Columnists - The Durango Herald

Celebrating our community: The ripple effect of recognition

One of the most powerful tools a chamber has isn’t a policy paper or a ribbon-cutting – it’s a spotlight. Each year, Durango Rocks has been that spotlight. It’s a high-energy celebration of ...

DATE: Sep 19, 2025 | CATEGORY: From the Chamber

Your local energy coach: A new resource helping neighbors save energy and money

Hi friends and neighbors, My name is Erika Brown, the newest member of the team at the Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency – 4CORE – and I’m honored to serve as your first-ever regio...

DATE: Sep 19, 2025 | CATEGORY: Columnists

New Colorado law prohibits pets for sale in parking lots

As executive director of the La Plata County Humane Society, I’ve seen countless animals being given away in parking lots or sold on street corners that look cute but have been separated fro...

DATE: Sep 19, 2025 | CATEGORY: From the Humane Society

Mom’s change in attitude stumps family

DEAR ABBY: My mom is in her early 80s. More and more often lately, she seems to be avoiding seeing me and my siblings. It wasn’t always like this. She would let me, my husband and our kids s...

DATE: Sep 19, 2025 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

How federal budget cuts are going to affect our community’s food security

Close your eyes and think back to COVID days – Do you remember the empty grocery store shelves? Your grandparents calling asking you to deliver food because Meals on Wheels couldn’t? Folks l...

DATE: Sep 19, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Roadless area protections removed

As overseer of the national forests, the Secretary of Agriculture recently announced her intention to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The Roadless Rule limited construction...

DATE: Sep 17, 2025 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

Rockfest celebrates music community

Music scenes need someone to do the heavy lifting. That “someone” are first fans and musicians, second venue owners and promoters, a collaborative group handling the team effort to make said...

DATE: Sep 17, 2025 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Autumn calls: Keeping up the fight for public lands

With the end of summer in sight and the beginning of fall in the crosshairs, hunters and many others are looking forward to mountainsides of aspens bathed in golden light and the echoes of b...

DATE: Sep 17, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

New job requires people skills

DEAR ABBY: I’m a man in my early 30s who has made a career switch. My new field requires me to be more social because I will be meeting with colleagues, some of them older than I am, and att...

DATE: Sep 17, 2025 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Give your gut a fresh start in just one week

Bloating, cravings, fatigue, even mood swings. Believe it or not, many of these struggles can be traced back to one surprising source, your gut. The exciting news is that you can give your g...

DATE: Sep 15, 2025 | CATEGORY: Strength in Well-being

On the ubiquitous rhetoric of, and short step between, hatred and murder

I am writing this on Sept. 11, 2025. Twenty-four years ago today, this country was attacked by radicalized terrorists. For a while, as we worked through the recovery, shock and grief, we sto...

DATE: Sep 14, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

To keep ‘thousand points of light’ shining, the nonprofit sector should consolidate

The leaders of nonprofit organizations should consider merging with their peers. The cascade of federal money supporting the nonprofit sector is decreasing and it appears unlikely to increas...

DATE: Sep 14, 2025 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns