Author: Bill Mckeown
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Downtown USOC construction mess just about over
The political and financial turmoil over construction of a new U.S. Olympic Committee headquarters in downtown Colorado Springs may not be over — but the construction mess soon will be. Early Friday morning, crews are expected to remove the barricades and plywood-covered walkway that have been a fixture at the busy intersection of Tejon Street…
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City of Colorado Springs decides against pitching RTA funding idea
The city of Colorado Springs on Wednesday decided not to pitch a plan to hire its own employees to do work on Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority road projects now being done by consultants and temporary workers. City staffers asked the Rural Transportation Authority board to withdraw the proposal from its Wednesday meeting agenda. The…
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City paving the way for in-house road work
The city of Colorado Springs will seek approval today to hire its own employees to do work on Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority road projects now being done by consultants and temporary workers. The city could save $1.7 million a year by doing more in-house work on PPRTA projects, said City Engineer Cam McNair. The…
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Springs congestion ranking unchanged
Colorado Springs ranks 91st out of America’s 100 most congested metro areas, the same ranking it had in 2008, according to a mid-year survey released Thursday. During the first six months of 2009, the Los Angeles metro area had the worst congestion in the country, followed by the New York City area and Chicago. All…
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Sales tax amnesty program brings in almost $377,000 for city
The city of Colorado Springs collected almost $377,000 in delinquent sales and use taxes during a three-month amnesty program that ended Aug.14., officials announced today. In addition, the city enrolled 19 businesses in its sales tax-collection system that had not been paying sales tax for one reason or another. The amnesty program waived the normal…
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Woodmen, Academy interchange clears legal hurdle
The City of Colorado Springs has the right to take a portion of land in a shopping center that is critical to the $45 million Woodmen Road widening project, a 4th Judicial District judge ruled today. The ruling by Judge Thomas Kane essentially clears the way for work to begin in mid-September on widening Woodmen…
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Agencies face loss of gambling impact funds
Teller and El Paso county officials reacted angrily Thursday to news that Gov. Bill Ritter has proposed suspending grants to local governments and social service agencies that have been used for almost a decade to combat the effects of gambling. If Ritter’s plan is approved by the state Legislature, the impact on local governments and…
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Newest E85 pump to open in Springs on Wednesday morning
For those who prefer their gas comes from the soil of eastern Colorado, not the sands of Saudi Arabia, a ninth pump will begin dispensing E85 Wednesday in Colorado Springs. The new pump, at the Western Convenience store at 227 W. Fillmore St., will offer a blend of 85 percent ethanol, derived from the starch…
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Cash for Clunkers ends quietly in the Springs
The federal government’s wildly successful Cash for Clunkers program went out with a whimper, not a bang, Monday in Colorado Springs, with sedate morning traffic in some showrooms while other dealerships decided not to do any more deals on the last day of the program. Nationally, the Washington Post reported that dealers across the country…
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Cash for Clunkers program nears end, and residents are buying in
Got a 1986 bronze Cadillac DeVille that’s visually stinking up the neighborhood and burning a hole in your wallet? You have today and, realistically, half a day Monday to dump that dinosaur for a new, fuel-efficient chariot before the federal government’s Cash for Clunkers program shuts down at 6 p.m. Monday, after spending $3 billion…