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 […]
Opinion
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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 […]
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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 […]
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What makes a fur jacket any different from a leather one?
I keep coming back to the same question every winter. What makes a fur jacket any different from a leather one? Both are sourced from an animal’s exterior, both have a place in our culture’s history, and both are praised for their quality and visual appeal. Yet, why does one invite more backlash while the […]
Posted inLetters
Letters – Jan. 29, 2026
Correction: On the cover of last week’s paper, Sofia Webster and Matty O’Conner were mistakenly referred to as sisters, and Sofia’s last name was given to Matty. Re: GarCo ReportThis is Kristi Gill, born and raised in the Roaring Fork Valley. I worked at VVH and GRHD for 40 years. I would like to clarify […]
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A big thanks to our community
Every Thursday, something small but meaningful happens across the Roaring Fork Valley. Outside the Village Smithy… at a City Market… at a local library… someone pauses at a news box, pulls out a fresh copy of The Sopris Sun, and takes a moment to reconnect with what’s happening close to home. It’s a simple act. […]
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Dream Well: The walk of a lifetime
Natalia Snider is a certified dream practitioner living in Carbondale. She works with people’s dreams and imaginations to facilitate self-healing. Every month, she will analyze someone’s dream in The Sopris Sun. Anyone can submit a dream for personal analysis or inclusion in this column by visiting: www.dreamhealings.com DreamI had a dream my dad came to […]
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Protecting Snowmass Falls Ranch
Our public lands are treasured by most Americans and they deserve our protection. But there are rare exceptions when public lands can best be protected by key parcels of conserved private land. Most land incorporated into wilderness today is remote, high elevation mining claims. But with some land — like Snowmass Falls Ranch (SFR), with […]
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Historiography: The last picture show
“Carbondale History, 1887-1976,” by the Carbondale Study Club (1976): In the early days of the town, there was a motion picture theater on the north side of Main Street [351 Main, now The Pour House]. Every week there was a show … on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Admission was 10 cents for children and 15 or […]
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CVEPA Views: Earth, water, fire and air!
Woe is us. Yes, the millions of people in the Great American West who depend on the snowpack for 80% of our water. This year has shaken us to the bone. Apparently, there was a warmer and drier year, winter 1980, that we are competing with. Oddly, more prominent in people’s memory was the terrible […]