The firecrackers and skyrockets are banging away as I sit in our little cottage writing this. Unlike back home, there is zero chance of a wildfire. Weeks of rain, including showers today, have thoroughly soaked everything. Fireworks are illegal in Michigan, with a few exceptions like July 4, when smaller types are permitted. The big […]
Ken Pletcher
Posted inNoticias
El estado de las energías renovables
Han pasado cinco años desde que Garfield Clean Energy (GCE) lanzó su exitosa campaña Solarize Garfield, la cual logró la instalación de más de 100 sistemas solares fotovoltaicos en techos de viviendas y negocios del condado. Aproximadamente una cuarta parte de esos proyectos también incluyó sistemas de almacenamiento con baterías. Desde entonces, el impulso hacia […]
Posted inEnvironment
The state of renewables, Part One
It has been five years since Garfield Clean Energy (GCE) launched its successful Solarize Garfield campaign in the county that netted more than 100 new rooftop photovoltaic (solar-power) installations on homes and businesses; roughly one-fourth of them also included battery storage. Since then, the push toward cleaner energy generation in our region (mainly solar) has […]
Posted inEnvironment
Marble meeting focuses on wildfire mitigation, evacuation planning
A crowd of some 60 people gathered on May 16 at the Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District (CRFPD) firehouse in Marble to hear a presentation on wildfire behavior, mitigation and preparedness and evacuation strategies in the event of a wildfire. The Saturday-morning gathering was a follow-up to a planning meeting on March 31 at […]
Posted inLocal Government
New Aquatics Center to open May 23
Yes, Bonedaleans, it’s true! After a years-long process (including two seasons without a municipal pool), the brand-new Carbondale Aquatics Center is scheduled to open Saturday, May 23, during Memorial Day weekend. The new facility replaces the old John M. Fleet pool, which operated from 1979 to 2023. Instead of the former single pool, the center […]
Posted inEnvironment
Public Works initiates talks on Crystal River water usage
Carbondale Public Works held a meeting on March 26 with Crystal River water managers (ranchers and farmers) to begin discussions on the Crystal’s water usage this coming summer. The initiative comes in the wake of record-low snowpack this past winter and anticipated very low flows in the Crystal and Roaring Fork rivers. The gathering, organized […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘Legends of Mountain Fair’
A panel of Carbondale Mountain Fair leaders, movers and shakers led a wide-ranging, delightful, hilarious and often touching discussion of fairs past and present for a large and enthusiastic audience at the Third Street Center on April 9. In addition to the panelists — Brenda Buchanan, Laurie Loeb, Bob Schultz, Jim Ryan, David Thiel, Lee […]
Posted inBusiness
Marble Distillers carves a new path with social club
In September 2025, just over 10 years after it had first opened its doors, Marble Distillers in Carbondale launched Club Marble in what, during that first decade, had been an underutilized bar-lounge room in the front of the distillery. The Sopris Sun sat down with co-owners Connie Baker and Corey Shank, as well as with […]
Posted inNews
‘If only the walls could talk’ — The story of 202 Euclid
So mused Carbondale resident Lynn Siodmak when describing the house she and her partner Joel Rem had purchased at the corner of Euclid Avenue and 2nd Street last fall. As it turns out, the walls — and house — had a lot to say, thanks to her research and that by members of the Carbondale […]
Posted inNoticias
Carbondale desarrolla un modelo avanzado de mitigación de incendios forestales
El municipio de Carbondale y el Distrito de Protección contra Incendios de Carbondale y Rural (CRFPD, por sus siglas en inglés) se han unido al Wildfire Collaborative Roaring Fork Valley (WCRFV, por sus siglas en inglés) con el objetivo de desarrollar lo que será la predicción más detallada y precisa sobre cómo un incendio forestal […]