Articles for Thursday, July 24, 2008
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by
Curtis Wackerle, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The city of Aspen is embracing a building-code revision that will set ambitious green building standards and require either a photovoltaic solar panel system or payment into a renewable energy fund to offset exterior features such as snowmelt systems and heated pools.
The city’s building department received unanimous support to continue drafting the new code at Aspen City Council’s Tuesday work session. The code, which aims to meet the “2030 Challenge” to reduce energy consumption by 50 percent in the next 22 years, takes many of its cues from similar programs, such as the Renewable Energy Mitigation Program (REMP) in place in Aspen for residential construction for years.
Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain will meet with
the Dalai Lama at a private Aspen home tomorrow afternoon.
News of the meeting first surfaced in Internet reports this morning and have since been confirmed by the McCain campaign.
by
David Frey, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer
Thursday, July 24, 2008
A chant rose up from 10 Tibetan Buddhist monks as the Aspen Institute opened its celebration of Tibetan art and culture on Wednesday. In red and orange robes and fringed crescent headwear, they stood behind a mandala sand painting taking shape grain by grain and intoned a deep and guttural sound that filled the room.
“Listen closely,” said Geshe Lobsang Tenzin, spiritual director of the monks’ Drepung Loseling Monastery in Atlanta, Ga., as the crowd gathered around, sipping drinks and munching hors d’oeuvres.
by
Catherine Lutz, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer
Thursday, July 24, 2008
There seems to be a bit of a divide between the town of Snowmass Village and the developer’s visions for a day lodge in Base Village. And Base Village could lose a potential tenant as a result of that divergence.
Base Village developer Related WestPac is trying to rent out the last few retail spaces intended to be open by this winter in the new base area. They’ve negotiated a lease with Aspen-based Performance Sports, which is planned to occupy a portion of a large space originally intended to be operated by the Aspen Skiing Co. as a day lodge.
by
Brent Gardner-Smith, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The Pitkin County commissioners denied an effort by the county’s top planning official Wednesday to strip the “agricultural” classification from Gary Snook’s 55-acre property on the lower slopes of Mount Sopris.
In the process, the board held another in a series of spirited discussions about the low taxes paid by owners of luxury gentlemen ranches in Pitkin County.
by Elise Foley, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Health care is expensive.
It’s expensive for those who don’t have insurance; it’s expensive for those who have it; and it’s especially expensive for businesses, which in Colorado provide coverage for 60 percent of those who carry insurance.
Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Alleged scam artist Peter Frommer agreed in small claims court Wednesday to pay his complete outstanding debt to a former babysitter by the end of this month.
Babysitter Patricia Smyth, formerly of Boulder, sat for Frommer’s four children and was promised more than $7,000 shortly before he was arrested in early 2007 on various fraud charges. He is now facing more than 30 felony charges and set to stand trial in December.
Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Andreas Haefliger will make his much-anticipated return visit to Aspen to enthrall everyone with chamber music from Brahms and Schubert at his “Evening With” today. Brahms and Schubert make a wonderful combination of lyricism and song. Joining Andreas will be the Ying Quartet and baritone Christian Gerhaher.
Joseph Kalichstein and Leonard Slatkin headline Friday’s chamber symphony concert with works by American composers Peter Mennin and Aaron Copland, with a Beethoven piano concerto (No. 2) added into the mix for good measure. Friday with the chamber symphony is a special occasion for Joseph Kalichstein: It marks two anniversaries — his Aspen debut and his tenure on the AMFS piano faculty.
Columnist
by
Jeremy Madden, Aspen Daily News Columnist
Thursday, July 24, 2008
I’ve always loved them. From the moment I left the womb I wanted to grab them and suckle upon them. It was all I could think about. Left or right, it didn’t matter. And, if the truth must be told, very little has changed in the 30-plus years since the day I was born. In fact, every day that passes, I seem to love them more and more.
As a breast lover, I can only applaud the recent decision by a U.S. federal appeals court. Earlier this week, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia threw out the $550,000 fine that had been levied against CBS and its affiliates by the Federal Communications Commission. The fine came in response to the now notorious “wardrobe malfunction” during the 2004 Super Bowl half-time show that featured Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson and a surprise guest. In its decision, the court found that the FCC acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in levying such a hefty fine for indecency.
by
Nat Hentoff, Aspen Daily News Columnist
Thursday, July 24, 2008
With the United Nations continually and abysmally failing to stop monstrous heads of state around the world from committing atrocities against their own people, at least one man — Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court — has come forward to make all of us confront the genocidal end of civilization in the nation of Sudan.
Asking the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir — the first time charges have been filed in the ICC against a sitting head of state — Moreno-Ocampo charges the ruler “who controlled everything” with three counts of genocide; five counts of crimes against humanity (involving murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture and rape); and two counts of war crimes (masterminded and implemented a plan to destroy three ethnic groups in Darfur).
Letter to the Editor
Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Aspen Daily News Columnist
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Editor:
I would not have believed it possible, even in Aspen.
Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Aspen Daily News Columnist
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Editor:
Every college student should be so fortunate as to have a little Trash in his or her life! Trash finances the education of many college students in the Roaring Fork Valley, including mine. What do I mean by “Trash?”
Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Aspen Daily News Columnist
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Editor:
I hope that Pioneer Park is off the City Council’s drawing board for a dog park.
Aspen Daily News Staff Report, Aspen Daily News Columnist
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Editor:
The town of Carbondale, with the Carbondale Council on Arts and Humanities, is attempting to sponsor a backyard garden market in conjunction with the Human Rights Tour on Aug. 9.