Opinion

The recent merger between Vail Resorts and Ralcorp brings five of Colorado’s biggest mountain resorts — Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin — under one corporate umbrella.

Last month Auditor General George Morfitt released a report on issues of public interest. Two of the issues were special warrants and government employee numbers. The report is not encouraging reading for anyone concerned about government spending.

Imagine the uproar if the government imposed a tax on environmental groups, promised that all the money from that tax was going to be used to buy land for parks, and then a couple of years into the program said it had more money than it knew what to

You have to wonder about the timing of the provincial government’s announcement that it is ready to appoint a receiver for Apex Resort if the ski area doesn’t repay its $8 million loan, with interest, by Aug. 2.

It’s still four months away, but if I were to pick one issue that will dominate November’s municipal election it would be the ceiling on development and housing for locals.

After a week of 11th hour and 59th minute meetings, consideration of several budgets and clarifications of a few misunderstandings, all the pieces are finally in place to make the World Cup an annual event in Whistler each December.

Eight months ago, just as Quebecers were about to vote on the future of the country, many of us for the first time really considered what Canada might be like without Quebec, and whether the country would survive.

After several years of exponential growth in most areas — skier visits, room nights, occupancy rates, construction — 1996 shows every indication that many of things have peaked, at least temporarily.

As of press time Wednesday, it appeared likely the World Cup was still coming to Whistler but the deal wasn’t complete, as we reported last week.

Despite the Millar’s Pond project (85 units), the recently approved Gondola 6 project (12 units) and Whistler Mountain’s employee housing project at Twin Lakes, Whistler’s employee housing situation won’t be much better this fall than it was last.