Boulder Weekly 10.12.2023

Vote Guide

BVSD Board of Education + Erie + Lafayette + Louisville + Superior

CONTENTS 10.12.2023

FALL BOOT SALE $10-$50 OFF

All boots included, even new arrivals!

10 VOTE GUIDE: More 2023 ballot endorsements

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BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF

23 MUSIC: Boulder Philharmonic offers a season of new

discoveries and familiar masterworks BY KELLY DEAN HANSEN

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STAGE: Spoken-word series celebrates LGBTQ stories on National Coming Out Day BY TONI TRESCA

41 NIBBLES: Boulder Burgundy Festival spotlights the city’s

evolution from beer-friendly to wine-savvy BY JOHN LEHNDORFF

DEPARTMENTS 05 THE

ANDERSON FILES:

A progressive, populist message leads to Democratic victories

08 LETTERS:

Signed, sealed, delivered: your views

21 NEWS:

California legislation requiring companies to pay for oil and gas well cleanup in limbo

25 MUSIC:

John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats breaks his own rules on lush new LP BOULDER WEEKLY

28 EVENTS: Where to go and what to do

35 FILM:

Fill out your Denver Film Festival dance card with these choice cuts

37 SCREEN:

Religious horror film with Colorado roots delivers a terrifying immaculate conception

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ASTROLOGY: Embrace the mystery, Pisces

39 SAVAGE LOVE:

Adrenochrome lube

45 FLASH IN THE PAN:

The caviar of turnips: from ‘starvation food’ to ‘esteemed companion’

47 WEED:

A bill allowing cannabis businesses to bank their money is on its way to the Senate for the first time

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COMMENTARY OCTOBER 12, 2023 Volume 31, Number 8 PUBLISHER: Fran Zankowski

EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Caitlin Rockett ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR: Jezy J. Gray REPORTERS: Kaylee Harter, Will Matuska FOOD EDITOR: John Lehndorff INTERN: Lily Fletcher CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Dave Anderson, Will Brendza, Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Kelly Dean Hansen, Ari LeVaux, Mark Olalde, Dan Savage, Toni Tresca, Gregory Wakeman

SALES AND MARKETING

MARKET DEVELOPMENT MANAGER: Kellie Robinson SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Matthew Fischer ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Chris Allred SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER: Carter Ferryman MRS. BOULDER WEEKLY: Mari Nevar

PRODUCTION

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Erik Wogen SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Mark Goodman CIRCULATION MANAGER: Cal Winn CIRCULATION TEAM: Sue Butcher, Ken Rott, Chris Bauer

BUSINESS OFFICE

BOOKKEEPER: Emily Weinberg FOUNDER/CEO: Stewart Sallo As Boulder County’s only independently owned newspaper, Boulder Weekly is dedicated to illuminating truth, advancing justice and protecting the First Amendment through ethical, no-holdsbarred journalism and thought-provoking opinion writing. Free every Thursday since 1993, the Weekly also offers the county’s most comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage.

Read the print version, or visit boulderweekly. com. Boulder Weekly does not accept unsolicited editorial submissions. If you’re interested in writing for the paper, please send queries to: editorial@boulderweekly.com. Any materials sent to Boulder Weekly become the property of the newspaper.

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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.

BOULDER WEEKLY

THE ANDERSON FILES

A PROGRESSIVE, POPULIST MESSAGE LEADS TO DEMOCRATIC VICTORIES

BY DAVE ANDERSON

A

growing number of Americans are dissatisfied with both political parties and the quality of candidates, according to a recent poll by Pew Research. Nevertheless, President Joe Biden and the Democrats have passed significant progressive legislation despite not having a reliable majority in Congress. Many Americans haven’t heard about these victories in the mainstream media.

But there’s another problem. In a recent Atlantic article, Carol Fredrickson argues that progressives are too passive and too tactically inept. Maybe we’re burned out.

Fredrickson says we need to emphasize the big advances of the New Deal era, which “featured a powerful regulatory state, aggressive antitrust enforcement, and strong labor unions. These policies kept corporate power in check and helped drive the fastest, most widely

shared advance in living standards in American history.”

Fredrickson was a legal activist who fought to preserve and enlarge the gains of the civil rights revolutions of the 1960s. She was legal director of NARAL Pro-Choice America (now known as Reproductive Freedom for All). For 11 years, Fredrickson led the American Constitution Society (ACS), where she helped vet and promote judges. Biden appointed OCTOBER 12, 2023

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THE ANDERSON FILES her to his presidential commission on changing the Supreme Court.

The ACS is the liberal equivalent of the right-wing Federalist Society, which has been transforming the judiciary. Fredrickson regrets she didn’t notice the conservative legal movement is just as focused on dismantling the New Deal era as in rolling back the progress made since the 1960s.

The conservative legal movement promised culturally conservative voters that they would overturn Roe v.

Wade. “At the same time, much more quietly, they assured large corporations and economically conservative billionaires that these same judges would also be hostile to unions, business regulation, class-action lawsuits, and antitrust enforcement.”

Fredrickson writes.

“By focusing on civil liberties but ignoring economic issues, liberals like me got defeated on both,” she concludes. Now Biden is challenging corporate power much more than his Democratic predecessors.

However, Fredrickson notes, “that hasn’t generated much excitement from a liberal base that is still more focused on social issues.

Progressives, especially, must recognize that preserving constitutional freedoms depends on winning the fight for economic liberties. Treating them as separate goals will ultimately mean losing out on both.”

Progressive candidates have been increasingly elected at all levels around the country. However, they tend to be elected in urban, well-educated, relatively high-income and heavily Democratic districts. They struggle to win over working-class voters.

In 2021, democratic socialist Jacobin magazine, YouGov and the Center for Working Class Politics published a study of working-class voters entitled Commonsense Solidarity: How a Working-Class Coalition Can Be Built, and Maintained.

They concluded that working-class voters prefer candidates who focus on bread-and-butter economic issues like jobs and health care and frame those issues in plain-spoken universal terms.

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OCTOBER 12, 2023

“Progressives do not need to surrender questions of social justice to win working-class voters, but certain identity-focused rhetoric is a liability,” the authors explain. “Potentially Democratic working-class voters did not shy away from progressive candidates or candidates who strongly opposed racism. But candidates who framed that opposition in highly specialized, identity-focused language fared significantly worse than candidates who embraced either populist or mainstream language.”

Meanwhile, the revived and assertive labor movement is exposing the supposed pro-worker, populist

Republican politicians as a bunch of phonies. Trump claimed he was having a rally to show his support for auto workers. The pathetically tiny event was held at Drake Enterprises, Inc., a nonunion truck-parts manufacturer.

People held up signs saying they were auto workers and union members for Trump. When questioned by reporters, a number of them said they weren’t either and refused to give their names.

Trump barked like a boss and told them the strike is a lost cause and denounced the union leaders. He had a temper tantrum about electric vehicles (EV).

He was invited by Nathan Stemple, the company’s president, who opposes the transition to EVs. The next day, Biden walked the picket line with union workers. He was invited by Shawn Fain, the United Autoworkers Union president.

On Oct. 6, Fain announced a big victory. He said that General Motors had agreed, in writing, to include its EV battery manufacturing facilities in the UAW’s national union contract.

“Our strike is working. But we’re not there yet,” Fain said.

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

BOULDER WEEKLY

HEALING PEOPLE AND THE PLANET

Looking Toward the Next 100 Years of Biodynamics November 8-12•Westminster, CO

The National Biodynamic Conference brings together over 700 farmers, gardeners, educators, students, activists, entrepreneurs, and others interested in biodynamics from across the US—and beyond! This largest Biodynamic gathering in North America offers an unparalleled opportunity to connect, learn, question, share, and explore over the course of five days of programming.

Healing Grounds: Climate, Justice, and the Deep Roots of Regenerative Farming

Aidee Guzman

Latrice Tatsey

What Ecosystems Teach Us About Human Systems

Slow Money and Soil

Nikki Silvestri

Woody Tasch

Liz Carlisle

Taking Biodynamics into the Future: The Next 100 Years

Marjory House

Maggie Keith

REGISTER T O D AY !

biodynamicconference.com

Kristina Villa

Garett Long

Lloyd Nelson

Join us for the whole conference, the spectacular Biodynamic Food and Wine Showcase on Saturday, November 11, or just come for a day! Evening entertainment tickets are available as well!

LETTERS CORRECTION: Taishya Adams’ name was misspelled in Vote Guide (Oct. 5, 2023).

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CLARIFICATION: Our endorsement against Boulder Ballot Question 302 should have stated that if passed, the measure would direct the Safe and Managed Spaces (SAMPS) team to prioritize clean up targeted areas. This team is supported by a six-member police unit from the BPD, but it is the SAMPS team that carries out the effort.

STOP AERIAL SPRAYING ON OPEN SPACE

Boulder County Open Space has released their proposed Integrated Weed Management Plan, mapping out how they plan to manage invasive weed species on public lands.

After concerned parents voiced criticism about helicopter herbicide applications in 2022, [and after] farmers raise[d] concerns that the thousands of acres of Open Space properties sprayed with herbicides in the Foothills were likely contaminating our agricultural waters through stormwater runoff, the commissioners tasked Open Space with halting aerial spraying until a new plan could be adopted.

The new plan does little to address the needs for better ecological monitoring or address the concerns of parents and farmers. Instead, the new plan asks for an increase in the ability to use helicopters and drones to expand aerial spraying of herbicides.

This doesn’t seem logical, as all the herbicides used by Open Space in 2023 have EPA labels confirming they will also kill non-target species, and many pose potential for groundwater or surface water contamination.

Despite local peers, like the City of Boulde,r paying farmers to graze their weeds (while also adding fertility through manure), Boulder County reported that it currently “uses grazing leases for approximately 10-12 acres of County-owned open space.” In these cases, the farmer is paying the County rather than vice-versa.

Meanwhile, the County has reported 1,680 acres of Open Space that were treated with 12 different herbicides in 2023.

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OCTOBER 12, 2023

I feel like the current plan as presented doesn’t clarify the decisionmaking process for selecting a treatment strategy, and leaves an openended possibility for decades of aerial spraying of herbicides using drones and helicopters, without oversight.

Boulder County Open Space currently has a public survey gathering feedback on the draft policy. A link to that survey and additional information on the herbicide use by Open Space can be found at pesticidesbouldercounty.org — Mark Guttridge / Ollin Farms

YES ON 2A

I’m writing with a plea to my fellow Boulderites to please vote YES ON 2A! This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to affect real, positive change to the arts in Boulder while ensuring that public safety and human services continue to receive crucial funding. Artists belong in Boulder! We count among the highest per-capita creative population in the country, yet our arts funding is a third of most similar sized cities.

Ballot measure 2A would remedy this disparity, infusing 3.75 million dollars a year into Boulder’s Arts and Culture budget, which, for context, is 5% of the yearly budget for our cherished ‘Open Space’ program.

Growing up in Boulder, my parents taught and I spent most afternoons at Ballet Arts, a dance studio nested above Tom’s Tavern (now Salt) on 11th and Pearl. Being part of the downtown creative scene shaped my identity and informed my bushwhacked life path; I went on to serve as president of my class at Juilliard before heeding Niwot’s call back home, launching The New Local Nonprofit in 2019.

In contrast to my childhood here, renting in downtown Boulder is now so prohibitively expensive that a ballet studio could never afford space on Pearl Street, nor can [other] studios, independent galleries or artists compete with the national chains that dominate our historic downtown.

One year ago, our nonprofit realized a dream-come-true by signing a lease on Pearl Street! Our new HQ is the iconic, yellow Victorian just west of Spruce Confections, The Montgomery House. We love being on West Pearl BOULDER WEEKLY

LETTERS and the community loves becoming part of The New Local! But even with 60-plus local artists sharing our gallery space, five creators renting studios and our teachers offering multiple, daily workshops, we still rely on substantial community support to cover our overhead.

We persist because it’s vital to carve out a space downtown where creatives interface with new audiences — visitors who come to Pearl St — as well as residents, who take our classes and infuse their homes with artwork by locals. We also represent the city in a glowing light, enlivening a beloved landmark with inclusive programming that showcases Boulder’s brightest creatives. In short: Artists are vital to Boulder and the passage of 2A is vital to artists. Importantly, this is an extension of a pre-existing sales tax of 0.15% that will not result in raised taxes.

Find information on the candidates who support 2A here: thenew-local. org/pages/yes-on-2a — Marie-Juliette Bird / Boulder

VOTE CHAVEZ FOR BVSD

I am writing to express my enthusiastic support for Jorge Chavez for the BVSD school board. I first met Jorge in 2015 when his eldest daughter was in my kindergarten class at La escuela bilingual Pioneer in Lafayette. Chavez was on a sabbatical year from the University of Ohio at Bowling Green.

Jorge and his wife, Christine, volunteered on a regular basis at school and were instrumental in starting the Pioneer Running Club, a popular afterschool activity that still attracts a large group of students in the fall and spring.

Jorge saw the Pioneer and BVSD community as a good fit for his family and they moved back when his daughter was in second grade. Upon returning, Jorge started to contribute to the community in ever expanding ways, serving on the Pioneer School Accountability (SAC), The Latino Parent Advisory Committee and the District Accountability Committee (DAC). He has been the chair for the DAC for the last two yearsI remember first meeting Jorge and learning about his childhood as an immigrant in Queens, New York, where he learned BOULDER WEEKLY

English at his public school from engaged and caring teachers. This experience as a student as well as his years as a parent have shown him the importance of supporting teachers so they can do the best job possible in the classroom.

Jorge has the invaluable perspective of the day-to-day business of BVSD in the classroom as well as the broader sight of the district as a whole.

He will be a dedicated, thoughtful, hard-working member of the BVSD school board and I encourage you to support him with your vote.

— Mary Claire Collins / Longmont

VOTE SCHUCHARD

I write as a small business owner, a new father, and a devoted climate activist to express my enthusiastic endorsement for Ryan Schuchard as a City Council candidate. His comprehensive vision and relevant experience make me confident that Ryan can make Boulder a safer, more affordable place to live.

Ryan’s service on the Transportation Advisory Board, particularly his contributions to the Core Arterial Network (CAN), demonstrates a tangible commitment to enhancing street safety in Boulder. His initiatives have been pivotal in moving towards a scenario where the streets of Boulder are safe for everyone, including young children like my two-yearold son.

Having been deeply engaged in climate activism for over five years, I see in Ryan a strong climate leader who can drive meaningful environmental policies. His advocacy for sustainable transportation not only aligns with the city’s broader climate goals but also addresses the core street safety concerns that parents like myself have.

Boulder is currently grappling with an affordability crisis, which has unfortunately forced many of my friends to move away. Ryan presents a balanced approach to tackling this issue, advocating for policies that aim to alleviate the high cost of living while preserving the unique charm that defines Boulder.

Learn more about Ryan’s vision for Boulder here: ryanforboulder.com — Michael Thomas / Boulder

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Vote Guide Part 2

T

Boulder Weekly’s endorsements for Erie, Lafayette, Louisville, Superior, and the BVSD Board of Education

his is the second and final installment of Boulder Weekly’s 2023 Vote Guide, covering Erie, Lafayette, Louisville, Superior, and the Boulder Valley School District Board of Education.

Last week we made endorsements for state and county ballot issues, plus Boulder and Longmont city council candidates and ballot measures. A sidebar at the end of this week’s endorsements provides a snapshot of BW’s stance on state and county issues, plus Boulder and Longmont.

Since ballots are being mailed later 10

OCTOBER 12, 2023

this year — Oct. 16 — we had the chance to take a bit more time to research candidates and issues and still present you with all the information you need before the ballot hits your mailbox.

If you didn’t join us last week, here’s our spiel: Our endorsements were made through questionnaires, interviews and countless hours of research and conversation. There is no anonymous, corporate editorial board making these decisions, just four journalists: some who live in town, some who commute in, each of

us renters. We share progressive values that uphold social justice, equal opportunities, compassion, social welfare, diversity and inclusion, and we hope our endorsements reflect these principles.

While we’ve provided an endorsement for every candidate and issue, not every conclusion was easy. We’ve done our best to choose candidates we believe are driven by a similar progressive mission, but no one sees eye to eye on everything — and that’s the point of democracy, right?

We’ve provided context and back-

ground with our endorsements so, whether you agree with our take or not, we hope we’ve given you enough information to feel comfortable in your own opinion. You can scan QR codes to see questionnaires from candidates, and the online version of this guide contains links to more information on every issue.

Our mission is to help you be an informed voter. Tell us what we got wrong — but please don’t be afraid to tell us what we got right: letters@boulderweekly.com.

— Caitlin Rockett BOULDER WEEKLY

VOTE GUIDE 2023

BOULDER VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION

Scan this QR code to see candidates’ answers to our questionnaire.

Four of the seven BVSD Board of Education seats will be up for election in November 2023, two of which are term limited:

DISTRICT A (CHOOSE ONE) JASON UNGER

NEIL FISHMAN

Jason Unger has experience working as a teacher, school administrator and national policy advisor that will help him guide the future of the district in a positive direction.

He started teaching elementaryaged kids in Compton, California, where he saw underresourced public education firsthand.

After earning a master’s degree in public policy and education, Unger helped pass federal education bills that expanded student aid and launched the Head Start program while working in the office of former Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV). Locally, he serves on the School Accountability Committee and was City Council-appointed to a fiveyear term on Boulder’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.

Engagement is a key piece of this candidate’s platform: He’s working to meet with parents from all 56 schools in the district to help give him a taste of both broad trends and individual school issues. This shows us Unger is prioritizing his constituents and will be responsive to their needs.

Neil Fishman is also a quality candidate who has been involved in the community for decades with organizations like Out Boulder County, and by serving on the District Parent Council.

He brings a social justice-oriented mind to the race, which we expect will be a close one.

BOULDER WEEKLY

If elected to the BVSD Board of Education, Unger’s priorities are to address declining enrollment, increasing student safety around sexual violence, lowering student achievement gaps and raising the district’s investment in mental health services. With Unger’s track record in our education system, we think he’s capable of achieving these goals.

DISTRICT C (CHOOSE ONE) ANDREW STEFFL

ALEX MEDLER

CYNTHIA NEVISON Alex Medler is another candidate with a long history in education. Over the last 30 years, he’s worked nationally for the U.S. Department of Education as well as in the Centennial State for the Education Commission of the States, the Colorado’s Children Campaign and the Colorado Association of Charter School Authorizers.

Medler put his two children through BVSD schools, and has a vision to enhance the student experience in the district. One of his top priorities is expanding mental health programming to address the rising rates of young people struggling with depression, anxiety and suicide. He’s also thinking about students after they leave BVSD and is an advocate for more career and technical education to increase access to post-secondary options after high school.

One tangible proposal he outlined in our questionnaire was to provide additional and permanent dollars for schools with higher proportions of lowincome students, language learners and students with disabilities, which

resonates with us as a policy that prioritizes equity and accessibility.

Medler’s continued engagement with parents and other district stakeholders, seasoned professional experience and healthy list of endorsements from notable community organizations and elected officials puts him in a good position to be a positive collaborative force on the board.

DISTRICT D (CHOOSE ONE) ANDREW BRANDT

LALENIA QUINLAN AWEIDA Andrew Brandt is a cyber-security specialist and former investigative journalist with two teenagers in the BVSD system. In his spare time, he is a volunteer at CU’s Media Archaeology Lab, and is involved in community projects like helping construct the first school garden at Eisenhower Elementary.

Brandt’s commitment to equity is shown by his goals to address disproportionate discipline with data-driven and permanent solutions, and to continue differentiated funding for schools in the sub-district with the greatest needs.

He also says BVSD’s shift to school safety advocates (SSA) “has been a huge success at keeping kids safe,” but wants to keep a watchful eye on the program if it needs adjustments to stay successful. SSAs replaced armed school safety officers per November 2020 school board vote, and now assist with things like threats, bullying and sexual assault investigations within schools.

While he doesn’t have decades of experience in public policy or education, Brandt says he’s driven to help people and will bring a spirit of cooperation and collaboration to the school board. At the Oct. 6 Out Boulder County candidate forum, Brandt brought energy and enthusiasm that made us believe him.

We think he’ll do well on the board.

DISTRICT G (CHOOSE ONE) ANIL KIRAN PESARAMELLI STUART LORD

JORGE CHÁVEZ

Jorge Chávez has been deeply involved in BVSD since moving to Colorado in 2018 and enrolling his three kids in the district. He’s been a parent volunteer since the beginning, and sits on the Families and Educators Together (FET) team, the District Accountability Committee and chairs a School Accountability Committee.

Chávez has connected with families, teachers and administrators throughout this involvement, which gives him important insight to BVSD’s challenges and needs.

Chávez’s priorities, policies and ideas reflect his understanding of the district.

While acknowledging BVSD as a highperforming district, he says there are “long-standing inequalities in education outcomes for students of color, in special education, English language learners, and from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.” To address these problems, along with others like punitive discipline practices and the mental health crisis, Chávez advises investing in strategies like restorative justice programs and a social emotional learning curriculum that will support students with the highest needs.

Chávez moved from Guatemala to the U.S. when he was five years old, and started kindergarten in an Englishspeaking school without knowing the language. He credits the public education system, and the resources that available to him through it, for where he is today. Today he is an associate professor in the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Colorado Denver. The combination of Chávez’s life experience, volunteer positions, connections with parents and staff, and his academic background inform the policies he supports, and will make him an excellent board member.

OCTOBER 12, 2023

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VOTE GUIDE 2023

TOWN OF ERIE BALLOT QUESTION 3A — SHALL THE TOWN OF ERIE PROPOSED HOME RULE CHARTER BE ADOPTED? YES / FOR

NO / AGAINST In November 2022, Erie passed ballot measure 103, establishing a commission to draft the town’s first home rule charter. The proposed covenant is on this November’s ballot for approval, plus one immediate amendment to the charter (more on that in Town of Erie Ballot Question 3B). We endorse a yes vote on Question 3A because the charter seems thoughtfully crafted and flexible.

Home rule is a form of governance defined by the residents of a municipality that allows for more control over matters of local importance. Charters are drafted by citizens, detailing the structure and powers of the local government. Without a home rule charter, local governments are subject to state laws, though state law may still take precedence in certain matters.

Charters must be comprehensive enough to provide a solid foundation for running a multi-million dollar municipality, while also being flexible enough to change with the times.

Cities typically adopt home rule rights when they reach a population of 2,000 people. Erie has 35,000 residents.

Erie’s charter (bit.ly/ErieProposed Charter) was crafted by nine elected commissioners working weekly for five months at the beginning of 2023. The charter includes: An at-large mayoral position; three districts with two town Council members each; all elected officials serve four-year terms; staggered terms within districts; a limit of two consecutive terms for councilmembers; even-year elections; filling vacancies based on the resident vote; campaign finance transparency; recalls using a number of signatures based on the percentage of votes; voter approval for any new taxes; an Open 12

OCTOBER 12, 2023

Space Board; voter-determined City Council pay; and special district reform.

The current Council will remain seated through 2024. An election in November 2024 will determine new council members in 2025.

The Charter Commission created multiple paths for residents to comment, held a monthly meeting for public participation and gave weekly updates through town channels and social media. The Commission also studied home rule charters adopted by other locales.

We believe it’s a sensibly written charter that brings Erie into line with the other 93% of Colorado municipalities with home rule.

BALLOT QUESTION 3B — COMPENSATION OF MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS YES / FOR

NO / AGAINST Erie’s Home Charter Rule Commission couldn’t decide on a salary for council members, so they decided to leave it up to the voters. This measure seeks to give the mayor of Erie $1,200 a month, and $700 to each council member, plus “other non-monetary compensation or benefits as may be set by ordinance,” which could include things like health care.

Council pay will be adjusted annually according to the consumer price index for the Denver-Boulder-Greeley area, starting in January 2025.

This would amount to $14,400 for the mayor of Erie. It’s a pittance for participation in more than 20 meetings per year, plus countless hours talking to constituents and city staff to learn about issues. We think a higher salary would allow more people to participate in city government.

However, it’s on par with council rates in similarly sized nearby cities. Voters can approve increases in council pay down the road if they want to. We endorse a yes on question 3B.

CITY OF LAFAYETTE

Scan this QR code to see candidates’ answers to our questionnaire.

CITY COUNCIL (CHOOSE 4) TIM BARNES (INCUMBENT) JD MANGAT (INCUMBENT) ERIC RYANT

JOHN W. WATSON GALA W. ORBA

DAVID FRIDLAND

CRYSTAL GALLEGOS

TIM BARNES

You can meet Tim Barnes while taking a tour of the I.M. Pei-designed National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, where he works as an education specialist.

But he’s also currently on the Lafayette City Council, just wrapping up his first four-year term.

Boulder Weekly endorsed Barnes in his initial run in 2019. In his time on Council, Barnes has put his science knowledge to good use serving on several committees including Colorado Communities for Climate Action and the Sustainability and Resilience Advisory Committee.

When answering our questionnaire, Barnes said his top priority was to “build upon the high-quality of City administration” currently in play, followed by a desire to “nurture councilor collaboration.” He credits councilmember Tonya Briggs — who passed away this year — for teaching him “what it takes to understand residents, colleagues on Council, and City staff.” We believe an integral piece of making any progress as a city council member is the ability to work well with others, which sets Barnes up for another productive term on Council.

Lafayette is currently being sued over ordinances that prevent camping in public spaces, but the City has no dedicated shelter. Barnes says he believes the City should spend more money on services for those experiencing homelessness, including “providing authentic resident-staffed mentorship for each unhoused individual wanting to live in Lafayette.” He also expressed a desire to “mimic” the human-support interventions applied by the Circles USA program, which supports families in poverty.

Barnes has been a proponent of increasing access to affordable housing in Lafayette and meeting the City’s climate and sustainability goals.

DAVID FRIDLAND

David Fridland is a lifelong Boulder County resident with degrees in political science and public policy.

His answers to our questionnaire were the most detailed of any candidate, particularly where climate change is concerned. Fridland started his career out of college doing curbside composting in Lafayette for EcoCycle. He currently serves as the president of the board for Recycle Colorado, a state-wide non-profit that focuses on advancing circular economies and improving recycling across the state of Colorado. He says Lafayette should build its own solar arrays or “invest in power-purchase agreements to get to our 100% [renewable energy] goal” by 2030, as laid out in the City’s Climate Action Plan.

In his 9-to-5 job, Fridland oversees the Air Quality, Climate Action and Waste Diversion efforts at Denver International Airport. DIA is like a small city, with millions of people passing through each year, which we believe gives Fridland a strong foundation to succeed on City Council. In BOULDER WEEKLY

8thAnnual

Saturday October 21 Pearl Street Mall

Tickets at Bouldertheater.com

11 am – 1 pm Los Bohemios (Latin jazz band) 2:00 – 3:30 pm Sing-along Singing songs from The Beatles to Taylor Swift

ric e ly s • Freooklet up b show st • Ju nd sing g a tin omotal r P • en m alth he

Inclusive • Experienced • Innovative • BrandtForBVSD.co

e t o v why Andrew Brandt for

School Board ?

• I’m a dad with two kids who attend BVSD schools.

• I will defend, support, and expand BVSD’s existing diversity, equity, inclusion, and mental health initiatives to benefit students, staff, and teachers.

• I am thoughtful and collaborative with teams who work to solve complex problems, under budget.

• I will analyze data, and listen to creative ideas from experts to improve and expand educational opportunities for all children in the district.

Endorsed by: Aaron Brockett, Mayor of Boulder JD Mangat, Mayor of Lafayette Nicole Speer, Boulder City Council

Janice Marchman, Colorado State Senator Junie Joseph, Boulder City Council Richard Garcia, BVSD school board Paid for by the Brandt for BVSD Campaign Committee

VOTE GUIDE 2023 a recent Lafayette Youth Advisory Committee candidate forum, Fridland said he was committed to “pushing our City to be responsive and transparent” and while he may not have all the answers, “I pledge to listen.”

Fridland has a balanced response to helping those experiencing homelessness. He believes the city should spend more to help unsheltered community members. But Fridland isn’t just a piein-the-sky progressive: He believes the City must be fiscally responsible, placing “fiscal prudence” third on his list of five priorities (behind “climate action” and “responsible growth”).

JD MANGAT

Boulder Weekly has supported JD Mangat since his first run for Council in 2019, after he’d already spent a year filling a vacated seat. He was just 22 at the time, and went on to be elected as mayor by 26.

Mangat grew up in Lafayette and now teaches eighth grade social studies at Angevine Middle School.

Mangat still lives with his parents, as he can’t afford to live on his own in his hometown. So it was unsurprising to see that “affordable housing/cost of living” was at the top of Mangat’s list of priorities in our candidate questionnaire (followed by conservation of water, intentional growth, hiring a new city manager, and continuing free/affordable youth services). During his time on Council, Mangat has supported increases in development fees to help create and disperse more affordable housing. Mangat is proud that Lafayette has just broken ground on Colorado’s largest affordable housing complex todate, Willoughby Corner, which will offer 600 affordable units. He hopes to continue to follow the City’s new housing plan “to refine our development fees, growth management ordinance, and inquire about new ideas like inclusionary housing and denser developments.”

Where transportation is concerned, Mangat recently helped Lafayette finalize its Multimodal Transportation Plan, which will work with RTD to make the city more bus-transit oriented. He 14

OCTOBER 12, 2023

hopes to work with Lafayette’s Parks Department to expand the trails system.

Mangat says Lafayette should create its own Housing and Human Services department, “while investing more in our non-profits.” He believes Lafayette relies too heavily on the already overburdened governments of Boulder County and neighboring cities to handle the region’s growing population of people experiencing homelessness.

ERIC RYANT

Our final choice for Lafayette City Council was difficult. Eric Ryant’s answers to our questionnaire were the shortest of any candidate, and at times felt a bit flippant (please decide for yourself by using the QR code at the beginning of this section to see Ryant’s questionnaire, along with those of all other Lafayette City Council candidates). However, other candidates’ answers contained factual inaccuracies, such as saying there is no shelter in Boulder County for unhoused women and children (Haven Ridge, formerly Mother House, in Boulder), and expressing a need to build more schools when enrollment at BVSD schools is so low that the district spoke this summer about closing as many as 10 elementary schools by the 2025-26 school year. So while we believe that there are other candidates on the ballot whose hearts and minds are in the right place, we also believe council members must have their facts straight.

We do believe Ryant is a good choice for Council. He brings to the table more than 40 years of business experience across various industries, including owning two dispensaries in Lafayette. During a Lafayette Youth Council Advisory Committee candidate forum, Ryant said that “fiscal responsibility, balanced budgets, and understanding where the money is supposed to be spent” were at the forefront of his mind. While we may feel that some of his responses to our questions were light on details, we believe Ryant will bring a business sense to Council, which is always needed to balance dreams against reality.

Scan this QR code to see candidates’ answers to our questionnaire.

CITY OF LOUISVILLE MAYOR (FOUR-YEAR TERM, VOTE FOR ONE) SHERRY SOMMER

CHRIS LEH (INCUMBENT)

JOSH COOPERMAN

Boulder Weekly has endorsed Chris Leh in his two previous bids for council and we think his nine years of experience are critical to the council.

If given another term, Leh says he wants “to continue to help make Louisville an even better, more welcoming small town in which to live, work, do business and visit.” His top priorities are economic vitality, maintaining and protecting open space, effective climate action to reach sustainability goals, expanding housing options and bringing Marshall Fire Survivors home.

Leh has concrete plans for how to create more affordable housing in Louisville through zoning changes and transportation-oriented development near McCaslin. He hopes to use strategic acquisition of residential property, deed restriction and land banking as avenues to build more attainable housing stock to meet Louisville’s 12% goal.

As a partner in a law practice, we know Leh pays attention to detail and can balance a budget and operate a business. His law career has also made him a natural at listening and communicating, which has drawn Leh endorsements from his fellow councilmembers Caleb Dickenson and Dennis Maloney.

Leh’s answers to our questionnaire were short but to the point and indicative of someone who understands what’s going on in city government — bullet points highlighted

Leh’s primary goals and concerns.

But three-year Louisville resident Josh Cooperman impressed us with his thoughtful, compassionate and detailed answers. He has clear plans for building more affordable housing, achieving zero carbon goals and improving multi-modal transportation options. When he’s not working as a theoretical physicist, Cooperman sits on the Louisville Sustainability Advisory Board. A father of two kids and former professor and tutor, we think Cooperman would be great at communicating difficult topics with patience. He’s moved around a fair amount, residing in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, England, California, the Netherlands, and New York. It gives him a lot of perspective, but could raise flags for voters looking for a longtime resident to sit on Council.

Our endorsement for Chris Leh puts a lot of weight on experience, which we think is crucial to navigating the labyrinthine bureaucracy of municipal government. However, we genuinely hope to see Josh Cooperman on the ballot again.

WARD 1 (FOUR-YEAR TERM, VOTE FOR ONE) CALEB DICKENSON (INCUMBENT) Boulder Weekly has endorsed Caleb Dickenson before, however, this year he failed to return our candidate questionnaire. Still, he’s running unopposed. This will be his second term as councilmember for Ward I. Dickenson was born and raised in Boulder and moved with his own family to Louisville in 2010. He’s a financial advisor for Aspen Property Management and also coaches socBOULDER WEEKLY

VOTE

Neil Fishman (he/him)

FOR BVSD SCHOOL BOARD

To Advocate for ALL Boulder Valley Kids, I will... ensure consistent bullying and harassment policies expand BVSD Wellness Centers into all BVSD middle schools prevent hateful actions like book banning and anti-inclusion policies reduce the achievement gap 2023 Moms Demand Action Gun expand electric bus fleet from 20 to 50 by 2025

Endorsed by:

SenseCandidate Distinction

www.neil4bvsd.com Kathy Plomer, CO State Board of Education - Rhonda Solis, CO State Board of Education - Claire Levy, Boulder County Commissioner - Ashley Stolzmann, Boulder County Commissioner Curtis Johnson, Boulder County Sheriff - Michael Dougherty, Boulder District Attorney - Sonya Jaquez Lewis, State Senator - Judy Amabile,State Representative - Junie Joseph, State Representative - Kyle Brown, State Representative - Aaron Brockett, Boulder Mayor - Guyleen Castriotta, Broomfield Mayor - JD Mangat, Lafayette Mayor - Austin Ward, Broomfield Councilmember - Jean Dubofsky, Former CO Supreme Court Justice - Richard Garcia, BVSD School Board Member - Rollie Heath, Former State Senator - Dorothy Rupert, Former State Senator - Edie Hooton, Former State Representative - Susan Marine, Former BVSD Director - Josie Heath, Former County Commissioner - Hillary Hall, Former County Clerk - Leslie Durgin, Former Boulder Mayor - Christine Berg, Former Lafayette Mayor - Jill Grano, Former Boulder City Councilmember Paid for by Neil Fishman for BVSD Neil Fishman, Registered Agent

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VOTE GUIDE 2023 cer for FC Boulder, according to his LinkedIn page. He has a bachelor’s in business administration and management.

WARD 2 (FOUR-YEAR TERM, VOTE FOR ONE)

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DEBORAH FAHEY (INCUMBENT) GEORGE COLBERT

Deborah Fahey is the incumbent (and we imagine she’ll win), but she did not respond to multiple requests to fill out our candidate questionnaire.

George Colbert is a longtime resident of Louisville, and his responses to our questionnaire were thoughtful and specific, but Fahey’s nearly decade of experience on council — as well as her background working in service-oriented jobs such as the activity director at a memory care facility — will lend knowledge, compassion, communication skills and consistency to Council. We worry that Colbert’s job working for Helmerich and Payne, a petroleum contract digging company, might color his perspective on renewable energies.

WARD 3 (VOTE FOR NOT MORE THAN TWO) SECOND CHOICE: DIETRICH HOEFNER (INCUMBENT) FIRST CHOICE: BARBARA HAMLINGTON (INCUMBENT) The candidate with the highest number of votes will serve a four-year term. The candidate with the second highest number of votes will serve a two-year term.

Barbara Hamlington and Dietrich Hoefner are both current councilmembers who bring a lot to the table. We endorse Hamlington as the primary 16

OCTOBER 12, 2023

choice (to get a four-year term) and Hoefner as the second choice (to get a two-year term).

The two candidates don’t differ much on policy, with both prioritizing economic vitality and affordable housing. And though both have the same nine months experience on council, we think Hamlington’s job as a senior director of medical affairs for a company that works to develop cancer treatments gives her less conflicts around things like renewable energy than Hoefner’s job as a regulatory lawyer for industries like energy and natural resources.

BALLOT ISSUE 2C — PARKS AND OPEN SPACE FUNDING YES / FOR

NO / AGAINST This particular sales tax agreement has been approved by voters twice before, in 2002 and 2012. This current iteration of the extension increases the tax by 0.125 percent, for what the city estimates will be a total of $1.5 million extra. This fairly modest increase will enable long overdue, critical open space environmental protection and wildfire mitigation.

The revenue from the 0.375% tax is the primary source of funding for the operation and maintenance of parks and open space.The tax also funds programs, capital projects, equipment, staff and management work associated with the parks. The funding also goes toward volunteer and educational programs, as well as non-traditional methods of vegetation control, such as the use of goats to mitigate weeds.

Issue 2C will also fund the construction of new connector trails, more trail maintenance, mowing and plowing, as well as signs and maps.

We endorse a yes on Louisville ballot issue 2C. BOULDER WEEKLY

WE ARE BOULDER COUNTY!

TOWN OF SUPERIOR TOWN OF SUPERIOR BALLOT QUESTION 301: HOME RULE CHARTER COMMISSION YES / FOR

NO / AGAINST This ballot question asks Superior residents to vote on forming a Home Rule Charter Commission, a ninemember group that will be responsible for drafting a charter within 180 days of the election. Residents will then cast an all-or-nothing vote on the charter in 2024, after which the commission will disband.

Adopting a home rule charter means the town will be governed by the local covenant as opposed to state statutes. This form of government gives the Town and its residents more control over issues like zoning, land use, elections and tax collection.

As the Town’s website puts it, adopting a home rule charter means the community government will be “created by residents for residents.” The most-often cited pitfall of home rule charters is that they’re often difficult to amend, so if they’re written in a way that’s overly restrictive or inflexible, they can make town business more difficult. Town funds will be used to support the charter creation, including an estimated $15,000 to $20,000 for attorney fees. All associated fees for creating the charter will come out of the Town’s general fund and will not increase taxes.

Superior’s population has grown nearly twentyfold over the past two decades, and adopting a home rule charter is par for the course for larger municipalities. There are currently 103 municipalities in Colorado that have home rule charters, including Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette, Broomfield, Longmont and Denver. We think a yes/for vote is a no-brainer here, especially because constituents will BOULDER WEEKLY

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Scan this QR code to see candidates’ answers to our questionnaire.

For advertising information call 303.494.5511 www.BoulderWeekly.com

get to vote on the drafted charter next year. Plus, there’s a host of qualified folks on the ballot to serve on the Commission.

SUPERIOR HOME RULE CHARTER COMMISSION CANDIDATES There are 11 residents running for nine seats on Superior’s Home Rule Charter Commission, the group which will draft the Town’s new governing document if approved by voters (see Question 301). The Commission will have 180 days to draft the charter in order to present it no later than May 5, 2024. After citizens cast an all-ornothing vote on whether or not to accept the charter, the Commission will disband.

We believe there are no wrong choices in the vote for Superior Home Rule Charter Commission. Nine of the 11 responded to our questionnaire, which you can view by scanning the QR code above. We suggest voting for them.

DALTON VALETTE is a legal con-

sultant who wants Superior to have greater autonomy as a municipality.

Not only does he bring knowledge of municipal code and legal writing to the table, he also was born in Louisville and raised in Superior and has served on the Superior Historical Commission. Valette says he wants the charter to reflect “autonomy as a municipality, trust as a governing body, and transparency for residents.”

HEATHER CRACRAFT is the assistant to the Athletic Director at CU Boulder and served as the Superior Chamber of Commerce executive director for 13 years. She’s lived in Superior for 26 years and wants the charter to focus on “support of our businesses, a common sense land use code, and a govern-

www.colorado.edu/macky OCTOBER 12, 2023

17

VOTE GUIDE 2023 ment and staffing structure that’s as effective as it is efficient.”

RYAN HITCHLER is a tech company founder and CEO who says the main reason he wants to serve on the Commission is to make “citizen-led efforts clearer and easier to understand.” He previously co-led a petition that led to the Town Board unanimously voting to overturn its previous approval of a life sciences downtown development. He sees the biggest benefit of a home rule charter as the Town’s “ability to work immediately and quickly on issues it faces without relying on state legislators.”

My rst class, Compton, CA

CLAIRE DIXON has lived in

A LIFETIME COMMITMENT TO IMPROVING EDUCATION FOR ALL KIDS Jason is Endorsed by: Boulder Valley Education Association

“The BVSD board is set to have four new members— it’s critical that voters elect candidates with a solid background in education. I’m thrilled to endorse Jason.”

—former BVSD Board President Laurie Albright

"Jason has spent his career working to improve public education for all kids. I am impressed with the breadth of his experience, his commitment to BVSD, and i believe he is the qualied, pragmatic board member we need at this critical time."

—Colorado State Senate President Steve Fenberg

Current* & Former BVSD School Board Presidents Supporting Jason: Kathy Gebhardt* Stan Garnett Helayne Jones Laurie Albright (& frmr. Boulder Julie Phillips Sam Fuqua Cty Dist Attorney) Jim Reed

Ken Roberge Linda Shoemaker

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Superior since 2011, was a founding member of the Cultural Arts and Public Spaces Committee, and has served on the PTO Board for Eldorado PK-8 since 2021. Her husband’s orthodontic practice brought their family to Superior, and they’ve been members of the Chamber of Commerce for the past decade. She says she wants to make sure changes to tax collection don’t place too great of an administrative burden on small business owners, and that the transition to Home Rule is “smooth and transparent.”

RYAN WELCH has lived in Superior

for 10 years and has served on the Town’s Open Space Advisory Committee. His answers to our questions weren’t as robust and he doesn’t seem to have as deep of an understanding of home rule charters as some of the other candidates, but he does have experience with local government and the challenges that face the town — something that’s a positive on this Commission.

SEAN MADAY has lived in Superior

for nearly 12 years and says he would like to see the charter provide as much local control as possible. His answers to our questionnaire suggest a strong understanding of home rule charter, its benefits and potential pitfalls. He says the charter should be “an enduring document that provides guardrails for effective governance while allowing local elected officials to respond to emerging needs of the community.”

As the former Mayor of Superior, CLINT FOLSOM brings a deep understanding of challenges faced by the town and advantages home rule provides. He says one component of home rule that excites him is giving Superior greater control over revenue collection, as the current state collection of sales tax “delays the flow of revenue back to the town and severely limits the towns’ ability to audit retailers to ensure accuracy.”

Folsom has lived in Superior for 25 years and has also served as a planning commissioner.

CHRIS HANSON has lived in

Superior for nearly three decades and served two terms as a Trustee from 2010 to 2018. He says he firmly believes Home Rule is the right path for Superior and will “allow for decisions to be made at a level closer to the citizens most impacted.” He wants to make sure the charter provides a framework without being overly prescriptive.

MIKE FOSTER is a newer Superior

resident, having lived in town for three years. He has a long career working on sustainability initiatives in both public and private sectors. He was employed by the City of San Jose for more than 17 years and now works as the agricultural division manager for Boulder County Open Space, according to his LinkedIn. He’s served as chair of Superior’s Advisory Committee for Environmental Sustainability for the past three years, assisting in the development of the Town’s first ever Sustainability Action Plan. He says he wants the charter to help the municipal government be “accessible, responsive, accountable, responsible and professional.”

JEFF CHU and STEPHANIE SCHADER didn’t respond to our

questions — we can’t say how this bodes for their ability to engage with their community. Still, each of them seems like a capable candidate. Chu has experience in local government, including two terms as a Town Trustee. Schader works as a policy advisor within the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to her LinkedIn. BOULDER WEEKLY

VOTE GUIDE PART 1 ROUNDUP COLORADO BALLOT ISSUES

BOULDER BALLOT ISSUES

PROPOSITION HH: Reduce property taxes and retain state revenue Yes/For

BALLOT ISSUE 2A: Tax extension For the measure

PROPOSITION II: Retain nicotine tax revenue in excess of blue book estimate Yes/For

BOULDER COUNTY BALLOT ISSUES BALLOT ISSUE 1A: Open space tax extension and revenue change Yes/For BALLOT ISSUE 1B: Affordable and attainable tax extension and revenue change Yes/For BALLOT ISSUE 6A: Nederland ecopass extension Yes/For

BOULDER CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES BOULDER MAYOR (RANKED CHOICE): 1. Aaron Brockett 2. Nicole Speer 3. Bob Yates 4. Paul Tweedlie BOULDER CITY COUNCIL: Silas Atkins Ryan Schuchard Tara Winer Taishya Adams BOULDER WEEKLY

Mural Art by Detour

Last week, we published Vote Guide: Part 1, with endorsements for state and county ballot issues, plus Boulder and Longmont city council candidates and ballot measures. Below is a recap of those endorsements.

BALLOT QUESTION 2B: Elections administrative charter cleanup For the measure BALLOT QUESTION 302: Safe Zones 4 Kids Against the measure

LONGMONT CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES LONGMONT MAYOR Joan Peck LONGMONT CITY COUNCIL: Sean McCoy (At-Large) Nia Wassink (Ward 1) Susie Hidalgo-Fahring (Ward 3)

LONGMONT BALLOT ISSUES BALLOT ISSUE 3C: Construction of a new library branch Yes/For BALLOT ISSUE 3D: Funding for a performing arts center Yes/For BALLOT ISSUE 3E: Rec centers and land swap Yes/For

A once in a generation opportunity in the City of Boulder to secure long-term funding for critical community needs.

Continuing an existing 0.15% sales tax, allocating 50% of the tax revenue to arts and culture.

Designating 50% into the City General Fund to support homeless solutions, behavioral health, public safety, human services, parks, and other general needs.

A Broad Coalition of Community Organizations Supporting 2A

3rd Law Dance/Theater, BMoCA, Boulder Ballet, Boulder County Arts Alliance, BETC, Boulder International Film Festival, Boulder JCC, Boulder Phil, Boulder Studio Arts, Colorado Chautauqua Association, Colorado Music Festival, Dairy Arts Center, El Centro Amistad, Frequent Flyers, eTown Hall, Local Theater Company, Junkyard Social Club, Mi Chantli, Museum of Boulder, NOBO Arts District, Open Studios, Parlando School of Musical Arts, Social Venture Partners Boulder County, Street Wise Arts and 20+ More

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NEWS

‘A SETUP FOR DISASTER’ California legislation requiring companies to pay for oil and gas well cleanup in limbo

BY MARK OLALDE, PROPUBLICA

T

he California Legislature recently passed a bill that would provide the state’s taxpayers some of the strongest protections in the nation against having to pay for the cleanup of orphaned oil and gas wells. But Gov. Gavin Newsom has not indicated if he will sign it.

AB1167 would require companies that purchase idle or low-producing wells — those at high risk of being left to the state — to set aside enough money to cover the entire cost of cleanup. Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo, a Los Angeles Democrat who authored the bill with the support of the Natural Resources Defense Council and Environment California, said it’s needed to “stem the tide” of orphaned wells.

Newsom has until Oct. 14 to make a decision. A spokesperson declined to comment, saying the governor would evaluate the bill “on its merits.” The state’s Department of Finance released a two-page analysis opposing it.

It costs more than $180,000 to clean up an average orphan well in California, the state told the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2021, according to documents ProPublica obtained via a public records request. This includes plugging the well with cement, removing above ground infrastructure like pumpjacks and decontaminating the site. But bonds, which are financial instruments guaranteeing to pay for cleanup, cover only a tiny fraction of that cost. A ProPublica analysis of state data found that oil and gas companies have set aside only about $2,400 per well. (State oil regulators are currently reevaluating companies’ bonds to increase them within existing law, which does not mandate that they cover the entire cleanup cost.)

Left unplugged, many wells leak climate-warming methane, brine and toxins that were used in the drilling process.

BOULDER WEEKLY

“It’s a setup for disaster,” said Ann Alexander, a Natural Resources Defense Council senior attorney.

The bill follows ProPublica’s reporting on the exodus of oil majors from the state’s declining industry — one sale last year saw more than 23,000 wells move from Shell and ExxonMobil to a little-known German asset management group called IKAV — and on the multibillion-dollar cost to clean up the industry.

Despite its green reputation, California has a long history of weak oversight of its oil and gas industry, which has left behind an estimated 5,300 orphaned wells. Many are scattered across Los Angeles, complicating redevelopment. Others spew methane in Kern County’s huge oilfields.

Companies have little incentive to plug wells; it’s cheaper to sell or to walk away and forfeit the small bonds currently required by the state.

“It’s too easy for them right now to offload those unproductive oil wells to newer or less-resourced companies that may turn around and go bankrupt and that don’t have the adequate financial capacity to do the job of cleaning up,” said Laura Deehan, director of Environment California.

The Western States Petroleum Association and California Independent Petroleum Association industry trade groups warned state lawmakers that “this misguided bill will increase the number of orphan oil wells in California.” The organizations argued that requiring bonds that cover the full cleanup cost would dissuade sales to companies hoping to enter the market.

This, in turn, could lead to well owners getting stuck with the expensive cleanup, causing insolvency and ultimately leaving the wells with the state.

Dwayne Purvis is a petroleum reservoir engineer who authored a study that estimated it would cost as much as $21.5 billion to clean up California’s oil industry. He pointed out that the most common type of bond — a surety policy — is similar to insurance guaranteeing a well will be plugged, so oil companies wouldn’t have to set aside the full cleanup cost in cash to comply with AB1167. Federal regulators recently found these bonds are relatively cheap.

If that stops companies from buying wells in California, Purvis said, then there’s a bigger problem: “This admits — implicitly but almost inescapably — that the cost of plugging exceeds the value of remaining production,” he told ProPublica via email.

A Western States Petroleum Association spokesperson did not address questions about its claims. The California Independent Petroleum Association did not respond to requests for comment.

In negotiations over the bill, according to people present, the trade associations pointed to one example in particular to highlight why the legislation would create more orphan wells — the sales of some of the more than 750 wells orphaned following bankruptcy fil-

ings by multiple entities in the Greka group of companies. The sales, the industry argued, presented an opportunity for the wells to be plugged by an oil company, not the state.

However, hundreds of the wells remain on the orphaned list to this day, only they’re now associated with a new company: Team Operating.

Greka’s CEO and Team Operating didn’t respond to emails requesting comment.

The bill does carry a potential loophole, experts cautioned: whether the increased bond requirements in the bill would apply to wells transferred through

shell companies, as is often the case.

The state Department of Finance’s opposition to the bill relied on three arguments.

The agency’s report claimed that large companies with enough resources to plug wells are coming into the California market. But research shows these producers are exiting the state and handing off their aging, unprofitable wells to smaller companies that are less likely to be able to afford cleanup.

Its analysis also suggested that bond underwriting companies are “becoming hesitant” to do business in California.

Purvis said that if these companies believe the situation is too risky to guarantee cleanup costs will be paid, “then the taxpayers of California probably should not extend producers the same credit.”

Finally, the report argued the bill is unnecessary because California regulators already have the authority to recoup plugging costs from wells’ previous owners.

While existing law gives the state this authority, it only applies to wells transferred after Jan. 1, 1996. Oil drilling in California dates back to the 1860s, and many thousands of wells were sold prior to the law’s cutoff, meaning the state can’t go after the wells’ former operators.

ProPublica reviewed the state’s list of orphaned wells and found numerous examples of well cleanups being left to taxpayers despite the wells being sold after 1996. In those cases, the state either hasn’t used its authority or has otherwise failed to secure plugging funds.

Department of Finance analysts referred questions to the state’s oil regulators, who were the source for much of the report. A spokesperson for the California Geologic Energy Management Division said state regulators have obtained money from previous owners on occasion.

But going after older operators is difficult, said Rob Schuwerk, a former New York assistant attorney general and the North American executive director of the energy finance think tank Carbon Tracker Initiative, and bonds are guaranteed money.

“There’s no better substitute for having the cash,” he said.

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VARIATIONS ON A THEME Boulder Philharmonic offers a season of new discoveries and familiar masterworks

BY KELLY DEAN HANSEN

D

eath, taxes and Butterman. The Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra has experienced many changes over the last few years, but music director Michael Butterman is a constant. As he embarks on his 17th season on the podium at Macky Auditorium, the conductor is confident in the successful formula he has developed.

“It’s the approach that always works for us,” Butterman says. “We have world premieres and Bouldercentric programming, but I always want to include something recognizable and familiar along with new discoveries. Each concert speaks to Boulder in one way or another.”

Describing the five-concert Masterworks Series, Butterman highlighted these elements, beginning with the season opener on Oct. 15. But he also discussed the changes, like the arrival of new executive director Mimi Kruger.

The most traumatic change for the orchestra and the community was the death of concertmaster Charles “Chas” Wetherbee in

January of this year. A Sunday performance honoring the late violinist would become the orchestra’s bestselling post-pandemic concert, feeding the decision to move four of this season’s concerts from the normal Saturday slot.

The opening concert, titled “Transformation,” features pianist Anne-Marie McDermott, who is perhaps better known for her recital and chamber music performances than for playing with orchestra. She is a longstanding presence in the classical scene at Vail, but makes her Boulder Phil debut with Beethoven’s profound Piano Concerto No. 4.

“It has a lot of conversational, chamber-like elements, especially the dialogue in the second movement,” Butterman says. “It seems a piece that is well-suited to her strengths.”

‘VISIONS OF A BRIGHTER TOMORROW’ The program also includes two orchestral showpieces by 20thCentury composers inspired by

masters from earlier periods.

Benjamin Britten’s Variations on a Theme by Purcell is often used in school music programs to teach the instruments. The work takes a simple theme by the early baroque composer and uses it to explore the colors of the orchestra. Paul Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis does something similar using material from early romantic composer Carl Maria von Weber.

Butterman opens with a tribute to the former composer by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. “You can either go with fireworks or with calm placidity to open a concert,” Butterman says. “Here we go with the latter to set up the Britten work and also the second movement of the Beethoven concerto.”

The second concert on Nov. 12 opens with the world premiere of Beacon by CU composition professor Jeffrey Nytch, celebrating the 75th year of the Boulder Star on Flagstaff Mountain. The central piece is by Argentinian composer Richard Scofano for bandoneon and orchestra called La Tierra Sin Mal, with Scofano himself playing the instrument native to his country.

“It’s a gorgeous piece that is based on a Guarani legend about a place without evil and a paradise in the mind,” Butterman says. “I felt it would complement Jeff’s celebration of our own Boulder Star and its symbolism.”

Scofano’s piece will be performed with choreography by local contemporary company 3rd Law Dance/Theater. The familiar masterwork on this program is the First Symphony of Johannes Brahms, which progresses from a dark opening to a triumphant breakthrough. All three works fit the concert theme: “Visions of a Brighter Tomorrow.”

ON THE BILL: Boulder

“Each concert speaks to Boulder in one way or another,” music director Michael Butterman says of the upcoming Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra season. Photo by Jamie Kraus

Philharmonic Orchestra Season Opener. 4 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 15, Macky Auditorium, 1595 Pleasant St. $22-$94

FUTURE VISION

Coming in 2024 from Boulder Phil JAN. 7: ‘VIGNETTES AND PROMENADES’

The orchestra will join pianist and composer Aldo López-Gavilán for its first program of the new year. Butterman has worked with him before, including in Boulder in 2019, where López-Gavilán played his piano concerto Emporium, which he encores during this performance.

“It fuses the worlds of classical and jazz, much like Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue,” Butterman says. “[It] reflects the images of his Afro-Cuban heritage.”

López-Gavilán’s new Clarinet Concerto is also featured, played by Philadelphia Orchestra principal clarinetist Ricardo Morales. Butterman says López-Gavilán does his own orchestrations and has a great ear for instrumental color.

That provided the impetus for the large concert work on the program, Maruice Ravel’s brilliant orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Its “gallery” theme also fits with the title of the Emporium concerto.

FEB. 11: ‘BEST OF BOULDER’

The fourth concert on Feb. 11, is titled “Best of Boulder.” CU cello professor David Requiro plays Tchaikovky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, and the Phil’s two oboists, Sarah Bierhaus and Max Soto, join on Extra(ordinarily) Fancy by Vietnamese-American composer Viet Cuong. The Tchaikovsky work looks back to the style of his favorite composer, Mozart, and the concert closes with Mozart’s last symphony, the “Jupiter,” No. 41, to complement it.

APRIL 27: ‘SPRING ROMANCE’

Tchaikovsky anchors the season finale during the season’s only Saturday concert. His Fifth Symphony is a masterpiece of cyclical form.

“He ratchets everything up when he introduces a joyous version of the opening fate motive at the end,” Butterman says.

Violinist Francisco Fullana, who will also work with Greater Boulder Youth Orchestras that weekend, plays the virtuosic Third Concerto by Camille Saint-Saëns in his Boulder debut, paired on the first half with another French gem, D’un matin de printemps by Lili Boulanger, completed shortly before her death at age 24 in 1918.

For more on the 2023-24 Boulder Philharmonic Season, visit boulderphil.org.

Photography.

BOULDER WEEKLY

OCTOBER 12, 2023

23

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MUSIC

ALL HAIL THE MOUNTAIN GOATS John Darnielle breaks his own rules on lush new LP

BY JEZY J. GRAY

I

sort of get the thrill of doing something t’s been more than 20 years since you’re not supposed to do.” singer-songwriter John Darnielle The thrill began, as so many do, with dropped the lo-fi masterpiece All a few simple chords. The words soon Hail West Texas into the world. Two followed, as the title character from the decades and more than a dozen Mountain Goats classic “Jenny” albums later, devotees to the cult clasappeared in the frame: Jenny was a sic still feel a charge from the copy warrior, Jenny was a thief / Jenny hit splashed in wide kerning across the the corner clinic begging for relief. record’s minimalist cover: Fourteen “I always begin from a place without songs about seven people, two housany intention. When I open up a notees, a motorcycle, and a locked treatbook or sit down at the piano or pick ment facility for adolescent boys.

The Mountain Goats come to the Fox Theatre in Boulder with support from Mikaela Davis on Friday, up a guitar, I almost never say, ‘Well, Released under his longtime moniOct. 13. Photo by Jackie Lee Young. here’s what I’m planning on doing,’” ker The Mountain Goats, the revered Darnielle says. “I just start to play. And bevy of other players who lend the collection of home-recorded acoustic ‘WHAT ELSE IS IN THERE?’ when I get an idea, I follow it.” album its richest studio texture in gems has developed a lauded patina But there was still a big question hangDarnielle followed this particular idea ing over Darnielle’s head. Bringing Mountain Goats history. around its intimate and irresistible back to the desolate West Texas envi“It’s a big ensemble — that’s one of fusion of tender folk-punk and humancharacters back to life was one thing — rons of his beloved 2002 classic. the things I like about the sound of this sized storytelling. From the plight of Jenny had already popped up in songs When listeners first met Jenny, she two young misunderstood metalheads like “Straight Six” from Jam Eater Blues record,” Darnielle says. Sharing more was running a safehouse in her southDNA with the Broadway show tunes of (“The Best Ever Death Metal Band in and the Transcendental Youth side-two Denton”) to a former teen football play- western ranch-style home — now at standout “Night Light,” after all. But as it Godspell than the stripped-down, guyer busted for selling acid to a cop became clear that Darnielle would in-a-room quality of its spiritual predeafter an on-field injury (“Fall of return to the world of All Hail West cessor, the group effort behind Jenny the Star High School Running Texas for a new full-length project, from Thebes finds the time-tested songwriter pushing the parameters of Back,”) the yarns spun around he had to decide whether to also his long-running project to lush new the album’s 42-minute runtime return to the lo-fi hiss of the origiheights. And in the same spirit of transare as warm and welcoming as nal LP’s signature boom-box gression that brought him back to the the wheel grind of the Panasonic recording.

RX-FT500 boombox churning in “I wanted to go to the other end West Texas desert in the first place, Darnielle says the final product is the the background. of the spectrum,” says Darnielle, result of getting outside the “bubble” of Darnielle dips back into that whose records have since mostly his own creative rulebook in more ways universe on The Mountain Goats’ been smartly produced studio than one. latest Jenny from Thebes, having affairs. “I find it crass to try and “I don’t remember shooting anything long since earned the plural draw from the exact same well stage name with a complete twice. I want to see what else is in down [in the studio], because I wanted a big maximalist vision,” he says. “And I band behind him. The 12-track there.” think to do that, you have to let everyoffering finds the celebrated stoTo find out, he traveled to body bring as much as they can … ryteller resurrecting one of the music icon Leon Russell’s legendThe upcoming LP ‘Jenny from Thebes’ by The Mountain which is sort of not like me, [but] we get original album’s central characary Church Studio in Tulsa, Goats is out Oct. 27 via Merge Records. good results when I just do my job and ters in full fidelity with a big and Oklahoma. In the hallowed halls the point of exhaustion after years of get out of other people’s way.” brassy reboot of the world that first of the late innovator who fused swampprotecting others, she goes on the run gave her life. pop and country-fried southern rock to in her aging yellow-and-black “I don’t generally bring stuff back dazzling effect, Darnielle enlisted the Kawasaki motorcycle. once I’ve already put it to bed,” the help of past collaborator Alicia ON THE BILL: The Mountain “You can’t be the person everyone 56-year-old musician and novelist says Bognanno of Nashville indie-rock outfit Goats with Mikaela Davis. relies on to take care of them and from his home in Durham, North Bully on guitar, backing vocals from 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, Fox keep them safe for too long,” Darnielle Carolina. “So when I got this idea, it Kathy Valentine of The Go-Gos, plus Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. says. “It eventually causes so much felt transgressive to me — breaking horn and string arrangements by multiSold out. stress that it threatens to break you.” my own rule. And by that time, you instrumentalist Matt Douglas and a

BOULDER WEEKLY

OCTOBER 12, 2023

25

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STAGE

‘I WANT THE WORLD TO KNOW’ Spoken-word series celebrates LGBTQ stories on National Coming Out Day

BY TONI TRESCA

T

here is something therapeutic about reliving our awkward, turbulent adolescence, especially when those cringe-worthy moments are exposed to an audience. This is the underlying idea behind Mortified, a spoken-word series in which people read aloud the most embarrassing passages from their childhood journals in front of a live audience.

In honor of National Coming Out Day, Colorado Public Radio hosts Mortified: ‘Coming Out’ Edition on Oct. 14 at the Dairy Arts Center. Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner takes the stage for this special iteration, sharing passages from his own teenage writings — deciphered from old journals, which were written in a secret language combining Hebrew, Japanese and invented characters to protect his most intimate feelings.

“Before I came out of the closet, I invented this code as a kid that I used to write in my journal about being gay,” he says. “A fair amount of it was me wrestling with being gay, being pretty terribly bullied in high school and trying to escape that.”

Warner rediscovered his secret language after scrawling his romantic woes on the back of a Southwest Airlines napkin earlier this year. Little did he know that this seemingly random act would catapult him into the Mortified limelight.

“I am in a new relationship and have been journaling a lot,” Warner says. “I happened to be on an airplane coming back from a vacation and kind of overwrought about it, but it’s cramped quarters on an airplane. So, I started writing … in my code that I used to write in as a kid, so that my seatmates

wouldn’t be reading about my romantic torment. And I thought, ‘Oh, this is such a fun little detail,’ so I tweeted out a picture of the napkin with my code.”

Shortly after Warner shared the image of his coded napkin, David Blatt, producer of Mortified Colorado, saw it and reached out to see if he was interested in sharing his story.

“This random tweet wound up landing me in the show,” Warner says. “I handed over mounds of my old journals to David. It was a very vulnerable experience; David essentially goes through it and chooses the most frankly mortifying aspects. But in this case, he couldn’t read a lot of it, so I had to sit down with him and interpret the code.”

To get the piece ready for Mortifed’s 2023 Pride Show at The Oriental Theater in June, Blatt first combed through Warner’s journals on his own to get a sense of how to frame the story. Then, he flagged around a dozen pages written in code to talk through in detail at the Colorado Public Radio station.

“It was a much different process with Ry than with any other Mortified participant,” Blatt says. “Since he was decoding his writing in the room with me, there was extra vulnerability.”

‘THINGS DO GET BETTER’

“It’s cathartic to have this thing that was a private, solitary pain finally be shared,” says Ryan Warner, who will present excerpts from his childhood journals during ‘Mortified: Coming Out Edition’ at Dairy Arts Center on Oct. 14. Photo by Josie V. Photography.

BOULDER WEEKLY

Following this meeting, Blatt reworked Warner’s writing into something he could read aloud with images of the coded letters projected behind him.

Warner first performed the piece earlier this year, and while it was overwhelming at first, the audience opened up as he shared more.

“It’s cathartic to have this thing that was a private, solitary pain finally be shared,” Warner says.

“David kept saying that the audience has got you, and that was really true. The audience responded with greater support as the sharing became more mortifying, which is the exact opposite of how I felt while

I was writing it; I wrote this in a place of alienation, but I read it in a place of acceptance. When you read these writings as an adult, it is a way of telling little Ryan that everything will be OK.” The response to this year’s Mortified Pride show was so enthusiastic that Blatt immediately started looking for a slot to perform some of his favorite pieces from that show again.

“For anybody who’s queer in any way, there’s just a different dynamic to self-discovery, so the Pride shows have been near and dear to my heart because of that,” he says. “It’s also just therapeutic to laugh at yourself in hindsight. As a queer person, it’s been really fun to come together with people and share those stories that are very bonding.”

Mortified features a variety of voices in addition to Warner’s story, and a portion of all ticket sales benefit Camp Indigo, a Boulder-based camp for children who identify as transgender or gender nonconforming. Each story is a thread in the tapestry of queer self-discovery, like Keith Garcia’s account of having a crush on his creative writing teacher in high school, Katie Kramer’s elaborate lies to hide her lack of experience with women, and Erin Harrop’s journey of self-discovery gleaned from 87 of her childhood journals.

“I think anyone would enjoy it just because we all share experiences of mortification, but I would particularly like to speak to the parents of queer youth,” Warner says. “This show would have been extremely beneficial to my mother. I think if there are parents out there who have queer youth, they should come to this and hear that your kid, with some support, is going to be OK. I do not want to sugarcoat the high rates of violence against trans people in general and suicide rates among LGBTQ+ youth, but things do get better.”

ON STAGE: CPR Presents

Mortified: ‘Coming Out’ Edition with Ryan Warner.

8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, Dairy Arts Center - Gordon Gamm Theater, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. $25-40

OCTOBER 12, 2023

27

EVENTS EVERY WEDNESDAY

BouldeR BluegRass JaM

THU. 10/12 - 8:00PM

JeReMy gaReet of the InfaMous stRIngdusteRs FRI. 10/13 - 7:30PM

delta sonIcs Blues dance PaRty

SAT. 10/14 - 7:00PM

MasqueRade caRnIvale gala

MON. 10/16 - 6:30PM

oPen MIc w/steve KoPPe TUE. 10/17 - 8:00PM

cRys Matthews

13

PRETTY IN PUNK

8 p.m.-midnight Friday, Oct. 13, Junkyard Social Club, 2525 Frontier Ave., Unit A, Boulder. $15 Spend your Friday the 13th with Sweet Peach Media at the Junkyard Social Club for an evening of punk music by Plasma Canvas, plus burlesque and drag performances that will make for a fabulous and frightinducing night of fun.

13

MOVIE NIGHT AT THE COURTYARD: ‘GHOSTBUSTERS’ 7:30-11 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, The Courtyard, 836 Main St., Louisville. $12

14

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY

11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, Museum of Boulder at Tebo Center, 2205 Broadway. $10

Who ya gonna call? Kick off the spooky season this Friday with the horror-comedy classic Ghostbusters.

With food and candy concessions at the ready, The Courtyard in Louisville invites you to enjoy this beloved movie with family and friends.

Celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day with art, music and food presented by Luna Cultura. The holiday was Oct. 9, but you can head to the Museum of Boulder on Saturday for this community event designed to provide a space to recognize history, celebrate resilience and spark change.

13-15

14

WED. 10/18 - 8:30PM

BRendan aBeRnathy

FRI. 10/20 - 8:00PM

shadow woRK-Jazz Roots/dReaM RocK IndIe 102.3. PIcK of the Month SAT. 10/21 - 7:00PM

an evenIng w/ hazel MIlleR

SUN. 10/22 - 8:00PM

cRIstIna vane

TUE. 10/24 - 6:30PM

Paul sodeRan and the ogs w/sPecIal guest: the dReaM teaM Purchase Tickets at

RMPtix.com RootsMusicProject.org 4747 Pearl Suite V3A 28

OCTOBER 12, 2023

13

FRIDAY THE 13TH AT THE BREWERY

5-7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, Left Hand Brewing Company Tasting Room, 1265 Boston Ave., Longmont. Free Looking for more Friday the 13th fun?

Debut your spookiest and most creative costumes while enjoying live music and craft beer at the Left Hand Brewery.

Join other costumed guests in a contest for prizes for the best ensembles.

CU BOULDER FAMILY WEEKEND Friday, Oct. 13-Sunday, Oct. 15, University of Colorado, Boulder. Free

CU parents and families are invited back to Boulder this weekend for events including but not limited to the Buffs stampede, tailgate parties, the football game against Stanford and a variety of university-hosted activities and events.

DÍA DE MUERTOS / DAY OF THE DEAD

11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, Downtown Longmont at 4th Ave. and Main St. Free The City of Longmont celebrates its 23rd annual Día de Muertos event to remember loved ones who are no longer with us. The festival includes performances, arts and crafts activities, cultural education, food vendors and a Gigantes procession.

BOULDER WEEKLY

EVENTS

day

WEDnes

th

Vitalwild and Zaje In the Bar

th

Many Mountains In the Bar

OCT 11

show timme 9:00p

ay

Thursd

OCT 12

show timpem 10:00

14

NIGHT MOVES: BLINDFOLDED SPEED DATING

16

GUIDED BIRD WALK AT SANDSTONE RANCH

4:15-7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, The Avalon Ballroom, 6185 Arapahoe Road, Boulder. $30

8:30-10:30 a.m. Monday, Oct. 16, Sandstone Ranch Visitors & Learning Center, 3001 Sandstone Drive, Longmont. $4

Join other local singles at The Avalon in Boulder for an unconventional date night for ages 25 to 45. Attendees will be blindfolded while exploring their connections with each other. The twohour speed dating event will be followed by a non-blindfolded mixer with refreshments.

Local guide Carl Starace invites bird enthusiasts to follow his trail around the historic Sandstone Ranch to discover the winged creatures that migrate through the area. This event is open to all ages. Participants are encouraged to bring water and binoculars for the best viewing experience.

Friday

th

OCT 13

18

BOO BARK BALL

6-9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, Rayback Collective, 2775 Valmont Road, Unit 3, Boulder. $25 Dress up your doggo for this spooky night filled with photoshoots, food, drinks and more. This Halloweenthemed fundraiser helps pets in need in our local community. Tickets come with a free drink, photo and raffle entry. Donations are encouraged.

show timpem 10:00

ay

Saturd

th

OCT 14

show timme 9:00p

Sunday

th

OCT 15

show timme 9:00p

day

Wednes

1st

Cass Clayton Band

ay

OCT 2

show timme 9:00p

2nd

OCT 2

show timme 8:00p

day

Wednes

5th

OCT 2

show timme 9:00p

15

FALL INTO ART SHOW

1-5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, Left Hand Brewing, 1265 Boston Ave., Longmont. Free Celebrate the local creative community with a fall-themed art show at Left Hand Brewing in Longmont. This artforward Sunday event will include craft beer and creative works by artists from Boulder County associated with the Left Hand Artist Group.

BOULDER WEEKLY

17

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: OSI SLADEK

2-3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, University Memorial Center 235, 1669 Euclid Ave., Boulder. Free CU Boulder’s Program in Jewish Studies and the Singer Chair in Jewish History presents testimony and a Q&A with Osi Sladek, a child survivor of the holocaust in Slovakia who now lives in Denver, to share his story of suffering and survival in the SlovakHungarian-Polish borderlands.

18

ay

Thursd

6th

OCT 2

show timme 9:00p

$14 + $4

service charge

Tommy Castro and The $25 + $4 painkillers with service charge deanna bogart

Lionel Young Duo In the Bar

show timme 9:00p

Sunday

The Goonies

th

OCT 18

Saturd

DJ Goodie In the Bar

with Dechen hawk

Rooster Magazine Presents:

Pearl Street Comedy

$15 + $4

service charge

$12

DJ Goodie In the Bar

The Yawpers

$6 + $4

service charge

BOULDER MAYORAL DEBATE

6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, Trident Booksellers & Cafe, 940 Pearl St., Boulder. Free Boulder’s mayoral candidates face off in person at this event hosted by Boulder Reporting Lab and KGNU. Nonprofit organizations will ask questions concerning Boulderites’ most pressing issues like climate change, wildfire mitigation, affordable housing and more.

Friday

7th

OCT 2

show timme 8:00p

ay

Saturd

8th

OCT 2

show timme 9:00p

The Good Kind

Halloween Show by:

Liver Down The river

$20 + $4

service charge

$15 + $4

service charge

OCTOBER 12, 2023

29

LIVE MUSIC KAIVON WITH BWRZ, DELTA ORB AND ALL AT ONCE. 8 p.m. Boulder Theatre, 2032 14th St. $25 MANY MOUNTAINS. 10 p.m.

Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free

DIVINO NINO WITH VICTOR INTERNET AND HEARTGAZE. 8 p.m. Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver. $20

ON THE BILL

T HU R S D AY, OCT. 1 2

TUE S DAY, OC T. 17 JOEP BEVING. 8 p.m. Boulder Theatre, 2032 14th St. $28 G FLIP WITH MIKI RATSULA AND NO RUSH. 9 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $20

JEREMY GARRETT OF THE INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS. 8 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Boulder. Free CARSIE BLANTON WITH BRITTANY ANN TRANBAUGH. 7 p.m. eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. $28 SHADY OAKS WITH HORSEBITCH, TINY TOMBOY AND MIND GARDENS. 8 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $12 BORN WITHOUT BONES WITH LADY DENIM AND A PLACE FOR OWLS. 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $15

FR I D AY, O CT. 1 3 ROOSEVELT WITH TOUCH SENSITIVE. 8 p.m. Boulder Theatre, 2032 14th St. $25 THE MOUNTAIN GOATS WITH MIKAELA DAVIS. 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $45 Story on p. 25 DJ GOODIE. 10 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free DELTA SONICS BLUES DANCE PARTY WITH KATY GUILLEN AND THE DRIVE. 7:30 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Boulder. Free JEFFREY MARTIN WITH DEREK DAMES OHL. 7 p.m. eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. $23 IN THE WHALE WITH FAST EDDY AND FATHERS. 9 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $12

30

OCTOBER 12, 2023

Don’t miss Front Range indie-pop sweethearts Tennis as they return to Boulder Theater on Oct. 14 with New York singer-songwriter Sam Evian. The husband-wife duo comes to the city’s iconic downtown venue in support of their latest LP, Pollen, out now via Mutually Detrimental. Scan the QR code for a BW feature on the band. See listing for details.

SATUR DAY, OC T. 14

SUN D AY, OC T. 15

THE HAPPY FITS: UNDER THE SHADE OF GREEN WITH WINDSER AND HOT FREAKS. 7 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $25

BRENT COBB WITH MEG MCREE. 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $25

TENNIS WITH SAM EVIAN. 8 p.m. Boulder Theatre, 2032 14th St. $30 BW Pick of the Week THE GOONIES. 9 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. $14 JON SHECKLER GROUP. 7 p.m. Muse Performance Space. 200 E. South Boulder Road, Lafayette. $20

CARRIE NEWCOMER. 8 p.m.

Chautauqua Auditorium, 900 Baseline Road, Boulder. $30 TOMMY CASTRO & THE PAINKILLERS WITH SPECIAL GUEST DEANNA BOGART. 9 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. $25 ULRIKA SPACEK, HOLY WAVE AND WAVE DECAY. 7 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $17

THE ALCAPONES WITH SKANK WILLIAMS. 8 p.m. The Caribou Room, 55 Indian Peaks Drive, Nederland. $15

TWISTED PINE WITH JAKE LEG AND SUMMERS BAKER. 6 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $15

CIVIC CLEANER, PUBLIC OPINION AND DJ HOWWEIRD. 9 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $18

DIRTYSNATCHA. 9 p.m. Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver. $25

JEFFREY MARTIN WITH JOHN STATZ. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $18 JORDANA WITH DEV LEMONS. 9 p.m. Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver. $16

M ON DAY, OC T. 16 PAT METHENY. 7:30 p.m. Boulder Theatre, 2032 14th St. $70 SPY TONER WITH TRAUMA RAY, MASK AND CANDY APPLE. 8 p.m.

Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $20

CRYS MATTHEWS. 8 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Boulder.

Free ESME PATTERSON WITH NINA DE FREITAS. 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $17 DB.BOUTABAG WITH 100PACKSAVY. 8 p.m. Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver. $22

WE DN E S DAY, OC T. 18 SAMIA WITH VENUS & THE FLYTRAPS. 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $20 WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE: THE ATTIC WITH JULIANA FINCH. 8 p.m.

Boulder Theatre, 2032 14th St. $33 LIONEL YOUNG DUO. 9 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder.

Free BRENDAN ABERNATHY. 8:30 p.m.

Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Boulder. Free GEORGE NELSON BAND. 8 p.m.

License No. 1, 2115 13th St., Boulder.

Free GATLIN WITH BEL. 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $19 CAYUCAS WITH MATT COSTA. 8 p.m. Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver. $20

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

BOULDER WEEKLY

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Help wanted workday, Inc. is accepting resumes for the following positions at various levels in Boulder, CO: Senior Software developer engineer (20637.739): Responsible for working on all aspects of adaptive planning SaaS web based application. Salary: $160,000.00 $240,000.00 per year, 40 hours per week.

Software engineer / Software development engineer (20637.1471): analyzes, designs, programs, debugs, and modifies software enhancements and/or new products used in local, networked, or internet-related computer programs. Salary: $103,813 $195,400 per year, 40 hours per week. workday pay ranges vary based on work location and recruiters can share more during the hiring process. as a part of the total compensation package, this role may be eligible for the workday Bonus plan or a role-specific commission/bonus, as well as annual refresh stock grants. each candidate’s compensation offer will be based on multiple factors including, but not limited to, geography, experience, skills, future potential and internal pay parity. For more information regarding workday’s comprehensive benefits, please go to workday.com/en-us/company/careers/ life-at-workday.html Interested applicants submit resumes by mail to: J. thurston at workday, Inc., attn: Human Resources/Immigration, 6110 Stoneridge Mall Road, pleasanton, Ca 94588. Must reference job title and job code.

A&C EVENTS

ON STAGE

ON VIEW

ON THE PAGE Ever heard of the Disney resort that never was?

Authors Greg Glasgow and Kathryn Mayer explore the environmental and personal setbacks that prevented Walt Disney from completing his final passion project, the mountaintop Mineral King Resort, during this Oct. 19 reading at Boulder Book Store. See listing for details.

BOULDER WEEKLY

It’s your last weekend to catch You Enjoy Myself, a new world premiere from Local Theater Company by playwright Topher Payne. Borrowing its title from the 1985 Phish classic, this play explores the connective power of jam bands through the story of three couples navigating love and life in Vermont. See listing for details.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY. Oct. 6-15, The Spark, 4847 Pearl St., Unit B4, Boulder.

With its Oct. 12 opening reception, BMoCA unveils a new group show featuring artists who explore themes of identity, space and empathy through a digital lens. Running through Jan. 14, MediaLive: Technology as Healing features Mirela Alistar, Ále Campos, Thessia Machado and more.

See listing for details.

THE SILHOUETTE PROJECT: NEWCOMERS. Through Oct. 21, East Window Gallery, 4550 Broadway, Suite C-3B2, Boulder. Free (by appointment)

NEURON FOREST: KATIE CARON. Sept. 15-Nov. 11, McMahon Gallery Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. Free

FLAT SPACE: WHITMAN LINDSTROM. Through Oct. 29, Dairy Arts Center - Caruso Lounge, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. Free

COMMODITIES (FOOD OF MY PEOPLE): ZIG JACKSON AKA RISING BUFFALO. Oct. 9-Nov. 5, East Window Gallery, 4550 Broadway, Suite C-3B2, Boulder. Free (by appointment)

THE REVOLUTIONISTS. Oct. 6-15, CU Boulder Theatre Department University Theatre Building, 261 University of Colorado.

YOU ENJOY MYSELF. Through Oct. 14, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. $35+ BW Pick of the Week

SWEENEY TODD - ADULT CAST. Through Oct. 31, The Unitiive Theatre and Performing Arts School, 800 S. Hover St., Longmont. $15 MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE. Oct. 13, Stories on Stage - Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder.

PETER AND THE STARCATCHER. Oct. 13-22, The Arts HUB, 420 Courtney Way, Lafayette.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. Through Oct. 22, Jesters Dinner Theatre, 224 Main St. Longmont. $20

JOHN LAKE: SQUINTING GRIEF. Through Nov. 12, BMoCA at Macky, CU Boulder - 1595 Pleasant St., Unit 104. Free FALL ARTIST SHOWCASE: CHELSEA KIAH. Through Nov. 30, BMoCA at Anythink, 495 7th St., Bennett. Free

TRINE REVELATION: THE KINDERRA SAGA BY C.K. DONNELLY. 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, Tattered Cover Bookstore, 2526 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. Free BLACK RIVER ORCHARD BY CHUCK WENDIG. 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, Tattered Cover Bookstore, 7301 South Santa Fe Drive, Littleton. Free HEALTHY SENSORY-EMOTIONAL INTEGRATION BY JOYCEE KENNEDY. 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, Tattered Cover Bookstore, 2526 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. Free

MEDIALIVE: TECHNOLOGY AS HEALING. Oct. 12-Jan. 14, BMoCA,1750 13th St., Boulder. $2 BW Pick of the Week

HANNA’S ASCENT BY JAYNA SHEATS. 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St. $5 THE IMMIGRANT’S WIFE BY JB HARRIS. 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, Trident Booksellers & Cafe, 940 Pearl St., Boulder. Free DISNEYLAND ON THE MOUNTAIN BY GREG GLASGOW AND KATHRYN MAYER. 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St. $5 BW Pick of the Week

OCTOBER 12, 2023

33

FILM

BEST OF THE FEST

the crypts. Directed by Alice Rohrwacher, La Chimera plays like a fairy tale with a social conscience and plenty of humor. The scene where Arthur and his crew argue with an auctioneer about the value and the potential implications of selling stolen artifacts is a delight.

Fill out your Denver Film Festival dance card with these choice cuts

BY MICHAEL J. CASEY

I

t’s the most common question you get as a film critic: “What’s good?”

Variants include: “What do you like?” “What excites you?” “What should I see?” And if you’ve asked me any one of those in the past two months, the answer always comes easy: Perfect Days.

Set in modern-day Japan, Perfect Days follows a Tokyo toilet cleaner on his rounds. But these are no ordinary toilets. Maybe you’ve heard of them; the Japanese government recruited a dozen world-renowned architects and designers to fashion public restroom facilities so state-of-the-art, so welcoming and beautiful, that the workers servicing them and the patrons using them would treat them with reverence.

Septuagenarian filmmaker Wim Wenders photographs these lavatories with wide-eyed curiosity, much in the same way he follows Hirayama (Koji Yakusho) on his daily rounds. Yes, the toilets are impressive to behold — particularly the block of neon-colored transparent boxes that discreetly frost the instant you lock the door — but so is the man tasked with keeping them shipshape. A quiet man, Hirayama

speaks little but wonders much.

His dedication borders on religious ritual that spans every aspect of his life from his tidy home to his love for rock ’n’ roll, which he listens to via cassette tapes as he traverses the city.

Perfect Days might be the best depiction of Buddhism on screen I’ve ever seen. It’s also one the best movies of the year, and it’s coming to the 46th Denver Film Festival (DFF) on Sunday, Nov. 5, for a special 6:30 p.m. screening at the Denver Botanic Gardens.

What a treat that will be.

And treat might be the word that rolls through your mind while you peruse DFF’s schedule, with more than 160 features and shorts playing multiple venues Nov. 3-12. The lineup includes some of the year’s most anticipated releases, alongside exciting offerings from up-and-comers and local filmmakers. Passes and single tickets are on sale and going fast. In addition to Perfect Days, here are four more you want to put on your DFF dance card.

JOIN OR DIE 7:45 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10 and 4:15 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 11, AMC 9 + CO 10, 826 Albion St., Denver.

BAD PRESS 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3 and 1:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 4, AMC 9 + CO 10, 826 Albion St., Denver.

Freedom of the press is a liberty we take for granted in these United States. But on the sovereign nations of Indian reservations, surprisingly few councils recognize a free press with a constitutional amendment. Directors Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler follow Mvskoke Media of Oklahoma’s Muscogee (Creek) Nation as they try to do their job while the chief and council they cover are allowed to edit and revise their reporting. Bad Press is a perceptive work that shows how quickly bad actors can control the narrative if accountability is suddenly tossed out the window.

LA CHIMERA 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6, Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St.

Koji Yakusho (left) and Arisa Nakano in Perfect Days, screening at the Denver Botanic Gardens

The Italian landscape is pocked with tombs, crypts, graves, tunnels — you name it. Hundreds of years of history are underfoot, and Arthur (Josh O’Connor) and his merry band of grave robbers are here for the plundering. They’re all working-class people armed with little more than shovels and Arthur’s almost supernatural ability to find

Though he didn’t invent the phrase, political scientist Robert Putnam put “social capital” on the map when his Bowling Alone, about the decline of clubs and organizations, became one of the most talked about books of the 1990s. Directed by brother and sister Pete and Rebecca Davis, Join or Die is a lively approach to Putnam’s work, his personality and the myriad communities putting his findings to good work.

SORCERER 6:45 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax Ave., Denver.

It wouldn’t be a film festival without a tribute, and DFF tips its hat to the recently departed filmmaker William Friedkin. With hits like The French Connection and The Exorcist, Friedkin flourished in the 1970s. But when Sorcerer came out in ’77, it had the dubious distinction of debuting the same weekend as Star Wars. It’s a shame, because Sorcerer is a forgotten masterpiece with one of the most gripping sequences you’ll ever see.

ON SCREEN: Denver

Film Festival. Nov. 3-12, multiple venues. Passes and tickets: denverfilm.org

Nov. 5 as part of the 46th Denver Film Festival. Photo courtesy Master Mind Limited.

BOULDER WEEKLY

OCTOBER 12, 2023

35

STAY CONNECTED Check us out on Facebook and Twitter for events, local news, and ticket giveaways. facebook.com/theboulderweekly twitter.com/boulderweekly

boulderweekly.com Enchantment Awaits at the Masquerade Mermaid Ball Saturday October 14, 6PM, The Studio

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SCREEN

DOUBLE TROUBLE Religious horror film with Colorado roots delivers a terrifying immaculate conception

BY GREGORY WAKEMAN

L

ee Roy Kunz has his father to thank for his latest film, Deliver Us. The pair were drinking at Cannonball Creek Brewing Company in Golden, when his dad said that he had an idea for a movie. “He always gives me so many ideas,” Kunz says.

“Some of them are the best. Some of them are the worst.”

This idea proved to be so good that Kunz got to work straight away: “It’s about a nun who gets pregnant with twin boys,” his dad pitched. “One is the antichrist. The other is a messiah.”

Kunz soon turned the concept into a script, co-written with his brother Kane and shot on location in Estonia.

He also stars in the movie, which the Colorado-born filmmaker co-directed with Cru Ennis.

Considering Kunz’ deep connection to his home state, it makes sense that the origins of his latest film begin here.

Born in Wheat Ridge, he lived in Genesee and attended Columbine High School. He was such an avid skier and

Above: Maria Vera Ratti in ‘Deliver Us.’ Photo courtesy Magnet Releasing. Left: ‘Deliver Us,’ a religious horror film by Colorado-born filmmaker Lee Roy Kunz and co-director Cru Ennis, out now via Magnolia Pictures. Artwork courtesy Magnet Releasing.

snowboarder that he almost had to go to summer school because he missed so many classes during his senior year.

“I had such good grades and test scores that my mom would call in sick for the absolute limit of days,” he says.

“That way I could go up to Winter Park and snowboard, ski, and do my homework.”

Lee Roy Kunz (right) and Cru Ennis, co-directors of ‘Deliver Us.’ Photo courtesy Magnet Releasing.

BOULDER WEEKLY

In fact, it was a knee injury resulting from a snowboarding accident that led to Kunz’ infatuation with filmmaking.

“I was laid up in bed for around six or eight months. I started playing guitar, then I wrote a screenplay about my godfather,” he says. “He was an all-star athlete in Nebraska who became a quadriplegic. He was really moved by my script. I saw the power of stories when they connect to something emotional and real. I saw what people can learn from them.”

HOPE AND DESPAIR

To hone his emerging skills, Kunz attended film school at the University of Southern California. But he soon dropped out and used his tuition money to make a micro-budget movie, A Beer Tale, which he shot in Longmont. While he has stayed in Los Angeles to further his career, Kunz returns to Colorado at least three times a year.

“I just love the culture of the state … it has a diversity of ideas,” Kunz says.

“Boulder has a lot of hippies, which is really cool. But [there are] also cowboys. I know people from both sides of life. There’s a great spirit to the state.”

As he wrote the script for Deliver Us, Kunz revisited the classics of the horror genre, including Rosemary’s Baby, The Devils and The Omen, while reading the Brothers Grimm and other terrifying children’s stories. “They are meant to warn kids about the dangers of the world,” he says. “Horror

movies can do that for us as adults, too. That’s what appealed to me.”

But production proved to be a challenge for Kunz and his crew. Not only was he thousands of miles away from home in Estonia in the middle of winter, but it was also during COVID lockdown, which sprung a multitude of complications on the emerging filmmaker and his team. “Luckily we had a great crew,” Kunz says. “I really learned how to delegate and trust them to interrupt my vision and idea and make it their own.”

Ultimately, Kunz wants Deliver Us to connect with audiences on two levels. “I hope that it’s entertaining first. That’s the most important aspect of the film,” he says. “But I also want it to be meaningful and make people think.”

Whatever happens, Deliver Us won’t be the last fright-inducing flick from this filmmaker with Front Range roots. He’s currently working on an Inuit horror film with two other filmmakers.

“What I like about the horror genre is that you can explore the worst possible things that can happen to you. Either by chance or even if it’s your own fault,” he says. “But then how the character deals with it teaches strength, inspiration or wisdom. I want to make people feel hope in the face of despair.”

ON SCREEN: Deliver Us.

Various times, Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $15

OCTOBER 12, 2023

37

ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): The Indigenous Semai people of Malaysia try hard not to cause unhappiness in others. This makes them reluctant to impose their wishes on anyone. Even parents hesitate to force their children to do things. I recommend you experiment with this practice. Now is an excellent time to refine your effect on people to be as benevolent and welcoming as possible. Don’t worry — you won’t have to be this kind and sweet forever. But doing so temporarily could generate timely enhancements in your relationship life.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): Taurus author Shakespeare reshaped the English language. He coined hundreds of words and revised the meanings of hundreds more. Idioms like “green-eyed monster” and “milk of human kindness” originated with him. But the Bard also created some innovations that didn’t last. “Recover the wind” appeared in Hamlet but never came into wide use. Other failures include, “Would you take eggs for money?” and “from smoke to smother.” Still, Shakespeare’s final tally of enduring neologisms is impressive. With this vignette, I’m inviting you to celebrate how many more successes than flops you have had. The time is right for realistic self-praise.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): I hope beauty will be your priority in the coming weeks. I hope you will seek out beauty, celebrate it, and commune with it adoringly. To assist your efforts, I offer five gems: 1.

Whatever you love is beautiful; love comes first, beauty follows. The greater your capacity for love, the more beauty you find in the world.

—Jane Smiley. 2. The world is incomprehensibly beautiful — an endless prospect of magic and wonder. —Ansel Adams. 3. A beautiful thing is never perfect. —Egyptian proverb. 4.

You can make the world beautiful just by refusing to lie about it. —Iain S. Thomas. 5. Beauty isn’t a special inserted sort of thing. It is just life, pure life, life nascent, running clear and strong. —H. G. Wells.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): I read a review that described a certain movie as having “a soft, tenuous incandescence — like fog lit by the glow of fireflies.”

That sounds like who you are these days, Cancerian. You’re mysterious yet luminous; hard to decipher but overflowing with life energy; fuzzy around the edges but radiating warmth and well-being. I encourage you to remain faithful to this assignment for now. It’s not a state you will inhabit forever, but it’s what’s needed and true for the foreseeable future.

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OCTOBER 12, 2023

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): The published work of Leo author Thomas de Quincey fills 14 volumes.

He inspired superstar writers like Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Baudelaire, Nikolai Gogol, and Jorge Luis Borges. Yet he also ingested opium for 54 years and was often addicted. Cultural historian Mike Jay says de Quincey was not self-medicating or escaping reality, but rather keen on “exploring the hidden recesses of his mind.” He used it to dwell in states of awareness that were otherwise unattainable. I don’t encourage you to take drugs or follow de Quincey’s path, Leo. But I believe the time is right to explore the hidden recesses of your mind via other means. Working with your nightly dreams? Meditating your ass off? Having soul-altering sex with someone who wants to explore hidden recesses, too? Any others?

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): Virgo journalist H. L Mencken said, “The average person doesn’t want to be free.

He wants to be safe.” There’s some truth in that, but I believe it will be irrelevant for you in the coming months. According to my analysis, you can be both safer and freer than you’ve been in a long time. Take full advantage!

Brainstorm about unexpected feats you might be able to accomplish during this state of grace.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): Libran philosopher and writer Michel Foucault aspired to open up his readers’ minds with novel ideas. He said his task was to make windows where there had been walls. I’d like to borrow his approach for your use in the coming weeks. It might be the most fun to demolish the walls that are subdividing your world and keeping you preventing free and easy interchange. But I suspect that’s unrealistic. What’s more likely is partial success: creating windows in the walls.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): I invite you to re-evaluate your personal meanings of gender. Astrological omens suggest that you will benefit from expanding your ideas. Here’s Scorpio singer Sophie B. Hawkins, a mother who says she is omnisexual: “My sexuality stems from an emotional connection to someone’s soul. You don’t have to make a gender choice and stick with it.”

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): Sagittarian author Mark Twain said that in urgent or trying circumstances, uttering profanities “furnishes a relief denied even to prayer.” I will add that these magic words can be downright catalytic and healing — especially for you right now. Here are situations in which swearing could be therapeutic in the coming weeks: 1. when people take themselves too seriously; 2.when you need to escape feelings of powerlessness; 3. when know-it-alls are trying to limit the range of what can be said; 4. when people seem frozen or stunned and don’t know what to do next. In all these cases, wellplaced expletives could provide necessary jolts to shift the stuck energy. (PS: Have fun using other surprises, ploys, and twists to shake things up for a good cause.)

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): In Roman mythology, Venus was goddess of love, desire, and beauty. Yet modern science tells us the planet Venus is blanketed with sulfuric acid clouds, has a surface temperature of 867 degrees Fahrenheit, and is covered with 85,000 volcanoes. Why are the two Venuses out of sync? Here’s a clue, courtesy of occultist Dion Fortune. She said the goddess Venus is often a disturbing influence in the world, diverting us from life’s serious business. I can personally attest to the ways that my affinity for love, desire, and beauty have distracted me from becoming a hard-driving billionaire tech entrepreneur. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. How about you, Capricorn? I predict that the goddess version of Venus will be extra active in your life during the coming months.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): Thousands of heirloom food species are privately owned and hoarded. They once belonged to Indigenous people but haven’t been grown for decades. Descendants of their original owners are trying to get them back and grow them again — a process they call rematriation — but they meet resistance from companies and governmental agencies that commandeered the seeds. There has been some progress, though. The Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin has recovered some of its ancestral corn, beans, and squash. Now would be a good time for you Aquarians to launch your own version of rematriation: reclaiming what was originally yours and that truly belongs to you.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): I like Piscean poet Jane Hirshfield’s understanding of what “lies at the core of ritual.” She says it’s “the entrance into a mystery that can be touched but not possessed.”

My wish for you right now, Pisces, is that you will experience mysteries that can be touched but not possessed. To do so will give you direct access to prime riddles at the heart of your destiny. You will commune with sublime conundrums that rouse deep feelings and rich insights, none of which are fully explicable by your logical mind. Please consider performing a homemade sacred ritual or two.

BOULDER WEEKLY

SAVAGE LOVE

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Q: I’m a 57-year-old guy, married

but separated, in reasonable shape.

I usually masturbate at night as a “sleeping pill.” Over the past few years, it’s gotten more difficult to orgasm. I get hard, I vary my technique, but I just can’t come.

Sometimes I’m up for hours jerking it before trying to fall asleep. Toys like sleeves sometimes help, but they’re messy since they need lube, so that’s not my first choice. Any magic suggestions for things to try?

A: Fire on all cylinders — use sleeves and lube (keep a small stack of hand towels on your nightstand), put clothespins on your tits (whether they’re wired or not), get a powerful vibrator with a sleeve attachment, slip a plug in your ass (flared base!), read some erotica and/or watch some porn.

Past a certain age, you may need to really crank things up to meet your production goals.

Q: Best lube for anal sex?

A: Adrenochrome when available,

ivermectin if adrenochrome is in short supply, and the blood of Christian babies in a pinch.

Q: Is sexual compatibility in a

relationship a prerequisite or an achievement?

A: Establishing some basic/bedrock/ baseline sexual compatibility at the start is a prerequisite; sustaining sexual compatibility over time is an achievement.

Q: What’s the best threesome

position? (Do not say “The Eiffel Tower.”)

A: The Three Gorges Dam.

Q: Online romance novels help me get off. Lately, I’ve been reading about BDSM, as some of the lighter versions of that practice are featured in novels I’ve recently read. So, I searched for photos using Google.

Nothing I’ve found looks anywhere near as pleasurable as what I read.

How do guys keep an erection while enduring things that appear to be painful? Do they take a drug?

A: Lots of male porn performers take drugs — ingestible or injectable ED medications — to stay hard during porn shoots; while some may take boner drugs to keep an erection while enduring something they may not enjoy (although lots of porn performers, like lots of regular people, enjoy BDSM), most take boner drugs so they don’t lose their erection during the tedious parts of the shoot, e.g., lining up shots, repositioning cameras, getting into bondage, etc.

Q: How does one re-train their dick

to stay hard for another person during partnered sex after decades of self-pleasure?

A: One incorporates self-pleasure into the partnered sex one is fortunate enough to be having with another person — one might also wanna lay one’s hands on some boner pills.

Send your burning questions to mailbox@savage.love.

Podcasts, columns and more at Savage.Love!

BOULDER WEEKLY

OCTOBER 12, 2023

39

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NIBBLES

A VINTAGE YEAR Boulder Burgundy Festival spotlights the city’s evolution from beer-friendly to wine-savvy

BY JOHN LEHNDORFF

N

ot that long ago, ordering wine with dinner at most Boulder restaurants was less complicated. You just had to answer a simple question: Do you want red or white?

“In the early 1990s, there were only a half dozen restaurants in Boulder with strong wine lists,” says master sommelier Brett Zimmerman, owner of Boulder Wine Merchant. “The level of wine appreciation wasn’t anywhere near what it is here today. Slowly but surely, things got better around here.”

Boulder may be the center of the craft beer universe, but for one weekend it will also be a big-time wine town.

Zimmerman’s 14th annual Boulder Burgundy Festival will attract hundreds

of serious wine lovers Oct. 21 and 22 for seminars, tastings and French wine dinners.

The recent Michelin Guide spotlight on Boulder eateries likely wouldn’t have happened without a supportive wine community. “I think the clientele of Boulder is a pretty sophisticated diner now, and wine is a big part of the Michelin,” Zimmerman says.

The number of Boulder County eateries catering to those tastes has risen rapidly. “Now, there are dozens of local restaurants with good wine lists,” he says. “You walk into small restaurants and even they have well-selected wines to go with the theme or the cuisine.”

A Boulder native, Zimmerman didn’t grow up dreaming of a career sipping the world’s best wines. “My first job was washing dishes — eventually they let me make pizza, at Roman Village Pizza,” he says. “Wine service was a bottle of Chianti in a basket.”

By the time he was in high school, Zimmerman was already working as a back waiter at the Flagstaff House restaurant. “That was the first place where I actually started to build some of that wine knowledge,” he says. “After that, I worked at Ristorante Laudisio and learned about Italian wines.”

Boulder Wine Merchant, with its singular focus, was a pioneering business when it opened in 1980. After Zimmerman bought the shop, he began appreciating wine in earnest.

“I’ve always had a passion for French wines and I wanted to have more of our community engaged with them at restaurants and stores,” he says.

There was a selfish motive, too: If Boulder was seen as a Burgundy market in the eyes of national distributors, Zimmerman reckoned even more French wines would end up here.

In the past, the Boulder Burgundy Festival has brought in famous producers and experts from across the planet.

This year, Zimmerman says the event is focusing on the wealth of Colorado wine talent, including Boulder’s Jeremy Schwartz, lead sommelier at Michelinstarred Frasca Food and Wine.

While many of the Festival’s events are sold out, tickets to the Oct. 22 Grand Tasting are still available; it’s an uncommon opportunity in this state to sample and learn about rare vintages.

Zimmerman will also be on hand Nov. 2 at Blackbelly’s multi-course Bordeaux for Better dinner benefiting nonprofits such as Sophie’s Neighborhood. Tickets: boulder burgundyfestival.com.

The cultural shift is apparent almost every day at the Boulder Wine Merchant, Zimmerman says. “We have lots of talented local wine people come through my door and the conversations I have are much more in-depth than before,” he says. “There’s a higher level of wine knowledge and a higher concentration of people who know what’s going on.”

LOCAL FOOD NEWS: STATE’S PSL OBSESSION ● Yuki Pizza & Wings has closed at 385 Crossing Drive in Lafayette. Its nearby sister eatery, Colorado Wok, remains open, offering a stellar take on sesame chicken. ● Denver’s La Diabla and Molotov Kitschen + Cocktails are on the New York Times 2023 Best Restaurants List. ● The Colorado culinary community is mourning the death of Matt Selby, a gifted and acclaimed chef best known for his 15 years at Denver’s Vesta Dipping Grill. ● Colorado is the state with the most internet searches for “pumpkin spice,” according to analysis by Gambling.com.

CULINARY CALENDAR: DINING WITH FARMERS ● Numerous local farmers will supply and attend SOIL Boulder’s Oct. 13 Harvest Dinner at Lone Hawk Farm in Longmont. The multi-course meal includes green tomato relish, local giardiniera, and grass-fed beef served with heirloom corn grits, roasted Red Wagon poblano chiles and MouCo Camembert.

Tickets: bouldersoil.org ● Expert local chocolatier Sima Amsalem teaches a hands-on workshop in making chocolate pralines, truffles and other treats Oct. 26 at The Studio Boulder: bit.ly/SimaWorkshop ● Send information about upcoming Boulder County food-oriented events to nibbles@boulderweekly. com

Brett Zimmerman (top); Boulder Burgundy Festival. Credit: Boulder Wine Merchant

BOULDER WEEKLY

OCTOBER 12, 2023

41

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Credit: Edwin Zoe

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Each bite of Dragonfly’s black tonkotsu ramen is a separate pleasure.

It isn’t surprising since the Boulder eatery is guided by noted noodle nerd Edwin Zoe, and is one of only two local lrestaurants that makes its own ramen noodles. Zoe’s other eatery, Zoe Ma Ma, recently picked up a Michelin-Recommended designation, and has gotten some attention from the James Beard Foundation.

Another don’t-miss item at Dragonfly Noodle is the lobster roll bao, a cool upgrade on the traditional Maine sandwich packed with lobster tail, celery, butter, smoked paprika-togarashi mayo and green onions, all on a house-baked bun.

Zoe’s house-made fresh ramen noodles are also available to take home and cook.

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FLASH IN THE PAN

THE CAVIAR OF TURNIPS From ‘starvation food’ to ‘esteemed companion’

BY ARI LEVAUX

D

uring the infamous “Turnip Winter” of 1917, World War I had left people so desperate for food they would break into cattle barns and steal the turnips meant for cows. For similar historical reasons in countless places, the turnip has the reputation of being a starvation food.

The hakurei (pronounced like “samurai”) turnip is no exception, having been developed in the 1950s when Japan was struggling to feed itself after being destroyed by World War II. Also known as the Tokyo turnip, it had the fortune of being created by one of the greatest culinary traditions of all time.

Consequently, the hakurei is exceedingly delicious. They are often called salad turnips — two words you rarely see in the same sentence — because while most turnips must be cooked into edibility, hakurei are delightful when they are completely raw. Just eat it like an extra-juicy apple with no core. Sweet and mild with succulent edible foliage, calling the hakurei a turnip is like calling a Death Scorpion chile pepper a type of fruit.

Hakurei translates to “esteemed companion,” a name that, like “salad turnip” is entirely appropriate. The entire plant is edible, from green tip to root tip. You can do anything you

want to a hakurei, including nothing.

You don’t even need to peel its delicate skin.

The cool weather plant grows fast — about a month from sowing to harvest — and can handle a light frost and other forms of adversity. This makes them a prized fall staple at the farmers market.

They are great in salads for many reasons, including their crisp, juicy texture and the fact that they go very well with acid. Since they look like scallops, I like to feature hakurei turnips in a ceviche-like presentation, with a dressing, sliced onions and hot peppers, with or without actual fish.

My favorite way to cook our esteemed companion is in miso butter with garlic, white wine and a bit of sugar. The flavors of the hakurei and miso taste like they are made for each other, and with support from the other ingredients create a quick, easy and glorious dish. You can use the same miso sauce as a glaze for baked salmon.

Getting your hands on some Tokyo turnips can be the hardest part of hakurei cookery, but they are gaining in popularity. They might be waiting for you at the market, just under your nose. Just look for the lily white globes.

HAKUREI TURNIPS IN MISO BUTTER GLAZE

Salty, meaty, earthy and sweet, with umami aplenty, it’s almost impossible to eat this gentle dish with your eyes open. However much you prepare, it won’t last long enough to see the inside of your Tupperware.

Two servings 1 bunch of hakurei turnips (there should be about 6-8 in a bunch) 2 tablespoons butter 2 teaspoons sugar 1 tablespoon miso ¼ cup vermouth or white wine 2 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped coarsely 1 tablespoon sesame seeds Salt Trim the thin, spindly taproot that extends from the bottom of each turnip. Cut the stems about half an inch above the turnip and chop the stems and leaves. Cut the turnips into slic-

es, which cook faster and absorb more glaze, or quarters, which look prettier. No need to peel them.

Boil two quarts of water with a teaspoon of salt for the greens. If you’re making soba noodles to serve it with, you can cook the greens in the leftover soba water. Either way, boil them for five minutes. Drain, plunge into a gallon or so of cold water, and drain again.

Add the butter, miso, sugar and a cup of water to a pan. Turn the heat to medium and stir as it heats. When it reaches a simmer, add the vermouth and garlic, and then the turnips. Allow the liquid to cook down and thicken, about 10 minutes. Season with salt if necessary, but the miso may contribute enough. Flip the pieces and turn the heat down to low, so the turnips can brown but not burn. Garnish with sesame seeds, and serve with soba noodles or rice.

Credit: Ari LeVaux

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WEED BETWEEN THE LINES

BANKING ON IT After seven attempts, a bill allowing cannabis businesses to bank their money is on its way to the Senate for the first time

BY WILL BRENDZA

T

he Safe and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act has a long history on Capitol Hill. First introduced to the House in 2017 as the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Act by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), this landmark piece of legislation would provide legal protection for banks that work with cannabis businesses — something drastically needed as state-legal cannabis industries are burgeoning across the country despite federal prohibition. SAFER would make it possible for cannabis businesses to bank their money just like any other retail, farming or production enterprise.

“It was designed to allow banks to provide legitimate banking services to legitimate businesses in [cannabis legal] states,” Perlmutter recently told Denver’s 9News. “Credit cards, deposit accounts, payroll accounts, those kinds of things, so we don’t have this big giant pile of cash that then attracts crime.”

The SAFER Banking Act has passed the House seven times since it was first introduced. It has grown in scope, com-

BOULDER WEEKLY

plexity and political compromise — but it has never made it to a Senate vote.

But that could soon change. On Oct. 2, after revising several elements of the SAFER Banking Act, the Senate Banking Committee voted to advance the act to the Senate floor. And while cannabis activists, business owners and advocacy groups are excited to see the SAFER Act finally progress to this point, the legislation still has a long way to go before it ever makes it to President Joe Biden’s desk.

Morgan Fox, the political director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), points out that the most immediate hurdle for the SAFER Banking Act is actually getting it on the schedule for a Senate floor vote. Fox, who works on Capitol Hill, says things are currently “keyed up” in Washington, and cannabis is not high on anyone’s priority list.

“The focus is on the political jockeying going on in

the House and on avoiding a government shutdown, which in the Senate nobody really wants,” Fox says. But, he adds, their organization has been assured that the intent is to get SAFER to a floor vote as soon as possible. And Fox says he’s confident that Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) won’t bring it to the floor unless he knows he has the votes to get it passed.

Then, should the SAFER Banking Act actually pass the Senate vote, it would go back to the House. And some conservative representatives like Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), who voted in favor of a previous version of the SAFER Banking Act, have publicly expressed that they won’t support it this time around.

Leutkemeyer’s issue with the Senate Banking Comittee’s version of SAFER

has to do with a revised portion of the bill called “Section 10” concerning “requirements for deposit accounts.”

He and other conservative representatives believe this section is too broadly defined and could lead to bank discrimination against controversial businesses like firearms companies, payday lenders and others.

Fox disagrees with that reasoning.

“The pendulum can swing both ways,” he says. If Section 10 was some Democratic scheme to allow banks to discriminate against firearms businesses, it would be short sighted.

“The same sort of tactics could be used against Democrats with things like reproductive services providers,” Fox points out, and no one is worried that’s going to happen.

There’s nothing in the current version of the SAFER Banking Act that Fox says he’d consider a “poison pill,” or that NORML wouldn’t stand by. This is a huge opportunity for politicians to prove to the American people that they can come together on bipartisan issues, he adds.

It’s an opportunity for the federal government to take a progressive step that would directly benefit thousands of American businesses.

“Obviously there’s still a lot of work to be done when it comes to cannabis policy reform, and even if [SAFER] doesn’t pass, it is certainly still a step in the right direction,” Fox says.

OCTOBER 12, 2023

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