December 19, 2024
[Ouray Library District, Ouray, CO.]
Boulder County, CO.
Boulder County Information, Hauling Region Changes Increase Residential Access to Curbside Compost Collection
[The following is based on a press release.]
· Starting January 1, 2025, residents in part of northern Boulder County (north of Nelson Road and east of the Foothills) will have access to compost collection through their contracted trash hauler.
Haulers must provide at least 32-gallons of curbside composting service, weekly or every other week.
Haulers must charge by the size of trash, known as ‘pay-as-you-throw.’
Boulder County, Colo. --- Starting January 1, 2025, Boulder County residents north of Nelson Road and east of the Foothills will have access to curbside food scrap and yard trimmings collection through their contracted trash hauler.
MAP CHANGES: To advance zero waste, Boulder County has updated the Waste Hauler Ordinance Regions map, which divides the county into regions or service areas that have different collection requirements for trash, recycling, and compost, based on geography and population density. These requirements apply to haulers providing trash service to single-family homes.
· The old Waste Hauler Ordinance Regions map.
· The new Waste Hauler Regions Map. The previous Region 3 is now a part of Region 5.
(Note the new map has four zones labeled as 1, 2, 4, and 5 to be consistent with the Waste Hauler Ordinance language.)
NEW SERVICE ACCESS: Until January 1, 2025, haulers in this area must provide pay-as-you-throw trash service and unlimited recycling. Starting Jan. 1, haulers are required to provide 32-gallons of organics collection service, every week or every other week. Residents will be able to put food scraps and yard trimmings (leaves, branches, grass) into a separate bin. These scraps are hauled to a facility that turns them into finished compost. Finished compost is a soil product which can be applied back to the land boost soil health and plant growth.
IMPACT: This map update increases equity in access to landfill diversion opportunities. The previous map’s boundaries were drawn in 2007. Since then, the county has evolved, and the new map helps reflect the new conditions. The map update will provide compost collection access to approximately 2,525 additional residents.
TIMELINE: Haulers must finish rolling out compost collection services to the expanded service area by July 1, 2025.
Boulder County does not provide hauling services for residents. Please contact your hauler directly with questions about hauling schedule, requests for new bins, or changes in fees. Businesses and residents in towns and cities and in apartments or multi-family housing will not be affected by these changes.
For more information, visit the hauler webpage, or contact Meghan Wiebe, Zero Waste Strategic Advisor, at mwiebe@bouldercounty.gov or call (720) 864-6468.
Boulder County Sheriff, Deceased male located in the area of the 3rd Flatiron, Update
[The following is based on a press release.]
A 27-year-old male, reported missing after last known to be “scrambling” near the Third Flatiron on December 17, 2024, has been located. His sister reported him as an overdue hiker on December 18 after he failed to return home.
Boulder County Sheriff’s Office personnel discovered his vehicle near the Gregory Canyon trailhead, initiating a search operation. Utilizing drones from Boulder Emergency Squad, search teams located the man’s body in a remote area. The recovery effort, requiring technical expertise from the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group took approximately 8.5 hours to complete.
The Identity of the decedent is being withheld currently, pending positive identification, and notification to the next of kin by the Boulder County Coroner's Office.
Businesses
Ratio Beerworks
2030 South Cherokee Street
Denver, CO.
80223
2920 Larimer Street
Denver, CO.
80205
(303) 997-8288
Colorado Creatives
Lenora Mattingly Weber
Lenora Mattingly Weber (1895–1971) was an American writer of short stories and novels.
Lenora Mattingly was born in Dawn, MO. October 1, 1895, and lived most of her life in Denver, CO. She married Albert Herman Weber in 1916 and was the mother of six children. Al Weber died in 1945.
Throughout her life, Weber consistently wrote. Her first book, Wind on the Prairie, was published by Little, Brown and Company in 1929. From 1930 through 1962 she wrote short stories for magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, McCall's, and Good Housekeeping. Weber wrote a monthly column for the Catholic Extension magazine, which gave her a steady source of income, which she depended on after Al Weber's death in 1945. Her last book was published posthumously in 1972.
Weber's favorite topics included the Denver area, horses, and teenage girls. In 1943 the Thomas Y. Crowell Co. published the first Beany Malone book, Meet the Malones. Beany Malone became Weber's most well-known creation, featured in 14 books and appearing as a minor character in the Katie Rose Belford and Stacy Belford series.
Weber died on January 30, 1971. She wrote 34 books, including a cookbook of Beany Malone-inspired recipes, and more than 80 short stories (including serializations of some of her novels.)
Until they were republished by Image Cascade starting in 1999, the Beany Malone and Belford series were scarce and avidly collected. A diverse group of Beany fans lives worldwide and discusses all things Weber online. In 2002, Image Cascade published a biography, Nonie, which combined Weber's own autobiographical notes with a biography written by her son David Weber.
Weber's papers are held at the Denver Public Library. In 1969 Weber herself donated the bulk of these materials; her son David Weber donated some materials in 2003. This collection is open for research.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife
CPW catches coyote with human DNA on its paws, linking it to Thanksgiving attack on 4-year-old; investigation continues into who was feeding wildlife
[The following is based on a press release.]
Weeks of searching and trapping resulted in the capture of a coyote found with human DNA on its paws and human food in its stomach, leading Colorado Parks and Wildlife to conclude it is the animal that attacked a 4-year-old child on Thanksgiving.
As a result, the pursuit of coyotes in the north Colorado Springs neighborhood has ended.
But the investigation into illegal wildlife feeding continues because the necropsy and DNA testing in a lab confirmed there was human DNA deep between the coyote’s toes. It also revealed the animal had human food in its stomach.
“The good news is that this neighborhood is safe because we caught and removed the coyote that attacked the child on Thanksgiving,” said Tim Kroening, CPW’s wildlife manager for the Pikes Peak area. “The bad news is that a 4-year-old child suffered serious injuries, and her family was traumatized because someone was feeding wildlife.
“Since we began our search, we routinely saw three coyotes that boldly approached houses and clearly had lost their fear of humans. This tells us they were searching for food. As a result, we continue to investigate the source of the feeding.”
Kroening said the coyote was not to blame for its actions. But CPW could not leave it on the landscape because its lack of fear of humans made it an ongoing threat to other children.
“Our first obligation is to protect human health and safety, and we can’t allow dangerous predators to attack children,” Kroening said. “This is exactly why we constantly preach the dangers of feeding wildlife.”
Coyotes live across Colorado, adapting well to urban areas where they find shelter and easy meals. Like most wildlife, coyotes are naturally afraid of humans. But they can lose that fear and become bold and aggressive if they are protecting their young, being fed or are sick.
Witnesses say the child was attacked as a large group of children were playing nearby under adult supervision. Two children in the yard saw an animal they believed was a dog crouching behind a tree and approached it. The coyote lunged at the girl, grabbing the back of her head, inflicting serious injuries as an adult rushed to the child, screaming, to end the attack. The child’s injuries required an overnight stay at a hospital and several surgeries.
Considering the attack, CPW urges everyone to familiarize themselves with important tips for keeping coyotes wild and afraid of humans and to protect their children and pets. CPW offers a variety of hazing strategies and safety information on its website.
“Coyotes are omnivores and will eat anything,” Kroening said. “Typically, they only get aggressive in the spring when they have pups in a den. Or they get aggressive because someone in the area is feeding them.”
During the three-week search, CPW and its partners removed two coyotes that repeatedly returned to the scene of the attack. The carcasses were sent to health labs and examined for human DNA and tested for diseases, like rabies. The coyote found to have DNA on its paws tested negative for rabies, Kroening said. The second carcass is still undergoing testing.
Hazing is important because urban coyotes are a fact of life, he said. Coyotes live across Colorado, and they have a huge range. But if they find a niche in a city with food, cover, water and open space, they will not wander far, and they can be territorial.
The coyote's diet consists mainly of small animals such as mice, rabbits, squirrels, fish and birds. They'll also eat berries, vegetables, insects and about any other scraps they can find.
Anyone with information about wildlife feeding is asked to call CPW, or report it anonymously to Operation Game Thief, or OGT. Reach OGT by calling, toll-free, 1-877-COLO-OGT (or 877-265-6648). Verizon users can dial #OGT. You can also email CPW at game.thief@state.co.us.
Meanwhile, Kroening said he was glad CPW was able to provide a bit of closure to the family.
“We also wish the child a speedy recovery,” he said.
Because this is an ongoing investigation, CPW will have no further comment on this case at this time.
Comics
Dry Bar Comedy
When You Fly Spirit Airlines For The First Time, Jeff Norris
Finding Colorado
The fifty-fourth highest mountain in the State of Colorado is Sunshine Peak, with an above sea level altitude at its summit of 14,001 feet.
Resources
Small Business Saturday
The Saturday after Thanksgiving is Small Business Saturday. Starting the first Saturday in December each Saturday here will be Small Business Saturday.
Know of a small Colorado business?
Let us know in the comments, and we will provide support by showcasing them here.
State of Colorado, Fiscal Deficit
[The following is based on a press release.]
Colorado's fiscal deficit is just a little less bad than it was a few months ago.
Meanwhile, there are signs that Colorado's economy is slowing, even as unemployment is trending up.
The December forecast from the General Assembly economists showed lightly improved revenues — the deficit for the 2025-26 budget year would be in the $672 million range rather than being more than $1 billion.
That slightly improved situation assumes the Joint Budget Committee drafts next year's spending plan like the current budget, considering caseload increases in prisons, Medicaid and school funding, for example.
The general fund revenue forecast did show $109 million more available than the forecast in September, but that came as little comfort to lawmakers.
Add in the $350 million required by the voter-approved Proposition 130, which allocates money toward law enforcement, and "we're back at a billion dollars," bemoaned JBC Chair Sen. Jeff Bridges, D-Greenwood Village.
The legislature has about $100 million to spend if the budget panel does everything the governor has suggested in his budget, Bridges noted. Some of those recommendations are already drawing challenges from lawmakers.
Much will depend on how the Joint Budget Committee addresses the shortfall in the coming months, according to Greg Sobetski, the chief economist for the Legislative Council.
One potential source of funds — the state's 15% reserve — only solves the problem for one year, Sobetski noted. The reserve has already been tapped in 2024-25 to cover overspending in Medicaid, leaving the rainy-day fund at around 13.8%, a one-percentage point improvement over September's forecast.
But that leaves the current fiscal year's budget out of balance.
Sobetski told the committee's members they have a hole to fill that will have to be addressed through supplemental appropriations beginning next month, totaling about $194 million.
The improved picture is due to reductions in cash revenue subject to the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, as well as some transfers. The reduction in cashflow, about $95 million less than was estimated in September and largely due to less revenue from oil and gas severance taxes, creates less pressure on the general fund, which is used to pay TABOR refunds.
Meanwhile, Colorado's economy is slowing, economists said on Thursday.
While inflation ticked up a bit in November, Colorado's rate remains at 2%.
Transportation remains the biggest driver in this forecast, with housing prices in Denver down about 3% over the past two years.
Unemployment remains low but is beginning to trend upwards, now above 4%, economists said.
The forecast anticipates a continued, slowing expansion, with downside risks more disruptive, such as high prices that hurt consumption, deteriorating conditions in the labor market, the poor global economy and the big unknown — the potential for significant federal policy changes with the new administration coming in next month.
Mark Ferrandino, director of the governor's Office of State Planning and Budgeting, told the committee that if the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed in 2017 and which is due to expire next year, is extended, it could have a small positive impact on individual income.
But without taxes on tips or overtime, that could be a downside for state revenue, he said. During the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump said he favors eliminating taxes on tips.
The issue of trade and tariffs are also a worry, he said. Tariffs could have an inflationary effect on prices, depending on how broad-based the tariffs are that are proposed by the incoming Trump administration.
Another risk is immigration, which could have "concentrated effects" in the labor market for the agriculture and construction sectors, he said.
Then, he said, the fiscal policy of the next Congress and the Trump administration could take the form of limited access to Medicaid dollars or other matching grants — or impact the federal workforce.
A government shutdown, which could happen on Friday, might look different, too, Bridges said, raising worries that the federal government might not pay states back for the money lost in a shutdown.
Ferrandino told the committee the uncertainty of changes at the federal level in the new administration could impact the state more significantly than usual.
"Maybe it's nothing, but maybe it's huge and we just don't know yet what that is going to be with the rumors that are out there and the conversations. It could be minimal to significance in the hundreds of millions of dollars," he said.
The governor's Office of State Planning and Budgeting, as is often the case, offered a somewhat rosier forecast, at least for Colorado.
"It doesn't mean we're out of the woods," Ferrandino said. "Just a little less worse off than before."
OBPB's revenue forecast was revised upwards by $278.3 million, compared to September's numbers. The bottom line is that there could be $74 million of "additional capacity" within the general fund, assuming the Joint Budget Committee adopts the governor's "perfect" budget, he quipped.
"This is positive from an economics perspective," Ferrandino said.
The economy, as determined by gross domestic product, is improving, according to OSPB Economist Bryce Cooke, due to stronger overall consumer spending and fewer barriers to investment. The labor market is healthy and not as tight as it's been in the two previous years, he said.
At the same time, the number of jobs per unemployed person is down to 1:1, which he said is indicative of a normal labor market environment.
The housing market is improving slightly, with new listings beginning to tick up, but the downside is that the demand is not there, both for buyers and for builders, Cooke also told the committee. That is due to interest rates, he said.
Because those rates are still so elevated, it is not enough on the demand side, where there is an expansion in sold homes or permits, he said, adding that could pick up if interest rates fall over time.
Until next time,