Author: Pam Zubeck
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Population growth spurs plans for county commission redistricting
El Paso County’s population continues to creep outside of the city, as evidenced in two proposed plans to redraw boundaries of county commission districts.Both plans would result in the urban District 5 gaining more population and voters than any of the other four districts. That indicates the county’s population is growing more rapidly in the…
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Recycling takes hit as needs fall back
The recession hasn’t only driven down retail sales and wiped out jobs, it’s taken a toll on rubbish. As demand fell for commodities such as paper, cardboard and plastics, so did prices at recycle mills where household and commercial waste is sold for reuse. Prices for metals such as copper and aluminum dropped by about…
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City, county will work out agreement over hookup
El Paso County and Colorado Springs Utilities will work out an agreement over a water and sewer hookup charge for the new detox facility that initially caused a standoff. The problem arose when the city wanted the county to pay $233,000 to hook up the detox center to an existing water line serving the Criminal…
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Jail inmate critical after suicide attempt
An El Paso County jail inmate is in critical condition this evening after attempting to hang himself in a cell, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies began resuscitating the man after someone reported the attempted hanging about 1:52 p.m., said sheriff’s spokeswoman Lt. Lari Sevene. The man’s name was withheld pending family notification. El Paso…
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Parks tax considered to offset cutbacks
Restrooms at 17 of Colorado Springs’s 48 parks are closed this year, and grass won’t be watered much. El Paso County has cut hours at its nature centers almost in half. Last year, it raised the idea of selling parks. When budgets get tight, parks are in the cross hairs because they’re seen as less…
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Stolen plane from Canada escorted by NORAD fighters
Two F-16 fighters scrambled by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, based at Peterson Air Force Base, tracked a stolen plane from the Wisconsin border to its safe landing in Missouri on Monday, a reported suicide attempt by the pilot. Adam Dylan Leon, 31, was arrested at a convenience store in Ellsinore, Mo., shortly after…
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Top-secret report determines NORAD’s new home vulnerable
Security weaknesses continue to dog the nation’s air and space defense command, according to a classified security evaluation. A Pentagon analysis, reported last month by The Washington Times, recommends “difficult and costly retrofits and new construction to correct numerous physical vulnerabilities” to Peterson Air Force Base’s Building 2, which houses the North American Aerospace Defense…
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Investors lose in Falcon Vista
FALCON – Falcon Vista will be a gold mine. Build a duplex in the 45-acre subdivision southeast of U.S. Highway 24 and Meridian Road, rent it out and enjoy positive cash flow for years. How can you lose when growth in El Paso County is soaring, nearby military bases generate renters and the lots offer…
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Fee to dispose of tires won’t go up
Tire disposal fees won’t be going up this year, and El Paso County officials are breathing a sigh of relief A bill in the state Legislature that would have more than doubled fees consumers pay to get rid of old tires when they buy a new set passed out of a House committee Tuesday stripped…
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Eastern plains plagued by wild dog packs
Anyone who doubts eastern El Paso County has a dog problem should talk to Dan Gillis.Four marauding dogs attacked his ram in a feeding frenzy at his farm north of Ellicott. “When I found him the next morning, he was still alive, and his whole hind quarter was gone,” said Gillis, who quickly put the…