Author: David O. Williams
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A $5 billion ski industry confronts a cold front in global tourism | FISCAL ROCKIES
Editor’s Note: Once among the nation’s fastest-growing economies, Colorado today confronts mounting challenges that threaten its momentum. This series reveals how a state once defined by prosperity is navigating economic cliffs and ridges. We explore the impact that increased regulations, tariffs, shifting tax policies, the high cost of living and widening urban–rural divides have on businesses,…
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As lodging tax hikes hit ballots, Beaver Creek threatens to incorporate
BEAVER CREEK – Mountain counties across Colorado are jumping on the lodging-tax bandwagon at the polls this November following the passage last session of a bipartisan state bill (HB25-1247), but one ski county has run afoul of one of its largest tax sources over the issue. The Eagle County commissioners last month approved a Nov.…
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As lodging tax hikes hit ballots, Beaver Creek threatens to incorporate
BEAVER CREEK – Mountain counties across Colorado are jumping on the lodging-tax bandwagon at the polls this November following the passage last session of a bipartisan state bill (HB25-1247), but one ski county has run afoul of one of its largest tax sources over the issue. The Eagle County commissioners last month approved a Nov.…
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What does a major Vail ski village reboot look like in 2025?
VAIL • It wasn’t long after Rob Katz first took the helm of Vail Resorts in 2006 that the CEO started talking about Ever Vail, an innovative, green-built ski village he envisioned as Vail’s fifth ski portal west of Lionshead Village that would make the ski company an “icon of sustainability.” “That it isn’t just about…
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Rural Reckoning | Colorado’s energy shift leaves rural livelihoods in limbo
Editor’s note: This series examines Colorado’s urban-rural divide amid worries of disparities in economic development, health care, housing, agriculture and other policy areas. As Colorado races toward a “renewable” energy future, rural lawmakers like Ty Winter argue it is leaving its backbone behind — the ranchers, coal miners and oil field workers who, without a…
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Habitat for Humanity houses a gamechanger in Vail
VAIL • When Doug Alexandre moved here in 2009 to work as a lift mechanic on Vail Mountain, he never thought he’d be able to afford to buy a home in this world-famous ski town, where the median home price is more than $2 million. “I never expected to be a homeowner in the Vail…
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Mental health in the mountains: Eagle County opens western Colorado’s first psychiatric beds
EDWARDS • Dr. Paige Baker-Braxton is a clinical psychologist who moved to Eagle County three and a half years ago after living in downtown Chicago for about eight years, where she was a trauma therapist. “I’ve worked with some really marginalized, sick populations — veterans, sexual assault survivors, LGBTQ populations — and (Eagle County) has…
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Departing forest chief says crowding is overwhelming Colorado backcountry
After 34 years in the U.S. Forest Service — nearly half of them managing the busiest national forest in Colorado — White River National Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams was busy packing up his office on his final Friday of work when a reporter called to ask him about the health of the forest, as the federal government…
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Ski industry experts say multi-resort passes pose challenges for towns, skiers
VAIL • Sadly, Mary Bono will always be synonymous with the dangers of skiing. Her globally famous former husband, Sonny, died in a ski accident at Heavenly Mountain Resort in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., in 1998. Mary and her two young children were skiing with Sonny that day but lost him on the mountain, leading to a…
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Boon or burden: Ski industry experts say multi-resort passes pose challenges for towns, skiers
VAIL • Sadly, Mary Bono will always be synonymous with the dangers of skiing. Her globally famous former husband, Sonny, died in a ski accident at Lake Tahoe’s Heavenly ski area in 1998. Mary and her two young children were skiing with Sonny that day but lost him on the mountain, leading to a frantic…