First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit - Quick Facts

· The tax credit applies to first time home buyers only. A first time home buyer is defined as anyone who has not owned a home in the last 3 years.

· If held more than 3 years, the tax credit does not have to be repaid.

· The tax credit is calculated at 10% of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.

· Principal residences, purchased after April 8, 2008 and before December 1, 2009 qualify for the credit.

· Singles taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 may qualify for the full tax credit.

Consult your tax professional about how this credit can benefit you!

January 27 - 31, 2010 ~ Snowdown Festival

Snowdown -Snowdown "Life's a Beach," The 32nd annual Durango Winter Celebration, Costume Contest, and Parade. There is no shortage of fun during this week-long winter party. Festivities include parades with unique hand-made floats, the Snowdown Follies, and all the food and local beer you could ask for. For more information visit http://www.snowdown.org/.

Transit Center Opens

The Durango Regional Transit Center reflects the idea that, while there is no single answer to the transportation needs of the future, the role of the automobile will be shrinking. If nothing else, downtown's parking situation will see to that.

As such, the new center will accommodate a variety of mass-transit options, from the Trolley's serving Main Avenue and the Lift taking residents around town to inter-city buses. And it has racks for 150 bicycles. Clearly, the city envisions riders using the transit center not only to catch a bus, but to connect back and forth from buses to bikes, and as a center of urban biking itself. It is a vision that plays to the direction Durango is taking.

The city expects the center will qualify for certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, that the center meets Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards.

Lake Nighthorse

Lake Nighthorse, which is about 20% full, is being created by filling a human-made reservoir in Ridges Basin over the hill to the southwest from Bodo Industrial Park. The 120,000-acre-foot body of water, part of the Animas-La Plata Project, provides Animas River water for three Native American tribes and nontribal entities in Colorado and New Mexico.

While the budding lake has huge recreation potential - camping, hiking, boating, angling - current economic conditions have created a funding vacuum. The cost of developing recreation at the lake is estimated at $20-$25 million, not counting a boat ramp that is being funded by another source.