~ by Beth Dodd ~ (Crackpot Story) A recent geological survey of the construction site for the long-awaited Woodland Aquatic Center has revealed a fatal flaw. The swimming pool is sitting on a previously undetected earthquake fault, and the project will have to be abandoned for safety reasons. The geologic survey was supposed to have…
Critics allege too many ‘high-paid Chiefs’ ~ by Beth Dodd ~ During Woodland Park’s contentious budget debates late last year, the salaries of city employees were called into question by key elected leaders. After hours of discussion, only a 1.9 percent pay increase was approved in the final 2017 budget for city workers. But even…
~ by Beth Dodd ~ The six year legal struggle of a local medical marijuana patient has concluded with a losing battle in the Colorado Supreme Court, in spite of winning three earlier decisions in the lower courts. The ruling has broad implications for the marijuana industry in Colorado and in 20 other states where…
by Beth Dodd: The Woodland Park Downtown Development Authority held a work session to discuss a walkability study for downtown Woodland Park on January 17. The study was put together by graduate students from CU’s Colorado Center for Community Development on behalf of Woodland Park Main Street. While the plan is only conceptual at this…
The Woodland Park Downtown Development Authority kicked off the new year with a discussion on signage, earthwork and rule-changing, along with updates on their finances and legal battles. On January 3, the DDA held its first monthly meeting of 2017, a forum that lacked much of the theatrics of previous meetings. However, the group faces…
In the wake of the recent bitter election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, many pundits are claiming that 2016 was the nastiest election in history. However, a peek back at the presidential past shows that the elections of 1824 and 1828 between hateful rivals Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams were unlike anything before…
In an executive session on November 22, the Woodland Park Downtown Development Authority (DDA) met with their lawyer to discuss pending legal action against them. Arden Weatherford, potential Woodland Station land developer and owner of BierWerks, is suing the DDA for a breach of contract. The potential of legal action against the DDA has been…
Seventy years ago, Coach Bill Allen and his wife Dorothy started a legacy in the hills south of Florissant. Blue Mountain Ranch began as a football camp for boys from Texas and is now a home away from home for children from around the world. Back in 1946, while Allen was coaching football at Paschal…