Boulder Weekly 03.09.2023

LOCAL APP FIGHTS FOOD WASTE, P. 31

DANCING FROM ZIMBABWE TO BOULDER, P. 21

Swimming with Forever Chemicals

Colorado’s river fish are contaminated — but the news isn’t all bad, P. 11

Medical and Recreational Marijuana Dispensaries

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

CONTENTS

11 NEWS: Colorado’s river fish are contaminated — but the news isn’t all bad BY

KAYLEE HARTER

19 THEATER: The true story of the first woman to play baseball in the Negro Leagues hits the stage at Aurora Fox Arts Center BY

TONI TRESCA

31 NIBBLES: A new Boulder app fights food waste with deep discounts on local grub BY

JOHN LEHNDORFF

39 WEED: Naropa profs talk eco-psychedelics and the future of psilocybin therapy in Colorado

BY CAITLIN ROCKETT

DEPARTMENTS

6 WRITERS ON THE RANGE: Colorado is conflicted about cutting its water use

9 NEWS: Boulder County residents help spur investigation that could close CEMEX plant near Lyons

12 NEWS: Colorado lawmakers consider reforms to the way family courts handle abuse allegations

14 NEWS ROUNDUP: What’s going on this week in Boulder County and beyond

16 MUSIC: New Zealand’s The Beths narrow their aim on third LP

17 MUSIC: With the debut of his first solo release, Carmine Francis bids farewell to the Front Range

21 A&C NEWS BRIEFS: Homelessness benefit concert and Zimbabwean dance in Boulder

22 EVENTS: What to do this week in Boulder County

26 SCREEN: Colorado-born filmmaker Scott Beck digs deeper than dinosaurs on prehistoric ‘65’

27 FILM: ‘All the Beauty and the Bloodshed’ documents the ‘artwashing’ of pillpushing pharma family

28 ASTROLOGY: by Rob Brezsny

29 SAVAGE LOVE: Quickies

35 DRINK: Tonantzin Casa de Café offers hospitality, Indigenous flavors

37 GOOD TASTE: Blackbelly Market reopens in a big, bright new space

Photo by Adrienne Thomas

COMMENTARY

WRITERS ON THE RANGE

Colorado is conflicted about cutting its water use

In Colorado, farmers were required to enroll in a four-state program by March 1 if they want to get paid for fallowing their fields, perhaps the best option to plump up the Colorado River’s giant reservoirs, Mead and Powell.

Not everyone is a fan, including Andy Mueller, director of the Colorado River District. He doesn’t like programs that pay farmers to stop farming. Mueller also didn’t ask for the Inflation Reduction Act’s $125 million to pay the farmers he represents. Mueller’s organization exists to keep Western Colorado’s rural water away from growing cities across the Rockies.

State Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Avon, who chairs the Committee for Agriculture and Natural Resources,

has a more nuanced view. He says he understands that rural communities fear a “buy and dry” scenario where annual leases become routine, and once-verdant fields and farms wither. He insists that any water leasing must be temporary, voluntary and well compensated.

A water-leasing program called demand management was created for Colorado irrigators under former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper — it was tested, but never used. It would have allowed farmers to lease and store their water in a Lake Powell account under state control. Under Gov. Jared Polis’ administration, however, demand management was quietly shelved.

Now, this new, multi-state program for leasing agricultural water, called a

BY DAVE MARSTON

“system conservation pilot program,” isn’t getting much traction. The program was announced two-and-a-half months ago by Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming.

Its major drawback, says Tom Kay, an organic farmer in western Colorado, is that the Upper Colorado River Commission is offering a “stupid price of $150 an acre-foot.”

“Farmers like to farm; you have to pay them more than they make farming to interest them,” Kay adds. He gets around $650 per acre-foot of water growing mostly organic corn and dry beans on his 350-acre farm near the town of Hotchkiss.

Kay says he recently toured California’s Imperial Valley, where farmers are getting $679 an acrefoot. They sell their 200,000 acre-feet

MARCH 9, 2023

Volume XXX, Number 29

PUBLISHER: Fran Zankowski

CIRCULATION MANAGER: Cal Winn

EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Caitlin Rockett

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

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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.

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of Colorado River to the San Diego County Water Authority and consider the price reasonable.

Water prices are also rising. In California last summer, when the Bureau of Reclamation was looking hard for water, large irrigation districts in the Lower Basin were asking $1,500 per acre-foot to lease their water to cities, reported Janet Wilson of California’s The Desert Sun

If farmers got more money for their water under the new pilot program, says State Sen. Roberts, Colorado “could get more participation (and) show the federal government we are doing our part.” He also says that many state legislators think California and Arizona should bear the brunt of water cuts.

Getting farmers to fallow their land could build resilience in the Colorado River Basin, says Aaron Derwingson

of The Nature Conservancy. A few years ago, he worked with grower Kay and Cary Denison, formerly of Trout Unlimited, to develop an “organic transition” program whose concept was simple: Lease two-thirds of your water for three years so pesticides and fertilizers leach off the land, then apply for organic certification. The demand management trial was largely funded by the Bureau of Reclamation.

So the question remains: Why is the Upper Colorado River Commission offering farmers so little for their irrigation water? The commission’s executive director, Chuck Cullom, explains: “$150 per acre-foot was chosen to discourage drought profiteering.”

Kay guesses that the low price was set to discourage participation. While $150 is the floor, and farmers can negotiate for more, commission representatives haven’t gone to agricultural

communities to beat the drum for its program.

“That $125 million is a lot of money, and it belongs to Upper Basin farmers,” Kay says.

Meanwhile, in mid-November, 30 western cities agreed to cut “non-functional” turf grass by up to 36%, including big water guzzlers such as Utah’s Washington County, which wants to siphon more water out of Lake Powell. What’s unclear is how much water from not watering grass stays in the river. Mueller points out that Aurora, a fast-growing Denver suburb, “is cutting water to sell more water taps. They’re building more houses.”

Kay admires Mueller’s rural leadership but thinks the way forward is clear: “Denver has a junior water right. Why isn’t it paying us in western Colorado to fallow ground, just like what Los Angeles and San Diego are doing?”

Dave Marston is the publisher of Writers on the Range, an independent nonprofit. He lives in Western Colorado.

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

Tom Kay in front of his John Deere tractor. Photo by Dave Marston.

FINISHING THE JOB

Boulder County residents help spur investigation that could close CEMEX plant near Lyons

BY WILL MATUSKA

They call it “the worm.” It’s the enclosed conveyor belt suspended above Highway 66 outside of Lyons that used to bring raw materials from the Dowe Flats Quarry to the adjacent CEMEX Lyons Cement Plant across the highway.

Dowe Flats’ mining permit expired on Sept. 30, but the sand-colored tube still hangs overhead — a clear reminder for some Lyons residents of an incomplete campaign, including Amanda Dumenigo, executive director of Save Our Saint Vrain Valley.

“Here it is looming over the highway. We think it’s going to really be very inspiring to the community to have that be gone,” she says.

Dumenigo is part of another wave of activism against CEMEX — this time targeting the plant itself — that helped

spur the Boulder County Planning and Permitting Department (CPP) to investigate the plant’s nonconforming use status.

If the County finds violations, steps could be taken to shut down the plant.

The Lyons CEMEX Plant was built in 1969 and acquired by CEMEX in 2000. In a July 2022 letter to the Lyons Recorder, a CEMEX representaitive wrote that the company “has a lengthy history of actively seeking mutually beneficial relationships with its neighbors, nonprofits and local businesses, as well as investing in area stakeholders.”

Local residents have raised concerns about the plant for decades, citing its negative impacts on things like air quality, light and noise pollution.

On Sept. 29, the Boulder County

Commissioners denied CEMEX’s permit application to keep mining at Dowe Flats. Although environmental activists touted this ruling as a community-wide win, there was still uncertainty as to whether or not CEMEX could operate without the adjacent mine.

At the time of Dowe Flats’ closure, Boulder County Parks & Open Space wrote that CEMEX could operate its plant “indefinitely even after the mine closes.”

In part, this is because of the plant’s 1994 legal nonconforming status, which means it was built before current zoning laws. As long as CEMEX doesn’t increase the size of the plant or its footprint, it can continue operating.

However, some community members argue that without the mine next door, CEMEX has already violated its nonconforming use status, namely by having to truck in materials.

Mayors, city counselors and boards of trustees throughout Boulder County signed a Feb. 14 letter drafted by Lyons-based environmental advocacy group Good Neighbors of Lyons urging the County to review and terminate the company’s nonconforming use status.

The letter claims “new intensive

uses [at the CEMEX Plant] clearly trigger the nonconforming use termination clause,” citing anecdotal evidence of increased truck traffic and new stockpiling of shale and other materials.

Lyons Mayor Hollie Rogin, who signed onto the letter to the commissioners, also claims “there’s a huge increase in dust.”

Dumenigo is confident there are substantial changes at the plant.

“It’s undeniable,” she says. “And [the commissioners] have the judicial duty to review the nonconforming uses and potentially revoke them.”

CPP wrote a letter of disclosure request to CEMEX for documentation showing the amount of truck traffic on and off the site, the amount and type of material transported, and the type of material stockpiled at the site — both historically and after Dowe Flats closed. The conveyor system on the cement plant site is also under review.

The original deadline for CEMEX’s response to CPP was Feb. 27, but the company received an extension until March 27.

Because it is an ongoing investigation, the County wasn’t willing to provide further comments.

Dale Case, director of CPP, told Boulder Weekly last fall that the mining permit at Dowe Flats expiring doesn’t change any permitting for the cement plant, but it’s possible CEMEX could take steps that would trigger a loss of its nonconforming status.

If the County finds no violations, the plant will operate per usual. If it determines the nonconforming use “has been or may have been terminated,” CPP Director Case will send a notice to CEMEX, which will then have 30 days to provide evidence of showing the determination is in error, to correct modifications, to apply for approval of a special use permit, or to appeal the determination to the Boulder County Commissioners.

Photo credit: Amanda Dumenigo

SWIMMING WITH FOREVER CHEMICALS

BY KAYLEE HARTER

From stunning canyons to babbling brooks, Colorado’s rivers draw an estimated 1.1 million anglers annually — but an unseen danger is lurking in nearly every catch. An analysis published earlier this year in the journal Environmental Research found “forever chemicals,” a group of thousands of synthetic compounds known as PFAS, in nearly every fish sampled, including those from the South Platte, Yampa, Gunnison, Rio Grande and Colorado rivers here in the Centennial State. The study, conducted by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG), likened eating one serving of contaminated fish to drinking a month’s worth of contaminated water. Of 501 fish samples, only one had no PFAS detected.

PFAS have been linked to a range of health impacts including a weakened immune system, damage to the reproductive system, changes in the liver and increased risk of cancer. The chemicals were developed in the 1940s and have been used in a variety of products including firefighting foam, cookware, food packaging and cosmetics.

Another recent analysis by EWG found the chemicals in more than 330

species of wildlife across the globe.

Brendan Besetzny, a 31-year-old angler who has been fishing for most of his life and lives in Boulder, says he found the study results “extremely concerning,” but not surprising.

“Having that information now would definitely deter me from harvesting and consuming fish,” he says. “You can go out and catch fish that are looking totally normal and healthy. You’re not seeing this massive negative impact with the naked eye.”

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has no current standard for PFAS levels in fish sold to consumers, but recently it sharply reduced its drinking water lifetime advisories for PFOA and PFOS, two of the most widespread and harmful PFAS, from 70 parts per trillion (ppt) to .004 ppt for PFOA and .02 ppt for PFOS.

The new advisories mean the EPA links extremely low rates of PFAS with adverse health effects. For reference, one part per trillion is equal to one drop in 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The study compared one serving of fish to drinking water contaminated at 48 ppt for a month.

The EWG study’s findings echo those of a pilot study released in 2022 by the Colorado Department of Public

Health, the Colorado School of Mines and the Colorado Parks and Wildlife that sampled fish from several popular fishing areas in the state and found PFOS in 100% of the fish sampled.

Research says one serving of PFAS-contaminated fish (about 6 ounces cooked) is equal to drinking a month’s worth of contaminated water.

“Fishing is a part of life in Colorado and we definitely want people to still enjoy the beautiful environment and the great fishing that we have here,” says Kristy Richardson, Colorado’s state toxicologist. Richardson notes that PFAS have been used in consumer products for about 70 years, and exposure is decreasing due to efforts to phase them out in the past decade. “It’s important for people to have information and, if they’re concerned about the potential health impacts, to understand where they might want to decrease exposure.”

After the pilot study, Richardson says signs were posted where high levels of PFAS were found, advising against eating the fish, but there are no statewide advisories because “the data that we have across the state is quite limited, and we don’t have enough information yet about the levels in different water bodies and in different types of fish.”

In 2020, the state tested water systems, fire fighting districts, groundwater sources and surface water sources across the state as part of a sampling project. Of the drinking water systems that participated, 25% had some level of PFOA or PFOS chemicals detected in their treated drinking water, including in Lafayette and Thorton.

Ron Falco, Colorado’s safe drinking water program manager, says the state currently considers PFAS contamination “a concern, but not a crisis.” He says the state notifies the public when PFAS levels in water are higher than federal advisories and that the next step is to work with public water systems to reduce PFAS levels.

To reduce PFAS, Colorado has banned the use and sale of firefighting foam and requires some dischargers to monitor and limit their releases of the chemicals into water bodies. Potential sources of PFAS discharges include manufacturing facilities, municipal landfills and wastewater treatment plants, airports, and sites where PFAScontaining fire-fighting foams have been used, the EWG study says. As for anglers like Resetzny, Richardson says catch-andrelease is the best way to reduce exposure to the chemicals in fish.

Besetzny says the study still raises concerns for him about watershed quality and lineage of the fish going forward. As someone who regularly eats fish, “[it] makes you think a little bit harder about where it came from and how it was produced and raised,” he says.

PFAS levels in locally caught freshwater fish were 278 times higher than fish sold in grocery stores, according to the EWG study, presenting an environmental justice issue — purchasing fish in a grocery store may be cost prohibitive for those who rely on the fish they catch for sustenance, says Tasha Stoiber, EWG senior scientist and co-author of the study.

The EWG study, which analyzed EPA samples from 2013-2015, did have one silver lining. Earlier EPA samples had higher PFAS levels, and more recent data from the EPA shows slight decreases from the 2013-15 data — something Stoiber says is encouraging.

“Actions can make a difference,” she says, adding that officials need to “turn off the tap” on these chemicals by phasing out nonessential uses and creating strict regulations for releases into the environment.

“Now is the time for action,” she says, ”because these fresh waters are so vulnerable and fish is an important food source for so many people.”

Colorado’s river fish are contaminated — but the news isn’t all bad

A 2022 joint study sampled fish from several popular fishing areas in Colorado and found PFAS in 100% of the fish sampled.

PFAS levels in locally caught freshwater fish were 278 times higher than fish sold in grocery stores.

SILVER LINING: PFAS levels appear to be going down, according to EPA data.

‘THE SYSTEM FAILED’

Colorado lawmakers consider reforms to the way family courts handle abuse allegations

BY HANNAH DREYFUS, PROPUBLICA

Colorado lawmakers are considering two bills that would reform the way family courts in the state handle cases involving allegations of domestic abuse, saying ProPublica’s reporting on the issue has catalyzed efforts to change the state’s custody evaluation system.

Rep. Mike Weissman, an Aurora Democrat and the chair of the state House Judiciary Committee, praised ProPublica’s investigation, which found that four custody evaluators on the state-approved roster last year had been charged with harassment or domestic violence. In one case, the charges were dismissed. One case — that of psychologist Mark Kilmer — led to a conviction. In the two others, it is unclear how the charges were resolved.

Rep. Meg Froelich, a Democrat representing Englewood and a cosponsor of one of the bills, said she gave a copy of the article to every judiciary committee member before the legislative session got underway.

“We don’t usually see in-depth coverage on this kind of thing,” Weissman said.

Meanwhile, Kilmer, who was suspended from working as a custody evaluator following publication of ProPublica’s story, is being sued by six plaintiffs over his involvement in their cases.

ProPublica’s story revealed that Kilmer was appointed to evaluate custody disputes involving allegations of domestic abuse despite Kilmer himself being charged with assault in 2006, after his then-wife said he pushed her to the bathroom floor, according to police reports. He pleaded guilty to harassment in 2007. Kilmer told ProPublica that his guilty plea was a result of poor legal representation and that his ex-wife made

false allegations to get him arrested. Kilmer was quoted in the story saying he did not believe about 90% of the claims of abuse he encountered in his work — an estimate he said was based on experience, not scientific research.

The bill co-sponsored by Froelich would require experts who advise the court on custody proceedings to have expertise in domestic violence and child abuse and would restrict judges from ordering forced “reunification” treatments that cut a child off from their protective parent, meaning the parent who expressed concerns about abuse or neglect. Courtordered reunification “camps” often prohibit contact between minors and the protective parent as part of “therapeutic” treatment.

Among those testifying on behalf of the legislation was Elina Asensio, a teenager who was featured in the ProPublica article. Elina’s father was

charged with felony child abuse and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault after dragging her up a flight of stairs. Kilmer was appointed to evaluate the case and recommended that she remain under the authority of her father. The parties ultimately resolved the custody dispute through arbitration and Elina remains partially under her father’s authority.

“The system failed me. My voice did not matter,” Elina, 17, told the committee. “My childhood has been taken for me. To this day, I still don’t know what peace feels like.”

Through his lawyer, Elina’s father, Cedric Asensio, told ProPublica that while the initial charge of felony child abuse against him was “very serious,” the case’s ultimate resolution — a misdemeanor assault plea — indicated “there is much more to the story.”

The second bill, which passed the House Judiciary Committee and is pending budget approval before the Colorado General Assembly this week, would create a task force to study training requirements for judicial personnel on the topics of domestic violence and sexual assault, among other crimes.

The plaintiffs suing Kilmer, who include Elina’s mother, Karin Asensio, allege fraud and breach of contract related to his work on their cases. They accuse Kilmer, who is licensed

as a psychologist in Colorado, of violating the American Psychological Association’s code of conduct by advising the court on matters related to domestic violence and child abuse despite his history of domestic violence.

The plaintiffs claim they would not have hired Kilmer had they known his personal history and views about abuse allegations, which they learned of from ProPublica’s reporting, according to the complaint.

In Colorado, the fees for parental responsibility evaluations — expert psychological assessments intended to inform judges’ custody decisions — are paid by the parties to a case. Fees are not capped and typically range between $12,000 and $30,000 for a custody evaluation, with some Colorado parents reporting that they paid over $50,000.

Kilmer didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Following his suspension last fall, Kilmer wrote to the court and criticized ProPublica’s investigation as the work of a “nonsense journalist” and apologized to his colleagues “for any inconveniences my well-intentioned interview may have caused for party/client relations past, present and future.”

“I have little experience with the print media, personally or profession-

ally,” Kilmer told the court in an email obtained through a public records request. He said he had been willing to publicly discuss his work as a custody evaluator because “I assumed that it might help the practice here in Colorado, as it is an esoteric world that most people have little or no idea of how it works. Inadvertently, I entered into a political maelstrom that I did not understand existed.”

Since his suspension, Kilmer has continued to testify on cases to which he was previously appointed by Colorado courts. In one February hearing, Kilmer told a judge that the suspension was informal and he was continuing his state appointment.

Jaime Watman, who oversees custody evaluators for the Colorado State Court Administrator’s Office, told ProPublica that Kilmer has been removed from the rosters of custody evaluators, but the decision about whether he completes the appointments he was previously given “is at the discretion of the appointing court.”

Lauren May Woodruff, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, also testified about her experience with Kilmer at the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the bill to require courts to consider past evidence of abuse before allocating custody.

Kilmer completed his evaluation of Woodruff’s case in January, months after his suspension, according to court records. In his report, Kilmer advised the court that Woodruff should share custody and decisionmaking power with her daughter’s father, despite multiple mandatory reports to Colorado’s Department of Human Services — including one filed by Kilmer himself — that the father had endangered the child through reckless driving, including driving over 100 mph at night. Custody orders in the case are pending.

Woodruff’s soon-to-be-ex-husband, William F. Woodruff, said in a statement: “None of these allegations have been founded by DHS or the Court.”

In his evaluations, Kilmer routinely cites parental alienation, a disputed psychological theory in which one parent is accused of brainwashing a

child to turn them against the other parent. In email correspondence between Kilmer and Jennifer J. Harman, an associate professor of psychology at Colorado State University and a parental alienation scholar, Harman sympathized with Kilmer after ProPublica’s report was published.

“I can tell the article is part of a larger strategy,” Harman wrote.

At the legislative session, a handful of individuals voiced opposition to the bills, including Katie Rubano, who runs a parental alienation support group for parents in Colorado. Rubano, citing Harman’s research on the subject, argued that “passing this bill would not solve the problem of child abuse in Colorado.”

“We need experts but we need them to be better and be trained in all forms of child abuse, including parental alienation,” she said.

Froelich’s bill would align Colorado with federal efforts to encourage family court reform. Last year, President Joe Biden signed a law that allocates additional federal funds to states that update their child custody laws to better protect at-risk children.

Weissman said he has felt momentum on family court reform gathering in Colorado over the past few years and said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the state was one of the first to pass an equivalent to Kayden’s Law, a Pennsylvania act named for a child who was killed by her father during court-ordered unsupervised custody time, which he was granted despite his history of violence. Last March, Biden included provisions of Kayden’s Law in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, committing federal funding to states that update family court laws to better protect children.

Colorado has frequently been a “leader in all manner of policy areas,” Weissman said, including legalizing cannabis and regulating ride-sharing companies. “We’re a place where we try new things when it becomes evident that they need to be tried.”

NEWS ROUNDUP

BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF

GOV. POLIS REQUESTS TO RENAME MOUNT EVANS

Mount Evans will soon be known as Mount Blue Sky.

“It is clear that Coloradans want a name that unites us rather than divides us and that we can all be proud of,” Gov. Polis wrote in a Feb. 28 press

release announcing his letter to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names in which he recommended renaming the peak. Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet showed support for the letter on March 3.

The mountain was originally named after Territorial Governor John Evans,

who is widely criticized for his anti-Native American proclamations and actions, including his role in the Sand Creek Massacre.

Previously, the Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board unanimously voted to rename the famous 14er to Mount Blue Sky, which was suggested by the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. Blue Sky is a name for the Arapaho people, and the name of the Cheyennes’ renewal ceremony.

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names will hold a final vote on the renaming of Mount Evans on March 9.

ERIE MONITORS OIL AND GAS DEVELOPER’S REMEDIATION

Denver-based oil company K.P. Kauffman (KPK) is under official scruti-

ny for failing to follow a state-ordered cleanup and other violations.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) on Feb. 15 ordered KPK to pay a $1.9 million fine, suspended its ability to sell, and required the company to clean its production sites.

According to the Town of Erie, seven of KPK’s production sites are within the town’s jurisdiction.

The COGCC denied the company’s Feb. 27 request for more time to plan remediation while continuing to sell.

At the virtual COGCC meeting, Commissioner John Messner said, “KPK has a path to compliance and KPK alone is responsible for that compliance and they need to implement the steps necessary to come into compliance.”

If the company is not in full compliance with rules and regulations in six months of the order being issued, its license to operate will be revoked.

GET AHEAD COLORADO HELPS CONNECT PEOPLE WITH FREE TAX SUPPORT

The Get Ahead Colorado campaign will send text messages sharing free tax support and information about two federal tax credits to individuals who are likely eligible.

Parents and caregivers who earn up to $65,000 and have dependent children under 16 years old will get messages pertaining to the Child Tax Credit. Texts will also be sent to Coloradans likely eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which includes people who earn up to $65,000.

These federal tax credits are designed to reduce the amount of taxes owed or increase the amount of cash back from tax refunds. You may still be eligible for the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit even if you do not need to pay taxes.

IMMIGRATION ACTIVISTS RALLY AT CAPITOL

Demonstrators will head to the state capital to show support for H.R. 8433, an amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act that would offer permanent residence to immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for at least seven years.

The Colorado Immigration Rights Coalition (CIRC), which is organizing the rally and march from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 11, is calling on state representatives and senators to sponsor and support the amendment.

Katherine Garcia, communication manager with CIRC, says H.R. 8433 could offer immigrant families peace of mind and “allow our immigrant neighbors to legally reside in a place many have called home for decades.”

This amendment would update the registry date in section 249 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The last time the Immigration Act was updated was 1986.

H.R. 8433 would allow more than 8 million undocumented immigrants to become eligible for a pathway to citizenship, according to CIRC.

Advocates at CIRC’s banner making event. Photo courtesy CIRC.

MUSIC

WHEN YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW

New Zealand’s The Beths narrow their aim on third LP

BY Z. B. REEVES

Start describing The Beths to someone who hasn’t heard them, and you’ll quickly run upon a challenge. The pop-rock-emo quartet from Auckland, New Zealand, defies hyper-exact definitions, blending dense lyricism, anthemic guitar solos, punk-metal riffs, and four-part harmonies into their oeuvre of cheeky and sometimes devastating songs — which cover, generally: anxiety, love, and anxiety-inducing love. It’s a lot. That overwhelm takes the reins on “Silence is Golden,” the third track on their new album, 2022’s Expert in a Dying Field. The song is a high-velocity piece of shrapnel, wounding listeners with the woes of lead singer Elizabeth Stokes, as she bemoans the loudness of city life.

“Wish I could freeze time / Go to the wild / Soak up the quiet / ’Til I’m dripping wet with it,” Stokes sings, strumming a metal-inspired polyrhythmic riff at the same time. Why does she choose to play the riff while singing, instead of having more-thancapable guitarist (and album producer) Jonathan Pearce handle it? It’s simply, as she puts it, a matter of fun.

“I like a challenge, yeah,” Stokes says with a laugh. “I’m doing these different things with different parts of my body, and when I can get it all together, it’s really satisfying. I think it’s probably what’s fun about drumming. I split my brain into multiple parts. It’s a fun riff, and it’s great for my pinky finger, which has always been notoriously weak.”

Indeed, weakness and satisfaction are two ends of a lyrical spectrum across which Stokes gallivants on the album. Expert represents a new leg in The Beths’ growth as a unit (including bassist Benjamin Sinclair and drummer Tristan Deck) as their lyrical and instrumental output coheres into deeply felt and complex energetic rock.

Take “I Told You That I Was Afraid,” in which Stokes’ somber lyrics about feeling invisible and hated are propelled by the hurtling-ahead pace set by Sinclair and Deck. In the bridge, Stokes pleads: “Kindly tell me a lie / Will you look me in the eye / And say it’ll all be alright in the end?” We’re never told if everything turns out alright, but the injury of that ignorance is salved by Pearce, who steps in to deliver the most breathless, blistering, “hell-yeah” guitar solo of the album.

The Beths’ frenetic energy on Expert will come as no surprise to listeners of their earlier albums, 2018’s Future Me Hates Me and 2020’s Jump Rope Gazers, or their 2016 debut EP, Warm Blood. On the latter, the band loudly announced a sound that was, while melancholic, also full of joy. Upon that EP’s release, the New Zealand music magazine NZ Musician suggested the quartet’s intent was to “revive and celebrate the increasingly lost art of high energy guitar pop.”

Whether or not high-energy guitar pop was actually “lost” may be an open question, but there’s no doubt The Beths have infused it with a genuine sense of humor and fun.

STEADY AS SHE GOES

In 2019, The Beths took to Europe to support Death Cab for Cutie — as strong a commendation as one could ask for in the world of indie rock. But just as their sophomore album Jump Rope Gazers was released in July

2020, the pandemic was shutting everything down. Unable to tour the album, plenty of worthy singles like “I’m Not Getting Excited,” “Jump Rope Gazers,” and “Out of Sight” got lost in the noise.

Not so, here in 2023. The band landed in Portland for their North American winter tour in mid-February, supporting their new material in a new, somewhat less-COVIDemphatic world. Recent announcements of tours supporting not only Death Cab again (on their 20th anniversary tour with The Postal Service), but also

The National in late 2023, have bolstered the band’s reputation.

Stokes waxes humble about it: “It feels very steady. It hasn’t jumped up from bars to stadiums, but it feels like every time we go out, there are a few more people,” she says. “It’s really validating.”

The word “steady” is a good one to describe a stand-out track from the new album, “When You Know You Know,” a ’90s-inspired fist-pumper that feels like “Teenage Dirtbag” grew

up and looked back with horror and admiration at its many failed attempts at love. The song builds like a nesting doll, stacking syntactic complexity over catchiness in its triumphant prechorus, with lyrics combining starryeyed optimism and hard-earned self critique.

“I can see a way to a new horizon / Squinting through the clouds ’til it burns my eyes and / Every other star is a sun that’s rising / And every other word, I’m apologizing,” Stokes sings, as her falsetto and lyricism are pushed to Joni Mitchell-like extremes. The instrumental energy is restrained, until the catchiest chorus of The Beths’ career explodes, making it clear why the track is a recent favorite among indie rock playlisters.

“Yeah, I was chuffed when I wrote it,” Stokes says. “We like to write songs that are hard to play and yet really fun for everybody to sing. That’s really challenging and satisfying.”

Challenging and satisfying? Well, that’s not a bad way to describe The Beths, either.

ON THE BILL: The Beths with Sidney Gish. 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, Summit, 1902 Blake St., Denver. $47

The Beths bring their Auckland-born brand of high-energy indie rock to the Front Range on Tuesday, March 14. Photo by Frances Carter.

Courtesy Carpark Records

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES

With the debut of his first solo release, Carmine Francis bids farewell to the Front Range

BY ADAM PERRY

The map has always been wide open for Denver’s Carmine Francis. The 33-year-old musician grew up in Pittsburgh and studied music at Berklee in Boston, but the Mile High City is where he brought his love of music to life.

“It got to a point where I didn’t know what to do after school, really, and it was either New York or L.A. or Denver,” Francis says. “That’s what brought me out here. We did [the band Scatter Gather] for about seven years, and then we did [another group] Definitely, Maybe and kinda split.”

In addition to fronting those local bands, Francis has spent a recent stretch of his last 12 years in Colorado honing his engineering and producing skills at a studio in the building that was once home to the beloved music venue Park House. He has stayed busy recording other artists, building his collection of gear and generally “doing [his] own thing.”

Now, after more than a decade on the Front Range, Francis is preparing to move to New York City, where he’ll crash with his brother in the West

Village until he finds a place. “I’ve always wanted to give New York a try,” he says. “And it feels like the time right now.”

To that end, Francis will take what he can of his recording setup with him to the Big Apple. He plans to pursue the production and engineering side of the music industry, but he’s “feeling it out” as part of what he calls a “restart.”

Ironically, as he prepares to leave Colorado, Francis is releasing his first solo record, an eponymous labor-oflove EP made with well-known Denver musicians from bassist Kramer Kelling (Kory Montgomery Band) to drummer Carl Sorenson (Dragondeer).

“I was set to record a solo album and then COVID happened,” the multi-instrumentalist says. “I kept doing the studio stuff, working with different bands mixing, and eventually my own space came together. This album is a product of being in that environment. It came to be by working with a lot of the people I was working with at the studio already. It was sort of this snowball.”

WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES

While Scatter Gather fell more on the indierock side of things — often drawing comparisons to the ’90s flagship act Pavement, which Francis says annoyed him — his own music is more slow-paced and piano-driven. Not only is his self-titled EP less rock than his previous bands, it’s also more personal.

Francis’ voice is sweet and deep at the same time. It’s also whimsical, but not silly — almost as if another Pennsylvania native, Rodney Anonymous of The Dead Milkmen, had chosen to bear his soul instead of singing about volcanoes and “The Thing That Only Eats Hippies.”

“In the past, a lot of my process was around writing songs to be played with a band, specifically with a musical partnership I was in for nearly 10 years,” he says. “With these songs, the process was more about writing songs I needed to write for myself. There wasn’t a conscious, ‘I’m working

on this thing because I’m a songwriter.’ It was more like, ‘Oh, this is here and it’s coming out of me because it needs to.’ Then I was fortunate enough to be able to shape my ideal Denver band around the material.”

Francis was listening to a lot of Jim James, Blake Mills and Father John Misty while making his debut, but rather than obsessing over certain influences, Carmine says his original music tends to spring naturally from his listening habits.

“So much of the actual creation is just filling the well in your off-time listening to different types of music,” he says. “And then something emerges from that, rather than being, like, ‘This is who I like, and this is my sound based off of that.’”

Although Francis is leaving Colorado, which he says got him into plant medicine and subsequently “stillness, patience and developing consciousness,” he hopes the EP resulting from his experience on the Front Range will help carve a new path on the map for his future endeavors as a producer.

“I do feel this album is sort of closing a chapter,” he says. “And at the same time, opening a new one.”

ON THE BILL:

Carmine

Francis EP release show with King Bee and Moon Atomizer. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 11, Mercury Cafe, 2199 California St., Denver. $20

Carmine Francis (left) and Kramer Kelling lay down a track for Francis’ debut EP, out March 11. Photo by Karson Hallaway.

Carmine Francis in the studio. Photo by Adrienne Thomas.

HEAVY HITTER

at Aurora Fox Arts Center

BY TONI TRESCA

Despite being the first woman to play professional baseball as a regular on a men’s league team in the United States, Toni Stone’s place in history was largely ignored for decades. That’s what drew director Kenny Moten to her story.

“Even though she has been getting more recognition recently, most people I talk to don’t know her,” says Moten, a 2022 True West Award winner whose production about Stone’s life is set for its Colorado premiere at the Aurora Fox Arts Center on March 10. “Toni’s journey is one of the great American stories that you wonder why you’ve never heard; so, I’m eager for people to learn more about who she is.”

Lydia R. Diamond’s play explores Stone’s passion for baseball, beginning with her love of the game as a young girl. Though she was relentlessly mocked by her teammates and doubted by others, Stone persisted. And against all odds, she broke into the male-dominated world of sports playing on the Negro League All-Star team, the New Orleans Creoles and the Indianapolis Clowns.

“One of the big things that drew me to the show was the passion Toni has for baseball,” Moten says. “There is so much trauma in the story of Black people in America. While that struggle is evident in Toni’s story, she also took great pride in the fact that she was able to play baseball professionally. So rather than focus on the sadness and trauma, I wanted to spotlight Toni’s joy, love and passion.”

‘IF SHE COULD MARRY BASEBALL, SHE WOULD.’

Moten first encountered Stone’s story while reading Curveball: The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone by

Martha Ackmann. A few months later, Helen Murray, the former executive producer at Aurora Fox, asked Moten, who was working on Freaky Friday the Musical for the theater in 2022, if he would read Toni Stone to see if he was interested in working on the play with the company.

Although Moten was a little nervous to direct a play after spending so much time working on musicals, he agreed to the project because he was so attracted to Diamond’s themes of Black excellence and perseverance, as well as his desire to work with the theater again.

the play’s title role. The lead actor is onstage for almost the entire performance, Moten says, and delivers 80% of the show’s dialogue. Enter Colorado educator, producer and performer, Kenya Mahogany Fashaw, who showed up at auditions and impressed Moten with her ability to relate to the material and bring it to life.

“I went into the audition against about three other women, and from the beginning, I had the feeling it was mine because I felt very connected to her story,” Fashaw says. “Her mind was very intriguing to me — the way she questioned things and how she couldn’t understand relationships. I discovered through my research process for the character that Toni was autistic and not into dating because baseball was her love. If she could marry baseball, she would.”

FROM UNDER-THE-RUG TO OUT-OF-THE-PARK

acters she meets along the way.

“This is a great blend of Black actors across generations,” Moten says. “We have so many great upand-comers, like eden and Mykail Cooley, who are joined by legends like Dwayne Carrington and Don Randle. I think audiences will enjoy seeing people who have been around the Black community for years get an opportunity to shine.”

Ultimately, Fashaw wants her portrayal of Stone’s perseverance in the face of adversity to illuminate a oncehidden chapter of history for local theatergoers. And when the curtains close, she hopes the audience leaves inspired to break boundaries in their own lives.

“The Fox always feels like home,” Moten says. “The thing I love about this theater is their willingness to produce stories that other companies aren’t. I’m not sure another theater in Colorado would produce Toni Stone, which has worked out for me because it’s led to such a nice collaboration with their team.”

Moten suggests that one hurdle for producing the script is the difficulty of

Moten was confident that Fashaw would be able to channel Stone’s devotion into her performance due in no small part to her intense real-life work ethic. That intuition was confirmed when Fashaw arrived at the first rehearsal with Act One completely memorized and already making strong acting choices.

But Fashaw isn’t the only one enjoying the limelight in Toni Stone She is joined by an eight-person ensemble of multi-generational Black actors who play Stone’s teammates, along with spectators and other char-

“Toni Stone has been swept under the rug by history and hasn’t had her story told in its fullness,” Fashaw says. “I believe this play will encourage audiences to follow their dreams. Toni persevered through instances of racism and sexism to do what she loves, and I admire that she was able to be great in a world that didn’t want her to be.”

ON STAGE: Toni Stone by Lydia R. Diamond.

Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; and Sundays at 2 p.m., March 10-April 2. Aurora Fox Arts Center, 900 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora. $28

The true story of the first woman to play baseball in the Negro Leagues gets theatrical treatment

Kenya Mahogany Fashaw in Aurora Fox Arts Center’s upcoming Colorado premiere of Toni Stone. Photo courtesy City of Aurora.

Toni Stone in uniform with the Negro American League’s Indianapolis Clowns.

Photo courtesy Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Inc.

WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED

Locally woman-owned and operated, Wild Birds Unlimited Specializes in bringing people and nature together through the hobby of backyard bird feeding. We offer a wide variety of naturerelated products and expert, local advice. Our store stocks the highest quality items made in the the USA with emphasis on ecofriendly products and recycled

Front Range Mercantile

We’re a family owned indoor flea market and antique store located in Longmont, Colorado. With over 90 dealers selling everything from hard wood lumber and tools, to glassware and handbags, we probably have exactly what you’re looking for! We were voted the best flea market for the last 13 years and

FOUR PAWS & CO

Since opening in 2003, Four Paws & Co. has specialized in premium natural foods and treats, including frozen diets and raw bones. Along with the excellent choices in food for cats and dogs, we carry supplements, grooming supplies, leashes & collars, toys, beds, and cat condos. It’s safe to say there is something for every pet in the store. There is also the Friends of Four Paws Frequent Buyer Program. You receive a punch card and once that is filled, you will receive a $10 Four Paws gift card. Last, but certainly not

plastics. We source our unique gifts from Fair Trade companies and local artisans. We also have gift cards and last-minute gift ideas. Stop in and let us explain our mission to Save the Songbirds one backyard at a time!

1520 S. Hover Street, Suite D Longmont, CO 720-680-0551

www.wbu.com/longmont

the best gift shop last year in the Times Call Readers’ Choice Awards. We appreciate the support of all of our customers, thank you!

1201 South Sunset Street Longmont, CO 303-776-6605

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least, Four Paws offers two special services. We can deliver the food you need to your door, and we have a pet sitting service. Stop in soon and see how Four Paws & Co. can help you care for your best friend.

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303-485-1565

www.fourpawsandco.com

FORWARD THINKING

Live music fundraiser supports local people experiencing homelessness

BY JEZY J. GRAY

Despite Boulder’s long-standing reputation as a liberal lodestar, it’s no secret that too many people here fall through the cracks when it comes to housing. Just ask Jennifer Livovich, founder and executive director of Feet Forward, a local nonprofit providing peer-led support and resources for people experiencing homelessness.

As Livovich knows through her past personal experience living outside in Boulder, it takes community action to move the needle when it comes to creating healthy and humane outcomes for people without houses.

IN MOTION

Julia Chigamba brings Zimbabwe to Boulder

BY JEZY J. GRAY

That’s why she linked up with local musician and former restaurateur Shawn Camden, then-owner of Sancho’s Authentic Mexican Restaurant, to provide regular hot meals for unhoused people each week at the Boulder Bandshell.

“It just hit me: Why does it take a holiday for poor people to get a hot meal? And so in my mind, I created a program … but I had a zero clue how I was gonna make that happen,” she says. “I’d seen Shawn on Facebook volunteering [serving tacos] at the shelter … and I said, ‘That’s really incredible. Would you consider helping me?’”

Camden’s answer was a resounding yes — and now, years later, the pair are upping the ante with the launch of

what they hope will become an annual live music fundraiser called Forward Palooza. The March 10 event at the Roots Music Project will feature Camden’s fun-forward fusion band Los Cheesies alongside local R&B outfit The Saints and Mexican-born, Denverbased troupe Grupo Huitzlopochtli Danza. All proceeds from the concert will benefit Feet Forward and its mission to support people experiencing homelessness.

“A fundraiser should be fun; it shouldn’t be boring. And this is a concert at a beautiful nonprofit venue, so people are gonna have a blast,” Camden says. “But I hope people [leave with] a sense of community, and a little bit more awareness of what’s going on around us.”

Whether concertgoers show up for the underlying mission or Los Cheesies’ freewheeling scramble of ska, reggae, blues and rock ‘n’ roll, Livovich and Camden hope the evening will be the first of many opportunities to enjoy good music and good company while supporting an important local cause.

“We are driven by hope, and we are driven by lived experience. And we are making an incredible impact with the homeless community in Boulder,” Livovich says. “So come out [to the fundraiser] and have a good time, and maybe meet some neighbors you’ve never met before.”

ON THE BILL: Forward Palooza with Los Cheesies, The Saints and Grupo Huitzlopochtli Danza. 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 10, Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. $30

When Julia Chigamba takes the stage at Boulder’s eTown Hall next week, she’ll bring generations of experience with her. The founder and director of the Chinyakare Ensemble — a California-based collective of musicians, performers and teachers of Zimbabwean music and dance — comes from a long line of influential artists dedicated to preserving and sharing cultural traditions of the Shona people.

“There was no choice [but] to be into this music and traditional dance,” she says. “My mom, my dad, my grandparents — they grew up playing music and holding ceremonies for communities and families, and for ourselves too. … It was food and drink and blankets for us in our family. It’s who we are.”

In addition to that deeply rooted connection to the culture of her ancestors, Chigamba performed with the National Dance Company of Zimbabwe before moving to the United States in 1999. In the decades since, she has regaled audiences across the world with the traditional dance and music of Zimbabwe and Southern Africa — including a visit to Boulder 15 years ago for a residency at Kutandara Studios, founded in 1999 by local Zimbabwean music champions Amy and Randy McIntosh.

“This concert in some ways is a homecoming for Julia,” says Kutandara Executive Director Amy McIntosh. “It’s a chance [for her] to reunite with the Boulder community and bring that flavor of traditional drumming and dance to the work we already do here.”

For the married team behind the long-running studio, the benefits of that work go beyond the simple musicality of an artform that has taken root here in Boulder through studios like Kutandara and learning institutions like Naropa University. Built on a collection

of percussive instruments like mbira, ngoma, marimbas and chipendani, the music also brings people together — no small detail as the world continues to reemerge from a cocoon of quarantine and social distancing.

“One fun thing about the music of Zimbabwe is that many people can play xylophone-like instruments [simultaneously],” Randy McIntosh says. “And so it’s a rigorous workout, but it’s also social and can give you spiritual meaning all at the same time.”

When it comes to sharing that meaning with others, Chigamba’s latest stint in Boulder included three days of leading classes in traditional Zimbabwean dance for all experience levels at The Spark and Streetside Dance Studios. But the main event takes place during a special upcoming performance benefiting Kutandara’s Moon & Stars Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to fostering connection through group percussion.

“I want [the audience] to experience the power of community, when people work together and rise together,” Chigamba says. “This music is powerful and it brings people together. Maybe it can influence them to be part of it. In that way, the music grows like a spider web.”

ON THE FLOOR: Kutandara Winter Concert feat. Julia Chigamba: Dance with the Moon 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 15, eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. $30

Los Cheesies perform at the Caribou Room in Nederland. Photo courtesy Shawn Camden.

Julia Chigamba leads a dance workshop at The Spark in Boulder. Photo courtesy Kutandara.

DOS HOMBRES SIGNING WITH BRYAN CRANSTON AND AARON PAUL

10 a.m.-noon. Friday, March 10, Hazel’s Beverage World, 1955 28th St., Boulder. Free

Walter White and Jesse Pinkman transfixed TV audiences for half a decade by selling unmistakable blue shards of crystal meth. The actors behind the iconic pair, Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, opted for a more legal venture, founding Dos Hombres Mezcal together in 2019. Get down to Hazel’s Friday to get your bottle of Dos Hombres signed by the duo — hazmat suits optional.

LUCKY LYONS 5K AND 10K

9 a.m. Saturday, March 11, Bohn Park, 199 Second Ave., Lyons. $45

St. Patrick’s Day can be tough on the body. What better way to justify the copious consumption of corned beef and Irish stouts than by doing a 5K or 10K just a few days prior? Throw on your green gear, running shoes, and sign up now for this St. Patty’s-themed set of races on the beautiful trails of Lyons.

SMOKUS POCUS: A 420 MAGIC SHOW

7 p.m. Saturday, March 11, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. $30

Ben Zabin, the cannabis world’s Penn and Teller, will take Boulder on a “journey of dank debauchery” this Saturday during his Smokus Pokus show at Dairy Arts Center. Weed plants will appear out of nowhere, lighters will come to life, and other tricks will surely make you ask yourself, “Did that really happen, or am I just high?”

APRÈS STREET FESTIVAL

11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, March 12, Pearl Street’s West End (Ninth to 11th streets), Boulder. Free

This first-of-its-kind wintertime street festival, taking place in the bustling west end of Boulder’s beating heart, will feature a slew of music, picnic-style dining, games, retail specials from local storefronts, and (of course) hot cocoa. If that’s not enough, Trident Booksellers, Ozo Coffee and Wonder will all be providing complimentary warm drinks to festival-goers.

BOULDER COUNTY 4-H FAMILY CARNIVAL

11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, March 11, Boulder County Fairgrounds, 9595 Nelson Road, Longmont. Free.

Head to the Boulder County Fairgrounds for a family-friendly, all-day event featuring 25 booths of carnival-style games, food, drink and a silent auction supporting local programming for BoCo youth. Assemble the fam and head to Longmont this Saturday for a festival that melds education and entertainment for a good cause.

BACKCOUNTRY FILM FESTIVAL

4-9:30 p.m. Saturday, March 11, Backdoor Theater, 750 Colorado 72, Nederland. $15

Join Wild Bear Nature Center at the Backdoor Theater for a night of film and youth engagement with nature and snow scientists. The event features two screenings, a silent auction and food from Kaleidoscope Kitchen food truck. Reserve your ticket now and take advantage of this opportunity to experience arts and handson learning from professionals.

HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS AT 1ST BANK CENTER

2 p.m. Saturday, March 11, 1st Bank Center, 11450 Broomfield Lane, Broomfield. Tickets start at $20

For nearly a century, the Harlem Globetrotters have combined athleticism, comedy, skill and live performance for millions of giddy showgoers. Take the family down to 1st Bank Center this weekend for a can’t-miss exhibition of high-flying dunks, loop-de-loop passes, half-court shots, hilarious antics and plenty of crowd participation.

WORLD’S SHORTEST ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE

Noon. Sunday, March 12, Odd Fellow’s Lodge, #9, 1543 Pearl St., Boulder. Free

Boulder’s annual block-long St. Patrick’s Day celebration is back again. The fun takes place between Pearl and Spruce streets, complete with Irish dancing, hula dancers, live music and the famous Lawn Chair Brigade (a roster of paraders who use their foldable chairs for percussion). Take the family downtown for this short and sweet Sunday event.

ON STAGE:

It’s your last chance to catch Deathtrap, the longest-running comedy-thriller in Broadway history, at the Louisville Center for the Arts. The latest production from Coal Creek Theater of Louisville follows a creatively stifled playwright who receives a promising script from a student at the university where he teaches. Is his protégé’s play good enough to kill for? Drop by closing weekend to find out for yourself.

ON THE SHELF:

Hot off her third NCAA title at CU-Boulder, runner Kara Goucher received an invite to join Nike’s topsecret distance team. She soon ran into a toxic culture, detailed in her new book The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, and Deception on Nike’s Elite Running Team. Join Goucher for a speak-and-sign event, along with co-author Mary Pilon

SHELLEY READ: GO AS A RIVER

6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 9, Boulder Bookstore, 1107 Pearl St., Boulder. $5

ON VIEW:

Dazzling and diverse works by contemporary Native artists take center stage in Duality, the ongoing exhibition at the Longmont Museum curated by artist and activist Gregg Deal (Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe). This exhibition featuring local and nationally renowned visual artists of various tribal affiliations runs through May 14. See listing for details.

JOYSOME Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. Through March 31. Free

DEATHTRAP Louisville Center for the Arts, 801 Grant Ave. Through March 11. $28

LAUGHS IN SPANISH Singleton Theatre, 1400 Curtis St., Denver. Through March 12. $35

HOTTER THAN EGYPT Kilstrom Theatre, Speer Boulevard and Arapahoe Street, Denver. Through March 12. $25

UNDONE: THE LADY M PROJECT. The Savoy Denver, 2700 Arapahoe St. Through March 26. $12

TONI STONE Aurora Fox Arts Center, 900 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora. March 10-April 2. $28

THE FOREIGNER Jesters Dinner Theatre, 224 Main St., Longmont. Weekends through April 2. $22

FRAME LITERARY SALON: MAIREAD CASE, RICHARD FROUDE, H.P. ARMSTRONG & JONA FINE 7 p.m. Friday, March 10, East Window Gallery, 4550 Broadway, Suite C-3B2, Boulder. Free

DAVID E. HOFFMAN: GIVE ME LIBERTY 2 p.m. Saturday, March 11, Tattered Cover, 2526 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. Free

LIVING POETS SOCIETY POETRY BOOK CLUB: THE LUNATIC BY CHARLES SIMIC

5 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, virtual (free). Zoom link: bit.ly/ LivingPoetsBoulder

REBECCA MAKKAI: I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU

6 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, Tattered Cover, 2526 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. Free

SCOTT GRAHAM AND KATHLEEN DONNELLY: SAGUARO SANCTION AND CHASING JUSTICE 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 15, Boulder Bookstore, 1107 Pearl St., Boulder. $5

KARA GOUCHER WITH MARY PILON: THE LONGEST RACE

6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 16, First Congregational Church, 1128 Pine St., Boulder. $5

CHAUTAUQUA: 125 YEARS AT THE HEART OF BOULDER Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway. Through April 2. $10

BLACK FUTURES IN ART: WE’RE NOT JUST HISTORY. Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. Through April 7. Free

TONY UMILE: A RETROSPECTIVE Firehouse Art Center (Main Gallery), 667 4th Ave., Longmont. Through April 9. Free

DUALITY: CONTEMPORARY WORKS BY INDIGENOUS ARTISTS. Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road. Through May 14. $8

JERRIE HURD: BEYOND THE MALE GAZE BMoCA at Macky, 1595 Pleasant Street, Boulder. Through May 26. $2

HER BRUSH: JAPANESE WOMEN ARTISTS FROM THE FONG-JOHNSTONE COLLECTION Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway. Through May 13. $15 (Colorado residents)

EXPLORATIONS OF RESILIENCE AND RESISTANCE / OUR BACKS HOLD OUR STORIES East Window Gallery, 4550 Broadway, Suite C-3B2, Boulder. Through June 28. By appointment only. Free

Courtesy Coal Creek Theater

Courtesy Simon & Schuster

‘Maske’ by Danielle SeeWalker

LIVE MUSIC ON THE BILL:

Few bands are woven into the fabric of Boulder quite like The Samples

The reggae-influenced rock group formed on The Hill in 1987, sharpening their sound in CU frat-house living rooms before performing their first show at the late Tulagi’s, just two doors down from The Fox Theatre Head over to The Velvet Elk Lounge this Saturday for an intimate show featuring support from Highway 50 See listing below for details.

THURSDAY, MARCH 9

HIRIE WITH KBONG & JOHNNY COSMIC, VANA LIYA 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $25

SPROUL LUNSFORD DUO 9 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free

DAN WANDER 5 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free

THE CROOKED RUGS WITH TONGUEBYTE AND CACTUS CAT. 8 p.m. Aggie Theatre, 204 S College Ave., Fort Collins. $18

CLEM SNIDE WITH ROGER GREEN 9 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $20

STEVE AOKI, 4B B2B JST JR, REGARD, BOK NERO 7 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St., Denver. $48

FRIDAY, MARCH 10

DJ NELLY AND SANTA ANA RODEA WITH THE DIRTY TURKEYS 9 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $18

CLOONEE FEAT. AMICI, RPSM B2B RYNE, MERKII GOGIMAL 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $30

SUN JR 9 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. $12

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

INNER WAVE WITH JORDANA AND JUNIOR MESA 8 p.m. Aggie Theatre, 204 S College Ave., Fort Collins. $18

RIZ LA VIE WITH JOHAN LENOX AND GABE JAMES 9 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $20

TWIDDLE 8 p.m. Ogden Theater, 935 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $53

LOS CHEESIES, THE SAINTS AND GRUPO HUITZLOPOCHTLI DANZA. 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 10, Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. $30 Story on pg. 21.

SATURDAY, MARCH 11

TAKE ME TO THE RIVER FEAT. GEORGE PORTER JR. AND JON CLEARY 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $29

CODEX NATURA WITH POTIONS, CHMURA AND DON JAMAL 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $30

THE SAMPLES WITH HIGHWAY 50 9 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. $32

Courtesy The Samples

LIVE MUSIC

CARMINE FRANCIS WITH KING BEE AND MOON ATOMIZER 7:30 p.m. Mercury Cafe, 2199 California St., Denver. $20. Story on pg. 17.

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

BOULDER SYMPHONY: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE MUSIC! Grace Commons Church, 1820 15th St., Boulder. $18

RENAISSANCE / RENAIDDANCE: A BEYONCE DANCE PARTY 8 p.m. Aggie Theatre, 204 S College Ave., Fort Collins. $18

DOWN TIME, THE MANANAS, BARBARA 9 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $18

WOOLI WITH WILLIAM BLACK, MUERTE, EMORFIK, SHANK

AARON 7:30 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 7 p.m. 4242 Wynkoop St., Denver. $48

KING TUFF WITH TCHOTCHKE AND THE SAVAGE BLUSH 9 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $23

DONNY BENÉT. 8 p.m. Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. $28

SUNDAY,

MARCH 12

ELISE TROUW. 7:30 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $20

FLOGGING MOLLY WITH ANTIFLAG AND SKINNY LISTER. 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $49.50

DJ GOODIE 7 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free

PAUL SHUPACK 4 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free

CODY SISTER WITH ALEXA WILDISH AND ANNA MAY 4 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $14

SHOW ME THE BODY WITH JESUS PIECE 8 p.m. Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. $30

MONDAY, MARCH 13

RETT MADISON WITH LOU ROY 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $18

TUESDAY, MARCH 14

THE BETHS WITH SIDNEY GISH. 7 p.m. Summit Denver, 1902 Blake St. $20. Story on pg. 16.

CU JAM SOCIETY 7 p.m. University Memorial Center (UMC) - The Connection, 1669 Euclid Ave., Boulder. Free

DEAF CLUB. 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $15

FACE: ALL-VOCAL ROCK 7:30 p.m. Nissi’s, 1455 Coal Creek Dr., Unit T, Lafayette. $30

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15

ANI DIFRANCO WITH PIETA BROWN. 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $30

THE REVEREND PEYTON’S BIG DAMN BAND WITH COUSIN CURTISS 9 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. $18

PAT GREEN WITH JD CLAYTON AND THE WENDY WOO BAND 8 p.m. Aggie Theatre, 204 S College Ave., Fort Collins. $50

KUTANDARA WINTER CONCERT FEAT. JULIA CHIGAMBA: DANCE WITH THE MOON. 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 15, eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. $30 Story on pg. 21.

ZAN FISKUM WITH LAUREN

FRIHAUF 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $14

A HUMAN NAMED DAVID. 6 p.m. Rosalee’s Pizzeria, 461 Main St., Longmont. Free

THOM LAFOND WITH FRUTA BRUTAL 8 p.m. Chautauqua Community House, 301 Morning Glory Dr., Boulder. $20

PAOLO NUTINI 8 p.m. Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. $35

Want more Boulder County events? Check out the complete listings online by scanning this QR code.

When money talks, who speaks the truth? That’s one of the guiding questions behind All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, the Oscar-nominated documentary by Laura Poitras. But the driving force is Nan Goldin, a celebrated queer photographer and founding member of P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now).

Goldin’s work is featured in the permanent collection of some of the best museums and art galleries in the world. And, as luck would have it, she has her sights set on another familiar name found in those same hallowed halls, though it isn’t a name prescribed to a particular work of art or exhibit, but on the plaques and doors bidding welcome to the patrons.

That name, Sackler, probably sounds familiar to anyone reading the news. They are the family behind the pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma, purveyors of OxyContin,

which has led more than one media outlet to refer to them as “drug dealers.” Much of that is covered in The Beauty and the Bloodshed, including Raymond Sackler’s panache for philanthropy, specifically in donations to museums and galleries.

To Goldin, all those millions donated while the Sacklers raked in billions smacks of artwashing. Frankly, there’s little defense for the Sacklers offered in All the Beauty and the Bloodshed — including two stoic members of the family who appear in a Zoom court hearing.

That’s probably because Goldin is on the right side of history. She’s been here before. In the 1980s and ’90s, Goldin watched friends and colleagues die en masse due to the AIDS crisis while a government looked on with indifference when not too busy condemning the dead.

Goldin proves to be the perfect guide through these two chapters of American life. Her story begins in the

IT’S ALL POLITICS

Oscar-nominated ‘All the Beauty and the Bloodshed’ documents the ‘artwashing’ of pill-pushing pharma family

BY MICHAEL J. CASEY

Boston suburbs, with a mother terrified of what the neighbors might think and a sister with a secret that would consume her. It was a world Goldin would leave without turning her back on, even as she developed her true identity and forged another family.

That was in New York’s Bowery during the ’70s and ’80s. Drugs were everywhere. So were sex and subversion. Goldin captured it all with her camera. It “was a time of black and white vertical photographs,” Goldin recounts, and hers were anything but. They were like motion pictures frozen in time. “No one photographs their own life,” a curator told her. Goldin thought otherwise.

Most artists weave themselves into their art. Looking at the photos Goldin took, you wonder: How could she not? Poitras wisely turns most of All the Beauty and the Bloodshed over to Goldin’s photographs, presenting the bulk of the doc’s runtime as one of

Goldin’s slideshows backed by Goldin’s narration.

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is a rallying cry for justice through demonstration and creativity. One such demonstration involves turning a quote from a Sackler family member on its head to create a moment of beauty so arresting even the demonstrators appreciate it on an aesthetic level. It’s not the only instance of Goldin leading a protest with a visual quality worthy of the gallery in which it takes place. What luck, Poitras must have thought as she captured her protagonist at work. It’s not every day you find an honest human being with a compelling story to tell, who can make it beautiful along the way.

ON SCREEN: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is streaming now on Apple TV, Amazon Prime and Redbox.

Nan Goldin in All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022). Photo courtesy Neon.

CHARACTERS WELCOME

Colorado-born filmmaker Scott Beck digs deeper than dinosaurs on prehistoric ‘65’

BY GREGORY WAKEMAN

Scott Beck might have only lived in Colorado for the first year of his life, but the Centennial State has left an indelible mark on the career of the 39-year-old writer and director.

And what a career it’s been. Alongside his filmmaking partner Bryan Woods, Beck co-wrote the hugely successful 2018 thriller A Quiet Place, set in a post-apocalyptic world where blind monsters have an acute sense of hearing. The pair are now following that up with 65, a sci-fi action thriller starring Adam Driver as an astronaut stranded on Earth 65 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed.

“The origins of 65 date back, to a certain degree, to June 11, 1993, when I saw Jurassic Park in theaters for the first time,” says Beck, who co-directed the film. This was a time in Beck’s life when he was constantly traveling between Colorado and Iowa, where his family moved when he was just a one-year-old.

“My roots go back to Colorado through my parents. They lived in Aurora and Denver. My mom worked in downtown Denver. It became a really important place for our family,” recalls Beck, who was born in the Mile High City. “It was a place we would return to every year to see family. It still holds an incredible place in my heart.”

On these long drives from Iowa to Colorado, which went from rolling hills and cornfields to the rugged natural beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park, Beck felt like he was in another world. Considering the unique cinematic worlds he has created with 65 and A Quiet Place, it’s not hard to see how the Colorado backdrop on

these journeys of his youth subconsciously acted as inspiration.

“It was always kind of inspiring to see that in the background. I remember when I was five years old, wandering out into the Colorado wilderness on different mountain trails, finding old mine shafts,” Beck says. “The landscape captured in my mind at that

were. He was six, just a few years behind his big sister, when the pair first got their hands on their parents’ VHS camera.

“The first movie we actually made was called Rocky Mountain,” he remembers. “I’m just realizing how it seeped into my conscience.”

‘SWEET SPOT’

Beck met Woods when he was 11 years old. They quickly started using their Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker action figures to create their own stop-motion movies together. Soon, they were coercing their friends to star in their short films. In 1999, when the pair were 15, they became immersed in more character-driven fare, like Magnolia, American Beauty and Fight Club

“That opened my eyes to a further dimension of cinema and how I could make this into an actual career,” he says. “I felt laser focused at that point.”

story of grief as much as it is about fighting dinosaurs. That combination is our sweet spot. We want a movie that engages us from a cinephile standpoint, but also has a deeper layer beneath the surface that hopefully connects with audiences.”

Achieving these goals has become even more complicated in the current cinematic landscape, where superhero movies, sequels and stories based on existing intellectual properties have dominated the release schedule. After the huge success of A Quiet Place, Beck and Woods had meetings about working on Marvel, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars movies, while they were also asked to be involved in A Quiet Place Part II

early age fueled my imagination. I always wanted to write movies that captured that raw wilderness.”

Expressing this thought, Beck is suddenly jolted into a memory that highlights just how inspirational his annual excursions to Colorado really

In college, Woods and Beck decided to become a filmmaking team, bringing together all of their inspirations — which now included everything from the films of Francois Truffaut to Michael Bay. “With both 65 and A Quiet Place, we wanted to make a really exciting rollercoaster of a movie that’s a great night at the theater. But the concept alone is not what keeps people engaged. We want to find the truth of the characters,” he says. “65 is a

But Beck says they were always drawn to making an original story again. “The fun of A Quiet Place was writing that by ourselves, not for a studio. We were excited to do that again with 65. We came out of our writer’s retreat with the final script and said, ‘This is the movie we’re excited to make.’ It wasn’t based on any IP. That made it a hard sell,” he says. “But we always want to take a bold swing and create something new for audiences they don’t entirely know what to expect.”

ON SCREEN: 65 debuts in wide release, including Century Boulder (1700 29th St.), on March 10.

Adam Driver in 65, premiering March 10 in wide release. Photo courtesy Sony Pictures.

Scott Beck (left) draws inspiration from his Front Range roots in the writer-director’s latest blockbuster, 65 Photo by Mario Jennings.

Taste The Difference

ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): I highly recommend the following experiences: 1. ruminating about what you learned in a relationship that ended — and how those lessons might be useful now. 2. ruminating about a beloved place you once regarded as home — and how the lessons you learned while there might be inspiring now. 3. ruminating about a riddle that has long mystified you — and how clarifying insights you receive in the coming weeks could help you finally understand it.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): For “those who escape hell,” wrote Charles Bukowksi, “nothing much bothers them after that.” Believe it or not, Taurus, I think that in the coming weeks, you can permanently escape your own personal version of hell — and never, ever have to return. I offer you my congratulations in advance. One strategy that will be useful in your escape is this idea from Bukowski: “Stop insisting on clearing your head — clear your fucking heart instead.”

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): Gemini paleontologist Louis Agassiz (1807–1883) was a foundational contributor to the scientific tradition. Among his specialties was his hands-on research into the mysteries of fossilized fish. Though he was meticulously logical, he once called on his nightly dreams to solve a problem he faced. Here’s the story: A potentially crucial specimen was largely concealed inside a stone. He wanted to chisel away the stone to get at the fossil, but was hesitant to proceed for fear of damaging the treasure inside. On three successive nights, his dreams revealed to him how he should approach the work. This information proved perfectly useful. Agassiz hammered away at the slab exactly as his dreams suggested and freed the fossilized fish. I bring this marvel to your attention, Gemini, because I suspect that you, too, need to carve or cut away an obstruction that is hiding something valuable. Can you get help from your dreams? Yes, or else in deep reverie or meditation.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): Will you flicker and sputter in the coming weeks, Cancerian? Or will you spout and surge? That is, will you be enfeebled by barren doubts, or will you embolden yourself with hearty oaths? Will you take nervous sips or audacious guzzles? Will you hide and equivocate, or else reveal and pounce? Dabble gingerly or pursue the joy of mastery? I’m here to tell you that which fork you take will depend on your intention and your willpower, not on the caprices of fate. So which will it be: Will you mope and fritter or untangle and illuminate?

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): I applaud psychologists who tell us how important it is to feel safe. One of the most crucial human rights is the confidence that we won’t be physically or emotionally abused. But there’s another meaning of safety that applies to those of us who yearn to express ourselves creatively. Singer-songwriter David Bowie articulated the truth: “If you feel safe in the area you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a bit out of your depth, and when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re in the right place to do something exciting.” I think this is a wise strategy for most of us, even those who don’t identify as artists. Almost everyone benefits from being imaginative and inventive and even a bit daring in their own particular sphere. And this will be especially applicable to you in the coming weeks, Leo.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): You are in the sweet, deep phase of the Receiving Season. And so you have a right and a duty to show the world you are ready and available to be blessed with what you need and want. I urge you to do everything necessary to become a welcoming beacon that attracts a wealth of invigorating and healing influences. For inspiration, read this quote by author John Steinbeck: “It is so easy

to give, so exquisitely rewarding. Receiving, on the other hand, if it be well done, requires a fine balance of self-knowledge and kindness. It requires humility and tact and great understanding of relationships ... It requires a self-esteem to receive — a pleasant acquaintance and liking for oneself.”

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): Libran poet E. E. Cummings wrote that daffodils “know the goal of living is to grow.” Is his sweet sentiment true? I would argue it’s only partially accurate. I believe that if we want to shape our destinies with courage and creativity, we need to periodically go through phases of decay and decline. They make periods of growth possible. So I would say, “The goal of life is to grow and wither and grow and wither and grow.” Is it more fun to grow than to wither? Maybe. But sometimes, withering is educational and necessary. Anyway, Libra, I suspect you are finishing a time of withering and will soon embark on a series of germinations and blossoms.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): All of us have elements of genius. Every person on the planet possesses at least one special talent or knack that is a gift to others. It could be subtle or unostentatious, like a skill for communicating with animals or for seeing what’s best in people. Or maybe it’s more spectacular, like composing beautiful music or raising children to be strong and compassionate. I mention this, Scorpio, because the coming weeks will be an excellent time to identify your unique genius in great detail — and then nurture it and celebrate it in every way you can imagine.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): The emblem associated with Sagittarius is an archer holding a bow with the arrow pointed upwards. This figure represents your tribe’s natural ambition to always aim higher. I bring this to your attention because your symbolic quiver is now full of arrows. But what about your bow? Is it in tip-top condition? I suggest you do some maintenance. Is the bow string in perfect shape? Are there any tiny frays? Has it been waxed recently? And what about the grip? Are there any small cracks or wobbles? Is it as steady and stable as it needs to be? I have one further suggestion as you prepare for the target-shooting season. Choose one or at most two targets to aim at rather than four or five.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): It’s prime time to feel liberated from the urge to prove yourself to anyone. It’s a phase when your self-approval should be the only kind of approval you need, a period when you have the right to remove yourself from any situation that is weighed down with gloomy confusion or apathetic passivity. This is exciting news! You have an unprecedented opportunity to recharge your psychic batteries and replenish your physical vitality.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): I suspect you can now accomplish healthy corrections without getting tangled up in messy karma. Here are my recommendations: 1. As you strive to improve situations that are awry or askew, act primarily out of love rather than guilt or pity. 2. Fight tenderly in behalf of beautiful justice, but don’t fight harshly for ugly justice. 3. Ask yourself how you might serve as a kind of divine intervention in the lives of those you care about — and then carry out those divine interventions.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): In describing her process, Piscean sculptor Anne Truitt wrote, “The most demanding part of living a lifetime as an artist is the strict discipline of forcing oneself to work steadfastly along the nerve of one’s own most intimate sensitivity.” I propose that many Pisceans, both artists and non-artists, can thrive from living like that. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to give yourself to such an approach with eagerness and devotion. I urge you to think hard and feel deeply as you ruminate on the question of how to work steadfastly along the nerve of your own most intimate sensitivity.

SAVAGE LOVE

BY DAN SAVAGE

Q: Dan, you suggested stocking up on abortion pills now because they could wind up being banned. I naively thought a ban would never happen. Now, as you probably know, it’s on the verge of being banned nationwide any day due to the lawsuit in Texas. It looks like I’d need to go to a doctor to get them and I don’t want to have to lie about needing them. Is there any other way to get them?

A: Go to PlanCPills.org!

Q: I look OK, I make good money, I have my own place, and I’m nice. But no one wants me, and no one stays, because I’m autistic. Everyone says, “Just get out there,” but it doesn’t work. I want a real relationship, but I would settle for an escort. But I don’t want to get robbed or killed. Everyone says, “Just get out there,” but it doesn’t work.

A: I can’t give explicit advice about finding escorts — it’s a legal gray area — but I can suggest that you follow sex workers’ rights advocates on Twitter, many of whom are sex workers themselves. Most of the women sex workers I know — personally, not professionally — have experience working with autistic clients. And while locating an experienced sex worker you would like to see in person will require some time and effort, the energy you’re currently expending being miserable would be better spent on this search. There are also dating sites for autistic adults like Hiki (www.hikiapp.com) that you might want to check out.

Q: What’s the best way as GAYS to get laid at the gym?

A: No one gets laid at the gym — or through the gym — without going to the gym. As a very problematic person once said, 80% of success in life is just showing up. And here’s a pro-tip: Pre-smartphones and hookup apps, GAYS would cruise each other while they lifted weights, offer to spot

each other, and then follow each other into locker rooms to mess around — discreetly, of course, so as not to panic STRAIGHTS and/or annoy GAYS who don’t mess around at the gym. These days guys open Grindr at the gym and send hole pics to guys sitting on the machine next to them.

Q: I’m a 43-year-old cis straight man. I’m going to see my doctor soon and I plan to ask him about testing for autism spectrum disorder, because more than half of my girlfriends and a few platonic friends have asked me if I might be on the spectrum. I don’t think a diagnosis will change my life, other than reframing a lot of confusing (to me) “breakups” with friends and girlfriends over the years. Any advice on whether or how I should contact previous friends and girlfriends to let them know I received a diagnosis that might explain some of our problems? I’m still on friendly(ish) terms with most of them.

A: A status update posted to Facebook and/or a story posted to Instagram — assuming you’re on social media and/or want to be out about your diagnosis — would probably reach most of your friends and exes. If that’s too public, I don’t see why you couldn’t just send a note to the friends and exes with whom you’re on friendly(ish) terms, particularly the ones who suggested you might be on the spectrum.

Workday, Inc. has an opening for UX Researcher in Boulder, CO.

Job duties include: Analyze data & findings to define actionable insights for both short term & long-term product development. Salary: $112,700$169,100 per year, 40 hours per wk. Interested candidates send resume to: J. Thurston at Workday, Inc., 6110 Stoneridge Mall Road, Pleasanton, CA 94588. Must reference Job# 20637.1975

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!

BITES WITH BENEFITS

A new Boulder app offers local food for more than half off, cuts waste and feeds students

BY JOHN LEHNDORFF

I’m happy to admit that I truly love finding a food bargain: everything from happy-hour eats to coupons, anything to make eating in Boulder more fun and affordable.

The satisfaction of scoring a discount on dinner is the appeal behind Goodie Bag Co, a new platform created by a trio of Boulder students: Luke Siegert, Eddy Connors and Ethan Mills. Their idea took first place last August in the Silicon Flatirons Startup Summer Pitch competition at the University of Colorado. The business launched shortly thereafter.

“Goodie Bag connects customers to restaurants that have surplus food during the day. You know you’re going to get at least a 50% discount. It’s perfectly good food that they haven’t been able to sell,” Mills says.

Part of the company’s mission is to keep edible food out of landfills and to combat food insecurity.

Goodie Bag launched in Boulder in January and has lined up eight partners: Barchetta, Great Harvest Bread Company, Vitality Bowls, Pupusas Lover 2, Whole Sol Blend Bar and The Corner, Pizza 3.14 and Nude Foods Market.

Connors says about 500 customers have signed up at goodiebag.co. Restaurants offer one or more goodie bags in two sizes, which tend to get snapped up fast once the app alerts members, Mills says. The offers pop up typically from late afternoon to late evening when kitchens are closing. Customers click on an offer, pay online, then pick up the food.

Goodie Bag is currently targeting Boulder’s hungriest population — students and recent graduates living and working in central Boulder.

“Statistics show that one-third of students are food insecure, so it helps them,” Connors says. “But we’ve also seen young parents with kids take advantage of Goodie Bag.”

BARGAINS AND MYSTERY

What’s in a typical Goodie Bag? “Well, that’s the surprise,” Connors says.

The Goodie Bag twist is that customers won’t know exactly what’s for dinner until they open the bag or box. Diners must be open-minded and willing to taste the unknown.

“It can include messed-up orders, like the wrong topping on a Paleo bowl,” Connors says.

The massive discount comes with a few provisos. The customer has to pick it up from the eatery. They can’t sit at a table at the eatery or ask for it to be warmed up.

The sign-up process for restaurants and food businesses can take as little as one day. “There’s no fee for the restaurants to become partners,” Siegert says.

SOLVING THE SURPLUS PIZZA PROBLEM

Goodie Bag solves an age-old problem for food businesses.

“I like Goodie Bag because there is a lot of food waste in the restaurant industry, including pre-made food that doesn’t sell. If there’s a mess up on a pizza, seven times out of 10 the staff eats it, but a lot of it has gone in the trash,” says Jesse Jensen, chef/owner of Boulder’s Barchetta, the first eatery to sign up for Goodie Bag.

Barchetta’s bags are likely to contain pizza slices but can include small plates like wings, or dinner salads.

“Goodie Bag helps restaurants recoup some of the costs and it’s been really successful for us so far,” Jensen says.

The founders hope to expand the model to other college towns. “Everybody loves a bargain meal,” Siegert says.

LOCAL FOOD NEWS

● Denver’s Curtis Park Deli has finally opened at 3000 Pearl Parkway in Boulder.

● Boulder’s Blackbelly has opened its expanded and renovated butcher shop and market for breakfast and lunch and meat sales (read more on page 37).

● Chocolate Lab — Colorado’s only chocolate-centric café — has reopened at 5575 E. Third Ave., Denver, serving dishes such as shrimp with milk chocolate chestnut risotto and Impossible meatloaf with chocolate mushroom gravy.

CULINARY CALENDAR

● Boulder’s Benevolence Orchard & Gardens is now offering a weekly mushroom CSA with an assortment of oyster, Lion’s mane and other varieties.

● Boulder Public Library’s Meadows Branch hosts a garden seed exchange Saturday, March 11. Bring home-harvested seeds and unopened store-bought seed packs. Leftover seeds will be donated to Meadow’s Free Seed Library.

● The Farmette in Lyons (4121 Ute Highway) offers workshops including Vegetable Gardening 101 (April 1) and Beekeeping 101 (April 2).

VOTE WITH YOUR TASTE BUDS

Boulder Weekly’s 2023 Best of Boulder survey welcomes your votes at boulderweekly.com

This is your chance to make sure your favorite eateries and food businesses get the recognition they deserve. Voting closes March 25.

Credit: Barchetta

SUPERMARKET WHINE

Wine is now available in Colorado supermarkets. It is unquestionably a convenience, but I buy my wine and beer from independent wine and liquor stores like Public Wine, a new shop that just opened at 100 S. Public Road in Lafayette. I like the selection, the emphasis on local and the service at these places, and I want them to stay in business.

NIBBLES INDEX

Nearly one-third of supermarket shoppers are choosing store brands over name brands and, in a pandemic echo, 29% of us are buying rice, beans and lentils again to keep grocery costs down, according to a recent Deloitte national survey.

WORDS TO CHEW ON

“You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.”

—Yogi Berra

Send information about spring and summer food classes, experiences, farm stands and festivals in Boulder County and around Colorado to: Nibbles@BoulderWeekly.com

A selection of wine at the supermarket. Photo by John Lehndorff.

WELCOME TO MOTHER’S HOUSE

Tonantzin Casa de Café offers hospitality, Indigenous flavors

BY KATE JONUSKA

If you’ve had atolé, it’s likely been at a family table somewhere in the Southwest United States or Latin America, perhaps made from a family recipe. The warm, masa-based beverage is rarely available in restaurants and coffee shops, but you can find it at Tonantzin Casa de Café (1001 Arapahoe Ave.), now open on the bridge of the main Boulder Public Library.

“We’re happy to bring that experience. We get people saying, ‘Wow, I can only get this at my grandma’s house,’” says owner Cynthia Diaz, who opened the first location of Tonantzin in the Hispanic Art District

on Santa Fe Drive in Denver (910 Santa Fe Drive, Unit 6). “We’re trying to create the feeling of walking into your tia or abuela’s house, a place of love and care.”

Tonantzin means mother earth in the Nahuatl language, and indeed, the welcoming feminine energy of the cafe is evident from the first glimpse of the logo: bold and candy pink. The back shelves are lined with traditional clay mugs glazed in colorful patterns — necessary for serving the café de olla for which the cafe is known. Enhanced by the beauty of the earthen mug, the coffee’s medium roast is infused with cinnamon and spices.

The espresso drinks feature a dark roast you can smell from either side of the bridge, alongside the everpresent note of cinnamon. Tonantzin adds appeal to the traditional coffeeshop menu with more Latin choices as mixers, including lattes made with horchata or dolche de leche. Less rich and sweet than the latter, horchata is a rice-based drink that tastes like thinned rice pudding and can be an ideal foil for the strong coffee in any espresso beverage.

As for atolé, the cafe uses finely milled blue corn, which Diaz says is both gluten free and contains more protein than other corn varieties.

The result is a slate-blue drink with a texture, smell and taste reminiscent of oatmeal in a drinkable form. Warm, rich and spiced, the comforting appeal of atolé translates across cultures. Atolé in one hand and coffee in the other could fuel a lot of productivity or creativity.

“Everyone serves atolé a little differently,” Diaz says, noting a variety

of preferred sweetnesses or spices in different regions or different families. “We keep it in its natural form so people have it the way they like it,” offering sweeteners and spices for customers to doctor the drinks as they prefer. (Cinnamon is a must.)

The café also hints at a Latin market with Jumex fruit nectars in the fridge and plantain chips on the counter beside pastries from a Mexican bakery. The colorful concha sweet rolls are large enough to overfill the average hand.

ON THE MENU: Tonantzin

Casa de Café is located on the bridge of the main branch of the Boulder Public Library,1001 Arapahoe Ave.

The cafe is open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturdays.

ROOM WITH A VIEW

Blackbelly Market reopens in a big, bright new space

BY COLIN WRENN

Blackbelly has always been a big deal. That its chef and owner, Hosea Rosenberg, won season five of Top Chef in 2009 certainly helped the East Boulder deli (1606 Conestoga St., Unit 3) and butcher shop make an initial splash. But in the near decade that followed, Hosea and his wife and business partner Lauren Feder Rosenberg have become community fixtures, proving time and time again they are anything but a flash in the pan.

Blackbelly began as a food truck and catering business, but by 2014 had morphed into a full-service brickand-mortar restaurant.

“Its mantra is, and always will be, that excellent food must come from excellent sources,” says Lauren, who also acts as Blackbelly’s communications director.

In 2016, Blackbelly added a butcher counter next door, which focused on whole animal butchery, clean sourcing, community outreach, live demos and some of the best breakfast burritos Boulder Valley had ever seen.

On March 6, Blackbelly Market reopened in the west-facing portion of the same building that holds the restaurant. The former butcher shop entrance has been converted into an outstanding 32-seat private dining area, the Heritage Room, while the space that once held a Quizno’s has been transformed into an updated market area.

“The whole inspiration for this is there was a Quizno’s here and it went out of business,” says Hosea wryly.

The new space features almost double the seating, a massive mural by local artist Olive Moya and large windows with unobstructed views of the mountains.

“With this space, we hope to encourage a little more engagement,” says Market Manager Kyle Kralowetz, noting that while the old room was not

necessarily cramped, the new dining area is furnished with leisure in mind.

The Heritage Room comes complete with a bar and can easily hold 50 when standing. The work of Boulderbased painter Will Day is displayed on the walls and the full A/V equipment is available for meetings of any kind. A moveable bar sits cornerside, with the place screaming for meaningful receptions and more casual functions.

The butchers have more room to roam, with a full catering-centered kitchen still in the works. Hosea says giving the team a well-lit space to work in was a big motivation for the remodel. The same cuts, sourced from local farms like 7X Cattle Company, Buckner Family Ranch and McDonald, are all available. The breakfast burritos still run the morning hours, though now there’s a full espresso program to wash them down with. There’s a slightly expanded lunch menu, alongside an entirely new selection of house-made breads, pastas, sauces and premium oils and vinegars. A full section of pantry goods — olives, mustard, honey and chile crunch help to round out what the team is calling the “picnic headquarters.”

“We wanted to sell stuff that goes with the premium meats,” says Lauren, noting that Blackbelly Market is a good one-stop-shop for grill and

charcuterie essentials. Pans, knives, cutting boards and even chips for the smoker are now all available onsite. The wine is thoughtfully curated, each bottle marked with potential pairings. The pastry program has been greatly expanded, with new pastry chef Madeline Stephenson draping the main counter in close to 10 items daily. This is up from the one or two sweets that were previously available. Stephenson, who recently migrated from Frasca, is also responsible for a full overhaul of the restaurant’s dessert menu. The chocolate tart, with Earl Grey and caramel ganache, and the pistachio tart with lemon ricotta, are alone worth an evening visit.

New to the lunch menu are the banh mi, with roast and smoked pork, pickles, cucumber, jalapeño, mayo and fresh herbs on a roll, and the massive muffuletta, a football-sized, two-person undertaking piled high

with capicola, pepperoni, bologna, provolone and olive salad. Beer, wine and bottled cocktails are available to be enjoyed on-site or to-go.

Toward the end of spring, the team is planning on opening the front patio and extending into happy hour. Dubbed the Stamborski Beer Garden, after Blackbelly’s accountant Peter, the space is set to include yard games and a child and dog friendly area alongside a full smoker and drink specials.

“Obviously, the space is going to morph,” Hosea says. No changes have been made to the restaurant side.

Blackbelly’s continued growth is a nice reminder that fine dining and butchery can excel on good ethics. The Rosenbergs have always put mission first. The new market is just another way for them to send the message home.

Hosea Rosenberg talks to Blackbelly staff over food. Photos by Eric Keeney.

The interior of Blackbelly Market. Photos by Eric Keeney.

THE WILDERNESS EFFECT

Naropa profs talk eco-psychedelics and the future of psilocybin therapy in Colorado

BY CAITLIN ROCKETT

Rumor has it, some of the students in Robert Greenway’s wilderness experiences at Sonoma State University in the late ’60s and early ’70s used psychedelics.

Drugs weren’t part of Greenway’s pedagogy — his goal was to guide students in reconnecting to nature.

On the remote treks, students found themselves first excited about the adventure, then frustrated, and, finally, 72 hours in, liberated from human demands and connected to nature: “The wilderness effect.”

These treks paved the way for what became known as ecopsychology.

“It’s trying to overcome the perceived disconnections that we have in our lives,” explains Travis Cox, chair of the ecopsychology department at Naropa University. “From our authentic selves, from other human beings, from the [natural] world and from God or ‘the source’ or whatever anybody believes is ‘the ultimate.’”

Cox and his colleagues at Naropa believe psychedelics can expedite our reconnections, maybe even shift our collective worldview enough to pull us back from the brink of catastrophic cli-

mate change. Michal “Miki” Fire and Azul DelGrasso will join Cox in a workshop at the Psychedelic Science conference this June in Denver, talking about “ecopsychedelics” and nature-based therapeutic practices.

Cox and DelGrasso express hope that Colorado’s emerging psychedelicassisted therapy program — set to roll out state-regulated psilocybin treatment late in 2024, with similar programs for DMT, ibogaine and mescaline able to roll out in 2026 — will incorporate ecopsychology. The model sees our separation from the natural world as a cause for much of our psychological dysfunction and environmental destruction.

DelGrasso is a Naropa grad who studied under Cox in the ecopsychology department. He’s currently working on a dissertation at the California Institute of Integral Studies looking at 5-MeO-DMT, which DelGrasso believes “can reframe

our social and ecological lens in a time of global crises.”

“There’s a lot of healing that needs to take place,”he says. “I’m a strong believer that we can expedite that healing, not only our reconnection to nature, but also our reconnection to one another, by allowing ourselves to be deeper in the natural world.”

A 2016 study showed that psychedelics create new communication pathways, more strongly connecting the sensory cortices, which process sensations like sight and taste, to the frontal parietal network, which gives us our sense of self.

Many ancient medicine ceremonies occur outside, at least partially, and many involve groups, which is why DelGrasso and Cox say Colorado must include Indigenous voices throughout development of its psychedelic-assisted therapy treatment program.

“Have we learned our lesson from the way cannabis was rolled out?” Cox wonders, referring to Colorado’s slow action to level the retail-cannabis playing field for people of color, who were disproportionately affected by the war on drugs.

“From the people who I’ve talked to, there’s still hope for that possibility [with Colorado’s psychedelic-assisted therapy program].”

DelGrasso says MAPS, the Multidisciplinary Association for

Psychedelic Studies, has done “an excellent job” developing an assistedtherapy model that benefits both the individual and the group.

“For example, with 5-MeO-DMT in a group setting, it’s not everyone taking the medicine at once,” he explains. “People are holding space for the individual who is going through the experience — the group is witnessing their experience, which sometimes can be cathartic. ... After the ceremony or the session is complete, what is most important is integration.”

Processing what was discovered during the psychedelic experience requires “a support system,” DelGrasso says, of family, friends and therapists, not simply repeated psychedelic-assisted treatments.

“It can take months, if not years, for people to truly integrate a single ceremonial experience,” DelGrasso says. “Folks who fight the integration piece are the people I see returning constantly to ceremony. They’re kind of doing this spiritual trespassing, or bypassing, and they’re relying on the experience to change the trauma, to change the behavior, whereas the medicine, the psychedelic, is there to show you the door. Once it opens the door for you, integration is going through the door.”

DelGrasso reminds that psychedelics are “only a tool” and “not for everybody.”

As a long time social worker, he views psychedelic work through an intake lens: “It’s really getting to know who is in the community, what are their needs, what are the traumas, lived and ancestral, and determine if psychedelics is the right avenue.”