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VOL. 142. NO. 26 | THURSDAY, JULY 6, 2023 | $1.00
Western pledges commitment to diverse student body University responds after Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
FOURTH OF JULY: Acadia McDermott celebrates the holiday with a sparkler. For more photos, see B6, B7.
Jacob Spetzler
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that race-conscious admissions at institutions of higher education are unconstitutional, marking what many consider to be a landmark decision for the conservative-majority court. At Affirmative action A6
Assessor’s office flooded with TODAY property valuation appeals INSIDE
NEWS: RTA plans to discontinue winter express buses, A9
Highest number since the ‘08 housing market crash COMMUNITY: Fruit Stand finds new home, A8
SPORTS: Gunnison Blue narrowly defeats Crested Butte, B10
Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
In an unsurprising turn of events, the Gunnison County Assessor's Office has received the largest number of appeals in over a decade. Among other factors, the COVID-era housing market exerted upward pres-
SPORTS B9 ONLINE GUNNISONTIMES.COM
Bella Biondini Times Editor
OPINION A4 CLASSIFIEDS A14-A17
Valuations A6
Abby Harrison
Residential property values in Gunnison County saw an average 53% increase this year.
Ohio Ave. project set to begin next week Residents should expect rolling closures through the summer
OBITUARIES A3
sure on the price of Gunnison Valley homes. Residential property values saw an average 53% increase this year. Facing a higher tax bill, some property owners took their case to the county assessor, the first step in an appeals process for evaluating whether the new values need to be adjusted. As of July 4, the assessor’s office had tallied 1,730 appeals. The lion's share of those came from residential accounts, followed by vacant lots. The number of appeals this year is the
Construction on the $2 million Ohio Avenue Multimodal Project is scheduled to begin on Monday, July 10. Crews will start at the intersection of Colorado Street before working their way west to Iowa Street. Once the project is finished, the busy corridor will have a new bike lane, a continuous sidewalk with ADA ramps at each intersection and lighted bollards and benches — all of which will be separated from
the road by a raised median. The final design leaves room for parallel parking on the south side of the street, and includes bulbouts and improved crosswalks at the intersection of Main Street and Ohio. Residents and visitors should expect rolling closures to through traffic on Ohio Avenue starting next week. Those who live on Ohio will still have access to their homes for the duration of the project. Crews
have already started surveying and removing concrete in preparation of the official kickoff on July 10. The project was originally supposed to be fully completed by the end of this year, but administrative delays from the Colorado Department of Transportation and long lead times for receiving materials have forced a later start to construction. This year, the city Ohio Ave. A7