’Panner busted in dishwashing dispute

Aspen Daily News Staff Report
A disagreement about doing the dishes escalated into violence up the Fryingpan on Saturday night, sending one roommate to the hospital and the other to the Pitkin County Jail.

Arrested on charges of second-degree assault was Tim Hosfield, 41, of the Thomasville area, according to Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office reports. Thomasville is an unincorporated area about 20 miles east of Basalt.

OBITUARY — Peter Joseph Platek

Aspen Daily News Staff Report
Peter Joseph Platek passed away Friday, July 11, 2008, in Grand Junction.

Pete was born in 1963 in Moodus, Conn., and was raised there with his siblings by his mother and father, Caroline and Joseph.

Popcorn Wagon returning, but must go through historic review

by Curtis Wackerle

Aspen’s Popcorn Wagon is about to be reborn with a new structure as it navigates the twists and turns of city bureaucracy.

The latest in a series of Popcorn Wagon owners, Marcus and Dena Marino, who also own nearby D-19 restaurant, sought to renovate the old wagon when the food stand — as famous for its late night gyros as its popcorn — closed for the off-season. But the city issued a red tag in June, forcing work to stop on the new wagon, when it learned that the Marinos had actually scrapped plans to renovate the old wagon and instead were building a new one. Apparently, the old wagon was more far gone than originally thought, with little working plumbing and a badly damaged floor, according to city Community Development Director Chris Bendon.

Pitkin Iron turns to county for cash

by Andrew Travers, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer

Hard water issue has drained coffers, homeowners say

Hard water has led to hard times for residents of the Pitkin Iron affordable housing subdivision near Woody Creek. And now their homeowners association is looking to Pitkin County and the local housing authority for relief.

Paid parking at rodeo lot panned

by Catherine Lutz, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer

The Snowmass Village Town Council’s recent decision to charge for day-skier parking at the Rodeo parking lot is — not surprisingly — an unpopular idea with most locals. The plan, which goes into effect this winter, also goes against the recommendation of the town’s transportation director, and the opinion of the Aspen Skiing Co.

Several local skiers and snowboarders interviewed for this story said that charging $5 for parking in Snowmass’ last free lot is a slap in the face to the budget-conscious locals who primarily use it, and that it makes Snowmass more like other large corporate resorts.

County moving forward on Basalt kayak park

by Brent Gardner-Smith, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer

A beginner-level kayak park in the Roaring Fork River in Basalt is taking a step towards becoming reality.

Pitkin County has recently issued a request for proposals seeking qualified firms to bid on the design, permitting and construction of a whitewater park, which would be built from “in-stream and shore-based improvements,” according to the document.

Study: Snowmass is two-thirds second homes

by Andrew Travers, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer

A new study has revealed that the majority of homes in Snowmass Village are vacation homes that stand vacant most of the year.

Between 61 percent and 68 percent of homes in the 41-year-old resort are second homes, the report states, depending on the definition of “full-time” resident.

Mountain Fair phasing out bottled water in ’09

Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer
Organizers of Carbondale Mountain Fair said they are “taking the next logical step to reduce (the event’s) environmental impact by eliminating bottled water” — but not yet.

Vendors will be allowed to continue selling bottled water at this year’s festival, which runs July 25-27 in Sopris Park, but bottled water will be banned from sale beginning next year.

Blasting the Mass

by Christine Benedetti, Roaring Sports Staff Writer
Early on Saturday, campers climbed out of their tents that lined the road next to the softball fields in Snowmass Village. Some sat in fold-out chairs, marinating in the sun's morning rays. Others drank instant coffee.

Up the road, in the Snowmass Village parking lots there were open trunks and tinkering of bikes. Wheels spun, brakes were pulled and wires were tweaked.

A new kind of river thrill: Whitewater sledging pushes river rats to the max

by Damien Williamson, Roaring Sports Staff Writer
There is something wholly unnatural about whitewater sledging. Perhaps it's the hurling of oneself down a roaring river, head first — in a record water level year no less — whilst attempting to avoid large boulders, rocks and logs. Or maybe it's the rapids (that seem all the more daring when your body is in the water) that manage to catch you off guard, stealing your breath away and temporarily obscuring your field of vision. Better still, it might be your guide, effortlessly floating up ahead, screaming back at you to get in line behind him so you don't veer off down an even more treacherous path.

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Hang Time: Speed is reality at Laguna Seca

by Corby Anderson, Roaring Sports Columnist
In early summer, when most children begin to slump at their desks, overcome with the dull heat of lower education, tired of the constant tedious uploading, bored with the same silly faces, desperate for the fleeting freedom of a teenaged summer, there are some kids who have a hall pass of epic proportions, and the only slumping they do is in a lounge chair, trackside.

Like the select youthful skiing protégées of the Roaring Fork Valley, these kids are home-schooled half of the year, set free to roam the land at eye squinting speed, chasing one another around twisting road courses dressed in hardened leather, somehow adhering to tricked-out super bikes. Sponsors have festooned them with their own custom leathers, helmets, gloves and enough bull bile to keep their active minds spinning for months on end.

The Interloper’s Report: You still can't go home again

by Andrew Travers, Roaring Sports Columnist
I've been thinking a lot lately about a woman who I saw crap her pants in the bleachers at Yankee Stadium many years ago.

It was funny at the time, I guess. And they didn't kick her out.

Athlete profile: Noah Hoffman

Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Roaring Sports Columnist

Editor's Pick: 18th Annual Komen Aspen Race for the Cure

Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Roaring Sports Columnist

On Saturday, July 19, starting at 7:30 a.m., the 18th Annual Komen Aspen Race for the Cure will kick off at Rio Grande Park.

The race funds breast health initiatives in our tri-county service area of Pitkin, Garfield and Eagle Counties and provides grants to local nonprofits.

Aspen’s money

by Sheldon Fingerman, Aspen Daily News Columnist

The amount of money floating around this town amazes me, and what amazes me even more is that a lot of this money is used to separate the haves from the have-nots. One case in point are those who built free market homes with employee units attached, and now want to buy their way out of those obligations.

When you build a home here, restrictions can be pretty tight, but there are enough loopholes to get what you want. Some people will simply build what they want, and when they are found out, cry that they didn’t know the rules, or the architect screwed up, or whatever, to get out of the sticky situation they now find them selves in. And I guarantee you they knew exactly what they were doing when they did it, hoping their “mistake” would simply fall through the cracks.

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Remember the guy who built his swimming pool on forest service land? He just assumed that either nobody would notice, or maybe he could buy his way out. But I guarantee you that the surveyor did not make an error.

This reminds me of some people who built a commercial building in Maryland and kinda added an extra floor to it. Think the government made them tear it down? Nah. All they had to do was donate some money to something-or-other, and they were home free. Fortunately, this doesn’t happen a lot, but, unfortunately, many builders know they can get away with this kind of thing with only a slap on the wrist.

Somebody in my sister’s neighborhood tried to get away with building a deck all around his house without asking permission, and what he did was totally against the rules of the homeowner’s association. Well, the association made him take it down, and he eventually moved. What irks me is that he had the audacity to build the thing in the first place, assuming nobody would take action after the fact. Well, in this case they did, like it or not.

Here in Aspen, the rules often allow you to buy your way out of a problem.

But sometimes they don’t.

For a long time, it was popular to build a bigger home by adding on a caretaker unit or an employee housing unit. Either could be rented out, but there were guidelines as to what those rents could be. Now, I don’t have to tell you that most of the people who built those homes didn’t really need or want a roommate. What they needed or wanted was a spare bedroom/den/billiard room/office — anything except a space for a lowlife employee.

A timetable here, a timetable there

Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Aspen Daily News Columnist
Will the future of the United States military commitment in Iraq be decided by the demands of electoral politics?

Despite — or, perhaps, because of — changing conditions on the ground in Iraq, politicians in the capital are becoming increasingly vocal in demanding that a timetable be set for withdrawal of U.S. forces. Party leaders have shifted their positions, while others hasten to say that these shifts don’t really represent anything new.

Investigate Burlingame

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

I was having dinner with friends this past weekend and the topic of Burlingame came up. Please understand that at this dinner, there were both liberal and conservative guests, so the topic brought out comments, as you might guess, from both sides.

Support Hank Gray

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

Hank Gray’s — Aspen post office worker and American Postal Workers Union’s Western Colorado leader — gallant and thoughtful effort in “Aspen postal worker files grievance against manager” (July 7) should be supported by the public and the U.S. Postal Service he serves.

Enter the Randi contest

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

I am only a visitor to Aspen, but I drink a lot of water and hope that you will continue to publish letters every day about fluoride. They are as entertaining as your News of the Weird column. I am somewhat disappointed that your writers have neglected to point out the toxicity of chlorine that I assume is also present in the Aspen water supply.

Kudos to Ryan Whiting

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

I am writing about Ryan Whiting’s letter to the editor on July 9 about fluoride. I wrote a column in the Post Independent (or the Valley Journal) expressing Whiting’s sentiments exactly and received a lovely e-mail from the same “MD” extolling the virtues of water fluoridation, despite the fact that most of the EU has now banned it and fluoridoisis (those whitish spots on the teeth) is quite prevalent in children.

Fluoride is poison

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

Just when I was about to write to applaud Sheldon Fingerman’s column about having fluoride crammed down our throats by an uninformed and gutless City Council, I happened upon Dr. Glenn’s letter, and that sent me off to the typewriter in disgust.