Times HERE

Additionally, here is the listing for 312 W. Hyman.

ISSUE #194: APCHA - Let's Fix This! (5/23/21)

"The time is always right to do what is right." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

ASPEN TIMES COLUMN

The APCHA board appears to be listening, but the changes they're proposing aren't going to get it done. Adding a mandatory inspection to the sales process is a good first step, but without requiring the noted fixes, nothing will change.

It's time for the acceptance of subsidized housing owners neglecting their units only to sell them to the next guy to end.

A mandatory inspection and remedy of the problems prior to listing is the only answer. It's what's fair to the future buyer and to the community that paid for the units in the first place. Personal responsibility should not be controversial.

Read my column in yesterday's Aspen Times HERE.