"Related and fellow developers J.E. Robert Cos. and Dubai investment arm Istithmar World this week sued the lenders...."
In one of those only-in-Aspen stories, man about town Scott DeGraff has a trail of creditors on his tail, but will they be noisy enough to keep him from getting a new liquor license?
Local brokers are hoping a $24.5 million sale in McLain Flats is a sign that the bad old days are over--or nearly so.Ed Foran on John McBride's letter to the editor:
The City of Aspen and Mick Ireland need to respond to this article. If anyone stands to benefit from the BMC West sale, it's John McBride, as the largest property owner at the AABC. Yet, as John logically states below, the property is worth less than half than what the city paid for it.
Continue Reading Add comment March 18th, 2009
Tuesday March 17, 2009
Several contractors are finally being paid for work done at the pricey and environmentally sensitive Shadowrock Townhomes in El Jebel---the developer—Blue Ridge Investments—was able to get the money borrowed to pay off the workers---not yet know where the millions of dollars came from----but whether or not more work can be done now to finish the project remains a question
And other adjustments are being made to budgets---with RFTA the valley’s mass transit service===considering cutting some city routes to save money---those considerations will be studied by directors on March 24th.
And what a lovely day to bring some joy to yourself and your neighbors---St. Patrick’s Day with celebrations throughout the area.
One of the more notable: St. Mary’s Catholic Church on main street in Aspen-----is hosting a community party----(it’s been going on for 123 years)..and is open to everyone, says father Michael Obrien:
The party starts at four this afternoon---and anyone who has attended can tell you the food is fantastic, with green beer and Irish music too.
No corn beef however------instead roast beef and roast pork with all the fixins----pies, cakes----but no corn beef and cabbage. The miners in Aspen never ate the stuff-------and did you know? Corn beef and cabbage is an American tradition-------Early Irish immigrants on New York City’s lower east side replaced their usual dish of bacon with corned beef to save money.
The Irish learned about corned beef –the less expensive fare---from the Jewish neighbors.
1 comment March 17th, 2009
A proposed reduction in size of the Lodge at Aspen Mountain was made by developer---Centurion Partners, in order to get the voters to approve the overhaul of the area at the base of lift 1A at aspen mountain…..Centurion partners plan a new hotel 175 thousand square feet---too big say many critics---and with the weak economy the support for the project may be flagging. Do you think the largest project ever built in Aspen should go forward—how do you think the vote will go this May for Lift One? Send an email to news@aspenglenwood.com
Continue Reading Add comment March 11th, 2009
“We are asking for the democratic process, for people to be given the opportunity to vote,” Aspen Art Museum Director Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson said.
Read coverage in the Aspen Daily News: "Museum employees and volunteers have been gathering signatures on an informal petition in support of placing the land sale question on the ballot. Of the more than 2,700 signatures collected, 668 are from registered Aspen voters, Zuckerman Jacobson said."
Add comment March 3rd, 2009
Ironbridge, the subdivision located between Carbondale and Glenwood Springs, may be in trouble with financing. The adjacent Ironbridge golf club is owned by LB Rose Ranch LLC---a subsidiary of Lehman Borthers. The LLC wants bankruptcy protection, and that will impact the plans for dozens of housing units, stalling mortgages and also reducing the number of affordable units that can be occupied.
Continue Reading Add comment February 27th, 2009
ASPEN, COLORADO—What does the little town of Harper Woods, Michigan, unremarkable in so many ways, have to do with the Prince Bandar bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia, Aspen’s own monarch with the $135 million manse in the beyond posh Starwood section of this mountain town?
Here in Aspen, in fact, the Prince is known as generous to local charities, kind to animals, and generous to a fault when his multiple wives hit the downtown mall with multiple plastic. He is also known to ski within a circle of bodyguards, and to rent out the downtown Isis theatre in toto so as to enjoy a movie of his choice in privacy.
In Harper Woods, in contrast, said Sultan is prince non grata, accused by the town’s employee pension fund of embezzling some $2 billion over 20 years as the go-between betwixt the Saudi government and BAE Systems of the United Kingdom.
Continue Reading Add comment June 12th, 2008
One of the people at the newspaper who hired me when I came to Aspen five years ago told me about “the tractor beam effect.”
That’s a poetic way of saying that once people leave Aspen they always come back, inexorably drawn to the mountains, the valley, the rivers, and certain ineffable things that have no name.
True enough: all of that speaks to why we’re so lucky to be here. But it’s also another way of saying people leave—they leave all the time—and that we’ve experienced this directly and personally. At least three key people, great friends, will no longer live here full-time come 2009.
Continue Reading 13 comments April 24th, 2008
Click here for the complete "Con Games with Michael Conniff" for Tuesday April 15, 2008.
The Con Man tears into Prince Bandar's wife for links between her and funding for two of the 9/11 hijackers from Saudi Arabia.
Add comment April 15th, 2008
Boy, what a tale I have to tell and only a few more minutes online; at least for now.
In January, my roommate and I received notice that our lease was to expire without being renewed. We even had it in writing that the lease "...expires on March 1st at noon..."
On or about the 6th or 7th of February, my roommate told me she had received a phone call from the landlord where she was told that we were expected to be out by the 15th. I asked if she had agreed to that. She said "No, I didn't agree to anything. He just flat out told me that was how it was."
Continue Reading Add comment March 12th, 2008
Happy NEW YEAR to everyone! I hope that 2008 is absolutely GREAT for everyone in the valley. While it is starting out for me to be somewhat on the negative side, I truly believe it will all work out for the good by the time everything is all said and done. Cross your fingers! I very well may need your help.
What's been on my mind lately is my living situation. About 8 or 9 days ago, my roommate came up to me and told me that she was giving me a couple of days notice that she MIGHT be moving back to California to help care for her ailing 20-something son and that she would be leaving within a matter of a few hours of hearing what his test results were. She would also be taking only what she could pack into her car - leaving the rest of her stuff behind and that I would need to get a new roommate very soon!
Continue Reading 1 comment January 9th, 2008
