Retail Marijuana

• Hotchkiss accepts Baker Ranches bid for Fire Mountain Canal shares, puts Overland Ditch shares out for new bids
• Paonia in Motion virtual input gathering events scheduled for Monday - Wednesday next week
• Grand Junction City Council marijuana task force solidifies recommendations on land use codes
• KVNF's Kate Redmond gets an update from Paradise Theater manager Sunshine Knight
• Laura Palmisano hears about changes to the COVID dial from CDPHE official Mara Brosy-Wiwchar 

• Cedaredge Trustees refine application process for marijuana shops
• CDOT unveils new Bustang route from Telluride to Grand Junction
• Avalanche claims 3 lives of backcountry skiers near Ophir Pass
• Center for Western Priorities policy director Jesse Prentice-Dunn says the sky is not falling for the oil & gas industry
• KVNF's Kate Redmond hears from Hotchkiss Trustee Mary Hockenberry about revitalization plans including a vision for the Public Works building

Paonia Trustees working group is closing in on a draft ordinance to regulate marijuana shops. KVNF's Kate Redmond speaks with town trustee Michelle Pattison to get an update.

• Paonia's working group is closing in on a draft ordinance to regulate marijuana shops. KVNF's Kate Redmond speaks with Paonia Town Trustee Michelle Pattison to get an update.
• A Bureau of Land Management field office on the Western Slope decided to open 95% of lands under its watch to oil and gas leasing. But the State of Colorado and Western Slope conservation groups are suing to try to stop the lease sales. For the Rocky Mountain Community Radio fossil fuel reporting collaboration, Chad Reich reports.

• Governor Polis signs 5 bills 
• President Biden beings process to restore Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante boundaries
• Retail marijuana will be on April ballot in Grand Junction
• Ridgway switching water filtration from chlorine dioxide to carbon
• Drought plan activated for upper Colorado River
• Delta County Health director shares COVID-19 update
• Ian Silverii of Progress Now says Western Slope residents should share comments on redistricting

• Cedaredge trustees leaning toward cap of 2 recreational, 1 medical marijuana retailers
• Delta County Health Department not ready to vaccinate individuals younger than 70
• Colorado's largest union of educators calling on lawmakers to increase funding, make classrooms safer
• KSJD's Austin Cope: As Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association shifts focus to more renewable energy, undoing years of fossil fuel influence won't be easy

• Grand Junction City Council working on marijuana ballot measures for April election
• CDOT will spend some of $150M relief funds to improve Hwy 50 between Delta & Grand Junction
• Teachers not expected to start receiving vaccines until March, state providing rapid testing kits
• Governor says residents age 70+ will soon have easier time scheduling COVID vaccinations
• KOTO's Matt Hoisch explores what it means for local governments and public services when oil and gas revenues become more uncertain

• Governor Polis moving counties from red to orange on COVID dial
• Uranium mill tailings disposal site near Grand Junction can remain open
• Supreme Court to review case on tribal law enforcement
• New vertical farming system in Utah
• Colorado families with kids struggling to meet basic needs
• Kate Redmond interviews Paonia Town Trustee Mick Johnson on plans for retail marijuana

• Cedaredge Town Trustees begin discussing where marijuana shops can open
• Pitkin County requiring a traveler's affidavit from all visitors
• Grand Junction artist Linda McBride opens memorial for COVID dead at Art Center
• KZMU Moab's Justin Higginbottom reports on residents' opposition to a new 35-mile highway proposed for southeast Utah

• Tighter COVID-19 restrictions start Friday in Mesa County
• CDPHE tweaks exposure app to alert users more quickly
• Cedaredge begins discussing retail marijuana plan
• Fox Theater reopening Friday in Montrose
• Ridgway Town Council accepting applications
• Delta Hospital pulmonologist Dr. Sara Knutson discusses coronavirus response

• Open Enrollment is now available through Connect for Health Colorado
• Ouray Silver Mines a COVID outbreak site
• Rocky Mountain National Park mostly reopen though East Troublesome Fire only half contained
• New job training opportunities emerge in Colorado as a result of the pandemic
• An entire county health department staff resigned in Montana last week
• Chad Reich reports on the Capitol Christmas tree cutting ceremony near Montrose

Ten months into legalization, marijuana continues to be a divisive issue at the state and local level.  

“I think any governor that looks at doing this before we see what the consequences are I would view it as reckless," Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper says during Monday's debate. 

Politico's Manu Raju, the moderator, asks Hickenlooper if it was reckless to legalize marijuana in the state.

Six months after the first retail marijuana stores opened in the state people in Colorado are using a lot of pot, according to a recent report.