EDITOR’S DESK: Bring it on... we think

       This is what I get for taking a week off. Oh, it seemed like a good idea at the time, not publishing on the first Thursday of the year... Early January is traditionally slow for news; it would be a chance to catch up on paperwork, organize computer files, remember how to breathe normally, etc.
       So what happens? During the theoretically "slow" time, the Rural Transportation Authority hits the ground sprinting, a major Territory Days realignment surfaces, Utilities starts installing the Old Town streetlights ahead of (the latest) schedule and - casting a somber aspect to it all - the killer tsunami strikes in Indonesia. As can be seen from three different articles this issue, the tsunami also impacted the Westside, in terms of admirable local relief efforts to help those stricken by it.
       As for Gold Camp Road and the merchants/crafters' Bancroft Park saga, at least we knew those stories were coming, with good cause to fill the inkpots in advance.
       In any case, it feels good to be back in the swing of things. And speaking of the RTA, the board is acting with eye-opening frugality. I wondered about motives when the board rejected a vendor's fee (the traditional percentage to business people for the hassle of collecting a sales tax) - suspecting that the board was blowing off its commercial-sector supporters and overlooking the extent to which stores can be hampered by major road projects. But then came its demand this week to cut $30,000 from the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments' RTA administrative budget by scrounging up used desks and equipment. Imagine if Congress worked that way... yes, I can see I have been away too long.

- K.J.