Sign of the times?
I was broken-hearted driving through downtown Carbondale today expecting to see the gloriously big American flag proudly displayed like years past on the Fourth of July. I hope this was by mistake and is not a sign of the times.
Kirk Webb
Carbondale
A tale of two towns
Just returning from my yearly trek to my mother’s hometown of Craigmont, Idaho, I’m struck by the differences and similarities with my hometown, Carbondale. Craigmont is a true small town. It’s had 500 people from the time the town and my mother were born in 1920. Carbondale likes to think of itself as a small town, but with a population of 7,000, it really isn’t.
Craigmont is the kind of town where five minutes after you get there everybody knows who you are, where you’re from, who you’re related to and which hand you wipe your ass with. I go back there and people I haven’t seen in 50 years recognize me. There’s a bit more anonymity in Carbondale. I’ve lived here nine years and I go to events where nobody knows me.
Situated on the Camas Prairie at the base of the Idaho panhandle, Craigmont is at the heart of some of the richest farmland in the world. One hundred bushels per acre wheat harvests are common. The entire economy centers around agriculture. Being surrounded by magnificent mountains and rushing rivers, tourism keeps Carbondale going.
There is, unfortunately, one feature Craigmont and Carbondale do have in common. Lewiston, Idaho, a city of about 35,000 at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers, is to Craigmont what Aspen is to Carbondale. It’s the place where the majority works, but few can afford to live there.
So, young families are moving to Craigmont, which is 40 miles away, and other small towns that’re even farther. This is a bad trend. It’s not only dangerous and time-consuming to be traveling that far to work, but the emissions from gas-burning vehicles aren’t doing the climate any good. There are few public charging stations in the area, so electric vehicles are rare.
Cities like Lewiston and Aspen need to build affordable, perhaps multifamily dwellings, so the folks who work there can live there.
Fred Malo Jr.
Carbondale
Support for Steven
We are writing in support of Steven Arauza, Garfield County Commissioner candidate for District 3. As block captains in Carbondale for the Garfield County Democrats, we walk our neighborhood three or four times a year to deliver fliers about candidates and upcoming events. This May, Steven offered to join us on one of our walks. Neither of us had met Steven, so we appreciated the opportunity to get to know him.
As we knocked on doors and listened to neighbors’ questions and their discussions with him, we were impressed with Steven’s attentiveness to, and empathy with, people’s concerns. His answers to their questions revealed an impressive depth of understanding and knowledge of the issues facing our county, as well as creative ideas for addressing them. Coming from a working-class background and having a young family himself, Steven clearly understands the daily challenges of earning a living, maintaining housing and raising a family in Garfield County in 2024. He plans to work in collaboration with all levels of government to improve access to healthcare, childcare and mental health services, as well as promoting programs that offer people a pathway to home ownership.
Having worked in oil and gas regulation for over a decade, Steven will bring an experienced and nuanced perspective to the Board of County Commissioners. He understands the benefit of tax revenue from the oil and gas industry and also understands the importance of diversifying our economy and identifying new energy and economic opportunities for the county. He plans to prioritize training programs to meet these opportunities with our existing workforce.
Steven is also dedicated to promoting the inclusion of community voices in policy decisions to ensure that the people who are most impacted by government decisions have the opportunity to be heard.
Steven is committed to public service and we are convinced that he will work hard to improve the quality of life for all Garfield County residents. Get to know and support Steven by visiting www.steveforgarco.com
We will be voting for him for county commissioner and hope you will too.
Robin Van Norman & Candace Goodwin
Glenwood Springs & Carbondale
Standing up
On July 12, 2024, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Glenwood Springs Branch Library, Colorado Times Recorder reporter Logan Davis will speak on “Colorado communities standing up to Christian nationalism.” Davis, a self-described “progressive researcher and writer based in Denver, specializing in the threat posed by right-wing extremism” has covered the Woodland Park American Birthright Standards controversy since June of 2023.
Davis asks: “Why are groups from New York, Florida and Washington, D.C. interested in a district of a few thousand students in Teller County, Colorado? And why do so many players in the cast of characters in this small-town drama have direct connections to politically-active, right-wing billionaires and the groups they fund? And why does the town’s hyper-political religious sect — a sect which specifically preaches the taking-over of government institutions for the glory of God and the kingdom of Christ – seem to be so involved with all of it?”
Many of the same players and themes have been behind a recent surge of challenges to library materials across the nation. According to various studies, most Americans of any political party are overwhelmingly opposed to censorship. So who is pushing it and why?
Sponsored by the non-profit Protect Our Garfield County Libraries, this presentation is free to the public. Please note that library rooms are available to other community groups and perspectives too.
Jamie LaRue
Garfield County Libraries
More money
Are your bills getting harder to pay? “A 2023 survey conducted by Payroll.org highlighted that 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, a 6% increase from the previous year. In other words, more than three-quarters of Americans struggle to save or invest after paying for their monthly expenses.” But hey, “an unprecedented wealth boom began in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic market surge. Since 2020, the wealth of the top 1% has increased by nearly $15 trillion, or 49%.”
So the basic problem is insufficient income for the lower wage earners. This has been decades in the making. The system is rigged. The problem escalated with the Supreme Court permitting unlimited campaign donations from corporations and wealthy people. Much of Congress is bought and paid for. The political right wing complains constantly about government programs that try to help people who can’t afford basic services, like food for their kids or basic health care. But — if these folks made enough for their hours worked, the special programs would not be needed. I hear stories about Walmart employees using food stamps. Walmart — whose heirs are some of the wealthiest on the planet. Spread it around, maybe?
The Federal minimum wage is still $7.25 per hour — same in many states that are politically red. This wage was set in 2009. Not even a cost-of-living adjustment has occurred. Adjusted for inflation, that should be $10.50 — and even that is low. Tukwila, Washington leads the nation at $20.29. In 2021 the Dems tried to raise it to $15 but the Repubs killed it. Big corporations have a number of reasons to keep wages low. More on that and how to fix it next time.
Patrick Hunter
Carbondale