“I recently read with some dismay that Archuleta County Commissioners Schaaf and Maez are considering pulling us out of San Juan Basin Public Health (SJBPH)…”
Author: Bill Hudson
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can't seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.
EDITORIAL: COVID and the Power of Anecdotal Stories, Part One
“…If only 6000 are dead out of five million infected, that works out to a case fatality rate of 0.12 percent, roughly the same as regular old influenza, which no one is the least bit frightened of, and which we don’t shut down our societies for…”
EDITORIAL: Looking into the Town Government’s Crystal Ball, Part Eleven
We could blame Pagosa’s economic shutdown on the Polis administration’s health orders. But we could also note that the Archuleta County population is much older, on average, than most of Colorado…
EDITORIAL: Looking into the Town Government’s Crystal Ball, Part Ten
The design of these relatively small homes could be categorized as “21st Century No-Frills Affordable.” Except that few working class jobs in Pagosa Springs — especially, jobs in the tourism industry — would qualify an individual for a $232,000 mortgage…
EDITORIAL: Looking into the Town Government’s Crystal Ball, Part Nine
During the July 31 “Strategic Planning” retreat, several Town Council members suggested that the LUDC needed to be “simplified”. We also heard about the necessity of aligning the LUDC with the goals in the Comp Plan…
EDITORIAL: Looking into the Town Government’s Crystal Ball, Part Eight
“Regulations, in and of themselves, can be confusing — especially within a society where the exploitation of loopholes is encouraged, whether it be on your personal tax returns or otherwise…”
EDITORIAL: Civil Strife
As a sixth grader, I didn’t grasp the subtle irony, when historians used the word “civil” to label a conflict that resulted in perhaps 600,000 untimely deaths…
EDITORIAL: Looking into the Town Government’s Crystal Ball, Part Seven
At last Friday’s retreat, facilitator Yvonne Wilcox stated her intention, to do things a bit differently this year…
EDITORIAL: Looking into the Town Government’s Crystal Ball, Part Six
$100,000 won’t go very far towards solving the broadband challenge in a county of 1,356 square miles of largely undeveloped forest and semi-desert shrubs…
EDITORIAL: Looking into the Town Government’s Crystal Ball, Part Five
During the Obama administration, the FCC changed the definition of “broadband” from 4/1 (4 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up) to 25/3. This new definition drew attention to the “digital divide”…
EDITORIAL: Looking into the Town Government’s Crystal Ball, Part Four
According to the thoughtful discussions I witnessed on Friday, the COVID crisis has now taken a back seat to several more important issues…
EDITORIAL: Looking into the Town Government’s Crystal Ball, Part Three
“When I die, my epitaph… is going to read: ‘I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I didn’t like.’ I am so proud of that, I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved…”
EDITORIAL: Looking into the Town Government’s Crystal Ball, Part Two
I have no idea (as of 7am this morning) where, exactly, that particular discussion might be headed. The housing crisis? The fake “urban renewal authority”? More corporate welfare for certain private developers?
EDITORIAL: Pagosa Kids Going Back to School? Part Nine
“We are deeply concerned that the bill would seek to tie much-needed assistance to a federal definition of school building reopening. Student health and safety is the most local of concerns…”
2020 ‘Mountain Chile Cha Cha’ Cancelled Due to COVID Concerns
“We wish we could come together in our annual celebration of local heritage, green chile, music, and Margaritas. The health and safety of our visitors, volunteers, and community will always be our first priority….”
EDITORIAL: Looking into the Town Government’s Crystal Ball, Part One
That particular budget has been growing by leaps and bounds since 2014, and based on recent sales tax reports presented at Council meetings, 2020 might turn out to be another banner year…
EDITORIAL: Pagosa Kids Going Back to School? Part Eight
“I think what it comes down to is, ‘What is best for our community.’ And in our [recent] parent survey, we had over 70 percent of our families wanting full-time, in-person learning…”
EDITORIAL: Pagosa Kids Going Back to School? Part Seven
“It seems like a very inopportune time to slow down on any kind of testing. And I know, if they could, they would probably not be cutting back…”
EDITORIAL: Pagosa Kids Going Back to School? Part Six
“Unfortunately, due to limited local availability of testing, and in addition to previously reported laboratory capacity and supply constraints around the state, San Juan Basin Public Health (SJBPH) and MRMC will need to temporarily prioritize use of this free public resource….”