Boomerang finally granted a building permit

by Curtis Wackerle, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer

After a nearly year-long wait trying to obtain a building permit — a wait the city’s building department admits is too long — the developer of the Boomerang Lodge is hoping that construction on the project will begin this summer.

The Boomerang, a lodge built in the 1950s at the corner of Fourth Street and West Hopkins Avenue, received Aspen City Council approval in the summer of 2006 to demolish part of the 35-room structure and rebuild a 49-room condominium hotel with five additional free-market units and two affordable-housing units.

Airport tower concerns grow

by Catherine Lutz, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer

Local and airline officials are eager to weigh in on a proposal to reduce the nighttime hours of the Aspen airport’s air traffic control tower. And while they are being guardedly neutral about potential impacts, they have raised some reliability and service concerns.

“We need to be concerned about it,” said Stay Aspen Snowmass President Bill Tomcich, the local airline liaison, adding that the move could have an impact on tourism. “My concerns relate to the airlines’ concerns. It doesn’t sound alarming, but one definitely of concern because of the snowball of unintended consequence on this one. But we don’t know how serious of an issue it is.”

Aspen Environment Forum up and running

by Andrew Travers, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer

Despite the stark realities of global warming, a cautious optimism permeated the first full day of the Aspen Environment Forum, which is running at the Aspen Institute through Saturday night.

During presentations by the world’s leading ecological thinkers and doers on topics ranging from climate change to deforestation, one theme ran through them all: People are finally listening — and worrying — about environmental issues and the detrimental impact humans have had on earth.

Base Village stink resolved

by Catherine Lutz, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer

A highly unpleasant odor that has been lurking around part of the Base Village plaza for a month has been dealt with successfully, according to a Related WestPac employee.

Several people passing through Base Village noticed, as early as January, a strong unpleasant smell that appeared to come from a storm drain in front of the Treehouse children’s center. More than one person described it as smelling like raw sewage, being stronger in warm weather and issuing from near that particular grate.

Après gone bad in S’mass

by Andrew Travers, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer

Two holiday après-ski drinking sessions went awry at the Cirque Bar & Grill in Snowmass Village this month.

Police say that on St. Patrick’s Day, a fight between roommates about keeping their apartment clean turned physical around 6:30 p.m. at the mountainside bar. Matthew Maul and Scott Moore, who live together in Brush Creek Village, were arrested for disorderly conduct after allegedly exchanging blows on the deck. Police believe alcohol played a role in their flaring tempers.

OBITUARY — Marcia Mary Lane

Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer
Marcia Mary Lane passed away at her home in Leadville. She was 60 years old.

Lane was born in Oakland, Calif., on June 14, 1947. Her parents were the late Robert W. & Billie (Woods) Alameida. Marcia grew up in California where she became a dental hygienist and assistant. She continued to work in the dentistry profession in the San Francisco Bay area until she moved to Colorado.

Founding Films

by Christine Benedetti, Time Out Staff Writer
For the average Jane or Joe, Aspen Film’s annual Shortsfest is the same event with a revolving door of short films. Some of those leave long-lasting impressions, and others are gone like yesterday’s snow flurry. The films carry the viewer to distant lands — some real and others imaginary — and they uncover minutiae of everyday life right here in our own backyard.
For filmmakers, Shortsfest is a platform: it can either help to launch a career or give it a base from which to fall. That’s not to say there aren’t veteran filmmakers here — such as this year’s Director’s Spotlight on Academy Award-nominee and cartoonist Bill Plympton — but it gives those trying to break into the industry a fighting chance — and a shot at more than $25,000 in prize money and potential selection for the Academy Awards. Few festivals in the country are qualifiers for a chance to win the Oscar, and several Shortsfest winners have gone on to be Academy Award nominees.

Editor’s Picks

Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Time Out Staff Writer
Gracing Aspen for the First Time

New Zealand-based BLACK GRACE, an all-man dance troupe, returns to the United States for a spring tour, stopping in Aspen on FRIDAY, MARCH 28 and SATURDAY, MARCH 29. With Pacific Islander and Maori roots, the group combines contemporary and traditional dance with athleticism and, appropriately, grace. Their first appearance in Aspen starts at 7:30 p.m. both nights. Tickets are $20-64. For more information, call 920-5770 or visit aspenshowtickets.com

Welcome to The Machine

by Jason Hood, Time Out Music Columnist
Sometime in my early teens I was forced to make a particularly difficult decision. It had nothing to do with school, or my part-time job at Del Taco, it didn’t even have a thing to do with a member of the opposite sex. No, my dilemma was of a much more serious nature for it involved live music.

On the one hand I could go see The Cure, Depeche Mode and Nitzer Ebb at Dodger Stadium: a spectacular triple bill for those of us predisposed to aching black depression. Or, on the other hand I could go see legendary psychedelic rockers Pink Floyd who were performing at the Hollywood Bowl. In the end I chose The Cure and company.

‘21’ Goes Bust as Vegas Scheme Bets on Silly Action

Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Time Out Music Columnist
The brainiacs of the gambling romp “21” are smart enough to expertly count cards at the blackjack table, identify hot betting tables and put on disguises so they can take Vegas casinos to the cleaners.

So why are these MIT scholars so dumb they fall into greedy, grubby plot holes a C-minus Statistics 101 student would have seen coming a mile to the Nth power away?

The Flowers of Aspen

by Jonathan Bastian, Time Out Staff Writer
Master Artist Stanislas Kostka Paints to Perfection in the St. Regis

Walk into the St. Regis, and prepare to be whisked back into 1600s by an artist who needs very little introduction — Stanislas Kostka.

The Seasonal Gourmet

Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Time Out Staff Writer
SPRING GREENS

It’s beginning to look like spring in the Rockies and my body is doing back flips for yummy garlicky greens. It would seem my metabolism has slowed down a tad from a long, cold winter of stuffing my face for energy and now it is throwing tantrums for eating the color of spring. Green, green, green! Spinach, asparagus, leeks, the chois, mustards, chard, tender lettuces and kale all clamor for my attention and beg to be thrown in the pot.

Greco di Tufo: Sunny Southern Italy’s Splendid Greek Varietal

Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Time Out Staff Writer
This is the third part in my series of interesting, crisp and refreshing white wines. They are wines to get us all in the mood for the eventual finish of this seemingly endless winter, and the return of summer.

Maybe you are about to bust out the suntan lotion and take off on a Mediterranean vacation. Or you might just be hanging around the valley waiting for 90-degree weather.

Recycling and scavenging

by Kristine Crandall, Aspen Daily News Columnist
Recycling in the city of Aspen appears to be on the increase, according to a recent newspaper article.

That sounds like a positive trend, although our recycling rate is still only about half of the national average. And there is the fact that about half of what goes into the Pitkin County landfill is construction and demolition debris, which makes the diligent practice of sifting my own waste stream into its newspaper, magazine, office paper, paperboard, cardboard, glass, plastic, and aluminum can constituents for the recycling container seem a bit anticlimactic.

Body of war

by Amy Goodman
We just passed the grim milestone of 4,000 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq since the invasion five years ago. Still, the death toll climbs.

Typically unmentioned alongside the count of U.S. war dead are the tens of thousands of wounded (not to mention the Iraqi dead). The Pentagon doesn’t tout the number of U.S. injured, but the Web site icasualties.org reports an official number of more than 40,000 soldiers requiring medical airlifts out of Iraq, a good indicator of the scale of major injuries. That doesn’t include many others. Dr. Arthur Blank, an expert on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), estimates that 30 percent of Iraq veterans will suffer from PTSD.

McBride for Basalt Town Council

Aspen Daily News Staff Report
Editor:

The most attractive towns throughout the Rocky Mountains are facing all the complexities and possibilities brought on by intense growth, limited geography, a delicate ecology, and quickly changing demographics.

LUNAFEST thanks

Aspen Daily News Staff Report
Editor:

What a fantastic time we had at the 2008 LUNAFEST Carbondale short-film fest this year on March 15 at the Thunder River Theatre. We were able to raise over $8,000, with 85 percent going to the Advocate Safehouse Project and 15 percent going to the Breast Cancer Fund. 

Support the Pan and Fork ballot question

Aspen Daily News Staff Report
Editor:

I would like to encourage all Basalt voters to support the ballot initiatives concerning the acquisition of the Pan and Fork Mobile Home Park.