S T E A M B O AT
TODAY
THURSDAY
MAY 14, 2009
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
®
Vol. 21, No. 115
RO U T T
S T E A M B O AT S P R I N G S
FREE
C O U N T Y ’ S
DAI LY
N E W S PA P E R
Connecting through music
Highlands review today Planning Commission to consider development’s proposed height variances Page 4
S T E A M B O AT S P R I N G S
Driver cited in death Craig resident could receive 6-point ticket and $150 in fines for fatal accident Page 3
SPORTS
MATT STENSLAND/STAFF
Professional pianist and music educator Alpin Hong performs Wednesday for local students during a Strings Music Festival youth outreach program at the Strings Music Pavilion. Hong is performing in a concert Friday with youth musicians from Routt and Moffat counties. There is a wait list for tickets to the free concert.
Ski base tops tax tumble Local businesses remain optimistic as summer approaches
Teams eye state Page 25
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS
Led by huge decreases at the base of Steamboat Ski Area, Steamboat Springs’ March sales tax collections fell in every area of the city. Decreases by category includ-
■ LOTTO
■ INDEX Briefs . . . . . . . . .10 Business. . . . . . .24 Classifieds . . . . .31 Colorado. . . . . . .14 Comics . . . . . . . .29 Crossword . . . . .30
Brandon Gee
PILOT & TODAY STAFF
Happenings . . . . .7 Horoscope . . . . .29 Nation. . . . . . . . .16 Sports. . . . . . . . .25 ViewPoints . . . . . .8 Weather . . . . . . .22
Wednesday night’s Powerball numbers: 19-30-32-37-40 37, 3 Lotto numbers: 2-5-27-29-40-42 Cash 5 numbers: 1-8-21-24-29
ed a 35 percent drop in lodging revenue. March was the seventh straight month of increasing sales tax declines in the city and brought the city’s year-todate decline to 18.5 percent, but local businesspeople interviewed Wednesday said they remain optimistic and have seen
■ WEATHER
Partly cloudy. High of 67.
Page 22
signs of improvement in April and May. “I’m hopeful that, with lower gas prices and some encouraging economic signs, that consumer confidence will rebound and people will travel,” said Paul Underwood, owner of upscale base area restaurant Café Diva. Is your business struggling with the basics of web design?
Citywide, sales tax collections for restaurants fell 20.4 percent. Base area sales tax collections in all categories fell nearly $400,000, or 36 percent. City Revenue Supervisor Kim Weber said the decrease in that area alone accounted for 67 See Sales tax, page 11
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