Top 5 most-read stories: Rose, Guth, and Torre win local election; philanthropists organize 100 billion Meals benefit
We’ve rounded up the top five most-read stories on Aspentimes.com from last week.
1.) Rose, Guth win Aspen City Council seats
Aspen’s ready for a change, if the City Council election is any indication.
On Tuesday, city voters elected the council’s possibly youngest member in history, Sam Rose, 29, and William “Bill” Guth. Rose had a big lead over the other two candidates — first-time challenger Guth and incumbent Skippy Mesirow.
Guth defeated Mesirow by roughly 210 votes.
—Julie Bielenberg
2.) Voters grant Torre a third and final term as Aspen mayor
Aspen voters re-elected the incumbent Mayor Torre by a margin of 561 votes, rejecting political newcomer Tracy Sutton.
“I‘m honored, and I take it with a great deal of responsibility,” Torre said of his victory. “I’ve heard through this campaign people’s concerns, and I take them to heart. The folks that didn’t vote for me, I want to take (their concerns) with me into this new term, too.”
He garnered 1,675 votes, and Sutton won 1,114 votes. Torre gained about 60% of the vote to Sutton’s 40%, which is in line with the short-term rental excise tax Aspen voters confirmed in November.
—Josie Taris
3.) Philanthropists Gary and Amy Green organize first 100 Billion Meals benefit in Aspen
New Aspen residents Gary and Amy Green are wasting no time getting involved in their new community and beyond.
Next week, the Greens are hosting the “Fire and Ice” fundraiser to support the 100 Billion Meals Challenge & The Future of Food initiatives — an event that Amy said she organized in about a month.
The 100 Billion Meals Challenge launched at the 2022 Forbes Giving Pledge Dinner and Philanthropy Summit with self-help guru Tony Robbins to fund and help organizations across the globe by partnering with those most proven to be effective in combating global hunger.
—Sarah Girgis
4.) Aspen skier, Olympian Wiley Maple racing to get back in the World Cup start gate
Last season, after Wiley Maple had surgery on his back, he felt he was skiing his best ever. After watching a man 10 years older than him win a silver medal in the Olympic downhill in Beijing, the 32-year-old Aspenite realized he had to switch gears and head back to the starting gate.
During the Audi FIS World Cup in Aspen on Thursday morning, Maple got the opportunity to ski the downhill training run. He placed 17th out of 64 racers who started, finishing 0.79 seconds behind Andreas Sanders of Germany.
Despite having such a smoking run, Maple was not given a race bib to start Friday’s downhill race.
—Madison Osberger-Low
5.) Lithuania closes Aspen’s only consulate after a decade of service
After exactly one decade of service, Honorary Consul Dr. John Vytautas Prunskis of Lithuania will be leaving his position in Aspen.
The Baltic nation consulate will remove its flag Saturday, on a very significant date for Lithuania.
“On March 11, 1990, The Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania was our re-independence. It’s like our Fourth of July,” he explained. “The Soviet Union had occupied the country, and we were the first of 15 Soviet republics to declare independence over a 21-month period. This became known as the ‘parade of sovereignties’ that turned into the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It’s a momentous day for Lithuanians.”
—Julie Bielenberg
