Top 5 stories on SummitDaily.com, week of Aug. 2
Editor’s note: Stories in this list received the most page views on SummitDaily.com for the past week.
1. Lindsey Vonn sells her Vail home, bids a fond farewell
Former pro skier Lindsey Vonn placed a full-page ad in the July 31 edition of the Vail Daily announcing the sale of her East Vail home.
In the ad, Vonn states that Vail, and Ski Club Vail — now Ski and Snowboard Club Vail — were crucial to her success. With the help of the club, Vonn wrote that she “developed the confidence and love for speed that helped me to win the Olympic downhill, 43 Downhill World Cup races, and finish my career with a total of 82 World Cup wins.”
Vonn purchased her East Vail home in 2014. The 7,000-square-foot home was a source of pride, and she gave tours to various magazines.
The home was first put on the market in August of 2019, but was listed as belonging to Vonn that fall, with an asking price of $6 million. The home recently sold for $4.8 million.
— Scott Miller, Vail Daily
2. Keystone man dies after bike crash on Montezuma Road
A local man who died following a bicycle crash late last month was identified as 73-year-old Charles Toups of Keystone, according to the Summit County Coroner’s Office.
On July 27, Toups suffered serious injuries after crashing his bike on Montezuma Road. He was taken to St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood by a Flight For Life helicopter. He died of his injuries at the hospital July 28.
The manner of death was accidental, and the cause was traumatic brain injury related to the crash.
3. Centura Health testing data shows majority of positive cases are visitors
At a town hall meeting Aug. 4, Aaron Parmet, infection prevention manager at St. Anthony Summit Medical Center, presented the health system’s testing data, which reflects the impact of visitors in the county. Overall, the data suggests that while visitors have flocked to Summit County in an effort to enjoy a summer in the mountains, they haven’t majorly impacted the local response to the virus.
While visitors are making up a majority of positive cases, their testing positivity rate rests at 6%, which is not cause for alarm, Summit County Public Health Director Amy Wineland said.
“(Resident data is) below 5% right now, but we were above 5% not too long ago,” Wineland said. “So the percent positivity for visitors … is showing that they’re not having a higher percentage than we are.”
Despite an influx of visitors in June, the case numbers among residents have been decreasing for the past few weeks, Wineland said.
4. Fourth Street Crossing’s market hall construction incorporates Old Dillon Inn
Passersby in Silverthorne may have noticed the Fourth Street Crossing construction in progress, particularly of the market hall being built around the Old Dillon Inn. Construction on the development is making progress as the market hall and the hotel are both under construction and the parking structure is nearly complete.
Silverthorne Town Manager Ryan Hyland explained that the Old Dillon Inn will be integrated into the market hall, creating a building inside a building. The Mint, another building with Summit County history, will remain standing on its own in the development area.
Developers are hoping to open the market hall in early 2021. Tenants will be working on their spaces inside the market this fall. The market hall will host 12-15 businesses, and, as of July 29, there were seven signed leases for the market hall, many of which are additional locations for local businesses.
5. Many Colorado restaurants have closed. The ones still open aren’t sure how long they can weather coronavirus.
As the pandemic drags on, many businesses have outlasted federal financial relief and initial enthusiasm to adapt to a stay-at-home way of life. For Colorado restaurants, recovery appears further away than many believe they can hold on.
The restaurant industry already had a reputation as a challenging market with low margins and high turnover. The latest survey by the Colorado Restaurant Association found that 56% of restaurant members fear that if coronavirus conditions don’t improve, they’ll permanently close within three months.
According to the latest data from the Colorado Department of Revenue, the number of food and drinking establishments filing sales tax returns dropped 19.3% between March and May, to 10,604. That indicates that about 2,500 have either closed temporarily or for good.
— Tamara Chuang, The Colorado Sun
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