Critical evidence against a police officer who resigned amid accusations he sexually exploited a teen could be on an Aspen Police Department laptop.

Joe Holman, 38, resigned June 24 after the conclusion of a Colorado Bureau of Investigation probe that led to the 9th Judicial District Attorney’s Office to charge him with two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a child, tampering with evidence, child abuse and attempted criminal invasion of privacy.

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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice shot back at critics of the Obama administration’s responses to the current unrest in Honduras and Iran on Wednesday in a public interview at the Aspen Ideas Festival.

President Obama on Monday denounced a Honduran military coup that ousted the country’s president, Manuel Zelaya. Critics have since claimed that Obama’s harsh words aligned him with Hugo Chavez, the anti-American president of Venezuela.

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Far from the sounds of the cowboy boots and hiking shoes of Aspenites and affluent visitors walking past her store on East Hopkins Avenue, Blu Phoenix owner Vanessa Kirianoff found herself in quite a different place this past April. Kirianoff became a part of the new nationwide phenomenon known as Toms shoes.

Blake Mycoskie founded the Santa Monica-based charitable shoe company in 2006 with the simple mission statement that “For every pair you purchase, Toms will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. One for one.”

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As debate rolls on in Washington over groundbreaking federal climate change legislation, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., visiting Aspen on Wednesday, praised local leaders for their collaboration on programs that are attempting to jump-start energy-efficiency measures and job creation in the Roaring Fork Valley.

Bennet met on Wednesday morning with Colorado Mountain College teachers and administrators, elected officials and staff from the city of Aspen and Pitkin County and local citizens in the building and construction industries. His visit was intended to highlight CMC’s Green Building Academy and the city, county and CMC’s participation in the Building Performance Initiative, which is intended to train unemployed workers for jobs retrofitting existing homes for energy-efficiency upgrades.

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Things were looking ever so slightly up in Pitkin County’s real estate market in May, except for average home prices.

According to the latest report from Land Title Guarantee Company, there were 45 transactions totaling $64.5 million in May — about 44 percent down in both number and dollar volume from the same month last year. However, it was the least down month this year since February, and had about as many transactions as two of the winter months (May typically being the depth of off-season in Pitkin County).

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The Pitkin County Assessor’s Office has mailed out “Notice of Determinations” in response to the 4,576 property valuation protests it received this year. Of those notices, 1,699 included an adjustment to the estimated value of property and 2,877 did not.

The deadline for the assessor to respond to the protests was Tuesday, June 30.

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Living life to its fullest, 1942-2009

Cody left this life and made his final “passage to freedom” peacefully on June 14, 2009. Cody was born Donald Clinton Owen Jr. in Boulder and moved to Carbondale in 1997. Friends and family called him Donnie. He was given the name Cody by his Vietnam comrades. Cody said, “I believe in kindness. It is far greater than people can imagine. Few people know how kind they can be.” He was a great man.

Cody lived his mantra which was “Schuring — Only God, Only Love, Only Forgiveness, Only Service.” He has written a daily meditation book for warriors to help them find God while away from home.

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ANDERSON RANCH ARTS CENTER BOARD ANNOUNCES OFFICERS AND NEW BOARD MEMBERS
The Anderson Ranch Arts Center has officially announced their new officers and board members for 2009-2010, as well as recognized retiring board members. This year’s chair will be Mary Scanlan; vice-chair and chair of the Committee of Trustees will be Andrea Wendel; Dale Hollinger will take the position of secretary; Bruce Berger will be treasurer and chair of the Finance Committee; Tom O’Connor will take the position as chair of the Development Committee; and Sara Ransford will act as chair of the Planning Committee. New trustees will include Wendy Aresty, Enrique Martinez Celaya, Carolyn Hamlet, and Becky Murray. Jerry Finger was appointed as an honorary trustee. Retiring and completing their terms as devoted trustees this year are Judith Barnard, Kathryn Fleck, Ellen Hunt, Dough Leibinger, and Betty Weiss. Anderson Ranch is an art facility dedicated to nurturing creativity and growth through the making and understanding of the visual arts. The center attracts over 10,000 artists, art lovers, students and faculty each year.

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