Kirk Crawford, of nearby Crawford, dropped by during a hike of the Continental Divide Trail. He had one message to share: STOP. As in Stop Trashing Our Planet, Start Telling Our Politicians, and Start Thinking Of Peace. Good thoughts, Kirk. Judy Muller, an associate journalism professor at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, […]
Colorado
Dear friends
FROM FRANCE, NEW YORK AND CALIFORNIASummer visiting season is in full swing. Ned Ames and Jane Sokolow, both of New York City, stopped by after visiting some friends in Hotchkiss, just down the road. They were on their way back to New York from their Fort Union Ranch in Watrous, N.M., which has been in […]
Heard Around the West
NEVADA Debbie Rivenburgh is the general manager of a bordello in Pahrump, Nev., 60 miles from Las Vegas — one of 27 legal brothels in the state. In 21 years, she says, no college has ever called to request an intimate tour of her desert establishment. Then Randolph College in Virginia, a private liberal arts […]
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FELLOW NEWSMEN COME TO CALL Kevin Haley, the “founder, publisher, editor, janitor and copyboy” of the San Juan Horseshoe, dropped by to say hi. The Ouray, Colo.-based parody newspaper bills itself as “Refried News for a Half-Baked World.” From Salida, Colo., came Mike Rosso, webmaster for four newspapers owned by Arkansas Valley Publishing. He said […]
Boom! Boom!
In western Colorado, an energy boom of unprecedented proportions has been layered on top of a thriving amenity economy. Which will come out on top?
Dear friends
A CRASH IN WESTERN COLORADO What happens when an energy boom collides with an amenity boom? Join High Country News and a panel of experts on Thursday, May 15, at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colo., for a rousing discussion exploring whether a gas-field town and a recreation and retirement community can coexist. Hear […]
Heard Around the West
WASHINGTON How many ways can a neighbor’s house drive you crazy? The Seattle Weekly counts 10, with each one dreadful in its own distinctive way. Among them is the “Pig Face” dwelling that thrusts its two-car garage toward the street “like a greedy sow rooting for rotten vegetables.” This house clusters in herds, and its […]
Dear friends
MORE KUDOS FOR RAY Senior editor Ray Ring‘s cover story “Disposable Workers of the Oil and Gas Fields,” April 2, 2007, received an Honorable Mention in this year’s Heywood Broun Award contest. The top winners were Dana Priest and Anne Hull of the Washington Post. The award, from the Newspaper Guild, recognizes journalism that helps […]
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POETRY CORNER We usually focus on hard-hitting news about the West, not sonnets and blank verse. But to lighten things up, we thought we’d share a couple of poems we recently received from readers. Subscriber Susanne Twight-Alexander of Eugene, Ore., sent us verses inspired by her reading of Home Ground. The book, edited by Barry […]
Heard Around the West
WYOMING Spring really is around the corner, says longtime “Far Afield” columnist Bert Raynes in the Jackson Hole News&Guide. With keen eyes, he’s observed some of the season’s earliest manifestations: “Coyotes in pairs and in groups … Ravens in mock pursuits. Bald eagles carrying nest materials, horned and great gray owls calling, dippers in noisy, […]
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WELCOME, SARAH GILMAN She’s baaaa-aaa-ck! We’re pleased to welcome former HCN intern Sarah Gilman as our new assistant editor. A Colorado native, Sarah was born and raised in Boulder. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and studio art at Whitman College in Washington state in 2004. The pull of the Rocky Mountains was too […]
Dear friends
HILLMAN AWARD FOR RAY RING Senior editor Ray Ring has won the prestigious 2008 Sidney Hillman journalism award in the magazine reporting category for his cover story “Disposable Workers of the Oil and Gas Fields,”April 2, 2007. Since 1950, the foundation has recognized “journalists, writers and public figures whose work promotes social and economic justice.”Past […]
Dear friends
VISITORS The snow may have kept some folks from visiting us here, but Rob and Annie Edward stopped by between storms and gray wolf education presentations. Rob is the director of carnivore restoration for the nonprofit carnivore advocacy group Sinapu, which recently merged with Forest Guardians to create WildEarth Guardians. Annie’s “day job” allows her […]
Dear friends
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK We’d like to know what topics are important to you, and what you think of the job that High Country News is doing. Please visit www.hcn.org/survey and complete our brief reader survey today. We’ll use your input to improve our understanding of what our readers want and need. NEW BABIES, […]
A Rico renaissance
Post-mining economy threatened by proposed moly mine
Dear friends
WELCOME, NEW HCN INTERNS New winter interns Evelyn Schlatter and Francisco Tharp will be the last set of interns to spend a four-month stint at High Country News. We’ve found that most interns spend the first month or so just figuring out what HCN is all about and where we keep the coffee. So, starting […]
Dear friends
WELCOME, LILY JEAN The latest addition to the HCN family, Lily Jean Massart Isaacson, arrived on Thursday, Dec. 20, to proud parents Denise (our office manager) and her husband, Bob. The 6-pound, 7-ounce girl is doing well; no word on how much sleep mom and dad are getting. GREG HANSCOM SPOTTED … IN MARYLAND? Former […]
The Promised Land?
Churches use a federal law to trample local land-use rules
