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News in Brief

City delays discussion on moving electionASPEN Debate on whether to move the municipal elections from May to June will be put off for at least another week.The Aspen City Council was scheduled to discuss the issue Tuesday, but postponed the debate after a four-hour public hearing that ultimately led to the passage of a new law preventing the demolition of potential historic buildings.Some City Council members favor holding the election in late June – when more people are in town and can head to the polls. And, in order to eliminate runoff elections, instant runoff voting may be explored.The idea of moving the municipal election is not a new one, but Mick Ireland most recently brought it up in May during his bid for mayor. Many candidates have complained over the years that low voter turnout hurt their chances because the elections take place in the height of offseason, when people leave town for extended vacations.Ride the bus, win a prizeSNOWMASS VILLAGE Those who ride a bus to the Thursday night free concerts on Fanny Hill in Snowmass Village could win a pair of tickets to the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Festival.To entice concertgoers to ride the bus, the town of Snowmass Village, radio station KSPN, the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority and participating Snowmass merchants are conducting weekly drawings.To participate, RFTA riders can pick up an entry form behind the driver’s seat on the bus to the concert, fill it out and drop it off at a participating merchant. Each week, KSPN will draw one winner, who has a chance to meet the featured performer on the Fanny Hill stage. (Texas boogie-woogie pianist/singer Marcia Ball performs on Thursday, July 12.) Plus, each weekly winner will be automatically registered for the grand prize drawing Aug. 24. The big prize includes a pair of weekend Labor Day Festival tickets, a shopping spree in Snowmass Village and bus passes from RFTA.Participating merchants that will accept the registration forms include: Mountain Dragon, Daly Bottle/Grain Shop, Snowmass Trading Co., Snowmass T-Shirt, Sundance Drug & Liquor, Taster’s, Taqueria 85, Local Color, Local Rebels, Christy Sports, Collections, Gene Taylor’s Sports, J Fenton Gallery, Stew Pot, Stein Eriksens, Pastore’s Taste of Philly, Big Hoss Grill, Margarita Grille, Aspen Sports, Fuel, Bright and Shiny Things, Goodfellows Pizzeria & Deli, Brothers’ Grille, Sunglass Panache, the Artisan Restaurant at the Stonebridge Inn, D&E Ski & Snowboard Shop, and Snowmass Photos and BooksCarbondale hands off solar dreamsCARBONDALE The federal government’s Clean Renewable Energy Bonds haven’t turned out to be what the town of Carbondale expected.The town was poised this year to issue the CREBs to finance a 150-kilowatt solar electric system on about an acre of land the Colorado Rocky Mountain School owns, as well as a 50-kilowatt system at the old Carbondale Elementary School, as part of a deal with Xcel Energy. But frequent problems with the CREBs have finally proven to be too cumbersome and costly, said local energy consultant Joani Matranga.Matranga and Randy Udall, director of the Community Office for Resource Efficiency, have been working all year to, first, come up with a site for the “largest solar system in Western Colorado,” and also to figure out how to fund the systems using CREBs.After several updates from the consultants who said the CREBs would require more and more of a subsidy from the town to make the systems work financially, the Carbondale trustees unanimously decided Tuesday night to turn over their envisioned field of solar dreams to the Aspen Skiing Co. The town will not own the system and has agreed to sign over its 20-year contract with Xcel Energy for over $600,000 in Renewable Energy Credits for the CRMS installation. Xcel is also offering a one-time rebate of $2 a watt, up to 100,000 watts, once the system is up and running. (The Valley Journal)