S T E A M B O AT
TODAY
SATURDAY
MAY 23, 2009
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
®
Vol. 21, No. 123
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
DA I LY
N E W S PA P E R
Labor scene grim
Reservoir relaxation
The beauty of botany
April numbers show 1.6 percentage point increase from March
Steamboat Art Museum exhibit highlights rare plants through September
Blythe Terrell
PILOT & TODAY STAFF
Page 3
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS
N AT I O N
Big budget woes California faces severe cuts in its state spending in the next fiscal year Page 25
SPORTS
Season speeds by Page 27
■ LOTTO
■ INDEX Briefs . . . . . . . . .10 Business. . . . . . .18 Classifieds . . . . .34 Colorado. . . . . . .15 Comics . . . . . . . .32 Crossword . . . . .33
MATT STENSLAND/STAFF
Melissa Owens and her fiance John Wiegmann paddle their boat around Stagecoach Reservoir on Thursday morning during a three-night getaway from Centennial. Campsites at the park are booked for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.
Happenings . . . . .7 Horoscope . . . . .33 Nation. . . . . . . . .25 Sports. . . . . . . . .27 ViewPoints . . . . . .8 Weather . . . . . . .24
Friday night’s Cash 5 numbers: 15-19-20-26-27 Drawings are held Monday through Saturday.
■ WEATHER
Cloudy with afternoon storms. High of 65.
Page 24
Routt County’s unemployment rate increased from 6 percent in March to 7.6 percent in April. “That’s quite a jump,” said Brian Bradbury, an employment specialist at the Colorado Workforce Center. It could reflect an adjustment from ski season to mud season in the area, he acknowledged. The figure is not adjusted for typical seasonal employment changes. Leisure and hospitality cut 4,600 positions statewide in April, according to a news release from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Colorado decreased one-tenth of a percentage point to 7.4 percent in April, Donald Mares, executive director of the department, said in the release. “While this marks the first time since October 2007 that the unemployment rate has fallen, continued job losses likely will push Colorado’s unemployment rate still higher in the upcoming months,” Mares said. Colorado’s rate was 4.7 percent a year ago. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the nation’s See Unemployment, page 13
■ THERE’S MORE ONLINE For around-the-clock updates, breaking local news and sports scores, videos, photos and an interactive community forum, visit www.steamboatpilot.com.