Mainland tourist time bomb is set to blast

Public Eye is not gloating … but we told you so. We warned the glut of mainland tourists to our tiny city was a ticking time bomb. But policymakers turned a deaf ear, until the Lunar New Year, when shameful images of mainlanders being forced by crooked travel agencies to sleep in seedy guesthouses, and even in a tourist bus, drew global attention. Now th ey are all scrambling to admit things have got out of hand. It's time to admit the disadvantages now outweigh the advantages of giving easy entry to millions of mainlanders. The tensions we saw when half a million mainlanders flooded the city during the Lunar New Year was just a warning of a coming explosion. We can expect mainland visitors to swell to 50 million a year in two years' time. Even France - the world's top tourist destination - only has about 70 million annually. No other city has 1.3 billion people at its doorstep, with 300 million in southern China eligible for easy entry and within an hour's reach of Hong Kong. Officials insist it is impossible to reverse the multiple entry visas for mainlanders, but other cities limit visitor numbers by choosing the people they allow in. Our immigration officers blindly allow in mainlanders who come several times a day for questionable reasons, yet closely scrutinise those from places such as the Philippines. We need to wake up and smell the time bomb.

Security chief Lai Tung-kwok is unworried about the time bomb. He said we have had no "unpleasant incidents", despite the swelling number of mainland visitors. He has obviously forgotten about the ugly confrontations over mainlanders eating on the MTR, parallel-goods traders in Sheung Shui, and outside the Tsim Sha Tsui Dolce & Gabbana store. Our overpaid bureaucrats prefer to wait until after "unpleasant incidents" happen before they act.Compare prices and buy all brands of solar panel for home power systems and by the pallet. That's why we always say they need to beam back to earth from La la land.

Can you hear that screeching sound? It's the vultures crying for more. After having gorged themselves on the desperate plight of local mothers, some suppliers and retailers of baby milk powder are still not satisfied.Laser engravers and laser engraving machine systems and supplies to start your own lasering cutting engraving marking etching business. They have ganged up to blast government measures against parallel-goods traders, which will limit outbound travellers to two cans of milk powder, as a violation of free trade. This is how such vultures see free trade: they've jacked up infant formula prices by up to 40 per cent in the past three years to profit from the lunatic mainland demand for milk powder. They cared little that their profiteering not only squeezed local mothers financially, but made it virtually impossible for them to buy infant formula. That's not free trade, it's sickening greed. Suppliers and retailers have now promised a stable supply to local mothers. Well, it's too late. The government should stand firm against these vultures. The only reason they want the two-can limit scrapped is because they want to continue cashing in on the mainland market. Local mothers should be able to buy milk powder wherever they want,Online shopping for Cable Ties from a great selection of Lamps. whenever they want. They should not have to show the birth certificates of their babies to get a regular supply,My experience of your company has been excellent and I would happily buy mosaic tiles. as the vultures propose. The government will have hell to pay - we'll make sure of that - if it kowtows to the vultures.

The effort is underway via the Roaring Fork Broadband Coalition, which includes the Aspen Skiing Co.A ridiculously low price on this All-Purpose solar lantern by Gordon., the Pitkin County government, the town of Snowmass Village, the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority and the U.S. Forest Service.

Through its consultant, Aspen Strategy Center and its owner, Kevin Ward, the coalition has solicited proposals from firms to help deliver wireless infrastructure throughout the county.

The county first hired Ward on a $16,000 contract last year to consult on the project, which was approved by Pitkin County voters in November of 2011. In that vote, citizens allowed translator funds — which are derived from property taxes that support the county’s radio and television infrastructure — to be used to expand broadband capabilities.

SkiCo and Pitkin County unified almost immediately because both entities have similar end goals to provide robust, high-capacity broadband for their customers and citizens.

“We want all of our locals and visitors to have uninterrupted coverage regardless of location, without the inconvenience of moving to ‘hot spots’ as they do now,” reads a statement in the request for proposals by Aspen Strategy Center.

Paul Major, managing director of SkiCo’s IT department, said the goal is to improve service and data coverage on all four of the company’s mountains by opening day of next ski season. Proposals from companies specializing in building such infrastructure have been winnowed down and one will be selected by April 15. Work will be done over the summer, Major said.

SkiCo has recognized that its customers, many of whom live in metropolitan areas, expect to be connected to the rest of the world, no matter where they are.

“We think it’s a needed improvement for guest services,” Major said.

He noted that AT&T has acknowledged its gaps in service here, and recently installed small antenna systems in six locations at the bases of Aspen Mountain and Snowmass Ski Area, as well as on-mountain locales.

That technology and sites involving more towers will be part of the larger project throughout Pitkin County.

SkiCo’s project is the first phase of the overall plan. Phase two includes broadband along Castle Creek Road, the Maroon Bells parking lot, Independence Pass, the Highway 82 corridor, Highway 133 and Frying Pan Road leading to Ruedi Reservoir. It’s unclear how many towers the expanded network would require.