понедельник, 8 октября 2012 г.

United States Olympic Committee arrives downtown in Colorado Springs - Colorado Springs Business Journal

Their presence is already making itself known.

About half of the United States Olympic Committee's 400 employeeshave moved in to the organization's new headquarters at 27 S. TejonSt., and downtown is feeling the energy.

USOC Director of Communications Mark Jones confirmed what hasbecome increasingly obvious to nearby restaurants and shops.

About 130 or 140 downtown employees have been added to the mix,with more to come.

'Everyone is thrilled to be downtown. The new building certainlyallows us operating efficiencies which are crucial, but the abilityto walk across the street for coffee or around the corner for asandwich is a great amenity,' he said.

Sonterra and Slayton's managing partner Matt Sharb didn't wastetime putting up a sign welcoming the newcomers.

'They're definitely making their presence known. Our wait staffsees their badges and tries to track the number of USOC guests weserve. So far, during this first week, we've seen about 20 or 30 aday in our restaurants,' he said, adding that his business is up16.5 percent for March on a year-over-year basis.

Former Team Handball Olympian and Concept Restaurants owner LukeTravins says many of the USOC's employees, formerly headquartered atthe Olympic Training Center campus, have been good customers foryears.

'They're not new to town, they've just relocated - but we loveit,' he said. And like Sharb, he says business has been picking upthis spring after a fairly flat first quarter.

Joe and Robin Frode own the La Baguette Bakery and Cafe. So farthey've seen a few customers sporting USOC badges and say March andApril business has generally picked up.

воскресенье, 7 октября 2012 г.

I worry that skiing will never recover from this; From Colorado springs eternal hope but Bell knows Highlander has huge mountain to climb. - Daily Mail (London)

Byline: NIALL AITCHESON

THE SHOCKWAVES of the Alain Baxter drugs scandal were still reverberating around the global skiing fraternity yesterday, as Martin Bell struggled to comprehend the enormity of the situation.

Bell had spent a sleepless night at home in the Colorado resort of Vail following the shattering news from Europe, trying to measure the impact it would have on this most close-knit of sporting communities.

Even from a distance of 5,000 miles, he was not immune to the fallout.

Skiing and controversy are uneasy bedfellows. But when they do collide, the debris is often hard to clear. In most cases, it leaves a cloud of suspicion, prompting even the best of friends to question each other's integrity.

Former British No.1 Bell spent a decade enjoying the highs and lows of the pro tour. He now does promotional work for the Vail Resorts company, but his experiences on the competitive circuit have taught him that appearances can be deceptive.

'There has always been a little bit of distrust between rival skiers. They can act like they are the best of pals for half the week, but when the heat is on, they are thinking only for themselves,' Bell said. 'The camaraderie on the circuit is generally very good. Most ski resorts are not big places and you do get to know people pretty well. You are sharing the same hotels and training facilities, eating in the same restaurants and drinking in the same pubs.

'But no matter how friendly you are with someone, the competitive element within you comes out when the tournament begins.

I knew a lot of guys who would not have anything to do with their fellow racers in the build-up to competitions. They liked to go into the zone and completely shut themselves off.' Bell, whose eighth-place finish at Calgary in 1988 had been the best performance by a British skier in Olympic competition prior to Baxter's bronze medal run last month, added: 'Quite often, the biggest rivalries are between skiers from the same team. It's like Formula One. Everyone wants to be the top dog, the No.1.' While Bell believes the unique friendships which bond the world's leading skiers together will survive this hammer blow to the sport's image, he fears that the collateral damage may prove irreparable.

' Whatever happens now, the publicity surrounding Alain's situation is bound to have a knock-on effect with sponsors,' he said. 'It will be very difficult to persuade some of the major players to remain on board, as no- one is keen to be associated with something that has been tainted.' Bell, who retired from competitive skiing seven years ago, says that even if Baxter manages to win his appeal at a meeting of the IOC's medical committee in Lausanne next week, the stigma will be difficult to erase.

Bell remembers the fall- out when the Norwegian ski team turned up at a race with enhanced muscles, prompting one leading coach to accuse them of using steroids. 'Although the charge was never proven, these kind of incidents always leave a bad aftertaste,' said Bell.

According to Bell, Baxter has only one feasible excuse on which to base his defence - that he unknowingly took the banned drug methamphetamine via a cold cure. At next week's hearing, he expects Baxter's legal representatives to highlight the precedent set by Olympic sprinter Linford Christie in 1988.

Christie tested positive for traces of banned pseudo-ephydrine after finishing fourth in the 200m in Seoul.

Christie was found not guilty by a split decision after successfully proving that the substance had come from nothing more than the ginseng tea he had been drinking.

At the same Olympics, the Briton benefited from the disqualification of disgraced champion Ben Johnson-in the 100m, subsequently being promoted from bronze to silver. 'Linford was able to get off because he proved it was a genuine mistake. If Alain can do likewise, he has a chance,' Bell said.

'I think he made a genuine mistake. The drug concerned would not change his performance.

'In Alpine skiing, drugs are not really an issue, because it is more down to technique and skill.

Cross-country skiing is another story altogether. We have had a lot more incidents involving drugs in cross-country because it is 80 per cent endurance and 20 per cent skill. Alpine is 30 per cent endurance and 70 per cent skill.' This was backed up by Austrian skiing legend Hermann Maier, who said he was surprised and doubtful of the Baxter allegations.

Maier, who has been sidelined this year with a broken leg following a motorbike accident, lives in the Flachau area where Baxter has made his second home.

BRUINS HAVE A SPRING IN THEIR STEP UCLA BASKETBALL: SNEAKER-WEARING HOWLAND SEES TEAM SHOOT 59.6 PERCENT IN HIGH-FLYING VICTORY. UCLA 77, COLORADO 60 - Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)

Maybe it was just the shoes, but UCLA head coach Ben Howland suredid seem to have some extra pep in his step on Saturday afternoon.

Sporting sneakers to support the fight against cancer to go alongwith his suit, Howland was springier than a well-coiled Slinky;still wound just as tight, but ready to let loose.

His players had a little extra bounce, too.

Playing against one of the hottest teams in the conference, itwas UCLA that heated up, shooting 59.6 percent in a 77-60 win overColorado in front of 9,253 at the Sports Arena.

'(Former UCLA head coach and current St. John's head coach SteveLavin) went to the sneakers and stayed in them the rest of the waylast year,' Howland said with a smile. 'I like it, too. Feels betteron my feet.'

The Bruins were better off them.

Their feet, that is, as UCLA converted alley-oop after alley-oop, putting on a show for what was certainly the best home crowd ofthe year at the Sports Arena.

Already up seven but coming off a 3-pointer by Colorado's NateTomlinson with just less than 14 minutes remaining, the Bruins wenton a 13-3 run, capped off by a Jerime Anderson-to-Travis Wear alley-oop dunk, stretching the lead to 17 with 8 minutes, 44 seconds toplay.

'Defensive stops - whenever we're getting stops it definitely isa momentum booster,' sophomore guard Tyler Lamb said. 'It getseverybody up more and then you come down and score, it all startssnowballing. We were in the huddle and we were communicating intimeouts, coach Howland was asking us what we thought would work andour senior guards stepped up a lot.'

Senior guard Lazeric Jones had a team-high 17 points and nineassists, Anderson added eight points and eight assists and Lambadded 12 points and six assists as UCLA finished with 26 on theafternoon. The sharp passing helped the Bruins erase an earlydeficit that was plagued by sloppiness.

The Buffaloes (14-7, 6-3 Pac-12) got off to a nice start in theirfirst matchup with UCLA (12-9, 5-4) as a conference opponent,jumping ahead 12-4 as the Bruins committed four quick turnovers.UCLA climbed back, took the lead with 12:27 left and eventually wentinto halftime up by four, courtesy of a Norman Powell 3-pointer asthe first half expired.

What changed so drastically for the Bruins in the second half?They picked up their defensive intensity.

After letting Colorado shoot 56 percent in the first half on 15-of-27 shooting, UCLA held the Buffaloes, who came into the game withnine wins in their past 11, to 34.8 percent shooting in the secondhalf and ran away with it.

'Our intensity picked up a little in the second half,' said DavidWear, who finished with 13 points. 'There've been a couple timeswhere our intensity dipped off in the second half. It was good tocome up with that much intensity, really talking about our defense,not allowing any second shots.'

Howland credited Lamb with a standout effort as UCLA heldColorado's leading scorer Carlon Brown - who had been averaging 13.6points per game - to just six points in 31 minutes, with two assistsand three of the team's 14 turnovers.

'I really thought Tyler Lamb played great defense on Brown,'Howland said. 'He's a great player, and Tyler Lamb deserves a lot ofcredit for how he played. Thirteen points, six assists - I thoughtthis was one of his best games as a Bruin.'

Added Lamb: 'Carlon Brown, I've known him since I was in middleschool - I played on his AAU team a couple times. I've known what hewas capable of. He's a very good player. Coach stressed that I wouldhave to stop him and I tried my best.'

What had Howland really excited as his Bruins prepare for a toughtwo-game road set in Washington against the Huskies and Cougars wasthe team's passing, though.

'We were really, really making the extra pass,' Howland said.'It's fun to watch. That's how basketball is supposed to be played.I love that our players get joy out of making that play. The funnestthing on offense is to watch a pass that leads to a wide-open shot.I love that as much as anything.'

Maybe even as much as his new shoes.

суббота, 6 октября 2012 г.

Snowboarders, skiers fight to co-exist on slopes in culture clash. (Originated from Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph) - Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service

Colorado ski areas are finding themselves playing an unexpected role: peace negotiators between snowboarders and skiers.

The new school vs. the old.

The young rebels against the establishment.

If skiers are ballroom dancers, snowboarders are grunge rockers.

``Snowboarding is high energy, fresh and fun. Skiing is a bunch of stiff one-piece suits,'' said Stephanie Prater, a snowboarder at Crested Butte, Colo.

Ever since Jake Burton set his snowboard down on Stratton Mountain, Vt., more than 15 years ago, skiers and snowboarders have seldom seen eye to eye.

In skiers' eyes, snowboarders use bad language, dress like crotchless hitmen and have manners like Beavis and Butthead. They ride their boards like the getaway car in a B movie. Out of control. Totally.

They collide with skiers and sit down on the busiest routes, forcing skiers to maneuver around them.

To skiers, snowboarders are bad dudes with bad attitudes. Occasionally the differences result in slope-side fistfights.

Yet ski areas are courting snowboarders the way Romeo pursued Juliet. Snowboarding is the only bright spot in a stagnant ski industry, with an annual growth rate of 17 percent. Today it represents 11 percent of lift tickets sold, according to The National Ski Areas Association.

And snowboarding is the fastest growing sport in the United States _ from 1.2 million boarders in 1993 to 1.8 million in 1994, an increase of 50 percent that outpaces in-line skating, according to a survey by the National Sporting Goods Association.

Ski areas can't live without snowboarders. Not only are they blowing them a kiss, they're planning the wedding.

``Snowboarding is part of the future of the sport,'' said Monarch ski area general manager Rich Moorehead. ``It's a business decision to pursue them.''

Keystone and Aspen are the only two Colorado ski resorts that don't allow snowboarding. But managers in every other Colorado ski area are turning mediation into an art form, intent on smoothing things over between skiers and boarders.

``It's more of an age difference than anything. The young kid against the old guy. That kind of conflict is everywhere, not just on the ski slopes,'' said Pete Bernard, a 25-year-old snowboarder hired by Monarch to act as an on-slope ambassador. ``Some skiers seem to be looking for snowboarders to do something wrong. A lot of the problems came about because it was a new sport and people just don't like change.''

Bernard is in charge of four ``Courtesy Riders'' making their debut at Monarch this season. They are the Miss Manners of snowboarding, setting a good example and striving to clean up their sport's bad-boy image.

``We try to discourage adverse behavior,'' said Bernard. ``We'll say, `Hey man, that's not cool, we'll lose our privileges.' We're trying to encourage boarders to police themselves.''

They also act as a liaison between skiers and boarders, trained to intervene in on-slope conflicts.

``A lot of times, snowboarders will listen better to someone who's their own kind, rather than a ski patrolman giving them a lecture,'' Moorehead said.

Rowdy snowboarders have recently taken delight in bouncing off emergency telephones and jumping over trash cans and logs they pull onto the slopes, often to the chagrin of skiers content to schuss down an obstacle-free course.

Monarch responded by opening a park this season devoted to and built by snowboarders, where shredders can jump, twist and spin in their own hazard-filled world. They fly over everything from skinned logs to an old car top, all safely away from skiers. Most Colorado ski areas have installed half-pipes _ open tubes of builtup snow that resemble skateboard ramps that shoot boarders into the air.

The Breckenridge ski area changes the obstacles weekly in its shredders garden and consequently is rated tops in the country by one snowboarding magazine.

The snowboard parks have effectively funneled daredevil shredders from the slopes where families frolic.

To take it a step further, Monarch is polling its boarders to see what kind of music they like with the idea of providing amplified tunes in the snowboard park.

Snowboard lessons at Monarch include skier etiquette and safety. ``One of the points of the lessons is what's proper and what's not as far as interacting with others on the mountain,'' Moorehead said. ``Snowboarders often come from surfing and skateboarding backgrounds and are not as likely to know ski etiquette.''

Snowboard shops in Crested Butte, which is hosting the first U.S. Extreme Snowboarding Championships this month, have gotten in on that act. They distribute cards with courtesy tips such as be aware of others on the slope and watch your language. Written in shredder language, they've been well-received by snowboarders, Prater said.

Ultimately, as more older skiers and families take up snowboarding, the cultural chasm is narrowing, industry analysts say.

While most snowboarders are between the ages of 16 and 24, nearly 15 percent are between the ages of 25 and 44, said the National Ski Areas Association.

``It's no longer a teen-age sport,'' said association spokeswoman Stacy Gardner. ``It's a maturing sport and families are starting to get into it.''

``The over-30 snowboarding set is clearly gaining speed,'' said Craig Altschul, publisher of The Insider's Ski Letter, a trade publication. ``The 40-year-old dad who's been taking the family skiing all these years decides to get into it when the kids do.''

``The other day I noticed a family of four on the slopes. Mom and daughter were on skis and dad and son were on snowboards and Dad was about 40 years old,'' said Ken Payne, a 35-year-old Breckenridge spokesman who recently took his first snowboard lesson.

``As a more diverse group enters the sport, snowboarding's reputation will change,'' Moorehead said.

``It was perceived for a long time that snowboarders were out of control and would run over you,'' Payne said. ``But snowboarders have gotten very good at what they do and the tension has decreased. I think skiers and snowboarders cohabit very nicely now.''

Shredders and skiers are not only living with each other, they're traveling together, said the National Ski Areas Association. More than half of the snowboarders surveyed during the 1993-94 season came to a ski area with an Alpine skier.

пятница, 5 октября 2012 г.

Colorado Springs Real Estate Briefs: April 11, 2008 - Colorado Springs Business Journal

A 26,500-square-foot Goodwill retail store has broken ground on4.3 acres west of Kohl's department store, near the intersection ofSouth Circle Drive and Janitell Road.

The retail center will replace Goodwill's downtown store at PikesPeak and Wahsatch avenues, which is scheduled to close later thisyear.

In addition to departments such as clothing, housewares,collectibles, sporting good and toys, the new store will include a1,000-square-foot teen department and a book nook with a coffee bar.

Janitell-Childs Design Group is the project architect and G.E.Johnson is the general contractor. The total cost of the project isabout $7 million, said spokeswoman Laura Marth.

Population and construction

Colorado is among a handful of Western and Southern states withfast-growing county populations.

Of Colorado counties with populations of more than 100,000,Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas, Weld, Montrose and Larimer sawpopulation increases of more than 2 percent between 2006 and 2007.

El Paso County's population grew by 1.1 percent and Pueblo Countygrew by 1.6 percent.

Other growth areas identified by the Population Reference Bureauwere Florida, the interior of California, parts of Nevada, Arizonaand Utah as well 'as in the suburbs and exurbs of large metropolitanareas, such as Atlanta and Washington, D.C.' The biggest declineswere in the rural Midwest, the upper Great Plains and theMississippi Delta region, including New Orleans.

Ken Simonson, chief economist for Associated General Contractorsof America, sees a link between opportunity for the constructionindustry and population growth.

Perhaps as a result of the price of oil and energy, he alsoreported that based on Census data, several suburban counties thatare farthest from urban centers have seen a 'marked deceleration' inresidents moving in, while some urban areas and close-in suburbsthat had experienced steady population losses are seeing the trendreverse.

Residential updates

The residential real estate market is alive and holding its own,despite of headlines to the contrary.

Campbell Homes, for example, has opened a new sales office inMeridian Ranch. The builder also has a presence in PronghornMeadows, Feathergrass, Cordera, Falcon Hills and Indigo Ranch.

Nichols & Comito has sold three custom lots at Cedar Heightssince the beginning of the year, and a fourth is under contract,said Celeste Marren. The Village at Star Ranch also has seen newactivity, with two lots under contract in the Estates neighborhoodand the first residents moving in this month.

Steel prices won't hurt post

Oil and alternative energy sources are not the only commoditiesin high demand.

During the past six months, steel prices and the prices for someother construction materials have increased as much as 50 percentfrom last summer.

As a result, the cost of many industrial, commercial, energy andgovernment projects along the Front Range will probably go up.

Robert Giles, head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office atFort Carson, said post construction contractors anticipated theincreases.

'Some of our manufactured housing is actually built offsite --and they're using mostly wood,' he said. 'In addition, most of theon-post contractors we work with have switched to wood framing andtrusses because steel is just too expensive. Also, contractors onthe post's new maintenance buildings are using tilt-up concreteinstead of steel which is just too expensive.'

Giles admits that the lifespan of wood isn't that of steel, butstaying within budget requires being resourceful.

Ken Simonson, chief economist for Associated General Contractorsof America's, said he believes that reports from steel producerswill mean an 'unprecedented price spiral at a time of lacklusterdomestic demand, beckoning higher costs for everything fromrefrigerators to new office towers during a period of economicweakness.'

четверг, 4 октября 2012 г.

MEN'S SOCCER FALLS 2-0 TO COLORADO RAPIDS OF MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

DENVER, April 15 -- The University of New Mexico issued the following news release:

The University of New Mexico men's soccer team gave up two goals in the first half and lost 2-0, to the Colorado Rapids at Dick Sporting Goods Park today. The Lobos shutdown the Rapid attack in the second half and didn't allow a goal. The exhibition wraps up the Lobos spring play who finished 3-0-2 against collegiate competition.

'This was a great experience,' said head coach Jeremy Fishbein. 'We went out tentative and got caught a little bit in the first half. We had a lot chances in the second half once we got our confidence back. Everyone got to play against top competition and we held our own. That's what the spring is for, so we can evaluate and prepare for the fall.'

среда, 3 октября 2012 г.

Seattle's boom is over, but it remains a fine place to visit.(The Gazette (Colorado Springs)) - Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service

SEATTLE _ Three decades ago, Seattle was known for its rain and the little airplane plant called Boeing. The city had an inferiority complex of sorts _ never a major city, always an also-ran.

But the city has improved its image.

Seattle's march into the spotlight began in 1962 with the World's Fair, which included construction of the Space Needle and a visit by Elvis Presley, where he filmed one of his lamest movies, 'It Happened At the World's Fair.' Nevertheless, it was Seattle's announcement to the world, 'Hey, we're over here.'

The soggy, moss-filled corner of the country began to be recognized. Sporting events helped. College basketball playoffs began regular trips to the county-owned concrete stadium called the Kingdome. The Seattle Mariners baseball team drafted burgeoning superstars Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez, and the Seattle-based University of Washington football team won the national championship.

Then, the city and the Northwest became the backdrop for such films as 'Sleepless in Seattle' and 'Singles' and television shows 'Northern Exposure' and 'Twin Peaks.'

Microsoft's campus was in a Seattle suburb. Seattle-based Starbucks entered the American lexicon for good coffee and market expansion. And Kurt Cobain and friends made muddy music that prompted the country to wear ragged flannel shirts _ a longtime staple of Northwest fashion. National magazines proclaimed Seattle the coolest in the land. In 1996, Newsweek's cover blared, 'Seattle Reigns' and said 'sooner or later everyone moves to Seattle.'

The 1990s may have been the city's coming-out party, but also marked the end of its innocence. Seattle now had big city problems: a wild protest over international economics, traffic jams and a much higher cost of living.

In recent months, Seattle has had its share of bad luck. Griffey and Rodriguez have left. Microsoft has been ordered to split up. Software companies are closing. And just a few weeks ago, Boeing announced it was moving its world headquarters.

In February, a 6.8 earthquake rocked the region. It caused millions of dollars in damage, but for the most part the city survived intact, according to the mayor's publicist, Dick Lilly.

'There is no significant impact to life in the city or tourism in particular,' Lilly said.

Seattle remains a great place to visit. Clear days in Seattle, which regularly occur June to September, bring out its beauty. The Cascade Mountains to the east and the Olympic Mountains to the west provide a perfect backdrop for a downtown that appears to be floating in the middle of an inland sea.

Ferries toot their horns as they cruise commuters to island homes. House boats bob on Lake Union. Seaplanes fly executives to their hideaways. And evergreen trees keep the landscape lush year-round.

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(c) 2001, The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.).

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