Weak snow piles on food demand in Colorado's mountain towns

Mike Casanova is tucking into his second plate of spaghetti, shoveling noodles with a brick of bread in his fist.

"I don't know if I'd be eating today," says the 27-year-old competitive snowboarder, who hasn't worked his carpentry job in almost two months. "I can't find any work."

Dozens of goggle-tanned workers like Casanova are packed in the basement of Father Dyer United Methodist Church, gobbling pasta for a community dinner that feeds more than 100 people every Sunday night.

It's the same scene playing out across the high country nearly every night of the week. Food pantries and community dinners are busier than ever this season, as the effects of a low snowpack, coupled with a persistently sluggish economy, ripple through Colorado's mountain towns.

Weak snow this season doesn't just mean dwindling visitation and pinched revenue for resort companies. For service and resort workers ― who earn less than $9 an hour and often rely on second, and even third, jobs to make ends meet ― free food provided by volunteers and community groups can be a lifeline.

"We are seeing more and more kids," says the Rev. Christy Shain-Hendricks , whose St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church in Breckenridge has seen attendance at its Tuesday night community dinners grow from 85 to 115 this season, the busiest in the program's six-year history. "This year has been difficult, in that we don't have good snow, so hours have been cut and some jobs have been eliminated."

It's hardly new, the woes of ski bums eating ramen and packing four to a bedroom to stay afloat in high-priced resort towns. But this year ― with fewer tourists trickling through town and weak snow derailing business ― has been particularly rough. Richie Wagner spent November, December and January sleeping in his station wagon on the streets of Breckenridge, scraping up work to afford first-month and last-month rent and a security deposit for his employee housing.

"I know it's a trade-off to work up here, and I get to spend my days on skis, but man, it got so cold," said the Breckenridge ski-safety worker, who earns $8.60 an hour and directs three of his weekly paychecks toward monthly rent. "I had to sleep with my contacts in my pocket or they'd freeze. Just a rough season."

But it isn't just seasonal workers who are hungrily finding their way to mountain-region food pantries and community dinners. In Telluride, the Angel Baskets program has increased its all-donation budget by 30 percent to meet increased need in the rural areas of southwestern Colorado. In the program's 31 years, this season has been the busiest.

"We are seeing families moving back with parents because they have lost their homes or their work," said Nancy Talmey, co-director of the 31-year-old Angel Baskets, which provides food for four regional food banks, as well as grocery vouchers and prescription-medication assistance to seniors in need.

The high-country hunger pangs reach well beyond resort economies. The 3-year-old Simple Supper program offered by the United Methodist Church of Eagle Valley is seeing a mix of families, longtime residents and seasonal workers at its weekly meals. Like similar programs, this is the busiest season for the church.

"It is the underemployed and the unemployed," said the church's pastor, Sid Spain. "It's steadily increasing every year. I think that has to do with the economic situation up here, as well as exposure and more people bringing in their friends."

The unemployment rate at most ski-area counties has stayed below the statewide rate the past few years. But Eagle County's rate has remained stubbornly high, at about 8.7 percent last year compared with 8.3 percent statewide.

In Garfield County, the 29-year-old Lift-Up program has distributed 6,594 bags of food and almost 2,300 meals to regional residents in need. Demand for Lift-Up help tripled in 2009 and has steadily increased since. The start of 2012 is pacing alongside last year's record demand.

"It's folks who are either kind of working and/or not working," said Lift-Up executive director Mike Powell. "There are some folks who are barely hanging on up here."

This week, the army of volunteers at the 3-year-old weekly dinner at Lord of the Mountains Lutheran Church in Dillon will serve their 10,000th supper to a child. In a season that has seen attendance grow from 300 last year to 450 this year, the program will soon serve its 45,000th meal since launching in March 2009. All the food is provided by the church, the Rotary Club of Summit County, the Elks Lodge and, sometimes, the resorts of Breckenridge, Copper Mountain and Arapahoe Basin.

"We started the community dinner with the understanding we would do it through the immediate crunch in 2009, thinking we'd run it until the economy picked up," said Deborah Hage, who helped spur the weekly dinners. "Now there's no end in sight, and I'm quite sure we will be doing this next year. I don't see this going away."

Piles of Processed Pooch Poop on Public Paths

Whenever more than 15,000 people of widely varying demographics call the same single square mile “home,” there are bound to be conflicts.

Remarkably, Charlestown is consistently rated one of the safest neighborhoods in Boston. Nevertheless, one conflict stubbornly remains. I am of course referring to the errant medium-to-large sized piles of both fresh and decomposing dog crap dotting the sidewalks of our otherwise happy little corner of the world.

I’ll concede that the majority of dog owners are responsible and properly dispose their pets’ piles of processed Purina. However, too many of our neighbors do not.

I live across the street from an elementary school. Each morning and each afternoon, streams of carefree young children flow past my door on their way to becoming the leaders of tomorrow. In light of this, you might think that pet owners would be a little more conscientious and clean up after their precious pups. I regret to report that this is not the case. While the problem isn’t quite pandemic, it is still obnoxious, ignorant, and easily remedied.

I’m embarrassed that I have to explain this, but there’s something every last dog owner ought to understand and too many in Charlestown don’t: Dogs are not ornamental.

Dogs are domesticated mammals that many people enjoy incorporating into their families. Bravo! People who choose to do this have four basic responsibilities. Make sure the dog is 1)safe, 2) healthy and 3)has nourishing food to eat. Nearly all dog owners seem to understand and accept this much. The last one is where people are having trouble. 4)When the nutrients have been extracted from that food and it is left in a steaming pile on a public way, the owner’s job is to collect it and dispose of it in a manner that will not soil or otherwise assail the senses of his neighbors. In a civilized society such as ours, this doesn’t seem to be asking too much.

Still, it seems that there are those who crave canine companionship, but just can’t seem to bring themselves to bag it and bring it home on the morning walk. I cannot understand these people, but maybe I can get this much through to them: There are other options.

You could pay a local dogwalker to do it for you, providing the economy with a little much-needed stimulation. Problem solved.

You could employ the services of a firm like Doody Calls, who, for a monthly fee, will clean up after your dog(s) and―for an additional fee―will also empty your cat’s litter box, which is something else too many do too seldom. Doody Calls will even contract to clean up a whole neighborhood and offers an array of tools and services for the dog poop-averse.

You could buy yourself a “digester” which is essentially a large plastic bucket with holes in it. You bury it in your backyard, fill it with pet poo, sprinkle it with magic enzyme powder, water it occasionally and Presto! The “sh” disappears and “it” oozes odorlessly into the earth. The whole set-up will set you back less than $100. You can buy more magic enzyme powder as you need it.

Pet waste can also be composted into topsoil, though it requires more care and higher temperatures than other compost, so you’ll need to keep it separate from your grass clippings and food scraps composter.

For the truly ambitious, there was a movement in San Francisco to convert the area’s estimated 6500 pounds of animal waste into energy a few years back. Though it got caught up and ultimately died in bureaucratic red tape, it isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds. The “eggs” that can be seen out on Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor do something similar on a large scale. While treating sewage from Boston and 42 surrounding cities and towns, they recapture enough methane gas to run the boilers that heat the facility and generates 25 percent of the electricity consumed onsite.

Even closer to home, Cambridge resident Matthew Mazzotta invented the Park Spark which converts dog waste into methane gas and fuels the lights public parks. Dog owners simply collect their pet poop in biodegradable bags supplied by Mazzotta and toss it into a tank and turn a crank. Bacteria do the rest and the gaslight is safe and odorless. He’d like to install more of these.

Health district OKs settlement with port authority over salt pile

The board of the local health district this week approved a settlement with the local port authority that was suing the district over income lost when a giant salt pile left the area.

But other suits against the health district are still pending, and their outcomes could set precedents about how Ohio laws regarding water pollution are interpreted.

Around the same time the health district declared the salt pile a “public nuisance” two years ago, Convey It, an Indiana-based road salt distributor, moved its Clark County operation to Warren County. The West Central Ohio Port Authority ― a quasi-public railroad operator ― owns the site the salt pile used to sit on.

The port authority agreed to drop its challenge but retained the right to file it again later. The settlement didn’t involve financial compensation, said Charles Patterson, the health district’s director. But Patterson’s agency remains at odds with Convey It.

Convey It continues its push for damages “in excess of $500,000” from the health district, according to court documents, because “having to relocate was very damaging to the company,” said Kevin Braig, the company’s lawyer.

A trial in a federal district court is scheduled for spring 2013. The Dayton-based U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio chose not to dismiss the case last September, igniting a scramble for recorded evidence on both sides.

Ohio EPA scientists have said the salt contaminated groundwater, but Convey It maintains the city’s water supply was never threatened, because an impenetrable clay layer separates contamination from the city’s wells. Some geologists believe the clay isn’t complete the entire distance to the well fields.

Springfield’s well fields begin two and a half miles “downstream” from the former salt site. However, the former site is outside the official area of well protection ― meaning some pollution levels would be diluted before reaching the wells.

When Patterson and the district declared the salt pile a public nuisance, the company left, Braig said, to maintain its reputation.

“It took some extraordinary efforts” to find a new site starting in June, prepare it to state EPA specifications, and arrange for salt to be delivered there for the coming winter, Braig said.

However, in May and June, when the company left, salt piles are at their lowest levels.

“The 10 or 15 percent (left at the site) was not moved to Franklin,” the new site, Braig said.

In the court case, Convey It has argued the health district didn’t have the legal authority to force environmental standards or a shutdown. The health district believes it did.

In documents filed in federal court, both sides cite passages of the Ohio Revised Code that purportedly justify their positions. Unless the entities settle out of court, a judge will ultimately decide.

Obama Piles Up More Cash Than GOP Field

New fund-raising reports show President Barack Obama continues to stockpile cash for his re-election campaign, giving him a potential financial advantage over his eventual Republican rival when it comes to money in the bank.

Mr. Obama's campaign reported $85 million in reserves at the end of February, an increase from $76 million at the end of January, according to February campaign-finance reports filed Tuesday.

The four major GOP presidential candidates were expected to have far less money available, mostly because they are spending money as fast as they raise it as they seek the party's nomination. In fact, the financial reports of all four remaining GOP candidates showed some signs of stress as the long primary campaign trudges into the spring.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said his campaign raised about $9 million in February, a record haul, but one that left him with just $2.6 million in the bank at the end of the month. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's campaign told reporters it spent $2.8 million last month while raising $2.6 million. It has about $1.5 million in the bank and carries $1.5 million in debt, campaign spokesman R.C. Hammond said.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul spent more than he raised last month and ended February with $1.4 million in the bank.

Mr. Romney raised $11.5 million in February. His campaign hadn't filed its full report by late afternoon Tuesday, so it's not yet known how much money it has remaining. The deadline for filing was midnight. In January, Mr. Romney raised $6.5 million, but spent three times that amount, leaving him with $7.7 million to fund his campaign.

Mr. Obama's advantage in terms of money in the bank is one of the primary reasons many Republican strategists are keen to bring the nomination fight to a close. The longer the primary contest drags on, these people say, the more money Republicans are spending to battle themselves rather than Mr. Obama.

Mr. Obama's re-election campaign raised a total of nearly $14 million from individual donors in February. Combined with money that Mr. Obama helped to raise for the Democratic National Committee, Democrats brought in about $45 million for Mr. Obama's campaign.

Mr. Obama may well out-raise his eventual Republican opponent this year, but that gap will likely be made up by outside groups, known as super PACs, that can raise and spend money in unlimited sums, said Steve Schmidt, a senior adviser to Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. GOP-leaning super PACs have been more effective at raising money than their Democratic counterparts.

"There will be spending parity, roughly, between the two sides when you count all the money together," Mr. Schmidt said. He added that it was "highly unlikely" this year's GOP nominee would face the same funding disadvantage Mr. McCain did in 2008 against Mr. Obama.

The super PAC supporting Mr. Romney's campaign raised $6.4 million in February, according to fund-raising reports released Tuesday. In a sign of how easy it is to raise money for these super PACs, about half the money came from a single $3 million donation from Texas home builder Bob Perry.

The pro-Romney organization, called Restore Our Future, spent $12 million on television advertising in February. Overall, it has raised about $43 million so far to help Mr. Romney win the Republican presidential nomination.

The super PAC received $100,000 donations from several big players in the private-equity industry, including Dick Boyce of TPG Capital, Kenneth Griffin of Citadel and Henry Kravis of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

Unlike donations to super PACs, contributions to a candidate's official campaign are capped at $2,500 per election.

The Romney PAC also received $500,000 from longtime Republican donor Jerry Perenchio; $100,000 from Griff Harsh, a neurosurgeon at Stanford University; and $50,000 from homemaker Amy Nelson.

The fund-raising reports also showed the super PACs supporting Mr. Paul saw a huge decline in donations.

Endorse Liberty, the pro-Paul group, raised just $280,000 last month. Most of that came from a single $200,000 donation from Margaret McMahon, a San Antonio resident who says she works in the energy industry, according to federal filings. Peter Thiel―the co-founder of PayPal, who previously donated $1.7 million to the group―made no donations last month. The group had about $200,000 in the bank, records show.

Reports by super PACs supporting Messrs. Santorum and Gingrich, which have sustained both campaigns through their respective rough patches, weren't yet available.

Manchester United goal spree at Molineux piles more misery

A report that should be all about United stretching their lead over Manchester City to four points and eating up a large chunk of their goals advantage has instead to dwell also on the plight of a club now propelled to the basement of the Premier League with scant hope of redemption.

This contest will surely, if reason is seen, mark the end of caretaker Terry Connor’s unhappy four-match reign in charge during which Wolves have earned just a single point and haplessly conceded 14 goals. But then reason has been scarce at Wolves, who are paying the price for dismissing Mick McCarthy without a replacement ready to take over.

United are shifting through the gears in their run-in while Wolves’ engine has stalled. They played here with 10 men for almost an hour after Ronald Zubar’s stupid sending-off, but that was immaterial as was the fact that the referee who dismissed him, Anthony Taylor, is a resident of Wythenshawe, Manchester, although the Premier League were quick to point out he has a Cheshire postcode and no affiliation to United.

Connor tried to be convincing afterwards, but failed. He spoke of the need to avoid conceding “six, seven, eight” to United once depleted, claimed his side had matched them for 20 minutes and could “eke out” enough points to survive.

“Everyone is writing us off again,” he said. “We have been in this situation before. We have been bottom before and we have managed to get over the dotted line.” His words sounded desperate.

This was a black days for this Black Country club. The Wolves supporters ran the gamut of cruelly ironic chants but it was painful out on the pitch in front of the club’s biggest attendance of the season. Their team really are struggling and relegation is inevitable unless there is the most dramatic of transformations, which can come only with a change of manager. Steve Bruce remains available. Wolves chairman Steve Morgan clapped at the end but it was a hollow gesture.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was full of the kind of understated assessment that oozed sympathy for Connor. Ferguson described his side’s demolition as an “OK” performance and not “anything special”, and stressed how hard it was for Wolves once they were one man down.

He did not want to dwell on Connor’s pain. “They were honest and committed,” he said of Wolves. They were overwhelmed.

The title race, Ferguson added, would go “down to the wire” but at this rate the relegation battle will not for Wolves. Here were two clubs with diametrically opposed momentum. For United it is 25 points from 27, five consecutive victories and a team coursing with self-belief. For Wolves, it is nine home matches without a win and no clean sheet in 26 games.

Clearly United scented goals with Ferguson including Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernández and Danny Welbeck as well as the outstanding Antonio Valencia. It was a quartet with the sharpest of attacking edges, constantly cutting through a Wolves defence whose disorganisation contributed to their downfall.

It was summed up by United’s opening goal ― which came soon after Steven Fletcher had fluffed a header ― with Rooney drifting a corner over to where Michael Carrick had been allowed to pull free unmarked. The midfielder guided the ball back into the six-yard area where Jonny Evans was afforded the time to half-volley his first goal for United.

Zubar, already cautioned for a rash challenge on Rooney, then heaved into Welbeck on the touchline and the referee had little choice. Wolves also lost their best player, David Davis, to a cracked rib and United were clinical.

From a Wolves corner, they broke at speed, with Hernández finding Rooney, who chipped a pass down the right wing for Valencia to run on to. The winger’s first touch took him away, he ran on and crashed a shot across Wayne Hennessey and into the net.

Then Carrick’s cross-field ball picked out Valencia who simply cut it back for Welbeck, again unmarked, to take in his stride and sweep home. It was not even half-time and the contest was all over. There were the inevitable boos, there was a long delay before the Wolves players came out for the second period and it was really all about damage limitation.

Two more goals came with barely an hour played. For the first, Rooney won a corner, Valencia took it short and Rafael da Silva’s cross was met by Hernández, again unchallenged, who simply steered his header beyond Hennessey. Then Valencia worked his way down the right, exchanged passes with Welbeck and cleverly stood the ball up for Hernández whose half-volley was powered in.

There was a flicker of defiance with David De Gea saving smartly from substitute Michael Kightly and turning away Fletcher’s header. But by then United were strolling.