STRs great for tourism, but proprietors need protections

by Rep. Doyle Heffley

We welcome thousands of visitors each year to the many sights and attractions here in Carbon County. For some residents, this is an opportunity to host out-oftown families – either as an Airbnb or a VRBO (vacation rental by owner).

These sort-term rentals are a wonderful alternative to traditional short-term lodging options. They can help invigorate our local economy and provide additional income options for homeowners or investors. Despite those benefits, though, when a property being used as a short-term rental does not comply with local or state laws, or becomes a nuisance property, it can become problematic for those nearby.

To address these issues, I recently introduced House Bill 1363, which will provide for better enforcement and oversight of Airbnb and VRBO rentals.

I’ve heard these complaints from local

From the Geek Desk

residents, and so I have introduced this bill to create a “code of conduct” for short-term rentals, which reiterates the need that these types of rentals need to be in compliance with all local, state and federal laws. This can include all occupancy, parking, noise limits, etc., or even the registering and licensing requirements that local communities already may have in place. My legislation would also provide legal relief options for neighbors and local communities when a

Is a Chromebook Right For You?

by Jeremy dePrisco

In my last two installments, I discussed how to plan a computer purchase. Now, I want to focus on Chromebooks. It’s great timing because, as I type this, I am putting my new Chromebook through some tests.

First, what is a Chromebook, and how does it differ from a PC or Macbook? Chromebooks are made for deep integration with the Google suite of programs and services. After becoming very successful in their search business, and later in their application business (both paid and free), Google decided it was time to enter the hardware market a few years back, developing a new “flavor” of computer hardware that wasn’t a PC and wasn’t a Mac. Chromebooks are really their own species of computer laptop, with their own operating system (Chrome OS).

Google licenses the “Chromebook” name to multiple hardware companies (Samsung, Lenovo, ASUS, etc). Each of those companies manufacture Chromebooks with slightly different physical designs and specs. The central processing unit (CPU) and memory (RAM) that is used in a Chromebook - in many cases - is the same as what you’d find in a PC. What really separates a Chromebook from other types of computers is the operating system. More on that in a moment.

I was first introduced to Chromebooks when we were looking to replace my wife’s dying Win 7 machine for her home office. She needed something portable, able to do basic browsing, email and word processing. She didn’t need anything too expensive short-term rental property becomes problematic, and a local government does not have the policing force or manpower to enforce their ordinances and laws.

But to keep a healthy balance, House Bill 1363 will also prohibit local governments from unnecessarily prolonging or stalling the licensing or registering of shortterm rentals that are in compliance with all ordinances, laws or requirements.

Finally, my legislation this summer I decided to purchase one for myself. My additional motivation was that I really needed to retire a dying Win 8 machine. will allow the courts to direct listing platforms for short-term rentals to delist properties, if they are continuously a nuisance property, and the court deems delisting necessary. I hope that my legislation will be a step in the right direction to help foster short-term rentals in a healthy way, invigorating our local economy and boosting our tourism, without allowing them to become neighborhood nuisances. or powerful. As a teacher, she was already familiar with Chromebooks, so it made sense to go that route. We landed on a Samsung 15” Chromebook 4+ which at the time was under $350. Specs include 64 GB storage, Intel Celeron N3450 CPU, 6 GB RAM and Intel UHD Graphics 600. When purchasing a Chromebook, the selection of memory and hard drive space is going to be much more limited than usual, both in terms of sheer choices and size options. Since most of a Chromebook’s activity takes place in the cloud, you won’t see huge hard drives. RAM choices are also on the smaller side, but as I always say: get as much RAM as you can afford.

Over time, I would use my wife’s Chromebook for basic tasks. Before long, I found myself more reliant on the Chromebook, so

I selected a Lenovo 3i Chromebook 2023 with 8GB RAM, 64GB storage and Intel Celeron N4500 CPU. I wanted a model with a number pad, but so far, after only a few days of using it, don’t care for it. I much prefer the feel of our other Chromebook keyboard. On the new one, the left-most Tab, Shift, and Ctrl keys are much smaller than I am used to, and the number pad keys are smaller than standard. I’m trying to push through that design quirk, as the rest of the machine is doing well.

On the upside, using Chrome OS frees you from heavy install and maintenance that comes with owning a Windows or Mac device. On the downside, you are a bit more limited to what you can run, and more reliant on the cloud. For example, if I want to run Quickbooks, I’d have to move to their cloud version, accessed via the Chrome browser. I can’t just load my old Windows desktop version of Quickbooks onto my Chromebook. For most tasks, there is a solution within the Chrome OS ecosystem. It is possible to work 100% “in the cloud” with a selection of applications from the Google Play store and web sites. As always, I suggest doing lots of research and thinking about your needs before making any buying decisions. The transition to a Chromebook for an experienced PC or Mac user will be a bit strange at first. A few keys might be slightly different. You’ll need to learn a few different shortcuts, and how to navigate everything from a browser. A person who has never used a Chromebook will easily be able to pick up what they need to know quickly, which is why they are used so often in schools to get kids into computing. Chromebooks are also great for seniors who are perhaps already familiar with Gmail and web browsing.