Over McClure Pass, between Hotchkiss and Delta, one of the nation’s most innovative photovoltaic power projects is complete and will have a grand opening Sept. 30. It will be the largest solar farm on Colorado’s Western Slope. The Garnet Mesa Solar project has tracking photovoltaic panels over 400 acres of former cattle pasture, but now […]
Paonia
Posted inObituaries
Obituary: Johnny Weiss
Johnny, a self-described “Jewish-Rasta-Zen-Quaker-Humanist,” passed away at his home in Paonia on July 10, surrounded by family. He was 74 years old. In the year since his cancer diagnosis he was cared for closely by his sons, Alex and Zack, and his former wife, Caryn. Johnny often said he felt lucky in life — and […]
Posted inBusiness
Paonia Food Movement offers year-round, farm-to-table synergy
Local-vores rejoice! The Paonia Food Movement (PFM) is here to enliven and enrich the Roaring Fork Valley’s connection to local food. Created to be an essential bridge between farmers and consumers, PFM is a year-round delivery service that features à la carte boxes bursting with vibrant produce, nutrient-dense meats, creative goods and more, sourced from […]
Posted inEnvironment
Solar Energy International offers a bright future for high school grads
Paonia-based Solar Energy International (SEI), a global leader in solar energy education and training, has opened applications for 2024 high school graduates in Colorado to enroll in two of its most popular courses to kickstart a career in solar energy.Founded in 1991, and originally based in Carbondale before moving to Paonia in 2013, SEI leads […]
Posted inEducation
Paonia’s School of Magick welcomes all
In conversation with The Sopris Sun, Willow Windgood defined magic as “shifting from the mundane to extraordinary, from one frequency to another.” She believes in nature magic, which ebbs and flows, and our ability to tune in when it’s present by being present within ourselves, witnesses to each moment. “I feel like we’re all so […]
Posted inNews, Uncategorized
Scuttlebutt & Calendar – July 6, 2023
Spring Creek Fire As of Tuesday, July 4, when a red flag warning was in effect, the Spring Creek Fire was 37% contained and just shy of 3,000 acres had burned. There were 538 responders and the cause was still under investigation. There had been no evacuations announced at the time. Visit www.bit.ly/SpringCreekfire for more […]
Posted inNews, Uncategorized
Paonia businesses feeling impacts of 133 closure
On April 29, a sinkhole began forming on Highway 133, between Somerset and Paonia, that grew to cause massive road damage resulting in a total road closure that lasted nearly two months. The sinkhole resulted from a strong spring run-off destroying a culvert that ran beneath the highway. On Monday, June 19, the Department of […]
Posted inNews, Uncategorized
The sinking of Highway 133
Nature is coming for Colorado drivers from all sides during springtime in the Rockies. Commuting in the mountains is like Chicken Little’s version of Russian Roulette with rock slides, mudslides and sinkholes. Coloradans may not have to slalom alligators and roll over Burmese python speed bumps, as they do in Florida, but I contend driving […]
Posted inNews, Uncategorized
Continuing the life cycle with green burials
Life is full of many cyclical trends — from fashion and food to names and colors — but it all starts with the cycle of life and, consequently, death. Burials, like produce, began trending in a less natural direction with the manipulation of an organic process. Pre-Civil War burials were an intimate affair with many […]
Posted inNews, Uncategorized
Equity Garden grows new possibilities
“As a community, it’s our responsibility to uplift one another, so that everyone has the opportunity to grow,” says Elizabeth Agee, Just Good Food Manager for the Colorado Farm & Food Alliance (CFFA). We stand in a frosted field beneath Mount Lamborn, about a mile from downtown Paonia. Beneath our feet, the soil is rich […]