“We started this project with what we call ‘data harvesting’ which is really to understand ‘what is.’ So we’ve made a series of maps, and we’ve spent time here. Day and night….”
Category: Opinion/Letters
EDITORIAL: The Once and Future Springs, Part One
“I want to introduce Mike Moore and Shawn Mathers of Tres Birds Workshop, out of Denver. And they’ve done projects all over the world…”
EDITORIAL: Growing Water Smart? Part Five
Another way to become smart about water is to admit that Mother Nature is fickle, and that the American Southwest is a desert…
EDITORIAL: Growing Water Smart? Part Four
At this point in time, the main function of the San Juan Water Conservancy District is to hold and protect certain water rights. But SJWCD is also charged with overseeing the development of the Dry Gulch Reservoir…
EDITORIAL: Growing Water Smart? Part Three
A desert. A place of little rainfall. A place where water is very hard to come by. This is northern Mexico, and the landscape and environment is very similar to most of the American Southwest…
EDITORIAL: Growing Water Smart? Part Two
So we might ask: why is the Tucson-Arizona-based Sonoran Institute involved in generating a population estimate in Pagosa Springs?
EDITORIAL: Growing Water Smart? Part One
I can imagine the wife, looking out the kitchen window at the shiny new 1965 Mustang in the driveway, was probably not smiling…
EDITORIAL: Go To Jail, Do Not Pass Go, Part Four
Gosh, I just looked back over this editorial, and it makes it sound like I’m disappointed in our three County Commissioners…
EDITORIAL: Go To Jail, Do Not Pass Go, Part Three
Whenever a witness took the stand, they were asked to place their hand on a bible and swear — to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. At least, that’s how I remember it…
EDITORIAL: Go To Jail, Do Not Pass Go, Part Two
Something rather strange took place during the Great Recession, between 2008 and 2013. Colorado saw a significant drop in our crime rate, and a correlated drop in the number of citizens locked up…
EDITORIAL: Go To Jail, Do Not Pass Go, Part One
“WHEREAS, the County Sheriff and County Commissioners have consulted relevant data sources and detention experts regarding daily inmate census counts, segregation requirements, growth projections, and cost considerations regarding the present and future spaces needs for a detention facility…”
EDITORIAL: Designing Development Strategies That Kill Small Towns, Part Four
The slide show for that February 2009 public meeting began with photo of a modified “Wanted” poster, tacked to a fence post…
EDITORIAL: Designing Development Strategies That Kill Small Towns, Part Three
Urban America was doing pretty well in 1992, if you didn’t look too closely at the rate of violent crime and the growing homelessness. But how about a quiet, small town with a lot of churches, instead?
EDITORIAL: Designing Development Strategies That Kill Small Towns, Part Two
The presentation was hosted by a new community group, ‘Resilient Archuleta’ and it attracted about 40 people…
EDITORIAL: Designing Development Strategies That Kill Small Towns, Part One
Many people might rank Aspen Colorado, in 2019, as an economic, recreational, and cultural paradise. Some of us might have a different take…
EDITORIAL: Rush to Judgement? Part Five
Local activist — and former Town Council member — Mark Weiler has spent the past year developing an alternative plan that would allow the Archuleta County government to build a new jail without putting the taxpayers deeply in debt…
EDITORIAL: Rush to Judgement? Part Four
There’s an obvious alternative that isn’t rushed, does not create a poorly-funded debt burden, and allows the County government to build something modest and then expand the jail as needed…
EDITORIAL: Rush to Judgement? Part Three
Let’s run through that again. In January 2016, the cost for the Jail was $7.9 million. In November 2016, it was $5.7 million. In January 2017, it was $7.6 million. In December 2018, it was $13 million…
EDITORIAL: Rush to Judgement? Part Two
“One. We have a fixed budget. We understand that we have a fixed budget. Every month that goes by, we’re probably losing $50,000 to cost escalation…”