Garfield County–Carbondale voters chose to uphold a ban on plastic shopping bags in yesterday’s town elections while voters in Basalt were against a ban. As far as town trustee elections, the winners were in Carbondale, Pam Zentmyer, John Hoffman and Allyn Harvey. In Basalt, Jacque Whitsitt was elected mayor. Rick Stevens, Herschel Ross and Robert Leavitt were elected to the town board. In New Castle, the winners were Patrick Stuckey, Mary Metzger and Robert Gordon. The Silt town council winners were Sonny Fernandez, Keith Richel and Jeffrey Lavalla.
Aspen–A lot of ski resorts in Colorado and Utah have closed much sooner than expected due to the poor snow conditions while resorts in New Mexico have enjoyed a banner season. In Colorado, the snowpack is 60 percent of average for this time of year and skier visits are down over 7 percent.
Denver–Amazon-dot-com and other online retailers won’t have to pay an out of state tax in Colorado thanks to a recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn. The judge said the Colorado law did not treat in-state and out-of-state online retailers equitably.
Denver–It’s going to get tougher for Colorado to keep tabs on medical marijuana businesses. The Department of Revenue’s Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division is being cut by more than 50 percent. Officials say the M-M-E-D isn’t bringing in enough money in licensing fees to cover expenses.