Trade You For a Reece’s

Ghouls, goblins and ghosts are rustling in their resting places with anticipation for Halloween night, their yearly walkabout ahead of them. That’s the story, at least according to Celts of long ago, who lit bonfires and donned costumes to ward away troublesome souls. This year, restless spirits may just as well be deterred from witching-hour revelries, knowing they will again have to unmask the next morning when they clock in for Wednesday’s work or check in for class.

  +  In any case, there’s no doubt the show will go on. USA Today: “Halloween sales of candy and costumes expected to break a record”. Costumes, led by superhero(ine) costumes, are expected to dominate sales, followed by candy sales, so expect to see a lot of sugar-high Spidermen and Wonderwomen this year.

  +  That’s great news for the economy, as higher Halloween sales have been attributed to better spending power. After all, if we can afford $50 blow-up dinosaur costumes that we use once, on top of mega-packs of candy to boot, our pockets must have a bit of lining. (As for me, I’ll be scavenging discount candy the day after).

  +  As for the candy itself, one store has tracked ten years of sales to determine “The Most Popular Halloween Candy in Every State”. Take it with a grain of salt though; Candy Corn (what do you even taste like!?)  somehow came up on top in four of them.

  +  Of course, “not all candy is created equal, as all children will tell you. And increasingly American kids are getting an early lesson in economics — and business — by finding ways to trade their Halloween candy with friends and siblings.”

  +  Candy and costumes aside, here’s Time’s 2017 list of “The 25 Absolute Best Halloween Movies to Watch Right Now”.

  +  And Stranger Things made its much-anticipated return to Netflix on Friday. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Clear your calendar, you’ve got a show to binge.

• Otherwise, here’s everything you need to remember since season one [spoilers, duh].

• “How Netflix Made Stranger Things a Global Phenomenon”. Hint: It’s all in the details.

• The soundtrack was critical to season one, with its eerie synth intro and killer 80’s hits. Season two does not disappoint.

Dawn in Sight for Day Use at Nighthorse

In an announcement that Durango residents have been waiting for for years was finally made. You’ve almost certainly heard the news, but Lake Nighthorse is finally approaching an opening for recreational use in 2018.

  +  The City of Durango has officially begun the annexation process at Lake Nighthorse, a last step on the long and arduous path towards full recreational use of the reservoir. It’s been seven long years since the reservoir filled to capacity, all the while undergoing negotiations between 10 different agencies and a number of studies and proposals.

  +  The vote to recommend approval, which came Monday night, was unanimous, despite some concern regarding the suspected disparity between the cost to operate and the expected revenue—perhaps indicating that public pressure to get on with it played a role.

  +  Nighthorse was first constructed in 2002 to provide “municipal and industrial uses to the Colorado Ute tribes and other project beneficiaries”, which will remain the primary focus of the reservoir (not unlike Vallecito and other area reservoirs). As such, recreation has always been a cherry on top, if everyone could get on board to get it approved.

  +  One notable hurdle, beyond the red tape, has come with debate about motorized and nonmotorized use. To give nonmotorized watercraft, like SUPs, Canoes and Rafts, a head start, it’s proposed that the first month of operation be restricted to motorized watercraft. All this means for motorboaters and jetskiers is that Vallecito will remain their best option for early-season activity.

  +  Of course, there have been reports of openings in years past. Just last year, it was reported that there was an “optimistic summer 2017 public opening date”. We all know how that turned out. The annexation, though, will put recreation and enforcement of Nighthorse under Durango Parks & Recreation. If green-lighted by February, it’s go time spring access in 2018.

War on Opium

There’s no easy way to open this topic. Over 100 Americans die daily from opioid overdose. I assure you, there is good news though—otherwise we wouldn’t be here bringing it up. Let’s get into it.

  +  What is addiction in the first place? “Your grandma wasn’t turned into a junkie by her hip replacement. Why is that?” The answer lies in our innate need for human connection, it seems.

  +  5280: “Drug overdose is now the leading cause of injury death for Americans ages 25 to 64, and the primary culprit is a class of drugs called opioids. The category includes prescription painkillers (synthetics such as Vicodin, OxyContin, Percocet, and fentanyl) and illegal heroin (which is naturally derived from the opium in poppy seeds).” And Colorado isn’t immune, seeing a rise in overdose deaths in the past decade. With all of our extreme sports, we collectively wind up with a lot of injuries and resulting painkillers.

  +  A lot of the addiction comes from over-prescription opioid painkillers. It’s the extra pills that become part of the problem: “Most prescription drug addicts initially get hooked on meds given to them by someone who hasn’t disposed of unused pain pills.”

  +  With a step in the right direction, President Trump officially named the opioid crisis a public health emergency, referring to it as “the worst drug crisis in American history.” This announcement allows “expanded access to telemedicine services, giving doctors the ability to prescribe medications to treat addiction to those in remote locations. It speeds the hiring process for medical professionals working on opioids. And it allows funds in programs for dislocated workers and people with HIV/AIDS to be used to treat their addictions.”

  +  There is some concern, however, because the declaration does not include any financial backing, but opts to “allow the government to redirect resources in various ways . . .” Critics don’t think it’s enough.

  +  WaPo: “There's a no-brainer way to solve the opioid crisis”

  +  Which is why it comes as such good news that the “US Department of Justice arrested 6 former execs and managers of pharmaceutical giant Insys, for [allegedly] ‘paying doctors to needlessly prescribe an extremely dangerous and addictive form of fentanyl — a drug only recommended for extreme pain in cancer patients”, on Thursday. Big pharma is often cited as a major player in fueling the opioid crisis, but the higher-ups rarely see punishment. Hopefully, this sends a powerful message to curb over-prescription and keep more people from getting addicted in the first place.

This week’s good news, brought to you by:

Has the chapter ended for coffee shops in the big book of workplaces? The narrative has certainly evolved. R Space at the Rochester is Durango’s newest page in the growing coworking movement that aims to blend the professionalism of an office with the dynamics of more shared environments.

Connecting the Dots

Thirty-five percent of the US workforce transitioned to freelancing in 2016, a statistic that is on-trend for continued growth. Put the independence, flexible hours and potential for higher wages, though, and freelancers face one big problem: where to work. Without an office to land in, the independent workforce has traditionally found itself flocking to coffee shops or working from home, neither of which really offer professionalism, productivity or panache.

Cue coworking spaces, like R Space, where members have the freedom to work autonomously within a community of peers, other freelancers, contractors and entrepreneurs, in a dynamic professional environment. The benefits, from health to creativity and networking, speak for themselves. Everything at R Space, for example, is made to move, creating a versatile workspace designed to accommodate everything from solo podcasting to professional group education classes, connecting the dots for a growing freelance community.