A discussion about the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority’s (RFTA) Hogback bus route opened Monday’s Garfield Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting. During public comments, Rifle resident Rebecca Briesmoore urged the BOCC to support a temporary proposal to fund the Hogback route for the next year or so. Briesmoore said she lives in Rifle for three […]
oil and gas
Posted inLocal Government
Lepkowski returns, Feds urged to pay state disaster relief, county fair revenues up
Silt resident John Lepkowski is at it again with a new complaint about books in the Silt Library. The books are a series of graphic novels titled “The Boys” by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, the same books that a woman complained about last week. Lepkowski told the Garfield County Commissioners (BOCC) Monday that he […]
Posted inLocal Government
GarCo Report: November food assistance at stake, 500-foot oil and gas buffer waived
Garfield County Clerk and Recorder Jackie Harmon started out the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting on Monday with an elections update. “It’s a busy election,” she said. “Get your ballot, vote it, return it.” She added that when ballots are returned early, it’s more doable to announce unofficial results by 7pm on election day. […]
Posted inLocal Government
GarCo Report: Constitution Week, local group urges energy diversity
Steve Kuschner, organizer for 350 Roaring Fork, spoke up during the morning public comment period at Monday’s Garfield County Commissioner (BOCC) meeting, drawing attention to a letter, which would otherwise not have been discussed publicly due to its placement on the consent agenda. The letter is an invitation from the BOCC to U.S. Interior Secretary […]
Posted inLocal Government
GarCo Report: Medicaid changes and a public land use ally from Utah
As the Lee Fire on Monday was closing in on 137,000 acres and the dubious achievement of becoming the state’s 4th largest wildfire in history, Garfield County Commissioners (BOCC) had a public conversation promoting natural gas drilling and timber sales with Jacey Albaugh, legislative assistant for U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) on the U.S. Senate […]
Posted inEnvironment
Earth Day panel discusses policy implications
On Monday, April 21, a near-capacity crowd gathered at the Third Street Center for a panel discussion titled, “How Environmental Policies in D.C. and Denver are Affecting the Roaring Fork Valley.” The event was sponsored by Wilderness Workshop (WW) and Mtn Bio, a community-based, climate-centered educational nonprofit; both are Carbondale-based. Beth Shoemaker, founder of Mtn […]
Posted inLocal Government
Garfield County Report: County mill levy same for 2025, election judges celebrated, library trustee candidate interviews set
This week’s Garfield County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting was short and drama-free. No public commenters were on-hand at 8am and the first order of the day was to celebrate this year’s election judges. Dec. 6 will be the official Election Judge Recognition Day in Garfield County with an open house at the county administration building in […]
Posted inEnvironment
Teamwork makes the dream work
As of April 3, after two decades of sweat and tears, the Thompson Divide was guaranteed protection from future mineral leasing — well, at least for the next 20 years.“The Biden-Harris administration today [April 3] took action to finalize protections for the Thompson Divide area in central Colorado, one of the state’s most cherished landscapes, […]
Posted inNews
Western Slope shows support for conservation in BLM plan
In August of this year, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) to be appended to both the Colorado River Valley and Grand Junction resource management plans, affecting usage policy for approximately 2 million acres of land for the next two decades. After a two-month period of public […]
Posted inNews, Uncategorized
GarCo Report: Virtual deputy training, public health takes over mosquito control, new natural gas wells approved
Carbondale resident Richard Votero and Town Trustee Chris Hassig must have gotten up early Monday to speak to the commissioners (BOCC) about the imminent demolition of the U.S. Forest Service Aspen/Sopris Ranger District (USFS) building and surrounding trees in Carbondale. They were not on the agenda so had to be at the meeting and ready […]