COLORADO SPRINGS– The news is not good for part time Aspen resident and disgraced cycling champion Lance Armstrong. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency says 11 of Armstrong’s former teammates testified against him in its investigation of the cyclist, revealing “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.” USADA will deliver its reasoned decision against Armstrong later, a summary of the facts it used to hand him a lifetime suspension and erase his seven Tour de France titles. In a news release previewing the decision, USADA CEO Travis Tygart listed 11 of Armstrong’s former teammates, including George Hincapie, Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton, as among those providing evidence that led to the sanction. In delivering the report to the International Cycling Union, Tygart called for the federation to create a program to help clean up the sport.
ASPEN – An Aspen school bus driver has been suspended after he was accused of lifting an 8-year-old by his sweat shirt and forcing him into a new seat. School District Superintendent John Maloy says the boy was not injured in the incident last week, but his shirt was ripped. School officials say the boy was misbehaving and he was ordered to move.
VAIL – Prosecutors have added attempted murder charges against a man who is accused of setting fire to an East Vail apartment building.
The charges were added Tuesday because authorities say seven people could have burned to death when Andrew Wells allegedly set fire to an East Vail apartment building on Sept. 22. District Attorney Mark Hurlbert says Wells set the fire because he thought his ex-girlfriend was in a fourth floor apartment. The woman was not home at the time. Wells is also charged with arson and stalking.
DENVER – The decision by the U.S. Forest Service to approve the Peak 6 expansion at Breckenridge Ski Resort is being appealed. The U.S. Forest Service has approved the resort’s Peak 6 Project, which would add nearly 550 acres of skiable terrain, two lifts, a restroom facility and a warming hut. Environmentalists complained that cutting down trees to make more ski runs could hurt Canada lynx and other endangered animals. Some residents objected because they feared overcrowding in town. The plan has the support of 45 individuals and environmental groups. Vail Resorts Inc., which operates the ski area, says it expects to have the new terrain ready for the 2013-2014 ski season.
