Boulder Weekly 03.14.2024

BOULDER'S BAD ROADS P. 8

THE END OF SNOW DAYS? P.10

Late

Law Firm

Liquor

Live

Live

Live Theater Group

Local Celebrity

Local

Lyons Restaurant

Margarita

Martial Arts

Massage

Mattress Store

Mediterranean

Mexican

Movie Theater

Moving

Museum

Music

Music

Music

Nail

Natural

Open

Pet

Pilates

Pizza

Pizza

Place

April 9–12

Big ideas. Endless discoveries.

Lively conversations on today’s top issues. Leadership • Global Equity • The Next 100 Years

70+ panels, free to attend, open to all.

NOTABLE EVENTS

5–6 p.m. Tues., April 9 | Macky Auditorium

The Funny Story Behind the Funny Stories

Cry with laughter at the opening keynote by founding editor of The Onion, Scott Dikkers. Dikkers is bound to ignite thought-provoking discussions and provide valuable insights into the world of media, humor and social commentary.

1:30–2:40 p.m. Wed., April 10 | UMC West Ballroom

Leadership in Business: What Separates Great Leaders From the Rest?

Join Asia Eaton, Lucy Lawrence, Charles Msilanga, Carl Quintanilla and Nancy Wang for a dynamic discussion on the skills and strategies that make the best leaders in the business world stand out from the rest.

Explore the matters that matter to you at CWA. Join us via livestream or in person at CU Boulder.

Learn more and register at colorado.edu/cwa

OPINION

REJECT DIVISION OF NATURE AND HUMANITY

Ending climate apartheid starts with relational change

BY SAMUEL LEGUIZAMON GRANT (HE/THEY/WE)

Not that long ago, Desmond Tutu, who played a key role in the Truth and Reconciliation Process in South Africa, offered a definition of climate apartheid: Those who contributed least to the climate crisis experience the worst impacts.

This re-awakened a commitment I made when I engaged in the global divestment movement to end apartheid in 1983. I recognized that to be a contributor to healthy peoples sharing a

healthy planet, I had to organize for wellbeing for the common good.

I invite us to consider ending climate apartheid, not as just an “opportunity” but as an obligation we share as earthlings to the wellbeing of all life.

We are a world divided. Apartheid is a global system, sourcing from a global worldview — the worldview of the taker.

Indigenous languages all over the world have a word for this worldview,

as they have experienced it. The same year I engaged in the antiapartheid movement, I began learning from an Indigenous elder. The word in Dakota culture for this way of being is wašíču, which has been popularized to mean “fat-taker” or taker-of-the-fat, indicative of a person or culture that embodies a culture absent reciprocity with all of life — a person or culture that is greedy, acquisitive and, from an Indigenous lens, dishonorable.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports regularly reinforce the point that Africa has contributed extremely little to the climate crisis and yet is facing the most severe impact outside of small island nations. This is a useful thing to know as we consider our obligation to address the climate crisis. How do we do it in a way that does not increase the burden on Africa and on the world’s

MARCH 14, 2024

Volume 31, Number 30

COVER: A female skier has her boot adjusted at the base of Boulder’s Chautauqua Mesa ski hill, circa 1950s. Courtesy: Carnegie Library for Local History

PUBLISHER: Francis Zankowski

EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Shay Castle

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR: Jezy J. Gray

REPORTERS: Kaylee Harter, Will Matuska

FOOD EDITOR: John Lehndorff

INTERN: Lauren Hill

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:

Will Brendza, Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Dan Savage, Toni Tresca, Gregory Wakeman, Christopher Piercy, Samuel Grant, Kelly Dean Hansen

SALES AND MARKETING

MARKET DEVELOPMENT MANAGER:

Kellie Robinson

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE:

Matthew Fischer

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES:

Chris Allred, Holden Hauke

SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER:

Carter Ferryman

MRS. BOULDER WEEKLY: Mari Nevar

PRODUCTION

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Erik Wogen

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Mark Goodman

CIRCULATION

CIRCULATION MANAGER: Cal Winn

CIRCULATION TEAM:

Sue Butcher, Ken Rott, Chris Bauer

BUSINESS OFFICE

BOOKKEEPER/ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE:

Austen Lopp FOUNDER / CEO: Stewart Sallo

As Boulder County’s only independently owned newspaper, Boulder Weekly is dedicated to illuminating truth, advancing justice and protecting the First Amendment through ethical, no-holdsbarred journalism and thought-provoking opinion writing. Free every Thursday since 1993, the Weekly also offers the county’s most comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage. Read the print version, or visit boulderweekly.com. Boulder Weekly does not accept unsolicited editorial submissions. If you’re interested in writing for the paper, please send queries to: editorial@boulderweekly.com. Any materials sent to Boulder Weekly become the property of the newspaper. 690 South Lashley Lane, Boulder, CO 80305 Phone: 303.494.5511, FAX: 303.494.2585 editorial@boulderweekly.com www.boulderweekly.com

Boulder Weekly is published every Thursday. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. ©2024 Boulder Weekly, Inc., all rights reserved.

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

growing number of climate migrants?

In my Africana body, I recognize the intersectionality of slavery, lynching, Jim Crow, the prison industrial complex and climate migration as part of the same global disease — the taking of life, land and liberty from the many for the benefit of the few. Racialized eco-apartheid socially reproduces two braided forms of violence: anti-Black violence and biospheric degradation (biodiversity loss, climate change, nitrogen and phosphorous loading, ocean acidification).

In 2013, Vandana Shiva, as part of an exhibit, contributed an articulation of eco-apartheid that put climate apartheid in the appropriate context for me.

Rather than focus on how the climate crisis was hurting the world’s peasants, Indigenous peoples, the urban poor, and Black and Brown populations, her framework looks at it through a lens of how it hurts all of us and all of life.

She defines eco-apartheid as the organized division of human beings from nature — treating nature as a “thing,” not as the source of life — the organized division of humans from each other (racism, genocide, heteropatriarchy, nationalism, xenophobia, etc.) and the way in which we internalize living in a world of division and contribute to its social reproduction.

Sourcing from her articulation, the way to respond to the climate crisis is to, for the rest of our time on Earth, be earthlings embodying beloved community with all of life. Beloved community can be defined in many ways; The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change defines it as “a global vision in which all people can share in the wealth of the Earth.”

Steps in this direction include repairing our collective relationship with the ecosystems on which our own lives depend by preventing further biodiversity loss, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, introducing environmental education at all levels of learning and eradicating the environmental justice overburden in ecologically marginalized communities.

We are not living in an Anthropocene by which humans have created a climate crisis — that is too simplistic. We are living in an

OPINION

Apartheidocene, grounded in the division of humans from Earth and from each other. Cancerous divisions emerge within each of us to the extent that we socially reproduce division in the world around us.

How do we proceed? Link what is happening in the biosphere to what is happening in your own relational ecology. Examine the ways in which you live a segregated life and how that reinforces apartheid in the world. Examine ways in which you may benefit from “predatory inclusion” the way Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor describes it: the organization of social relationships in a way that include all of us but do so unequally (like the way the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and perhaps your local bank, operate).

Samir Amin defined five monopolies that work as an integrated set to facilitate continued wealth accumulation for the few, while wrecking life and the planet for the many. These are monopolies of natural resource control, of weapons of mass destruction, of ideological and educational hegemony, of financial control and control of technology.

Ending apartheid requires softening your worldview, recognizing that our own is just one of many ways of being and thinking. All are needed to sustain our lives on the planet, and they need to be in healthy relationship with one another. Call it the democratization of intellect.

We begin inside our own hearts and proceed with practices that nourish beloved community through us and around us. It is only hard if we believe it is. Embrace it like breathing and drinking clean water — other necessary things for survival.

Sam is the Executive Director of Rainbow Research, a national social justice-focused nonprofit that does research, evaluation and participatory learning work with communities and institutions across the country. In partnership with the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment, the USGS and NOAA, they are working to address flood and drought risk that reduce climate resilience in environmental justice communities in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

KEEP LOCAL WOMEN IN POWER

Thank you for publishing the op-ed by long-time Boulder County Democrat and community activist Pete Salas on the primary races involving incumbent State Representative Junie Joseph and Boulder County Commissioner Marta Loachamin. (“Dems and DEI,” March 4)

As Pete pointed out, both of these women of color are highly intelligent, widely respected, well liked and very effective in their positions. It is unclear why primary battles in their cases are justified.

Regardless of whether there is racism at work, I encourage Boulder Weekly readers to get to know these two great women and judge for yourselves.

I do a lot of work on climate change and clean energy issues and have interacted with both State Rep. Joseph and County Commissioner Loachamin. After every interaction, I’ve come away impressed and grateful that these two intelligent, thoughtful, talented and very likable women are serving our community!

I will be supporting Joseph and Loachamin and hope that Boulder Weekly readers will join me.

— Leslie Glustrom,

Boulder

ELECTED OFFICE IS EARNED

Peter Salas is dismayed that “two women of color are being challenged in their respective races.”

To him I say: Nothing entitles an elected official to tenure.

In Boulder County, where Democratic candidates see little opposition from Republicans or any other political party, it is vital that registered Democrats decide whether the best candidate for office is an incumbent or a challenger. This decision started in last Saturday’s precinct caucuses.

— Janet Grassia, Boulder

DON’T COMPLAIN: CALL

Love Richard Kiefer’s reminder to “Don’t complain: Vote!” (“The case for voting even when you don’t want to,” Feb. 19). The same can be said for speaking up to those who represent us.

Right now, senators need to be reminded how important it is to pass the recent tax bill already passed by a bipartisan majority in the House. This bill will lift 500,000 children out of poverty and give 16 million Americans a leg up to battle hunger and homelessness.

Call those who represent you (202.224.3121) to encourage them to pass this and other initiatives of hope that can really make a difference. It beats complaining.

— Willie Dickerson, Snohomish, Wash.

WHY DO BOULDER’S ROADS SUCK WHEN IT SNOWS?

BY KAYLEE HARTER

Heather Harding, the business manager for Mountain Sun, has commuted from Longmont to Boulder for the last 14 years. She says the state of roads between the two towns after a snow are “remarkably different.”

“I’m amazed at how well [Longmont] does. Like, everywhere you go,” she says. “And then I commute in on the Diagonal, and that’s pretty clear. When I get to Foothills and Valmont, it’s like it completely changes. Even that same road is worse, and then the side roads in Boulder are just crazy.”

Boulderites have long lamented the state of their winter roads. As one Redditor posted last year, “Why are Boulder roads so bad? The roads around Boulder are pretty ok. In the city of Boulder it’s like an ice rink. It’s really bad… What’s going on?”

Boulder Weekly set out to answer that question by looking at procedures, policies and spending. Spoiler: It’s hard to say for sure, but it’s likely a combination of natural circumstances and the resources the City puts toward snow and ice control.

Longmont has one clear advantage when it comes to snow removal. Boulder averages just over 90 inches of snow per year, while Longmont averages just over 45 inches annually, according to 30-year averages from National Centers for Environmental Information. In 2022, Boulder was dubbed “the snowiest city in America” by the Denver Post when it topped the country’s snowfall totals in cities with populations of 50,000 people or more.

Other natural factors likely play into road conditions, too.

“We don’t get that afternoon sun that some of our neighbors to the east get because we’re nestled right up against the mountains,” says Scott Schlecht, Boulder’s transportation maintenance manager. “We have a shorter melting period during the day.”

MILEAGE AND MONEY

Despite the stark difference in snowfall, Boulder and Longmont’s snow and ice removal operate largely the same.

In Boulder, roads are designated as either primary, secondary or conditional. Primary routes are plowed on a two to

four hour schedule, secondary on a four to six hour schedule and conditional on a six to 12 hour schedule. Foothills Parkway, for example, is a primary route maintained by the City. Diagonal Highway, on the other hand, is maintained by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). Longmont plows about four times in a 12-hour cycle on average, according to Longmont Director of Public Works and Engineering Jim Angstadt, approximately every three hours — similar to Boulder’s schedule for primary routes. Longmont doesn’t have differing levels of priority for the roads it plows — both artillery and collector roads are plowed on that schedule.

BOULDER

Total lane miles: 622

Lane miles plowed: 428

Percentage plowed: 69%

Snow and ice budget: ~$1.67 million

Budget per lane mile: $3,985

Sources: CDOT, City of Boulder

LONGMONT

Total lane miles: 762

Lane miles plowed: 311

Percentage plowed: 41%

Snow and ice budget: ~$1.25 million

Budget per lane mile: $4,019

Sources: CDOT, City of Longmont

Both cities have similar plowing frequencies and spend about $4,000 per lane mile they plow. That means Boulder has the same amount of money as Longmont to deal with twice the amount of snow.

Boulder County maintains 740 total miles of road, 606 of which it plows. In 2023, it spent $2,345,777 on snow and ice removal. That’s $3,169 per mile (likely less in lane miles).

The state’s transportation department is responsible for state highways and interstates, which totals 23,000 lane miles. CDOT’s base snow and ice removal budget is $84 million, meaning it spends $3,652 per lane mile of plowed road.

Notably, county and state roads are distinct from city roads.

“CDOT has a much more uniform task of plowing long straight stretches of roads working in tandem. Their blades are much heavier and create greater downward force that would damage urban infrastructure such as storm sewers and other utilities in the roadway,” according to Longmont’s FAQ page. “Cities on the other hand must work in narrow roads around much more cross traffic and other obstacles such as storm drainage infrastructure. City equipment uses casters or hydraulics on blades to prevent them from damaging urban roads and infrastructure. In general, plowing in urban areas is more challenging and costs considerably more per lane mile.”

Traffic also differs on those roads.

“On the state highways and our open roads, you get faster traffic and more traffic moving through those areas,” Schlecht says. “And when we get

Courtesy: City of Boulder

Courtesy: City of Boulder

parked vehicles, or traffic is at a standstill or whatever, those roads tend to go to snowpack very quickly, because you can’t get your plows through there. And then traffic is driving very slowly on it and not moving the snow around. They’re just packing it down.”

MATERIALS

Boulder and Longmont both use a salt brine solution ahead of snow storms to prevent icing. For deicing — melting down ice after a storm — both cities also use a liquid magnesium chloride and a granulate Ice Slicer mix.

However, the cities use different amounts of those products. In the 2022-2023 season, Boulder used about 180,000 gallons of salt brine and a little over 1,000 tons of Ice Slicer. Longmont used more than five times the amount of Ice Slicer, about 5,380 tons, but about half the amount of brine, 48,000 gallons.

Schlecht says Boulder tries to limit the amount of salts it puts down.

The de- and anti-icing agents introduce salts into the runoff that can end up in streams, Schlecht says, “so we have to be really mindful of the amount of salt that we’re putting out there.”

“Anecdotally, what we see across some of our neighboring communities is some overuse of the deicing materials,” he says. “When you see that white layer on all of the streets following a storm, that is directly from overuse. I think neighboring communities and anybody in the industry tries to be mindful of that, but we also don’t just keep applying when we know that we’ve already applied the material.”

The county uses a mixture of sand for traction and “really diluted” magnesium chloride, according to Andrew Barth, a spokesperson for Boulder County Public Works.

A fun fact? The county typically mixes molasses with those products to help make it stick — though that hasn’t been the case this year due to molasses supply issues, he says.

WHAT ABOUT PLOWING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD?

One difference between Boulder and Longmont is that Boulder plows snow into the middle of the road on some streets.

“When you have to cross the street, it’s treacherous,” says Mountain Sun’s Harding.

It turns out, plowing into the middle isn’t great for conditions either.

“If snow were plowed to the center of the road, Mother Nature’s freeze and thaw cycles would cause ice to continually build on the travel lanes, resulting in even worse traction,” according to Longmont’s website. “Our roadways, drainage systems and snow plow equipment are all designed to work best when snow is moved to the side.”

Schlecht says Boulder plows to the middle only in very limited areas and then will return to those areas to haul snow out once a storm is over if warm temps aren’t following. He agrees it’s not ideal — most of the areas where snow is plowed to the middle are downtown, where plowing to the sides would block business parking, or in areas with “severe shading,” he says.

“They used to plow a lot to the center in Boulder, but that snow piled in the center will melt during the day and then freeze and cause ice feeding issues on the street,” he says. “Also, it’s difficult for people to access driveways if they’re not on the same side of the street, and it’s also difficult for emergency services to cross over those intersections.”

WILL IT EVER GET BETTER?

Boulder is in the middle of a snow and ice response review that has included public engagement, and is taking a look at where procedures can be improved. Proposed changes include adopting a storm-size-based approach and adjustments to what roads are in which priority level, with areas of highest equity priority receiving bigger increases in residential street clearing.

Additional funding will likely be requested to implement changes, and time will tell how much the changes improve road conditions.

Still, Boulder will have to contend with its natural circumstances — like the amount of snow and shade.

“We have finite resources and have to operate efficiently as you can within those resources while also considering environmental impacts of snow removal,” says Schlecht.

MELTING AWAY

Snow days disappearing due to COVID, climate change

BY SHAY CASTLE

Kids, bundled tight in winter coats, gloves, scarves and hats, racing sleds down a gentle slope. Hot cocoa held in numb fingers, sipped by lips on reddened faces.

These common snow day scenes were once a right of passage for school children in much of the northern United States, a rare day of freedom treasured almost as much as summer vacation.

The sight of a mid-week frolic in the snow may soon look as antiquated as horse-drawn carriages and silent films. Since the COVID-19 pandemic forced children to attend school virtually, many districts decided to keep kids logging on when the weather forces them to stay home.

New York City schools did. So did Seattle’s, and a half-dozen in Colorado, including St. Vrain Valley. They now do shortened remote learning days:

Students attend class virtually for 1.5-2 hours, then are free the rest of the day. Parents can opt out of remote learning; their children will receive excused absences.

“We have had over 90% participation during past inclement weather online learning days,” wrote district spokesper-

son Kerry McDermid, in response to Boulder Weekly’s questions. “Many parents want their students to have an opportunity to stay connected with their learning and engage with their teachers and classmates in our shortened online learning model, [and] many students also benefit from access to teacher office hours … to ask questions and receive individualized academic support.”

St. Vrain also considers it good career training, McDermid says. “We know that many future jobs and postsecondary education opportunities will rely on technology and involve a significant amount of virtual communication. We are providing our students with every opportunity to gain the skills and experiences they need to be prepared for success in the future.”

Not every district ditched snow days.

A survey by K-12 news organization Education Week found that just 39% of principals and district leaders had switched to distance learning on bad weather days (although another 32% were considering it). Some who switched to remote learning in 2022 and 2023 reinstated severe weather

days this school year, including districts in Boston and Washington, D.C. Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) still cancels classes during inclement weather. It’s less of an active choice than a continuation of the way things have always been done, district spokesperson Randy Barber says.

“We are continuing to use the snow day protocols we’ve had since before I came to BVSD,” he wrote in response

to emailed questions. “There was no formal action required.”

Barber also points to the complexities of virtual learning as reason to stick with snow days. “Outages due to storms, prep work needed to shift to a different mode of learning, equipment needed to participate” and teachers who need child care for their own children — “virtual days are difficult for a number of reasons.”

Skiers at the base of the Chautauqua Mesa ski hill. Courtesy: Carnegie Library for Local History

Boulderites young and old have always enjoyed snow days, as demonstrated by these photos from 1900 (left), 1961 (center) and circa 1900-1909 (right). Courtesy: Carnegie Library for Local History

The argument may become moot as winters get warmer. “Snow days” actually cover extreme weather of any kind that impacts safety or transportation, including extreme cold. St. Vrain had one such remote learning day in January.

An analysis by the Colorado Climate Center shows that January temperatures along the northern Front Range are 3.9 degrees hotter, on average, than they were in 1895, 9News reported earlier this year.

As of this writing, there haven’t been any full-fledged winter weather days in BVSD yet in the 2023-2024 season, Barber says. The district called a two-hour delay on Jan. 16 and canceled all afternoon (post 3 p.m.) events on Feb. 3, but that’s it.

It’s unclear how local parents and kids feel about snow days. Neither district provided information on parent and student feedback: There was no need to collect any at BVSD, since nothing has changed, and St. Vrain dodged the question.

An article in The Talon Tribune, the student news site for Longmont’s Silver Creek High School, quoted a high school student defending snow days as an important chance to de-

stress and “enjoy the season.”

Teachers and counselors were also quoted; the author noted their “mixed opinions” about the policy and expressed “some hope for change,” informing students that they could petition the district’s superintendent to reinstate weather-related cancellations.

“Snow days used to be a day where students would get to sleep in or do what they wanted,” the article concluded. “It used to be a day for relaxation for some students while others might catch up on missing school work.”

While defenders of remote learning have argued that it prepares children for the future, others believe free time contributes to development.

“I definitely feel that unstructured play time is just as valuable as what they’d be learning” in school, says Emily Braucher, mother of two BVSD students. “It’s part of why I left the Northeast, because of that structured, very-academic focused culture.

“But,” she admits after a pause, for her to feel really good about her kids, 6 and 8, taking a snow day, “they have to be doing really well in school.”

ADULTS NEED SNOW DAYS,

Snow days are typically associated with elementary, middle and high schools, but colleges and universities have staff and students to protect, too! Just like their K-12 counterparts, institutions of higher learning are increasingly turning away from full-on closures in lieu of remote learning, according to a report from Inside Higher Ed.

Locally, CU Boulder’s protocol includes campus closures and cancellation of classes in the event of inclement weather (including snow, ice, tornadoes, flood and fire) or emergencies such as “chemical spills, air pollution advisories and other similar disasters.”

With three campuses (Longmont, Westminster, Fort Collins), Front Range Community College has been coordinating remote meetings and classes since 1995, according to communications director Jessica Peterson. But they’ll still cancel classes for a day if the weather necessitates it.

“Faculty and instructors will determine if their classes for the day will move to remote or be canceled,” Peterson wrote in response to emailed questions. But for storms lasting two or more days, “staff whose job can be performed remotely are expected to work remotely” and “as much as possible” classes would be remote, too.

The policy is flexible, Peterson notes: Faculty and staff have discretion to cancel classes during “extenuating circumstances” such as power outages.

110 Emery St, # A Longmont, CO 970-629-6600 longmont.dee-o-gee.com

Welcome to Dee-O-Gee Longmont, where pets take the spotlight in a haven designed for their happiness. Nestled in Longmont, our store thrives as a vibrant paradise for pet enthusiasts. Committed to enriching pets’ lives, we offer a carefully curated selection of premium products, from wholesome foods to trendy accessories and engaging toys. We also specialize in grooming all breeds and have a DIY for those shy pups.

More than just a store, Dee-O-Gee Longmont fosters a

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

We’re a family owned indoor flea market and antique store located in Longmont, Colorado.

community of pet lovers. Our knowledgeable team provides personalized guidance, ensuring every pet parent finds the perfect solutions for their furry companions. Through fun events and a warm, welcoming atmosphere, we create connections that extend beyond retail.

At Dee-O-Gee Longmont, our philosophy revolves around pet well-being and joy. We’re dedicated to being a trusted partner in every pet’s journey to a fulfilling life. Join us in celebrating the love and happiness pets bring to our lives and please bring in your pooch!

110 Emery Street, #A, Longmont, CO 970-629-6600 • www.longmont.dee-o-gee.com

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.

1225 Ken Pratt Blvd. #108 Longmont, CO

303-485-1565

www.fourpawsandco.com

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

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

BOCO, BRIEFLY

Local news at a glance

BY WILL MATUSKA

REVAMPING DOWNTOWN LONGMONT

Several construction projects coming up or already underway are designed to reshape downtown Longmont.

• New bus and bike lanes and sidewalks will be added to Coffman Street from 1st to 9th avenues. Primary construction will start in May, but preliminary work, like removing trees, started this week, causing the closure of the 300 East parking lot.

• Staging work (fence installation, equipment dropoff) started on Hotel Longmont this week, a fivestory boutique hotel on the northwest corner of Kimbark Street and 3rd Avenue. The plan includes 84 guest rooms and a rooftop restaurant space. Demolition could start as soon as March 21, according to the City.

• Longmont Housing Authority’s The Village on Main property, formerly called Village Place, will undergo renovations including unit updates and an additional public restroom on the second floor. Renovations started in January and will be completed by the end of the year.

• The City and RTD are partnering to construct facilities to serve bus lines on the south end of the downtown area as part of its 1st and Main Transit Station project. The plan includes a parking garage and 300 to 400 apartments. The project is in the planning phase and is estimated to be completed in 2026.

According to the City, an open house with all downtown projects will be scheduled in the coming weeks.

FIRE MITIGATION GRANTS

Boulder County is distributing more than $1.5 million to 11 local organizations for wildfire fuel mitigation.

These are the first grants awarded through the Strategic Fuels Mitigation Grant program, funded by the Wildfire Mitigation Tax that was approved by voters in 2022. Recipients include Boulder Mountain Fire Protection District, Boulder Valley and Longmont Conservation Districts, the City of Longmont and the Town of Lyons.

IN OTHER NEWS…

• A study from CU Boulder published March 5 in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment finds the Arctic’s first icefree day could happen within a decade, much earlier than originally projected. By mid-century, the region could see an entire month without floating ice during warm summer months.

• The City of Louisville is collecting resident feedback to update its 11-year-old comprehensive plan, a document that guides policy updates, growth and development. The City is hosting a community open house at the Louisville Recreation and Senior Center on Thursday, March 21 at 5:30 p.m. for residents to learn more about the plan, and is also distributing a survey (bit.ly/city_ survey).

• The Town of Superior and Boulder County filed a lawsuit against Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport and Jefferson County on March 12 “to protect their residents from negative and unreasonable health impacts caused by certain operations,” according to a press release from Superior.

GOV’T WATCH

What your local officials are up to

BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF

BOULDER CITY COUNCIL

On March 21, council will:

• Say yay or neigh to the sale of a failed ranger patrol horse for $11,000. The 17-year-old Friesian sporthorse named Yukon was purchased by the City in 2022 to restart a Mountain Patrol Program that welcomes visitors and provides education and outreach. A staff memo said a five-month evaluation determined Yukon wasn’t a good fit for job, which required constant interactions with the public, including dogs and bicycles. “This is best for both Yukon and the program,” staff wrote.

The city manager has to notify council when they decide to sell property worth over $5,000 without competitive bidding. If council agrees, Yukon will join Rocky Mountain Riding Therapy to work with first responders.

• Take a preliminary vote to designate a portion of the civic area, from 1777 Broadway to 14th Street and between Canyon Boulevard and Arapahoe Avenue, as a historic district, which adds a level of design review for exterior changes and new buildings.

• Vote on the annexation of 27 acres for the South Boulder Creek Flood Mitigation project.

BOULDER COUNTY

On March 19, commissioners will:

• Join interviews for the Library District Board of Trustees at 9 a.m., hosted by the City of Boulder.

• Hold an in-person town hall at Mountain View Fire Rescue (4380 Eldorado Springs Drive) at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the Eldorado Springs Local Improvement District (LID), which was formed in 2003 as a means for residents to pay for the community’s wastewater treatment plant. Now that the plant has been built and will be paid off by December 2025, the LID will end. This town hall will discuss future payment structures for the plant.

PAST LIVES

Chelsea Wolfe embraces the unknown

BY CHRISTOPHER PIERCY

The only constant is change. Just ask California singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe, whose seventh studio album She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She marks an inflection point in a journey of personal transformation.

Drawing from her recent sobriety and youthful influences of trip-hop and industrial music, Wolfe’s latest LP — released Feb. 9 via Loma Vista — is the sound of a time-tested artist searching for a new sense of self in a world that won’t stop spinning.

“It’s been cool to let go of the version of myself that I thought I had to live up to,” she says. “When you’re drinking, maybe it’s not even a conscious thing, but you are kind of holding on to this sort of ego or personality — and when you let the alcohol go, oftentimes you find a different version of yourself that you like.”

Emotional purging has been a thread running through Wolfe’s work since her 2010 debut The Grime and the Glow, but this latest song cycle allows the glimmered hope of renewal to peek through the darkness.

“I was feeling a little bit rawer and more vulnerable,” Wolfe says. “I’m OK with not feeling shameful about being more honest and open. A lot of people are going through similar transitions in their life, in one way or another, and I just felt like the things I was writing about were things a lot of people will be able to connect with.”

THE VOID STARES BACK

called The Moon Book: Lunar Magic to Change Your Life by Sarah Faith Gottesdiener as a major influence.

“It’s essentially about learning to live by the cycles of the moon, and the phase I felt most drawn to was the dark moon, which is the final three days of each moon cycle before the moon becomes new again,” Wolfe says. “It kind of represents this void space, this sort of in-between, liminal space that I became really attracted to because I’m still very much in this space. I felt like the dark moon and the void was kind of a character on this album.”

Gottesdiener’s book also offered Wolfe guidance on fusing elements of

“Writing this album in my late 30s, I was really inspired by the music I was listening to in my late teens,” Wolfe says. “I think my past self was sort of reaching forward a little bit and inspiring me.”

Infused with notes of witchcraft and the metaphysical, Wolfe’s new album also reflects her lifelong connection to esoteric practices introduced to her by her grandmother. She points to a work

her past, current and future selves. Reflecting on her teenage years immersed in moody electronica and trip-hop — specifically Tricky, Massive Attack, Portishead and Björk — Wolfe found herself drawn back to the sounds of that cycle in her life, incorporating those influences on She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She

‘AN UNEXPECTED BLESSING’

Wolfe is an omnivorous collaborator, working with metalcore behemoths Converge, post-metal group Russian Circles and black metal band Deafheaven, among others. On her latest album, she and her bandmates reached out to TV on the Radio guitarist Dave Sitek to produce.

“I like to push myself out of that comfort zone of working solo — getting into the studio with other people and bringing a new person into the mix” Wolfe says. “Dave was one of the first people we hit up who we really felt like understood the songs and understood the weirdness of them, and wanted to take them in an even weirder direction.”

But Wolfe’s collaborative spirit extends beyond the rock idiom. In 2022, she paired up with film composer Tyler Bates to work on Ti West’s hit slasher flick, X

“I learned a lot on that project,” Wolfe says. “It was really cool to be watching someone else’s creative vision and getting prompts and notes from them, and trying to deliver on these different sounds they wanted.”

One sound they wanted was a cover of the World War I-era song “Oui Oui Marie” from 1918. So Wolfe delivered a traditional take on the standard, along with a little something extra.

“On my own one night, I did an acoustic version and sent that their way as well. And they ended up liking that,” she says. “It was cool to be able to do things that were just kind of off the cuff.”

That sort of in-the-moment creativity is a sanctuary for Wolfe, 40, during this new phase of her life. Strengthened by her newfound sobriety, the artist finds herself looking forward to a broader horizon of possibilities.

“I’m just so open to new things now,” Wolfe says. “I think before, I’m not sure if I would have been able to manage doing all that I was doing and also do soundtracks, but luckily that was an unexpected blessing.”

ON THE BILL: Chelsea

Wolfe with Divide and Dissolve. 8 p.m. Friday, March 22, Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. $34

California goth-rock queen Chelsea Wolfe performs with Melbourne-based Divide and Dissolve at the Gothic Theater in Englewood on March 22. Credit: Ebru Yildiz

Chelsea Wolfe’s seventh studio album, She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She, was released Feb. 9. Courtesy: Loma Vista

THE GUY AT THE GATES

Ray Chen brings classical music to the masses

BY KELLY DEAN HANSEN

Ray Chen doesn’t define success by artistic accomplishments alone, although they are many.

The violinist — born in Taiwan and raised in Australia — won the 2008 International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition and the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition, where he was the youngest participant. In 2016, Chen was the youngest juror ever of the Menuhin Competition. He has collaborated with the greatest orchestras at the most famous concert halls.

For Chen, these achievements are a means to an end.

“My purpose is to introduce classical music to more people,” the 35-year-old says. “I’ve reached my goals and made new ones, but I’ve decided to quantify my success by the amount of

positive impact I make through music.”

Expanding the audience for classical music means meeting people where they are. Chen does that with a dynamic social media presence on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where he has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers, in part by using comedy to introduce newcomers to the art form.

“I see myself as the top of the funnel or at the gates to welcome people in. I remember not really seeing a guy at the gates as a kid, and even finding that the gates were kind of barred,” he says. “Music happens to be what I’m good at, and it’s what I can use as a connection point.”

A FULL-COURSE MENU

Chen’s funnel metaphor also applies to the way he constructs a concert

program, which Boulder audiences will experience when he performs with collaborative pianist Julio Elizalde during the CU Presents Artist Series at Macky Auditorium on March 21.

“People don’t always want to go straight to the most complex thing,” he says. “They are at the end of a busy day, and I’m asking them to sit for 90 minutes or more in a concert hall. You have to coax them into that, so you can’t start with something too brilliant.”

The celebrated violinist likes to be eclectic, but in a thematic way, approaching the evening like a multicourse meal. The “appetizer” on the CU Presents program is the familiar “Devil’s Trill” Sonata by baroque composer Giuseppe Tartini.

“It’s a piece that can create a sort of dream state with its crazy virtuoso passages, and it makes an effective preview,” Chen says. “You know this won’t be a quick meal.”

Chen and Elizalde then move to the main course of a Beethoven violin sonata. (“Your ears and palate are now ready for that complex, more intense kind of flavor,” he says.) The Sonata in C minor, Op. 30, No. 2, is a

serious piece, with an incredibly difficult piano part, and Chen says Elizalde plays Beethoven as well as any pianist he has heard.

After the intermission, Chen takes the stage alone to play J.S. Bach’s E-major Partita for Solo Violin. “This is like a lighter palate cleanser after we’ve had the heavy stuff with Beethoven,” he says. “The change of sonority to violin alone after hearing violin with piano, along with the brighter major key, creates a new beginning.”

Chen and Elizalde make the transition to “dessert” with the virtuosic-butdelightful La Ronde des Lutins (Dance of the Goblins) by 19th-century Italian composer Antonio Bazzini and an arrangement of a Slavonic dance by Antonín Dvořák.

“At that point, we have tried everything in the classical realm, so we’ll end with something completely different and outside of expectations,” Chen says of the concert finale, an arrangement of “Spain” by jazz musician Chick Corea. “That is classical musicians playing something non-classical, so listeners can hear that these guys can nail anything.”

Presenting this full-course menu requires a partnership with somebody who has the same vision, and Chen says Elizalde is that partner for him.

“Julio is not only an extremely gifted musician, but he has the strongest work ethic of anybody I have met,” Chen says. “He’s both my anchor and my launch pad.”

Ultimately, Chen says the collaborative partner needs to balance the other performer.

“We have to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and develop them together,” he says. “The spotlight might be on me, but he actually plays more notes than I do and creates the whole support structure in a piece like the Beethoven sonata.”

“Music happens to be what I’m good at, and it’s what I can use as a connection point,” says violin virtuoso Ray Chen. Credit: John Mac

BLOOD SIMPLE

‘Love Lies Bleeding’ is a blast

BY MICHAEL J. CASEY

It started as love but it ended with a body in the desert. Sometimes, that’s how these things go.

But one look at the small New Mexico town where Loves Lies Bleeding is set, and you’ll get the impression that this is how these things often go. Everyone who resides here looks like they would feel at home in a hardboiled crime novel by Jim Thompson. “Be careful around here,” one character is told by two different residents. They never say why, but she soon finds out.

She is Jackie (Katy O’Brian), a drifter passing through on her way to Las Vegas, where she dreams of winning a bodybuilding competition. She screws one of the locals, J.J. (Dave Franco), in the front seat of his Camaro to score an interview at the local gun range. The range is run by Lou (Ed Harris sporting a mighty impressive skullet), and it’s not the only business he’s in charge of. Jackie lands a job waitressing at the gun range’s bar — arguably one of the

worst entrepreneurial mash-ups this side of a Crossfit-Taco Bell — and then catches the eye of the woman running the local gym. Her name is also Lou (Kristen Stewart), and she invites Jackie back to her place for a passionate roll in the hay. Jackie’s been in town for two days, and she’s already secured employment, housing and a romantic relationship. Some work faster than others.

But, as these things go, nothing is as easy as it seems. Both Jackie and Lou have pasts they’re running from. And though Love Lies Bleeding only hints at Jackie’s, Lou’s is explored in visceral detail. I won’t give away the various characters’ relationships, but this town is one where everyone has a history with everyone else. It’s never a coincidence that one character happens to be in that one place at that one time to see that one thing, only fate.

Thankfully, director Rose Glass — who wrote the screenplay with

Weronika Tofilska — does such a good job of building atmosphere and tension that all of this seems plausible. Even when J.J. beats his wife Beth (Jena Malone), her face a swollen purple mass and his knuckles bruised and broken, the whole town turns a blind eye. And not because he is the type of guy you don’t want to cross, but because he is in cahoots with the type of guy you don’t want to cross. But Jackie, the outsider, doesn’t know that. So she sets the revenge-o-matic in gear, and the narrative skips from one story to another quicker than you can say Psycho

Love Lies Bleeding is a fun, icky delight with touches of surrealism that give the noir-soaked story a tinge of David Lynch. In one scene, Lou closes her eyes and flashes back to the image of a face so bathed in crimson that he might as well be the devil. In another, Jackie’s well-honed body transforms into a hulking mass that makes her feel

10 feet tall. The way Glass and cinematographer Ben Fordesman visualize these emotions is fantastic.

Love Lies Bleeding is as jarring as it is exciting. It’s not a movie for the squeamish — lots of gooey blood and shattered bone in this one — or those seeking a tidy story. Everything here makes sense and connects, though I’ll be damned what to make of the movie’s ending. But it’s not likely to leave my memory anytime soon. Nor will Clint Mansell’s pulsating score, Stewart’s ability to convincingly play just about any character and all of those tawdry hairstyles and mustaches. In almost any other movie, they would seem silly, over-the-top and mocking. Love Lies Bleeding earns every strand.

ON SCREEN: Love Lies Bleeding opens in theaters on March 15.

Katy O’Brian (left) and Kristen Stewart in Love Lies Bleeding Courtesy: A24

STAGING THE FUTURE

Local Lab returns with readings of three new plays

BY TONI TRESCA

Ever wanted to be in the room where the seeds of theatrical masterpieces are sown?

Boulder-based Local Theater Company’s (LTC) 13th installment of Local Lab, hosted at the Dairy Arts Center’s Grace Gamm Theatre from March 15 to 17, gives you a backstage pass to the creative furnace that is playwriting.

Pulitzer Prize winner Beth Henley, alongside acclaimed artists Andrew Rosendorf, Carlyn Aquiline and Michelle Tyrene Johnson, will take center stage in a weekend brimming with staged readings, workshops and candid conversations. The festival does more than showcase new works; it invites local audiences into the heart of the creative process.

THE UNBUTTONING

BY BETH HENLEY

8 p.m. Friday, March 15

The Blue Ridge Mountains are the backdrop for this mesmerizing fantasia where secrets, once fastened tight, come undone. Directed by LTC Founding Artistic Director Pesha Rudnick, the new play by Beth Henley exemplifies her Southern Gothic flair and penchant for tapping into women’s inner lives.

The story takes place on a stormy night in a remote cabin high on a mountain, where a traveling button salesman visits a woman and awakens something within her. Henley says her time in the iconic Eastern mountain range was a major inspiration for The Unbuttoning

“There’s a flavor of mystery out there,” she says. “It feels like the sky touches the mountains, so you are just surrounded by blue skies, mountains and nothing else. While I was out there, I interacted with a lot of traveling salespeople. I started doing a lot of research

on salesmen and came up with the idea of writing about them, the Blue Ridge Mountains, [class] and womanhood.”

Henley says her collaboration with Rudnick helped her iron out “cringe moments” in the script. “Especially after COVID, being in-person with people who love theater has never really meant more to me in my life,” she says. “I’m grateful for this company that is still exploring new works with writers. That’s more difficult because many people are cutting [new plays] from their seasons.”

STOCKADE

BY ANDREW ROSENDORF WITH CARLYN AQUILINE

7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 16

Following Henley’s opening act, Stockade, directed by LTC Co-Artistic Director Nick Chase, centers on a reunion of gay soldiers on Fire Island post-WWII. The play tackles themes of identity against the backdrop of the Lavender Scare, a long-running period of discrimination against LGBTQ service members.

Andrew Rosendorf, along with his 15-year collaborator and dramaturg Carlyn Aquiline, was commissioned by LTC to develop a play exploring the intersection between the LGBTQ community and the military. Rosendorf returns to Boulder after participating in 2018’s Lab with his play Paper Cut about an amputee returning home after Afghanistan, which LTC produced that year as a world premiere.

“As the pandemic was starting, Local reached out wanting to know if I’d be interested in doing a commission that might be a sequel to Paper Cut,” Rosendorf recalls. “I said I’d think about it and realized this could be an opportunity to investigate queerness and World War II. It had always been an interest for me, but given the huge research component associated with it, I just

hadn’t had the time or space to do that.”

He returned to Local with an idea: Write something original in conversation with Paper Cut and bring Aquiline on board from the ground up to aid in the research process. Together, the duo, whose play One-Shot was recently featured in the 2024 Colorado New Play Summit in February, spent months learning about the era to help shape the work.

“Stockade uses history to reflect our present moment,” Aquiline says. “This play resonates now because, unfortunately, we’re taking steps backward in terms of gay rights in this country. Even three years ago when we started the process, it wasn’t as bad as it is today. There’s so much activism against gay and trans people, so we’re meeting the moment in a way that I’m not sure we understood when we started.”

CHASING BREADCRUMBS

BY MICHELLE TYRENE JOHNSON

2 p.m. Sunday, March 17

The Lab’s final play, Chasing Breadcrumbs, is a poignant exploration of a playwright’s journey through creative compromise. Delving into the alltoo-real challenges faced by Black artists today, Johnson’s play — directed by LTC Co-Artistic Director Betty Hart — was sparked by a jarring interaction with an audience member.

“An older white woman at one of my plays said, ‘I loved your play except for

one little thing: Could you just make the characters white people?’ What I’m sure she meant, which made it no less offensive, was that the play isn’t about race or racism, so why bog down a perfectly good story by making the characters Black?” Johnson says. “I thought, ‘This pisses me off,’ but I wanted to put that feeling someplace productive — for me, that’s usually writing a play.”

Chasing Breadcrumbs follows Serena, a Black playwright commissioned by a group of rich white women to write something to make them look good and feel better about themselves because they’re tired of “Karens” getting a bad rap.

“I took my irritation and turned it into something funny,” Johnson says. “Even though the play’s plot is absurd and fictional, the situation is very realistic.”

Johnson was inspired to submit to the festival by her friend, Rosendorf, who had mentioned his positive experience at Local Lab to her.

“I love the development process of a new play,” she says. “I live alone, so when I write a play, I send it out and don’t know how it sounds until it’s read aloud. I’m excited about coming to Local Lab to see how this fresh, inspired play lands with Boulder’s audience.”

ON STAGE: Local Lab 13. March 15-17, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. $30 per reading

Min Kyung (Cecilia) Kim performs in a Local Lab 12 reading of Great Bends by Sarah Powers.

Credit: Michael Ensminger Photography

Thursday

15 BRIDES OF MARCH

6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 14, Healing Solutions, 6363 West 120th Ave., Unit 310, Broomfield. $20

Improv isn’t just for the theatricallyinclined. Healing Solutions will help you learn the basics of confident communication during this workshop, fostering skills in active listening and collaboration while laughing all the way through.

14

BACKCOUNTRY FILM FESTIVAL

5-8 p.m. Thursday, March 14, Nederland Community Center - Backdoor Theater, 750 CO-72. $15

8 p.m. Friday, March 15, 1325 Pearl St., Boulder. Free

One and all are welcome to don thrift store wedding dresses and descend on Pearl Street for a one-of-a-kind bar crawl. The rationale is simple, according to the Facebook listing: “‘Cuz it’s fun and Boulder has become sooooooo very stuffy.”

16

TRANSFORMING GENDER CONFERENCE

16

HERSTORY WORKSHOP

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, March 16 and Sunday, March 17, Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway. $295

Women’s History Month festivities continue during this two-day workshop with Laurie Pemberton and Nancy Anderson. Enjoy a weekend of uninterrupted, judgment-free time to create art in community with other like-minded women.

16

Friday

Head to the Backdoor Theater in Ned for a night of outdoor film screenings in support of Wild Bear Nature Center’s Snow School program for kids. Kaleidoscope Kitchen food truck will be onsite, so be sure to come hungry.

9 a.m. Saturday, March 16 and Sunday, March 17, Koelbel Building, 995 Regent Drive, Boulder. Free

Queering biology, trans youth advocacy and a parent-and-family Q&A are on the docket during this CU Boulder conference. Keynote speakers include queer Indigenous activist Teddy Syrette, comedian Hayden Kristal and Montana State Representative Zooey Zephyr.

PRETTY IN PUNK

7 p.m. Saturday, March 16, Junkyard Social Club, 2525 Frontier Ave., Boulder. $20

Burlesque, drag and punk rock collide during this community bash at Junkyard Social Club. Festivities include live music by A Lack of Champions and performances by local drag and burlesque artists like Weird Al Spankabitch and more.

EVENTS

16

ST. PATRICK’S DAY PUPPY PARADE

1 p.m. Saturday, March 16, Boulder Social, 1600 38th St. $10 donation

St. Patty’s goes to the dogs during this four-legged celebration at Boulder Social, featuring a costume contest and pup parade to support Farfel’s Farm & Rescue. A $10 donation gets you a free beer, plus dog-safe frozen yogurt and cupcake samples from The Bear & The Rat.

17

THE SUNDAY COMICS

11 a.m. Sunday, March 17, The Times Collaborative, 338 Main St., Longmont. $15

Local comedians hit the stage for an hour of punchlines and libations from Dry Land Distillers during this monthly stand-up showcase featuring brunch from Rising Tiger at the Times Collaborative in Longmont.

17

WORLD’S SHORTEST ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE

Noon-3 p.m. Sunday, March 17, 1600 Block of Pearl Street, Boulder. Free

Don’t blink or you’ll miss it. The World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade returns to 16th Street between Pearl and Spruce for a quick-andquirky street celebration followed by beer gardens and holiday-themed fun.

18

DEION SANDERS BOOK LAUNCH: ELEVATE AND DOMINATE

7-9 p.m. Monday, March 18, Macky Auditorium, 1595 Pleasant St., Boulder. $60

It’s prime time at Macky Auditorium when CU Buffs head coach Deion Sanders takes the stage for the official launch of his book, Elevate and Dominate: 21 Ways to Win on and Off the Field. Tickets include a signed book and “a Coach Prime photo op.”

19

VEGAN ASIAN DUMPLINGS CLASS

4:45-8 p.m. Tuesday, March 19, Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, 637 S. Broadway St., Suite H, Boulder. $75-$95

Join Chef Dallas at Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts for a class on Asian dumplings — from filling to forming to cooking. And if that whets your appetite, don’t miss a Boulder Weekly roundup of the city’s best dumplings in our annual dining special edition (Feast) next week.

19

SIMULATED SELVES

5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 19, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 1750 13th St. $15

BMoCA Curator Jane Burke moderates this panel discussion with local digital media researchers on the subject of self-performance in the digital age. The talk is presented in conjunction with the museum’s spring exhibition, Performing Self, on display through April 28.

LIVE MUSIC

THURSDAY, MARCH 14

BASS CASCADE FEAT. BASSTROYD, BWRZ, DELTA ORB, DJ HUNT, REDS AND RSENIK.

8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $18

FLIPTURN WITH TRASH PANDA.

7 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $30

DAN HOCHMAN 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free

SPACE BACON WITH GIANT WALKING ROBOTS. 8 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Boulder. $15

DANCE WITH THE MOON FEAT. BLESSING CHAMINGA. 7 p.m. eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. $15

HUNTER STONE AND FRIENDS

9 p.m. License No. 1, 2115 13th St., Boulder. Free

FRIDAY, MARCH 15

BAILEN WITH RETT MADISON

7 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $28

THE BROOK & THE BLUFF WITH TEENAGE DADS 7 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $28

VAN ZEPPELIN AND DOLLS IN THE ATTIC. 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. $15

VON DISCO, PLUS ULTRA WITH KID ASTRONAUT AND NEW BASS THEORY. 8 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Boulder. $12

THE CROOKED RUGS WITH PLOOM AND TARANTULA BILL

9 p.m. Hi Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $15

EQUINOX - QUEEN OF AIR & FRIENDS 8 p.m. Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 1750 13th St. $30

THE LONG RUN 7:30 p.m. Nissi’s, 1455 Coal Creek Drive, Unit T, Lafayette. $30

AQUILES & THE LATIN GROOVE.

6:30 p.m. Muse Performance Space, 200 E. South Boulder Road, Lafayette. $20

SATURDAY, MARCH 16

G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE WITH JAKOBS CASTLE 7:30 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $45

CLUB 90S PRESENTS: 2000S NIGHT 9 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $25

ATOMGA 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. $15

LOVE GANG WITH COLFAX SPEED QUEEN AND NIGHT FISHING 9 p.m. Hi Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $20

PHYPHR 9 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Boulder. $25

ANGUS MOHR – CELTIC ROCK. 7:30 p.m. Nissi’s, 1455 Coal Creek Drive, Unit T, Lafayette. $20

RICK RUBY FUNK TRIO 9:30 p.m. License No. 1, 2115 13th St., Boulder. Free

SUNDAY, MARCH 17

COISIR – TRADITIONAL IRISH MUSIC 7 p.m. Nissi’s, 1455 Coal Creek Drive, Unit T, Lafayette. $20

HORSE BITCH WITH FRESH FRUIT, THE MACKS AND JESUS CHRIST TAXI DRIVER 7 p.m. Hi Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $15

MONDAY, MARCH 18

LES PTO FAMILY SILENT DISCO 5 p.m. Louisville Underground, 640 Main St. $10

THE SCHIZOPHONICS WITH THE OMENS AND CLEANER. 8 p.m. Hi Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $18

LIVE MUSIC

BoCo instrumental psychonauts Prairiewolf bring their spacey fusion of cosmic country, ambient Americana and psychedelic easy-listening to Globe Hall in support of Color Green and Rosali on March 19. Scan the QR code for a Boulder Weekly feature on the homegrown outfit before you go. See listing for details

TUESDAY, MARCH 19

CHAD WACKERMAN DRUM

CLINIC. 6:30 p.m. Chamber Hall, 1020 18th St., Boulder. Free

NITE WITH ABHORIA AND ASHES FOR THE MUTE. 8 p.m. Hi Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $15

COLOR GREEN WITH ROSALI AND PRAIRIEWOLF 7 p.m.

Tuesday, March 19, Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $17 BW PICK OF THE WEEK

K. FLAY WITH CAM KAHIN

(NIGHT 1) 8 p.m. Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver. Resale: $50+

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20

MANY MOUNTAINS 6 p.m.

Rosalee’s Pizzeria, 461 Main St., Longmont. Free

SIR CHLOE WITH DAFFO 8:30 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $25

DELTA SONICS DUO 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free

TONY TRAHAN AND BLUEKREWE

7:30 p.m. Nissi’s, 1455 Coal Creek Drive, Unit T, Lafayette. Free

GEORGE NELSON BAND 8 p.m. License No. 1, 2115 13th St., Boulder. Free

THURSDAY, MARCH 21

PRÓXIMA PARADA AND OLIVER

HAZARD. 7 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $25

DECHEN HAWK DUO. 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free

CLAY ROSE, SINGER-SONGWRITER NIGHT WITH KAREN FINCH 7 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Boulder. Free

MICHAEL MORROW AND THE CULPRITS. 7:30 p.m. Nissi’s, 1455 Coal Creek Drive, Unit T, Lafayette. Free

NERSHI HANN TRIO 7 p.m. eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. $35

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

EVENTS EVENTS

N OBO ART CENTER

NoBoArtDistrict.org

MARCH 1-30 • Exhibit: Jordan Espinoza

MARCH 14 • Drop-In Nude Figure Drawing on Tuesdays

MARCH 16 • Teen Acrylic Painting Club

BUS STOP GALLERY

MARCH 15 • Stories of Farther Lands in Words and Music, performance by Belgin Yucelen, Michiko Theurer, Egemen Kesikli

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● One year of experience owning project timelines, developing project plans, and delegating tasks.

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Candidates MUST be able to work In-Office minimum of 3 days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) with the possibility of 100% in office in the future. To apply, please submit your resume and summary of interest in the role to: careers@delvedeeper.com. Questions? Call (206) 892-8508. Delve Partners Inc is an equal opportunity employer valuing diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Delve Partners Inc, 183 S Taylor Ave., Unit 156, Louisville, CO 80027. No agency referrals, please.

ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): I will never advise you to dim the flame of your ambition or be shy about radiating your enthusiasm. For the next few weeks, though, I urge you to find ways to add sap, juice and nectar to your fiery energy. See if you can be less like a furnace and more like a sauna; less like a rumbling volcano and more like a tropical river. Practically speaking, this might mean being blithely tender and unpredictably heartful as you emanate your dazzling glow.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): Some spiritual traditions tell us that the path to enlightenment and awakening is excruciatingly difficult. One teaching compares it to crossing a bridge that’s sharper than a sword, thinner than a hair and hotter than fire. Ideas like these have no place in my personal philosophy. I believe enlightenment and awakening are available to anyone who conscientiously practices kindness and compassion. A seeker who consistently asks, “What is the most loving thing I can do?” will be rewarded with life-enhancing transformations. Now I invite you to do what I just did, Taurus. That is, re-evaluate a task or process that everyone (maybe even you) assumes is hard and complicated. Perform whatever tweaks are necessary to understand it as fun, natural and engaging.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): Do you have a relative your parents never told you about? If so, you may find out about them soon. Do you have a secret you want to keep secret? If so, take extra caution to ensure it stays hidden. Is there a person you have had a covert crush on for a while? If so, they may discover your true feelings any minute now. Have you ever wondered if any secrets are being concealed from you? If so, probe gently for their revelation, and they just may leak out. Is there a lost treasure you have almost given up on finding? If so, revive your hopes.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): Cancerian poet Pablo Neruda wrote this to a lover: “I want to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees.” That sounds very romantic. What does it mean? The arrival of spring brings warmer soil and air, longer hours of sunlight and nurturing precipitation. The flowers of some cherry trees respond by blooming with explosive vigor. Some trees sprout upwards of 4,000 blossoms. Maybe Neruda was exaggerating for poetic effect, but if he truly wanted to rouse his lover to be like a burgeoning cherry tree, he’d have to deal with an overwhelming outpouring of lush beauty and rampant fertility. Could he have handled it? If I’m reading the upcoming astrological omens correctly, you Cancerians now have the power to inspire and welcome such lavishness. And yes, you can definitely handle it.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): Speaking on behalf of all non-Leos, I want to express our gratitude for the experiments you have been conducting. Your willingness to dig further than ever before into the mysterious depths is exciting. Please don’t be glum just because the results are still inconclusive and you feel a bit vulnerable. I’m confident you will ultimately generate fascinating outcomes that are valuable to us as well as you. Here’s a helpful tip: Give yourself permission to be even more daring and curious. Dig even deeper.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): Unexpected mixtures are desirable, though they may initially feel odd. Unplanned and unheralded alliances will be lucky wildcards if you are willing to set aside your expectations. Best of all, I believe you will be extra adept at creating new forms of synergy and symbiosis, even as you enhance existing forms. Please capitalize on these marvelous openings, dear Virgo. Are there parts of your life that have been divided and you would like to harmonize them? Now is a good time to try. Bridgebuilding will be your specialty for the foreseeable future.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): Many of you

Libras have a special talent for tuning into the needs and moods of other people. This potentially gives you the power to massage situations to serve the good of all. Are you using that power to its fullest? Could you do anything more to harness it? Here’s a related issue: Your talent for tuning into the needs and moods of others can give you the capacity to massage situations in service to your personal aims. Are you using that capacity to its fullest? Could you do anything more to harness it? Here’s one more variation on the theme: How adept are you at coordinating your service to the general good and your service to your personal aims? Can you do anything to enhance this skill? Now is an excellent time to try.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21):

Psychologist Carl Jung said, “One of the most difficult tasks people can perform is the invention of good games. And this cannot be done by people out of touch with their instinctive selves.” According to my astrological assessment, you will thrive in the coming weeks when you are playing good, interesting games. If you dream them up and instigate them yourself, so much the better. What exactly do I mean by games? I’m referring to any organized form of play that rouses fun, entertainment and education. Playing should be one of your prime modes, Scorpio! As Jung notes, that will happen best if you are in close touch with your instinctual self — also known as your animal intelligence.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): Can Sagittarians ever really find a home they are utterly satisfied with? Are they ever at peace with exactly who they are and content to be exactly where they are? Some astrologers suggest these are difficult luxuries for you Centaurs to accomplish. But I think differently. In my view, it’s your birthright to create sanctuaries for yourself that incorporate so much variety and expansiveness that you can feel like an adventurous explorer without necessarily having to wander all over the earth. Now is an excellent time to work on this noble project.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): You picked Door #2 a while back. Was that the best choice? I’m not sure. Evidence is still ambiguous. As we await more conclusive information, I want you to know that Door #1 and Door #3 will soon be available for your consideration again. The fun fact is that you can try either of those doors without abandoning your activities in the area where Door #2 has led you. But it’s important to note that you can’t try both Door #1 and Door #3. You must choose one or the other. Proceed with care and nuance, Capricorn, but not with excessive caution. Your passwords are daring sensitivity and discerning audacity.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): My second cousin has the same name as me and lives in Kosice, Slovakia. He’s a Slovakian-speaking chemical engineer who attended the Slovak University of Technology. Do we have anything in common besides our DNA and names? Well, we both love to tell stories. He and I are both big fans of the band Rising Appalachia. We have the same mischievous brand of humor. He has designed equipment and processes to manufacture products that use chemicals in creative ways, and I design oracles to arouse inspirations that change people’s brain chemistry. Now I invite you, Aquarius, to celebrate allies with whom you share key qualities despite being quite different. It’s a fine time to get maximum enjoyment and value from your connections with such people.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): My Piscean friend Jeff Greenwald wrote the humorous but serious book Shopping for Buddhas. It’s the story of his adventures in Nepal as he traveled in quest of a statue to serve as a potent symbol for his spiritual yearning. I’m reminded of his search as I ruminate on your near future. I suspect you would benefit from an intense search for divine inspiration, either in the form of an iconic object, a pilgrimage to a holy sanctuary or an inner journey to the source of your truth and love.

I have a history of dating men I’m not attracted to physically or emotionally. I always found it weirdly comforting to know my boyfriend was obsessed with me while I had minimal feelings for him.

I have explored this in therapy and chalk it up to lack of self-confidence. But a month ago I started hanging out with this guy, and it’s the first relationship I’ve been in that isn’t one sided. It’s also the first relationship I’ve been in where the guy wasn’t pushing me to “define the relationship” after a month.

SAVAGE LOVE

BY DAN SAVAGE

therapist never got around to challenging you on it.

This has led to me feeling quite vulnerable and afraid. For the first time in a long time, I’m dating a guy that I not only like but find very attractive, and now I’m terrified it will end. This fear has led me to keep my feelings to myself. In previous relationships where I was the one with the upper hand, I found it easier to speak up because I felt in control and didn’t really care if it ended. I am now in a place where I’m afraid to speak for fear of saying the wrong thing.

I want to know what his intentions are, but I don’t want to place undue pressure on him either. I’m craving more validation than I’m getting from him because I got used to being smothered with validation in all my previous relationships, but I don’t know how to bring this up without making it seem like I am trying to DTR. Any advice?

— Naked And Afraid

I wouldn’t chalk up the choices you’ve made in the past — only dating men you held in what sounds like contempt — to a lack of self-confidence. Frankly, I’m a little mystified that your therapist endorsed that interpretation. You either had one of those therapists who thinks it’s their job to help clients construct self-serving rationalizations for their shitty behavior or you came up with that rationalization on your own and your

I’m going to challenge you.

I don’t think you have self-confidence issues, NAA, I think you have control issues. You only dated men you didn’t care about because you wanted to have “the upper hand.” You wanted all the power, all the leverage and all the control. You not only dated only men you could take or leave, NAA, you seemed to go out of your way to find men who couldn’t leave you. That is not the weak-ass move of a person who lacks self-confidence, NAA: That’s a cold-hearted power play executed by a control freak.

I’m glad you got into therapy. If that shallow pseudo-epiphany you had in therapy helped you make different and better choices, NAA, then it did you some good. But I think you have more to unpack, perhaps with a different therapist.

What’s going to happen to this new guy? Most of what you have is hope: You like this guy and you’re hoping you continue to like him as you get to know him better and you’re hoping he likes you too. If it doesn’t go anywhere, you may wind up with a broken heart. But getting your heart broken is proof you have one.

Whatever happens, NAA, don’t return to your old, shitty and heartless modus operandi. It wasn’t good for the men you dated, and it wasn’t good for you either. Being open to love means being open to pain.

AMERICA’S FOOD INFLUENCER

Two former critics on why Boulder ‘punches above its weight’ in the dining world

BY JOHN LEHNDORFF

Across the United States at this very moment, people are tasting Boulder food.

Suburbanites are enjoying natural herb tea, nut butter and chai with that all-important “Boulder” imprimatur prominently displayed on the recyclable packages. At suburban strip malls, folks are standing in line to order fast-casual meals at Boulder-born outposts of Rush Bowls, Modern Market Eatery, Illegal Pete’s and Broomfield-headquartered Noodles & Company.

Heck, even kids in a multitude of states are starting to enjoy tasty, scratch-made school lunches again, thanks to chef Ann Cooper’s innovations at the Boulder Valley School District.

Boulder restaurants are opening new outposts along the Front Range. Clearly, the town is a buzzworthy taste maker.

The real question is: Why? How did a relatively small Colorado city come to have such a supersized influence on food and drink in Colorado, across 50 states and beyond?

THE FRASCA-NIZATION OF BOULDER

The Boulder Weekly quizzed two of Colorado’s most experienced food critics about Boulder’s evolution into one the foodiest cities in the nation.

Mark Antonation is a celebrated Denver dining critic who now travels and eats his way through the state working for the Colorado Restaurant Association Foundation. Boulder’s Clay Fong is the former dining critic for Boulder Weekly, the Daily Camera and 5280. He writes occasional stories for Boulder Reporting Lab and is an avid diner and traveler.

“A lot of it has to do with the economics of Boulder,” Antonation says. “It’s a

wealthy city and is known as being a place where free spirits could go and do their thing as entrepreneurs.”

Antonation recalls the time an editor of Bon Appetit magazine stopped in Denver. “Somebody asked her what she thought of the Denver food scene. She said: ‘Honestly, I don’t know anything about Denver. I never eat here. I fly into the airport. I go to Frasca, and then I go to Aspen.’

“Frasca put Colorado on the national restaurant map,” Antonation continues. “And the fact is Frasca is in Boulder and not in Denver. It means that Boulder is capable of supporting that level of dining.”

labeled him “one of the biggest culinary names in Colorado.”

Frasca may have raised the bar, but Boulder was already primed for its time in the food spotlight.

“Boulder is less a suburb of Denver than it is of the San Francisco Bay area,” Fong says. “It has a similar food ethos. It’s a community open to farm-totable and sophisticated about wine. There is a disproportionately high number of Master Sommeliers in town. Boulder does punch above its weight.”

Chef Kelly Whitaker and his Id Est Hospitality Group operate BASTA and Dry Storage in Boulder as well as two

Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey — co-owner of the Michelin one-star Frasca Food and Wine — was recently named one of The Robb Report’s 50 most influential figures in the American restaurant industry. The magazine

of Denver’s most highly regarded eateries, The Wolf’s Tailor and BRUTØ.

“Kelly got three Michelins,” Antonation says. “That would be a big deal if you were in New York City, never mind Colorado.”

NATURAL EVOLUTION

That’s pretty good for a town that has long been pinned with different stereotypes.

“Boulder, for a long time, had a reputation for hippie-dippie, granola-type restaurants,” Antonation says. “That’s all changed now.”

Pioneers like Silk, Rudi’s Organic Bakery and Celestial Seasonings gave Boulder Valley its first food reputation.

“If people know anything about Colorado food,” Fong says, “they’re probably referencing it through beer or a natural food company that started in Boulder.”

Boulder County is also the poster child for promoting sustainable farming, farm-to-table cuisine and local farmers markets.

“People don’t realize that Boulder Valley is one of the top growing regions in Colorado,” Antonation says. “The farm scene there is much better than in other parts of the Front Range making it easier for restaurants to get good, fresh produce.”

Locals take it for granted that they can grab farm-fresh corn, tomatoes, meats and locally prepared foods all summer from an abundance of roadside stands.

“Boulder County has so many more farm stands — really good ones like Black Cat Farm, Cure Farm and Munson Farm — than in most of Colorado,” Fong says.

BOULDER INVASION

Boulder eateries like Jax Fish House, Snarf’s Sandwiches and The Kitchen have had Denver locations for years. But the invasion is picking up steam:

Illegal Pete’s and Rush Bowls are two Boulder eateries who have expanded beyond the city of their birth. Credits: John Lehndorff (left), Rush Bowls (right)

Chef Erik Skokan of Bramble & Hare at his Black Cat Farm in Boulder. Courtesy: Black Cat Farm

NIBBLES

Blackbelly Market is opening its first non-Boulder location soon in Denver, as is zero waste-focused Nude Foods Market. Frasca Hospitality Group — which already operates the award-winning Tavernetta and Sunday Vinyl in Denver — is launching Osteria Alberico, cousin of Boulder’s Pizzeria Alberico, in Englewood.

The national press can’t seem to resist us. Boulder was recently named the city with the second highest quality of life in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report. (Ann Arbor, Michigan, won.) One major criteria the magazine considered was food culture, including the Boulder Farmers Market, one of the most successful in the nation.

All the fancy Michelin winners are great, but when dining critics dine on their own dime, they gravitate to the area’s surprising wealth of international eateries.

“The ethnic food is just leaps and bounds better than when I first moved here,” Fong says. “There are so many choices now in Boulder and the rest of Boulder County.”

Antonation believes the city is underappreciated when it comes to affordable dining.

“If you take a second to explore them, there are more interesting places in Boulder than you think,” he says. “Some of my favorite restaurants in the area are Tiffins India Cafe, Chez Thuy and Ras Kassa’s Ethiopian Restaurant.”

LOCAL FOOD NEWS: NEW EATERIES

Doug’s Diner, 2574 Baseline Road in Boulder, has opened Grab ‘N’ Grub, an adjoining space offering tortas, street tacos, breakfast sandwiches and burritos, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Chef Marco Monnanni has opened Bucatino Trattoria Romana at 1256 S. Public Road in Lafayette, former longtime location of Ting’s Place.

Thai 303 recently opened at 1751 Hover St. in Longmont. Coming attractions in Louisville: King Dumpling, 316 McCaslin Blvd., and Ironton Distillery and Crafthouse, 1303 Empire Road.

CULINARY CALENDAR: WHEN BEER GEEKS PLAY

If you only attend one beer festival this spring, make it the Collaboration Beer Fest on March 30 at the Westin Westminster. Colorado breweries team up to make some wonderful and weird brews. Boulder’s Upslope Brewing and VisionQuest Brewery will pour their Carbon IPA, a hoppy sipper made with activated charcoal giving it a jet-black hue. Tickets: coloradobeer.org/ collaboration-fest

WORDS TO CHEW ON: AVOIDING THE MEATLOAF

“Truly, the reason I went onstage is to have people listen to me talk about my feelings without someone saying, ‘Pass the meatloaf.’” — Late comedian and actor Richard Lewis

John Lehndorff is the former Food Editor of the Daily Camera and Dining Critic of the Rocky Mountain News. Comments: nibbles@boulderweekly.com

WEED BETWEEN THE LINES

POTUS TALKS POT

Why it matters that Biden mentioned weed in State of the Union

BY WILL BRENDZA

President Joe Biden’s State of the Union (SOTU) address was particularly exciting for Americans involved in the cannabis industry. While discussing his goals on things like mental health issues, gun reform, community violence and crime, the president brought up cannabis legalization.

Biden said his cabinet is building trust with communities, “taking executive action on police reform” and contemplating a review of “federal classification of marijuana and expunging thousands of convictions for the mere possession, because no one should be jailed for simply using or have it on their record.”

Despite some factual errors in the president’s statement (more on that later), his inclusion of cannabis was a big deal. Biden was reminding voters that he had not only pardoned several thousand low-level cannabis crimes at the federal level but that he also initiated a review by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of

cannabis’ status as a Schedule I substance — and he was doing so in arguably the most high-profile address since his inauguration.

The president’s social media team followed the State of the Union with a series of posts to X highlighting the issues Biden had mentioned. By far the most engaged with and liked among them was the one reiterating his point on cannabis: “No one should be jailed just for using or possessing marijuana.”

That’s a dramatic pivot from the politician who helped author the 1994 Crime Bill that enhanced drug-related incarceration and targeted impoverished and minority communities with harsh sentences for drugs like crack and marijuana, and who just in 2010 said “[marijuana] legalization is a mistake” and “I still believe it’s a gateway drug.”

Biden has taken some steps in the last four years toward cannabis reform.

Most notably, in 2022 he issued two rounds of mass pardons for low-level cannabis crimes. That same year, he ordered Attorney General Xavier Becerra to initiate the process of reviewing how cannabis is scheduled as a narcotic (“Tastes Like Crow” Oct. 13, 2022).

of marijuana possession, because it does not expunge convictions.”

Still, the string of events that Biden kicked off by ordering those pardons and the review of cannabis could be monumental. In August 2023, a leaked email from Anne Milgram, the current head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to a high-ranking official from HHS indicated that HHS was preparing to officially recommend that the DEA reclassify cannabis.

HHS confirmed that in January 2024. Following Biden’s ordered review, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists conducted an eight-factor analysis on cannabis, concluding that it has acceptable medical uses and a moderate to low risk of addiction compared to other Schedule I drugs. In

stated that as to scientific and medical matters, any recommendation from the HHS would be “binding.”

Should cannabis be rescheduled under Biden, it would be an official acknowledgment from the federal government that cannabis is largely safe to use and possesses a low potential for abuse. It could also make the path to passing legislation addressing some of the cannabis industry’s biggest challenges (banking, taxes, regulation, etc.) easier.

Following the State of the Union, politicians and advocacy groups responded to the high profile mention of cannabis. Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, posted to X, “I think that was a first…cannabis in SOTU!!!!”

When Biden claimed to have expunged “thousands of convictions,” he spoke in error. As the Congressional Research Committee clarified in a November 2022 report, “the pardon may not remove all legal consequences

January, HHS released the study as well as unredacted documents explaining why it was officially recommending that cannabis be rescheduled.

The DEA is still reviewing the recommendation. However, it previously

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) backed Biden up in his post to X, commenting that “POTUS is right. With marijuana legalized in various states across the nation, no one should be in prison for cannabis-related offenses in 2024.”

But as Andrew Freedman, the executive director of the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education and Regulation, noted in a press release, the fight is far from over.

“It is far past time for Washington’s policymakers to acknowledge states have taken the lead on cannabis policy in the absence of federal action,” Freedman said. “We applaud President Biden’s recent actions, including his pardon proclamation and support for rescheduling cannabis. However, there is still work to be done.”

President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union on Thursday, March 7. Vice President Kamala Harris is pictured in the background. Credit: Adam Schultz