Coloradans raised their glass to a batch of alcohol-fueled measures on Tuesday but not in favor of passing all of them.
Voters largely rejected Proposition 124, putting a halt to any plans by large ou.
A year ago, businesses across the Summit County were struggling under repressive public health restrictions. Now, there’s a new issue at hand and one that likely won’t be fixed overnight: Due to limited workforce housing.
Photo by Ashley Low
Restaurant owners and managers are working to help their employees get vaccinated.
Restaurant workers make up a large portion of the labor pool in Summit County with over 2,000 annual job openings in the industry, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s Summit County profile. While some jobs in the county were able to be done remotely when COVID-19 arrived last March, restaurant employees had to remain working in person.
Now, they’re being prioritized for vaccination. A special pod was set up last month in partnership with the state specifically for restaurant workers, and restaurant owners and managers are working to get as many of their employees vaccinated as possible following a year of steady coronavirus quarantines.
Photo by Liz Copan / Studio Copan
Recently released numbers show an increase in the county’s unemployment rate in December, when the county was restricted to level red on the COVID-19 dial. But heading into March, and down to level yellow on the dial, Summit County employers say they need more employees.
According to the Colorado Department of Labor and Unemployment, the unemployment rate in Summit County rose by 1% from November to December last year. The unemployment rate was 7.8% by the end of December
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A chart shows the unemployment rate throughout 2020 in Summit, Eagle, Pitkin, Routt and Grand counties.
Danielle McQueen, grant and evaluation manager at the Family and Intercultural Resource Center, said the center has been hearing contradictory information from people applying for rental assistance, the majority of whom are in the service industry.
Karen Koskin, owner of Montanya Distillers in Crested Butte, Colorado moves some boxes with a front end loader while on a tour of Montanya s distillery. Montanya produces award winning crafted rums and has just released Valentia. Valentia was created and distilled by women.
Special to the Colorado Sun/Dean Krakel
Frisco restaurateur Bob Starekow got some devastating news last week. His federal Paycheck Protection Program loan came with unexpected strings.
“My accountant informed me that due to the ‘income’ of the forgiveness portion of the PPP loan, I will owe $45,000 in taxes on phantom income,” Starekow, owner of Silverheels Bar & Grill and Kemosabe Sushi & Sake, said in an email on Dec. 15. “I would explain it better if I understood the IRS’s extreme position better.”