Author: Paul J. Batura

Colorado Springs Utilities recently celebrated a century of service to the city, an impressive milestone made all the more striking given the Pikes Peak region’s explosive growth in the latter half of its history. Prior to the consolidation of municipal services in 1925, residents were forced to navigate and negotiate a network of providers. Some…

There’s an old saying that “Hard work never sleeps” — a maxim that undoubtedly dates back as far as women and men have been working anywhere at anything for anyone. I thought of this while talking with my friend Bill this past weekend. Our sons are in scouts together. Sitting around a campfire up in…

In case you weren’t paying attention, summer ended and fall officially began here in the Rocky Mountain West on Monday during the lunch hour. If you wanted to sound all fancy or scientific about it, you would have called it the “autumnal equinox” — a term that comes from the Latin word “aequus” (equal) and…

Schools, banks, and Wall Street are open, but today’s observance of Constitution Day is a holiday to nevertheless cheer and celebrate. It’s been exactly 238 years since 39 delegates from 12 states signed off in Philadelphia on the U.S. Constitution. In replacing the Articles of Confederation, the historic document took four months to hash out.…

“Do you believe in miracles?” It’s been 45 years since Al Michaels asked that question in the final seconds of Team USA’s dramatic ice hockey win over the Soviet Union. Paris has the Louvre and the Mona Lisa, the British Museum in London houses the Rosetta Stone, and Charles Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis” plane…

All aboard? Not just yet. But the dream is still alive for those of us hoping to one day board a train in downtown Colorado Springs, maybe with a backpack full of books and papers, and eventually arrive in Denver or points beyond after a relaxing ride reading on the rails. That’s because the Front…