ISSUE #207: Pacaso - An artful new real estate twist in Aspen (11/21/21)

"Those who can adapt to the sudden paradigm shift and new environment do. Obey the rules. Search for the loopholes. Sneer at the guidelines despite being bound by them. In the end, everyone learns that rules are necessary to make the system run smoothly." 

-- Carlo Zen

Ahhh - this one is a doozy. Have you heard of the new real estate company, Pacaso? They're buying up resort real estate via a novel model that affords its customers co-ownership interests in what amounts to high end real estate. The catch is, the co-owners don't technically own the deed to the property, they own an interest in the property-specific LLC that does. Very clever.

But the ramifications for the affected communities are obvious: legal but unlicensed mini multi-user resorts in local single-family homes, impacts on small town infrastructure when more local homes are occupied 100% of the time, and perhaps the most impactful, no more RETT revenue from that property (benefitting subsidized housing and the Wheeler Opera House) after the initial purchase. And those are the obvious ones.

And it's here, in Aspen.

I did the deep dive. Read my column in today's Aspen Times HERE.

And please let me know what you think!

ISSUE #206: L'Host with the Most. (11/7/21)

"We set a special table for you."

-- L'Hostaria Ristorante greeting

The big news of the off-season in Aspen was last Friday night's closure of L'Hostaria Ristorante after a 25-year run.

Don't worry, I haven't lost my edge. It was simply time to pay a heartfelt tribute to this cherished local institution and long-time personal favorite, as well as to its ownership and staff.

Read my column from today's Aspen Times HERE.

ISSUE #205: Baby Steps Toward a Housing Overhaul (10/26/21)

"Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. " -- George Bernard Shaw

ASPEN TIMES COLUMN

Sunday's column presented several wise steps being taken by the APCHA board, including the establishment of "standards" that must be met by sellers before listing their units for sale AND a reduction in the age of qualified dependents from 24 to 19.

"Seller standards" are the first - and obvious - step toward mandating that owners care for their property. (It's not like these are free market units that anyone can simply trash and bear the consequences of the market upon sale. Sadly, in Aspen's housing environment, to-date, owners have been able to sell abject pig-sties to a pool of desperate buyers. That ends. But questions remain about who pays....)

By lowering the dependent age, APCHA is taking its first step toward a desperately needed "right-sizing" initiative, given that recent data has shown that the majority of larger units have less than one person per bedroom.

There's still a VERY LONG way to go, but baby steps in the right direction still constitute progress....

Read it HERE.

Election 2021: How to Vote

THE RED ANT

2021 BALLOT

Click to read more ...

ISSUE #204: Skip A and Go Straight to Z (10/13/21)

"You have to be involved during midterm elections, you have to care about what happens at a school board level." -- Barack Obama

Your mail ballot for the November 2 election should be arriving any day now. The school board election is critical. Please vote! And if you have any questions about your ballot, please visit www.PitkinVotes.com My endorsement of Dr. Susan Zimet and Anna Zane can be read in my column from Sunday's Aspen Times HERE.

AND..  Since you often ask, HERE is how I am marking my ballot.

ISSUE #203: Who Lives There? (9/13/21)

"Sometimes it's very inconvenient to tell the truth."

-- Cynthia Kahohata

APCHA's long-awaited HomeTrek database is finally up and running. And while the data is incomplete, the story is no surprise. We have HUGE issues with how our housing inventory is and has been managed, and all indications are that it will only get worse.

Read my column in yesterday's Aspen Times HERE.

ISSUE #202: No COVID Test for You! (9/12/21)

"I hate prejudice, discrimination and snobbishness of any kind - it always reflects the person judging and not the person being judged. Everyone should be treated equally." -- Gordon Brown

My most recent column focused on a local private COVID testing center's refusal to administer a test because of the politics and personal choices of the person seeking one. It was national news and is a local disgrace. In response to my column, I received some of the most vile and hateful emails, attacking me for MY politics and wishing hideous things to happen to me for decrying this wrong. (Yes, via email, from people we all know.)

These letter-bombs do not daunt me in the least, but they do disgust me, just like discrimination on the basis of political preference and personal choice. I will continue to write on subjects that interest me and will always share exactly how I feel. I will name names where appropriate and always will.

Read my column in Sunday's Aspen Times HERE.

And, if perhaps you wonder if my personal Libertarian politics slanted my article to the point where it "went too far," please take a moment to read a column by my friend and colleague Meredith Carroll, who also writes for the Aspen Times. Our politics could not be more different, yet her take on the COVID test refusal is equally damning. Read it HERE.

ISSUE #201: If You Ignore It, Will It Go Away? (8/28/21)

"In boxing, they say it's the punch you don't see coming that knocks you out. In the wider world, the reality we ignore or deny is the one that weakens our most impassioned efforts toward improvement."-- Katherine Dunn

I'm trying to keep the drumbeat going about Aspen's traffic woes, but for now, it appears that the city wants to ignore them. It's not unlike how they treat the most pressing issues with our subsidized housing program.

Read last Sunday's column HERE.