Category: News/Politics

If Ms. DeMarco and her fellow elected officials really want to consider ‘capping’ the total number of STRs at 20 percent of the available homes… well, that bus may have already left the station…

“One thing I want the public to know is, we don’t want to give incentives to duplicate an existing business — somebody who has already been paying their taxes, and is a known entity…”

“When we did this 10 years ago, it cost us $500,000 to open the center that we have right now,” he said. “So, we’re not talking about something that’s cheap…”

An example of ‘rational government’? A government process, wherein leaders and ordinary citizens freely exchanged arguments and assertions — and where people truly listened to one another…

Although big money has always played an important role in U.S. political campaigns, its influence has been growing over the past decade…

Not traditional bankruptcy, of course… few cities and towns in the US are facing legal bankruptcy, because they are still growing their populations… and are currently seeing increased property values…

In 2008, just as the Recession was slamming the local construction industry and sales tax collections were headed downward, the Pagosa Springs Town Council made a fascinating decision….

At the end of eight hours, Ms. Wilcox asked the Council members to choose their three top priorities from among the 55 possible goals posted around the room…

Back in 2009, PAWSD was collaborating closely with the San Juan Water Conservancy District on a plan to build a $357 million reservoir complex…

“Abatti’s lawsuit has caused an uproar in Imperial County, an agricultural area in California’s far southeastern corner that produces much of America’s winter vegetables….”

But the largest single user of Colorado River water — the Imperial Irrigation District —  is not playing nice…

No doubt that Colorado’s key rivers seemed like a limitless supply in the 1860s, when ranchers and farmers began applying for water rights to irrigate their crops and pasturelands…

“What the plan doesn’t say – what nobody will say out loud – is that some of the conservation burden is going to have to fall on agriculture…”

The US Department of Agriculture counted 372 farms and ranches in Archuleta County in 2012, generating about $14.2 million worth of livestock sales, and about $1.3 million in crop sales…