Tears for the Onion and other discontent

Aspen, CO ColoradoThe Red Onion, Hotel Jerome, speeding, crime and more all caught the attention of online Aspen Times readers, who sounded off on numerous topics last week.On the hot-button topic of the Onion, which closed with a Saturday night bash and now presumably awaits rebirth under new management, one reader offered this:i think they need to close cooper st. the day before they close the onion and make it a two day event:) get rid of the two worst dive bars in aspen.But another reader, apparently a Norwegian native, posted a long remembrance of times gone by at the watering hole, concluding:We used to get shitfaced, in the bar , on jello shots and if you wanted a hearty meal the Red Onion was the place. It will be missed, sorely,even as far away as Norway. The recent arrest of Moses Greengrass on drug charges (he served time for his role in a string of Aspen robberies by local teens back in 1999), prompted several comments from online readers, including this one:Further proof that trying to be a gangster in Aspen wont get you anywhere, and that going to prison doesnt make you a better person, only more of a criminal. Last weeks lambasting of the Aspen City Council by former Hotel Jerome owner Dick Butera for the councils role in allegedly driving away the hotels newest owners, sparked this response:Dick Butera is whining about the mistreatment of developers who wanted an extra floor for more profits. he doesnt mention the fact that the present owners are walking away with a $15 million profit after one year. Are we going to wait until all the lodge rooms are upgraded into empty boxes? The City Councils discussion of construction impacts elicited this observation:I think people forget that the house they live in was once under construction and annoying to neighbors as well. The regulations already in place are quite numerous. More regulations will slow construction and continue the presence of construction equipment in locations for longer amounts of time. And finally, a letter to the editor, blasting Sheriff Bob Braudis for failing to enforce speed limits, sparked this observation:I see this kind of aggressive driving daily as I drive for my job. I always obey speed limits (YAY for cruise control) and am so tired of people tailgaiting me. It is dangerous and causes anxiety!Why the need to speed through such a beautiful area? No ugly billboards and all anyone can doi is drive 85 mph past all the beauty. I feel sorry for those folks!And this one:Bob won’t do anything. He will pass the buck and say education is the key. Wait, the education has been done and it’s still the same. How ironic. Readers may weigh in on any article at aspentimes.com, anonymously if they wish, by clicking on Comments at the top of the article. Comments reprinted here appear as they were printed, wthout editing or correction.