NATION IN BRIEF : COLORADO : Aspen Fur Ban Plan Goes to the Voters

A record voter turnout is possible in the swanky ski town of Aspen today for a referendum on proposals to ban the sale of fur and cut the size of a proposed $80-million hotel. Kathy Strickland, deputy city clerk, said she expects the two issues to draw out a large majority of the resort’s 3,739 registered voters. If approved, the fur ban pushed by Mayor Bill Stirling would prohibit the sale of wild-animal furs, which would shut down the town’s four fur-clothing stores. Opponents of the proposed Ritz-Carlton Hotel at the foot of Aspen Mountain want the 292-room hotel cut in size by one-third.