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Generation of CD31+ endothelial cells derived from hiPSCs and their in vitro characterization

Several previous studies reported successful generation of ECs from hiPSCs (hiPSC-ECs) using a combination of small molecules, including a GSK3 inhibitor22. Based on previous reports, we generated hiPSC-ECs from hiPSCs using the GSK3 inhibitor CHIR99021 (Supplementary materials and methods, Supplementary Fig. 1a). To produce hiPSC-ECs expressing green fluorescence protein (GFP) to facilitate cell tracking in the heart tissues in further experiments, we produced hiPSCs expressing GFP signals by transfecting GFP lentiviral particles, enriched them by FACS based on GFP expression, and used them to differentiate into ECs (Supplementary Fig. 1b). qRT-PCR results verified that the expression level of OCT4, a pluripotency marker, was significantly reduced, and the expression level of CD31, a specific marker for EC, was significantly increased in the hiPSCs differentiating into the EC lineage (Supplementary Fig. 1c, Supplementary Table 1). On differentiation Day 7, we observed that approximately 25.08% of the differentiating hiPSC-ECs were positive for human CD31 antibody, and subsequently, we enriched these CD31+ cells by FACS. Following FACS, the enriched CD31+ hiPSC-ECs were maintained in human endothelial serum-free medium with cytokines, including VEGF, to maintain their characteristics as EC lineage cells (Supplementary Fig. 1c). The CD31+ hiPSC-ECs displayed a typical cobblestone-like EC morphology and expressed similar mRNA levels of EC-specific markers, such as cluster of differentiation 31 (CD31), vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-Cadherin), Von Willebrand factor (vWF) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2), compared with human umbilical cord endothelial cells (HUVECs) (Supplementary Fig. 1c, d). The results from flow cytometry analysis further demonstrated that the CD31+ hiPSC-ECs were 97.19% and 85.53% positive for CD31 and CD144, respectively (Supplementary Fig. 1e). In addition, the immunofluorescence results confirmed that the CD31+ hiPSC-ECs expressed abundant levels of the CD31 and vWF proteins (Supplementary Fig. 1f). At the functional level, the CD31+ hiPSC-ECs displayed the capacity for uptake of Ac-LDL (Supplementary Fig. 1g) and the formation of a capillary-like network on top of Matrigel (Supplementary Fig. 1h).

To determine if the CD31+ hiPSC-ECs (hiPSC-ECs afterward) could form de novo vessels via a vasculogenesis-dependent mechanism in MI-induced hearts, we intramyocardially injected hiPSC-ECs at two different sites in the border zone of the MI-induced rat hearts. MI was generated by ligation of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery in the heart. hiPSC-ECs continuously expressing the green fluorescence (GFP) signal were used for tracking purposes. To visualize the functional vessels in the MI-induced hearts, we performed perfusion staining with isolection-B4 (IB4) conjugated with a red fluorescent dye, rhodamine, into the heart prior to tissue harvest 8 weeks after injection with hiPSC-ECs. Fluorescent image analyses showed that the number of IB4+ capillaries in the hiPSC-EC-injected hearts was significantly higher than that in the MI control hearts (Fig. 1a).

a Representative images of blood vessels stained with IB4-rhodamine (red) in the infarct zone, border zone, and remote zone and at 8 weeks after injection of hiPSC-ECs and their quantification summary. For quantification, the number of capillaries in five randomly selected fields (mm2) in each heart was counted. n=5. *p<0.05. Scale bars: 100m. b Representative image of blood vessels newly formed by iPSC-ECs-GFP (green), IB4-rhodamine (red) and DAPI (blue). Scale bars: 20m. cj Rats undergoing MI were intramyocardially injected with hiPSC-ECs or control cells, followed by echocardiography analysis. c The schematic timeline from MI modeling and transplantation of iPSC-EC to measurement of cardiac function. d Left ventricular ejection fraction (EF), (e) left fractional shortening (FS), (f) left ventricular internal diastolic dimension (LVIDd), (g) left ventricular internal systolic dimension (LVIDs), (h) septal wall thickness (SWT), (i) posterior wall thickness (PWT), and (j) relative wall thickness (RWT). n=6. *p<0.05. k Representative images showing cardiac fibrosis after staining with Massons trichrome in the hearts harvested 8 weeks after cell treatment. Quantification results of cardiac fibrosis (l) and viable myocardium (m). n=5. *p<0.05. Scale bars: 2000m.

Next, to evaluate the potential and magnitude of the contribution of hiPSC-ECs to vasculogenesis in the MI hearts, we traced the GFP and RFP signals from hiPSC-ECs within cardiac tissues. Confocal microscopy images demonstrated a considerable number of vessels, double-positive for both IB4 and GFP signals from hiPSC-ECs, in the infarct region of the heart tissues receiving hiPSC-ECs at 8 weeks post-injection. Interestingly, a substantial number of hiPSC-ECs were incorporated into the host capillary network, and many of them were located in the perivascular area (Fig. 1b). The results clearly suggest that hiPSC-ECs could reconstruct de novo vessels in ischemic hearts.

Given that vascular regeneration improved through vasculogenesis leads to functional recovery from MI, we hypothesized that intramyocardial injection of hiPSC-ECs into MI hearts may promote cardiac function. Subsequently, we performed serial echocardiography to evaluate left ventricular (LV) function and cardiac remodeling from PRE (1-week post-MI and prior to cell treatment), and 2, 4, and 8 weeks after cell treatment. In this study, we employed a MI model that cells were transplanted one week after induction of MI to mimic the clinical situation of MI patients as close as possible. The results of echocardiography demonstrated that both ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS) in all experimental groups were significantly lower compared with the sham group that did not receive any intervention. (Supplementary Fig. 2ag). Of importance, the hearts receiving hiPSC-ECs displayed significantly higher EF and FS than those in the MI control group until 8 weeks after the cell treatment (Fig. 1cd). Among several parameters for cardiac remodeling, such as left ventricular internal diastolic dimension (LVIDd), left ventricular internal systolic dimension (LVISd), septal wall thickness (SWT), posterior wall thickness (PWT), and relative wall thickness (RWT), the LVIDd and LVIDs in the hiPSC-EC-treated hearts were significantly lower than those in MI control hearts, indicating that hiPSC-ECs protected the hearts from adverse cardiac remodeling. (Fig. 1ei and Supplementary Fig. 2h). Similarly, the results of Massons trichrome staining obtained using cardiac tissue harvested at 8 weeks post-cell treatment showed that the area of fibrosis (%) in the hiPSC-EC-injected group was considerably smaller and the viable myocardium (%) was larger than that in the MI control group (Fig. 1jm). Based on these results, we confirmed that hiPSC-ECs can directly contribute to de novo vessel formation in vivo in MI-exposed hearts, resulting in enhanced cardiac function.

Subsequently, we investigated our central hypothesis of whether simultaneous induction of both vasculogenesis and angiogenesis could lead to comprehensive vascular regeneration and functional improvement in the MIhearts. Since we already verified that hiPSC-ECs successfully achieved vasculogenesis in the MI hearts, we sought to identify an additional cellular source that can induce complementary angiogenesis from the blood vessels in the host heart and finally decided to test genetically modified human mesenchymal stem cells engineered to continuously release human SDF-1 protein (SDF-eMSCs)23. The SDF-eMSCs were indistinguishable from normal BM-MSCs. The SDF-eMSCs exhibited a homogeneous spindle-shaped cell morphology, representing hMSCs (Supplementary materials and methods, Supplementary Fig. 3a). The SDF-eMSCs had a high proliferative potential based on the gradual increase in population doubling levels (PDL) during the culture times compared to normal BM-MSCs24 (Supplementary Fig. 3b). The SDF-eMSCs expressed several markers specific for human MSCs, such as CD90, CD44, CD105 and CD73, without the expression of CD34, CD11b, CD19, CD45 and HLA-DR (Supplementary Fig. 3c). The SDF-eMSCs stably secreted human SDF-1 protein, as determined by human SDF-1 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis (Supplementary Fig. 3d). The results from SDF-eMSC karyotyping revealed a normal human karyotype of the SDF-eMSCs without chromosomal abnormalities, suggesting the genetic stability of the SDF-eMSCs (Supplementary Fig. 3e).

To investigate whether SDF-eMSCs could augment the angiogenic potential of ECs, we performed various types of in vitro experimental analyses with SDF-eMSCs. Among the first, to determine whether SDF-eMSCs influenced the gene expression associated with ECs and angiogenic properties, we treated 30% conditioned media (CM) harvested from cultured SDF-eMSCs or BM-MSCs to the cultured hiPSC-ECs for 3 days and performed qRT-PCR analyses. The expression levels of stromal-derived factor-1 alpha (SDF-1), tyrosine kinase with Ig and epidermal growth factor homology domain 2 (Tie-2), vWF, E-selectin (CD62), and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) were significantly higher in the hiPSC-ECs treated with SDF-eMSC-CM than in the hiPSC-ECs exposed to BM-MSC-CM (Fig. 2a). In particular, the increased expression of E-selectin and ICAM-1 is known to be involved in angiogenesis in the presence of activated ECs25,26,27,28,29. Next, in EC migration assays, as shown in Fig. 2, the addition of conditioned media from the SDF-eMSCs (SDF-eMSC-CM) significantly enhanced the migration of hiPSC-ECs or HUVECs compared with the migration of the ECs treated with CM from human bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSC-CM), suggesting that cytokines released from the SDF-eMSCs bolster the mobility of ECs (Fig. 2b and Supplementary Fig. 4a). In addition, to test whether SDF-eMSCs directly promote the angiogenic potential of ECs, we performed Matrigel tube formation assays, a representative experiment to evaluate the vessel formation potential of cells. The results from Matrigel tube formation assays demonstrated that the number of branches formed in both the hiPSC-ECs and the HUVECs treated with 30% CM harvested from the cultured SDF-eMSCs was significantly greater than that in the BM-MSC-CM-treated ECs (Fig. 2c and Supplementary Fig. 4b). Interestingly, treatment with SDF-eMSC-CM not only promoted tube formation by the hiPSC-ECs but also contributed to the maintenance of vessels formed from the hiPSC-ECs. Unlike the hiPSC-EC-generated vessels exposed to BM-MSC-CM that began to disrupt the vessel structure within 24h of vessel formation, treatment with SDF-eMSC-CM supported the integrity of vessels for up to 48h.

a qRT-PCR analysis of relative mRNA expression associated with ECs and angiogenesis in the hiPSC-ECs treated with the conditioned media (CM) from cultured bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSC-CM) or SDF engineered MSCs (SDF-eMSC-CM) for 3 days. The y-axis represents the relative mRNA expression of target genes to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). n=3. *p<0.05. b EC migration assay. Representative images of migrated hiPSC-ECs and quantification of the migrated area (%). The hiPSC-ECs were placed in transwells (top), and regular media (EGM, EBM) or the conditioned media (CM) collected from different cell sources (BM-MSC-CM and SDF-eMSC-CM) were placed in transwells (bottom) for 7h. n=3. *p<0.05. c Tube formation assay. The hiPSC-ECs were cultured in 24-well plates coated with Geltrex with regular media (EGM, EBM) or conditioned media (CM) (BM-MSC-CM and SDF-eMSC-CM) for 9, 24, or 48h. Representative images of tube formation and quantification summary for the number of junctions. n=3. *p<0.05.

To provide a cellular reservoir where SDF-eMSC-PAs can constantly release SDF-1 to MI hearts, we produced a patch encapsulating SDF-eMSC (SDF-eMSC-PA) by mixing SDF-eMSCs with a 2% heart-derived decellularized extracellular matrix (hdECM)-based bioink and loaded it onto the polycaprolactone (PCL) mesh (Fig. 3 and Supplementary Fig. 5). Subsequently, to confirm whether SDF-eMSC-PAs are functional and can efficiently release SDF-1, we cultured SDF-eMSC-PAs in vitro for 28 days (Supplementary Fig. 5a) and collected supernatants at various time points for three days to generate the release kinetics of the SDF1-eMSC-PAs using the SDF-1 ELISA kit. The cumulative release curve showed that although the initial concentration of SDF-1 was higher in the SDF-cytokine-PAs (300ng/ml) than in the SDF-eMSC-PAs on Day 0, no SDF-1 was detectable in the SDF-cytokine-PAs from Day 7. However, the expression of SDF-1 released from the SDF-eMSC-PAs increased consistently until Day 21 (Supplementary Fig. 5b), suggesting that SDF-eMSCs continuously secreted SDF-1 within the patch.

a Procedures for manufacturing a cardiac patch encapsulating SDF-engineered MSCs (SDF-eMSC-PA) with a polycaprolactone (PCL) platform produced by a 3D printing system. b Optical image within the hdECM patch. SDF-eMSC-PAs were prelabeled with the red florescence dye DiI for tracing. Scale bars: 1mm. c Image of epicardially transplanted SDF-eMSC-PAs in the MI-induced heart. d Macroscopic view of hearts at 8 weeks after PA transplantation.

To finally determine whether simultaneous induction of both vasculogenesis and angiogenesis by using hiPSC-ECs and SDF-eMSC-PAs could lead to comprehensive vascular regeneration and functional improvement in MI-induced hearts, we induced MI by LAD ligation after the formation of five experimental groups as follows: (1) MI control, (2) SDF-eMSC-PA implanted epicardium of MI hearts (PA only, 1106), (3) hiPSC-ECs, intramyocardial injection (EC only, 1106), and (4) combined platform of hiPSC-ECs and SDF-eMSC-PA (EC+PA, 1106 in each) (Fig. 4). We first performed serial echocardiography for all experimental groups at pre, 2, 4 and 8 weeks after cell treatment. All experimental groups were significantly reduced compared with that in the sham group (Supplementary Fig. 6ag). Of interest, cardiac function in the EC+PA group was significantly preserved until 8 weeks compared with its cardiac function at pre, but cardiac function in other groups, such as the control, hiPSC-EC alone and SDF-eMSC-PA alone groups, continuously decreased until 8 weeks. (Fig. 4ad). Adverse cardiac remodeling determined by the LVIDd, LVIDs, SWT, PWT, and RWT was notably reduced in the EC+PA group compared with the other groups (Fig. 4ei and Supplementary Fig. 6h). To further evaluate cardiac function more precisely, we performed LV hemodynamic measurements using an invasive pressure-volume (PV) catheter, which can measure the hemodynamic pressure and volume of the LV. The results of the PV loop at 8 weeks post-cell treatment showed that the EC+PA group had significantly improved cardiac function and prevented adverse cardiac remodeling compared with the other groups (Fig. 5). The two parameters of general cardiac function, stroke volume (SV) and cardiac output (CO), were significantly higher (Fig. 5ac), and the maximum volume (V max), which is the cardiac remodeling index measured at the maximum diastole, was significantly lower in the EC+PA group than in the other groups (Fig. 5d). Although the pressure max (P max) measured at the maximum systole did not differ significantly between groups, the maximum rate of pressure change (dP/dtmax) and the minimum rate of pressure change (dP/dtmin), which indicate the pressure change in LV per second, were increased in the EC+PA group. (Fig. 5ef and Supplementary Fig. 7a). Temporal variation in the occluded inferior vena cava (IVC) was used to evaluate load-independent intrinsic cardiac contractibility. The end-diastolic pressure-volume relationship (EDPVR), which indicates the absence of diastolic dysfunction, did not differ between the groups, whereas the slope of the end-systolic pressure volume relationship (ESPVR), which indicates cardiac contractibility, was significantly improved in the EC+PA group compared with the other groups (Fig. 5gh and Supplementary Fig. 7b). Collectively, these results from LV hemodynamic measurements consistently demonstrate that treatment with the combined platform with hiPSC-ECs and SDF-eMSC-PAs improves cardiac repair in MI hearts.

a Left ventricular ejection fraction (EF). b EF delta change at 8 weeks after cell treatment. c Left fractional shortening (FS). d FS delta change at 8 weeks after cell treatment. e Left ventricular internal diastolic dimension (LVIDd). f Left ventricular internal systolic dimension (LVIDs). g Septal wall thickness (SWT). h Posterior wall thickness (PWT). i Relative wall thickness (RWT). n=611. *p<0.05.

a Representative images of the hemodynamic pressure and volume (PV) curve at steady state at 8 weeks post-cell treatment. b Stroke volume (SV). c Cardiac output (CO). d Volume max (V max) defining the amount of blood volume in the LV at end-diastole. e dP/dtmax refers to the maximal rate of pressure changes during systole. f The minimal rate of pressure changes during diastole (dP/dtmin). g Slope of end-systolic pressure volume relationship (ESPVR) indicating the intrinsic cardiac contractibility as measured by transient inferior vena cava (IVC) occlusion. h Slope of end-diastolic pressure volume relationship (EDPVR). n=4. *p<0.05.

Next, we investigated the in vivo behavior of intramyocardially implanted hiPSC-ECs in the presence or absence of SDF-eMSC-PAs. Since hiPSC-ECs constantly express GFP, we could track their fate in heart tissue sections. Confocal microscopic examination of heart tissues harvested at 8 weeks after cell treatment demonstrated that implantation of SDF-eMSC-PAs significantly improved the retention and engraftment of intramyocardially injected GFP-positive hiPSC-ECs. Quantitatively, the proportion of GFP-positive hiPSC-ECs in the EC+PA group was substantially higher than that in the EC group (Fig. 6a). Of interest, while the hiPSC-ECs in the hiPSC-ECs alone group were localized near the injection sites, the hiPSC-ECs in the EC+PA group were distributed throughout the regions of the left ventricle. Given the ability of SDF-eMSC-PAs to improve the survival and retention of injected hiPSC-ECs, we sought to examine whether SDF-eMSC-PAs exerted direct cytoprotective effects in hiPSC-ECs in vitro. Ischemic injury was simulated by exposing hiPSC-ECs to H2O2 (500M). Administration of CM from SDF-eMSCs (SDF-eMSC-CM) significantly improved the viability of both hiPSC-ECs and HUVECs as determined by the LIVE/DEAD assay and CCK-8 assay (Supplementary Fig. 8af). Treatment with SDF-eMSC-CM substantially increased the number of viable cells, suggesting that SDF-eMSC-CM exerts direct cytoprotective effects on ECs against ischemic insults. Subsequently, we performed thorough histological analyses using heart tissues harvested 8 weeks post-cell treatment to examine whether SDF-eMSC-PAs could concurrently promote hPSC-EC-dependent vasculogenesis as well as angiogenesis of host blood vessels. IB4 conjugated with rhodamine was systemically injected to identify the functional endothelium in these experiments. Initially, confocal images demonstrated that the number of total IB4-positive (IB4+) capillaries in both the border zone and infarct zone of the hearts in the EC+PA group was substantially higher than that in the other groups, including the EC group (Fig. 6b). The number of vessels that were GFP negative but positive for IB4 (GFP-/IB4+) was also significantly higher than that in other groups, including the EC-only group (Fig. 6c). These results suggest that the combined approach significantly promoted the angiogenesis of host vessels in MI hearts. More importantly, the number of de novo vessels formed by hiPSC-ECs-GFP+ was substantially higher in the EC+PA group than in the EC-only group, indicating that SDF-eMSC-PAs facilitates hiPSC-EC-dependent vasculogenesis (Fig. 6de and Supplementary Fig. 9a). Notably, the number of larger blood vessels (diameter range: >5 m), one of the indicators of functional blood vessels in the EC+PA group, was significantly higher than that in the EC group. Of interest, many of those larger vessels in the EC+PA group displayed abundant expression of -SMA, a marker for smooth muscle cells, suggesting that these larger vessels (CD31+/-SMA+) may be arteriole-like vessels, indicating that SDF-eMSC-PA played certain roles in vascular ingrowth and maturation (Fig. 6eg and Supplementary Fig. 9b).

a Representative image of hiPSC-ECs-GFP within the infarct area at 8 weeks post-cell treatment and their quantification summary. n=3. *p<0.05. Scale bars: 1000m. b Representative images of blood vessels stained with IB4-rhodamine (red) in the infarct zone (IZ), border zone (BZ), and remote zone at 8 weeks after cell treatment and a summary of their quantification. n=57. *p<0.05. Scale bars: 100m. c Representative images of blood vessels negative for GFP but positive for IB4 (GFP-/IB4+) in the infarcted area and their quantification summary. hiPSC-ECs-GFP (green), IB4-rhodamine (red) and DAPI (blue). n=5. *p<0.05. Scale bars: 20m. d, e Representative images of GFP and IB4 (GFP+/IB4+)-positive blood vessels in the infarcted area and their quantification. hiPSC-ECs-GFP (green), IB4-rhodamine (red) and DAPI (blue). n=5. *p<0.05. Scale bars: 20m. f, g Diameter of hiPSC-EC-derived GFP-positive blood vessels in the infarcted area and border zone. n=5. *p<0.05.

To further investigate whether the vascular regeneration achieved by the combined platform (EC+PA) was sufficient to salvage the myocardium from ischemic insult, we quantified the viable myocardium by immunostaining for cardiac troponin T (cTnT) antibody using the heart tissues harvested from all experimental groups at 8 weeks post-cell treatment. The number of viable cTnT+ cardiomyocytes in the EC+PA group was significantly higher than that in the other groups (Fig. 7a). These results from histological analyses using heart tissues motivated us to test whether SDF-eMSCs (Supplementary Fig. 10a) could confer direct cytoprotective effects on cardiomyocytes against ischemic insults in vitro. Ischemic injury was simulated by exposing cardiomyocytes to H2O2 (500M). The results from both the LIVE/DEAD assay and the cholecystokinin-8 (CCK-8) assay demonstrated that the administration of SDF-eMSC-conditioned media (CM) significantly improved the viability of cultured cardiomyocytes isolated from neonatal rats (NRCM) against H2O2 treatment compared with other treatments. These results also suggest that SDF-eMSCs have direct cytoprotective effects against ischemic insults (Supplementary Fig. 11ac).

a Representative immunostaining images of myocardium stained with cTnT (green) and DAPI (blue) at 8 weeks after cell treatment and quantification of the number of cTnT-positive cardiomyocytes. SDF-eMSCs labeled with DiI within the cardiac patch (red) n=5. *p<0.05. Scale bar: 300m. b Representative images of Massons trichrome staining using heart tissues harvested 8 weeks after cell treatment. c, d Quantification summary of a percentage of fibrosis and viable myocardium. n=5. *p<0.05. Scale bars: 2000m.

Consequently, the combined treatment group showed a significant decrease in cardiac fibrosis. The results of Massons trichrome staining using cardiac tissue harvested at 8 weeks exhibited an area of fibrosis (%), which was significantly lower in the combined treatment groups than in the other groups (Fig. 7bd). Taken together, our results clearly suggested that the combined treatment resulted in comprehensive cardiac repair through enhanced vascular regeneration and that the SDF-eMSCs contributed at least to some extent indirect protection of myocardium from ischemic injury via consistent secretion of cytoprotective SDF cytokines.

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As an Inc. contributor, I'm a bit biased--I happen to think theirs gives the best practical advice, surmising that the Airbnb Work Policy gives employees more autonomy. Others speak to a managerial perspective on various pros and cons. In Fortune's article, the author notes Elon Musk's remote policy: "Elon Musk says remote workers are just pretending to work. Turns out he's (sort of) right."We disagree, but that's beside the point.

In fact, all these articles are a bit beside the point. Because for each individual employee, the situation is different, as is the job. A single mother whose childcare provider cancelled last-minute doesn't have a lot of leeway--and one who simply can't find affordable childcare has even less. A surgeon can't work remotely. Anyone who just tested positive for Covid can't meet in person.

To be sure, companies need employees to be focused on the fundamental purpose: serving customers profitably. But often this does not depend on where the work is done. It depends on the work being done efficiently. Companies who rely on remote work policies that are concerned with where inevitably underserve customers or impose unrealistic ideals on their employees. Or both.

But what if companies partner with their employees to serve customers--what we call economic engagement? Without partnership, a company busies itself with telling employees what to do, how to do it, and where to do it. No wonder companies that are in the top quartile of economic engagement have double the profit growth of their peers, as our research has shown: A Key Strategy to Double Your Profits.

At One Week Bath, an independent bathroom remodeling company in Southern California, (full disclosure: I own 30% of the company), we focus solely on what needs to be done to serve our customers profitably. We learned from the pandemic that many jobs don't require time in the office. In response, we scaled down our office space and cost, enabling our employees to avoid twice-a-day LA rush hours and improving their quality of life. We also learned from the pandemic to meet every challenge with the same two principles:

That's it. We reinforce the practice of partnership with our employees by openly and weekly discussing the company's financial results. We listen to employees' ideas on how to drive those results. We forecast those results together. And when the company succeeds, our incentive plan ensures that every employee shares in that profit.

Some companies talk about employee engagement. We have economic engagement, and the best team in the industry. And those two basic principles? They allowed us to respond to our customers so well that our repeat and referral revenue soared through the worst of 2020-2021. And we did it without any layoffs and virtually no turnover.

So, what's our stance on remote work? It's the same two principles--nothing more. Everything else is at the discretion of the employees. Some work--like receiving and staging product for upcoming jobs--is truly hands-on. Krystal and her warehouse team physically go in every day. Others prefer to work remotely and can, like Bonnie and her team in finance and administration. Sales and Design were already doing plenty of remote work. The crews were too, just like Southwest pilots.

Some suggest employees need to be in the same room to build culture. But partnering with your employees, instead of treating them like hired hands, tends to align people profound ways. SWA boasts a legendary culture, with many of their members remote for decades. Or take our weekly meeting at OWB. Finishing jobs on time has been a challenge. A few weeks ago, crew leader Rudy announced he was wrapping up his job a day early, and the team erupted in spontaneous applause. Rachel said, "What you don't realize is that Rudy's project was the first sale I ever made, and that customer is really demanding. But I just got off the phone with him, and he's just raving about Rudy and his team." Applause gave way to all-out cheering.

Some might say we're leaving inmates to run the facility. But we don't have a facility. We have a business where every employee has a direct stake in the profits. We don't have a remote work policy. In fact, we have very few "policies." We have smart people who we trust to make decisions, all aimed at serving our customers profitably. Sometimes a new decision improves our services to a customer. Sometimes it doesn't. But we allow our team the room to continually learn and improve.

This also means Matt (our President and majority owner) and I spend a lot less time on administrative matters and much more on making the business better. It seems to be working. Two years ago, we were at 8 crews. Today we have 14--not to mention a record backlog, frequent referrals, and a robust remote operation. If you need policies, direct them toward serving customers profitably. Leave the rest to a well-motivated team; just make sure you're motivating them.

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

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How to Create the Best Remote Work Policy for Your Company - Inc.

Aug. 14, 2022Updated: Aug. 14, 2022 11:52a.m.

Authorities are investigating the death of a tree removal employee in Halfmoon.

HALFMOON Authorities are investigating the death of a tree removal employee in Halfmoon.

The Saratoga County Sheriff's Office provided no details about the fatality, including the location of the incident on Thursday or what company the person worked for, but confirmed that a 38-year-old male died.

Foul play doesnt appear to be a factor and the investigation is ongoing, police said in a release on Friday.

The identity of the employee is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin, deputies said.

Pete DeMola is a breaking news and current trends reporter. He also covers the city of Schenectady and its suburbs. He previously reported for the Daily Gazette and Sun Community News in the Adirondacks where he won multiple awards for his investigative reporting. DeMola also spent a half-decade in Beijing where he covered pop culture for several publications and social media companies. He also worked for a record label. He's a 2005 graduate of Syracuse University. You can reach him at pete.demola@timesunion.com.

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Deputies investigating death of tree removal worker in Halfmoon - Times Union

Montoursville, Pa. Work has officially started on the planned renovations for the TWA Flight 800 Memorial.

The Flight 800 Memorial was erected in 1999. It is meant to honor the 16 Montoursville High School Students and five chaperones that lost their lives on a trip to Paris in the 1996 crash which killed all 230 passengers.

Workers removing the hemlock trees from Flight 800 Memorial in Montoursville

The first step commenced on the morning of August 16 with the removal of hemlock trees, which Mayor Steven Bagwell said have become diseased.

They were removed by Dincher and Dincher at no cost to the memorial fund.

The hemlock's will be replaced byEmerald Green arborvitae.

This is just the first step, with more to come next month, according to Bagwell. A walkway, which Bagwell said has becoming a tripping hazard, will be removed.

Wood chipper at work.

The current brick walkway will be replaced by paving stones that Bagwell said are easier to maintain.

Overall donations have reached over $87,000 of the $125,000 for the planned initial renovations.

Bagwell said that this is enough to complete the renovations on the most glaring issues, but they still need more to do further beautification, like replacing the mulch witha pachysandra groundcover, and to setup an ongoing care fund.

"I feel very fortunate to be a part of this project,"Dale Ulmer, chair of the renovation committee, said. "The renovation committee has been making great progress. This progress is a reflection of the hardworking group of committee members."

Donations are only being accepted through check and can be sent to theMontoursville Area School District Memorial Fund at 50 N Arch St. Montoursville, PA.

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August 17, 2022

Groundbreaking for the regions largest urban ground solar array, located on Catholic Universitys West Campus, will start on Aug. 22.

The ground-mounted solar array, being installed on the west side of Harewood Rd., across from Leahy Hall, will greatly contribute to the Universitys commitment to environmental sustainability and make a significant contribution to the District of Columbias goal of 100% renewable energy by 2032 and carbon neutrality by 2050. Permitted tree removal will take up to four weeks, but will not affect heritage trees on the site or the existing Casey Trees tree nursery.

The solar array, which is being developed with Standard Solar, will save an estimated 7.115 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year. This is the equivalent of removing 1,547 cars from roads annually or eliminating the carbon dioxide emissions from nearly 800,630 gallons of gasoline, according to the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.

"The new solar installation reaffirms the Universitys renewable energy leadership. By caring for our common home, this new opportunity allows our neighbors to share clean energy benefits," said Alexandra Harry Nappier, director of campus sustainability for the University.

The University has arranged for many of the trees being removed to be salvaged by the District of Columbia's Urban Forestry Division. The logs will be milled into items such as benches and stump seating that then will be donated to local schools and parks. Wood byproducts will go to the University of the District of Columbias Center for Urban Agriculture and higher quality wood will be milled into lumber and donated to schools and nonprofits.

The University will use wood chips from the trees at the Community Garden behind Curley Hall and within the preserved forests on the west campus to help suppress invasive species and improve the habitat. Casey Trees will also use the chips for its Community Tree Planting program.

Harvesting and repurposing these trees locally lessens the waste and cost of disposal and helps reduce the city's reliance on lumber transported from elsewhere, reducing emissions and supporting our local communities, said Greg Osband, the Universitys program manager for landscape architecture.

The next step after tree removal is grading and installation of bioretention facilities for stormwater management. This will take place over three months this fall. Once the site is prepared, installation of the solar racks is scheduled to begin at the start of 2023. The array, which will be surrounded by a perimeter screen of trees and pollinator habitat plantings, is expected to open in late summer 2023.

The array is one of many initiatives focused on environmental stewardship. Also this year, the University, a certified Tree Campus for Higher Education, undertook a tree survey and is developing a plan for ongoing management of all trees on campus.

In September the University will submit its Laudato Si Action Plan to the Vatican. Catholic University was one of the first universities in the world to sign onto this Vatican initiative to encourage care for creation globally.

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University Breaks Ground on West Campus Solar Array - Catholic University Communications

An oak tree that is more than 100 years old at the McCalla Center at the northeast corner of Central and Schaefer avenues is being proposed for removal because an arborist said it is infested with beetles and wood-boring pests.

The recommendation for removing the tree and planting two replacement trees will be considered by the Chino Planning Commission at 7 p.m. on Monday in council chambers, 13220 Central Ave.

The tree is located in a field near Central Avenue, west of Subway, which has caused constraints for applicants who want to develop that portion of the center.

The McCalla Center site encompasses 12 buildings totaling 137,430 square-feet, including Subway, Mercury Insurance, JoJo Nail Salon, and several other businesses.

City Planner Warren Morelion said all of the McCalla Center has been developed except for the vacant site where the tree is located.

Some buildings in the McCalla Center are under construction and close to completion, including industrial buildings on the northeast side of the center and a commercial building nearest to Central Avenue, he said.

Over the years, arborists have recommended different measures to protect the trees health, Mr. Morelion said.

Its not getting any better and the pests have a potential to spread further, he said. The tree is one of two oaks that grew at the site, but in 2011 the commission voted to remove one of the trees after deciding it was beyond saving. Since then, the remaining oak tree has been cared for, but arborists dont believe it can survive, according to a staff report.

The tree removal is one of three items to be discussed at the Planning Commission meeting. See Page B1.

Written comments may be submitted to planning@cityofchino.org and will be accepted by the Development Services Department through 5:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 15 or at the hearing.

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Commission to weigh in on removal of dying oak tree - Chino Champion

For three years, the residents at the Oasis Mobile Home Park in the east valley have been without clean water. On multiple occasions, the EPA has found high levels of arsenic in the park's water system.

The issue continues to this day, but now some of the park's residents are dealing with another major issue on top of being without water, no electricity.

Residents say for several days now, power failures have forced them to endure the hot weather of the desert without air conditioning.

Cecilia Hernandez told Telemundo 15's Marco Revuelta that she and her family are going through unbearable days.

"It's a desperate thing, for me, for my children," Hernandez said. "Sometimes, when my baby can't take it anymore, she won't stop crying."

Hernandez is one of more than 200 families, or 1,100 people, living in the troubled mobile home park. She says the power outages began last Sunday.

"Since that day they have been shutting down for an hour, half an hour, sometimes for three hours," Hernandez said.

On Wednesday, Hernandez said she spent a total of four hours in the heat wave.

"For me this is an emergency, for these families, I'm not the only one here, my neighbors also have a baby," Hernandez said.

A spokesperson for the Imperial Irrigation District said they are aware of the situation. They add that the failures are in the infrastructure of the site which falls under the responsibility of the RV park managers.

Activists point out that this is a reflection of the discomfort faced by those who live there.

"The problems in the park go far beyond the water. It's the lights, the garbage, the problems with the handlers, there are many more problems in this parking lot and that's why we are asking for the relocation of the Oasis residents as soon as possible," said Omar Gastelum, a member of the Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability.

Riverside County has been working to relocate residents. In June, the Board of Supervisors approved the allocation of$7 million for phase 1 of the Oasis Villas Apartments. The project will create new affordable and safe housing opportunities for families living at Oasis Mobile Home Park and other dilapidated housing in the east valley.

The $7 million for the project comes froma $30 million state grant Riverside County receivedto provide relocation assistance for the park's residents.

Gastelum said that with temperatures in the triple digits, action needs to be taken urgently.

"We know the effects that being exposed to extreme heat for a long time can have, so that problem has been going on for more than a week and a half now, so we think it's time for someone to take some kind of action," Gastelum said.

Hernandez tells us that there are 15 homes impacted by the power outages.

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Residents of troubled Oasis Mobile Home Park now dealing with power failures amid high temperatures - kuna noticias y kuna radio

Welcome to Whats Up With Water your need-to-know news of the worlds water from Circle of Blue. Im Eileen Wray-McCann.

In Europe, countries continue to endure an extremely hot and dry summer. Another heat wave is pressing across the continent, influenced by climate change. The impacts are widespread. In southwestern France, a massive wildfire forced more than 10,000 people to flee their homes, according to Reuters news service. Temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit have made the region a tinderbox.

In Germany, transport authorities are monitoring the Rhine River as water levels drop to critical levels. The AP reports that the key waterway could soon be too low to move most cargo. Conditions are not quite as extreme as in 2018, when the river reached a record low. But the Rhine is currently so depleted that large ships carrying salt, coal, gasoline and other goods must drastically reduce their loads to avoid running aground. The cargo restrictions are another blow to a continent already trying to manage an energy crisis due to Russias invasion of Ukraine.

And in Great Britain, officials who are considering an emergency drought declaration will not have a backup water supply at the ready. A major desalination plant in London said it will be at least another year before it will supply drinking water to residents. The Guardian reports that the Thames Water Plant opened in 2010, intending to provide drinking water for up to 1 million people during water shortages. Now, the company says it has scaled back the plants estimated capacity by a third, and that it will take more work before it can begin operating.

As Europe suffers a lack of water, a weather calamity of an opposing nature has afflicted mountainous regions of the American Southeast. This week, Circle of Blue reports on what flooding in Kentucky means for its poorest residents.

At the end of July, catastrophic downpours killed dozens of people in Eastern Kentucky, after a powerful storm system passed through some of the poorest counties in the United States.

Scott McReynolds lives in the town of Krypton. He says that calling the rising waters historic would be an understatement. The Appalachian foothills near his home became high-velocity funnels, sending violent torrents into areas that had never flooded before. In the dead of night, residents were forced to make a harrowing choice: try to ride out the storm at home or brave the violent waters to escape to higher ground. In desperation, one mother bound herself to her children using the cord of a vacuum cleaner as waters swept their trailer down river. The floods took the lives of thirty-seven people, three of them young children.

This part of Kentucky is already beset with poverty, and the path of recovery is almost as daunting as the floods. The hardest-hit countiesClay, Knott, Letcher, and Perryhave a median annual income thats about 40 percent lower than the national average. About a quarter of residents live below the poverty line. In some census tracts, over half the housing units are mobile homes. In Eastern Kentucky, as in many of Americas poorest communities, poverty and flood risk are two halves of a brutal cycle: low-income people are more likely to be located in flood zones, and less likely to access relief funds for repairing the damage. McReynolds has worked as an affordable housing developer in the area since the early 1990s, and hes watched this story unfold from the front lines. He said Our region has been a persistent poverty region for as long as theyve tracked poverty statistics. One of the effects of that is that we have more than our fair share of really bad housing. Its not surprising that a lot of those got flooded.

Many of the flood victims will be applying for government aid, but the housing assistance funds available are no match for the demand, both in Kentucky and nationwide. Only about one in four U.S. residents who are eligible for federal rental assistance receives it. Families wait an average of two and a half years to receive housing vouchers. With limited resources at his disposal, McReynolds must make heartbreaking choices: should he help two people in extreme poverty, or five who are only considered very low income?

In times of disaster, this chronic deficit becomes a crisis. Many trailer parks are built on cheap and risky land, so its not surprising that they bore the brunt of the flood damages, both this year and last. Its in keeping with nationwide trends. Analysts at Headwaters Economics found that one in seven mobile homes are built in an area with high flood risk, compared to one in 10 for all other housing types. State officials say the floods have left hundreds of Kentuckians homeless.

After dealing with the initial trauma, low-income flood victims may face additional challenges during the many steps of the recovery process. Mobile home owners face obstacles in getting access to federal and state assistance. Homeowner verification is difficult for inherited properties that lack proper documentation. Stigma and confusion around whether trailer parks qualify for disaster assistance can also interfere with getting help. Because mobile home residents lack the same legal protections as renters, evictions from mobile home parks are significantly higher after disasters. Most often, renters have no option but to rebuild in the same vulnerable location. Said McReynolds It really comes down to limited means: an older mobile home is sometimes the only thing people can afford. Folks wind up fixing up their mobile home if they can, and staying in the floodplain. This is an economic reality. Its that or homelessness.

Global climate change is only accelerating this cycle. Downpours are getting more intense, and have caused more flash flooding that spreads outside river floodplains, so previous flood risk maps dont help much anymore. The eastern U.S. is seeing a steep increase in the number of extreme rain events, and the trend is expected to continue as the planet warms further. McReynolds said that the climate outlook underlines the need to pursue development options that lower flood risk. He said How do we begin to get the state and federal resources that we need, at the level we need, in order to address the folks who are really vulnerable? We cant just keep putting people back in the floodplain.

And thats Whats Up With Water from Circle of Blue, where water speaks. More water news and analysis await you at circleofblue.org. This is Eileen Wray-McCann thanks for being here.

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What's Up With Water August 16, 2022 - Circle of Blue

Call upon Me in the day of trouble Psalm 50:15

I cried at the Mexican restaurant last Saturday. Normally a place of chips, salsa, and laughter, I was reflecting on the day. I tried to describe it to my beloved through the tears.

My friend Paige and I wanted to help in some way. We had baked cornbread and cake to be given out with meals in areas devastated by recent flooding but hoped to do something hands on. We found that a neighbors family in Knott County had been hit hard by rising water on July 28.

Travelling to the Beaver Creek area Saturday morning, we saw first-hand what an ocean of raging flood water could do. Pictures and videos had not done the devastation justice. We were stunned. Cars stood on end in the creeks and were smashed into guardrails. Mobile homes were torn in half. Enormous piles of debris were at every household. There was much to take in.

When we arrived at our destination, we found that the bulk of mud-out had already taken place. We could see the water line on the outside; everything on the inside had been deconstructed, down to the studs.

The lady of the house, a beautiful retired teacher, told us her husband had longed to live in that very house since he was a little boy. When it came on the market last year, they had jumped at the chance to buy it but were not able to begin remodeling then because her mother was dying. After caring for her and her death earlier this year, they were finally able to completely renovate the dream house.

Theyd just moved in.

We saw her brand-new gas stove and refrigerator that had been delivered nine days before the flood. Now filled with gunk, they sat in a wall-less kitchen.

Paige and I cleaned with brushes, brooms, and shop vacs, trying to get mud out of each nook and cranny. Everything had to be pristine before building back. It will be awhile.

I was glad I had a mask on and was on my knees so no one could see my tears. Tears for the homeowner and the magnitude of the task before them.Mud was still wet in some corners. There is a constant fight against the black mold that comes after floods. So much had been lost. They were so tired.

The homeowner shared that she had experienced many things since the flood: fear, anger, disappointment. She knows the Lord but admitted that it is still hard getting through it all. I thought of the story of Naomi in the book of Ruth. Her loss had been great. She was full of heartache and other emotions, yet the Lord helped her start a new chapter in her life. An amazing chapter that was more than she could have ever dreamed: beauty from ashes. In our area, it will be beauty from mud. Somehow, He can do that here.

She shared another tragic story: The flood had come at night. They received a surprising call to check outside and were stunned to find that they were already surrounded by water. As they hurried to safety, she saw small lights and could hear yelling from a few houses down. A man was being swept away in his trailer. Neighbors were yelling for him to jump out of his home, into the water. It was scary yet the only way he would survive. He saw their flashlights waving. He heard their cries. But he was too afraid to leap.

I cried on the way homea place with walls and no mud. As of Sunday, Samaritans Purse still had a work order for 471 homes. Each one filled with sludge and heartache.

Call upon Me in the day of troublearound these parts, the day of trouble was July 28, 2022.

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FIRST-PERSON: In the day of trouble | Perspectives | kentuckytoday.com - Kentucky Today

LEADVILLE A coffee shop downtown finally got fed up with the question and posted an answer: No, you cannot leave your bicycle in here. Everyone has a $10,000 bike.

The sign got laughs from the locals, whove earned the right by living year-round at 10,000 feet to poke fun at Front Range and out-of-state tourists and their fancy bikes.

Gobs of them flooded this mountain town during the pandemic, bought second homes to work remotely for the summer, drove up property taxes and the cost of breakfast burritos, and pinched out the workers who commute over the hill to clean hotels in Vail and Frisco.

Just a few years ago, Leadville was a quiet place where houses were affordable, workers were available and business was slow compared to nearby mountain towns. Folks who live here figure the high elevation kept people away.

Thats over now.

Leadville has gained international notoriety with its Leadville 100, a grueling, 100-mile ultra-run at high elevation that happens this weekend. Its mountain bike race, 100 miles topping out at 12,424 feet, attracts competitors from around the world, including Lance Armstrong, who won in 2009. Theres also skijoring, in which a horse pulls a skier down the snow-covered main street, and burro racing, in which a donkey and a trail runner take turns pulling each other up and down a 3,000-foot mountain pass.

The extreme-terrain events have been amping up Leadvilles profile for years, yet unlike all the resort towns around it where tourism fueled a booming economy over the past few decades Leadville still felt like a quiet, old mining town.

The coronavirus pandemic, though, shoved Leadville and Lake County full speed into the kind of vacation-rental economy thats now common in Colorados high country. While second homes in the county sit vacant or are listed as short-term rentals, a housing shortage has doubled or even tripled home prices. Half of all home sales in 2020 and 2021 were to second-home owners. Some restaurants have had to close a couple of days a week because they cant find workers who can afford to live there.

Town leaders at least had the advantage of seeing the affordable housing crises unfold in Vail, Breckenridge and Aspen, and they jumped ahead of the curve in passing an ordinance that caps non-owner-occupied vacation rentals at 12% of all housing in the city limits. Now theres talk of lowering the cap, which the city quickly reached and had to put want-to-be landlords on a waiting list.

County commissioners, for their part, made it easier for homeowners to build garage apartments and other so-called accessory dwelling units, simplifying the permit process.

We want growth on our terms, said Jeff Fiedler, one of three Lake County commissioners. We want to keep whats special about this place. We have one school district, one Safeway, one post office. We all know each other. Nothing against people who visit, but we dont want to be 70% short-term rentals and second-home owners.

Of course there is grumbling about property taxes and Texas license plates in the county of about 8,000, as well as plenty of opinions usually expressed in Safeway aisle No. 7 or at the coffee shop on historic Harrison Avenue rather than in public meetings, Fiedler said. The long-time residents pine for quieter times, before their property taxes doubled and the streets were packed with people who drove in for the weekend to watch a racing event and eat a fry-bread taco.

Most, though, are talking about how to deal with the growth in a thoughtful way, trying to figure out how to keep the old-time charm but create affordable housing and more child care options.

On the bright side, the boost in tax dollars is helping Lake County begin to catch up on gaps in services left lingering for decades. County commissioners have moved ahead with plans for a $45 million justice center after major liability and safety concerns about the dilapidated jail. The jail in Leadville hasnt been updated in 65 years and, before closing two years ago, had cell doors so rickety that deputies had to ask inmates to help wiggle them open.

The county has been driving criminal offenders all the way to the eastern plains, at a cost of about $250,000 per year.

You could get arrested for a DUI or drunk and disorderly on Saturday, and you wake up Sunday morning on the Kansas border, Fiedler said. And then you have no way home.

Growth brings plenty of problems, but at least there are more tax dollars flowing into the city and county to fix some of them, he said. Commissioners recently boosted salaries so now the lowest-paid county workers make a minimum of $40,000 per year. Construction on the new justice center is expected to start next year.

We are catching up on that kind of deferred maintenance. We are able to provide raises to county staff, said Fiedler, who became a commissioner a year and a half ago. We havent had the money to consider doing that.

Vanessa Saldivar moved to Leadville about a year ago after accepting a job with a local nonprofit. She and her husband had dreams of buying a home and settling into the small-town life. Except there were no homes, to buy or even to rent.

The move from Denver was delayed by months as Saldivars new coworkers networked through friends to find a rental house. They took the rental and kept looking for a home to buy, watching as the prices were inflating at an alarming rate, Saldivar said.

At this point, we have given up hope, she said. It impacts our long-term plans and our ability to put down roots here.

To add to their stress, the couple had a baby last fall but hasnt found child care. They are 12th on a waitlist and Saldivars husband is staying home to take care of their daughter.

Its such a lovely place to live that we just keep pushing through, she said.

The price for Leadvilles growth is being paid for by the families that live in this town who, by and large, are not super affluent, Saldivar said. Weve reached a point where people cant innocently own a second home in Lake County and Airbnb it and think theyre not hurting people. If we cant house teachers, health care workers, our nonprofit leaders, our families that live here are the ones that pay for that. Not the vacation-home owners.

Ted Green, who moved to Leadville from Chicago with his wife and three kids a year ago, spent the first few months dismantling suspicions about his intentions. Green left behind what on paper was the picture-perfect life, spacious home and a job at Facebook to open a candy store on Leadvilles main street.

Locals who walked into the new Blueflower Candies & Provisions suspected Green was some rich guy who opened the store and then intended to live elsewhere and pay someone minimum wage to run it. Hes had to win them over, one by one, by explaining that his wife is a teacher at the local school and his family is living full-time in Leadville.

Residents are fed up with people with money coming into town and buying buildings and turning them into swanky things that they had where they were from, said Green, who admits he used to wear tailored clothes and tried to keep up with the Joneses and was miserable. They walk in and say, Where do you live? What else do you do? Theyre waiting for me to say that I live in Denver and Im going to have somebody run the store for 12 bucks an hour. Im super sensitive to that. Thats why Im so cautious and welcoming to everybody in the community.

The Greens were lucky, buying three acres south of town about four years ago, before the rush. Theyre living in a rental while building a house on their property, which has a view of the Mosquito Range and access to Mount Sheridan from a backyard that touches a national forest. Its like 360 degrees of awesomeness, said Green, a cyclist. Our backyard is basically infinite.

He quickly got involved in Leadvilles economic development corporation and ended up bailing on his initial plan of opening an ice cream shop when he learned a nearby hotel was putting in an ice cream parlor.

With the candy shop, Green is trying to make sure he fills a need for locals, not just tourists with kids. In the summer, tourists raid the grocery store and leave the shelves bare, so Green added some basic groceries and granola bars to his inventory. He also keeps a running list of nostalgic candy mentioned by locals, including Boston Baked Beans and Black Jack chewing gum.

I didnt want to be the guy that came in from the big city and said, I know what is going to work, he said. I wanted to support the community first and the tourists second.

The reasons Leadville took off so fast stem from how it was doing before coronavirus showed up.

Interest in the town was growing, thanks to the race series that goes all summer, building up to the Leadville 100 in August. But the town was still low-key and affordable, the 10,000-foot location a deterrent to many. Its harder to breathe, obviously, but also harder for some to sleep and a more difficult place to grow old. Vacation homes were under $200,000 only a few years ago.

Also, theres no huge resort, only the family-oriented Ski Cooper about 15 minutes away. The tourism was never centered on a ski resort, but on a combination of smaller attractions hiking trails, ultra running, mountain climbing and cycling, and the museums focused on the history of the mining town that stretches back to the 1850s when miners discovered gold.

All of it meant Leadville was set up to blossom when the pandemic sent tourists outdoors and remote workers in search of mountain homes.

It hadnt bloomed yet, and why? asked Francisco Tharp, who has lived in Leadville for 12 years. The towns surrounding Leadville Vail, Aspen, Salida went through the booms long ago. But Leadville was a depressed mining town into the 1990s. It hadnt blown up in that way.

Leadville was still considered a bedroom community, where many residents traveled to work in nearby resort towns, cleaning hotel rooms and serving food. About 70% of the workforce was going over the hill to work in Summit and Eagle counties, said Tharp, who recently stepped down from the city council after moving out of his ward. Thats beginning to shift as there are more construction and tourism jobs in Lake County, he said.

Its not a bedroom community anymore, Tharp said. And people have nowhere to go. Leadville was the last place that people got pushed out of, and thats going to affect Summit County and Eagle County.

In 2016, Tharps family bought a three-bedroom home in downtown Leadville for $175,000. You couldnt even get a closet in Vail for that, he said. Now, his house, which he uses as a long-term rental, could sell for four times that, Tharp said.

The population in Lake County hasnt actually gone up that much, but the shift has brought in more second-home owners and pushed out lower-income residents, local leaders said. And the divide between the wealthy and the poor is widening, which has caused a kind of geographic segregation. Many of the countys working class are Latino, concentrated in some of the last available affordable housing mobile home parks. About 70% of the school district is Latino.

Tharps partner, Elsa Tharp, owns a hotel in town on the grounds of an old train depot. Freight has a group of cabins for rent, plus an events venue to host weddings and quinceaneras. Finding workers has been a challenge.

Francisco Tharp said that while Leadville and Lake County leaders are doing what they can to manage the growth, he hopes state lawmakers take action, too. He wants a mechanism for counties to charge a vacant-home tax, as well as better documentation so that communities can keep track of second-home ownership.

While some question whether the racing series, which was sold by its founder to Life Time Fitness in 2010, got too big, brought too much notoriety, Tharp disagrees. When the series began in Leadville, the town was impoverished, suffering from the closure of the mines in the 1990s. People were moving away; houses were selling for cheap.

What was the alternative? Just wallowing in poverty, he said. Its a complicated story, and people might have different opinions about whether we are better off now or could we have taken a different tack.

Trail running, including the Leadville 100, is mainly what made Greg Labbe fall in love with the town. He moved to Leadville full time 11 years ago and now hes the mayor.

Labbe, 74, hasnt run a whole 100 and doesnt plan to, but hes joined his sons in the race for as long as 34 miles.

The mayor says the last couple of years have been weird, to say the least. While other towns and counties were suffering during the pandemic, tax collections were up 46% in 2020 in Leadville, he said. Businesses were reporting a 30% increase in sales.

It was stunning. At the same time, our affordable housing was diminishing, Labbe said. A restaurant that had plenty of staff now has 70% of staff so they have to close on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In 2020 and 2021, about 50% of all home sales were to second-home owners, the mayor said. A new housing development on the north end of town is expected to add about 300 homes, though the 10-year project is just beginning.

Its not just the housing crisis thats exhausting, the locals say. The towns vibe has changed as tourism has grown more intense.

We used to have mud season,said Nathalie Eddy, wife of commissioner Fiedler and director of the annual burro race. There was this quiet time in the fall where you just felt the energy go down. You only saw friends and family in town. Weve lost those shoulder seasons. There is almost never a time when youre like, ahhh. Its good for the businesses, but its just a different rhythm that we are adjusting to.

Still, its not entirely fair to judge others who want to escape to the mountains just because they didnt get there first, said Eddy, who moved to town 14 years ago. We were all new here at some point. Most of us arent old Leadville, she said. Everybody is trying to figure out how to embrace this change.

And the whole town is trying to figure out how to deal with its popularity.

There is a difference between what the races bring to town in terms of commerce and in terms of identity, Mayor Labbe said.

This is a small, mountain city. We are known around the world and I take pride in that. I want people to value Leadville the way I value it, but I dont want them to feel like they need to move here to do that.

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Leadville was an old mining town until COVID brought the tourists - The Colorado Sun