Colorado State Patrol Trooper Gabriel Moltrer said the closure occurred at mile marker 180 at 9:26 a.m. due to vehicle crashes that had occurred there.

Moltrer said the State Patrol in that area was using a protocol called “accident alert” as heavy snowfall blanketed the area. In an accident alert protocol event, when a non-serious injury or fatal crash occurs, the State Patrol asks drivers to submit an accident counter report online, rather than having an on-duty trooper respond.

Moltrer said numerous accidents had been submitted through the counter-reporting system on Tuesday.

In Vail, the Vail Recreation District canceled soccer practice and other activities taking place on outdoor fields in Vail parks.

Hiking or skinning up Vail Mountain is currently not allowed per Vail Resorts policy.

“At this time, the mountain is closed for uphill travel access,” said Rachel Levitsky, the senior communications manager for Vail Mountain. “We also encourage all guests to call the Uphill Travel Hotline before accessing the mountain at any time: (970) 754-3049.”

Levitsky also pointed guests to .

The storm slows a melt which had caused the snow-water equivalent on Vail Mountain to dip below average in recent days as sunny skies had a shrinking effect on the area’s snowpack.

Snow-water equivalent is the amount of water within the snow, calculated by measuring snow depth and density. It’s monitored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture using snow telemetry (SNOTEL) sites, one of which is located on Vail Mountain.

The agency monitors snow-water equivalent to improve predictions of streamflow for the following spring and summer, and spring months like May — and spring storms like Tuesday’s — can make a major difference in how the water year will turn out.

After recording a slightly above-average reading on Vail’s closing day, the snowpack recording sensors at the USDA’s SNOTEL site on Vail Mountain showed Vail to have 16.3 inches of snow-water equivalent on Monday. That’s 88.5% of the 30-year average for May 6.

On Tuesday, however, that reading jumped up to 16.8 inches, or 91% of average.

The National Weather Service on Tuesday said that number was likely to keep climbing throughout Tuesday, with a Winter Weather Advisory for the general area of the Gore Range in effect until 10 p.m. on Tuesday.

The National Weather Service’s Grand Junction office said cool and unsettled weather will linger through the remainder of the week, “with a series of disturbances keeping chances of light mountain showers in the forecast most afternoons.”

The bill’s demise came after one of its prime sponsors, Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat, asked for it to be postponed indefinitely.

“I decided that more conversations need to take place outside of the pressure cooker of the Capitol during the last weeks of the legislative session,” she said during a committee hearing. 

faced a narrow path in the statehouse after a similar bill was rejected last year and questions remained over whether the idea had enough support to pass the legislature. While the bill from last year didn’t survive its first committee hearing, this version made it through the House committee and the full chamber with a 35-27 vote. This time, it was rejected in its first Senate committee hearing. 

The bill would have banned the purchase and sale of certain types of semi-automatic rifles, pistols and shotguns under its definition of assault weapons, including those with fixed large-capacity magazines and the ability to accept detachable magazines. It also names specific models of guns that would be banned, including AR-15s and AK-47s. Possession of those firearms would have been permitted under the bill. 

The bill’s sponsors, Reps. Tim Hernandez and Elizabeth Epps and Gonzales, all Democrats, said the legislation would have made Colorado safer by reducing the amount of high-powered firearms in the state. Republicans were vehemently opposed to the concept, calling it a violation of the Second Amendment. 

It’s possible the concept will return in the next legislative session. 

“I look forward to renewing and continuing those discussions over the interim,” Gonzales said. “It is clear that survivors of devastating gun violence, responsible gun owners and local and national policy advocates remain committed to doing the work necessary to save lives — and an assault weapons ban will do just that.”

The bill was assigned to the five-person State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee, which has a Democratic majority. Two of those Democratic senators have expressed support for the general concept of the bill but the third, Sen. Tom Sullivan, a Centennial Democrat, was expected to be the swing vote. 

Sullivan’s son, Alex, was killed in the Aurora theater shooting in 2012 and he has been a vocal supporter of tightening gun laws ever since. But he’s for a statewide assault weapons ban. 

Even if Sullivan had voted in favor of the measure, Senate President Steve Fenberg, a Boulder Democrat, said he was unsure the bill would have enough votes to pass the chamber. And beyond that, Gov. Jared Polis has hinted he may veto such a measure if it ever made it to his desk. 

Western Slope lawmakers had . House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, voted in favor of the policy, saying she thought it was better than the one brought last year. Rep. Meghan Lukens, D-Steamboat Springs, was one of a few Democrats who joined all the House Republicans in voting against the bill. 

The legislature is considering this session, including one brought by Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, a Glenwood Springs Democrat, that requires safe storage of firearms in vehicles. That measure, was still being debated as of Tuesday afternoon.

Other firearms bills would create a new merchant code for firearms purchases, ask voters to create a new tax for gun sales and ammunition and increase requirements for concealed carry licenses.

The legislative session ends Wednesday at midnight. 

But I did what I was told to do by looking big and yelling, and after wetting myself, he loped away. Have you ever seen a house cat catch a mouse or bird? Big cats can do the same thing to humans. If we don’t keep instilling fear of humans and dogs by hunting mountain lions, we will be .

Corky Fitzsimmons
Gypsum

Before we get there, though, two things are important to appreciate. First, our criminal justice system —and in many ways, our democracy itself — is based upon the foundational principle of fair and equal justice before the law. The administration of that principle includes and presupposes an accused’s right to be tried before a fair and impartial jury. 

Second, it is key to understand that to convict one of an offense, such as one with which the ex-president is charged, two standards must be met: first, one must be held guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt” and, second, there must be unanimity among the jurors. In felony cases, such as Trump’s, 12 jurors sit in judgment and, to convict — to hold him liable for a crime — all 12 must agree upon the defendant’s (in this case, Trump’s) guilt.

As a quick aside, one is never found “innocent.” The best that one can hope for is a finding of “not guilty” which, while it may imply innocence, what it might equally implicate is simply that there was not sufficient evidence presented to find the defendant guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.” One need to think back no further than the O.J. Simpson “trial of the century” in 1995. While there are some, perhaps, who believe that Simpson was found innocent, what was found, instead, is that there was not sufficient evidence to convict.

Left hanging

Another possible jury outcome is that of a “hung jury” (also referred to as a “deadlocked jury”) which lacks resonance with the “hang Mike Pence” rioters of Jan. 6, 2021. What it means instead is that the jurors could not (or, perhaps, would not) come to a unanimous decision, the result of which is a failure to convict. 

When, however, a jury is “hung” or “deadlocked,” the case may be tried again whereas, owing to the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution (and similar clauses in the various state constitutions), if one is found not guilty, one may not again be prosecuted for substantially the same crime. As such, a finding of not guilty is a get-out-of-jail-free card whereas when a jury is hung, not so much — the result of a hung jury may be a form of déjà vu, this time, another trial before another jury.

The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution assures that “…the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury.” The emphasis, though critical, is mine. All 50 states have similar provisions in their respective state constitutions. In Colorado, the guarantee is found in Article II of the Bill of Rights. Section 16 thereof provides that, “In criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the right to … a speedy public trial by an impartial jury …”

New York, where the current Trump trial tempest is aswirl affords a criminally accused similar protections.

From a historical perspective, a “jury of one’s peers” is similar to the expression “judgment of his peers” which simply means a jury trial and comes from the Magna Carta which, if you recall your history, issued forth from Mother England in 1215 and was the first document to put into writing the principle that the king and his government were not above the law.  In the context of the Trump trial and those pending, ponder on that, if you will, for a moment.

Besides declaring that the sovereign shall be subject to the rule of law, what the Magna Carta did was document the liberties held by “free men,” and provided the foundation for individual rights in Anglo-American jurisprudence, a foundation upon which our laws are constructed.

The purpose of guaranteeing trial before a jury of one’s peers is to ensure that a jury’s verdict is not tainted by biases that jurors may harbor before being presented with the evidence of the particular case.

Undetected personal agendas

And that, at last, brings us to the possibility of stealth jurors.

The process by which potential jurors are selected for jury duty includes a device called voire dire (literally, in Latin, to “speak the truth”) which generally consists of oral questions posed by the respective lawyers and/or the judge (and at times, as in the New York Trump trial, questionnaires) propounded upon potential jurors, to get to their respective prejudices and predispositions in an attempt to weed out those who may be biased in favor or against either the defendant or the prosecution.

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A stealth juror is a potential juror with an agenda of his or her own who may lie or otherwise deceive the court to circumvent the rights of the defendant to a fair and impartial jury. It does not take much imagination in our current polar times to believe that one or another of the potential Trump jurors might have tried to slip beneath the radar of scrutiny and, the evidence be damned, hope to be a holdout either for or against conviction In so doing, if such a juror has, in fact, slipped through, the result may be the subversion of the guarantee of impartiality itself.

Did one or more stealth jurors slip beneath the safeguards of the current trial? It is, of course, impossible to know. What one can be sure of, however, is if the ex-president is convicted, he will undoubtedly (and loudly) claim whether the evidence supports it or not that it emphatically was so.

Rohn K. Robbins is an attorney licensed before the Bars of Colorado and California who practices Of Counsel in the Vail Valley with the Law Firm of Caplan & Earnest, LLC. His practice areas include business and commercial transactions; real estate and development; family law, custody, and divorce; and civil litigation. Robbins may be reached at 970-926-4461 or at his email address: Rrobbins@CELaw.com. His novels, “How to Raise a Shark (an apocryphal tale),” “The Stone Minder’s Daughter,” and “Why I Walk so Slow” are currently available at fine booksellers. And coming soon, “He Said They Came From Mars.”     

Fentanyl continues to take the lives of more and more Coloradans every year, with younger and younger individuals being affected. Fentanyl overdoses have happened in restaurants, schools and other public places across the Western Slope. Carrying naloxone, also known as Narcan, is the best way to protect ourselves and our fellow community members.

There has been a lot of confusion over where and how many of these fentanyl overdoses happen. Fentanyl is being illicitly manufactured in the form of a white powder that can easily contaminate other drugs in a powder, crystal or pill form. We’ve had many reports over the past year of drugs like cocaine, MDMA and meth being contaminated in western Colorado, as well as many recent Narcan uses at concerts and other events. . However, it’s still better to be proactive and have preventative tools like Narcan on hand in case of an emergency.

High Rockies Harm Reduction works in collaboration with public health and safety departments across the state and Western Slope to promote prevention resources and get people the tools they need to stay safe when recreating or medicating with pills or powder drugs. In collaboration with other campaigns, like Keep the Party Safe (), we work to provide Narcan and fentanyl test strips, as well as relevant education and training, to people across the state, particularly those who attend concerts and/or work in the resort and service industries. These fields have been saturated with substance use for decades and they continue to be at high risk for fentanyl exposure and overdose.

We want everyone to be aware of the risks associated with using drugs like cocaine or any pills bought on the street or online. We encourage folks to obtain free fentanyl test strips for drug checking and free Narcan to reverse opioid overdoses. We never know exactly what someone took, and Narcan has no effect if a person is not experiencing an opioid overdose.

You can get free supplies, education and support from High Rockies Harm Reduction. See our service schedule at . Narcan is also available for free at many public health departments and covered by most insurance as an over-the-counter medication at major pharmacies.

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and we have less time to respond with Narcan than in traditional overdoses from drugs like heroin or morphine. That’s part of why it’s so important for as many people as possible to carry Narcan, especially at big events where it can be difficult for first responders to move through a crowd.

It’s also important to remember that all first responders carry Narcan and there are laws in Colorado that protect you if you use Narcan and call 911 to report an overdose. We hope that folks take the steps to protect themselves and each other so we can all have a fun and safe spring and summer!

Maggie Seldeen is the founder and director of High Rockies Harm Reduction. She was raised and currently lives in Carbondale. Email her at maggie@highrockiesharmreduction.com.

“Volunteers needed to help preserve, maintain and protect the wilderness areas in Eagle and Summit counties. Pay is nonexistent, but the working environment is spectacular. Job satisfaction is high, hours are flexible (whenever you want) and your coworkers are wonderful people who share your love of the wilderness.”

I did, and have never regretted it. Best job I ever had. 

My “boss” is the Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance, a local all-volunteer nonprofit that helps the U.S. Forest Service look after the four wilderness areas in Summit and Eagle counties — Eagles Nest, Ptarmigan Peak, Holy Cross, and a portion of Flat Tops. As you probably know, “our” local wilderness areas are some of the most beautiful in the country. They are likely one of the reasons you moved here. But our wilderness areas don’t take care of themselves. 

Trees that fall across paths every year don’t remove themselves. The trails don’t repair themselves from overuse or water damage, either. Further, many trail users don’t even know what a congressionally designated wilderness area is, let alone what special rules are in place to help protect these fragile places.

Doesn’t the Forest Service take care of all this? Forest Service employees try, but in Eagle and Summit counties alone there are over 250,000 acres of official wilderness area. Plus, the Forest Service is understaffed and underfunded — its staffers simply can’t do the job alone.

That’s where ESWA — and hopefully you — come in. ESWA’s volunteer wilderness rangers hike the wilderness trails, help educate and assist visitors and report downed trees and trail damage to local Forest Service staff. Last year alone, ESWA rangers conducted over 400 patrols, hiked over 2,700 miles and encountered almost 11,000 wilderness users.

Our ESWA rangers also volunteer as trailhead hosts, greeting people at trailheads to answer questions and provide information. Commonly, many visitors have not been to these trails before, and know little about the area or the regulations designed to protect wilderness areas and wildlife. For those times when you’re not up for hiking, trailhead hosting could be a fun job.

This year’s volunteer wilderness rangers in-person training is June 1 in Silverthorne. To apply to be a volunteer wilderness ranger (which only requires completing a minimum of four hikes a year — on days and wilderness trails of your own choosing), visit the page on the ESWA website and fill out the application. The deadline for applications is May 15. 

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If you love wilderness, consider giving back to it. It’s fun, rewarding and you will make great friends.  For more information about ESWA and its programs, visit . You’ll be glad you did — and so will the wilderness areas you love.

Mike Browning is on the board of directors of the Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance, a local all-volunteer nonprofit that works with the U.S. Forest Service to help maintain, preserve, and protect the wilderness areas in Eagle and Summit counties.

Anthony said his trip to Edwards Elementary’s third-grade class was one of the best school visits he’s had in his 29 years of using skiing to bring teaching tools into the classroom and educate kids.

A former Warren Miller ski film star and a member of the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame, Anthony teaches American and world history through the story of the 10th Mountain Division, the United States’ first ski troop. Some members of the famed unit went on to become the founders of the modern-day American ski industry.

In Edwards, Anthony said he found a group of attentive kids who were ready to take in that history from the moment he arrived when they greeted him with a welcome banner.

He began his lesson using stories from Eagle ¾Ã¾ÃÈȾ«Æ·ÊÓƵapp and Camp Hale, where the 10th Mountain Division trained. That local history was a means to teach kids the larger story of World War II, for which the 10th Mountain Division was created.

One of the stories he said kids found most interesting was that of Cruz Rios, a Mexican American who was recruited into the 10th Mountain Division and became a photographer within the division, creating some of the best images we have today of the 10th in action.

“I talked about Cruz’s talents and how he was recruited into the division not as a skier, but learned how to ski and learned to love skiing,” Anthony said.

Anthony said he was also able to engage the kids by talking about the women of the 10th Mountain Division, and the little-known facts about the contributions that female Army enlistees made to Camp Hale.

The lesson continued at the Colorado Snowsports Museum in Vail, where the third graders got to see artifacts from some of what they had learned about from Anthony in the classroom.

“They got to see the equipment from that time — backpacks, skins, coats, stoves — stuff they could touch and feel,” Anthony said.

The kids then visited the skier statue in Vail and the statue of the WWII veterans who founded Vail, Pete Siebert and Earl Eaton, before going to the Vail Public Library to finish their history lesson.

At the library, the history lesson went back much further than WWII, starting back with the hunter-gatherers who inhabited the area 10,000 years ago and continuing into the 1870s with the first silver strike in Eagle ¾Ã¾ÃÈȾ«Æ·ÊÓƵapp near Red Cliff.

Students learned about the county’s agricultural history as well as its mining history. While the kids displayed a thorough understanding of our area, their most impressive knowledge was showcased when it came time to branch into how the mining and agricultural industries eventually gave way to the recreation industry which 10th Mountain Division troopers helped bring to Colorado after WWII.

As the Edwards Elementary third graders wrapped up their week at the Vail library, not a question was asked about Camp Hale that the students didn’t already know the answer — thanks to Anthony’s lessons earlier that week.

Anthony, during his lessons, had told the children that they could ask any question, and nothing was too difficult or off limits. But he did get one that is, and always will be, one of humanity’s toughest questions to answer.

“One kid asked why we have wars,” Anthony said. “We discussed our freedoms, our way of life, and how we have had to stand up and defend that in other places where people were being held down.”

“My parting thought about this season was that I was happy with ‘average,'” wrote OpenSnow.com founding meteorologist Joel Gratz .

“Sure, we can always hope for more snow, but an ‘average’ season is still pretty good and offers plenty of opportunities for powder days, sunny skies, and everything in between,” Gratz continued. 

For about half the season, from November through mid-January, snowpack levels throughout the state were significantly below the 30-year-median, . Then, in mid-January, snowpack began to surge, straddling the 30-year median. For a month between March 14 and April 14, levels were above the normal threshold. 

Specific basins saw greater snowpack than what was reported statewide, such as the Colorado River Headwaters Basin that encompasses a slew of high-profile ski areas including Breckenridge Ski Resort, Copper Mountain Resort, Vail Mountain and Beaver Creek. 

The Colorado River basin’s snowpack levels held consistently above the 30-year median beginning on March 4 — 10 days before the trend was seen statewide — and through mid-April, though levels had briefly pushed above normal a few times earlier in the season. 

In Summit ¾Ã¾ÃÈȾ«Æ·ÊÓƵapp, for example, that meant above-average snow accumulation for some areas. In Dillon, a SNOTEL site recorded 134.5 inches of total snow accumulation between September and April, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Bernie Meier. 

The seasonal average for that site is 108.4 inches. During the 2022-23 season, the site recorded 105 inches for the total season, which ends in June, while in 2021-22 it recorded 111 inches, Meier said. 

Another SNOTEL site in Breckenridge recorded 144.7 between September and March and has not yet reported its April figures, Meier said. But it puts the site at just below normal for snow accumulation through March, with average accumulation for that time being 146 inches. 

Looking at the Colorado River basin as a whole, “The seasonal precipitation came in at 101%, so almost as normal as you can get,” Meier added. 

Zooming in on a ski area like Copper Mountain, snow base depth remained strong for much of the season, according to OpenSnow meteorologist Sam Collentine.

In a a May 1 blog post, Collentine stated that a review of Copper data showed that the resort was 69% below the 30-year normal snow depth in November and 17% below in December but was 32% above in January, 9% above in February, 30% above in March and 34% above in April. 

“According to our monthly snowfall chart for Copper Mountain, we recorded 14 powder days with 6 inches or more from December through April,” Collentine wrote.

The healthy snowpack, boosted by several spring storms, helped Copper  — marking  that the resort has remained open into May. 

Other resorts that extended seasons included Steamboat Resort, , closing on April 21. Last season, the resort closed on April 16. Prior to then, Steamboat had not extended its season by a week or more since 1993. 

Others, like Breckenridge and Arapahoe Basin Ski Area, . Last season, Breckenridge closed on May 21 while Arapahoe Basin closed on June 4. 

In his 2023-24 season preview published in August, Collentine predicted that with the switch to an El Nino pattern, Colorado would see average snowfall with the potential for a stronger start and end to the season.

“This winter forecast preview tended to be right on the mark with a snowpack hovering right around the 30-year normal by the time we reached the peak snowpack in late April,” Collentine . 

El Nino refers to the warming of surface temperatures of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of South America and the subsequent change in the jet stream that can occur. Typically, this translates to less snow and dryer conditions in the northern U.S. with more snow and wetter conditions in the southern U.S. 

The pattern, however, has little correlation on conditions in the country’s central regions, including much of Colorado, making it hard to discern El Nino’s effects on the High Country. 

Heading into the summer, , representing the inverse wherein the jet stream brings wetter, cooler temperatures to the north and warmer, dryer temperatures to the south. 

La Nina is likely to persist into the fall and winter as well, with an “80-90% chance for a La Nina during the winter of 2024-2025,” Gratz stated in his May 1 post. 

Gratz added while he has “low to no confidence” in predicting snowfall so far out, La Nina tends to be the opposite of this season’s El Nino, meaning next season, “could bring average to above-average snow to Canada and the northern Rockies and possibly below-average snow to the southwestern U.S.”

But once again, Colorado falls in-between both zones, “so anything could happen,” Gratz stated. 

This story is from

4:19 p.m.: Vail Pass eastbound lanes are closed again, according to an Eagle ¾Ã¾ÃÈȾ«Æ·ÊÓƵapp alert. Eastbound U.S. Route 24 is closed between Minturn and Leadville as well.

2:20 p.m.: Eastbound Vail Pass reopened after being closed for about five hours.

9:45 a.m.: A May storm has caused multiple accidents on Vail Pass, prompting a closure of the eastbound lanes, according to an Eagle ¾Ã¾ÃÈȾ«Æ·ÊÓƵapp Alert on Tuesday morning.

The closure began shortly after 9:30 a.m. Tuesday and extends between East Vail and the pass summit, or between Exit 180 and 190.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

The action kicks off on Tuesday at Homestead Court, where No. 2 Vail Christian will face No. 3 Peak to Peak in the . The Saints also sent their entire lineup to the individual state tournament, held May 9-11 in Pueblo.

The Battle Mountain girls and boys lacrosse teams received first-round byes, but will host second-round playoff games on Thursday and Friday, respectively. If the Huskies win, they’ll also host the respective quarterfinal matchups on May 11 (girls) and May 14 (boys). The girls finished the season 14-0 after defeating Eagle Valley 21-8 in last Saturday’s regular-season finale.

Battle Mountain boys coach Pat Doherty was named the Western Slope coach of the year after guiding the Huskies to a 13-2 record.

Vail Mountain School’s boys lacrosse first-round matchup against Mullen was rescheduled from Tuesday to Wednesday because of weather.

Two area girls soccer teams qualified for the postseason. No. 11 Vail Mountain School will host No. 22 Peak to Peak on Thursday while No. 32 Eagle Valley will play No. 1 Montrose on Wednesday. The Devils are making their first state tournament birth since 2017.

“I think anyone who was looking at our team on paper coming into this season was thinking you know, this was going to be a year where we’re building back our program,” head coach Jess Platt told the Vail Daily earlier this year. “These kids showed up ready to go and we’re having a really good, successful time.”

• 3A girls soccer: No. 11 Vail Mountain School (6-3-3) vs. No. 22 Peak to Peak (4-8-1) at Vail Mountain School, Thursday 4 p.m.
• 4A girls soccer: No. 1 Montrose (13-0-2) vs. No. 32 Eagle Valley (7-4-3) at Montrose High School, Wednesday 5 p.m.
• 3A girls team tennis: No. 2 Vail Christian vs. No. 3 Peak to Peak, Tuesday at Homestead Court and Avon Recreation tennis courts
• 3A girls individual tennis: Vail Christian athletes competing May 9-11 at Pueblo City Park: Jessie Allen (No. 1 singles), Juliet Studness (No. 2 singles), Heidi Iverson (No. 3 singles), Summer Sveum and Sofia Elalayli (No. 1 doubles), Alexa Blanch and Sabrina Nabonsal (No. 2 doubles), Carys Highum and Olivia Zajac (No. 3 doubles) and Linnea Iverson and Grace Armstrong (No. 4 doubles).
• 4A girls lacrosse: No. 3 Battle Mountain (14-0) vs. winner of No. 14 Holy Family and No. 19 Pueblo West, at Battle Mountain High School, Thursday, TBA.
• 4A boys lacrosse: No. 4 Battle Mountain (13-2) vs. winner of No. 13 Holy Family and No. 20 Pueblo West, at Battle Mountain High School, Friday TBA. No. 10 Vail Mountain School (9-5) vs. No. 23 Mullen (4-11) at Vail Mountain School, Wednesday 4 p.m.

Jeffrey Lee Tarrin, affectionately known as “JT” to many, passed away on April 26, 2024 in his adopted home of Eagle ¾Ã¾ÃÈȾ«Æ·ÊÓƵapp Colorado.
Jeff grew up on the beaches of Southern California. He loved to surf and swim. Jeff was a proud graduate of Aviation High School and California State University, Long Beach.
After high school, Jeff traveled through Europe which instilled a love of traveling.
Jeff found Colorado in the late 1980’s when he drove to Vail with his friend Lars. The first family he met was the Brown family. Jeff would occasionally bring Vi flowers and leave them on her deck. Jeff met his wife, Kristen, in Vail and he quickly became a part of the McLaughlin family.
Jeff loved skiing and snowmobiling in the winter and golfing in the summer. Jeff worked at various local businesses throughout the years, such as Charlie’s T-Shirts, Nova Guides, the Ritz Carlton and Vail Resorts.
Jeff cared deeply for his family and friends.
Fittingly, Jeff passed away on his beloved grandmother, Sweetie Pie’s, birthday. Jeff is sitting by the campfire in heaven with Auggie, Sweetie Pie, Grandpa Gus, Uncle Bud and Uncle Bill.
Jeff leaves his wife Kristen, his mother Barbara Bergman, his brothers David, Tim and Charlie Tarrin, his nieces Alina and Olivia Tarrin, his in-laws, Douglas, Mary Susan and Marka (Ty) McLaughlin, his nephews, Stefan (Erin), Elliott and Wolfgang Brenner, and a plethora of friends and family in California, Colorado, Minnesota, Georgia, Washington and all of the world.
A private memorial service will be held in late June.

The Eagle Valley Trail from West Beaver Creek Boulevard to the western Avon town boundary will be closed without a detour starting approximately May 13. The Hurd Lane recreation path along Eaglebend Drive and Stonebridge Drive will detour south to the Eagle Valley Trail starting approximately May 20. 

The Stonebridge bus stop will be closed temporarily and the Eaglebend stop may be used instead. Repairs on each section of the trail are expected to take one to two weeks before work begins on the next section. 

The work is being performed by X Field Services LLC on behalf of the town of Avon. For questions about these projects, visit .

In a Monday presentation to the Eagle ¾Ã¾ÃÈȾ«Æ·ÊÓƵapp Board of Commissioners, officials from the Colorado Department of Transportation discussed current cuts to plans to improve Interstate 70 over Vail Pass.

Program engineer Karen Berdoulay told the commissioners that pieces that have been completed so far are primarily on the westbound side, including runaway truck ramps, reconstructing a curve and a bridge. An automated closure system for the westbound lanes is also complete.

But plans to rebuild 5 miles of eastbound highway, including rebuilding a bridge, adding 5 miles of a third lane and smoothing curves in the highway’s infamous Narrows section have hit funding problems.

Berdoulay said the project currently has enough funding to build 2.7 miles of a third lane, as well as five wildlife crossings.

But, she added, the project isn’t able to move forward in the Narrows, or able to put in shoulder pullouts.

The problem is cost inflation, which Commissioner Matt Scherr noted has outpaced consumer inflation.

“That’s a huge issue for us up there,” he said.

Berdoulay noted that when the project was bid in 2020, annual cost increases of roughly 3.5% were factored into the estimates. Instead, costs have shot up by roughly 25%, she said. Despite some “value engineering” — including redesigning the eastbound bridge to make it shorter than originally designed — there’s now roughly $89 million in added cost for the project.

“We’ve made so much investment, but we’re taking a pause,” Berdoulay said. “We don’t have the funding for the last phase.”

That pause comes despite pressure from local governments in Eagle ¾Ã¾ÃÈȾ«Æ·ÊÓƵapp to complete the project as designed.

A March letter from the Vail Town Council to Gov. Jared Polis and CDOT Director Shoshana Lew expressed “strong concern and disappointment” with the project’s change in scope.

During Monday’s meeting, Vail Public Works Director Greg Hall noted that finishing the project will take a “significant amount of money.” But, he added, there are concerns about taking money from other projects. Finishing Vail Pass shouldn’t come at the detriment of other projects, he said.

Jason Smith, the Regional Transportation Director for CDOT’s Region 3, the geographically largest in the state, noted the size of the challenge for the Vail Pass project.

“This is bigger than a regional project,” he said. But, he added, the added funding is more than he’s able to pull into it.

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“We all see the value in it,” Smith said. “But it’s a matter of how do we get it there.”

Scherr noted that funding highway and other infrastructure projects is ultimately up to the state’s voters to decide whether or not to tax themselves to pay for those ¾Ã¾ÃÈȾ«Æ·ÊÓƵapp.

“We in the public have to realize that’s our decision,” Scherr said.

The idea of creating a property tax exemption for primary homeowners has floated around the state Capitol over the past year as lawmakers have considered the best way to calculate and collect property taxes. 

Proposition HH, which voters resoundingly rejected in November, would have created a 10-year plan for reducing the state’s property taxes. It also would have created a new distinction between owner-occupied homes and those that are used for investment or as second, third or fourth homes. 

When that proposal, Gov. Jared Polis convened a special session of the Legislature. While lawmakers agreed on a way to slow property tax spikes for one year during that special session, they also created a commission to study a longer-term approach to the issue. The commission, which has met regularly since then, also considered taxing second-home owners differently. 

But ultimately, , the proposal presented by bipartisan leaders of both chambers and Polis on Monday, didn’t include that idea. 

Sen. Chris Hansen, a prime sponsor of Senate Bill 233 and the chair of the property tax commission, said the commission initially supported the concept.

“But we quickly started to understand some of the implementation issues, and it was going to take time for us to figure out how to implement that idea,” said Hansen, a Denver Democrat.

Hansen was referring to the need to develop a system for assessors to learn whether a property is a primary home or not. 

Even though the concept wasn’t included in the latest proposal doesn’t mean the idea is totally dead, however.

“We’re going to spend some more time studying it,” Hansen said. “It will be back on the docket for the conversations with the commission as we meet during the interim.” 

The Colorado Association of Realtors has said in the past that it opposes the idea and that it would hurt real estate in the state. It could also penalize Coloradans who have worked to get a second home, said Brian Tanner, the vice president of public policy for the group.

When asked about the concept, Polis said he wanted the commission to consider a land value tax, which he said could help increase housing supply.

“There will be an ongoing discussion about ways we can further improve property tax to enhance competitiveness and keep rates low,” he said. 

A bipartisan proposal

Senate Bill 233, a complex proposal that could change over the coming days, suggests the state keep tax rates from last year for the 2024 tax year. 

That approach would set schools across the state when compared to what they would have received under current law. The bill proposes backfilling all of that from the state’s education fund.

The 2024 rates would also cause a hit to local governments, such as counties and special districts. Most would not receive backfill, losing out on a combined millions of dollars.

Beginning in 2025, the bill proposes creating two separate property assessment rates for calculating residential property taxes, with school districts having a higher rate and other local districts having another.

The bill’s sponsors hope that through creating the higher rate for schools, they can avoid the budget deficiencies . 

For the local district assessment rate, the bill would also eventually create a 10% tax exemption for up to $70,000 of a home’s value.

The bill would also set a 5.5% cap on the annual growth of property taxes collected by local governments, except schools, beginning in 2025.  

The average impact on local governments and individual homeowners is difficult to predict because of the various mill levy rates imposed by local governments. 

Local governments that saw significant increases in property assessments, like many in the mountains, stand to lose some of that additional revenue under the deal.  

Colorado Counties Incorporated, which represents dozens of counties across the state, is in support of the bill. 

“I think it strikes the right balance,” said Tamara Pogue, a Summit ¾Ã¾ÃÈȾ«Æ·ÊÓƵapp commissioner. 

The compromise has been struck as a series of property-tax-related ballot measures offering greater tax relief have put pressure on lawmakers to come up with an alternative. One of them, , a proposal brought by the conservative group Advance Colorado, would impose a 4% annual statewide cap on property tax revenue growth. 

The bill is sponsored by Hansen, along with Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, a Brighton Republican, Rep. Chris deGruy Kennedy, a Lakewood Democrat, and Rep. Lisa Frizell, a Castle Rock Republican. 

The session is scheduled to end at midnight on Wednesday.

The testimony from , the former Trump Organization controller, provided a mechanical but vital recitation of how the company reimbursed payments that were allegedly meant to suppress embarrassing stories from surfacing during the 2016 presidential campaign and then logged them as legal expenses in a manner that Manhattan prosecutors say broke the law.

McConney’s appearance on the witness stand came as the first criminal trial involving a former American president entered its third week of testimony. His account lacked the human drama , but it nonetheless yielded an important building block for prosecutors trying to pull back the curtain on what they say was a corporate records cover-up of transactions designed to protect Trump’s presidential bid during a pivotal stretch of the race.

At the center of the testimony, and the case itself, is a $130,000 payment from Trump attorney and personal fixer Michael Cohen to porn actor Stormy Daniels to stifle her claims of an extramarital sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier.

The 34 felony counts of falsifying business records accuse Trump of labeling the money paid to Cohen in his company’s records as legal fees. Prosecutors contend that by paying him income and giving him extra to account for taxes, the Trump executives were able to conceal the reimbursement.

McConney and another witness testified that the reimbursement checks were drawn from Trump’s personal account. Yet even as jurors witnessed the checks and other documentary evidence, prosecutors did not elicit testimony Monday showing that Trump himself dictated that the payments would be logged as legal expenses, a designation that prosecutors contend was intentionally deceptive.

McConney acknowledged during cross-examination that Trump never asked him to log the reimbursements as legal expenses or discussed the matter with him at all. And another witness, Deborah Tarasoff, a Trump Organization accounts payable supervisor, said under questioning that she did not get permission to cut the checks in question from Trump himself.

“You never had any reason to believe that President Trump was hiding anything or anything like that?” Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked.

“Correct,” Tarasoff replied.

The testimony followed a stern warning from Judge Juan M. Merchan that additional violations of a  about witnesses, jurors and others closely connected to the case could result in jail time.

The $1,000 fine imposed Monday marks the second time since the trial began last month that Trump has been sanctioned for violating the gag order. , $1,000 for each of nine violations.

“It appears that the $1,000 fines are not serving as a deterrent. Therefore going forward, this court will have to consider a jail sanction,” Merchan said before jurors were brought into the courtroom. Trump’s statements, the judge added, “threaten to interfere with the fair administration of justice and constitute a direct attack on the rule of law. I cannot allow that to continue.”

Trump sat forward in his seat, glowering at the judge as he handed down the ruling. When the judge finished speaking, Trump shook his head twice and crossed his arms.

Yet even as Merchan warned of jail time in his most pointed and direct admonition, he also made clear his reservations about a step that he described as a “last resort.”

“The last thing I want to do is put you in jail,” Merchan said. “You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president as well. There are many reasons why incarceration is truly a last resort for me. To take that step would be disruptive to these proceedings.”

The latest violation stems from an April 22 interview with television channel Real America’s Voice in which Trump criticized the speed at which the jury was picked and claimed, without evidence, that it was stacked with Democrats.

Once testimony resumed, McConney recounted conversations with longtime Trump Organization finance chief  in January 2017 about reimbursing Cohen for a $130,000 payment intended to buy Daniels’ silence over her account of a sexual encounter at a 2006 celebrity golf outing in Lake Tahoe, California.

Weisselberg “said we had to get some money to Michael, we had to reimburse Michael. He tossed a pad toward me, and I started taking notes on what he said,” McConney testified. “That’s how I found out about it.”

“He kind of threw the pad at me and said, ‘Take this down,'” said McConney, who worked for Trump’s company for about 36 years,  at the Trump Organization’s New York criminal tax fraud trial.

A bank statement displayed in court showed Cohen paying $130,000 to Keith Davidson, Daniels’ lawyer, on Oct. 27, 2016, out of an account for an entity Cohen created for the purpose.

Weisselberg’s handwritten notes spell out a plan to pay Cohen $420,000, which included a base reimbursement that was then doubled to reflect anticipated taxes as well as a $60,000 bonus and an expense that prosecutors have described as a technology contract.

McConney’s own notes, taken on the notepad he said Weisselberg threw at him, were also shown in court. After calculations that laid out that Cohen would get $35,000 a month for 12 months, McConney wrote: “wire monthly from DJT.”

Asked what that meant, McConney said: “That was out of the president’s personal bank account.”

Trump is accused of falsifying business records by labeling the money paid to Cohen in his company’s records as legal fees. Prosecutors contend that by paying him income and giving him extra to account for taxes, the Trump executives were able to conceal the reimbursement.

McConney testified that he had instructed an accounting department employee to record the reimbursements to Cohen as a legal expense.

But McConney acknowledged under cross-examination that Trump never directed him to log Cohen’s payments as legal expenses, nor did Weisselberg relay to him that Trump wanted them logged that way.

“Allen never told me that,” McConney testified. In fact, McConney said he never spoke to Trump about the reimbursement issue at all. Defense lawyer Emil Bove also suggested to McConney that the “legal expenses” label was not duplicitous because Cohen was in fact a lawyer.

“OK,” McConney responded, prompting laughter throughout the courtroom. “Sure. Yes.”

After paying the first two checks to Cohen through a trust, the remainder of the checks, beginning in April 2017, were paid from Trump’s personal account, McConney testified.

With Trump, the only signatory to that account, now in the White House, the change in funding source necessitated “a whole new process for us,” McConney added.

Tarasoff, the other witness who testified Monday, said that once Trump became president, payments from his personal account had to first be delivered, via FedEx, to his new residence in Washington.

“We would send them to the White House for him to sign,” she said.

The checks would then return with Trump’s sharpie signature. “I’d pull them apart, mail out the check and file the backup,” she said, meaning putting the invoice into the Trump Organization’s filing system.

Prosecutors are continuing to build toward their star witness, , who . He is expected to undergo a bruising cross-examination from defense attorneys seeking to undermine his credibility with jurors.

What we need is an “all of the above” approach to facilitate the building of alternative models on smaller lots in smaller clusters. Benefits include building desirable quality-of-life downsized homes that focus on the real estate principle of “right to quiet enjoyment.” This should include but not be limited to accessory dwelling units, “tiny-ish” homes, ranch-style intergenerational duplex and triplex designs, and even more cabins/yurts for seasonal workers and local and visiting outdoor enthusiasts.

Given the additional tax revenues expected from unprecedented recent high real estate market appreciation, monies should be available to promote more varied housing.

The multi-story high-density developments often overwhelm adjacent established neighborhood roads, utility, and parking infrastructure not to mention disrupt traffic flows, and connected parks and trails usage. Sometimes such a huge influx necessitates costly road ¾Ã¾ÃÈȾ«Æ·ÊÓƵapp like building a nearby roundabout and puts extra strain on local fire, police and school districts.

Encouraging “urban infill” on smaller parcels in existing residential communities and using land under local government control, already paid with taxpayer dollars, should get equal consideration. Now is the time.

Joanne Rock
Eagle

The loss of coverage primarily stems from the end of Continuous Eligibility for Medicaid, which allowed people to maintain health coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many thousands of these individuals are the most vulnerable and working-class families of our mountain communities who feel the strain of juggling their health needs with the high cost of housing, childcare, food, transportation and other essentials. Unfortunately, seeking medical care gets edged out by other competing priorities.    

Among our patients, many of the individuals and families who have lost Medicaid coverage remain uninsured, as they have failed to secure other coverage, which could consist of employer-sponsored insurance or coverage purchased on Connect for Health Colorado, the state’s insurance marketplace. Colorado has communicated the changing policy landscape more effectively than many states, yet we believe that many of the individuals and families who have lost Medicaid coverage may not realize their insurance has expired. An April 2024 survey indicated that many people who were enrolled in Medicaid during the pandemic did not realize their coverage had continued. We believe the same is probably true of people’s information of their Medicaid termination.  

Given the region’s high cost of living, the trend of not having insurance coverage is exacerbated in Colorado’s mountain and resort communities. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, , the rate of uninsured individuals in our mountain region is 15%, versus Colorado’s rate of 10%. In Eagle, Garfield, and Pitkin counties, Mountain Family Health Centers is the primary source of care for the area’s uninsured patients; 46% of Mountain Family’s patients are now uninsured, an increase from 40% during the pandemic. 

Mountain Family Health Centers works to ease this challenge through two primary strategies. Mountain Family and other Community Health Centers exist to increase access to crucial primary care by reducing barriers for patients including cost, lack of insurance, distance and language. Mountain Family is committed to improving the health of our communities in the Colorado, Eagle, and Roaring Fork River valleys by providing high-quality, affordable primary care, behavioral health, and dental care. These services are provided to all within our community regardless of one’s insurance status or ability to pay.   

In addition to providing high-quality integrated care, Mountain Family Health Centers also dedicates resources to supporting our patients in navigating the health care system. One of the primary ways Mountain Family does this is through outreach and enrollment. Our dedicated team helps to connect patients with potential coverage options, which in Colorado include:   

• Medicaid/CHP+ — A State/Federal partnership that provides coverage to Coloradans with incomes below 133% of the federal poverty level (Medicaid) or Colorado kids in families with incomes below 260% (CHP+) of that level.  
• Connect for Health Colorado — Colrado’s insurance coverage marketplace also connects individuals and families to insurance subsidies determined by income and family size.  
• Omni-Salud — Provides coverage options via Connect for Health Colorado for Coloradans without documentation.   
• Cover-All Coloradans (coming in January 2025) â€” Provides coverage for pregnant Coloradans and children, up to 260% of the federal poverty level, regardless of documentation status.  

Mountain Family’s Outreach and Enrollment team works directly with patients to identify the best option for their circumstances, regardless of their immigration status. For those patients who are still unable to access health insurance coverage, Mountain Family provides a Sliding Fee Discount Program. This program offers health care discounts for patients earning up to 400% of the federal poverty level. Contact Mountain Family at 833-273-6627 or email EnrollmentHelp@mountainfamily.org with questions about insurance enrollment or our financial assistance programs. To learn more about payment and insurance options, health care services offered, and our locations visit .

Dustin Moyer is CEO of Mountain Family Health Centers and lives in Glenwood Springs with his family. 

Walking precariously alongside the almost non-stop traffic while picking up discarded items tossed out vehicle windows by local idiots constantly reminded me of the two tragic hit-and-runs we’ve had so far in 2024.

It was sketchy there for a few hours.

I have no problems referring to anyone carelessly tossing trash as an idiot, because it matters not where they live, but in this case, the garbage had accumulated along a local road, not our intrusive yet necessary evil interstate.

My admittedly unscientific analysis (aka uneducated guess) finds at least 95% of the traffic, and thus this rubbish, is flung out the window by disrespectful Eagle ¾Ã¾ÃÈȾ«Æ·ÊÓƵapp taxpayers.

For those of you wondering what in the world is the “Grand Army of the Republic Highway,” most know it as U.S. Highway 6, the transcontinental roadway extending from California to Massachusetts. Hard to believe, but it’s , about 50% longer than Interstate 70.

And we trash the hell out of it.

Once again this 64-year-old with an extra appendage was honored last Saturday to join the Vail Valley Vixens, a local women’s-only cycling club with over 100 members, on their bi-annual quest to clean up a 2-mile stretch west from the Wolcott Yacht Club.

For this year’s trash bag hunt for anything shiny, we were rewarded with the usual suspects of beer cans, airplane booze shot bottles (aka “nippers”), fast-food containers, cigarette butts, a few vape pens, an election sign from last November and lots and lots of plastic crap.

But standing out to me was the amount of Styrofoam, as we picked up hundreds of pieces, which I concluded probably came from a single delivery truck of some sort and had exploded over about a mile stretch. It was everywhere, with the color and texture appearing to match.

In what I can only assume is credited to the beer bottle industry’s engineering design of modern beer bottles, dozens were found completely intact, no glass shards to inflict pain upon unsuspecting cleanup crew members.

It was a positive in a veritable sea of negatives.

A highlight, if that’s how one would choose to describe it, was a condom (used, of course, and yes, gross) and my bride stumbling across a carcass, at which point I immediately Googled to see if Kristi Noem had visited our ski mountains for a family trip this past winter, as I read she liked to travel with her pets.

I could find no such record of a visit, but one never knows for sure.

Driving home to Avon, we were amazed at the number of stuffed orange bags along I-70, and we both commented that it seemed to be a lot more than in previous years.

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Does it mean more trash being indiscriminately dumped by inconsiderate morons or the 800-plus volunteers being more meticulously thorough than in years past?

Hopefully, it’s less of the former and more of the latter, but at least no one came across anything horribly unexpected, like say a Boeing whistleblower.

We’ve had enough negative publicity lately as it is.

Richard Carnes, of Avon, writes weekly. He can be reached at poor@vail.net.

At its Tuesday, May 7, meeting, the Town Council will be receiving a presentation from its finance department on some options to do just that.

Referring to Timber Ridge, Dobson and West Middle Creek, the memo notes that “with the planned large capital projects scheduled to begin this year and next, budgeted reserves will be significantly reduced.”

Vail’s town policy requires it to maintain 35% of annual General Fund revenues in its budget. The memo reports that this is approximately $22 million for the current year.

This percentage has increased in recent years from 25% before 2018. The memo notes that the policy “was put in place to ensure the town would always have available reserves to continue at some level of operations should a catastrophic event such as a wildfire take place.”

With the town’s projected spending and timelines for these bigger projects, town staff is warning that “actual cash flows are projected to be strained beginning at the end of 2024 through mid-2026, decreasing below the council’s reserve policy of 35% of General Fund revenues.”

While the funds are expected to recover in 2026, this will be entirely dependent on how sales at Timber Ridge go, which carries a risk.

“Based on estimates from Triumph Development, the town is expected to be paid back in full for a total of $49.9M in 2026 but that could push into 2027 depending on the timing of sales of the homes,” the memo reads. “There is significant financial risk to the town if not all homes sell, or sell much later than anticipated.”

On Tuesday, town staff will present the Town Council with a variety of options to maintain its reserves and preserve a higher level of financial security.  Council members will be asked if there’s a scenario they prefer or if they’d like staff to look into different approaches (including deferring any of the planned projects).

What’s currently planned

One of the scenarios includes an outlook should the town continue with its projects and spending as planned. This includes details on Dobson, Timber Ridge and West Middle Creek as well as some recent “unanticipated” spending.

Currently, the town has budgeted $55 million for 2024 and 2025 for the remodel at Dobson. This budgeted amount includes an estimated $48.8 million from future Vail Reinvestment Authority funds as well as a $3 million commitment from the Vail Recreation District. The Town Council will soon face some decisions around this project as well after initial cost estimates from contractors came in at $20 million over this budget.

The redevelopment of Timber Ridge is the town’s largest capital project in history. Estimated to cost a total of $194 million, the town has budgeted to put up $38.6 million in cash for site work and podium infrastructure as well as $1.9 million for a transit stop and $10.4 million in costs and contributions for land and an existing Timber Ridge loan balance.

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The town has created a unique model for the project in which it expects to be paid back for its $49.9 million in contributions with the sale of the homes to local businesses and residents. The town of Vail itself intends to be among the purchasers, planning to purchase 43 units on the site at an estimated cost of $25.7 million. This amount would also be paid back from rental income, with an expected $5 million to $10 million subsidy to maintain rental affordability.

West Middle Creek is expected to cost a total of $174 million, with the town fronting $20 million for site work and initial infrastructure costs. The packet notes that the project originally planned to start in 2025 with $10 million in funding from the town. However, recent proposals would see the project start construction this fall with a $20 million contribution from the town.

“When the project is financed in 2025 the town will be repaid $10.0M of the $20.0M outlay. Separately, the financing for the project will be procured by a non-profit corporation set up by either the town or the VLHA, but will require a moral obligation by the town,” reads the memo.

The memo outlines two other unanticipated expenditures that are expected to impact reserves. They include a $2 million investment to enable Habitat for Humanity to purchase homes at Timber Ridge as well as $4.8 million spent on recent home acquisitions in the town.

Should the town continue as planned with these expenditures and timelines, its reserves would hit “historically low levels.”

“General Fund reserves dip to a projected $5.3M in 2024 (9% of annual revenues, or $16.7M short of the minimum),” the memo adds.

What’s recommended

Among the five scenarios in the council memo, the staff is recommending two options, both of which would utilize “financing to assist in the cash flow needs while cash reserves are being utilized for Timber Ridge.”

The three scenarios it is not recommending include continuing as planned, a scenario that provides a baseline of what reserves look like before committing to those three major projects as well as a scenario that would defer Dobson to 2026. The latter would not solve the challenge as reserves would still fall below the required minimum and cash flow would rely on Timber Ridge sales.

The first of the staff-preferred scenarios includes using $30 million in short-term financing. This scenario would deplete the town’s Capital Project Fund and see a cut into its reserves, but would still maintain above the required level.

“Without deferring the timing of these significant 2024 and 2025 projects, staff is recommending short-term financing to raise reserves back above the 35% reserve policy. This will allow for more flexibility in 2024-2026 and help mitigate cash flow risks associated with the unit sales of Timber Ridge and the projected bond reimbursements from West Middle Creek,” reads the memo.

The other recommended scenario would include deferring West Middle Creek to 2026 and using $30 million in short-term financing.

In this scenario, the memo says “General Fund reserves will exceed the reserve policy by $24.0M.”

This option, it notes has a “higher cost” than using $30 million in short-term financing but “allows for additional funding capacity should any new or unforeseen costs arise (operating, housing or capital).”

The Vail Town Council will discuss this predicament at its Tuesday, May 7 afternoon meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. The meeting will take place in person at Vail Town Hall (75 South Frontage Road) and online via Zoom. It is live-streamed on the town’s and on . To learn more about the meeting or provide public comment, visit .

Davis murió de lesiones sufridas durante el altercado, que involucró a varios adolescentes y ocurrió justo antes de las 10 p.m. El incidente está siendo investigado como un homicidio.

Después de esfuerzos de investigación por la Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Eagle en conjunto con la Oficina del Fiscal del 5 Distrito Judicial, un segundo menor ha sido arrestado en relación con el incidente que resultó en el muerte en miércoles, 24 de Abril 2024. Las autoridades tomaron a un sospechoso bajo custodia la noche del altercado.

Esta investigación está en curso y debido a la edad del individuos, la Oficina del Alguacil no dará información sobre sus identidades.

Cualquier persona con información sobre este incidente se le pide ponerse en contacto con la Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Eagle en 970-328-8500 o enviar pistas de forma anónima a través de Eagle ¾Ã¾ÃÈȾ«Æ·ÊÓƵapp Crime Stoppers en .

Las personas acusadas de delitos se presumen inocentes hasta que se demuestre su culpabilidad en un tribunal de justicia.