“Colorado Springs’ housing market has ranked as one of the country’s hottest during much of 2018 because of strong demand and rising prices, according to national publications and real estate groups. Next year, it could be No. 1 in the nation,” reports The Colorado Springs Gazette. “In its annual report that looks at housing markets to watch, online real estate service Trulia ranks Colorado Springs as the No. 1 market poised for growth in 2019. That ranking indicates sales and prices could remain on the upswing in the Springs next year.”
“New research says human-powered outdoor recreation on the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests is not just fun but serious business, generating about $392 million each year in tourist spending that supports some 4,150 full- and part-time jobs in area communities and $112 million in annual wages,” reports The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.
“The head of the Greeley Chamber of Commerce’s tourism office … said tourists in 2017 generated more than $20 million in Greeley, up from $19 million in 2016,” reports The Greeley Tribune. “Visit Greeley tracks tourists’ economic impact by compiling estimates on how many people came to town, as well as how much people spend on lodging, food, retail and gas, for different events. Dugan said the average tourist in Greeley spends about $70 per day, plus about $125 to $250 per night for lodging.”
“A decision on a proposed affordable-housing mandate for builders and developers won’t come until December. Longmont City Council, after resuming consideration of the measure on Tuesday, decided shortly before midnight to postpone further discussions and action until Dec. 11,” reports The Longmont Times-Call. “At that December meeting, council members are expected to consider the latest revisions to the “inclusionary housing” ordinance that would generally require that 12 percent of the available square footage in a new residential developments be dedicated to units affordable to low- and moderate-income buyers and renters.”
“The number of children in Colorado with health insurance has increased for almost a decade, but now the decline in the state’s youth uninsured rate is stagnating — and advocates fear more children could lose coverage due to a rule change proposed by the Trump administration,” reports The Denver Post. “The number of uninsured children in Colorado remained unchanged in 2017, with about 57,000 individuals under 19 without coverage, according to a new report by Georgetown University Health Policy Institute’s Center for Children and Families.”
“Experimental atomic clocks at Boulder’s National Institute of Standards and Technology have notched three new performance records, now ticking precisely enough to not only improve timekeeping and navigation, but also to detect faint signals from gravity, the early universe and perhaps even dark matter,” reports The Boulder Daily Camera. “The clocks each trap a thousand ytterbium atoms in optical lattices, grids made of laser beams, according to a news release. The atoms tick by vibrating or switching between two energy levels. By comparing two independent clocks, NIST physicists achieved record performance in three important measures: systematic uncertainty, stability and reproducibility.”
“Affordable housing was the topic of a business outlook breakfast hosted by the Steamboat Springs Chamber on Tuesday morning, and many audience members were happy to hear there were housing projects coming online for low-income as well as medium-income households,” reports The Steamboat Pilot & Today. “‘I’m glad we’re addressing that combination of need in the community,’ said Katie Jacobs, the Steamboat Springs School District’s director of human resources. Jacobs oversees hiring for the district and said up until now they’ve been able to keep good employees despite the high cost of living.”
“Poudre School District’s middle and high school students will get to roll out bed a little later next school year,” reports The Fort Collins Coloradoan. “The district’s governing board voted Tuesday night to approve later start times for the district’s secondary schools. The decision was the culmination of a year’s worth of feedback from surveys, community engagement sessions and more. The board approved what it called ‘Modified Scenario B’ starting in the 2019-20 school year. Under the new schedule, high school start times will shift to 8:55 to 9 a.m. and middle school start times will shift to 8:05 a.m., bringing the district in closer alignment with national recommendations related to adolescent sleep and school start times.”
“After Stansberry and Van Buren elementary schools close at the end of the school year, the buildings may become early childhood and career and technical education centers for students within the district,” reports The Loveland Reporter-Herald. “The Thompson School District Master Plan committee, after digging into the issue, recommended to the school board Wednesday that the district look into those two uses as well as the possibility of selling or renting the buildings. School board members did not discuss the options in depth Wednesday, but those who spoke seemed in favor of at least delving into the costs and specifics of finding a new use for the buildings versus selling them.”
