PITKIN COUNTY - Pitkin County commissioners announced Wednesday they would modify the county's counterproposal for a land swap involving two Carbondale-area properties by eliminating public access in an area identified as sensitive from a wildlife perspective.
Commissioner George Newman announced the move during the commissioner comment portion of the board's agenda, but no broader discussion took place. The decision came after a closed-door commissioner discussion about the controversial land swap on Tuesday, Newman said.
Commissioners convened in executive session again Wednesday at the close of their public deliberations, identifying the land swap as one of the topics...

ASPEN - Tobias Wolff is no liar.
His father, yes, indeed, was a man prone to crafting fibs and falsehoods as a means of self-promotion. Wolff was guilty of similar untruths as a young man, forging letters of recommendation and fudging his academic records in applications to East Coast boarding schools to escape an unpleasant home life, as he recounted in his acclaimed memoir "This Boy's Life."
But the author doesn't see any correlation between those lies and the fiction that has earned him critical praise and a comfortable living.
"Lying...

ASPEN - Aspen icons Ruth Brown and Betty Pfister were among the women who received the Congressional Gold Medal in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday for their contributions to the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) in World War II.
The women received little recognition during the war even though they flew military aircraft under the direction of the U.S. Army Air Forces. They were awarded military status in 1977 and the World War II Victory Medal in 1984. A new law made effective in July 2009 determined that the women should receive the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest...

ASPEN - Skiing and riding will be allowed on Aspen Mountain unti3l 6 p.m. Friday in conjunction with the third Moonlight Dinner of the season at the Sundeck. Foot passengers get free access on the Silver Queen Gondola from 5:30 to 9 p.m. to access the event, according to the Skico.
For skiers and riders, the gondola and Ajax Express chairlift will be open until 6 p.m. There will be dinner, live music and dancing at the Sundeck.

ASPEN - Steamboat lays claim to its trade-marked champagne powder, but Aspen has Clicquot in the Snow. So there.
After a day on the slopes, skiers and riders are invited to indulge in apres ski bubbly, today through Sunday, as Veuve Clicquot brings its third year of parties and champagne tastings to Aspen and Snowmass. The event benefits Challenge Aspen, the organization devoted to giving those with disabilities an opportunity to enjoy skiing and other local recreational opportunities.
For every flute of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label purchased at participating establishments, the label will make a donation to...

ASPEN - A judge Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by Aspen resident Marilyn Marks against City Clerk Kathryn Koch, which attempted to force Koch into releasing ballot images from last May's city election.
Judge James Boyd of the 9th Judicial District Court dismissed the case, citing the state constitution, which requires the city clerk to keep ballots secret.
The city's central argument in the legal wrangling that has occurred since last summer has been that it's against state law to release ballot images.
"We believe it was appropriate to rule in this...

ASPEN - Valerie McFarlane's employment as an Aspen police officer ended last month after she failed to file charges against an Aspen newspaper editor for allegedly drinking and driving, officials said.
Instead, McFarlane, who was on work-related probation at the time, gave Aspen Daily News Editor Troy Hooper a ride to a residence on the outskirts of downtown during the early morning hours of Feb. 19.
Prior to the encounter with McFarlane, Hooper, who covers cops and courts for the Daily News, had written two articles related to McFarlane's September...

CARBONDALE - Rio Grande Trail guardians received unexpected help keeping intruders out of a section of the path that was closed for the winter to benefit wildlife.
A female mountain lion and her juvenile have prowled the section between Catherine Store and Rock Bottom Ranch throughout the winter. They have been captured on motion-sensor cameras erected by the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority to track activity in the closed stretch.
Jonathan Lowsky, a wildlife biologist who is helping RFTA monitor wildlife conditions along that sensitive stretch of the Rio Grande, saw tracks that...

ASPEN - Tommy Clapper, husband of Pitkin County Commissioner Patti Kay-Clapper, will be a candidate for the seat Patti will relinquish, but Hawk Greenway won't be allowed to seek election to the seat.
Patti Kay-Clapper announced her husband's intention to seek the District 1 seat in the course of recusing herself from a discussion about Greenway's eligibility as a candidate.
Greenway owns a home east of Aspen, but considers his cabin on Little Annie Road on the back of Aspen Mountain his residence. He has been a registered voter in District 1 since the last county redistricting,...

BASALT - Turning Basalt Mountain into Wilderness wouldn't prohibit firefighting there but it would eliminate opportunities to reduce dead trees and fuels that have built up for decades, the top official in the White River National Forest said Wednesday.
Basalt firefighters and Wilderness activists disagreed with parts of the assessment made by Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams, showing how difficult it is to sort through some implications of the Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign.
Fitzwilliams said the Forest Service assesses and makes an appropriate response to every fire in the national forest, regardless of whether or not it is...