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Efforts to increase commercial affordability in Boulder and beyond

by Angela K. Evans

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Danny Shafer finds light in the darkness on his new record

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Becca Shepps is on a roll with Mortal Kombucha

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Anderson files: Will dark money defeat progressive change?

Guest Opinion: A peaceful display is met with violence Arts & Culture: NoBo micro gallery east window expands, boosting marginalized artists Events: What to do when there’s ‘nothing’ to do . . .

Film: Docs to see this weekend at Denver Film Festival Astrology: by Rob Brezsny Words: If I could fight Nibbles: Reintroducing Boulder to one of the tastiest original plant “meats” on the planet Food and Drink: Chile rellenos @ the Parkway Cafe Weed Between the Lines: 2019’s EVALI outbreak wasn’t caused by mainstream nicotine or cannabis product

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Publisher, Fran Zankowski Circulation Manager, Cal Winn EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief, Brendan Joel Kelley Managing Editor, Caitlin Rockett News Editor, Will Brendza Food Editor, John Lehndorff Contributing Writers: Peter Alexander, Dave Anderson, Emma Athena, Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Angela K. Evans, Jim Hightower, Jodi Hausen, Karlie Huckels, Dave Kirby, John Lehndorff, Sara McCrea, Rico Moore, Amanda Moutinho, Katie Rhodes, Leland Rucker, Dan Savage, Alan Sculley, Tom Winter, Gary Zeidner SALES AND MARKETING Market Development Manager, Kellie Robinson Account Executives, Matthew Fischer, Carter Ferryman Advertising Coordinator, Corey Basciano Mrs. Boulder Weekly, Mari Nevar PRODUCTION Art Director, Susan France Senior Graphic Designer, Mark Goodman CIRCULATION TEAM Dave Hastie, Dan Hill, George LaRoe, Jeffrey Lohrius, Elizabeth Ouslie, Rick Slama BUSINESS OFFICE Bookkeeper, Regina Campanella Founder/CEO, Stewart Sallo Editor-at-Large, Joel Dyer

November 11, 2021 Volume XXIX, Number 14 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-holds-barred journalism, and thought-provoking opinion writing.

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Will dark money defeat progressive change?

by Dave Anderson

T

he one-sided class war of the last 40 years is becoming two-sided,” leftwing philosopher Noam Chomsky recently declared. He is encouraged by the many strikes going on as well as the power of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the surprisingly liberal Biden administration.

Chomsky was remembering the 1978 resignation of Douglas Fraser, then president of the United Auto Workers, from a Jimmy Carter White House panel of big businessmen and labor leaders. The group was supposed to come up with cooperative solutions to labor-management problems.

Fraser said, “I believe leaders of the business community, with few exceptions, have chosen to wage a one-sided class war today in this country-a war against working people, the unemployed, the poor, the minorities, the very young and the very old, and even many in the middle class of our society.”

He declared, “The leaders of industry, commerce and finance in the United States have broken and discarded the fragile, unwritten compact previously existing during a past period of growth and progress.”

In those days, the only public figures in the mainstream who cried “class war” were rightwingers panicking over a slight increase in the minimum wage. Fraser promised to help build a new progressive social movement. A multi-issue coalition

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supported by the more liberal labor unions, environmentalists and feminists was created. Some of the participants encouraged a half-hearted Ted Kennedy to run against Carter in the primaries.

Today’s situation is quite different. The Congressional Progressive Caucus is the largest caucus in the Democratic Party.

The chair of the Senate Budget Committee is a democratic socialist. The “Build Back Better” (BBB) social safety net and clean energy reconciliation bill is the result of a compromise between the progressives and the more moderate liberals.

The balance of power in the Democratic Party has changed drastically. Alexander Sammon, in an article in The American Prospect entitled “The Undignified Demise of Centrism,” points out that the battle over the Affordable Care Act in 2009-2010 was quite different. The “moderates” of the Blue Dog and New Democrat coalitions had the most members.

The much smaller Progressive Caucus lost after pushing for “price controls, a public option, Medicare buy-in, anything.”

The “moderates” in the House were considered the serious pragmatists and the progressives were derided as rigid ideologues.

Sammon notes: “The fight over BBB has been the opposite. No faction has revealed itself to be less intellectually rigorous or serious than the moderates. They are unwilling and seemingly unable to articulate a single positive concern, legislative vision, or priority for the Democratic agenda. They are allegedly worried about spending, but oppose tax hikes and hugely effective cost-saving in the way of drug pricing reform. They are worried about see ANDERSON Page 7

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21/22

SEASON

A peaceful display is met with violence

By Charlie Danaher

H

istory is replete with examples of peaceful movements being met with violence. Sometimes the violence is perpetrated by the state, elsewhile private citizens attack their fellow man.

Between 1938 & 1943, Irena Sendler, a member of the Department of Social Welfare and Public Health of the City of Warsaw, helped smuggle 2,500 Jewish children to safety, out of the Warsaw Ghetto. In October 1943 Irena was arrested by the Gestapo, and sentenced to death.

Irena was beaten in an attempt to get her to reveal information. She never wavered.

Irena escaped execution thanks to a bribe raised by Zegota, the underground Polish resistance organization. Irena died May 12, 2008 in Warsaw, at the aged of 98.

On May 4, 1961, the first Freedom Riders left Washington, D.C. on a Greyhound bus. The mixed-race group set about to bring attention to the injustices of segregation, specifically the enforcement of segregated seating. But as the bus made Anniston, Alabama on Mother’s Day, May 14, KKK members were lying in wait. After having its tires slashed, the crippled bus was pulled off to the side of the highway outside of town, where it was then firebombed. The riders were beaten as they exited the bus. The Freedom Riders went on to bring credibility to the American Civil Rights Movement.

Trivial by comparison, for the last 11 years, to commemorate Respect Life Month, our church, Sacred Heart of Mary, has constructed a Field of Crosses. We build a mock cemetery consisting of 3,300 crosses, representing the number of abortions performed in the U.S, every day.

We’ve had three basic goals: 1. To shed light on the magnitude of the tragic loss of innocent live through abortion in the USA. 2. In this great time of strife, we promote a message of hope and healing to those who’ve been negatively impacted by abortion, because we believe that God’s mercy and healing have no limits.

3. We want to offer a safe and (relatively) comfortable opportunity for people to participate in pro-life activities—an activity free from hostile confrontation.

From the feedback thus far, it appears that we’ve had distinct success.

This year we put up the crosses on Sunday, September 26. Less than 72 hours after we completed our construction, people came onto Church property and violently attacked our memorial, as well as the church. Church windows were broken, graffiti was sprayed on church walls, and the front door, and even our statue of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta was tagged. One can only conclude that the vandals knew not whose likeness they were defacing.

As with many other peaceful movements before us, we must ask, should it really come as a surprise that some have reacted violently to our message? No; not really.

I suspect that those who carried out

this desecration may also be suffering from abortion. We feel for them, for we know that they—and the whole world—have been lied to. Nearly everyone now alive has been bombarded with a false set of deceptive, insidious slogans, including “it’s just a clump of cells,” “the product of conception,” “I want my reproductive freedom,” “it’s my body, my choice.”

We seek justice for the damage caused to our church. But, just as importantly, we pray for the perpetrators, that they will find comfort and reconciliation.

We will rebuild our Field of Crosses, for we really have no choice. We know that there are people hurting from the scourge of abortion. We don’t think that offering a path to healing is an optional activity. We’re called to bring relief to all those who suffer. This includes comforting the sick, feeding the hungry, and clothing the naked. And, to the degree that we can, we’ll continue to do so.

The suffering that our church has experienced is insignificant compared to those who’ve gone before us. History will judge whether our cause is worthy of praise. Such is not for us to decide. Our responsibility is to try to shine a light for all to see, and to offer a new reality—a peaceful, loving reality.

Please join us as we seek to protect the innocent, and comfort those who still live with the scars of abortion.

—Charlie Danaher is a 30-year Boulder resident, has a wife and five children, is a mechanical engineer, a freelance writer, and political activist.

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

contributions from corporate donors.

Joe Lockhart, a former White House press secretary tweeted: “My dream?

Democrats pick up a few more Senate seats in 2022 and when Joe Manchin holds a press conference to declare what he can live with and what he can’t, nobody shows up.”

In his article, Sammon outlines “the transparent corruption and pay-forplay” of the reluctant House “moderates” in detail. Their dark money group called “No Labels” actually tried and failed to destroy the entire BBB. In an investigative article in The Intercept, Akela Lacy reported that “major trade associations like Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, and the American Petroleum Institute, along with a web of conservative and dark-money groups tied to former President Donald

Trump, congressional Republicans, and the Koch network, are funding ads and lobbying against the (BBB) package.”

According to recent research by the nonpartisan watchdog group Accountable.US, at least 13 conservative and dark-money groups have spent millions on ads and lobbying efforts since April.

Kyle Herrig, president of the group, says big business interests fighting Biden’s agenda are “masquerading as advocates for everyday families while they’re really fighting to keep billion-dollar corporations from paying their fair share.”

Herrig warns lawmakers who are targeted by this propaganda that public opinion polls show that the Build Back Better package is enormously popular with the American people.

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

ANDERSON from Page 5

inflation but can’t even engage with the reality that the entire bill seeks to lower the most acutely inflationary costs— housing, education, health care, and child care—for American households.

They can’t conjure a contrary vision, or even a counteroffer, other than making things smaller for smaller’s sake. They don’t even speak to the press to explain themselves. They do, however, oppose.”

The Democrats control the House, Senate and White House but just barely.

Democrats can only afford to lose three votes in the House. It seems 210 of 220 Democrats definitely support BBB. Since the Senate is evenly divided (with Vice President Harris providing the 51st vote), the votes of all of the Democrats are needed.

There are two holdouts, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, who seem to like the limelight and the numerous

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COURTESY JOHN ROBERT FORD

On the bricks

Efforts to increase commercial affordability in Boulder and beyond take time and planning

by Angela K. Evans

A

fter reaching capacity at the North Boulder location some time ago, BookCliff Vineyards owner Ulla Merz has searched for a new space elsewhere in Boulder County for years, with little success.

“It’s very challenging in Boulder County to find affordable space for what we are doing,” she says.

Currently, she leases two industrial condos from two different landlords, paying rent, HOA fees, and other commercial costs like property taxes, insurance, and utilities for each unit.

But there’s little industrial space left in the area, and what is here, Merz says, is quickly leased by marijuana and CBD manufacturers whenever it does become available.

“They snatch them up before we realized we need to expand. And they could out-bid us, we could not afford the spaces at the price they could command,” she says. “I feel like it’s what happened in [the] residential [property market] in 1992, right? There was just not enough inventory available to purchase.”

Around the country, the lack of affordable commercial space is challenging for small, local, and underserved businesses and business owners who either want to stay open or get a foothold in the first place. As is the case with housing, many people find it difficult to start, maintain or grow a business in their own community, leading to overall affordability challenges in many areas. Now, with the economic impacts of COVID-19, the business landscape of many cities is changing. Businesses have closed or moved to fully remote work, leaving ample room for communities to evaluate how to build back local economies in more sustainable ways. But, the movement to address commercial affordability around the country is nascent. Cities like New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon are still in the pilot stage of many programs.

In Boulder, new development at 30th and Pearl will include some affordable commercial space that the city negotiated with the developer, but the space is yet to be leased. But the city’s effort to more broadly include commercial affordability through zoning failed to meet muster according to a City Council vote in June 2021. At the same time, 8

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longtime businesses have closed, others are relocating outside of the city or at least farther afield from downtown.

While some areas may still be cheaper than others, “the whole city is impacted,” says Karl Guiler, senior planner for the City of Boulder.

“We’ve seen some establishments that are struggling to stay in Boulder because of the increased rent or they’ve had to keep moving around to find more affordable space,” he says. “Sometimes they find it in Boulder and other times they have to leave Boulder or some have gone out of business. So, it’s definitely been noticeable the last several years; certain businesses that have been mainstays in Boulder have had to shut down or move elsewhere.”

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n the past, there was a straightforward growth path for retail businesses in Boulder, says Sharon King from the Boulder Small Business Development Council (SBDC). Typically, businesses would start further away, testing the market and growing, until they were able to move into the coveted “on the bricks” space on Pearl Street. It’s like starting off Off Broadway in the theater circles of New York before moving to Off Broadway and eventually making the way to a key marquee on Broadway itself, King says. But that’s all changed.

“What I’ve been hearing is that there really isn’t a path there. It’s quite expensive at all the different levels and all the different locations,” King says. “So what used to be kind of an on-ramp maybe doesn’t exist as much.”

Now, King says commercial lease rates are a barrier to starting businesses in Boulder. As is the initial capital it takes to secure a commercial lease, especially considering potential build-out and triple net costs. Triple net leases are standard practice in Boulder where the tenant pays all the building costs

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FULL CYCLE’S including property taxes, OLD location at insurance, and mainte1795 Pearl Street, nance as well as rent and sits empty after their utilities. These types of move to the old leases are generally low-risk Vitamin Cottage on investments for landlords, 30th Street. providing steady income, without much management responsibility. In some cases, like that of BookCliff, which is housed in industrial condos, the business is also responsible for HOA costs each month.

The increasing price tag of running a commercial space is often a hindrance to maintaining business. For Russel Chandler, owner of Full Cycle, the triple net costs along with rents in his Pearl Street location almost made him close shop in 2020.

Chandler says Full Cycle was paying $12 per square foot of retail space in triple net costs, 80 percent of which was for property taxes. He said in other spaces it could be as much as $20 a square foot. For Full Cycle, with 8,000 square feet of retail space, Chandler says he was paying more than $100,000 a year in triple net costs.

“When the triple nets weren’t so high it wasn’t so bad, but as property values have shot up in Boulder, tax rates have shot up. It’s a large percentage of the burden,” Chandler says. “It used to be, triple nets might be 15 percent of the overall rent burden on the tenant. Now they’re closer to 30 to 40 percent in some cases.”

After several failed attempts to purchase the property downtown, Chandler was able to invest in the old Vitamin Cottage building on 30th Street, moving his decades-old business in 2021.

“We’re not quite sure what we would’ve done if we hadn’t found this building,” he says. Before, he says, Full Cycle was spending about 13 percent of BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

revenue on leasing the building.

“Now, not even considering the fact that some of it comes back to me personally as a part owner of the building, it’s closer to 5 to 7 percent, which is more of an industry norm for our type of business,” he says. “At the end of the day, it just came down to dollars and cents. I mean, that 5 percent difference—the margins in the bike businesses are pretty thin to begin with—that’s the difference between losing money and making money.”

But the issue of commercial affordability is not unique to Boulder.

Rising commercial rents have been distressing for small, local businesses around the country for quite some time, according to a 2016 report from the national organization Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR). The price increase is caused by a variety of factors including speculative real-estate investments, increasing growth of national chains, a declining supply of small commercial spaces better suited to new, local and small businesses, and a lack of financing for such businesses as banks and financial institutions tend to offer better interest rates to national brands.

And it could get worse in the coming months and years, says Kennedy Smith, senior researcher with ILSR, as equity firms, real estate investment trusts, and venture capitalists buy up distressed commercial real estate in the wake of COVID-19.

“There’s no guarantee, but the odds are good that they will be jacking up prices and turning it into something that could be unaffordable to people who live in the community,” she says.

This combination of factors creates fertile ground for local jurisdictions to intentionally implement policies ILSR has been recommending for years.

Strategies include encouraging local and small business ownership of commercial space, establish tenant rights to address the power imbalance with landlords, offer property tax abatements for landlords who provide affordable leases, change zoning code to subdivide large retail space, and encourage business diversity, prioritize affordable commercial space in new developments and offer affordable leases to local business in publicly owned buildings.

“I think we’re at that sort of inflection point where communities need to sort of act quickly,” Smith says. “For all of the experiments, I think, the window is now. And then I think the danger is that in six months or a year, all the equity firms that have wanted to buy property will have done so; it’s kind of a narrowing window.”

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ome local governments have already made a concerted effort to address commercial affordability, although most of the policies and programs are in their infant stages and many of them are too new to have any quantitative proof of success.

Jurisdictions really have no control over the valuation of commercial property or even property taxes, and neither do landlords for that matter.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

But there are certain costs that city officials and property owners can help businesses with. Building out energy efficient spaces and offering rebate programs for low-carbon energy systems can decrease operating costs. Subdividing units to give smaller business access to brick-and-mortar space at a more affordable rate could also help. Some cities like New York, have just started offering tax abatements for landlords who rent out space below-market rate.

Others manage city-owned buildings in an affordable way, and some have even changed zoning codes to require on-site commercial affordability similar to decades-old affordable housing models.

“The conversation about affordability has been going on for a long time and it continues to evolve,” says Jennifer Pinsonneault, senior program manager for Boulder’s economic vitality department. “And we continue to look at other communities and what they’re doing and see if there’s something we can benefit from based on their experiences.”

The City of Portland, Oregon, for example, has several pilot projects currently underway to address commercial affordability, all developed five or six years ago in conjunction with the city’s efforts on equitable development, focusing specifically on wealth creation for business owners of color.

In one project, Prosper Portland master leases a space from a private development firm and then sub-leases to small businesses. In another, the agency leases from the bureau of transportation for ground-floor commercial space at a major transportation hub. Elsewhere, Prosper Portland, the city’s economic development and redevelopment agency, negotiated the terms of leases based on its affordability priorities with a private developer and subsequently supports the tenants with small grants. Prosper Portland also owns some commercial condos in a mixed-use development.

“They are in different parts of town, which is really helpful, all with different strategies and approaches,” says Amy Nagy development manager with Prosper Portland. “It’s also been really helpful in that we have been working with the community to set priorities around the uses, hours, thinking about the tenant mixing of each of the projects to make sure that it’s reflective of that area that it’s in and they’ll be successful.”

The initial lift to get a business moved in and off the ground can be a challenge, Nagy says, including managing expectations around attracting customers to a new business or new space. But Prosper Portland offers wrap-around services like business development, accounting, and inventory management, as well as helping with marketing, social media campaigns, and video features to build awareness of different businesses in the program.

Since the program began, it hasn’t had any turnover and all the original tenants are still in their initial locations, even with the economic challenges brought on by the pandemic. (The city has even brought in three new tenants since April 2020).

And the agency has found that whatever the agency l

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can do to offer ready-to-go space—reducing build out costs for new business—has also led to the success. As has efforts to keep triple net costs at a minimum and scaling leases over the long-term so tenants aren’t paying full price right off the bat.

Perhaps the largest overhaul for Portland has been its affordable commercial space bonus program which was codified in 2018. It offers developers extra floor area ratio (FAR) or additional height in exchange for at least some affordable commercial space or an in-lieu fee to help administer and grow the city’s program.

To date, Prosper Portland has collected about $500,000 in cash-in-lieu fees but developers have yet to include affordable commercial space in their projects. Sometimes timing is an issue, says Christine Velasquez, who manages the program for Prosper Portland, as writing these requirements into covenants for a new project is done on a caseby-case basis. Other times, participating in the space bonus program may be more costly for the developer.

“We haven’t had a project just yet where they included the affordable commercial space, because we do have a host of requirements:” she says.

“Building out the space to reduce the barriers and address things like upfront capital for businesses to build out their spaces. So having these spaces more tenant-ready for businesses to move in is something that would be a requirement through covenant that we would coordinate with that particular developer.”

Still, Velasquez says, developers in Portland have been generally receptive to the program.

“It is something that developers are interested in because I mean, they can add a whole floor,” she says. “And it’s something that we’re continuing to market because we really need our private sector partners to help with this work and help provide these opportunities to businesses.”

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n Boulder, affordable commercial programs are also in their infancy.

The city tried to institute a Portland-styled bonus space program in the summer of 2021, designating affordable commercial space as a community benefit under the city’s building code.

Starting in 2018, the City of Boulder has had conditions for approving additional housing density that include more affordable housing as a community benefit requirement codified in site plan review criteria. The idea was to create a similar policy to include deed-restricted affordable commercial space in new developments in exchange for increased FAR or even additional floors, up to the city’s height limits depending on zoning district. Developers could also pay an in-lieu fee, contributing to a fund that would help other affordable commercial businesses. And it was looking at reserving these spaces for nonprofit, arts and cultural uses, and see BRICKS Page 10

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BRICKS from Page 9

specifically defined small businesses, all with a cap on their rent as a certain percentage of the market rate.

“We have a pretty good example in how the affordable housing program works. We wanted to follow that as a precedent. Without deed restrictions, there’s no assurances in how somebody makes someone pay the rent for their property. So that’s one of the only tools we can do to kind of guarantee things,” Senior Planner Guiler says. “There might be other methods, but we thought that was probably the best approach: to follow the paradigm that we’ve been using for housing in Boulder.”

However, in order to make the affordable commercial policy foolproof, without the ability to manipulate requirements, Guiler says the regulations were fairly complicated with a specific, separate review process. In the end the majority of City Council voted to table the discussion, punting the idea to the incoming council.

“The challenge is that I had not quite realized the resistance we were going to get from the commercial landlords,” says out-going Mayor Sam Weaver. The largest issue, he says, is that the regulations were written in a way that the onus for following the rules was going to fall to the developers, creating what they said was too much confusion and burden.

“It oftentimes can appear to be subject to a simple solution,” says John Tayer, president and CEO of the Boulder Chamber. “But there are downstream implications that may not be as attractive or understood. The commercial affordable benefits [program] fell in line with that.

There were just some impracticalities and some basic market understandings that really had not been fully vetted and understood.”

Still, the city is looking at other solutions, outside of zoning, to address commercial affordability. For example, new development in Boulder Junction at the intersection of 30th and Pearl streets will include below-market commercial space, seen by many as a pilot program that could be implemented elsewhere in the city.

When the city sold the property to a developer, it included stipulations: about half of the commercial space will be deemed affordable, with leases limited to 75 percent of market rents rising each year no more than the rate of inflation. And ILSR has praised the project as an example of what other cities can do to mitigate rising commercial rents. But, there are still major questions about the project like how to find tenants.

“As that project gets further along, we’re going to see how that works,” Pinsonneault says.

The city also helps manage about a dozen spaces 10

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as part of the Central Area General Improvement District (CAGID) that on average lease for about 10-20 percent less than comparable spaces in the area. Pinsonneault says there’s talk of instating eligibility requirements on those spaces, setting them aside for certain classes of businesses like nonprofits or small, local businesses, but that hasn’t happened yet, and the city has no plans to expand the program.

“The other thing that we’re looking at is making sure when these spaces that tend to be a little bit less expensive are available,” she says, “that we do really broad and inclusive outreach to make sure that smaller businesses and businesses that may have had some financial impact will understand and realize that those opportunities are out there.”

Currently, a Latino ice cream shop is exploring the possibility of leasing one such space from the city, with the help of the Latino Chamber of Commerce.

Co-location is also a possibility, and something that’s effective, says King from the SBCD. On the one hand, a business outgrows its current space and wants to relocate and subleases to two different tenants instead of one. Or, businesses that are on a growth path may be willing to take on risk and lease out a larger space than its current needs, so will offer co-location to another business to help off-set costs until growing into the space itself.

ULLA MERZ AND “I don’t think co-location is JOHN GARLICH the easy answer, but it could be stand inside Bookone piece,” King says.

Cliff Vineyard’s barrel room. Photo by John For Full Cycle, teaming up Robert Ford. with Colorado Multi-Sport was a game changer when moving to its new larger space.

Catering to a specific triathlete clientele, Colorado MultiSport was often turning away customers looking for other bike products at its old location. Now with its partnership with Full Cycle, that business is staying in the building.

“They were always sending their customers elsewhere. And now all that business that was going elsewhere is coming to us,” Chandler says. At the same time, the brands remain separate.

Investing in the building also made a huge difference in Chandler’s ability to keep Full Cycle in operation.

“Once you are your own landlord, you made that investment, you get the benefits of selling it,” says Merz, from BookCliff Vineyards. “And it seems for small businesses, it’s almost your bigger asset is your property rather than your business in Boulder County.”

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In 2019, BookCliff bought property in the Louisville tech center with the intention of eventually building its own facility. At the same time, Merz pursued leasing larger industrial space in Gunbarrel, negotiating the terms to account for the rather large build-out costs. But then the pandemic hit and Merz focused all her efforts on the current location and production.

Now, however, the cost of building in Boulder County has skyrocketed with increased demand and supply chain challenges, pushing the price of a new build to over $3 million, Merz says—too much for BookCliff, even if the property itself has appreciated significantly. And while the space in Gunbarrel has yet to be leased, she’s really just trying to regroup.

After several years of looking for a new place, “we haven’t really achieved anything and we’re not actively out there at the moment,” she says.

A

t this point, nothing is going to change the fact that the cost of doing business in Boulder is relatively expensive. But there are ways to help support and drive costs down for local businesses.

Housing alone doesn’t create the distinct character of Boulder’s neighborhoods—modest commercial space enhances the goal of making Boulder more affordable to live, work, and play for people of all backgrounds. While the city has distinct goals for affordable housing, leaving the local commercial market unchecked could create grave consequences down the road.

“One way or the other, if we want to have mom and pop businesses in downtown Boulder, we have to do something different than what we’re doing right now,” Chandler of Full Cycle says. “I think it comes down to what do we want as a city? What do we want Boulder to be like? Do we want it to be a corporate billboard? Or do we want it to be an inclusive community that is local, buy local, support local sort of thing. And if we want more of that, we have to reform and change the way commercial real estate is purchased or leased in this in this town.”

The out-going city council punted the question of commercial affordability in Boulder to the next city council in hopes they will take it up and run with it. If they do, Boulder could be a leader in piloting more commercial affordability solutions in the years to come.

“I think It’s an important area to keep focused on because the market and free enterprise typically elevates the most capable and people with the most capital, and so there’s a lot of good reasons I think to try and keep our income inequality from growing and part of that’s business,” outgoing Mayor Weaver says. “I regret that I didn’t . . . take as much time on the details of this as I might have, but I think it’s fertile ground to look at it. And I think it’s a really important component. Land use is one of the main missions of cities and this falls into that: how do we make our ecosystem serve everyone?”

This is part of a series on affordable housing funded in part by the Solutions Journalism Network.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Incoming!

Four fresh faces will join Boulder City Council and help decide who becomes mayor

A

fter all the door-knocking, text messages, yard signs, flyers and mailers, forums, op-eds, sign-waving, and glad-handing, you thought the election was over, didn’t ya?

For you and I and every registered voter except the nine Boulder City Council members, five of whom will be sworn in on Tuesday, November 16. More on those five in a moment, but first a glance at the political intrigue—another election!— happening internally with the imminent council of nine.

One of those nine will be chosen as mayor—Boulder has a weak mayoral system, where council members choose from among themselves who will hold the honorific and the few responsibilities it entails: representing Boulder in regional and state gatherings of mayors, and running the council meetings.

Although in 2023 Boulder voters will elect the mayor themselves using ranked voting, as decided by the electorate in the 2020 election, that mayor will still simply function as another council member, albeit with a few more administrative responsibilities (but no more power than their peers).

Council members Aaron Brockett and Bob Yates, both of whom are midway through their terms, each announced their desire for their associates to vote them into the role at an imminent council meeting.

(We believe the smart money is on Brockett, given the makeup of the new council.)

Sitting council members Junie Joseph and Rachel Friend will be rejoined by incumbent Mark Wallach, who slid onto the council in sixth place in 2019, but in this year’s election was number one with a bullet. “I’m not quite sure how to interpret it,” Wallach told Boulder Weekly, “but it’s gratifying.”

Lauren Folkerts wasn’t confident she’d end up as one of the council members being sworn in on November 16. On Tuesday night and into Wednesday’s vote count returns, it didn’t look like Folkerts, one of the candidates supported by Boulder Progressives and the Coalition, would make the cut to join the council and have a vote on Boulder’s next mayor. As Boulder Weekly went to press last week, Folkerts wasn’t in the top five.

But late vote counts put Folkerts in the winners circle, along with two other candidates backed by Boulder Progressives and the Coalition: Nicole Speer and Matt Benjamin. “I think that we have an incredibly strong group of people that will be on council and that we can do really great things for our community,” Folkerts told Boulder Weekly. “Beyond the slate idea, I think it’s a group of really smart, caring individuals.”

This was the second council run for Matt Benjamin—he lost in 2017—but Benjamin intends to come out strong in the new council. “The snail’s pace of

by Brendan Joel Kelley action that has defined Boulder for a long time—I think that time has come to an end, and Boulder wants to move forward with things quickly, because we have issues that require urgency.”

Nicole Speer, another member of the Boulder Progressives slate, is similarly motivated to get down to business, she told BW. “I am eager to move on from [campaigning] and into actually getting some changes made and work done for

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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our city—particularly as we’re heading into winter and things are getting colder and we don’t have severe weather sheltering in place [for the unhoused].”

Tara Winer was the one non-incumbent on the opposing slate put forward

by Forward Boulder and PLAN-Boulder (who also backed Wallach, the incumbent).

She sees the perceived split—which is honestly imaginary outside of financial backing, as none of the slates are political

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

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parties that hew to platforms—as somewhat divisive, as council members largely have the same goals, even if they disagree on how to accomplish them.

“If young and old work together, which is what our council is going to be, then we can take the excitement of the young people and the thoughtful looking-at-thebig-picture and unintended consequences of the older people, and if you put that together, a lot gets done.”

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BOULDER WEEKLY GIVEAWAYS

Life in the elephant cage

ON THE BILL:

Danny Shafer finds light in the darkness on his new record

by Caitlin Rockett

A

s Danny Shafer’s marriage came to an end a couple of years ago, songs began to

Cage, at

Living In The Elephant

doing live music bookings for kar Blues, and packed up and

it out,” Shafer says over a dog Zevon (named after the

and a quiet companion to provide a bit of structure in build Living In The Elephant Cage from a foundation of

In spite of the fear and nity,” Shafer says, “to look in the mirror, to check in on

me after all that I’ve been he picks over bright chords in “The songs aren’t really about the pain,” he says, “they’re Living In The

Elephant Cage tic guitar and gentle tenor—part David Crosby, Living In The Elephant Cage

Lyricism has driven Shafer since he picked up a guitar for

Living In The Elephant Cage

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

COURTESY TODD HERMAN

Not entirely politically correct

NoBo micro gallery east window expands, boosting marginalized artists

by Caitlin Rockett

T

he art Todd Herman curates at east window is his way of addressing his own privilege as a white guy.

“There’s still racism, sexism—there’s a lot we’ve got to undo on a daily basis, and this is my way of continually doing it,” Herman says over a phone interview, “in addition to just creating opportunities for harmony or education or whatever we want to call that process where people are just fucking nice to each other, you know?”

Since launching in June 2020, the micro art museum—literally a window facing east—in the warehouses of 4949 Broadway in North Boulder has featured underrepresented artists with blunt messages about society and their place in it: indigenous folks, people of color, queers, those with different mental and physical abilities. When Herman opens his new space, east window SOUTH, to the public on January 5, he hopes to take the mission even further.

“I don’t think I want to put the word aggressive out there, but . . . perhaps the statements can be a little more bold because they’ll be in this interior space,” Herman explains. “They might not be entirely politically correct.”

When the space adjacent to east window opened up this fall, Herman jumped on the chance to expand. He’s currently crowdsourcing funds to revamp the 500-square-foot interior space into a black box gallery where he hopes to provide a modest stipend for up to 17 artists in the first year and change. The opening exhibition, called AFRICAN-AMERICA: Contempt of Greasy Pigs, will feature work by Texas-based nonbinary Black artist Andre Ramos-Woodard.

“This show screams reality,” Ramos-Woodard writes in his artist statement, “the reality lived by myself and the millions of other Black brothers and sisters and [nonbinary people] that have to walk down the streets knowing that the system is set up against us. This is the shit we have to deal with on a daily basis. Our reality does not end just because the media ain’t interested no more. Do not let people forget it.

At the end of the day, no matter what, systematic oppression will not win. Know this: There is no such thing as a good cop. Period. Abolish

the prison industrial complex. Fight back.

Black power ’til the day I die.”

East window artists have examined race from all angles, with an artist like Susanne Mitchell exploring race, privilege and neo-colonialism through the lens of a white woman who was married to a Malawian man in the mid-’90s, just as the nation was instating its first multi-party democracy.

In January, east window featured work by Chicago-based, Taiwanese artist Chun-Shan “Sandy” Yi, whose wearable art— garments, accessories and footwear—reflect the experiences of disabled bodies, including her own.

“There’s been a thrust of work by Native artists,” Herman says, including artists Gregg Deal, Nicholas Galanin, and Sky Hopinka, with more indigenous artists slated for exhibition in the future. “And there’s a reason for that—that’s whose land we’re sitting on, and I want to keep that narrative in focus because it’s an easy one to forget, as is Black Lives Matter. It’s not super in vogue in the news anymore.”

Herman hopes to gather $9,700 by mid-December in order to clean, paint, purchase and install lights, and create stipends for artists to exhibit in the new east window SOUTH space. He’s currently raised $3,200.

“With the original east window space, I have to be mindful of the visuals because this is an exterior, public space,” Herman says.

“With that space it feels like you’re outside looking at somebody in their eyes. With east window SOUTH it feels like you’re inside their head. There’s more opportunity for different messages, more nuanced messages.”

ON THE BILL: ‘FRAGMENTATION / AMALGAMATION / TRANSFORMATION’ a collage workshop on the theme of DISGUST. 6:30 p.m.

November 16, NoBo Arts Centerx, 4929 Broadway, Boulder.

Sign up: eastwindow.org/ disgust

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E VENTS

Author Talk: Signe Hovem—‘The Space in Between’

EVENTS

6:30 p.m. Thursday, November 11, Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl Street, Boulder. Tickets: $5, boulderbookstore.org The Space in Between captures the essence of what it means to live as an empath, and demonstrates how an ordinary person can open up to living an extraordinary life. Longtime spiritual counselor Signe Myers Hovem takes readers on a journey through her life, demystifying empathic receptivity and revealing that it is not a “gift” or “power,” but a feature of one’s sensory perception and intuition, an ability that allows us to live in extended communication with nature and humanity. Written for persons who identify as highly sensitive, as empathic, or as empaths, The Space in Between is a road map to cultivating both self-awareness

If your organization is planning an event of any kind, please email the managing editor at crockett@boulderweekly.com

Boulder Star Lighting Festival (virtual)

Film Screening: ‘To Which We Belong,’ from the 2021 Boulder International Film Festival

5:30 p.m. Thursday, November 11. Free. Virtual Event URL: youtu.be/YlCGdCPlMAk The Boulder Chamber is kicking off the holiday season with the lighting of the Boulder Star on Flagstaff Mountain on November 11. This event—held virtually this year—takes place on Veteran’s Day to honor active U.S. military and veterans. Partnering with the CU Boulder Veterans Alumni Association, there will be a Joint Service Color Guard provided by members

7:15 p.m. Thursday, November 11, Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road, Longmont.

Tickets: $5-$10, longmontcolorado.gov Years of industrialized agriculture have been a major contributor to the climate change crisis. To Which We Belong shares the stories of a new generation of farmers and ranchers seeking to rebuild their businesses and the planet by embracing the interconnectedness of living things. On land long depleted by single

Corps Battalions at CU Boulder.

‘Urinetown, The Musical’

November 11-14, Imig Music, CU Boulder campus, 1020 18th Street, Boulder.

Tickets: $20-$31, cupresents.org When a 20-year drought creates a terrible water shortage, one city’s government bans private toilets, forcing citizens to use public amenities, regulated by a single malevolent company. One person decides he’s had enough and plans a revolution to lead them all to freedom! Hilariously funny and touchingly honest, Urinetown is a musical satire of politics, the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility and musical theatre itself.

Warren Miller Presents: ‘Winter Starts Now’

November 11-14, Boulder Theater, 2032 14th Street, Boulder.

Tickets: $26.50.

Kickoff the winter season with Winter Starts Now. You’ll take a road trip through the Rocky Mountains, a voyage to New England, and an adventure up the coast of Alaska.

Meet rising stars Madison Ostergren and Noah Elliott, and follow along on a disabled ski descent of Denali with Vasu Sojitra and Pete McAfee.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Veterans Day Parade

11 a.m. Thursday, November 11, Downtown Longmont.

Celebrate Veterans Day with this annual community parade held in Downtown Longmont. The parade will start on Eighth Avenue and travel south on Main Street to Third Avenue.

The parade will then turn north onto Coffman Street and end at Roosevelt Park.

gles of plant life, reviving the soil and bringing new richness to the harvest. In Mexico, Alejandro Carrillo practices revolutionary techniques in cattle herding, carving out space for wildlife to thrive again.

And off the coast of Connecticut, Bren Smith re-seeds the ocean with kelp, mussels, oysters, and scallops, restoring ravaged ecosystems. These unsung heroes just might save their livelihoods-and our world itself. Film to be followed by audience Q&A.

Viva Theater presents ‘The Last Romance’

November 12-14 and 19-21, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut Street, Boulder.

Tickets: $25 general admission, and $20 for students and seniors, thedairy.org or 303-444-7328.

VIVA Theater bursts out of COVID-19 with The Last Romance, a heart-warming comedy about the transformative power of love.

Written by Tony Award-winning playwright Joe DiPietro, this play is a perennial favorite for audiences both old and young. On a fall day, a lonely widower falls hard for a mysterious woman he sees in a dog park, and tries his mightiest to woo her. She resists.

And yes, both the man and the woman are in their golden years. Packed with laughter and surprise, this tender play travels the rocky road to romance as it shadow of mortality.

see EVENTS Page 18

For more event listings, go online at boulderweekly.com/events

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EVENTS

EVENTS from Page 17

CONCERTS

Thursday, November 11

San Holo with Kasbo, Chet Porter, Rome In Silver. 7 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street, Denver. Tickets: $38-$79.

Friday, November 12

Hal Aqua and the Lost Tribe. 2:30 p.m. Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road, Longmont. Tickets: $8-$12.

Stomp Street Heist. 6 p.m. Bootstrap Brewing Company, 142 Pratt Street, Longmont. Free.

The Infamous Stringdusters with The Sweet Lillies. 7 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street, Denver. Tickets: $35-$59.95.

Hazel Miller. 7 p.m. Caffè Sole, 637 S. Broadway Street, Boulder. Suggested $15 cover.

Seth Walker. 7:30 p.m. Chautauqua Community House, 301 Morning Glory Drive, Boulder. Tickets: $18.

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th Street, Boulder.

Tickets: $32.50-$35.

The Long Run ‘Alter Eagles.’ 8 p.m. Dickens Opera House, 300 Main Street, Longmont. Tickets: $20.

Turkeyfoot Bluegrass Band. 8:30 p.m. Gold Hill Inn, 401 Main Street, Gold Hill, Boulder. Tickets: $20.

Saturday, November 13

Unauthorized Absence. 6 p.m. Bootstrap Brewing Company, 142 Pratt Street, Longmont. Free.

Aaron McCloskey & Alex Johnstone. 7 p.m. Gold Hill Inn, 401 Main Street, Gold Hill, Boulder. No cover.

Hazel Miller. 7 p.m. Caffè Sole, 637 S. Broadway Street, Boulder. Suggested $15 cover.

FY5. 7:30 p.m. Chautauqua Community House, 301 Morning Glory Drive, Boulder.

Tickets: $20.

The Record Company with JJ Wilde. 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th Street, Boulder. Tickets: $30-$32.50.

Sunday, November 14

Flynn and Company. 4 p.m. Bootstrap Brewing Company, 142 Pratt Street, Longmont. Free.

Georgia on My Mind: Celebrating the Music of Ray Charles (in-person and virtual). 7:30 p.m. Macky Auditorium, 1595 Pleasant Street, Boulder. Tickets: $16$68. Virtual Event URL: cupresents.org The Eclectic Moonlight Experience. 7 p.m. Gold Hill Inn, 401 Main Street, Gold Hill, Boulder. No cover.

Monday, November 15

LANY with keshi, Salem Ilese. 6:30 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street, Denver. Tickets: $44.50-$85.

Wednesday, November 17

Boy Named Banjo with Cole Scheifele. 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th Street, Boulder. Tickets: $12-$15.

Caribou with Jessy Lanza. 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th Street, Boulder.

Tickets: $29.50-$37.

For more event listings, go online at boulderweekly.com/events

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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‘The human at the center of it’

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Docs to see this weekend at the Denver Film Festival

by Michael J. Casey

I

don’t think we see the human at the center of it,” Jamie Boyle says, “what their life looks like now, how they fell into it, how they came out of it. I think that’s really been largely missing.”

Boyle is telling me about Anonymous Sister, her documentary about her sister and her mother’s opioid use disorder, but our conversation drifts to the implications

a suggestion, an approach to healing hurt communities.

To let them see you in pain and to share it with others.

Many want an

ing—particularly when it comes to painting a complete portrait of the subject.

“You never really know what the camera is going to do, what its presence is going to do,” Boyle continues. “Some standards have been implemented since—in the doc community—where people are trying to require therapy after some of these lengthy interviews . . . I’m a big advocate for that, and I wish I would have engaged in that more, and I wish I would have budgeted for it and demanded it because we ask a lot of doc subjects. And when it’s your family member, you see the repercussions.”

approach, but Jones stumps for steps. They may not be perfect, and the work won’t be done tomorrow, but you’ve got to start somewhere.

ries, Anonymous Sister draws its strength from emotional truth, from the human face.

To watch Anonymous Sister is to live with the Boyle family, understand their struggles, and relive their trials and tribulations. It’s an excellent piece of work, one you don’t want to miss. end, Nov. 12 and 13, as the 44th Denver Film Festival comes to a close.

You’ll also have two chances to catch Brandon Kramer’s doc The First Step (Nov. ical commentator Van Jones as the human at the center. Jones is trying to get a criminal justice reform bill passed. And to do it, he Alliances come at great costs these days, and even the mention of Trump causes Jones’ closest supporters to run for cover.

The country is deeply divided along partisan lines, and it’s not what is done but who does mentary loaded with stalemate conversations asks: Are we our voting record? Or is our voting record just part of who we are?

Jones takes it from all sides. But the title, The First Step, isn’t just an allusion to the program Jones wants to see enacted; it’s

ON THE BILL: The 44th Denver Film venues and online.

equally frustrating, as Sarah Terry’s doc, A Decent Home (Nov. 11), can attest. The issue here: The vanishing affordability of affordable home parks.

According to A Decent Home, there are 46,500 mobile home parks across America, with a median household income of $30,000 per year. Or, “The sweet spot of the industry,” as Frank Rolfe says.

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mobile home parks business in the U.S. and a business class crash course in how to squeeze money out of mobile home park renters. As Rolfe tells his students, renters lack the leverage to argue or move. So if you raise the rent, they either have to pay up or vacate, at which point their trailer becomes abandoned property, and the owner of the mobile home park takes possession and rents it out to the next resident.

Rolfe’s practices are far from unique.

And though A Decent Home focuses primarily on the Denver Meadows Mobile

Silicon Valley, where a mobile home park campus.

Similar to Michael Moore’s Roger and Me, Terry juxtaposes the faces of those left Rolfe and Denver Meadows owner Shawn Lustigman. One has no qualms with Terry’s camera, the other does. There is always a human at the center, whether they want to be there or not.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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MARCH 21-APRIL 19: For much of her life, Aries poet Mary

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Ruefle enjoyed imagining that polar bears and penguins “grew up together playing side by side on the ice, sharing the same vista, bits of blubber, and innocent lore.” But one day, her illusions were shattered. In a science journal, she discovered that there are no penguins in the far north and no bears in the far south. I bring this to your attention, Aries, because the coming weeks will be a good time to correct misimpressions you’ve held for a while—even as far back as childhood. Joyfully modernize your understanding of how the world works.

TAURUS

APRIL 20-MAY 20: Actor Elizabeth Taylor described her odd rhythm with actor James Dean. Occasionally, they’d stay awake till 3 a.m. as he regaled her with poignant details about his life. But the next day, Dean would act like he and Taylor were strangers—as if, in Taylor’s words, “he’d given away or revealed too much of himself.” It would take a few days before he’d be friendly again. To those of us who study the nature of intimacy, this is a classic phenomenon.

For many people, taking a risk to get closer can be scary.

Keep this in mind during the coming weeks, Taurus. There’ll be great potential to deepen your connection with dear allies, but you may have to deal with both your and their skittishness about it.

GEMINI

MAY 21-JUNE 20: There are many different kinds of smiles.

Four hundred muscles are involved in making a wide variety of expressions. Researchers have identified a specific type, dubbed the “affiliation smile,” as having the power to restore trust between two people. It’s soothing, respectful, and compassionate. I recommend you use it abundantly in the near future—along with other conciliatory behavior.

You’re in a favorable phase to repair relationships that have been damaged by distrust or weakened by any other factor.

(More info: tinyurl.com/HealingSmiles)

CANCER

Free

JUNE 21-JULY 22: According to feminist cosmologists Monica Sjöö and Barbara Mor, “Night, to ancient people, was not an ‘absence of light’ or a negative darkness, but a powerful source of energy and inspiration. At night the cosmos reveals herself in her vastness, the earth opens to moisture and germination under moonlight, and the magnetic serpentine current stirs itself in the underground waters.”

I bring these thoughts to your attention, fellow Cancerian, because we’re in the season when we are likely to be extra creative: as days grow shorter and nights longer. We Crabs thrive in the darkness. We regenerate ourselves and are visited by fresh insights about what Sjöö and Mor call “the great cosmic dance in which everything participates: the movement of the celestial bodies, the pulse of tides, the circulation of blood and sap in animals and plants.”

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brain.” It’s composed of neurons similar to the neurons in your head’s brain. Your heart brain communicates via your vagus nerve with your hypothalamus, thalamus, medulla, amygdala, and cerebral cortex. In this way, it gives your body helpful instructions. I suspect it will be extra strong in the coming weeks. That’s why I suggest you call on your heart brain to perform a lot of the magic it specializes in: enhancing emotional intelligence, cultivating empathy, invoking deep feelings, and transforming pain.

AUG. 23-SEPT. 22: How did naturalist Charles Darwin

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VIRGO

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SCORPIO

OCT. 23-NOV. 21: Scorpio theologian Eugene Peterson cleared up a mystery about the nature of mystery. He wrote, “Mystery is not the absence of meaning, but the presence of more meaning than we can comprehend.” Yes! At least sometimes, mystery can be a cause for celebration, a delightful opening into a beautiful unknown that’s pregnant with possibility. It may bring abundance, not frustration.

It may be an inspiring riddle, not a debilitating doubt.

Everything I just said is important for you to keep in mind right now.

SAGITTARIUS

NOV. 22-DEC. 21: In 2017, Richard Thaler won the Nobel Prize for Economics. His specialty: researching how unreasonable behavior affects the financial world. When he discovered that this great honor had been bestowed on him, he joked that he planned to spend the award money “as irrationally as possible.” I propose we make him your role model for the near future, Sagittarius. Your irrational, nonrational, and trans-rational intuitions can fix distortions caused by the overly analytical and hyper-logical approaches of you and your allies.

CAPRICORN

DEC. 22-JAN. 19: “Neurotic” and “neurosis” are old-fashioned words. Psychotherapists no longer use them in analyzing their patients. The terms are still useful, though, in my opinion. Most of us are at least partly neurotic—that is to say, we don’t always adapt as well as we could to life’s constantly changing circumstances. We find it challenging to outgrow our habitual patterns, and we fall short of fulfilling the magnificent destinies we’re capable of. Author Kenneth Tynan had this insight: “A neurosis is a secret that you don’t know you are keeping.” I bring this to your attention, Capricorn, because you now have extra power to adapt to changing circumstances, outgrow habitual patterns, and uncover unknown secrets—thereby diminishing your neuroses.

AQUARIUS

JAN. 20-FEB. 18: Author Darin Stevenson wrote the

following poetic declaration: “’No one can give you the lightning-medicine,’ say the people who cannot give the lightning medicine.” How do you interpret his statement?

Here’s what I think. “Lightning medicine” may be a metaphorical reference to a special talent that some people have for healing or inspiring or awakening their fellow humans.

It could mean an ingenious quality in a person that enables them to reveal surprising truths or alternative perspectives.

I am bringing this up, Aquarius, because I suspect you now have an enhanced capacity to obtain lightning medicine in the coming weeks. I hope you will corral it and use it even if you are told there is no such thing as lightning medicine.

(PS: “Lightning medicine” will fuel your ability to accomplish difficult feats.)

PISCES

FEB. 19-MARCH 20: The superb fairywren gives its chicks

become a skillful thinker who changed the world with his theory of evolution? An important factor, according to businessperson Charlie Munger: “He always gave priority attention to evidence tending to disconfirm whatever cherished and hard-won theory he already had.” He loved to be proved wrong! It helped him refine his ideas so they more closely corresponded to the truth about reality. I invite you to enjoy using this method in the coming weeks, Virgo. You could become even smarter than you already are as you wield Darwin’s rigorous approach to learning.

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SEPT. 23-OCT. 22: You could soon reach a new level of mastery in an aptitude described by author Banana Yoshimoto. She wrote, “Once you’ve recognized your own limits, you’ve raised yourself to a higher level of being, since you’re closer to the real you.” I hope her words inspire you, Libra. Your assignment is to seek a liberating breakthrough by identifying who you will never be and what you will never do. If you do it right—with an eager, open mind—it will be fun and interesting and empowering.

lessons on how to sing when they are still inside their eggs.

This is a useful metaphor for you in the coming months.

Although you have not yet been entirely “born” into the next big plot twist of your hero’s journey, you are already learning what you’ll need to know once you do arrive in your new story. It will be helpful to become conscious of these clues and cues from the future. Tune in to them at the edges of your awareness.

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Dear diary, I felt a new emotion after weeks on end of nothing but fatigue; it was hatred for the human race

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It’s been getting worse after coming so close don’t shine that light there it’s grown used to the dark No one knows in the clear still water; No one sees on the shimmering horizon; an illusion Mark my words for those whom I love I would shatter the earth and snuff out the stars but it is not in my power to do so So instead I will hold on by the whites of my knuckles counting my breaths but the enemy is inside the gates so instead I’ll smile for you through this desolation for hopes of a better future because you deserve to see it —Patrick McGuire BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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TEMPEH FROM PROJECT UMAMI. ALL PHOTOS BY CHELSEA DIDINGER

Tempeh town

Reintroducing Boulder to one of the tastiest original plant “meats” on the planet

by John Lehndorff

L

iving in and around Boulder, we’ve had the opportunity to taste tons of tofu, loads of seitan, and oodles of vegetable-based meat substitutes. By themselves, none are particularly tasty until infused with salt, spices, herbs, and Lightly pan-fried with a little salt, tempeh actually tastes quite good all by itself: nutty, toasty, a bit mushroom-y with lots of savory umami.

Technically speaking, tempeh is created by inoculating grains, nuts, and beans with the Rhizopus Okay, so maybe tempeh doesn’t sound that yummy. Also, it looks a little like a science experiment covered in white fuzz in the back of your refrigerator. However, tempeh may well be the next big Umami Foods, is setting out to evolve our thinking on plant protein.

Giordano is no newcomer to sustainable cuisine.

“I grew up with health foods. I had macrobiotic grandparents.

I drank soy milk and ate nori as a snack as a toddler,” Giordano says. and another green and yellow split peas. One tempeh celebrates

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two crops where Colorado leads the agricultural world: pinto beans and millet. Giordano says his most “local” tempeh variety combines Boulder-grown chickpeas from Black Cat Farm and quinoa from White Mountain Farm in Mosca.

Giordano, who moved to Boulder in May from New York City, started making fresh tempeh because he was searching for plant protein that gave him the energy he needed for an active life. “I had not paid any attention to tempeh. It was not a food I was thinking of. I didn’t know what it was made of,” he says.

The tempeh-making process brings out the best in the ingredients. “Tempeh breaks down the grains, beans, and seeds so they can be more easily metabolized. Your body gets more out of it and it keeps your gut happy,” Giordano says.

In short, tempeh predigests the beans and such. One upside is that it can make the legumes a little less gas producing. time-intensive labor of love, Gordano says. In a Boulder kitchen, organic beans, grains, and seeds are split and soaked overnight before being cooked and cooled. Giordano and his one or two employees inoculate them with Rhizopus culture, then incubate them in a warm, moist and sterile environment, something easier to do l

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

naturally in tropical Indonesia where tempeh originated. The tempeh is frozen in bars.

Tempeh is a ready-to-use product. “It’s remarkably convenient. All you have to do

year-round.

Claim to fame department

“[Former] Boulder Daily Camera food writer John Lehndorff coined the term

A grumpy dining critic rant fare would end up encased in plastic and tossed and transported to be enjoyed lukewarm in anonymity with a plastic fork in front of a TV. They merely accepted the necessity of delivery.

People tell me that eateries are much better now at

ever intended that their precisely crafted CHELSEA DIDINGER

meals at home but I haven’t seen it. Even that upgrade is compromised by a serious shortage of plastic and paper and drivers. but my expectations are low.

That food isn’t and never will be the same as eating that dish at the restaurant that made it. It will taste similar shadow of a culinary experience no matter how fast it arrives.

TEMPEH from Project Umami

Local food news

More than a few restaurants have opened and closed

changes and challenges to become the longest serving independent eatery in the city . . . Breaking holiday news: The bakers have poured the brandy over the fruitcakes at Arvada’s Rheinlander Bakery. That means they’ll be ready just in time for Christmas!

Words to chew on how we consider food. Food has a culture. It has a history. It has a story. It has relationJohn Lehndorff hosts a live, call-in Radio Nibbles show 8:30 a.m. November 25 on KGNU (88.5 FM, streaming kgnu.org) to help listeners solve last minute Thanksgiving cooking crises.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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From spite to success

Becca Shepps is on a roll with Mortal Kombucha

by Michael J. Casey

I

COURTESY MORTAL KOMBUCHA

t was Type 1 diabetes that turned Becca Schepps on to kombucha. And it was a joke that turned Schepps on to making kombucha.

“I had this moment where I was like: I’m going to make aggressive kombucha,” Schepps says. “I’m going to make Monster, you know, Red Bull, Rockstar—that version of kombucha.”

This was back in December 2017, and Schepps was working as a creative director in advertising. She had been in advertising for over a decade and seen it all, including the “made with 100 percent purified love” on an ingredients label. She knew if you wanted to sell a product, you had to have a hook.

“I turned to my creative partner at the time, being like: ‘Oh, what if it was like Mortal Kombucha?

Finish it!’ Schepps continues, dropping her voice an octave to deliver the video game line. “And I remember actually standing in line at a cafe in Boulder, the Innisfree one up on The Hill, and she was just like: ‘You’ve lost your mind.’”

But the website mortalkombucha.com was available. So was the Instagram handle. Schepps snapped up both.

“You know, the joke just kept going for the next week where anytime I had downtime, I was just making up flavors or making this website, and then I turned it live,” she says. “There was no product at first. It was just like, kind of a spite company, I guess.”

And now Schepps’ spite company can be found in stores all around Colorado, the Pacific Northwest, and Southern California, with Austin, Texas, on the horizon. Not bad for something that started as a joke.

But before all that, Schepps had to learn how to make kombucha.

“I remember coming home from the freelance job I was on, and I had seven orders and no idea how to make kombucha,” she recalls.

So she dropped by Boulder Fermentation Supply and introduced herself. “‘Hi, my name is Becca. I have a kombucha company, and I need to learn how to make kombucha.

Can you help me?’” Schepps recounts. “They looked at me like I was crazy.

“They told me some books to get, and I left with like a jar and some temperature strips,” Schepps

continues. Next stop, Natural Groceries for tea and fruit.

Then “went home and read a book and made kombucha.”

That’s how the first seven orders started.

“The first page of the book was like: ‘Kombucha takes about three weeks to make.’

So I emailed the seven orders and was like: ‘It will be ready in three weeks.’ Not thinking anything could go wrong.”

Why would she? Schepps was on a roll. Schepps started shipping out her kombucha.

She caught some momentum and moved her operation to a commercial kitchen in Westminster in 2018. Then Whole Foods came calling, and Schepps moved Mortal Kombucha again to a larger scale facility in Longmont to supply 34 Whole Foods stores in Colorado and five surrounding states. That happened in May 2019. That winter, Schepps was in talks with other large outlets, and as of October 31, 2021, Mortal Kombucha is on shelves in 50 King Soopers around Colorado.

“That was supposed to happen in 2020,” Schepps says with a laugh. “We’re just a little late.”

Like everyone else, COVID brought Mortal Kombucha to a halt. But it also allowed Schepps to catch her breath and “take that time to make really good decisions moving forward. I think that really set up a lot of success for 2021.”

“We were growing so fast,” she says. “There was no way to figure out, like, how do we fund the growth? What do we do? Because we just had to keep making [the kombucha]. We were a producer and not a brand.”

And Schepps and her small team were doing it all by hand, including twisting hundreds of plastic caps on bottles every day.

So Schepps took the virus-imposed pause to meditate on what needed to happen with Mortal

Kombucha to make it successful, which included a move to their current facility in Gypsum, the hiring of an operator, and a vice president of sales to “just charge through the back half of 2020.”

“Now that we had no production hiccups—because we were being made by a very big brand [Rocky Mountain Cultures]—we had a better quality product,” Schepps says. “It supercharged 2021.”

But that’s only half the story. Schepps’ Mortal Kombucha has paved the way for Mortal XXX, a line of hard kombuchas designed to buck the flimsy hard kombucha trend. More on that in two weeks.

Mortal flavors

Currently, you can find eight flavors of Mortal Kombucha around town in 16-ounce glass bottles. In alphabetical order: Apearantly It’s Love—Ginger, pear, and rose Black Magic—Activated charcoal, lemon, and maple Black Sage—Blackberry, ginger, and sage Chill Flower—Florals, mint, and rose Dem Apples—Apples and cinnamon Marg Simpson—Lime and margarita Power Melon—Mint and watermelon Sour Ginger—Ginger and lemon

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JOHN LEHNDORFF

by John Lehndorff

TASTE OF THE WEEK: Chile rellenos @ The Parkway Café

I

’ve always enjoyed breakfast at the Parkway Café. On a recent visit, while sitting on the sunny patio, I pushed past my natural inclination toward omelets, blueberry pancakes, and hot biscuits with gravy, and warmed up instead with a platter of chile rellenos. The Parkway version starts with two roasted Anaheim peppers stuffed with white cheese and batter-fried.

Since it was only a few short weeks until the holiday, I enjoyed them “Christmas-style” covered with half green chile and half red chile sauces. This substantial comfort meal includes beans, Mexican rice, guacamole, and sour cream.

Another roadfood attraction

Growing up in New England, I looked forward to the rare lunch when Mom made me an odd regional sandwich favorite, the Fluffernutter. Fluffernutters consist of peanut butter and marshmallow creme spread on white bread. This glorious creation always seemed like dessert in disguise. I was pleased

PARKWAY CAFE CHILE RELLENOS

Merriam-Webster Dictionary along with a few other food words and phrases including “horchata,” “chicharron,” “air fryer” and “ghost kitchen.”

To sample the sandwich, visit Rise, the artisan bread bakery in Berthoud, where many sandwiches and treats bear a Massachusetts moniker. Among the favorites is the Fluffanutta sandwich.

M

y hyperactive, self-pollinating, two-year-old cayenne plant and its offspring just moved inside for the winter. They continue to pump out fiery little red and green pods. There are only so many chile flakes one person can use on pizza, so I’m turning some pods into festive holiday mini ristras. I packed some sun-dried pods in one jar and filled it with vodka to infuse. I simmered other pods and orange peel in grapeCAYENNE AND ORANGE INFUSED OIL AND CAYENNE seed oil. It’s great for stir frying. Friends INFUSED VODKA have also suggested making spicy herb blends and cayenne-infused honey, jelly and vinegar. It’s going to be one spicy holiday gift-giving season this year.

COURTESY HINMAN PIE

Order Thanksgiving pies now

Increased demand along with supply and labor shortages mean you better order your Thanksgiving pie today. Among the local pie sources are Shamane’s Bakery, Lucky’s Bakeshop, Walnut Cafe, and the Niche Market (Meals on Wheels) in Boulder. Jamestown’s Karen DiVincenzo of Pie PIE FROM HINMAN PIE Lady Pies delivers pies including mincemeat to Boulder and Nederland. Other pie places include Eats & Sweets and Button Rock Bakery in Lafayette, Hygiene’s Mountain Fountain Market and La Momo Maes in Longmont, along with Hinman Pies at the Boulder Farmers Market and at The Post Chicken & Beer.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

JOHN LEHNDORFF

What to do with too many cayenne chilies

Culinary calendar T

he Colorado Pickle and Beer Society meets November 13 at Denver’s Spangalang Brewery for a tasting of fermented goodies from The Real Dill, including fennel parsnip lacto-fermented kimchi and pumpkin spice pickled pumpkin . . . There are only two more Saturdays for the Boulder Farmers Market and Longmont Farmers Market. Get your local storeable “keepers” while you can including apples, pears, beets, carrots, onions, winter squash, potatoes, cabbage, garlic, sweet potatoes and turnips.

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Shattering the psychedelic taboo?

Between MAPS’ groundbreaking trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy from earlier this year and the emergence of psychedelic research groups all over the country, a mortal crack might be appearing in the psychedelic levee. And the DEA is preparing for the subsequent surge of research.

The DEA is dramatically ramping up production of schedule I hallucinogens, foreshadowing a watershed year for psychedelic research

by Will Brendza

I

n the U.S., the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) holds the keys when it comes to accessing research-grade schedule I drugs. Labs and scientists submit their applications to the agency, describing their hypothesis, the processes they plan on using to execute their study, backgrounds of the researchers involved.

Historically, few are approved for the research.

But those that are, like the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies ration, receive DEA clearance to order testing samples from one of the DEA’s schedule I licensed drug manufacturers, like the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Ac-

“We’re seeing more and more trials get published, and more psychedelic companies are taking an interest, more university programs are taking interest as they get more positive results, and more people are following the work and believe that there is potential here.”

MAPS has been pioneering psychedelic research science since 1986 with a mission to “create safe and legal opportunities for the uses of psychedelics in society.” On that front, MAPS has moved the needle further than any

in those with severe PTSD, and in those with associated comorbidities including dissociative PTSD, depression, history of alcohol and substance use disorders, and childhood trauma.” psychoactive drug developed in 1912 by the drug company Merck, used throughout the 1970s for psychotherapy, and became a popular party drug in the 1980s. It induces empathy, mild hallucinations, and heightened sensations.

At the end of MAPS’ 18-week trial, 88 percent of the subjects who received controlled and supervised MDMA-assisted therapy sessions experienced a “clinically to the study. And 67 percent were so positively affected,

serious about studying psychedelics. Johns Hopkins opened a psychedelic research center in 2019, and San Francisco launched the Neuroscape Psychedelics

In October, just six months prior to the DEA’s massive drug request in

regulatory affairs manager at MAPS, the DEA essentially acts as the middleman between producers like NIDA and streets as a “dealer.”

“But [they’re] not a very good one,” she quips with a chuckle.

Because so few of the research applications have been approved in years past, licensed schedule I manufacturers typically only produce small quantities of these drugs annually. But heading into 2022, the DEA has asked their manufacturers to up the hallucinogenic quota: by 6,300 percent for MDMA, 1,570 percent for 5-MeO-DMT, 1,150 percent for LSD, 500 percent for regular DMT, 400 percent for mescaline, and 100 percent

phase three trials of MDMA-assisted psycho-therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The exdouble-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-site clinical trials therapy. They used 200-300 participants, all suffering from severe PTSD from a variety of causes.

The results of those trials were a milestone by any

delic Psychotherapy and Trauma Research, University Medicine.

“All of those will require schedule I licenses with the and the DEA is making arrangements to meet it. This means a watershed year for psychedelic research could ical and therapeutic reasons to deschedule, decriminal“We haven’t been able to demonstrate medical uses “And so right now, people are more willing to look at this research and say, ‘Is there a use? Is it safe? Like, let’s actually collect systematic data.’”

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Pandemic of the unregulated

compared those against state policies concerning cannabis legalization and vape restrictions, prior to August 1 (the day when the CDC initiated its formal investigation into EVALI).

“I wanted to look at policies that couldn’t possibly have been passed in response to the outbreak because they preceded the CDC’s recognition that something was going wrong in the greater public,” she says.

Friedman explains that vaporizing cannabis is the second most popular form of cannabis consumption

A study finds 2019’s EVALI outbreak wasn’t caused by vaping mainstream nicotine or cannabis products but by vaping informal alternatives

by Will Brendza

I

n 2019 there was a different pandemic sweeping the nation, wreaking havoc on people’s lungs, putting some in the hospital and others in early graves.

Rates of the mysterious “E-cigarette or Vaping-product Associated Lung Illness” (aka EVALI) spiked in August of 2019 and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched an investigation into the outbreak the same month.

As of February 18, 2020 (when they stopped recording cases), EVALI had hospitalized 2,807 people—68 of whom had died as a result. By September, CDC officials were holding press conferences suggesting that THC products were largely behind the outbreak.

Fingers were pointed, blame was cast, both federal and local legislation started passing to restrict the sale of vape products, and criticisms were levelled against state cannabis policies.

But that blame was misplaced, according to Abigail Friedman, lead author of a study published in the journal Addiction titled “Association of vaping-related lung injuries with rates of e-cigarette and cannabis use across U.S. states.” Her research indicates that the root cause of EVALI actually wasn’t correlated to legalized cannabis or higher rates of nicotine vape use at all. In fact, she found the correlation went the opposite direction: States with legal cannabis (and higher rates of vape use) were seeing fewer cases of EVALI than states upholding prohibition.

This suggests that the problem was tied to illicit or “informally sourced” products—not those coming from commercial manufactures.

For her analysis, Friedman collected data from every state on the total number of EVALI cases they’d reported as of the second week of January 2020. She then

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legal cannabis have overall higher rates of vape use than those that don’t. So if commercial vapes (for either THC or nicotine) were driving the outbreak of EVALI, she

would have expected the rates of EVALI hospitalizations to be higher in states where people had access to legal cannabis.

However, that was not what she observed.

“There are fewer cases [of EVALI] per capita in states that have recreational marijuana,” Friedman states. “If [users in those states] are more likely to vape as their primary mode of use, then it had to be that they were less likely to be exposed to a tainted product.”

The data backed that up: States with the strictest cannabis laws and vape restrictions—like Utah, North Dakota, Minnesota, Delaware, and Indiana—all had

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some of the highest rates of EVALI hospitalizations in the recreational cannabis (Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska) all had less than one EVALI case per 100,000 residents between the ages of 12 and 64.

Friedman also looked at states that allow for medical marijuana patients to grow their own cannabis, compared to those that prohibit home cultivation.

“We thought that if [states] permit home cultivation, people would actually show lower rates of vaping and higher rates of smoking marijuana,” she says, adding that was exactly what they found. “Consequently, if you permit home cultivation, you see a lower EVALI incidence relative to medical marijuana states that prohibit home cultivation.”

All of the information, data, and patterns observed seemed to indicate strongly to Friedman that the PHOTO root source of America’s EVALI outbreaks was not coming from the legal market.

“We were dealing with an informally sourced or illicit market product,” Friedman says. “That is what creates the danger: If it’s easy to adulterate products on the illicit market, then it’s more likely that product gets into the hands of someone who uses it and then gets sick.”

Instead of legal cannabis or commercial e-cigarettes causing the health crisis, it was actually prohibition policy driving it.

“When we’re talking about drug policy . . . whether it’s tobacco or marijuana or other products, we need to be thinking about the effects that a policy targeting one thing will have on both the licit and illicit market for those products,” Friedman says.

If people have the option to buy reliable cannabis, or commercially produced cannabis concentrate or nicotine cartridges, they typically will, she says. The phenomenon is known as “crowding out,” where the introduction of a new market forces the old market out via consumer preference. Safer, higher quality cannabis products will always be preferable to consumers.

“This outbreak was not about vaping mainstream nicotine or cannabis products. It was never about vaping mainstream products,” Friedman says. “[It’s] about how state regulations are going to affect the illicit market and how that’s introducing new risks.”

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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$89 Ounce (EXCLUDES CRYO CURE)

MADE WITH ORGANIC, 100% VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE, ALL NATURAL INGREDIENTS. SUSTAINABLE, BIODEGRADABLE AND RECYCLABLE PACKAGING.

Mix & Match

$55

$66 OTD Quarter Cryo Cure Flower $44 OTD Eighths Cryo Cure Flower

1/2 ounce (EXCLUDES CRYO CURE)

Mix & Match

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CRYO CURE FLOWER SCAN THE QR CODE

$5.00

Kief Grams

$7.00 OTD

NUHI SUGAR WAX & SHATTER 4g for

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$56

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last word ALL TOP SHELF BUDS. NO STRAIN RESTRICTIONS. ONE TIER PRICING.

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