Boulder Weekly 03.02.2023

12 NEWS: Biochar is building momentum in Boulder County, but still has something to prove BY WILL MATUSKA

16 MUSIC: Boulder mainstay Hazel Miller on her accidental Colorado Legacy BY ADAM

PERRY

31 GOOD TASTE: Stella’s Cucina offers close encounters with classic Italian in otherworldly digs BY COLIN WRENN

38 WEED: New research suggests the cannabis “hangover” is more myth than reality BY WILL BRENDZA

7 The Anderson Files: Labor and environmentalists need to unite amid train disaster

8 LETTERS: Signed, sealed, delivered: your views

13 NEWS BRIEFS: Happenings around Boulder County

15 NEWS: District court says lawsuit challenging camping ban can move forward

18 MUSIC: Canadian punk heroes PUP ‘unravel’ on the Front Range

19 THEATER: Coal Creek Theater of Louisville kicks off ‘killer season’

20 SIGHTLINES: Local arts and culture news, at a glance

21 BOOKS: Fort Collins author spins domestic themes into magic

23 EVENTS: What to do this week in Boulder County

27 FILM: Boulder International Film Festival hosts Colorado premiere of ‘Jack Has a Plan’

28 ASTROLOGY: by Rob Brezsny

29 SAVAGE LOVE: Charades

33 NIBBLES: Nearly half a century later, Dot’s Diner remains a comfy refuge

37 DRINK: OAK at Fourteenth pours mushroominfused, fat-washed cocktail — and more

Courtesy OAK at Fourteenth

Pizza

Place

Restaurant Service

Burger

Catering

Chinese

Donuts

Fine

Food

Gluten-Free Menu

Ice

Indian/Nepali

Italian

Japanese Restaurant

Kid-Friendly

Lyons

Mexican Restaurant

New Restaurant

Niwot Restaurant

Sandwich

Seafood

Sushi Restaurant

Take-out

Thai Restaurant

Veggie Burger

Wings

DRINKS

Bar

Beer selection

Cidery

Cocktails

Coffee House

Coffee Roaster

Craft Brewery

Distillery

Happy Hour

Latte/Mocha

Margarita

Teahouse

Wine Selectionentertainment and CANNABIS

Bargains at a dispensary

Budtender

CBD Products

Edibles

Flower

Medical Marijuana Dis-

pensary

Recreational Marijuana

Dispensary

Selection at a dispensary

Wax

HOME & GARDEN

Carpet/Flooring

Electrician

Florist

Furniture Store

Heating, Venting, and Air Conditioning

Home Builder/Contractor

Home Finishing

Home Repair/Handyman

Hydroponic Store

Kitchen Supply Store

Landscaper

Mattress Store

Nursery/Garden Center

Painter

Pest Control

Plumber

Roofing Contractor

14er Holistics

Ajoya

Boulder Wellness Center

The Bud Depot

Complete Releaf

Dab Dispensary

DenRec

Eclipse Cannabis Company

Euflora

Extract Labs

The Farm

Fresh Baked

Green Dragon

Green Dream

The Green Solution

Green Tree Medicinals

The Health Center

Helping Hand Herbals

Herbal Wellness

Igadi

Karing Kind

Kind Castle

LivWell

Magnolia Road

Medicine Man

Native Roots

North Boulder Wellness Center

Options Medical Center

Starbuds

Terrapin Care Station

The Peaceful Choice

The Republic

TweedLeaf

Twin Peaks Dispensary

Verde Natural

Village Green Society

Zengold’s Lyons

COMMENTARY

MARCH 2, 2023

Volume XXX, Number 28

COVER: Hazel Miller, photo by Bernard Wooten

PUBLISHER: Fran Zankowski

CIRCULATION MANAGER: Cal Winn

EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Caitlin Rockett

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR: Jezy J. Gray

GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTER: Will Matuska

FOOD EDITOR: John Lehndorff

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:

Dave Anderson, Emma Athena, Will Brendza, Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Angela K. Evans, Kaylee Harter, Dave Kirby, Ari LeVaux, Adam Perry, Dan Savage, Bart Schaneman, Alan Sculley, Samuel Shaw, Toni Tresca, Gregory Wakeman, Colin Wrenn

SALES AND MARKETING

MARKET DEVELOPMENT MANAGER:

Kellie Robinson

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES:

Matthew Fischer, Chris Allred

SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER: Carter Ferryman

MRS. BOULDER WEEKLY: Mari Nevar

PRODUCTION

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Erik Wogen

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Mark Goodman

CIRCULATION TEAM:

Sue Butcher, Ken Rott, Chris Bauer

BUSINESS OFFICE

BOOKKEEPER: Emily Weinberg

FOUNDER/CEO: Stewart Sallo

As Boulder County’s only independently owned newspaper, Boulder Weekly is dedicated to illuminating truth, advancing justice and protecting the First Amendment through ethical, no-holdsbarred journalism and thought-provoking opinion writing. Free every Thursday since 1993, the Weekly also offers the county’s most comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage. Read the print version, or visit boulderweekly. com. Boulder Weekly does not accept unsolicited editorial submissions. If you’re interested in writing for the paper, please send queries to: editorial@boulderweekly.com Any materials sent to Boulder Weekly become the property of the newspaper.

690 South Lashley Lane, Boulder, CO 80305 Phone: 303-494-5511, Email: editorial@boulderweekly.com Website: www.boulderweekly.com

Boulder Weekly is published every Thursday. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. ©2023 Boulder Weekly, Inc., all rights reserved.

Boulder Weekly welcomes your correspondence via email (letters@boulderweekly.com). Preference will be given to short letters (under 300 words) that deal with recent stories or local issues, and letters may be edited for style, length and libel. Letters should include your name, address and telephone number for verification. We do not publish anonymous letters or those signed with pseudonyms. Letters become the property of Boulder Weekly and will be published on our website.

THE ANDERSON FILES

Amid Ohio train disaster, labor and environmentalists need to unite

BY DAVE ANDERSON

After the toxic train disaster in Ohio, Fox News host Tucker Carlson said, “East Palestine is overwhelmingly white and it’s politically conservative. That shouldn’t be relevant but ... it very much is. Imagine if this happened in, well, the favored cities of Philadelphia and Detroit. In both cases, had it affected the rich or the favored poor, it would be the lead of every news channel in the world.”

Media Matters, a progressive webbased research group monitoring rightwing misinformation, said several other rightwing commentators on Fox and other similar outfits also claimed that those “favored poor” get all the breaks. Wink wink. Some were more

explicit. Turning Point USA founder and radio talk show host Charlie Kirk yelped about a “war on white people” waged by the “Biden regime,” which is allowing the “poisoning” of “citizens of eastern Ohio.”

Researchers Ruby Seavey and Payton Armstrong of Media Matters say this is wrong. They note that the “inadequate coverage [of the East Palestine disaster] reflects a pattern Media Matters has consistently documented: The media’s coverage of environmental and public health crises — particularly when they affect communities of color — is frequently poor, both in quantity and quality.”

They say the rightwing media’s assertion that “the government’s

poor response is because residents are white conservatives is unsupported and nonsensical. In fact, mounting evidence suggests that white people receive more aid from the federal government than people of color following disasters.”

In this year alone, more than a dozen train derailments had already taken place in America before the East Palestine disaster. There have been several more since. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, there’s an average of 1,705 train derailments every year, with 54,570 occurring between 1990 to 2021.

For years, railroad workers have tried to get the nation’s attention.

THE ANDERSON FILES

The Biden administration’s slow response to the disaster created an opportunity for the GOP to exploit the situation to demonstrate that they are the “party of the working class.”

Donald Trump showed up and distributed his magical MAGA hats and Trump-branded water. He denounced Biden and proclaimed, “What this community needs now are not excuses … but answers and results.”

This was beyond shameless given Trump’s anti-environment and anti-worker record. Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch commented: “If residents of East Palestine — a modern news desert of downsized or disappeared news sources, which allows misinformation to fester — truly knew the reality, a delegation of townsfolk would likely greet Trump with tiki torches and pitchforks.” He compared the former president’s visit to “the tendency of a criminal to return to the scene of his crime.”

Bunch added, “Trump acted specifically to sabotage a nascent government effort to protect citizens from the growing threat posed by derailments of outdated, poorly equipped, and undermanned freight trains that were increasingly shipping both highly

LETTERS

‘BOULDER’ WEEKLY?

I am dismayed to see that Boulder Weekly’s new format has left the music calendar reduced from a relatively comprehensive list to a few selected highlights. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a local musician in the CBDs, a band that has been playing around Boulder County for over 10 years. We had a gig scheduled at The Local on Feb. 21. Your calendar listed only one musical event for that date, and that at Larimer Lounge in Denver. “Boulder” Weekly? There was almost nothing

flammable crude oil from the U.S. fracking boom as well as toxic chemicals like the ones that would derail in East Palestine.”

The big rail carriers donated more than $6 million to Republican candidates in 2016 and spent millions more on lobbying.

Trump quickly killed a number of rule changes initiated by the Obama administration. These included a requirement that freight trains upgrade

current braking technology that originated in the Civil War era, a ban on transporting liquified natural gas by rail (to prevent explosions), and a rule specifying at least two crew members operate freight trains.

such a strike could seriously disrupt the economy. If that is true, shouldn’t we consider nationalizing the railroads? That’s what is proposed by Railroad Workers United, an interunion solidarity caucus of rank-andfile railroad workers championing worker and community safety.

Progressive Democrats pushed for paid sick leave for railroad workers but lost. Democrats won’t be able to pass anything through the Republicancontrolled House. However, progressive Democrats could push Biden for executive actions and also embarrass the Republicans over their bombastic phony, populism.

listed for Nederland, Lyons, Lafayette or Longmont. The new format does a disservice to both local musicians and the community.

— Evan Cantor/Boulder

Editor’s note: Submit your events at boulderweekly.com/events

YES, THE CREEK PATH IS DANGEROUS

Thank you, Will [Matuska], for writing this story (News, “Troubled water,” Feb. 16, 2023). It happens to be one that has needed to be written and

The Biden administration hasn’t moved to reinstate these rule changes. Biden blocked a proposed strike by railroad workers who wanted paid sick leave and other crucial workplace improvements. We were told that

This is an opportunity to build a powerful coalition of labor unions and environmentalists. The Labor Network for Sustainability urges “bold climate action in ways that address labor concerns without sacrificing what science is telling us is necessary, and what’s needed to address income inequality and worker power.” Seize the time!

This opinion column does not necessarily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly.

includes a fair bit of actual investigative journalism, which the Daily Camera has shied away from for years when dealing with the City of Boulder. I know this as a fact, having worked for the city in the Risk Management department as the “Safety & Workers’ Compensation Coordinator.” I had seen a lot in my 15 years with the city and I am very thankful I just, finally, retired in October of 2022. When I first saw the cover page of this edition I had thought the “crown jewel” being spoken of was the Pearl Street Mall, or possibly even the main Boulder library,

which has had numerous safety issues over the last several months (which, again, local media has avoided doing much investigative journalism on).

“Is the Boulder Creek Path really that dangerous?” is asked in the contents page of your paper. To answer that, “Yes, yes it is.” In fact, having seen what I’ve seen in and around it, it is even more of a danger to users of the bike path and the citizens at-large than anyone in the City seems to want to admit. What has the city done, or not done, in these years since many of us felt that it actually was safe? One

large answer to that is many of us have felt the City Council, at least a majority of it at times, has been the driving force behind the degradation of the City of Boulder, the bike path, the Mall, and yes, the library.

As I write this I am looking at a quote from the director of communication for the City regarding the recent meth contamination in the bathrooms within the main library. Which, by the way, one of them was within the children’s area. (Had you seen that fact written anywhere? I had not!) The quote was: “…the step to do the testing was an extra precautionary test…” Oh really, seriously? Here, once again, City of Boulder upper-management engages in a truly inaccurate account of what the bare-minimum actually should be in such a situation as this. And the City, in their quotes here in your article, Will, does it again.

I encourage Boulder Weekly to ask the tough questions, to make the City of Boulder uncomfortable in their answers and their double-speak of the facts and to dig for the truth.

The truth is that yes, the Boulder Creek Path IS that dangerous.

— Kevin Krayna/Boulder

RE: ‘HISTORY WILL BE KIND TO JIMMY CARTER’

I agree that history will be kind to President Jimmy Carter, a great leader, humanitarian and human being (Letters, “History will be kind to Jimmy Carter,” Feb. 23, 2023). His inspiration by leading with his example, in the Carter Center work for peace, his building homes for the homeless, and simple lifestyle. These are some of the reasons our local RESULTS group gave him the Seeds of Hope Award in 2018. We can use his inspiration to take action to encourage our members of Congress to renew the expanded Child Tax Credit that cut child poverty in half before it expired. A renters’ tax credit would help end the slide of families to homelessness. Hard to believe that poverty and its fallout hurts tens of millions of families in the world’s richest country. Let’s use our voices to turn this around, speaking up to our members of Congress to pass these and other initiatives to make a difference for families in America.

— Willie Dickerson/ Snohomish, Washington

‘THE WILD, WILD WEST’

Biochar is building momentum in Boulder County, but it still has something to prove

BY WILL MATUSKA

James Gaspard sold his electric and hybrid bus company and bought 50 acres of land in the mountains west of Fort Collins to “get away from everything.”

Then the pine beetles came and “wiped everything out.”

“This company was trying to figure out what to do with the dead trees, and how to make a marketable product and solve a problem,” he says.

Gaspard founded Biochar Now in 2011, using the excess pine beetle kill on his property to produce the charcoal-like substance biochar, which can sequester carbon and improve soil quality and plant health.

Biochar isn’t new; it’s been produced by people in the Amazon basin for more than 2,500 years. But using the product at scale to help mitigate the climate crisis is giving biochar new demand.

More than a decade after starting Berthoud-based Biochar Now, Gaspard says interest in biochar is at an all-time high.

“The momentum is there, and investors are throwing money at this industry,” he says.

Boulder County is exploring how biochar could help with its circular economy initiatives and fire mitigation goals — two of the County’s five Climate Innovation Fund recipients produce biochar (Biochar Now and Takachar), and there’s a pilot project being drafted by the County and Denver Water to turn nearly 100 tons of woody material from the Gross Reservoir expansion into biochar.

At the state level, a bill (HB 1069) was introduced to the Colorado House of Representatives on Jan. 19 that would create a working group to study using biochar to plug old oil and gas wells.

But despite the buzz, biochar is still a developing industry and its markets, production methods and uses are being established, standardized and researched.

Sarah Federman, senior science analyst at Carbon Direct, a company that helps organizations reach their climate goals, helped Boulder County choose the recipients of its Climate Innovation Fund.

“[Biochar] needs a little bit of work to scale [up], but the potential [benefits] in terms of climate and community are enormous,” she says.

TAKING YOUR BREATH AWAY

Biochar is produced by putting organic material through pyrolysis, which heats the biomass in the absence of oxygen.

While you can technically use any organic material, Biochar Now’s site in Berthoud is designed to use waste wood like pallets, dead trees or other forest trimmings for its feedstock. It also has expanding operations in Texas and North Carolina that will use treated wood such as railroad ties and telephone poles.

A worker with Drylands Agroecology Research applies biochar in North Boulder. Photo by Rhianna Truex.

Kilns used for pyrolysis at Biochar Now. Photo by Will Matuska.

James Gaspard hold a sample of his biochar. Photo by Will Matuska.

NEWS BRIEFS

When biochar is created, it locks up carbon from the organic material for thousands of years.

Dan Sanchez, a biochar expert with Carbon Direct, says he sees a lot of experimentation around biochar in the U.S. Most companies incorporate fast pyrolysis, which flashes biomass with high heat (500-800 °C) to create biochar in seconds.

Rather than hot and fast, Biochar Now heats organic material at a high temperature over 10 hours. Gaspard says that process makes “unique carbon with unique properties.”

“My mistake was calling [my product] biochar, because it’s something different,” he says, claiming his company’s biochar is the only one approved by the Environmental Protection Agency for unrestricted use under the Toxic Substance Control Act. “It’s higher quality.”

Gaspard calls the developing industry the “wild, wild West” because of limited standardization of biochar.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says “biochar does not refer to a singular product.” Rather, it is “physically unique” due to things like feedstock, pyrolysis processes and storage conditions. Most definitions of biochar don’t specifically say how hot or how long to put biomass through pyrolysis for it to become biochar.

Sanchez says Biochar Now is one of the only “slow pyrolysis” companies he is aware of, and that some evidence suggests this process can store more carbon from the input organic material than fast pyrolysis.

Gaspard says Biochar Now’s product has been used at oil spills and superfund sites to clean up salts and toxins as well as heavy metals like mercury and PFAS chemicals that never break down. With biochar’s sponge-like quality, Gaspard says his largest market is for industrial-level water treatment.

While there are lots of potential applications for biochar, Sanchez says the biochar market is mostly focused on soil application. The other applications, he says, “still need to prove out.”

BIOCHAR IN BOULDER COUNTY

There are numerous efforts in Boulder County to use and develop biochar.

Nick DiDomenico, co-founder of

Drylands Agroecology Research (DAR), a nonprofit that works to increase biodiversity and soil carbon sequestration in degraded landscapes, uses biochar in some of his regenerative designs as a soil amendment. He’s heard people in the regenerative agriculture space talk about biochar “like it’s a hotel for biology.”

“The potential for collecting and storing water in the soil, thus being able to regenerate landscapes quickly, is really an effective potential use of biochar,” he says.

Studies show biochar improves soil fertility and quality by increasing the ability to retain moisture, attract microbes and preserve nutrients in the soil.

One of DAR’s partner farms, The Yellow Barn Farm, will produce a small amount of biochar this spring with a mobile kiln from Takachar, a biochar production company that received support through the County’s innovation fund to work with Boulder-area farms to produce decentralized biochar.

DiDomenico says from a sustainability and regenerative systems standpoint, it’s important to avoid shipping products a long way to “create miracle solutions in the soil.” The more local, the better.

“Where there’s a lot of wood, there’s a lot of potential to make biochar,” he says.

More woody biomass will be coming out of forests around Boulder County, in part because of the 1A Wildfire Mitigation ballot measure passed by voters in November 2022 that established a 0.1% tax (a penny on $10) for wildfire mitigation efforts.

Currently, Biochar Now mostly makes biochar at its centralized location in Berthoud. But the County’s innovation fund is helping cover costs to mobilize Biochar Now’s equipment to process biomass at the source — like at Nederland’s Community Forestry Sort Yards.

Tim Broderick, senior sustainability strategist in the County’s Office of Sustainability, Climate Action & Resilience, says the County wants to see how biochar could fit into its fire mitigation tool box.

“If we can utilize [biochar] in either forest lands or agriculture lands to increase soil health, that’s a beautiful circular economy,” he says. “We view [these projects] as peering into what is possible.”

REGENERATIVE EARTH PANEL

Farmers, public officials and water experts will gather for a panel on regenerative land use on March 8 to discuss practices to reduce carbon dioxide levels and save water. The event, organized by CU Boulder, is free and open to the public.

“Industrial agricultural practices have reduced the carbon-holding capacity of our soils, but we can regenerate them, and farmers are doing this right here in Boulder County and along the Front Range,” says Rebecca Dickson, a professor at CU Boulder. “This is inspiring because any piece of land can help us reverse climate change by taking in carbon dioxide — including our own backyards.”

Guests on the panel include Nick DiDomenico, co-founder of Drylands Agroecology Research, Brett KenCairn, senior policy advisor for climate and resilience with the City of Boulder, Jennifer RileyChetwynd, director of marketing and social responsibility at Denver Botanic Gardens, Boulder County Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann, and Damien Thompson, professor of anthropology, sociology and criminal justice at Regis University.

EVENT INFORMATION:

1:30-3:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, Kittredge Central Hall, 2480 Kittredge Loop Drive, Boulder. Free

STATE LEGISLATURE PASSES BILL TO INCREASE ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT

Colorado is ranked as one of the worst states nationally in its prevalence of mental health and access to treatment. A new bill headed to Gov. Polis’ desk aims to change that.

The Licensed Psychologist Prescriptive Authority Bill (HB 23-1071) would allow psychologists to prescribe mental health medications. Currently, a patient

must meet with a doctor or psychiatrist to have a prescription issued. Because of this, some patients must “choose between large outof-pocket costs or waiting months for the medication they need,” according to the Colorado House Democrats in a press release.

“Allowing specially-trained psychologists to prescribe medication that best fits their patient’s needs will improve treatment options, reduce costs, and increase access to life-saving care for Coloradans with mental illness,” says Rep. Judy Amabile, one of the bill’s sponsors.

If signed into law, licensed psychologists must obtain an additional master’s degree in psychopharmacology, pass a national board exam, and complete 750 hours of practicum work in order to prescribe medications.

CHANGING COMPOST POLICY

A1 Organics, the only large-scale compost facility serving the Front Range, will only accept food scraps, yard and plant trimmings, and three gallon CMA approved compostable bags starting April 1. The organics recycling company will no longer accept “non-traditional compostables” like paper towels, shredded paper and napkins, or packaging and service ware like cups, utensils and plates labeled as compostable.

In a Feb. 27 press release, the company said the policy change was motivated by “certified” compostable items not composting fully or quickly enough, contamination impacting resale quality, and how accepting packaging materials makes them unable to sell compost to organic farmers.

This policy change comes after A1 started turning loads away from its facility and implemented a contamination fee on waste haulers due to contamination last fall (News, “Black gold: shifting to quality compost,” Sept. 22, 2022).

NO PLACE TO GO

District court says camping ban lawsuit can move forward

BY WILL MATUSKA

ABoulder district court judge said on Feb. 24 that a lawsuit challenging the City of Boulder’s camping ban can move forward.

The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) last May, claims the Boulder camping ban violates three provisions of the Colorado Constitution, including the state’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

“We welcome this groundbreaking ruling,” said Mark Silverstein, ACLU of Colorado legal director, in a press release. “This is the first Colorado court to expressly recognize that the state constitution may require an injunction against the way a city polices its population of persons without homes.”

Adopted in 1980, the City’s camping

ban makes it illegal to sleep outside while using “any cover or protection from the elements other than clothing.”

The lawsuit — which includes three individual plaintiffs who have experienced homelessness, plus the advocacy group Feet Forward — centers around allegations that the City doesn’t have enough indoor shelter space and that “program rules, restrictions and structural realities exclude many unhoused residents from accessing the limited shelter that exists.”

One of the original plaintiffs, Jennifer Livovich, founder of Feet Forward, told Boulder Weekly on Feb. 28 that she was pulling out of the case as an individual, but that Feet Forward would remain a plaintiff. Feet Forward didn’t respond to requests for comment by press time.

Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, the City’s only overnight shelter, has a maximum capacity of 160 beds and makes 20 more available on critical weather nights, according to the City. During extreme weather events, the City opens the East Boulder Community Center for additional capacity.

There is also limited overnight sheltering at The Lodge at Mother House for people who identify as women, transgender or nonbinary, and at TGTHR’s The Source, for anyone ages 12 to 20.

While The Source and Mother Lodge have limited day-time sheltering options, the City is still considering its own daytime shelter.

During an extreme weather event in December 2022, 107 people utilized the East Boulder Community Center, suggesting a valid need for more overnight shelter space on a consistent basis.

The order, issued by Judge Robert R. Gunning, supports arguments from both sides while dismissing others. The court denies the lawsuit’s claim that sleeping outside on public lands indefinitely is allowed under the state’s con-

stitution — calling the City’s camping and tent ban ordinances “a reasonable exercise of the City’s police power to regulate the use of public lands and public health.” But Gunning affirmed that the plaintiffs may have a case when there are inadequate sheltering options available.

Boulder City Council discussed its homelessness strategy at its retreat last week (Feb. 23 and Feb. 24). Per Boulder Reporting Lab, city officials focused on both harm-reduction — possibly providing a sanctioned campsite where homeless people can sleep outside legally and access limited amenities — and on the more punitive action of shortening the amount of notice the City is required to provide before clearing out tent encampments.

“The situation of unsheltered homelessness has not markedly improved during our council tenures,” councilmembers Matt Benjamin and Rachel Friend wrote in a City Council hotline email.

The council has a study session scheduled for April 13 to further discuss its homelessness strategy.

A tent set up near Boulder Creek in downtown Boulder. Photo by Will Matuska.

‘I ’ m home’

Boulder mainstay Hazel Miller on her accidental Colorado legacy

BY ADAM PERRY

Hazel Miller got into music as a kid, while doing chores. “My mother had a rule: Saturdays were for cleaning the house,” she says. “My brother would put on a record and by the end of the day we would’ve played

everything from Motown to Sly and the Family Stone.”

Miller was the fifth of seven children from a Roman Catholic family raised in “the projects” of Louisville, Kentucky. At Catholic school, a nun in the first grade told Miller, “Sing

louder; they’ll follow you,” and a few years later it was clear that was true.

“In the third grade I got to sing with the eighth graders one year for Christmas, and I was absolutely thrilled,” she says. “I think I’ve been

Credit: Bernard Wooten

looking for that attention ever since.”

Miller likes to laugh, and she brings positivity and warmth into every room she enters. Nearly every step of her story, before she arrived in Colorado in 1984, features Miller breaking away from someone who

tried to tell her what she could and couldn’t do.

As a teenager, Miller sang backup for local bands when she could, and even spent a month on the road singing with Al Green.

“They needed someone to sing backup because the girl who sang with them was pregnant and her husband wanted her to stay at home,” she says. “When school was about to start, I said, ‘Guys, I had the time of my life,’ and I went home. My brother came to pick me up and we drove from Memphis back to Louisville and it’s one of the best memories of my life.”

But after high school, there was a roadblock.

“I got married,” she says with a somewhat sour face. “It wasn’t blissful, but I made a choice. He didn’t want me to sing. He said it made him nervous, and I really missed it.”

‘YOU WANNA SING SOMETHING?’

Miller’s husband eventually left Louisville, while she stayed in the Bluegrass State with her 2-year-old son. She kept hearing a band rehearsing in their neighborhood, and the two would walk by just to listen and wave at the band.

“Finally this guy said, ‘Hey, you wanna sing something? Because you keep coming by.’ So I did this Aretha Franklin song and I got a call,” she says. “Their singer was married, and she was pregnant with her third child, and her husband said, ‘Enough.’ I got the gig. I kept it for four years.”

By 1984, Miller was ready for big things. With stardom in Los Angeles in mind, she rented a U-Haul that repeatedly broke down, attached her van to the back of it, and left Kentucky with six kids (including two of her own), along with a friend who was escaping an abusive husband.

“The night we were loading into the big truck, her husband beat her up pretty bad. I said, ‘Look — if you grab some clothes for you and your kids, you can come with me,’” she remembers. “We made it as far as Denver.”

Miller started living with her kids in a ragged motel on East Colfax in those early days on the Front Range. Though she ended up in Denver by accident, one of her boys wasn’t going to let her forget they left Kentucky for a reason.

“Here we are in Colorado, and I was working, watering plants,” she remembers. “My 7-year-old came to me and said, ‘If all you gonna do is water plants, can we go home?’ So that Sunday I started going over to Five Points, sitting in, and within three months I got hired to do a wedding, and I’ve been working [as a singer] ever since.”

‘THE TIME OF MY LIFE’

Miller has sung the national anthem before Denver Broncos games, performed at Red Rocks, toured with local staples and fulfilled just about every bucket-list item for Colorado musicians. Her voice even greets visitors taking trains to the main terminal at Denver International Airport. But she’s

also performed at the White House, toured with the U.S. military, and sung with many of her heroes — from the Temptations, to James Brown, to Herbie Hancock.

Virtually every summer concert series stage along the Front Range features Miller’s smile, her swagger, and her powerful voice. Big Head Todd and the Monsters tasked Miller with singing lead vocals on “Hard Times Come Again No More” in 2019, recording a moving live performance in an empty El Chapultepec in Denver that coincidentally became somewhat of an anthem for the pandemic.

More than perhaps anywhere else, though, Miller is a beloved local star in Boulder, where she has become a household name.

“I’ve walked on stage in Boulder and felt like Aretha Franklin. People are so good to me in Boulder,” she says. “There’s something about Colorado. That first five years, my sister called and was like, ‘You coming back?’ and I said, ‘I think I’m home.’ [Now] I know I’m home. I’ve been here 39 years come August 14 of this year. There is nothing I could’ve done in L.A. to top what I’ve done in Colorado. I’ve had the time of my life.”

Asked what it’s been like to live and work for nearly four decades in the state’s predominantly white Front Range communities, Miller’s answer comes in a heartbeat.

“Colorado has given me a different perspective, a different way to look at the world. It’s no longer black-andwhite. It’s no longer have-and-have-

not,” she says. “I’ve had more problems getting jobs as a woman singer than being a Black woman singer. I’ve had moments in Colorado that would’ve never happened to me in L.A. and would’ve never happened in Louisville. So, yeah, Colorado’s my home. I love it here.”

Miller has released studio albums through the years, and much of her original work can be found on streaming services, but after arriving in Denver her focus on being a recording star fizzled.

“The live audiences in Colorado cut that short,” she says. “How in the world can I walk into a studio and get the love in there that I get from a live audience?”

In addition to playing with her band all over Colorado, Miller mentors young singers like Julia Kirkwood of Fort Collins, helping them put more soul into their singing and nudging them to come out of their shells on stage. Miller will turn 70 this June, and she’s humble talking not just about what she’s given this area with her singing, but with what music has given her.

“I sing because I need it. It makes my soul happy,” she says. “It’s how I pray. It’s how I grieve. It’s how I celebrate.”

MUSIC

CARNIVAL BARKERS

Canadian punk heroes PUP ‘unravel’ with Joyce Manor and Pool Kids at Colorado’s most anticipated emo gig of the year

BY JEZY J. GRAY

Like much of how singer-songwriter Stefan Babcock deals with the relentless pressures of life, the opening interlude on his band PUP’s latest album started out as a gag. Four clumsy piano chords, a new element for the guitar-heavy punk outfit, welcome listeners to a quarterly meeting of the group’s “board of directors” as they determine “how best to proceed” with the new record at hand.

“I play piano. I started learning last Thursday,” Babcock sings alone in a warbling indoor-voice spin on his usual vicious-but-vulnerable sneer. “I spent every cent of the label money on this thing.”

But like all jokes worth telling, the goof at the heart of this opening salvo holds basic truths. PUP is a band of big personalities, no doubt as fussedover among themselves as the most high-stakes corporate board, and the bigly titled THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND — the Toronto quartet’s fourth and most ambitious album

to date — finds them spending every creative dollar in the bank.

Babcock did, in fact, learn to play piano while recording the album. (“It was so nice I didn’t deserve to touch it,” he says.) And as the unadorned intro ticks on, we hear the 34-year-old guitarist and singer reach his limit on the new instrument as a sour note shatters the delicate melody. “Fuck,” he mutters, before a rumbling timpani roll sends the band exploding into a maximalist pop-punk carnival of sound.

“It’s definitely a coping mechanism,” Babcock says about his use of humor to reckon with selfdoubt and the weight of success for a band who never thought they’d make it past the Ontario basement show circuit. “The kind of music we make can really get into this territory of self-seriousness that’s really kind of cringey to me. A lot of the songs are very emotional and deal with some pretty real

subject matter, but the four of us don’t take ourselves very seriously.”

As a result, PUP’s music has always toed a gossamer line between smirking self-deprecation and disarming sincerity. With jokes in tow, Babcock picks at scabs encrusted over intrusive thoughts, bummer benchmarks and the looming specter of death. But while albums like the band’s self-titled 2013 debut and breakout follow-up The Dream Is Over dove into this duality with a stripped-down punk simplicity, their latest takes those core ingredients that have built an international following for the band over the last decade and splatters them gleefully against the wall.

Theatre and The Ogden in Denver.

PUP returns to the Front Range on March 7 for a co-headlining show at Mission Ballroom with marquee emo revivalists Joyce Manor and emerging upstarts Pool Kids for one of the region’s most anticipated big-bill punk shows of the year. But despite a monumental U.S. tour ahead, and a decade of success in the rearview, Babcock and his bandmates are eyeing the future with unease.

“This band is not going to be a band forever, and I don’t really have any transferable skills,” he says. “That starts to loom pretty large on my psyche, and I think on the other guys’ psyches, because we know bands that have done fairly well but it did not necessarily set them up for the rest of their lives. Life can be pretty challenging into your 40s when suddenly you’re not really making money doing music, but you’ve spent 10 or 15 years not having a career. It’s hard to pick up from there.”

“We made three records with kind of the same spirit: two guitars, bass, drums and four of us singing — just trying to squeeze the most out of that. With our third record [2019’s Morbid Stuff] we reached the logical conclusion to that sort of trilogy,” Babcock says. “So with this record, we wanted to push it a little further.”

‘IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE FUN.’

In the year since the release of THE UNRAVELLING, Babcock and company have been taking their boundarysmashing new sound on the road — including a Late Night with Seth Meyers performance last summer, following local gigs with guitar-rock stalwarts Sheer Mag at Boulder’s Fox

Like the rest of life’s gnawing uncertainties, Babcock digests the pain with punchlines on THE UNRAVELING (“So you’re selling insurance? That’s so inspiring,” he spits on the album’s closing track. “Give me two more years, let me know if they’re hiring.”) But whether PUP stays on top of the world for another decade or another tour, Babcock will be shining some light on those darker corners for as long as it lasts.

“Playing in a band is supposed to be fun, so we’re always trying to balance out the seriousness of the subject matter with some humor and some levity,” Babcock says. “I think it’s really important for us to remember that at the end of the day, this is rock ‘n’ roll — we’re not saving anyone’s lives. We’re just out here trying to write fun songs … I want to make sure people coming to shows and listening to our records are having a good time doing it, and not just wallowing in misery.”

ON THE BILL: PUP with Joyce Manor and Pool Kids. 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 7, Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St., Denver. $35

Left to right: Zack Mykula (drums), Steve Sladkowski (guitar), Stefan Babcock (vocals/guitar) and Nestor Chumak (bass). Photo by Vanessa Heins.

Courtesy Little Dipper

DEAD RINGER

Coal Creek Theater of Louisville kicks off ‘killer season’ with an intimate staging of meta murder-mystery ‘Deathtrap’

BY TONI TRESCA

If you’re looking for top-tier theatrical entertainment, Louisville’s Coal Creek Theater makes a compelling case for skipping the trip to Denver and attending a play produced right here in Boulder County.

“Coal Creek Theater is a fantastic example of what can happen when a group of people from the community come together for the love of theater to put on wonderful productions,” says Brian Dowling, the company’s board chair and fight choreographer for its current production, Deathtrap “I really encourage people to come out and see what your community is doing, because exceptional things are happening next door.”

For Coal Creek’s 2023 slate of offerings, the 33-year-old locally owned and operated community theater has assembled a “killer season” of thrilling mysteries. Productions include Rope by Patrick Hamilton, Legacy of Baker Street by Brian Dowling and the aforementioned production of Ira Levin’s Deathtrap, currently running through March 11.

“One of the reasons we choose a season full of thrillers and killers is that we get a really positive response from audiences,” says Steve Rausch, vicechair of the board and sound designer and board operator for Deathtrap “People seem to really like this genre. Comedy in theater is still king, but mysteries and thrillers are a close second.”

As the longest-running comedythriller in Broadway history, Deathtrap is a shining example of audience enthusiasm for the genre. It received four Tony nominations, including Best Play, and was made

into a 1982 film starring Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve.

Set in the Connecticut wilderness during 1978, the story follows a creatively stifled Broadway thriller author named Sidney Bruhl, played in Coal Creek’s production by Michael King. One day, Sidney receives a promising script from Clifford Anderson (Thomas Fletcher), a student at the university where he teaches. He spooks his wife Myra (Renee Malis) by joking that he should kill Clifford in order to steal his play.

Sidney supposedly invites Clifford to his Connecticut home to work on his script, but when they meet, unspoken truths escalate the situation and frighten Myra. The metaplay pokes fun at the ridiculousness of the playwriting process and adds its own unique twists to established genre norms.

“What I like about this play is that it is not a straight-up murder mystery

Mess says this tonal variety in Deathtrap — switching between intense drama and playful comedy — can be challenging for performers, because they have to play both serious and silly scenes seamlessly without breaking character. Luckily, after auditioning more than 30 people for the production, the directing team was ecstatic to select King, Malis, Fletcher, Anne Sandoe and Sam Sandoe as their cast.

“Having a willing group of volunteer actors of this caliber is a gift,” Mess says. “Since it’s a five-person cast, we got to spend a lot of time talking about their characters’ motivation and getting into nitty-gritty details. It’s a reflection of Coal Creek Theater and the support they provide that so many people are willing to give their time to the theater.”

thriller,” director Robert Mess says.

“There’s a comedic aspect in the script that appeals to me. I love that this play can make you laugh at one moment and then have a sudden murder that shocks the audience.”

Though Coal Creek’s productions will never be as flashy as those of larger companies in the area, they believe a limited budget can inspire creativity.

“We aren’t the DCPA or the Arvada Center, so we have to make do with limited resources,” says Kathleen

Rausch, the organization’s treasurer and costume designer for Deathtrap “We provide directors with $1,500 per show, and we’ve found that most of the time, directors come in under budget because they understand how tight money is.”

Mess managed to stay within budget while planning a complex set, intricate costumes and numerous props for Deathtrap. The performers’ close proximity to the audience created some challenges, like how to keep crowds from getting covered in fake blood, but it also embodies the theater’s motto that “every seat is a front-row seat.”

“Deathtrap is an affordable, intimate night of theater in your community,” Mess says. “It’s your chance to see a professional-quality performance in a community space. The team knocked it out of the park on opening night, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how other crowds react during the remaining performances.”

ON STAGE: Deathtrap by Ira Levin. Various times through March 11, Louisville Center for the Arts, 801 Grant Ave. $28

The cast of Deathtrap, running through March 11 at the Louisville Center for the Arts. Image courtesy Coal Creek Theater.

Michael King and Sam Sandoe in Deathtrap Image courtesy Coal Creek Theater.

SIGHTLINES

Boulder County arts and culture news, at a glance

BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF

We love our local arts scene here in Boulder County — but with so much going on, it can be hard to keep up. That’s why Boulder Weekly is bringing you our regular round-up of goings-on in the world of performing and visual arts, film, music and more. Here’s a snapshot of what’s happening locally, so you don’t have to miss a beat.

SOUND OFF

Longmont-based arts org wants your feedback

Got thoughts on the state of the arts in Longmont? The Longmont Alliance for Arts and Entertainment is soliciting feedback in the form of a survey to “ensure the cultural richness of our wonderful city for our future generations.”

The online questionnaire is designed to collect information regarding new recreation and cultural project facilities and renovations. To participate, visit bit.ly/LongmontSurvey or scan the QR code above.

Organizations, individuals and classrooms are encouraged to apply. Review the grand program guidelines, funding structure and deadlines at bit.ly/GrantProgram2023

LITTLE SCRIBBLERS

Young writers wanted for Dairy Arts stage show

Know an elementary school student who has a way with words? Storybooks on Stage seeks stories written by kids from first through fifth grade for a springtime performance at The Dairy Arts Center (2590 Walnut St). Winning selections will get the stage treatment by professional actors, along with two free tickets for the young author and a meet-and-greet with the performers.

The contest is limited to one entry per writer, with a submission deadline of Friday, March 21. Each story is limited to 250 words, “typed or very neatly written.” Winning story performances will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 15. For more info, visit storiesonstage.org

FREE SPACE

New fee-waiver program launches at eTown Hall

It’s no secret that venue accessibility is a barrier for many performing artists here in Boulder. That’s why eTown and the Boulder Arts Commission are offering rent-free performance space for up to 12 days per calendar year at eTown Hall (1535 Spruce St.) available to Boulder-based cultural organizations.

“While costs have gone up since the pandemic, eTown recognizes the need for access to affordable spaces for both performing and rehearsing in Boulder,” eTown Founder Nick Forster said in a Feb. 23 press release. “With that in mind, eTown is proud to support our thriving arts community.”

Visit boulderarts.org for program eligibility, guidelines and applications.

SHOW ME THE MONEY

Apply now for City of Boulder cultural grants program

Need funding for your next big cultural endeavor? More than $900,000 in grant funds will be dispersed this year through the 2023 Boulder Arts Commission Cultural Grants Program, helping support community and arts education projects, along with professional development scholarships, grant writing support and more.

SAVE THE DATE

Boulder Arts Week deadlines ahead

The city’s only large-scale, community-wide art bash returns April 7-15 for another round of gallery shows, live music, workshops, film screenings and more. With Boulder boasting the country’s third-highest concentration of artists according to the National Endowment for the Arts, Boulder Arts Week is a great opportunity to experience everything the city has to offer when it comes to culture.

Boulder Weekly will partner with the annual community arts blowout to bring you a full schedule of events in our April 6 print edition. In the meantime, you can submit your event through Wednesday, March 22. Volunteer opportunities available at boulderartsweek.org/volunteers

Got local art news? Email BW culture editor Jezy J. Gray at jgray@boulderweekly.com

PARENT TRAP

Fort Collins author J.A. Tyler spins domestic themes into magic

BY BART SCHANEMAN

Many parents want to stop time. They’d like to keep their children small and innocent and exactly a certain age — if not forever, then at least longer than the ticking clock allows. It’s a natural impulse to want to protect them from our cruel, unforgiving world.

But there’s another natural impulse: the desire to run away. That’s because being a parent is one of the hardest things someone can do in this life. These themes run deep in Only and Ever This, the new novel from Fort Collins author J.A. Tyler, out now via Dzanc Books.

Told in poetic prose, the book veers between plotlines following the unnamed mother — who takes some, let’s just say dramatic, steps to keep her children young — and the father, also unnamed, a pirate who chooses the sea over his dad duties.

Tyler is himself a parent and teacher, and he says a major part of the novel is about navigating those conflicting parental impulses while watching your kids grow up. Part of you wants to flee, because you fear you might not be doing it right, while another part says maybe you just need to step aside and let your kids grow up.

‘A WEIRD WORLD AROUND US’

The true craft of Tyler’s writing lies in his beautiful sentences. He worked on the book for nearly a decade before landing an agent and publishing deal with Dzanc, partly due to this granular attention to style and detail.

“On the sentence level, I have just been chipping away and revising and revisiting for so many years that I do feel like I finally in the end got the version I wanted,” he says.

way,” he says. “So it’s kind of trying to skirt the line between the poetics and the cinematography of a book, and also having that narrative throughline and making sure the action was clear and had forward momentum.”

That narrative momentum takes various forms in Only and Ever This. Some chapters follow the father out to sea, while others explore the twin brothers’ perspective, which Tyler likens to the adventures of characters in the ’80s film The Goonies.

“I just wanted to let those twins have this adventure of falling in love and looking for treasure and those sorts of things while their parents are fighting to hold them back, just because they think that’s what’s best,” he says.

Not only is there adventure, but Tyler also manages to work in several elements of magical realism, and even some unexpected creatures like vampires and mummies. He’s the type of writer who can take what might seem like an ordinary moment in daily life and find a way to work it into his story of pirates and buccaneers. As Tyler was drafting the book in a Fort Collins coffee shop, he drew information from the “sketchy” characters he saw there.

FURTHER READING:

FURTHER READING:

Three books that inspired J.A. Tyler while writing Only and Ever This

Three books that inspired J.A. Tyler while writing Only and Ever This

LIGHT BOXES

Courtesy Dzanc Books

“But then there’s the other half, embodied in the mother character, of wanting to freeze her kids right where they are, because she knows things are gonna get rough, and there’s gonna be a lot of obstacles for them,” he says. “And what if you could just pause them right there?”

But there’s more to Only and Ever This than parental angst and poetic prose.

“I was also trying to make sure it had a nice cinematic throughline that was visible from start to finish. Because I can definitely get off on poetic tangents and lose myself in those because I love to write in that

“I was just writing them in as I was seeing them,” he says. “Because I feel like even though it’s a fantastic book, and it has mummies and allusions to vampires and ghosts, and all these things … we have a weird world around us, if we just pay attention to it.”

ON THE SHELF: Only and Ever This is available now in hardback via Dzanc Books.

BY SHANE JONES

BY SHANE JONES (Publishing Genius Press / Penguin, 2009)

“I read it all the time. He’s a fantastic writer. He’s got a lot of books that have surreal or magical realist elements. And I think they’re so fantastic.”

MOTORMAN

MOTORMAN

BY DAVID OHLE

BY DAVID OHLE (Knopf /

Calamari Press, 1972)

“That novel is just so wonderful because it picks up in a future world, and it’s just apocalyptic. He goes for it, and he doesn’t explain anything. It just moves forward and it stays poetic and beautiful and light the whole time. And he doesn’t bog down with having to world-build. He just puts you into it and you move forward with him. And there’s something really graceful and magical about that.”

THE FISH AND THE NOT FISH

THE FISH AND THE NOT FISH

BY PETER MARKUS

BY PETER MARKUS (Dzanc Books, 2014)

His books are like gold. I just love them. He manages to write about real people, fathers, mothers, sons, brothers in a way that seems so totally natural. And yet they do these things that are far fetched and outlandish and often border on the magical if not seeping into it.

2-5

BOULDER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

4-10 p.m. Thursday, March 2 and 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Sunday, March 3-5, Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St., Boulder. $18 (individual); $450 (passes)

Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF) is back for its 19th year. Featuring a variety of acclaimed movies, local screenings and a host of film icons like last year’s Javier Bardem, BIFF is a can’t-miss event celebrating the art of cinema. Get your tickets now and join 25,000 others in the star-studded festivities. 3

TRASH THE RUNWAY:

COUTURE 2023

4

LEPRECHAUN GAMES

9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, March 4, Boulder County Fairgrounds, 9595 Nelson Rd., Longmont. Free

Strong men and women in kilts toss tele phone poles, heavy sacks (with pitch forks), large stones and more, at this event whose proceeds benefit the St. Baldricks Foundation for childhood cancer. Need we say more? Get the family down to Boulder County Fairgrounds this Saturday for an unforgettable Scottish-Irish charity event.

4

VENUS VICTROLA PRESENTS: DIVINE

9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. Saturday, March 4, Trident Booksellers and Cafe, 940 Pearl St., Boulder. $15

4

RECYCLED

7 p.m. Friday, March 3, Macky Auditorium, 1595 Pleasant St., Boulder. $31

Creativity and sustainability meet Friday, March 3 at Trash the Runway, an event featuring stunning couture that would otherwise be going to the landfill. Local middle and high school students work for months to curate this unique event — scoop up a spot in the crowd for this trashto-treasure fashion show.

4

STARS & LASER GALACTIC ODYSSEY

2:30-3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 4, Fiske Planetarium, 2414 Regent Dr., Boulder. $12

Sit back, relax, and immerse yourself in Fiske Planetarium’s laser show, featuring the music of Galactic Odyssey: Monty Python’s “Galaxy Song,” “Intergalactic” by Beastie Boys and more will flood your senses under a sky of liquid light. Reserve a space to experience the simulated cosmos before it’s too late.

THE NORTH FACE PRESENTS: REEL ROCK 17 (WORLD PREMIERE)

7 p.m. Saturday, March 4, Macky Auditorium, 1595 Pleasant St., Boulder. $30

As exhilarating as it is death-defying, there’s perhaps no sub-genre of action cinema that makes the heart pump quite like climbing films. Reel Rock 17, a movie tour for the best offerings from this last year — like a wild expedition on Nameless Tower in Pakistan and a journey to Palestine’s West Bank — makes its stop at Macky Auditorium on Saturday, and will feature appearances by RR17 athletes and gear giveaways.

Let your hair down, put on your best duds, and head to Trident Bookstore’s back entrance for a night of local drag entertainment at this LGBTQ-centered dance party. Host Venus Victrola and MC Markie Arendelle invite the public to a a safe, fun, comfortable evening of moving and shaking on Pearl Street — dancing shoes strongly recommended. 7

CHEESEMAKING 101 WITH CHEESE & CIDER PAIRING

6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 7, St. Vrain Cidery, 350 Terry St., Suite 130, Longmont.. $45

There’s something comforting about dynamic duos: peanut butter and jelly, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, and wine and cheese. But what about cheese and hard cider? St. Vrain Cidery and The Art of Cheese has cracked the code on a new pairing, and invites you to a night of education and indulgence, featuring certified cheese professional Kelly Liebrock.

LIVE MUSIC

THURSDAY, MARCH 2

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND. 7:30 p.m. Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, Denver.

JXDN WITH BEAUTY SCHOOL DROPOUT 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $35

WHETHAN WITH KANDY SHOP, GUSTED. 9 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St., Boulder. $40

BIFF SINGER-SONGWRITER SHOWCASE (NIGHT 1) 6:30 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free

FRIDAY, MARCH 3

MIDDLE AMERICA SOUL MUSIC WITH ANDY EPPLER LIVE

6 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free

ROLLING HARVEST AT MOUNTAIN SUN. 9 p.m. Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery, 1535 Pearl St., Boulder. $10

WALKER & ROYCE WITH STRM, HANKIS 9 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $35

OTOBOKE BEAVER WITH CHEAP PERFUME. 9 p.m. Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $25

BUNNY BLAKE 7 p.m. Morris & Mae Market,18475 W. Colfax Ave., Suite 132, Golden. Free

SATURDAY, MARCH 4

LUCKI. 7 p.m. Summit, 1902 Blake St., Denver. $112 (standing room only)

WAX TAILOR WITH KUF KNOTZ & CHRISTINE ELISE 9 p.m. Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. $25

OTT WITH MARK FARINA, RANDOM RAB, TONE RANGER. 8 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St., Denver. $30

BIFF SINGER-SONGWRITER SHOWCASE (NIGHT 2) 6:30 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free

ELDERBROOK. 9 p.m. Ogden Theatre, 935 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $80

MATERIAL GIRL WITH THE HOT LUNCH BAND 7:30 p.m. Nissi’s, 1455 Coal Creek Drive, Unit T, Lafayette. $15

SUNDAY, MARCH 5

THE CBDS 4 p.m. Very Nice Brewing Company, 20 Lakeview Drive, Unit 112, Nederland. Free

THE INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $40

RIVERSIDE WITH THE CYBERIAM DUO 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $35

ERIC JOHNSON 8 p.m. Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glenarm, Denver. $45

LIVE MUSIC

ON STAGE:

On the heels of her critically acclaimed debut full-length Tender, Front Range music artist Allison Lorenzen brings her ethereal brand of darkwave dream-pop to Leon Gallery in Denver on March 7 alongside Lake Mary and Missouri singer-songwriter Rae Fitzgerald. Lorenzen’s latest single is a hushed and aching slowcore cover of the melancholy radio hit “Glycerine” by ’90s alt-rock linchpin Bush, featuring Coloradoborn “heaven metal” outfit Midwife — a track recently praised by NPR for its dreamy take on the “butt rock” classic. Tickets for next week’s intimate gallery show are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. See listing below for details.

MONDAY, MARCH 6

LANGEHORNE SLIM WITH MADELINE HAWTHORNE 7 p.m. eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. $30

PAROV STELAR 7 p.m. Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 N. Clarkson St., Denver. $50

TUESDAY, MARCH 7

THE HIGH KINGS 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St., Boulder. $30

PUP WITH JOYCE MANOR AND POOL KIDS. 8 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St., Denver. $35

KULA SHAKER 8 p.m. Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $41

TROUSDALE WITH SOPHIE

HOLOHAN 7 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $16

LAKE MARY WITH RAE FITZGERALD AND ALLISON LORENZEN 7 p.m. Leon Art Gallery, 1112 E. 17th Ave., Denver. $20

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8

BOURBON BLUES & GROOVES: TONY LUKE BAND 7:30 p.m. Nissi’s, 1455 Coal Creek Drive, Unit T, Lafayette. Free

BRYCE VINE 8 p.m. Ogden Theatre, 935 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $65

YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU

Boulder International Film Festival hosts Colorado premiere of death-with-dignity doc ‘Jack Has a Plan’

BY MICHAEL J. CASEY

Jack Tuller is terminal. It’s a brain tumor that’ll do it, one he’s had since the early 1990s. Back then, the doctors gave Jack six months to live. But after a successful surgery removed a good chunk of the tumor, he got all six months plus two decades. And he made the most of them: He got married, built a sizeable collection of close friends, reconnected with his estranged father, even developed a sound theory about pies — pecan is polarizing, cherry can be hit or miss, apple is a safe bet.

But now the tumor is back with a vengeance. Surgery is out of the question, the seizures are getting

worse, and the symptoms are becoming less manageable. Jack has decided the time has come. He wants to die with dignity on the day and time of his choosing after a going-away party. Jack’s closest friends and loved ones want him to live. To fight until the bitter end. But that’s the sort of thing healthy people believe. Jack knows better.

Death with dignity is one of those touchy subjects that can really divide a room — probably because those either for or against it can still see the logic on the other side. And that divide is very much on display in Jack Has a Plan, which will have its

Colorado premiere at the Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF) on Saturday, March 4.

Directed by documentarian Bradley Berman, Jack Has a Plan functions like a diary of Jack’s last days. Jack generated the idea of the doc as his final act of creation. It took some doing to convince Berman to take up the project — the two men are close, Jack was best man at Berman’s wedding — but Berman can’t seem to say no to his friend forever. Especially since it’ll allow him the chance to spend more time with Jack, maybe even talk him out of his terminal wishes.

Berman isn’t alone in not being ready to say goodbye. A lot of Jack’s friends aren’t either. Same goes for Jack’s wife, Jennifer, but she is about as supportive as one can be in a situation like this. Probably because while Jack’s friends only see him in more or less good health and spirits, Jennifer sees Jack all the

time. She knows how dark it can get. But that isn’t to say Jack Has a Plan is a dark movie. In truth, the film is about as uplifting as you can get with a premise like this. Almost all of that is thanks to Jack, whose clearheaded approach to the end brings opportunities for reconciliation and realization. It’s the kind of movie you will carry with you long after leaving the theater.

Thankfully, director Berman will be on hand following the March 4 screening to help work through it with a BIFF talkback co-presented by American Clinicians Academy on Medical Aid in Dying.

ON SCREEN: Jack Has a Plan. Boulder International Film Festival, 4 p.m., Saturday, March 4; 1 p.m., Sunday, March 5, Century Boulder, 1700 29th St. Info and tickets at biff1.com.

An inoperable brain tumor led Jack Tuller (left) to document his quest to die on his own terms. Photo by Bradley Berman.

STAY CONNECTED

ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): Repressed feelings and dormant passions are rising to the surface. I bet they will soon be rattling your brain and illuminating your heart, unleashing a soothing turbulence of uncanny glee. Will you get crazy and wise enough to coax the Great Mystery into blessing you with an inspirational revelation or two? I believe you will. I hope you will! The more skillful you are at generating rowdy breakthroughs, the less likely you are to experience a breakdown. Be as unruly as you need to be to liberate the very best healings.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): You finally have all you need to finish an incomplete mission or resolve a mess of unsettled karma. The courage and determination you couldn’t quite summon before are now fully available as you invoke a climax that will prepare the way for your awe-inspiring rebirth. Gaze into the future, dear Taurus, and scan for radiant beacons that will be your guides in the coming months. You have more help than you know, and now is the time to identify it and move toward it.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): Our sun is an average star in a galaxy of 100 billion stars. In comparison to some of its flamboyant compatriots, it’s mediocre. Over 860 light years away is a bluewhite supergiant star called Rigel, which is twice as hot as our sun and 40,000 times brighter. The red supergiant Antares, over 600 light years away, has 12 times more mass. Yet if those two showoffs had human attitudes, they might be jealous of our star, which is the source of energy for a planet teeming with 8.7 million forms of life. I propose we make the sun your role model for now, Gemini. It’s an excellent time to glory in your unique strengths and to exuberantly avoid comparing yourself to anyone else.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): The philosophical principle known as Occam’s razor asserts that when trying to understand a problem or enigma, we should favor the simplest explanation with the fewest assumptions. While that’s often a useful approach, I don’t recommend it in the coming weeks. For you, nuances and subtleties will abound in every situation. Mere simplicity is unlikely to lead to a valid understanding. You will be wise to relish the complications and thrive on the paradoxes. Try to see at least three sides of every story. Further tips: 1. Mysteries may be truer than mere facts. 2. If you’re willing to honor your confusion, the full, rich story will eventually emerge.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): “There are no unsacred places,” wrote Leo poet Wendell Berry. “There are only sacred places and desecrated places.” Poet Allen Ginsberg agreed. “Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy!” he wrote. “Holy the solitudes of skyscrapers and pavements! Holy the cafeteria! Holy the mysterious rivers of tears under the streets! Holy the sea, holy the desert, holy the railroad.” With Berry’s and Ginsberg’s prompts as your inspiration, and in accordance with current astrological imperatives, I invite you to invigorate your relationship with sacredness. If nothing is sacred for you, do what it takes to find and commune with sacred things, places, animals, humans, and phenomena.

If you are already a lover of sacred wonders, give them extra love and care. To expand your thinking and tenderize your mood, give your adoration to these related themes: consecration, sublimity, veneration, devotion, reverence, awe, and splendor.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): My favorite Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, wrote the following: “In us, there is a river of feelings, in which every drop of water is a different feeling, and each feeling relies on all the others for its existence. To observe it, we just sit on the bank of the river and identify each feeling as it surfaces, flows by, and disappears.” I bring this meditation to your attention, Virgo, because I hope you will do it daily during the next two weeks. Now is an excellent time to cultivate an intense awareness of your feelings — to exult in their rich meanings, to value their spiritual power, to feel gratitude for educating and entertaining you.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): How might your life come into clearer focus when you uncover secrets that inspire your initiative and ingenuity? What happens when resources that had been inaccessible become available for your enjoyment and use? How will you respond if neglected truths spring into view and point the way toward improvements in your job situation? I suspect you will soon be able to tell me stories about all this good stuff. PS: Don’t waste time feeling doubtful about whether the magic is real. Just welcome it and make it work for you!

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): It’s not the best time to tattoo a lover’s likeness on your abdomen. Maybe in May, but not now. On the other hand, the coming weeks will be an excellent time to see if your paramour might be willing to tattoo your name on their thigh. Similarly, this is a favorable period to investigate which of your allies would wake up at 5 a.m. to drive you to the airport, and which of your acquaintances and friends would stop others from spreading malicious gossip about you, and which authorities would reward you if you spoke up with constructive critiques.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): Redwoods are the tallest trees in the world. They may grow as high as 350 feet. Their roots are shallow, though, reaching down just six to 12 feet before spreading out 60 to 100 feet horizontally. And yet the trees are sturdy, rarely susceptible to being toppled by high winds and floods. What’s their secret? Their root systems are interwoven with those of other nearby redwoods. Together, they form networks of allies, supporting each other and literally sharing nutrients. I endorse this model for you to emulate in your efforts to create additional stability and security in your life, Sagittarius.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): What’s the best way to be fulfilled? Hard work and discipline? Are we most likely to flourish if we indulge only moderately in life’s sweet pleasures and mostly focus on the difficult tasks that build our skills and clout? Or is it more accurate to say that 90 percent of success is just showing up: being patient and persistent as we carry out the small day-today sacrifices and devotions that incrementally make us indispensable? Mythologist Joseph Campbell described a third variation: to “follow our bliss.” We find out what activities give us the greatest joy and install those activities at the center of our lives. As a Capricorn, you are naturally skilled at the first two approaches. In the coming months, I encourage you to increase your proficiency at the third.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): Mackerels are unusual fish in that they must keep swimming nonstop. If they don’t, they die. Do they ever sleep? Scientists haven’t found any evidence that they do. I bring them up now because many of you Aquarians have resemblances to mackerels — and I think it’s especially crucial that you not act like them in the coming weeks. I promise you that nothing bad will happen if you slow down and indulge in prolonged periods of relaxing stillness. Just the opposite in fact: Your mental and physical health will thrive as you give your internal batteries time and space to recharge.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): A financial advisor once told me I could adopt one of three approaches to running my business: 1. Ignore change; 2. always struggle with change, halfimmobilized by mixed feelings about whether to change or stay put; 3. learn to love and thrive on change. The advisor said that if I chose either of the first two options, I would always be forced to change by circumstances beyond my control. The third approach is ultimately the only one that works. Now is an excellent time for you Pisceans to commit yourself fully to number three — for both your business and your life.

SAVAGE LOVE

BY DAN SAVAGE

DEAR DAN: I recently came out to my husband as asexual. I’m a 56-year-old female. He is 57. We have been in a monogamous relationship for 35 years. We both come from culturally traditional families. We married young and raised two boys who are now adults. Our oldest son came out to us as bisexual five years ago when he fell in love with a man. This was a catalyst for me to look into the nature of my sexuality. My husband’s response to my asexuality was, “Of course you are — we aren’t having sex anymore.” Before I came out to him, he urged me over and over to look into remedies for my situation so we could have intercourse. Menopause has made intercourse unbearably painful for me and he is not open to other forms of sexual intimacy. He doesn’t understand asexuality. After all, for many years we did have sex. I felt that it was part of my duty as a wife. In hindsight, I believe I was more interested in having children than having sex. I have a lot of guilt that I somehow “duped” him into a relationship. This was not my intention. Asexuality was not part of my vocabulary any more than bisexuality was. I have suffered for years with depression, thinking there was something wrong with me for not being interested in sex.

We love each other and we want to stay together. I know he has sexual needs that need to be satisfied. I have urged him to find other outlets. I’ve told him that I’m open to an open relationship. He said that he is afraid that if he had sex with anyone else that he would fall in love with them. He doesn’t want to do that because he loves only me. He still thinks there is some remedy and that I could find that would make it possible for us to still have sex. What do you advise?

— Asexual Characteristic Explains Dilemma

DEAR ACED: Your letter — your question, your predicament, your marriage — demonstrates why the awarenessraising conversations we’ve been hav-

ing about asexuality over the last decade-and-change are so important. If “asexual” had been a part of the conversation 40 years ago, ACED, you wouldn’t have spent 35 years wondering what was wrong with you. With “asexual” part of the conversation now, people who are asexual are likelier to know who they are, know there’s nothing wrong with them, and know they’re free to make different choices — more informed ones. Likewise, allosexuals who date out asexuals are free to make informed choices of their own.

(Allosexual is the opposite of asexual… and, yes, you could call allosexuals plain ol’ sexuals, but confusing new terms that have to be unpacked in parentheticals > simple and clear language that doesn’t have to be unpacked in a parenthetical.)

But what do you do now, ACED? Nothing. You know who you are after all these years, you’ve explained who you are to your husband, and your husband has your permission to seek sex elsewhere, if he so chooses. If he needs to feel a deep emotional connection in order to experience sexual attraction — if your husband just realized he’s demisexual (sigh) — he can seek out women who are… I don’t know… unhappily married to emotionally obtuse men they don’t wanna leave for the sake of their kids and might be seeking some dick and affection elsewhere. Romantic love isn’t a zero-sum game — loving someone else doesn’t mean your husband has to love you any less, or any differently, than he does right now.

Photo: Susan France

Whether the sun is shining or snow is falling, our little corner of Pearl Street is the perfect place to soak up winter in beautiful Boulder! Feast alongside the jellyfish, sink into a lounge or take a seat at one of our lively bars.

Prefer the great outdoors? Our fireside patios are the coziest place to savor those mild winter days.

When your own couch is calling, all of your favorites are available for curbside pickup too.

No matter how you choose to dine don’t miss our ever-evolving specials, delicious seasonal cocktails, and latest rare whiskey!

THE MOTHERSHIP

Stella’s Cucina offers close encounters with classic Italian in otherworldly digs

BY COLIN WRENN

If folks don’t know what they’re looking for, Stella’s Cucina (1123 Walnut St., Boulder) can be a little hard to find. In early January, a rather ornate looking door appeared just east of The Rio. It was emblazoned with a big wooden S, though to the average passerby the entrance still had all the inconspicuous allure of a well-kept secret.

The long hallway leading from the host stand to what might be Boulder’s most transporting new dining room furthers the speakeasy sensibility. Though upon entering, the space is all mirrors and bright lights, marble and ornate wood ornamentation. It’s decidedly glitzy; the insulated area feels like an entire universe away from The Pub and Nitro on Pearl, with which Stella’s shares an alley.

“This is my first baby of this kind,” says owner Stella Spanu. “I put my whole heart and soul into the experience.”

While the menu is ostensibly a collection of classic dishes from across Italy, the restaurant was designed to elate all the senses. Small details, like the bathroom’s neon lettering that can only be read in reverse in the opposite-facing mirror, can be found in every corner of the space, with the overall vision being equally fine-tuned and absolutely grand.

Music is a big factor. On any given night, curated playlists span from funk to R&B and from hip-hop to chillout and ambient. From Thursday to Saturday, resident DJs JackLNDN and davVe up the ante, spinning sets that grow progressively wilder as the evening spirals on. Spanu says that, depending on the crowd, tables will get moved, turning the place into a proper disco that would fit nicely somewhere between Miami and Mars. On Friday, crowds are warmed up by some solo jazz piano, with a trio — the same pianist plus drums and a bassist — bring-

ing the bops on Saturday.

Spanu was born in New York and spent some of her formative years in Rome. Her father is a chef and restaurateur who owned popular spots in Paris. “I grew up with food being the center of my life,” she says. “My dad was my biggest inspiration.”

‘IT’S HOW I WANT TO EAT’

After transferring from Tulane University to the University of Colorado, Spanu found herself immersed in both dining and music. “The food scene is one of the reasons I moved here,” she says. With the opening of Stella’s, Spanu is hoping to contribute her distinctive vision to a community she now, after 10 years living here, feels very much a part of. “It’s just how I want to eat,” she says, noting that a truly sumptuous, sexy, classy and sophisticated space is just what she feels the town has been missing.

While Spanu handles the big picture, she’s tapped Tuscan-born chef Filippo Piccini to do the menu. Split into antipasti, a sturdy section of pastas, large plates, sides and desserts, the offerings span both recognizable classics and more modern fare.

Everything is presented with finedining flair, though simplicity still runs the show. “Most Italian food is very simple, but when executed well it’s just mind-blowing,” Spanu says. Local partners include Masa Farms, Niman Ranch and Superior Farms.

“Since childhood, I fell in love with the gastronomic world because of my mother’s homemade cooking. With her, I was taught the value of every ingredient. As I grew older, my mother employed me in her restaurant, and there I acquired the trattoria style and the fundamentals of simple dishes, which I still love today,” says Piccini of his time growing up in the

seaside village of Saturnia. He continued to develop his craft by working under such Italian heavyweights as Valeria Piccini, Gennaro Esposito and Enrico Cerea before relocating to San Diego. He joined Stella’s opening team after realizing he and Spanu shared many gourmet sensibilities. “Stella planned to bring authentic Italian food to Boulder, but also to incorporate the five senses into the entire restaurant. That means she’s paying a great deal of attention to how the food looks, tastes, and even its textures, and as a dedicated and passionate chef, I do as well,”

Piccini says.

Much like everything else, the dishes are laced with design-oriented flourishes. The Filetto di Manzo, a thick-cut Colorado Angus beef filet with a black garlic-Sangiovese reduc-

tion and porcini mushrooms comes with a beef tallow candle that can be dripped onto the steak as it melts. Even less extravagant dishes like the carpaccio are thoughtfully plated. The thin-sliced beef comes topped with Parmigiano foam and caviar-like balsamic pearls. The “Terra” Misu is a fairly quintessential rendition flavorwise, though the dish hits the table as one of the most visually enjoyable of the evening. Cocktails are largely plays on the classics, with the Golden Gin-Tonic mixing Poli Marconi gin with tonic, saffron, vanilla, cardamom, orange, cinnamon and rose. There’s also a great wine list with bottles that range from $35 to nearly $600, the bulk sitting in the $100 ballpark. Stella’s is intentionally enchanting and makes a nice fit for special occasions and weekend boogies.

The interior of Stella’s Cucina features marble and ornate woodwork. Photo by Jason Lowrie/BFA.com

A patron photographs their meal at the opening night of Stella’s Cucina. Photo by Jason Lowrie/BFA.com

SAME AS IT EVER WAS

Nearly a half century later, Dot’s Diner remains a comfy refuge of caffeine, biscuits and chicken curry

BY JOHN LENHDORFF

The Friday night before had been as high as this particular Saturday morning was low, hungover and headache-y. Under mirrored sunglasses my eyes wished the Boulder skies were not so freakin’ sunny and bluebird bright. Standing in line with a typically odd assortment of hippies at Dot’s Diner, I was desperately seeking caffeine and gravy.

(I know that this breakfast happened between 1976, when I arrived in Boulder, and 1978 — the years when the Red Zinger Bicycle Classic took over the town.)

ME, RED ZINGER AND SUSAN ST. JAMES

Finally at the front of the waitlist at the original Dot’s location on east Pearl Street, I took the only seat available, a single at the cramped counter. The afterglow of excess hung in the air like the cigarette smoke then allowed inside Boulder eateries.

Begging the waitress for coffee before I plopped on the stool, deliverance arrived in a rapidly refilled white

china mug. Only then did I turn my head to my right and notice that the lovely young woman next to me was Susan St. James.

St. James was a famous actor at the time, starring with Rock Hudson in the TV series McMillan & Wife. She was here because she starred in national TV ads for Celestial Seasonings, Boulder’s homegrown tea company and sponsor of the bike race.

Gazing into her bloodshot eyes, I realized that she’d also had a very short night and was trying to recover before the public race festivities. Through the blur, we exchanged smiles and nods.

I left her in peace.

WHERE THE FOLKS STILL GET THEIR YOLKS

Thousands of breakfasts later, I recently found myself with a gravy craving and headed to the eatery’s 28th Street location. I hadn’t dined there in a long time, but it didn’t matter. Time is frozen in a comfortable,

unpretentious Boulder past at Dot’s.

Near the front door hangs an off-kilter sign voicing a kind request: “Please limit rebirthing experience to two hours at the counter on weekends so that others may enjoy the experience.”

I grabbed a roomy booth facing a wall painting depicting the original Dot’s in that converted gas station. The place retains the same diner décor: bumper stickers, artifacts, awards, and classic rock on the sound system.

I love the fact that each table has a black pepper grinder, ketchup, Cholula and a squeeze bottle of the same seedy raspberry jam that has always been served at Dot’s.

I ordered what I always order: a large Southern Breakfast with griddled ham slices, a side of simple, thin, scratch-made white gravy, over-easy eggs, grits, and a big, warm, square buttermilk biscuit I immediately middled with pats of butter. There’s enough gravy that you can dip biscuits or ham, or just eat spoonsful as you ignore the meal’s dietary impact.

The rest of Dot’s breakfast menu features familiar favorites from the huevos rancheros and Swiss Sizzler to the German pancake that takes 25 minutes to bake.

GRILLED CHEESE AND SPINACH SAAG

Instead of coffee, I washed down breakfast with a big mug of Dot’s spicy, milky house chai, one of a number of tasty tweaks to Dot’s lunch offerings in recent years.

Besides the classic lunch entrées, including an open-face roast beef sandwich, Dot’s boasts a menu of authentic Nepali curries ranging from boneless chicken curry to baingan bharta (roasted eggplant), each served with rice, dal soup, chutney and flatbread. I took home a plate of bright green saag with tofu that was perfectly spiced and creamy.

FEEDING THE NEXT GENERATION

It’s worth noting that when Dot’s originally opened, Nepali fare (not to mention espresso drinks) were virtually unknown on Boulder restaurant menus.

Over the years, Dot’s moved, expanded to other locations and then contracted. Through wars, recessions, pandemics and rising egg prices, the restaurant has persisted while hundreds of Boulder eateries have come and faded.

We need a few unchanging spots like Dot’s Diner, as well as Lucile’s, the Buff and the Village Coffee Shop, to keep us anchored in time.

As I finished the last of the biscuit with raspberry jam, I surveyed the

Wait staff on patio at Dot’s Diner, 799 Pearl St., in 1976. Photo courtesy Carnegie Library for Local History, Boulder.

Griddled ham with white gravy, over-easy eggs, grits and a buttermilk biscuit. Photos by John Lehndorff.

NIBBLES

other tables filled with a mix of millennials and baby boomers and their children.

I wanted to pass along a message to this current generation of 20- and 30-somethings seeking consciousness, caffeine and calories at Dot’s: You know your sweet, white-haired, cane-using Boulder gramps and grandma? I knew them when they partied, rocked and ruled Boulder. Your time as an elder will come, too. I hope Dot’s will always be there as a place where you can bring your children and tell them about your wild times back in the 2020s.

LOCAL FOOD NEWS: A NIGHT WITH RUTH

● Boulder Food Rescue is looking for volunteers for weekly two-hour shifts to pick up donated food via bike or car: volunteer@boulderfoodrescue.org

● Coming soon: Hapa Sushi moves to 1068 Pearl St.; A second Boxcar Coffee Roasters & Café will open in the former Caffè Sole space at the Table Mesa Shopping Center.

● Plan ahead: Bowl of ’Zole, the inaugural pozole and agave spirit tasting event, takes place March 30 in Denver.

● Dining Out for Life is April 27. Hundreds of restaurants in Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs will donate 25% of your check to Project Angel Heart to provide medically tailored meals to Coloradans living with HIV/AIDS: projectangelheart.org

NIBBLES INDEX: VOTING LOCAL

Does “local” really matter? According to a 2022 Colorado Department of Agriculture survey, when we know that produce, meat and other ingredients are grown or raised in Colorado, we buy them. More than 83% of Coloradans say it strongly influences their choices when shopping or dining out. (Note: The percentage may be pumped up by the mere thought of Olathe corn, Palisade peaches, Pueblo chilies and Rocky Ford melons.)

MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT DINING?

At various points in recent decades, Boulder County has been home to diners, bars and other chain and independent food establishments that served food in the middle of the night. Now, except for microwaved burritos at gas stations, the post-pandemic choices seem very limited for night owls. Where can you sit down to eat a meal after 11 p.m. in Boulder County? Let us know at: nibbles@ boulderweekly.com

WORDS TO CHEW ON: FOOD FIGHT

“No question looms larger on a daily basis for many of us than ‘What’s for lunch?’

There have been mutterings that the whole food thing has gone too far in America, but I think not. Good food is a benign weapon against the sodden way we live.”

— Jim Harrison, poet/novelist/essayist

● Acclaimed food writer and editor Ruth Reichl will be in Boulder June 14 for “Food and Country: A Film Screening and Q+A” at Chautauqua Auditorium. Tickets: chautauqua.com

John Lehndorff and chef Dan Asher co-host Kitchen Table Talk — a monthly food talk show with guests and caller questions — 8:30-9:30 a.m. March 2 on KGNU (88.5 FM, streaming at kgnu.org).

DRINK FAT CHANCE

OAK at Fourteenth pours mushroom-infused, fat-washed cocktail — and more

BY CAITLIN ROCKETT

Collin Griffith wanted to pair a savory drink with a spicy dish on OAK at Fourteenth’s Valentine’s Day menu, so he turned to what he had on hand.

“They had a ton of duck fat that they rendered when duck was on the menu,” explains Griffith, who acts as beverage director for both OAK (1400 Pearl St., Boulder) and its sister to the west on Walnut, Corrida.

Griffith mixed up Dueling Hongos, a mushroom-infused, fat-washed cocktail that balances savory, sweet and earthy flavors. The concoction is a feat of mixology honed over more than a decade slinging drinks, starting in 2010 when Griffith was “doing highvolume turn-and-burn stuff” at Boulder Theater.

“I didn’t ever want to do anything other than bar stuff,” Griffith says. “And I was in love with OAK from its inception.”

Griffith has devoted a sizable chunk of his career to working with restaurateurs Bryan Dayton and Steve Redzikowski, whose Half Eaten Cookie Hospitality is the parent company for OAK and Corrida in Boulder, plus Brider and Melted in Denver.

The longevity of that relationship is what’s put Griffith in the driver’s seat of OAK’s drink program, fashioning inventive cocktails like Dueling Hongos.

Fat-washing cocktails became popular in the late aughts at New York’s Please Don’t Tell (PDT), ground zero for the craft cocktail renaissance. And PDT’s Benton’s Old Fashioned was the breakout star: a traditional bourbon Old-Fashioned laced with maple syrup and infused with the flavor of hickorysmoked Benton’s bacon from Tennessee.

“What we’ve learned as a bar community is that you can really use anything that has fat,” Griffith says. “So oils, peanut, animal proteins, whatever it may be, to not only impart some of the flavor from that fat, but then also add this silky textural feel to the spirit.”

Here, Griffith breaks down Dueling Hongos, plus two other cocktails you’ll find on OAK’s menu in the coming months.

DUELING HONGOS

This cocktail is made with Sol Tarasco Hongos, an artisanal sugarcane charanda.

“Think aged rum when you’re thinking about [charanda],” Griffith explains.

To fat-wash the cocktail, Griffith mixes the duck fat with the charanda, freezes the concoction, then strains the fat off with a cheesecloth, leaving behind the flavor of the fat.

The charanda is infused with blue indigo and oyster mushrooms — the same fungi made popular by HBO’s post-apocalyptic, mushroom-zombie show The Last of Us.

“Then, to add some body and spice, we incorporated Laws rye whiskey and Amaro Montenegro to give us a little bit of sugar, a little bit of roundness and a little bit of bitterness,” Griffith says. These two components are tossed in a 5-liter barrel “to add a little more character and kind of tie it all together” before adding demerara sugar and chocolate bitters from Cocktail Punk.

The result is a savory, decadent drink with a silky mouthfeel.

Dueling Hongos will be on OAK’s spring menu, launching at the end of March, “for at least four to six months, if not longer,” Griffith says.

LICENSE TO GRILL

Bartender Eli Korac came up with this cocktail, infusing barbecue flavors in mezcal.

“One of the biggest things that I’ve been working on is trying to get everybody really excited to contribute in some way,” Griffith says.

Before leaving OAK to pursue new ventures in Portland, Chef John Bissel whipped up a barbecued pork chop dish that spawned the idea for “License to Grill.”

“We’re actually taking the barbecue spice rub that they use on the pork chop and we’re cooking that down with pineapple juice and adding a little bit of citric acid to create a syrup.”

Keep an eye out for this cocktail on OAK’s spring menu as well.

OAK MARTINI

Griffith is “reworking” the classic OAK Martini: “We’re going to use a barrelaged base of Lily Rosé with elderflower liqueur mixed with either gin or vodka from Woody Creek and rhubarb bitters” for an elegant, spring-sipping martini.

OAT-BASED COCKTAILS

“We try to avoid [allergens] as much as we can,” Griffith says of OAK’s approach to menu-making, so the bar team is working on libations with an oat-milk orgeat, a syrup traditionally made from almonds, sugar, and either rose or orange flower water. Oat-milk would replace almonds in the orgeat.

“It’s going to be like a banana meringue,” Griffith says, with blended scotch. Expect this one to be reminiscent of a tiki drink.

Courtesy OAK at Fourteenth

BETWEEN THE LINES

AFTER EFFECTS

BY WILL BRENDZA

One of the most common arguments supporting drug-testing policies is the idea of the cannabis “hangover”: sluggishness, grogginess, confusion and disorientation that supposedly follow cannabis use for a full day afterwards.

It’s the basis on which doctors, nurses, police officers, military personnel, DMV workers, engineers, construction workers, truck drivers, and so many others are drug tested regularly. If they’re using cannabis at home, they could be hungover on the job the next morning. They could make a mistake in their haze and someone could get hurt.

Anecdotally, anyone who’s ever used too much cannabis at once knows there’s some truth to this. If you eat a 100 mg brownie before you fall asleep, you’ll wake up in a green fog. If you chain smoke blunts with your friends until you pass out, you’ll probably be moving slower than usual on the other side. That’s true of any substance.

Nine times out of 10, though, when someone smokes a bowl, burns a joint, or eats a gummy (or two), they

will not feel anything the next day. Regular users know this: The “hangover” from cannabis is negligible. Especially when it’s being used in moderation (and especially when you have a tolerance).

Now there’s science to back that up.

New research from the University of Sydney reviewed 20 scientific studies, all exploring the performance effects of cannabis up to eight hours after use. Across the studies, more than 350 performance assessments were administered to test subjects. Only 12 of those indicated any kind of hangover effect — and of those, none used double-blind, randomized, placebocontrolled methods.

The review, published in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, concludes, “A small number of lower-quality studies have observed negative (i.e., impairing) ‘next day’ effects of THC on cognitive function and safetysensitive tasks. However, higher-quality studies, and a large majority of performance tests, have not.”

The study’s author, Daniel McCartney, a research fellow at the University of Sydney, thinks

these findings could have implications for the way lawmakers approach policies about cannabis use as legalization spreads across the U.S. and abroad.

“People are being advised not to drive or perform other safety-sensitive tasks for 24 hours after cannabis use. However, we found little evidence to support this recommendation,” McCartney says.

These findings could be significant in the context of labor shortages. Here in the U.S., recent data from the Department of Transportation shows that tens of thousands of commercial truckers are testing positive for cannabis use and losing their jobs as a result, contributing to one of the biggest shortages in American trucktransit history.

President of the American Trucking Association (ATA) Chris Spear recently told Congress this was an issue that “keeps him up at night.” Not that

truckers want to drive while impaired, but rather that they can use cannabis legally in a state they’re traveling through when they’re off-shift, and then still test positive for it weeks later and lose their job. It’s creating a bottleneck in our already-strained supply chain.

This extends to nurses, teachers, scientists, engineers, construction workers, government employees and anyone else who stands to lose their job because they used cannabis medicinally or recreationally at home.

“Policymakers should bear in mind that the implementation of very conservative workplace regulations can have serious consequences, such as termination of employment with a positive drug test,” the study says. “They can also impact the quality of life of individuals who are required to abstain from medicinal cannabis used to treat conditions such as insomnia or chronic pain for fear of a positive workplace or roadside drug test.”

If these findings are accurate, then the issue becomes one of testing for impairment rather than past use Currently, there are no means for testing for cannabis impairment like a breathalyzer or blood test measures alcohol impairment. Companies are working on it (Weed Between the Lines, “Windows of impairment and detection,” Sept. 16, 2021), but for now, the best we have is the standard immunoassay — the urine test. McCartney notes that these findings need further research before laws start changing.

New research suggests the cannabis “hangover” is more myth than reality — which should affect drug policies everywhere