In many ways, Redstone is the last frontier of regulation, full of colorful personalities, differing opinions and little governmental oversight. Falling under Unincorporated Pitkin County, our sheriff is based in Aspen, over an hour away, the fire department is located in Carbondale and the closest thing we have to a town government is our chamber […]
Elizabeth Key
Posted inEducation
Hunting Season 101
A few weeks ago, I went to call for my dog and discovered a rifle-toting, camouflage-clad hunter just beyond my porch. I started yelling, “Hey, hey—” stumbling to find words as he took to the woods along the community path. I stopped short, deciding I was barking up the wrong tree by yelling at a […]
Posted inOpinion
Bear in mind
As a Colorado native, I have traditionally bristled at the comparison of nuisance bears to overgrown city rats. Nestled in the White River National Forest, I see myself more like Goldilocks living in the bears’ home. I estimate five bears are habitating around my one-acre lot that serves as a conduit to their water source: […]
Posted inColumns
Local nature-based preschool challenged by state regulations
During the pandemic, when the school cafeteria became a potential breeding ground for a deadly disease, I searched for the sanctuary of a pod school, reducing the number of children mine would interact with. I discovered the refuge of Waldkinder through word-of-mouth and pulled my daughter out of her first-grade public school class. This outdoor […]
Posted inColumns
Monopoly money and a weighted dice
A few weeks ago, my 6-year-old son asked me to play the 2017 Monopoly Aspen Special Edition game. During setup, I marveled at how the game’s landmarks still stood in a city that wealth has obliterated. My son caught onto the game swiftly, and I soon found myself in a position of being land-rich and […]
Posted inColumns, Opinion, Uncategorized
Guest Column: Wheels on the bus
During the past few years, Roaring Fork School District children have circled the Valley on ever-lengthening bus routes. After years of the pandemic-inspired “mommy bus,” I recently returned to the school bus system. I was shocked to discover that a seven-minute car ride can take up to two hours on the bus. I imagined my […]
Posted inNews, Opinion, Uncategorized
Gentrification and property taxes
A home is the most significant investment most people will make in their lifetime and often affords stability and security within one’s community. At the same time, second-home buyers and investors purchasing single-family homes can inflate the housing market, causing prices and property taxes to escalate. When this happens, longtime locals cash in or dig […]
Posted inNews, Uncategorized
The sinking of Highway 133
Nature is coming for Colorado drivers from all sides during springtime in the Rockies. Commuting in the mountains is like Chicken Little’s version of Russian Roulette with rock slides, mudslides and sinkholes. Coloradans may not have to slalom alligators and roll over Burmese python speed bumps, as they do in Florida, but I contend driving […]
Posted inColumns, Opinion, Uncategorized
Silent, but deadly
Lately, I have nightmares of swimming through snow, my omniscient yoga instructor’s voice guiding me to take deep, cleansing breaths as my mind spools and the wind whips through my permeable lungs. I wake up gasping. My first thought is, I survived the night; I’m alive. Dying in your sleep has been lauded as the […]
Posted inNews, Uncategorized
Gray wolf paws its way back into Colorado
Reintroducing the gray wolf to Colorado has produced conflict among humans. On March 15, Aspen Center for Environmental Studies hosted an educational event called “Living with Wolves: Coexistence in Colorado” at the Wheeler Opera House. The presentation aimed to bring collaboration and awareness to the divided packs of scientists, conservationists, ranchers, journalists and communities. The […]