To the surprise of many, the heretofore recalcitrant Aspen City Council gave conceptual approval to The Aspen Club & Spa's modernization plan.
"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?" writes the Con Man. "Here in Aspen, in fact, the Prince is known as generous to local charities, kind to animals.... 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."
The Con Man digs down deep into the new book called "The Commission" by New York Times investigative reporter Philip Shenon. The latest revelation: that Prince Bandar's wife wrote cashiers checks that ended up financing two of the 9/11 hijackers from Saudi Arabia.
Posts filed under 'Real Estate'
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 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 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.
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 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 January 9th, 2008
ASPEN, COLORADO (Post Time News)—How much is too much when it comes to taxpayers footing the bill for a brand-new office setup in Aspen for both City employees and Pitkin County?
City of Aspen Finance Director Paul Menter puts the price tag for the building at “$50 million to $60 million” in preliminary planning. Pitkin County Public Works Director Brian Pettet says the building would cost taxpayers anywhere from $13 million to $16 million more than building an equivalent structure at the Aspen Airport Business Center (ABC).
But perhaps nothing brings the contrasting plans into stark relief faster than the cost of parking spaces above ground at the ABC versus their cost downtown and underground.
Continue Reading December 12th, 2007
ASPEN, COLORADO (Post Time News)—There’s no debate over the need for more office space for both Pitkin County and City of Aspen employees.
But if such a building were to be built downtown on the Zupancis-Galena (Z-G) property owned by the City, taxpayers can expect to endure years of Main Street construction, more traffic at the entrance to Aspen, and a bill for the new building approaching “$50 million to $60 million”—a cost at least $13 million more than building an equivalent structure on land owned by Pitkin County at the Aspen Airport Business Center (ABC).
Continue Reading December 10th, 2007
Pause here for inevitable Biblical reference: "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:24
So here's my thinking: the entrance to Aspen is literally the eye of the needle. Why else would we routinely refer to this place as "Paradise" and remind each other that we are truly in heaven. But I'm going a step further by saying Aspen is literally the "kingdom of heaven," and that those of us who pass through the eye of the needle, for whatever reason, have to be considered rich beyond all reason in a Paradise not of our own making.
Continue Reading November 15th, 2007
It's all coming back at me now--all those nasty quips about Mayor Mick Ireland and his foot-in-mouth Aspen City Council being Communists.
Now people are telling me without prompting that Mick and his minions really are Communists--no joke.
Still it's funny. I opened the Sunday newspaper this morning to see Aspen being "nickle and dimed" to death because everything costs a limb, even little things. And then there was the story under the headline "Council Visualizes Ajax Base" about how what we really need is affordable housing where the Lodge at Aspen hoped to put (gasp!) a hotel. Mick made the statement that what we really need is affordable housing and a lift that comes right into town.
Continue Reading September 30th, 2007
Ed Foran: I was born and raised in Chicago, but I went to Alaska for fourteen years, lived off the grid for ten years with no electricity or running water, raced sled dogs, worked with UAA [University of Alaska Anchorage] in the archeological department. I met my wife Barbara in Alaska, she is from Los Angeles. This was mid-70s , many counter-culture folks were there.
MC: That’s a long way from Chicago.
EF: My father was a U.S. attorney in 1970 in Chicago. It was a fascinating experience growing up there, but I didn’t really enjoy it. It never ever felt like a fit. Alaska, however, felt like “going home,” the lifestyle, the people.
MC: How are Alaskans different?
EF: Very community-oriented, very smart, very libertarian, what you do is your own business. If you want to have Abrams tank or an arsenal of guns in your back yard, you should be able to do it.
Continue Reading September 19th, 2007
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