“Mat, to your point, yes. I totally agree… that we definitely want to watch out for the character of the community and our residents here, for sure…”
Category: Opinion/Letters
EDITORIAL: The Biggest Problem Facing Pagosa Springs in 2021, Part Eleven
“I have seen my neighborhood start to deteriorate, with the number of short-term rentals that we have. When a house goes on the market, we’re all saying, ‘Oh, I really hope it’s not going to become another short-term rental’…”
EDITORIAL: The Biggest Problem Facing Pagosa Springs in 2021, Part Ten
We know successful people, perhaps, who bought a house in 2016 for $320,000 and sold it five years later for $599,000. Successful people…
A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW: One Solution to the Vacation Rental Problem
Because of the less-than-conducive to a relaxing vacation atmosphere, renters gave the location very negative reviews online…
EDITORIAL: The Biggest Problem Facing Pagosa Springs in 2021, Part Nine
Other changes? Our local governments have become rather fabulously funded through various taxes, compared to 30 years ago…
OPINION: A Case for the American Jobs Plan
Why that has changed is critical. It’s not due to elected officials just now “getting it.” The explanations have been out there for some time…
EDITORIAL: The Biggest Problem Facing Pagosa Springs in 2021, Part Eight
“Those things definitely impacted the budget. Like I say, we enjoy a challenge. And this project has been a challenge…”
EDITORIAL: The Biggest Problem Facing Pagosa Springs in 2021, Part Seven
“The advent of STRs in our community has been, overall, a disaster for working families. The vacation rental industry has acted like a wrecking ball on our local workforce and economy…”
OPINION: Making a Mockery of Our Wild Horse Protection Law
And let us not forget, American wild horses are owned by the public; they are not the private property of non-profit organizations…
EDITORIAL: The Biggest Problem Facing Pagosa Springs in 2021, Part Six
Today’s Town Council work session will focus on one of the community’s most lively controversies…
HMPRESENTLY: A Better Horrible Ranking
Some things – restaurants, for example – are five-star eateries, others earn four, or three, or fewer stars…
EDITORIAL: The Biggest Problem Facing Pagosa Springs in 2021, Part Five
What has happened to the Protestant Work Ethic, upon which the United State of America was founded?
HMPRESENTLY: One ‘Flaming Caucus’ After Another
Some of the 2.1 million ballots cast during the 2020 election, are brought in for recounting at an election ballot audit ordered by the Republican-led Arizona Senate…
EDITORIAL: The Biggest Problem Facing Pagosa Springs in 2021, Part Four
“It is imperative that ‘small businesses’ be a part of how we as a community, endeavor to address the issues of housing at all levels of the spectrum….”
LETTER: Vacation Rentals… the Tail Wagging the Dog?
The realtors who participated in the discussion basically wanted to object to everything…
EDITORIAL: The Biggest Problem Facing Pagosa Springs in 2021, Part Three
“I’m in the process of buying a house there [in Pagosa Springs] and I’d like to bring my family there, my wife and children, and spend a few weeks there each year…”
EDITORIAL: The Biggest Problem Facing Pagosa Springs in 2021, Part Two
If you bought a home in 1950 for $20,000, you might have sold it for $30,000 in 1973. Taking inflation into account, you probably lost money on the sale…
OPINION: How Local Leaders Should Adapt to the American Jobs Plan
Resist the siren call to build that new road, add that new interchange, put in another bridge. Don’t be suckered into annexing new land, running new pipes, and expanding your reach…