Municipalities in the Roaring Fork Valley want to ban residents from using natural gas as an energy source.

This effort to increase community electric loads in an attempt to fight climate change — known as “electrification” — has already begun here in our backyard with a ban on natural gas in new residential construction passed last fall by the Basalt Town Council. Elected officials in other areas of the Roaring Fork and Eagle valleys are contemplating similar bans.

These are the first steps in a process.

Electrification will culminate, eventually, with elected officials in these cities and towns directing residents to remove natural gas furnaces, stoves, fireplaces and water heaters from their homes and businesses, and replace them all with electrical appliances.

How exactly this mandatory retrofitting will occur remains to be seen, but that is the undisputed end goal of electrification.

These natural gas bans — which are often not well-publicized by the elected officials who enact them — will permanently remove the ability of Roaring Fork and Eagle valley residents to choose the source of energy that best fits their lifestyle and economic circumstances. Further, these decisions will add thousands of dollars in yearly electricity costs, provide scant backup plans when a lengthy power outage occurs in a critical month like January, and will likely lead to increased greenhouse gas emissions in the short term because of Colorado’s current coal-heavy power generation mix.

None of those facts, however, are meant to minimize the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our impact on the environment.

Black Hills Energy — which provides natural gas service to residents of the Roaring Fork Valley and parts of the Eagle Valley — is among the nation’s energy companies taking clear and decisive steps to combat these impacts. Black Hills Energy’s goal, in fact, is for our natural gas distribution system to achieve net-zero emissions by 2035.

Residents and business owners who use natural gas can be proactive by choosing high-efficiency gas appliances, implementing energy efficiency measures and taking advantage of rebates offered by Black Hills Energy and other companies.

But the point is it’s nearly impossible to just turn off the tap. The technological challenges involved in operating a hospital, a college campus or a 10,000-square-foot home solely on electricity are daunting and expensive.

Will that happen more easily in the future? Or will the choice of natural gas as an energy option be taken away before technology catches up to municipal climate goals? And what happens when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow, and the temperature drops, and we are left with no way to heat our homes?

These questions are key to the debate and remain unanswered. Still, even when we have those answers, any long-term solutions must include natural gas as part of the energy mix.

The other main concern with electrification is the cost. 

Residents and business owners will not only have to pay one-time appliance conversion costs, but they will also have to pay more every month in the form of higher electric bills. That’s because a therm of natural gas produces a lot more energy than a kilowatt hour of electricity.

For example, the monthly residential natural gas bill in Aspen currently averages about $133, billed at a rate of about $1 per therm. Using a standard formula to convert natural gas therms to electrical kilowatt hours, that average gas bill jumps to $429 per month in electricity costs using the current Holy Cross Energy price of about 11 cents per kwh.

And that’s on top of whatever you already currently pay for electricity each month.

Also, don’t forget the cost of converting a home or business over to all-electric appliances. Or the fact that consumers will end up having to foot the bill for the new power generation infrastructure that must go hand-in-hand with electrification.

But even if every home in the Roaring Fork and Eagle valleys could afford to install a heat pump tomorrow, other climate change impacts would need to be considered.

As of August 2022, 42% of Colorado’s electricity came from coal, 31% from natural gas and 27% was generated from renewable sources, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In the Roaring Fork and parts of the Eagle and Colorado River valleys around here, 48% of the electricity comes from renewables, 31% from coal, 15% from “market” sources and 5.5% from natural gas, according to Holy Cross Energy’s website.

A January 2022 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study suggested that Colorado and other states with coal-heavy electrical grids “require a longer view of decarbonization” because an immediate increase in electrical generation will produce more coal-fired electricity and more emission impacts than a measured, gradual transition.

The analysis also factored cost into the equation.

“The potential carbon savings from electrification of space heating will only be realized if replacement appliances are affordable in terms of both installation and operational costs,” the Lawrence Berkeley study concluded. “The potential of electrification of space heating to negatively impact household energy budgets is of particular concern for low-income households.”

The urgency behind fighting climate change leading local governments to feel they need to go full-steam ahead and take natural gas away from consumers as an energy option is short-sighted and could have dangerous ramifications in the future.

Europe’s race to decarbonize and rely on renewable sources of energy offers a valuable lesson on moving the process along too swiftly. But we need not look further than California or Texas for much closer evidence of the need to electrify responsibly, safely and equitably for all.

Jason Auslander is Black Hills Energy’s community affairs manager.

Cardiovascular disease and diabetes are on the rise. Although some people may be predisposed, many people have the ability to reduce their risk. Cardiovascular disease is a major concern as current data suggests that an incident of this occurs in the United States about every 40 seconds.

Prevention of cardiovascular disease is well researched and education about prevention can be found almost everywhere. Generally, research and data state that the best methods of prevention include not smoking, eating a healthy diet, frequent exercise, managing one’s weight, and managing high blood pressure and cholesterol.

There is new research that shows that sedentary lifestyles are contributing to the risk factors of heart disease. Yes, desk jobs are not only painstaking, but they are contributing to people’s risk of cardiovascular disease.

In the United States, some of the leading heart research and medical facilities include the Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, Cedars-Sinai, New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Johns Hopkins. Within the last couple of years, all of these institutions have provided research about the harm associated with sedentary lifestyles.

Unfortunately, sedentary lifestyles and cardiovascular disease risks are not isolated to those with desk jobs and the elderly, Unfortunately, sedentary activities are affecting our children as the amount of time spent playing computer games, sitting while using social media, and watching TV has dramatically increased since we were children.

A study of more than 100,000 people from 21 countries conducted from 2003 to 2021 found that extended sitting times were associated with increased risk of mortality and cardiovascular disease. Data suggests that people who sat for six to eight hours a day had an estimated 20% increased risk for heart disease and a 12% increased risk for death.

It should not be counterintuitive to consider that sitting for long periods of time is less than healthy. For decades, researchers have been providing vast amounts of data proving the health benefits of daily exercise. Mitigating all the associated risks of cardiovascular disease may be as simple as taking a five-minute “exercise snack” for every 30 minutes of sitting.

Suggestions for taking a break:

• Set a reminder: Use a smart phone or any type of timer to remind you to get out of your chair and take a walk every 30 minutes — anywhere.
• Set goals to reduce how long you sit.
• Stand: Standing activates muscles far more than sitting and requires more effort than sitting
• Walk and talk: Try using a headset while on the phone and walk around the office our, if possible, outside.

For people who sit for long periods of time, there are other ramifications than just cardiovascular disease. When people sit for extended periods of time, our bones get weaker, which may affect our whole skeletal system and often has an association with back pain. Also, our ability to process fats within our body decreases.

I spend too much of my day in a chair and understand more than many people the harm to my health this may cause. If you too spend excessive time seated, make an effort to get up and move for at least a few minutes every half-hour or so.

Judson Haims is the owner of Visiting Angels Home Care in Eagle County. He is an advocate for our elderly and available to answer questions. His contact information is VisitingAngels.com/comtns and 970-328-5526.

“With the possible exception of things like box scores, race results and stock-market tabulations,” Hunter S. Thompson wrote in 1973, “there is no such thing as Objective Journalism. The phrase itself is a pompous contradiction in terms.”

Someone forgot to tell George Washington law professor Jonathan Turley, who bemoans the rise of “advocacy journalism” (which he himself  prominently practices) in general, and what he characterizes as Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin’s “call to abandon the foundational principle of impartiality in journalism,” specifically.

Like many, Turley seems to long for a return to some Golden Age of journalism, when journalists merely provided facts in a “neutral” manner, giving readers the necessary evidence to reach their own conclusions instead of inserting their own biases and opinions into the matter.

There are two major problems with his desire.

One is that the existence of such a Golden Age is pure myth. The idea of “objectivity in journalism” is largely a product of Walter Lippmann’s 20th century call for a “detachment” he himself didn’t practice as a journalist, in reaction to a previous era (indeed, the entire previous history) of journalism, in which reporters wore their biases on their sleeves, and readers chose the newspapers most compatible with their own biases.

The “objectivity” of the post-Lippmann press didn’t consist of eliminating bias. It consisted of smothering bias under a bland gravy of pretended neutrality.

Which brings us to the second problem: Neutrality and objectivity are different — and, moreover,  completely incompatible — things.

Objectivity is about discerning reality as it actually is, or at least attempting to do so.

Neutrality is about not taking sides on issues.

As an example of the two approaches, let’s take the subject of anthropogenic global warming. Earth is, or is not, warming. It is warming, or not, for particular reasons (including, possibly, human activity). And, there are, or are not, specific consequences.

A truly “objective” journalist would work hard to find out (and tell us) whether or not Earth is warming, for what particular reasons it is or isn’t warming, and what the consequences of its warming or non-warming are or aren’t.

A truly “neutral” journalist would neither hold nor express any opinion on what ought or ought not to be done about the answers to those questions.

Objectivity doesn’t forbid us to form opinions. In fact, it usually requires us to do so. Trying to keep one’s opinions out of one’s communications is both unrealistic and counter-productive.

Rubin says we should “burn down the Republican Party.” Turley says we shouldn’t. Either or neither of them may have reached their positions “objectively.” But, neither of them owes us a pretense of neutrality, and both enrich us by showing their work.

Thomas L. Knapp (Twitter: @thomaslknapp) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org).

Voters in the next few days have an opportunity to shape the future of the Aspen Fire Protection District, which is at a critical crossroads as it continues to move from an all-volunteer organization to a roster of paid, career firefighters.

Ballots are due Tuesday, May 3, and we suggest that the thousands of eligible voters vote in this special district election for candidates Emily Taylor, Ritchie Zah and David “Wabs” Walbert.

The three seats up for election are held by incumbents Steve Wertheimer, Denis Murray and Walbert.

With significant changes occurring within the organization, along with some growing pains as unpaid volunteers work next to paid firefighters and an impending change in leadership in the coming years, we believe a fresh set of eyes and way of thinking is needed on the board of directors.

That is why we endorse Taylor, Zah and Walbert, the latter of whom has been on the board since 2017 and has been a volunteer firefighter for 30 years.

Electing two new board members and one long-tenured firefighter, we believe, brings a good balance to the five-member board that includes John Ward and Michael Buglione, who are not up for re-election.

Not only would a female thinker be a good gender diversity addition to an all-male board, but Taylor’s background in environmental protection brings a perspective the fire protection district needs as climate change and the threat of wildfires becomes real here in the upper Roaring Fork Valley.

Taylor works at the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, and her skills in environmental communication would be a great asset to the community in the education of wildfire prevention and preparedness.

Zah, an Aspen police officer and a volunteer firefighter for five years, would bring a real-world and on-the-ground perspective to the transition to a combination department of paid and unpaid firefighters.

We agree with him that the biggest issue facing the department is fine-tuning the combination approach, so every firefighter feels valued and safe doing their jobs.

Walbert is a solid board member, who in recent years listened and responded accordingly to those in the rank and file who were frustrated with leadership.

Last year, Walbert voted with his fellow board members to hold Fire Chief Rick Balentine accountable by creating specific employment milestones that he needed to meet that were partly based on feedback from firefighters and staff.

There are four other candidates vying for the three seats. While they have experience and skills to do the job, we think the trio of Taylor, Zah and Walbert is a well-rounded cadre of community members who will lead the Aspen Fire Protection District through some pivotal years for the organization and community, as well as responsibly manage the roughly $6 million in annual property taxes the special district collects.

On the undercard of the local election season is the contest for three seats on Aspen Valley Hospital’s board of directors as well as three seats on the Snowmass-Wildcat Fire Protection District board.

For the hospital board, we’re endorsing incumbent board members Chuck Frias, B. Lee Schumancher and David Eisenstat; the fourth candidate is Michael J. Buysee.

The incumbents helped Aspen Valley Hospital weather the storm of the pandemic and have overseen a budget that remains in healthy shape. We support giving them each three more years on the AVH board of directors.

The Snowmass-Wildcat Fire Protection District board has its first contested election since 2006, with four candidates vying for three seats on the board.

We put our support to the incumbents Bill Boineau and Ellie Striegler, as well as election newcomer Scott Arthur.

The incumbents have been part of the board as the district has evolved with the merger of the Snowmass Village and Basalt, and they have an experienced perspective on the finances and direction of this district.

Now retired, Arthur brings to the table the insight of a 28-year veteran of the Snowmass fire department.

If you haven’t mailed your ballot yet, here’s how to vote:

For Aspen Fire board, it’s advised that you drop it off at the fire department’s downtown station on Hopkins Avenue. For the hospital board, ballots can be dropped inside the administration office at AVH.

For Snowmass fire, voters can cast their ballot in person on May 3 at the Snowmass VIllage fire station.

All ballots must be returned by 7 p.m. on Tuesday. For more information on the elections, go to aspentimes.com/election.

• Roses and thorns to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis for his recent ski adventure on Aspen Mountain. Roses for the governor for making the trip to Aspen to discuss climate issues at the top of Ajax. Thorns to the gov for wearing his ski pants above his boots! C’mon, gov, we know you learned to ski while on family outing to Vail, but that’s not how we represent Colorado. Slop those pant legs over the boots and if they’re too tight, buy some new ones post-haste.

• Roses to Joannie, who works at the base of the gondola and is a beacon of cheer at every sighting. Whether it’s just a friendly hello or making sure you score a solo car for a quick call, we’ll miss seeing her on a regular basis once the gondola stops running.

• We said it once and we will say it again. Roses to all the various departments that comprise Aspen Skiing Co.’s mountain operations for their great work this season. (We gave them accolades after the holidaze as well.) Skico’s frontline workers checked all the boxes — grooming, snowmaking, patrol, lift loading, food and beverage. As usual, job well done this season.

• Roses also go to Skico’s creative minds who cranked out some witty April Fools Day material under such headlines as “Audi Presents the Power of Four-Ever,” “Fort Frog Rebrands to Cloud Three,” and “Snowboarding Now Prohibited on Aspen Mountain.” Good chuckles were had by all.

• Thorns to our CD3 rep in the U.S. House, Lauren Boebert. While the majority of this part of her district goes against pretty much everything she stands for, perhaps her latest announcement Thursday to fight what she mockingly calls the “woke transgender policy” about decreasing patdowns at airports for those who identify as trans is a new low. Her biggest talking point is that giving people a bit of privacy is “practically inviting terrorists to take advantage” of our security screening. This is just playing a card pulled straight out of the crazy deck.

• Roses to Erin Smiddy for running for a seat on the Pitkin Board of County Commissioners. This is by no means an endorsement for Smiddy, who will be challenging incumbent Commissioner Kelly McNicholas Kury for the seat. Yet McNicholas Kury ran unopposed in the last election, and it would be a shame to see her win two straight terms with no opposition. Smiddy’s entrance will open the dialogue about the direction of Pitkin County under the five commissioners, who have some big tasks ahead, from the airport expansion to the housing crisis, traffic woes, climate change and other pressing matters.

• Roses to all the bus drivers in the valley who have had to deal with the anti-maskers during the past few months. Surely no one rejoiced more than the drivers after this week’s announcement that masks no longer are required on public transit. We heard about the confrontations from our bus-driving friends, and we’re glad that babysitting non-mask wearers is no longer a part of your job.

It’s difficult to justify attempts to place regulations on Aspen’s free market when the city could ease the sting of high prices by filling its own restaurant property.

We’re talking about the Rio Grande building next to the shiny new Aspen City Hall and below the Pitkin County jail and courthouse. The city owns the property and has leased it at a discounted rate to various affordable restaurant operators over the years. The most recent tenant, Taster’s Pizza, closed in 2019 in advance of the city’s remodel of the Rio Grande building and construction of the new City Hall.

Ah, Taster’s. Conveniently located across the street from the skateboard park, basketball courts and public field, it was an affordable, community restaurant where you could actually feed a family of four for less than $100, if not even less than $40 or $50 (that includes tips and drinks, thank you). Government workers frequented Taster’s, courtroom jurors ate from Taster’s, as did construction workers, youth and teens, dentists, lawyers and the straggler looking for a bite to eat.

Yet as reported Tuesday, finding a restaurant tenant for the empty space is on the backburner for city officials, as they are busy enough working on how to renovate the old City Hall space at the Armory Building, the third phase of development calling for 79 worker-housing units at Burlingame Ranch, and preserving the Old Power House. Additionally, the restaurant space isn’t tenant ready, and the city didn’t budget for the expense in 2022, it was reported.

In fact, it could be another three years before the city leases the space — which rivals the quaint New York Pizza in size — to a restaurant.

There’s a lot wrong with this picture showing a brand-new Aspen City Hall next to an empty, city-owned space that has housed affordable restaurants for more than a quarter-century.

First, city leaders often lament about the loss of mom-and-pop and affordable restaurants, yet nothing was done, as far as we can tell, to fill the Rio Grande building space when the new City Hall opened.

Second, the city whiffed by not putting bathrooms in the Rio Grande building when it was being renovated. Shaw Construction was already there doing the improvements. The city knew construction costs were going through the roof, and it was irresponsible to not have done that when construction was taking place. As the property owner and the landlord, the city should provide bathrooms for its own facilities.

We were encouraged by actions taken during Tuesday’s City Council regular meeting, however, when Councilwoman Rachel Richards called for a future work session to specifically address the empty restaurant space rather than waiting years while it sits void.

While she said she understands that the city has a lot of ongoing capital projects and needs with a limited capital budget, Richards expressed her concern with the capacity and the timeline for reopening the Taster’s space as an affordable restaurant.

Richards wants to have a future discussion about whether the city’s general fund can augment or supplement the costs to finish the space and thereby accelerate the process through issuing a request for proposals to find an operator to finish the space out. She also recognizes that it’s not an easy or quick thing to go down the request-for-proposals rabbit hole, but moving now gets the city back on track sooner than it’s currently anticipating.

Councilman Skippy Mesirow said he supports a work session and said a local restaurateur reached out to him Tuesday morning asking to partner with the city in the space. As well, Councilman Ward Hauenstein said he understood the necessity of getting that space back online, but he doesn’t want to take staff away from the current moratorium work.

We implore the city to move faster on this issue. This doesn’t need to be analysis paralysis. Agree to a work session in the next few weeks, form a committee, put one staff member on it and send out a request for proposals. All it takes is political will, which would also build some goodwill between Aspen residents and their government.

The Aspen Times editorial board’s members are Publisher Allison Pattillo and Editor David Krause, along with Rick Carroll, who is managing editor, and reporters Scott Condon and Carolyn Sackariason.

We were as surprised as everyone when Mike Kaplan announced last week at a long-timers party for Aspen Skiing Co. employees that he was stepping down as president and CEO at the end of next season.

Kaplan and Skico have been on a roll lately, bouncing back nicely from the COVID-plagued 2020-21 ski season, expanding their hotel brand to the first non-ski area market with a deal to open a Limelight Hotel in Boulder and securing approval to add the Pandora’s terrain to Aspen Mountain.

Alas, Kaplan said his upcoming milestones of 30 years with Skico and 17 years as its leader have taken a toll. He’s been the face of the company 24/7 for 365 days a year. Friday evening atop Aspen Mountain, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is set to talk about his climate initiatives and Kaplan and others will be there.

In an interview with The Aspen Times, Kaplan acknowledged he’s a bit of an introvert and leading the company has sometimes required him to step out of his comfort zone. At age 57, he looks forward to enjoying the fruits of his labor.

Kaplan was the right leader at the right time for Skico. He was able to relate to the vast majority of employees, customers and community members. Kaplan raised his children in Aspen and benefited from the inevitable development of ties that cultivates.

He also worked his way through the ranks of various on-mountain departments at Taos Ski Valley during and immediately after college, and then came to Aspen after earning his MBA.

Kaplan could relate to lifties overwhelmed by hordes of novices at the Village Express chairlift at Snowmass. He understood the tough conditions snowmakers faced while toiling in cold, dark, pre-dawn conditions. He had a special rapport with the ski instructors who are critical breadwinners for the company.

Throughout the years, Skico executives have worked on the front lines, and Kaplan has been no exception. He’s loaded gondolas at Ajax and wiped down tables at Two Creeks along with entry-level workers.

Kaplan convinced the Crown family, 100% owners of Skico, to provide a $3 raise for all employees in February after boosting starting pay for newcomers at the beginning of the season.

Well before a torrent of bad publicity hit the national ski industry this winter about lack of effort to provide housing for employees, Kaplan guided Skico’s efforts to boost its bed base by building the $18.4 million, 43-unit apartment complex called The Hub at Willits prior to this season. (Skico still needs to refine its policies so that new employees don’t spend every last dime to get established in company housing at the start of the season, but that’s a topic for another day.)

Kaplan also maintained Skico’s longtime reputation for running a great operation on the slopes. Skico and partners transformed Snowmass Base Village. Big plans are in the works for completing the overhaul of the Buttermilk base. Critical snowmaking in a warming climate has been extended to the top of Aspen Mountain. The high-elevation Pandora’s terrain will provide extra insurance that skiing will survive as snow becomes more scarce on lower slopes.

Is Kaplan perfect? No, as he would be the first to admit. Skico continues to overreact at times when criticized by segments of the community. Opposition to the Hub at Willits by neighbors and to the Pandora’s expansion by backcountry enthusiasts and environmentalists was taken as too much of an affront by some members of Skico’s team, who then engaged in thinly veiled campaigns to discredit anyone who dared challenge them.

Skico’s eagerness to milk extra revenues from the ultra-wealthy through its ASPENX brand of products and experiences seems a bit over the top.

But despite a few missteps, Skico has been in very capable hands with Kaplan. Most of Aspen will be sorry to see him go, but it is reassuring that he will help search for his successor and be in place throughout next ski season to help with the transition.

The Aspen Times editorial board consists of publisher Allison Pattillo, editor David Krause, managing editor Rick Carroll and reporters Scott Condon and Carolyn Sackariason.

• Roses to the Aspen High sports teams and the celebration this month as the townfolk came out to cheer them on. And especially to the boys basketball team: winning a state title is a big thing, but putting together an undefeated season on the way to that hardware was an incredible feat. Enjoy that spring break, kids, and keep on making us proud.

• Thorns to drivers, local and out out-of-town, who aren’t stopping at pedestrian crosswalks. Yes, the streets are spring-time dingy and crosswalks may be harder to see. But, they are in the same places they’ve always been, and if you can’t see, it’s all the more reason to slow your roll. Be extra aware at corners, when scooting around buses, well, basically anywhere. When in doubt, yield to pedestrians. And remember, relax, it’s Aspen (and going faster isn’t going to help you find a parking spot or beat traffic).

• Roses to Mike Kaplan as he starts writing the final chapter of his story at the Aspen Skiing Co. Kaplan announced Wednesday night he will step down in April 2023 as president and CEO after helping locate and transition his successor. Yes, Skico had occasional hiccups during Kaplan’s tenure, but he inspired his troops, he eased strains between the big company and the town and, as always, Skico always runs top-notch ski areas.

• Thorns to Eagle County officials and the developers of the Tree Farm development in the midvalley for negotiating an approval that will likely add to the affordable housing crisis rather than ease it. It’s a long and complex story but the short version is this: Only 50 of the 340 approved rental and ownership residences in the midvalley project are guaranteed of being affordable housing. That’s 14%. That stinks.

• Roses to the Skico marketing and planning teams who put together a solid lineup for the Hi-Fi concert series, which kicks off Friday night at the base of Aspen Mountain. The California Honeydrops play gondola plaza Friday, then the Sea Billies on Saturday. The following Saturday, April 2, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats play downtown Aspen, and then the Johnny Cash cover band Cash’d Out will play Snowmass Base Village on April 8. Did we mention it’s all free? Oh, and the weather should be great this weekend for some live music outdoors.

Have a rose or a thorn? Send them to letters@aspentimes.com with the subject line as: Roses & Thorns.

Editor’s Note: This article has been edited to remove/amend statements that do not meet The Aspen Times’ standards for accuracy, fairness and objectivity in its news reporting. The Aspen Times regrets such mistakes and works to correct them promptly.

There’s a reason residents are suspicious of developers who shamelessly gush about how their latest endeavor will lift Aspen to new heights. Just look at the recent $76.25 million flip of the nearly 1 acre of Aspen Mountain land previously slated for the future Gorsuch Haus.

In a deal most of us didn’t see coming — at least regarding the price tag — Norway Island LLC, which bought the same property in July 2021 for $10 million from Aspen Skiing Co., walked away with a handsome profit when it sold the parcel to a limited liability company controlled by Miami-based OKO Group, which is run by billionaire Vladislav Doronin.

The deal made the Norway Island team look like business-savvy geniuses in some regards. For even in Aspen’s real estate market, this was a head-spinning transaction where the seller flipped the property for more than seven times what it paid for it just seven-and-a-half months earlier.

Give them credit for striking such a lucrative deal. And that’s where the credit begins and ends.

The Norway Island team of Jim DeFrancia, Jeff Gorsuch and Bryan Peterson campaigned in the March 2019 election with such zeal and conviction that the community would be proud of their hotel project because this wasn’t some know-it-all outside developer coming in to conquer Aspen. The community would be proud because this trio had strong Aspen ties and understood the town’s affinity for skiing and its desire to reinvigorate the western portal of Aspen Mountain. Bearing the surname that belongs to a family with a rich Colorado history in ski racing and ski apparel, the Gorsuch Haus had a nice ring to it.

Let’s also remember that enough Aspen voters were won over by those campaign promises in a contest decided by just 26 votes regarding the Lift One Corridor improvement proposal. The election was tight, but there is no question the Aspen voters who favored the project believed it would be built by people who respect and understand Aspen’s fascinating history because they have lived and skied here themselves.

The victors were elated. The Lift One Corridor proposal and win at the polls came after more than a decade in the making, and it was the result of negotiations among the Gorsuch Haus team, the Lift One Lodge team, Aspen Skiing Co. and city representatives.

One of the proposal’s strong selling points was the replacement for the aging Lift 1A down the mountain another 500 feet from its current lower terminal to Dean Street. All told, the development would include about 320,000 square feet of lodge and commercial space and a ski museum the Aspen Historical Society would operate. The 64,000-square-foot Gorsuch Haus would have 81 rooms, the 107,000-square foot Lift One Lodge would include hotel rooms, fractional units and whole-ownership residences.

Yet the Lift One and Gorsuch groups didn’t always see eye to eye. That became evident in July 2019 when the Lift One group said it planned to withdraw its commitment due to concerns that the Gorsuch Haus developers weren’t in it for the long haul.

Fronted by Jason Grosfeld of Los Angeles and hoteliers Aaron and Michael Brown, the Lift One team said because the Gorsuch Haus project “is being marketed for sale, we have no way of knowing who the buyer will be, when or whether a sale will close, or whether the new owner will share Lift One Lodge’s level of commitment to the project,” according to a letter from Lift One’s attorney to city officials at the time. Instead, using previous entitlements they would build their own hotel, separate from the Lift One Corridor project.

The Gorsuch team met the announcement with dismay and in a prepared statement said, “Aspen’s voters approved a great plan with so many community benefits — a Ski History Museum, a great park, a new lift in town, and dining and lodging where it belongs. We urge the Browns to recommit to this fantastic vision for the community’s future.”

Jeff Gorsuch also expressed his displeasure with the decision: “I think it’s a shame for the voters, and it’s a shame for the community.”

By the end of the year, both sides had patched things up and the Lift One group decided to stay on board with the partnership.

Now it turns out the Lift One team was right all along. Only they know what they are doing next with the Lift One Corridor improvement project, and they also own a piece of Aspen Mountain property that has likely escalated in value since January. The Gorsuch team will tell you they saw the project through with all of their gritty land-use work and campaigning and public outreach, and the public will appreciate the outcome under the new ownership.

But that’s only half of the truth, and unfortunately Aspen voters had to learn the hard way. By selling their community-approved project to the highest bidder with no ties to Aspen, the Gorsuch team’s actions demonstrated why the public can be wary of developers and skeptical of their promises. But there’s a teachable moment from all of this for the Aspen electorate: The next time a proposal of this magnitude goes to the ballot box, don’t forget the Gorsuch team’s vanishing act, and let it inform your vote.

The Aspen Times editorial board’s members are Publisher Allison Pattillo and Editor David Krause, along with Rick Carroll, who is managing editor, and reporters Scott Condon and Carolyn Sackariason.

Roses go to Tiziano and Enrica Gortan for their gracious finale to an epic 25-year run in the Aspen restaurant scene, an effort in which their poured their hearts and souls. The positive energy and love felt in the final week of L’Hostaria Ristorante will be remembered as much as all the laughter, camaraderie and excellent (and affordable) food we’ve enjoyed for so many years. Best wishes and good luck to you and your family, Tiziano.

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A thorn goes to every government and elected official who wears their face mask on their chin while in a public meeting, or in a municipal or county building. More times than can be counted, public officials remove their mask to speak, which is exactly when they are supposed to be protecting others around them from — because their droplets spew from their mouths and spread the COVID-19 virus.

Elected officials are the ones who made this mandatory rule so we expect them to lead by example and cover their pie holes. They also look ridiculous wearing chin diapers.

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A rose and a fond farewell to Pitkin County Judge Erin Ely, who celebrated her retirement in the district courtroom on Oct. 29 with a costume party, a live band in the jury box, libations and Chinese food.

Ely was known as the people’s judge and cared about every single person who came before her on the bench, no matter how troubled they were or how many times they’d been there. She embodied the Aspen way of acceptance and tolerance. Enjoy traveling and family, Erin.

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Thorns to the state for the confusion and delays at the mobile vaccine bus that has been touring the area. Those who had scheduled appointments had to wait for an hour or longer in some instances and the walk-up scene was maddening. Understaffed and underorganized seemed to be the theme. Let’s hope they get the kinks worked out as every now is open to a booster or those first rounds of shots.

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Roses to the developers of a worker-housing project pegged for 1020 E. Cooper Ave., the neighbors who came out in opposition. and the Historic Preservation Commission for carefully examining the proposal.

The outcome of this disagreement could have been much worse. But instead the development team’s modifications to the application resulted in Tuesday’s unanimous 3-0 approval by the HPC board. As well, an attorney for the next door condominium association said they too were satisfied with the latest proposal — the development of four deed-restricted employee units — and would not contest it.

The outcome of this is what the town needed: more housing to house our workers. And it shows that parties can work out compromises for the overall good of Aspen. We’ll take it.

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A rose to the Pitkin County Clerk & Record’s office. The Election Night went smooth and results were updated in a timely fashion for the electorate to find. So, cheers to keeping us updated and doing the job as should be done around the country.

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A mix of roses and thorns to Aspen Skiing Co. Roses for the company’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. In their annual preseason meetings with local elected officials, Skico officials are stressing the company’s dedication to tolerance and diversity, social justice and engagement.

But let’s be real: The four Aspen Snowmass ski areas as well as the entire Aspen ski vacation experience are for those of wealth and privilege. Yes, Skico helps make skiing somewhat affordable for youth in the valley through cooperation with the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club and there is no doubt that it provides some lift tickets to those who otherwise couldn’t afford it. But the company still earns thorns for pricing policies that not only make it difficult for people on the lower socioeconomic rungs of our society to hit the slopes, but also the middle class.

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Roses to all the military veterans who have served our country and for the young men and women from the Roaring Fork Valley who have enlisted to serve. And special recognition to Dick Merritt, Dan Glidden and the other organizers of events over the years to honor the veterans.

Have a rose or a thorn? Send them to letters@aspentimes.com with the subject line as: Roses & Thorns.