By Susan Rhea “I see friends shaking hands, saying, ‘How do you do?’ They’re really saying, ‘I love you.’” -Louis Armstrong, “What a Wonderful World” I live on a busy Carbondale corner. From my “everything” table, no longer just for dining, I look out three large windows at the local world. I see children playing […]
Columns
Posted inColumns
Will Call: Movie Business 101
As the Crystal Theatre suddenly finds itself the only cinema between Rifle and Aspen, it seems like a good time to publicly address a question I’ve heard almost daily since we went nonprofit last September. Why don’t we show more new movies? Exactly what someone means by that varies a bit, but the answer almost […]
Posted inColumns
Money Juice: The Stock Market for Dummies
Picture this: You’re a 16-year-old boy… wait, it gets worse! You’re hired to crew a ship on a voyage to a faraway land to trade for exotic spices and textiles and medicine. The voyage is dangerous: rough seas, foreign animals and insects, unfriendly strangers, scurvy… but what an adventure, huh? When successful, the payoff was […]
Posted inColumns
Letter from the Editor: It takes a community…
Today we turn a leaf, beginning Volume 18 of The Sopris Sun. For 17 years, we’ve delivered a vibrant weekly newspaper with many changes along the way. We hope you’ll celebrate our continued growth and evolution at the Thompson Barn in Carbondale on Feb. 19. There you can catch the official announcement of our next […]
Posted inColumns
Heads up on a national health threat
In this new year of the Horse, when cultures celebrate a fresh start, I recall my own in 1976, when I migrated to our Roaring Fork Valley. My first statewide joy was to contribute to the plan by Governor Lamm and John Denver to expand I-70 through Glenwood Canyon without blasting a “typical four-lane.” They […]
Posted inColumns
Ps&Qs: Let’s put AI in D.C.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the film “Idiocracy.” Have you seen it? While not an award-winning film, I have to recommend watching this movie once. Starring Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolph, this low-brow comedy uncannily mirrors our society with its cast of misfits, including the elusive third Wilson brother, Andrew, as Beef Supreme […]
Posted inColumns
Palestinians’ sumud, a lesson Americans urgently need
Editor’s note: Robyn McBurney is a Roaring Fork Valley local who recently visited Palestine. In October and November of 2025, she spent 40 days in the occupied West Bank with the International Solidarity Movement, witnessing and documenting the conditions Palestinians face. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Middle Eastern and North African studies and shared […]
Posted inColumns
The Green Eyeshade: A few words about embezzlement
This is my first installment of The Green Eyeshade, a periodic column for the Sopris Sun, broadly covering issues of interest to small businesses and nonprofits. The name refers to the caricature of old-time bookkeepers who, according to the internet, wore cellophane visors to protect themselves from eye strain. I’m an old-time accountant myself, having […]
Posted inColumns
Cosmic Chatter: Spring transits placing you in community
Bringing astrology to the people of Carbondale and beyond is the passion of Crystal City Astrology, founded by Susanna Kitchen. Offerings include the Cosmic Chatter podcast (also periodically live on KDNK), planetary transit articles, birth chart readings and workshops. Join on Substack @crystalcityastrology or visit www.crystalcityastrology.com to learn more. Throughout January, the Sun, Venus, Mars […]
Posted inColumns
Big brother or the e-hall pass?
There is a new epidemic sweeping across local schools, and it isn’t the flu, a new variant of COVID or any type of sickness. It is the e-hall pass. As a senior at Basalt High School, I have a few thoughts on the matter. The e-hall pass system was first introduced at Glenwood Spring High […]