Whistler assesses retirees
WHISTLER, B.C.—Pique Newsmagazine reports that Whistler has hired a part-time staffer to assess the needs of the growing number of people who are choosing to remain in Whistler during their retirement.
"These are people who have built homes and will not want to leave Whistler, so we're creating a plan for allowing those people to stay in their homes and age successfully in Whistler," said Melissa Deller, who has a degree in gerontology.
Whistler has also retained a consultant described as an "expert in the field of place-based cultural tourism."
Dual immersion is a classroom hit
JACKSON, Wyo.—Dual-immersion programs have started in several schools in ski towns and resort valleys of the West. In Jackson, Wyo., the program has had to turn away potential students. And in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., many parents want to see more commitment to the program.
Parents on both sides say they believe knowing two languages at an early age, and learning to see beyond skin color will benefit their children immensely.
In California, The Sheet reports a packed meeting in Mammoth Lakes. Most parents apparently were at the meeting to object to the lack of a full-on immersion program, similar to the one in Wyoming.
Not all people think that dual immersion is such a hot idea. The Sheet reports some community sentiment for keeping math and science in English.
Does hot air cause more dusty winds?
DURANGO, Colo.—Spring always brings wind, but the winds this year seemed stronger and grittier.
Travelers in Arizona reported dust storms that left sand a foot deep along the highway. As was also true last year, snowpacks across Colorado were coated with dust, leading to earlier runoff. Even Denver was affected, as cars in late April looked like they had gone through a car wash that dispensed dust, not water.
Scientists generally warn about making too much of any one thing. Last winter's snowstorms on the East Coast do not debunk global warming, nor do any one month's hot temperatures prove it. The pattern of changing climate, they say, will only become distinct from the "noise" of natural variability with time.
Still, the Durango Telegraph finds several people who contend the winds do fit in with global warming theory. The theory maintains that weather events in a warmer environment will produce more extremes, with more ferocious storms as well as more prolonged droughts.
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Board tilting against coal power
GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo.—The electrical cooperative that serves the Aspen and Vail areas has been getting a new complexion. It has long been considered one of the more progressive co-ops. It encouraged production of renewable energy by members and adopted policies designed to reduce electrical demand.
Still, the co-op remains hitched to coal, and in 2004 agreed to become a partner in building a major new coal-fired power plant in Colorado called Comanche III.
But steadily, anti-coal activists have been chipping away at the co-op. They succeeded again this year when an energy consultant from the Aspen area named Dave Munk turned back a 25-year incumbent by garnering 62 percent of the votes.
Munk wants to devote $5 million of the utility's annual operating revenues into "green" initiatives, compared to the existing $2 million, notes The Aspen Times.
Frisco building housing
FRISCO, Colo.—Despite the slowdown in the economy, several mountain towns have continued their investment in affordable housing.
Frisco, for example, has cut a deal with a developer named David O'Neil, who plans to build the first 12 units of what will ultimately be 70 townhouses and single-family houses. Families of four with incomes ranging from $68,000 to $136,000 will be eligible for housing. The units will range from 800 square feet to 2,000 square feet.
Bruins figure out cause and effects
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo.—Reports of bears trying to get into homes have grown again this year, and included was one rascally cub that figured out how to get into a home and started making a habit of it.
"He circled the house over and over, banged on every window, and tried every door handle," Arlene Zopf told the Steamboat Pilot, recounting the third visit.
Many of the bear reports involved homes outfitted with exterior doors that use levers instead of knobs. Libbie Miller, the local state wildlife biologist, theorized that bears that stand on their hind feet and lean on the windows of doors sometimes brush the handles with their paws when they drop to all fours. Presto, the door opens—and the bears associate cause and effect.
Google blamed for accident
PARK CITY, Utah—A Los Angeles woman has sued Google for $100,000 in damages after she was hit by a car. She was in Park City, and it was just before dawn in January 2009. The site's instructions sent her walking down a busy road without streetlights or a sidewalk.
Maybe she should have heeded the adage: "You get what you pay for."
