Udall bill would revamp ski law

by David Frey, Aspen Daily News Correspondent

A new bill proposed by Rep. Mark Udall would revise a 22-year-old law that governs ski area permitting. The changes are intended to align the language of the law with modern-day realities of mountain resorts, which often offer more than simply skiing in the winter and a range of activities in the summer.

“The ski industry has gone from a wintertime-only, one-sport industry to a multisport winter industry and a year-round business,” said Jeff Hanle, spokesman for the Aspen Skiing Co. “The industry has changed to expand summer business a great deal and just offer a full, year-round experience for our guest.”

RFTA chief says BRT good for rail

by Brent Gardner-Smith, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer

Improving the regional bus system will increase the odds that a light rail system serving downtown Aspen might someday become a reality, according to Roaring Fork Transportation Authority CEO Dan Blankenship.

After a city of Aspen transportation finance task force questioned whether investing in light rail makes more sense than investing in the RFTA bus system, Blankenship addressed the issue with the RFTA board of directors on Thursday.

Council ready to deny Clark’s proposal

by Curtis Wackerle, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer
Monday’s Aspen City Council meeting will signify the final nail in the coffin for one major development proposal and the rebirth of another.

Although already essentially denied by the council last month, proponents of a plan to build a 25,000-square-foot commercial and residential structure that would occupy about half the Clark’s Market parking lot have officially withdrawn their application. The council, fearful that eating up parking at the strip mall would hurt businesses there, gave the applicants, led by Tony Mazza, co-owner of the development, until Monday’s meeting to craft a new plan that would not have such a negative impact on parking.

Truck on fire, driver toasted

by Andrew Travers, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer

A Basalt man got burnt by police after his car caught fire.

Responding to a Fourth of July call of a flaming pickup truck on Homestead Drive, police found Raymond Boyd, 50, standing by his Ford Ranger.

THE SCORE — Come hear some opera

by Alan Fletcher
The Aspen Opera Theater Center, led by Ed Berkeley, has become one of the most sought-after training programs for talented singers anywhere.

Anyone who attends the weekly opera scenes master classes, given every Saturday morning from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. in the Wheeler Opera House, knows the excitement of seeing and hearing wonderful singers engage in a very wide variety of scenes and arias — they start out good, and get even better (a nice testimony to the power of education and perseverance).

Community Briefs

Aspen Daily News Staff Report
Carbondale Mountain Fair seeks volunteers

Carbondale Mountain Fair is signing up volunteers for the event, held July 25-27.

A Triumphant Return to Summer in Aspen

by Damien Williamson, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer
With a troupe-defining dance from Moses Pendleton, music from the Nine Inch Nails, a newly commissioned work from Finnish choreographer Jorma Elo, and premiere works that, for the first time, divide the group along gender lines, the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet's summer season is set to continue along its path of innovation while still reminding audiences of what has made the 18-year-old dance company a valley arts scene favorite.

And though ASFB Executive Director Jean-Philippe Malaty says the credit for this year's balanced yet eclectic schedule doesn't necessarily belong to the ballet's helm (schedules are often set years in advance and rely on choreographer and piece availability), the ballet's first summer show in Aspen in two years appears decidedly thought out.

Stirring the Music Melting Pot

by Jason Hood, Time Out Music Columnist
When your whole world revolves around music it is, more than anything else, hard as hell to get obnoxious songs out of your head. You actually pay attention to songs no other person in your hemisphere even knows are playing in every elevator north of the equator. You find yourself arguing with friends over the idea that Katrina and the Waves is more culturally relevant than Johann Sebastian Bach, the Beatles or Radiohead. You know the words to Run DMC's "King of Rock" and Slayer's "Angel of Death," but you beat yourself up because you can't remember the last line of a stupid freeccreditreport.com commercial while trying to sleep at 4 in the morning.

Unlike the vast majority of human beings in your age group, you will listen to the music of every generation and critique them as if they were playing on the same bill. "Lenny Kravitz was good early on but toward the end he kind of fell apart. I liked what the Andrews Sisters brought to the table, they actually kind of kicked ass, but when Motorhead joined Woody Guthrie on stage for 'Satisfaction' I nearly fell out of my seat." You live in an alternate universe where music is which vegetable to have with your chicken and cornbread.

Give Us Some Love, Bubba!

by Curtis Wackerle, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer
My co-workers will tell you that I like to complain. In many ways, that is the basis or the entire premise of this column. But let me get you up to date on the things I have been complaining about the most lately.

The weather. Why must it rain every afternoon?

Little Ones on the Fourth

by Giovanna DiRusso, Time Out Fashion Columnist
Hope your Fourth of July weekend was a fun-filled and enjoyable one. How could it not be if you were any where near Aspen? Like many other towns around America, it is a time of parades, barbecues, patriotic concerts and fireworks. Of course, we had it all, including our traditional fly-over by the Air Force F-18s. This year, it was right in the middle of the parade, so dramatically well-timed.

On a personal note, 10 years ago on this very weekend, I came to Aspen on a vacation. I had never been here before in the summer after having luxuriated in many memorable winter vacations. After seeing my first Fourth of July parade and experiencing the beauty and wonder of a high alpine summer, I re-affirmed that, yes, I really did want to live here. I was lucky enough to make it happen just two short months later.

Back Stage: The Famous Voice of Audrey II

by Linda Gerdenich, Time Out Guest Writer
Everyone in Aspen knows the famous Bobby Mason and his fabulous music. But how many know Bobby Mason's theatrical attributes? Now you can see, or rather hear, Bobby as he plays the voice of Audrey II, the fast-growing plant in "Little Shop of Horrors" put on by Theatre Aspen.

It's quite interesting how Bobby came to be Audrey II's voice. The production was auditioning in New York and Bob Finnie, music director suggested that Bobby might be the perfect voice for Audrey II. He invited Theatre Aspen Artistic Director Paige Price and her husband, Broadway sound designer Nevin Steinberg, to hear Bobby play and they loved what they saw.

Russian Hill Winery, Ian Kipp and the Art of Pairings

by Drew Stofflet, Time Out Wine Critic
Last Tuesday night, a small but eager crowd gathered at Ella and mingled around the dazzling wines of Russian Hill and chef Ian Kipp's artful tasting menu. When it was all finished, everyone, myself included, left a little more enlightened.

Oftentimes, it is a sommelier's task to pair the 'perfect wine' with both the guest's tastes and also that of the flavors and textures of their menu choices. While this can be a challenge, the vast knowledge gained while sampling and studying to build a wine list generally increases the success rate.

'Hellboy II' is Engaging and Action-filled

by Michael Phillips, AP Movie Critic
I can barely keep up with the mythology put forth by the "Hellboy" series, but I enjoyed the first film, and I enjoyed the new one. The best scene in "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," writer-director Guillermo Del Toro's sequel to his comic book adaptation "Hellboy," involves tooth fairies. These are not the sort of tooth fairies you want 'round your pillow at night. These tooth fairies eat teeth, and conjured by an underworld prince hell-bent on taking over the planet, they provide cigar-chomping tough guy Hellboy and his team from the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense with some formidable opposition.

The tooth-fairy swarm scene reminds you just how inventive Del Toro is, and how, in the right hands, digital effects, creature design and directorial elan can work together to give you the best sort of willies. (Del Toro was the fantasist behind "Pan's Labyrinth.) It's as vivid as anything in the first "Hellboy."

Editor's Pick: Old Items, New Meaning

Aspen Daily News Staff Report

What are we waiting for?

by Connie Harvey, Aspen Daily News Columnist
Although he’s not about to take any action to combat climate change himself — or propose anything useful to his successor — it’s a sign of the times that President Bush has now dimly recognized that there is such an issue.

Bush is in good company, only a little behind the curve. Most politicians, heads of energy companies, and probably a majority of the American public think it’s more important at the moment to worry about the economy, jobs, profits, health care, a slumping dollar, and the mortgage crisis. Sure, we’d all like to stabilize the climate, but not right now! There’s plenty of time to do something about that later — why, some people seem to think we have a good 50 years to take care of it. Scientists mostly vote for 10 years, while James Hansen, a leader in the field, gives us about 2 years to get something real done.

Colombia: Celebrate the release, not the regime

by Amy Goodman, Aspen Daily News Columnist
It is fantastic to see Ingrid Betancourt free.

Betancourt was the Green Party candidate running for president of Colombia against Alvaro Uribe in 2002 when she was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) just days after appealing to the FARC to stop its campaign of kidnapping. She was held hostage for more than six years, and was just released last week, along with 14 others. The flamboyant rescue operation by the Colombian army has been splashed across newspapers and TV screens globally, but the celebration of the hostages’ release should not be confused with celebration of the Colombian government.

Cops should be in trouble

Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Aspen Daily News Columnist
Editor:

I, Sean Riley, was enjoying myself at a party at the Big Hoss Grill on the night of July 2. The police of Snowmass Village showed up and started complaining about the noise. When I asked to see their invitation, they freaked out and took me to the Aspen police station.

City Council risking it all

Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Aspen Daily News Columnist
Editor:

Listening to the Canadian Muslim with the spiky hair at the ideas symposium (whose name is currently escaping me), I couldn’t help but think of our own home-grown version: Madam Marilyn Marks, whose enthusiasm for the political process and our obligations as citizens inspires hate by a few and grudging admiration by many. Both women are emphatically saying that the only way a culture or community can preserve itself when assaulted by external change is to be open, respectful of all its citizens and willing to re-examine.

Don’t melt the silicone

Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Aspen Daily News Columnist
Editor:

On July 4, I observed a disturbing situation. On Aspen streets, there was a dangerous mixture of hot motorcycle engines, volatile gasoline and huge amounts of silicone — all in the same proximity. This should be monitored closely.

All is not lost with rail

Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Aspen Daily News Columnist
Editor:

I read with interest the letter from Steve Smith in the Tuesday, July 8, edition of your paper, in which he questions the wisdom of building the bicycle trail on the former right-of-way of the Denver & Rio Grande Western railroad.

Thanks to Tom

Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Aspen Daily News Columnist
Editor:

I commend Tom Hills (a former teacher of mine) for his letter regarding the juvenile shooters who not only threatened his safety, but that of every driver around him, as well. I am so tired of kids not having to face any sort of consequences for their irresponsible actions.