Leslie Robinson

Western Slope Roundup: The rise and fall of water

A trip around the Western Slope reveals that water creates problems and solves them, too.
Durango gets a lake without a view

Imagine a nice, new little lake south of Durango where one could go camping, horseback riding, fishing and boating. Imagine sleeping under the starry skies above and hearing distant coyote calls. Imagine soaking in [...]

BLM: Oil and gas development in, solar out

Drilling, mining, atomic blasts and other fossil-fuel development on public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, no problemo. Solar energy development on the same land? Fergetaboutit.

Officials at the BLM, under the direction of President Bush, are ready to hand over thousands of acres of public land to energy companies for the development [...]

Unlock and load: Guns ‘R’ Us

Today, if Marshall Matt Dillon in Dodge wanted cowboys to hand over their six-shooters before entering town, he would be in violation of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling concerning handgun regulations. Now, with the Supreme Court on their side, the National Rifle Association (NRA) is going to make sure all of us will have [...]

Unlock and load: Guns ‘R’ Us

Today, if Marshall Matt Dillon in Dodge wanted cowboys to hand over their six-shooters before entering town, he would be in violation of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling concerning handgun regulations. Now, with the Supreme Court on their side, the National Rifle Association (NRA) is going to make sure all of us will have [...]

Here comes the sun

Gov. Bill Ritter and Sen. Ken Salazar will be heading west on Tuesday to christen the largest solar generating project on the Western Slope.
A 1-acre solar array was constructed on the Colorado Rocky Mountain School grounds in Carbondale to generate electricity for its classrooms and will add electricity to the regional Xcel Energy power grid. [...]

Will latest contamination near Parachute foil energy ad campaign?

Will the pro-energy-industry advertising campaign costing thousands of dollars go down the drain with this latest oil and gas chemical mishap near Parachute?

Energy companies and their lobbying partners are fighting proposed new rules that would tighten state regulations concerning wildlife protection, wastewater storage and chemical use. In a statewide newspaper, radio and TV advertising campaign, [...]

Western Slope Roundup: Cyclists win some, lose some ground

Pedal west of the Divide to find out what Aspen, three-breasted cyclists, nervous husbands and gun-toting campers had in common during last week’s news cycle.

Only in Aspen: The mayor’s $5,000 bike gets stolen, returned
Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland’s usual mode of transportation is by bicycle, so jumping on his bike last Tuesday to attend [...]

Oil shale development could force a choice between gas and food

Mark Twain allegedly once said, "In the West, whiskey’s for drinking, and water’s for fighting over," and it looks like that scenario hasn’t changed much in the past century. Because of water limitations in oil shale country in northwest Colorado, Americans may eventually have to decide what is more important, oil or meat.

Currently, oil from [...]

State, feds skirmish over oil & gas-related rules

If the state wants to tighten rules concerning oil-and-gas development, so what? The Bureau of Land Management, which oversees oil and gas development on federal public land, says the new regulations won’t apply to them.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) is deliberating over new proposed rules that would tighten regulations concerning oil-and-gas development. Some [...]

Don’t forget about Iraq

The presidential campaign, terrible floods in the Midwest, the price of gas — with many headlines about issues close to home, it’s easy to pass by the news elsewhere. So here’s a reminder about what’s gotten buried in the back section of the news lately: As of Tuesday, 4,587 U.S. soldiers have been killed during [...]