Crazy but after a month they weren't getting a lot of bites so in late September if they took it off the market or asking price originally had been around $700000.00 and by the time that we pulled it we were not likely to make more than 500 Seattle is one city where a previously scorching real estate market has cooled off Zillow senior economist Aaron terasa says one reason is higher interest rates in the past 3 to 6 months home sales have been flat or maybe falling prices while they've been studying nationwide kind of how do you celebrate it particularly in those prices markets so what does the housing slowdown mean for the larger economy Susan Wachter teaches real estate at the Wharton School it will on the margin decrease the demand for some spending and some industries will feel consumer durables in particular like refrigerators washing machines all the stuff people buy with the new house real estate and mortgage brokers will feel it too but Christopher Thornberg with Beacon Economics says unlike the last expansion this one hasn't been fueled by construction or housing wealth so if the softer market turns into an outright downturn and won't drag down the economy as a whole take a deep breath America it's not that big of a deal he thinks the housing markets just taking a breather and just so you know this is a guy who predicted last decades housing crash I'm Amy Scott for Marketplace Let's circle back to the election here for a 2nd specifically the internal congressional elections that follow Election Day proper campaigns to decide who's going to lead the parties and the committees in the house in the Senate Mitch McConnell going to be on top in the still g.o.p. Controlled Senate Nancy Pelosi is being very clear she plans to be the speaker of the house and there is going to be some jockeying over who sits on which committees and who gets to hold the gavels But as Marketplace's Kimberly Adams reports those committee chairs spots might not be as important as they used to be gatekeepers on committees especially the ones that deal with taxes spending and regulate. Are pretty powerful positions but lately party leadership has become stronger and stronger at the direct expense of committees and committee leadership Laura blessing of Georgetown's Government Affairs Institute says this isn't a new thing but has accelerated in recent years she says a good example is last year's tax law I mean this thing spent about a month in committee and was large you know just largely written by party leadership without a whole lot of your typical whitish lot of hearings but that's not to say there's no power in a committee chair it comes with oversight powers and control over which issues get a hearing Han's Hassel is a political science professor at Florida State University there are still benefits who just might not necessarily be policy benefits they may be pork going back to your district there may be you know ability to claim credit on particular issues others in Washington argue that committees still have plenty of power lobbyist Ken keys at the federal policy group previously worked with tax writing committee as part of the Joint Committee on Taxation certain decisions might have been made at the leadership level but they would be the broad brush is these things are so complicated 'd the committees are the ones who actually write the legislation he says when it comes to really complex legislation most of the work and the power is still with the committees in Washington I'm Kimberly Adams for Marketplace a lackluster on Wall Street today to be honest not a lot of zip after the relief rally yesterday will have the details when we do the numbers. On Moscow. New boss today Robin den Holeman is her name the deal the Tesla c.e.o. Made with the Securities and Exchange Commission back in October after that whole taking the company private thing turned out not to be actually you know happening let Musk keep running the company he just couldn't be the chairman of the board anymore that is he couldn't be his own boss the Washington Post China McGregor covers all things corporate governance general with program thanks for having me so what do you think is Robin Ben home going to satisfy what the f.c.c. Was looking for in this judgment against this deal that they had with Tesla whether she'll satisfy the f.c.c. I think is a very different question than whether she'll satisfy what investors are looking for she's got a great resume she's somebody who is very clearly an independent member of the board but I think a lot of investors and governments watchers were wanting to see somebody new from the outside who had not been on the board for the past 4 years come into this position right so let's get down to brass tacks the next time you're on Musk tweeted out something. Musk if we could just put it that way is she is she going to have to go to him and say you know on Cut it out we really don't know I mean what we do know is that over the past 4 years she's been on the board and that hasn't happened do you think it matters that she's from telecommunications not necessarily manufacturing and might not have operational expertise again I think that's something that some people were looking for I think some people were looking at this board saying you know she worked for Toyota but it was in finance roles somebody you had operations at a manufacturing company chops what it would have been a great addition to his board Tesla has outsized not necessarily influence but outsized impact just because of musk and honestly the you know the whiz bang nature of its product its board though has been extremely quiet through this entire period of controversy ever since going public and for 20 funding secured that's not typical for a board with a company in trouble. Yeah I mean this this board has been criticized in the past for being more cozy with mass than other boards they say that only 2 of its members are not independent both mask and his brother who's on the board but there are other directors that people have raised questions about their professional ties and wondered whether whether there is it's as independent as it could be yeah the judgment of the f.c.c. The deal of this you see bars him from the chairman role for I think 3 years 3 years from today do we see him back in the chairman's job do you think 3 years is what the f.c.c. Called for there are people pushing to make it permanent there's a lot of people out there who think even in your average company where it doesn't have these kinds of issues they should be separate and so. Who knows this company will say General Gregor writes on corporate governance and a bunch of stuff for The Washington Post Jennifer thanks a lot thanks for having me all right so from an electric car company to legacy car makers that are really really trying to diversify Ford has plunk down tens of millions of dollars as much as $100000000.00 according to one report by the electric scooter company spin last week Don learn and it's trying scooters too and those who will be competing against the Roger Johnson Britain lift and east greater originals birdlime for a share of what could be a multibillion dollar scooter business was enough to get a multiyear $1000000000.00 industry Marketplace's Megan McCarty Corrino explains what these big companies are hoping to get out of those little machines it's hard to take scooters Seriously though for kids right people look silly writing that they're flimsy and plasticky but the scooter business is no joke it's a space it's grown really rapidly from almost nothing in over the past year mobility research analyst Sam Abu also need with Navigant Consulting says scooters across the u.s. Are now getting almost 250000 rides a day and bringing in about a 1000000. Dollars of revenue and lift wanted a piece of that business because it was a natural fit with ride sharing they're trying to hit all the different types of services that can be offered in order to maximize the revenue potential from these businesses need says the attraction for automakers is the holy grail of transportation in the future looking forward you know a few years from now as we start to get automated vehicles on the road we're actually going to need a mix of a lot of different types of transportation even with autonomous vehicles on the road they will be the best option for every trip 50 percent shift in urban areas or less 5 miles and I think the scooter can fulfill a one to 3 mile trip gave Klein is a transportation consultant who has worked with spin the company that Ford just purchased He says Ford may have an advantage in space because it's a trusted name that's been around for more than 100 years like its disruptive competitors in Los Angeles I'm Megan McCarty Corrino from Marketplace. We take you now to the town of Little Plumpton in Lancaster County up the north of England by way of the global petroleum markets crude oil division which for the American benchmark West Texas Intermediate officially closed today in bear market territory down 21 percent from its most recent highs last month a big chunk of that decline is because of a supply good glut which gets us back to Little Plumpton more company called quit drilling has a 3 month exploratory project going to see whether it can make money fracking natural gas from shale deposits but at Marketplace's Stephen Beard reports quadrille is run into some problems. On the road side outside the fracking sites the protest. Settled in for the long haul celebrity supporters drop by and folksingers serenades the activists. The aura of peace and love is dispelled when a truck enters or leaves the premises of the said I was. Young I didn't like the protesters believe that fracking will pollute the air poison the water supply ruin the landscape and exacerbate global warming fracking is right because we have to get rid of fossil fuels our grandchildren are to have environment to live in. But this roadside resistance isn't quadrille as biggest headache that would be the earthquakes since they started fracking here 3 weeks ago they've had to stop for 18 hours on 3 separate occasions because they triggered earth tremors above the permitted threshold it's this claims protest above Dennet that will spell the end of this technology in Britain it's costing them $94000.00 pounds per day to run this site and every time they have to stop for 18 hours that's costing them $70500.00 that's $90000.00 every time fracking stops for the trauma threshold to be raised so far the government has refused. In his laboratory at nearby Manchester University geology professor Ernest Rutter is measuring the strength and structure of rock. He says quadrille has to suspend operations when it triggers an earthquake of only north point 5 on the Richter scale which would never be felt on the surface it's too low in your view. If you compare this to situation in the United States depending on the state the kickoff level is about a 1000 times stronger he says Britain's low tremor threshold is part of the cautious approach to fracking after quadrille a caused a $2.00 magnitude earthquake in 2011 that stoked opposition led to a 7 year. And slowed the progress of this technique here it has certainly been very very strong ridiculously slow really I'm sure the Americans will laugh at the British for this process has been at least one local business leader shares his frustration Babs Murphy head of the Northwest Chamber of Commerce hopes this region will become a center for the European fracking industry long was the heart of the Industrial Revolution Yeah and we're a pioneering County so why not embrace this new industry she says local companies have already sold $15000000.00 worth of goods and services to court and if the test fracking proves positive they're eager to tap into what could be hundreds of millions but I've spent 2 days in this region and Murphy was the only business person I could find prepared to voice support for fracking Why isn't this county full of business people bursting with enthusiasm and eager to talk about this subject the business community actually want it's what they don't want a protest outside of the premises that maybe I don't know what. You all protest is and police continue to clash at the fracking site the protesters say they'll stay until the site shuts down but quadrille has spent $130000000.00 so far prospecting for gas in the u.k. It isn't about to walk away either in little Plumpton Lancashire I'm Stephen Beard for Marketplace. So really in a way old school is the new school marketing goes back to the future but. 1st let's do the numbers. Down industrials picked up 10 points less than a 10th percent blue chips closed 226191 the Nasdaq down $39.00 that's a half percent finished at $7530.00 the s. And p. 500 dropped 7 points a quarter percent 286 fold about the slowing housing market what that might mean for the overall economy so a look ilu here at the real estate industry home construction company d.r. Horton down nearly 9 percent today after reporting that its earnings and sales missed analysts forecasts Toll Brothers fell 3 percent Tesla sped up 9 tenths percent today on the news of Robin dent home is the board here we told you about tipping over those auto companies that are kicking the very small tires on the scooter market cruise down 1.9 percent Ford spotted one and 4 tenth's percent day drink maker Monster Beverage poured off 3 to 10 percent after it said Coca-Cola is developing energy drinks that could compete with its products that you drink makers have a partnership with monster Cisco could supposed to do that companies have taken the dispute to arbitration Coca-Cola for it was flat you know listening to Marketplace marketplace is supported by c.f.p. Certified financial planner professionals trained in providing holistic financial planning in the client's best interest for short and long term goals from starting a business to saving for college to retirement let's make a plan dot org and buy Bill dot com simplifying digital business payments buildout com helps 3000000 users get more out of their accounting software by streamlining the way businesses pay and get paid learn more at Bill dot com And by Charles Schwab who believes a modern approach to wealth management starts with asking questions and providing straightforward answers Charles Schwab own your tomorrow learn more and Schwab dot com. And. I. Want to spend more time with Marketplace connect with those and the other folks who make the show work follow us on Twitter at Marketplace you can find us at Marketplace a.p.m. On Facebook You Tube and Instagram. And. The world knows marketplace how to keep up with our Alexis scale just say make me smart on any and good advice and here's something new explained every day from Molly Wood and Kyra's to all everything from how streaming music works to whatever happened to the $1000.00 bill say make me smile on any advice to get started. This is Marketplace Omkara result Kimberly Adams and I were talking about the post midterm fiscal policy picture yesterday on the program how the debt and deficit are going to affect policy making because they are gone even if nobody was talking about how much money this country owes during the campaign But as Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genzer reports elections do have a way of changing the conversation here's how much politicians think we care about the budget deficit of the more than $1000000.00 campaign ads that aired in September and October less than 15 percent even mention the budget much less the deficit but a politico survey of registered voters taken right before the election found that nearly half thought the deficit should be a top priority for Congress a good thing because we're going to start hearing a lot of this they just voted and shared a bill that would add $1.00 trillion to the deficit that was Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer pointing the finger at what he considered reckless spending by Republicans earlier this year and here is then Minority Leader Mitch McConnell back in 2011 when the Democrats were in the White House and he thought they were running up too big of a tab at Washington is to find a way to spend while this is how it works on Capitol Hill lawmakers are most concerned about the deficit when the other party is doing spending there is tons of it but have pocker see on both sides Jeffrey Wright is an analyst with the Eurasia Group He says both parties know the cuts they're calling for won't happen yet they can sort of telegraph things that they believe without having to really back it up and no one expects them to because the deficit is most often used as a hammer to smack the other party with that hammer could get a lot of use Come January when Democrats take over the house the clock officially begins ticking on the 2020 presidential race and the projected trillion dollar deficit becomes everyone's favorite subject Stephanie Miller of capital markets says the Republicans will show their resolve by pounding away at spending. So cuts to Medicare Medicaid or Social Security if Democrats will call for higher taxes increases took the corporate tax rate it passed as part of tax reform it's still going to be a lot of talk the kind of talk that Washington's professional problem solvers live for D.C.'s stacked with nonprofits and think tanks devoted to the deficit mark old wine with the Committee for Responsible Federal Budget what we hope to do as an organization is sort of leverage the fact that we have a problem and make sure that folks understand that Goldline will accomplish that by traveling the country and telling people they have a problem and should be letting our politicians know that they want solutions to the debt goldmines hoping to increase his own influence on Capitol Hill by helping lawmakers arrive at some of those solutions lots of people have used the deficit to leverage themselves in 1906 a guy named Newt Gingrich got his 15 minutes of fame by making speech after speech on the deficit on a nearly empty house floor all of it carried live by C.-Span the fact is that the United States cannot possibly sustain $200000000000.00 a year deficit for year after year after year actually it appears we can't in Washington I'm Nancy Marshall Genzer for Marketplace. I'm going to check the mail when I get home unless one of the kids has beat me to it and it's a safe bet that there's going to be a whole lot of advertising in there specifically oversized postcards and mailers from some brand names and some start ups that have decided in this digital age that snail mail is the way to go heavy labor wrote about mailboxes i.r.l. Versus e-mail as. Marketing Tools Welcome to the program thanks for having me so as I said in the introduction I have noticed this in my own mailbox Why are these otherwise otherwise hip companies resorting to the regular old mail Yeah you know it's a funny thing I think when people assume the business ways of a start up they think digital Facebook ads answer Graham ads and they definitely are all over social media like all of these companies are just competing for the same eyeballs and it turns out that the mailbox is actually way less crowded than it used to be also as you point out a stamp costs what a stamp costs but an ad on Facebook or Instagram which is fundamentally the same company those ads get more expensive the more effective they are right yes exactly and the cost to sign something via mail is pretty stagnant you know how much something costs to print event when you turn to social media advertising I joke that it's really up to the whim of Mark Zuckerberg and it doesn't boil down to that by in a way it does because these giant tech companies they control how much these brands are spending on advertising and the system and or really more the game is set up that they want these companies to be spending more and more money a word here about the humble coupon you know you can put it you can put a coupon code in an e-mail newsletter but if that e-mail newsletter doesn't get opened it's useless but if you put a coupon code on the front of a like a mailer or something or a postcard people are going to see that's become an interesting touch point for all these brands like if you look at the ads of a way Harry's Casper or Jet dot com wayfarer almost always there's a coupon code you know say $5.00 a cost ca with code x. This is a marking strategy that's as old as time right like people who have a deal and the interesting thing is these startups really also have us in their back pocket because the code is a really great way to track customer I will tell you Harry no Harry's knows me pretty well I'm just. The catch of course is that. We don't necessarily know which works better right snail mail or online and yeah. I think that the startups are trying to figure out what is the best way to reach the most amount of customers so they're definitely still advertising on social media the difference is that on social media you have a pretty nice customer so now you know they're trying to think about ways to think outside of the box and that's where mail comes in but it's definitely not an either or type of business Yeah and this goes along of course with traditionally digital companies opening actual brick and mortar retail shops as well I mean a sort of journey into the actual In real life space Yes exactly if you walk around you know this one neighborhood in New York City if you walk around Soho it has become like direct to consumer a la la land like all of these digital companies opening stores because they realize as technologically savvy as their customer base as they really need to expand and offer them new propositions and that means opening a store so really in a way old school is the new school over that's a good line have you liberating advice. About actual mailers come your mailbox through the postal service. Thanks so much for having me. This followed on the way out today for the Star Wars fans among you Disney c.e.o. Bob Iger said on the company's earnings call today that they're working on a prequel to the best Star Wars prequel of all and don't at me here you all rogue one is going to start to go Luna which is great but here is the devil as part Disney's going to put it on its soon to launch streaming service so yeah another $510.00 whatever a month out the door. Marketplace is supported by Amazon Web Services over a 1000000 customers using his cloud tools functionality and experience to dream big and fast learn more at a ws is how dot com and Baird a financial partner guiding families businesses communities and institutions since 1919 bear dot com has more information and by figures providing a streamlined digital platform for home equity loans you can learn how to use the equity in your home for home improvement major purchases or debt consolidation at Figure dot com All we got to go down to 10 points today that's less than a 10 percent Nasdaq down 39 points about a half percent s. And p. 507 points lower a quarter percent. Even Gregory John Gordon and Betsy Streisand are the marketplace editing staff the managing editor is there today. But. This is a pia. Election results are Democrats have taken control of the house. And America and Republicans have expanded their majority in the Senate I thought it was a very close to complete victory both of them are calling this a win so what does that mean for the future of either party next time on The Politics Show from n.p.r. . Hi It's mountain edition all the news from the week here in the Roaring Fork Valley and from around the state coming at you in the next half hour I'm Zoe Rome and I'm here with why it alarmed. We had some exciting midterm elections on Tuesday and the Aspen Public Radio News team covered the races the results and the stories beyond the ballot stories you might not be expecting like how exactly are ballots counted voters across the state rejected a slew of ballot measures from transportation bonds to increase restrictions for oil and gas development Those stories and more coming up on Mountain edition. Ok Wyatt Let's talk some election results Colorado voters were asked to fill out a really long ballot and was really let's go over some of the results that might be of particular interest to people here in the Roaring Fork Valley that are listening voters from Aspen to Newcastle approved ballot issue 70 this implements a property tax to support the running for transportation authority also known as rafter the results were really close 52 to 48 percent rafter will receive funds for electric buses maintenance and building a trail from Glenwood Springs to Newcastle and that's the lova trail right lova trail Ok So Colorado in college now has the authority to adjust its tax rate in certain circumstances voters in all 6 of the colleges counties overwhelmingly approved a measure that allows the school's board of trustees to adjust their mill levy rate c.m.c. Says this is a way to prevent losing money because of Colorado's Gallagher Amendment right and carry Donovan one state senate district 5 over her challenger Olan Lund in the State House District 26 race incumbent Democrat Dillon Roberts won reelection he says he focused on health insurance. In his 1st term and that he will continue to do so he says to look to pass some legislation that could involve the public insurance option or insurance co-ops what I want to keep working on it but I think if you get over it you're. Increasing competition in the insurance market right now to many families in these 2 counties and if the whole western Colorado region have no choice we're divided on the individual market in House District 57 Republican incumbent Bob Franken will return to the state house to represent real Blanco Moffitt and Garfield Counties rank and captured over 60 percent of the vote Garfield County libraries will add new materials to their shelves this next year 73 percent of voters approved ballot issue 6 a which allows libraries to retain funds that they formerly had to give back to property owners because of Colorado's Tabor law the Library District will spend this money on new books e-books and also audio books lots of books for the Garfield County Library of new books Congressman Scott Tipton will be returning to Washington d.c. To represent the western slope and all of Colorado's 3rd District Tipton beat Democratic challenger Dianne Mitch Bush a former State House Rep and county commissioner. Democrats fared well in Colorado during Tuesday's midterm elections from the governor's race to congressional races to State House races many of the Republican incumbents who represent Garfield County were reelected how much of a fight did the Democrats put up. I think the answer is a pretty good one but it obviously was not strong enough to change the status quo much take time Jan Kosky For example he just won his 3rd term as a Garfield County Commissioner and he and I sat down at the end of Tuesday evening right after he was ready to declare victory and he said that this was by far the most competitive race that he's had he said that Polish step his opponent had a lot of momentum going for her and that momentum really carried her through most of the fall I just think just as far as. Backing volunteers. Excitement synergy they think think those things are in my opponent's favor at the start of the campaign Gen Kosky says that he thinks that Paula steps momentum really kind of slow down based on her decision not to oppose Proposition $112.00 and he thinks that that is what ultimately made the most difference and to clarify proposition $112.00 was the proposition to increase setback distances from new oil and gas development that failed last night that's exactly right and Jen Kosky was opposed to Proposition 112 for the entirety of the race he told me that because his race was so close that it is making him think about his constituency a little differently he thinks that the fact that the Democrats did as well as they did is really showing some changes in demographics in Garfield County did he say that this would lead to any sort of policy change he didn't say that the race was going to make him rethink any of his policy positions he says the things that he's hoping to accomplish in his next term he's been hoping to accomplish for a while that includes getting some public transportation from parachute and battlement Mesa to rifle he also wants to see the Jordan Cove export terminal built in Oregon which he plans to to advocate for so the policies that he's going for seem unchanged so our Garfield County Democrats feeling at this point. On election night I stopped by their watch party incline with springs and I talked to Gretchen Brogden She's the chair of the Garfield County Democrats and she told me that Democrats in Garfield County are voting at a higher rate than they have in a while and she also thinks that there are way more left leaning independent voters in the county than people think they just haven't been voting let's have a listen we opened an office in rifle this year and we have had more and more people show up to that office and say thank you for showing up here we didn't know there was anybody else in this area when there are thousands of Democrats and left leaning progressives in those in Western Garfield but obviously the Democrats they they didn't win that's right there's not much change as far as representation in Garfield County goes most of the Republican incumbents won barbering can be con Wilhelm there wasn't much of a competition there Rankin is a long serving representative and he's deep in statewide education issues and is also working to overturn the Gallagher Amendment which is a really which is really unpopular in the western half of the state Scott Tipton beat Diane mitts Bush Miss Bush did better than Tippins previous opponent Gale Schwartz so so it was a more narrow victory than his than his previous one but one thing that we did see is the Jared Polis of who's a Democrat and is also the next governor of Colorado carried Garfield County just slightly over Republican candidate Walker Stapleton Colorado voters showed an overwhelming support for the Democratic Party on Tuesday night but as k.u.n.c. Sister Hoenig reports voters were far more conservative when it came to left leaning ballot issues which sought to fund education transportation and further regulate the oil and gas industry. On the morning after the highly anticipated $2800.00 midterms friends Pam would all Tom Moore and David on gathered around a small table at the Lyndon Street Cafe in Old Town for Collins something they do most mornings when they went to Fridays after going to class between sips of coffee . They talked about the outcomes of Tuesday's election. Here they're pretty pleased overall with the dozens of Democratic candidates that Coloradans elected last night including the new governor Jared Polis hard working open minded individual we need more of those in politics but with all is also a bit disappointed in the initiatives didn't turn out the way we would've hoped particular were you looking at the school in one for sure 73 I think that was this election the more progressive measures were defeated including Amendment 73 and Proposition 110 which proposed raising taxes to fund public education and transportation and perhaps one of the most hotly contested issues prop 112 did not pass it would have increased the distance of new oil and gas drilling from homes to 2500 feet you can bargain because that's why I didn't pass or David on is talking about the money that was spent opposing $112.00 roughly $40000000.00 that came mostly from the oil industry well 56 percent of voters oppose the measure organizers for Prop 112 say they'll continue to push for what they say are common sense regulations perhaps in the next election. Across Oldtown a better end of the u.s. Navy and for Collins native norm Cook is sipping on his morning coffee at Starbucks at 79 he says he tries to stay away from the pastries. Sometimes or blueberry scone is already poured over last night's results in this morning's paper he wasn't rooting for either party but thinks the winning candidates are strong I'm more interested in the person than the party really if Colorado's voter turnout were a PIII there be a slice for Republicans and a slice for Democrats but the biggest piece would go to the on affiliated voters like cook who had their highest turnout ever cook didn't vote for the new governor Jared Polis who is now the 1st openly gay gay. Oftener in the country well that's Ok you know. That doesn't mean he will get that job. Today doesn't have to be my preference of lifestyle but that's his business. In neighboring Weld County the morning crowded butters a local diner is sitting down to plates of sausage omelettes and French toast Josh Hamblin is here with his wife and 2 young kids his thoughts on the new governor no comment Republican candidate Walker Stapleton one the eastern plains including Weld County as well as most of the western slope but it was a blue streak that runs through the state along the front range that decided the race and that's troubling for Hamblin I hate seeing a Colorado go to the Democratic side according to some pundits Colorado may continue to be a friendly place for the Democratic Party in the future especially if trends in population diversity and education attainment continue to climb and historically conservative counties like welt voters like Hamblin are concerned by what could be a growing cultural shift but he says there is one silver lining from the election the failure of Prop 112 I mean that's our family livelihood like many in the region Hamblin works in the oil industry think the oil and gas industry did a great job educating the public to I don't know what. The devastation. As a conservative he's disappointed by Colorado's new political representation but he says the failure of the more progressive ballot initiatives is in his favor Esther Hoenig u.n.c. . You're listening to Mt edition from Aspen Public Radio News I'm Wyatt Orme and I'm Zoe room Wyatt are dedicated Aspen Public Radio Listeners are engaged with what's going on in their communities and that's why they tune into all of our programming including not in addition where we take them back over what happened this past week that's right Now in addition is one of many ways that listeners can stay up to date with what's going on they can also go to our Facebook page and while you're there don't hesitate to like it we also have a Twitter account for all of you variations social media consumers out there listening to our handle is at Aston pub radio on our Facebook page you can interact with our station through comments on our posts or by just messaging us directly you can get your local news throughout the day online at Aspen Public Radio dot org go deeper into the stories that you hear on air with slide shows extended interviews and breaking news updates you can also stream your favorite local public affairs show like Valley round up for example online at Aspen Public Radio dot org. Colorado is one of 3 states that conducts elections by mail every registered voter receives a ballot in their mailbox ahead of Election Day they can then mail their ballots back in or place them in an official drop box then the fun starts it's up to a team of volunteer election judges to make sure ballots get securely and accurately counted it takes $250.00 volunteers and elected officials to pull this off in picking county so he has the story 90 percent of picking County voters either mail in their ballots or drop them off right parrot's is dropping off his ballot at the pick can county administration building. The sound of democracy in Tracey Murtaugh sits at the election table she's responsible for greeting people as they come into the polls and showing them where to drop off their ballot she make sure they've signed the back of their invalid and has them sign in as well once a ballot like parrots gets dropped into the box it is carried down with others to the basement of the Administration Building Pickens County Clerk and recorder Janice Voss Carville's in charge of picking county elections she leads me down a flight of stairs through a locked door that only 5 people can open what people don't know is the security that we have in place a downstairs conference room is transformed into a high tech fortress there's 247 video surveillance and several workstations with computers stacks of bright red boxes full of ballots lined temporary shelves around the walls it looks like the administrative wing of Sandoz Workshop 2 women are poring over a computer and stack of white envelopes their job is to look at the signatures on the outside of the envelopes these judges work in Parson pairs one Democrat and one Republican if both judges agree that something with the signature is off will reject it and the voter will be notified that they need to fix or cure their ballot after elections uncurious ballots are forwarded to the district attorney's office excepted ballots move on to the next work station 3 judges working along a disassembly line remove the ballot from the on float that arrives in like taking apart our Russian nesting doll the 1st person unsealed the large envelope and takes out the ballot that's still in it secrecy sleeve they hand that over to the next judge that person removes the ballot from the secrecy sleeve and hands it to the last judge who make sure there are no identifying marks like a signature or initials on the actual ballot it's a process that assures anonymity for each voter then a judge takes the ballots to. Another locked room they're fed in batches through one of just 2 counting machines the counting machines are actually just off the shelf scanners the kind you would get at any office supply store they're attached to a computer that analyzes the ballots if it detects a problem like a double vote or an accidental mark and will kick it out to judges on the computer will sit down Democrat Republican to determine what the voter intent is when those judges reaches decision they'll manually put it in the computer Well the idea of a volunteer having this kind of access might sound scary Vos Carville says this is part of why we should trust the election process it's run by our neighbors they are our integrity of our elections because they help us maintain and keep that in Taggerty votes are tallied in a single computer that is completely disconnected from the Internet so that it's not susceptible to cyber attacks and while no system is perfect Vos Carville says this one is pretty darn safe so you have to get through getting into our building getting to through access codes and doors that record everything with surveillance and know how to get in our systems that have 2 factor authentication you to passwords and codes it would be hard to hack but even if it was it would leave behind clues every time ballots change hands every time a door is opened that action is recorded in a log and even after the polls close people are working to ensure that votes are safe and accurate ballots are kept for months after elections just in case there's a problem and then they're audited sample batches are pulled and analyzed to be sure they're statistically similar to the overall totals if something doesn't look quite right there could be a recount. With all these measures in place Voss Carville says the most important part is that people show up and vote and get their sticker it is all about sticker communities looking to create less trash often turn to the 3 R.'s reduce reuse recycle one company is trying to get a c. In there to compost and it's getting some help from the state of Colorado Elizabeth every reports nearly 40 percent of the trash that ends up buried in the picking county landfill could have been composted local compost company evergreen 0 waste one a grant for $120000.00 in October much of that will go toward commercial bear proof dumpsters to keep area wildlife out of the compost bins Alyssa Randell is co-founder of evergreen 0 waste she says composting hasn't taken off in the Valley so the company is aiming to reach big producers of food waste we can collect more from a grocery store in one stop then we can entire neighborhood. Single family home the grant money will target expanding service and providing safe containers at restaurants grocery stores and schools across the ring for Valley Elizabeth Stewart's every Aspen Public Radio Environment Desk last Friday Carbondale celebrated Dia de los Muertos or day of the dead the Mexican holiday honors friends and family members who have died Aspen Santa Fe by Les folklore eco perform traditional Mexican dances and a procession down Main Street and at under River Theater Kristin Kay attended a rehearsal and found that folklore eco teaches students to both honor tradition and transcend cultural barriers inside a small dance studio at the 3rd Street Center the young students a ballet folklore Rico both white and Latino face the mirror at the front. They were point to dance shoes with metal taps but everything is silent except for the voice of their teacher Francisco Navarro has begun you know or papa to his dancers . He's going over the steps for a dance called most or the Devils it's only performed on Dia de los Muertos it's a procession of swords meant to clear away of bad spirits so that the souls of loved ones can return to the world of the living for. Los is an especially meaningful traditional dance that they insist going to be that connection for all those people who when 2 I know there. Level of energy I want to say that and they're going to come by because we want to celebrate them and they want to be with us again and the bar is Bergen's word his students run to for tomorrow I want to music starts they go into character as mysterious devils stomping along and swinging their arms. Around to the Indians class even though it's after school on a Friday and borrows book and knows the feeling when he was a child in Chihuahua Mexico focal Rico helped him find a place where he belonged my mom was a single mom who has to work and ship with men after school program the same thing my kids are doing here he says he had an instructor who mentor to him he became so passionate that he started ballet folklore Rico 17 years ago with Aspen Santa Fe ballet and Dia de los Muertos this year will be important to him for another reason his former focal Rico teacher the one who inspired him to become an instructor passed away earlier this year he can't think of a better way to honor her than by passing along folklore Rico to his students and he's confident that even the youngest of them kindergartners can learn traditional dance I think is the best age to start dancing because they start getting like they now mixing their body how they're how their body works like their legs their stump in the hay it's how they clap how they snap and then later on they start getting missteps and they keep growing I mean they start loving it that is exactly what happened to students on a tight learner she remembers watching ballet folklore Rico practice at her elementary school I would sit in the cafeteria and watch them dance and I loved it so much and the rule was that you could only start dancing in kindergarten but I was just so excited to join that buckle that you start a year early so I started when I was 4 that was 14 years ago Tyler says there's more to her love of focal Ricoh than just the steps. She says that all the dancers and families in her group are her family it has given me a completely different perspective and especially like as an ingot in our community I think it's really important to bridge gaps and it has definitely given me the opportunity Angel Remeron Hora has been dancing since kindergarten he's 12 now he also says that the best part of folklore Rico is how tight knit the group is here of family and you like to say you're going to be left out tonight for Dia de los Muertos the focal Rico family is getting a bit bigger the dance originated in Mexico's Guerrero region some former members of this African Mexican community now live in Carbondale they've been teaching the folklore Rico students the dance and will perform it themselves tonight so won a title or says it's just another example of how the art of dance can bring people together because our community is so diverse it's important that we celebrate all of the different traditions that form it instructor Pago Navarro has begun you know says that he's looking forward to having bystanders appreciate the hard work of his students as they dance by on Main Street for the work of the kids their expression and their bodies the passion they do in these dances that footwork and that passion more clear the way for lost loved ones I am bringing together a community tonight thank Mr McKay at the season arts and culture desk. The arts and culture desk at Aspen Public Radio is funded by the Stephan Atlas and Gail Neeson foundation with a mission to support the arts community and outreach. This is an Aspen Public Radio I'm wired or and I'm Zoe round to see our news teams comprehensive election coverage head to our website Aspen Public Radio dot org And check out our newest show it's called airtime we ask the public radio spend our days talking to very interesting people they might live here or they might just be visiting and what listeners don't know is that only a fraction of those conversations make it into the programming you hear every morning so air time is a show where we bring you those long in-depth conversations that might just not have a place in the daily news cycle Take a listen online and ask them public radio dot org Or you can also tune in on Wednesdays at 330. Today picking counties healthy rivers board will hear a proposal from the Colorado River District to expand cloud seeding activities Elizabeth Stewart Severi explains how this weather modification process works the clouds responsible for snowstorms can be pretty inefficient a lot of the moisture kids move away from the area where we would look like the snow Dave cancer is an engineer with the Colorado River district he says there's a way to increase the productivity of moisture which clouds cloud seeding involves adding more particles for flakes to form around the process starts on the ground when weather conditions like winds and temperatures in the clouds are right meteorologists turn on generators these low solution of silver iodide into air rising above the mountains into the clouds the silver iodide crystals can become the seed around which snowflakes grow and anywhere within a 15 mile range typically that snow would fall out of the clouds cancer says the. Science is clear but the process is not precise a study conducted in Wyoming shows the conditions are only right in about 30 percent of storms but when they are cloud seeding can increase snow fall and that snow pack contributes to water supply even if we only increase the water by by small fraction it can have wide ranging benefits Kinzer says those benefits range from more water in local rivers to more snow on the mountains and the River district wants to see more cloud seeding activities in the Aspen area Kenzer is presenting a proposal to water officials from Aspen unpicking County as well as Aspen Skiing Company rich Berkley vice president of mountain operations for ski Co says the company is interested in supporting the River district but not as a business investment the small increase in snowfall doesn't translate to extra powder days for skiers and riders you know attending storm going to tend to happen storm doesn't really do too much while cloud seeding might not be a boon for powder skiers the company has offered to participate as a site for the generators and to help with manpower to operate them the River district is looking for funding from picking counties healthy rivers board and the City of Aspen and then the proposal would need a permit from the state of Colorado Elizabeth Stewart's every Aspen Public Radio Environment Desk the Mid Valley is getting its own newspaper next month the Aspen Daily News is launching the Roaring Fork weekly journal it will serve the salt Well it's an l.g. Bell Wyatt sat down with the paper's publisher David Cook to learn more about its down valley expansion being a publisher of a newspaper how do you know that there's a market how do you say this place needs a newspaper and this could be profitable for us obviously as you drive through the Mid Valley you see hustle bustle cranes development and it just so happens to be the only community not served by. An independent voice that is directed towards them it's my whole hearted intention to do a Spanish speaking section of this paper it's the you know the Hispanic population in the community is I think well under-served is certainly as far as the written product or service or broadcast outlets that serve the community but. You know I view it as a very very important in under-served portion or a community and I hope to fill that void as well is Asman interested in that news I mean you can kind of create a publication for the Mid Valley read by them invalid but you think it has broader appeal for all the wrong for value you know I think the issues that are actually facing the salt are you know right now they have something of a blank canvas and they have an opportunity to really define themselves you know and I think that having your own voice via a news product really kind of is the it is sort of the cornerstone of that. That's all from our new dish and this week I'm Wyatt form and I'm Zoe Rome Aspen Public Radio dot org is your one stop shop for local national and world headlines all of our honor news stories are archived online so you never miss a newscast you can even stream or podcast shows like this one and n.p.r. Special reports browse photo slideshows and find supplemental links to further coverage go deeper go to Aspen Public Radio dot org Join us tomorrow at 330 for Valli round up when host Alison back Tash sits down with David Kraus from the Aspen Times and Curtis Wakeley editor of the Aspen Daily News to recap this week's midterm elections thanks for listening mountain edition is a production of Aspen Public Radio News. I'm here to Mallory co-founder of we cycle aspens bike share system we connect people in places with bikes Aspen Public Radio connects me to places in my own backyard across the nation and around the world with its in-depth news coverage but it's the stories I hear on Aspen Public Radio which in gauging the stories bring to life the voices the emotion the surrounding sounds colors smells and settings of a place or event a mask to visualize to question to empathize to reflect through this engagement Aspen Public Radio in riches my life this is my story and ask in public radio is my station. You are listening to ask in public radio broadcasting on k. Jack fast and Casey Jack's card. I talked to last I. Don't drink and drive. To the families of victims in a mass shooting at a California bar are mourning their loved ones it is Thursday November 8th and this is All Things Considered from n.p.r. News. And I'm Mary Louise Kelly in Florida voters choose to restore voting rights to a 1000000 and a half people with felony convictions we hear from one man who is looking forward to voting again for the 1st time in decades this one thing to know that you have paid you did there's another thing to get the title to the vehicle that since a while it's mine later the Affordable Care Act is here to stay now that Democrats have control of the House Republican efforts to repeal it cannot go forward for health care the most important thing is the House did change so stories after the news. Live from n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Janine Herbst the f.b.i. Says they believe suspected gunman ion long acted alone when he opened fire at the borderline Bar and Grill in 1000 Oaks California last night killing 12 people he was found dead at the scene the 28 year old former Marine served one term in Afghanistan 11 of the dead were customers at the bar the other was a sheriff's deputy and investigators continue to search for a motive Meanwhile communities surrounding the town are in mourning today the bar was hosting a line dancing event for local college students N.P.R.'s. Has more from the scene on this windy day 1000 Oaks resident hard to Moody all carried a bouquet of golden lilies sunflowers and pink sprays he was visibly shaking as he placed the flowers near the bar when I was younger I used to come to this. This restaurant a friend used to bring me to line dance and. I had a lot of great memories of this place I lived on the street and just it said to you know that this kind of these kind of actions happen when he is 51 and has family in the military he says he's hurting for not only the families and loved ones of the victims but also the friends and neighbors of the suspected gunman to a holy site kowtow n.p.r. News 1000.