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Election reaction 2021

by Brendan Joel Kelley, Caitlin Rockett and Will Brendza

Xcel’s ‘Lafayette Natural Gas Project’ is seriously impacting local businesses in Old Town

by Will Brendza

news:

November’s First Friday Art Walk will commemorate one of Boulder’s strangest bits of history

by Caitlin Rockett

news briefs:

Return of the mall crawl, COVID-19 updates, and oil and gas leases on public land

by Will Brendza

Safe, full capacity dining, and outdoor patio.

Bar open.

14 17 19

buzz:

Koe Wetzel hones in on his signature blend of rock, country and hip hop

by Alan Sculley

departments 5 22 27 28 29 30 33 35 37 38

Letters: Signed, sealed, delivered, your views . . .

Events: What to do when there’s ‘nothing’ to do . . .

Words: ‘Rosa,’ by Derek Brown Film: Three to see for Denver Film Festival’s first weekend Astrology: by Rob Brezsny Nibbles: Boulder is a bastion of diverse doughwrapped pleasures, from momo and gyoza to gnocchi Beer: November 6 is Learn to Homebrew Day Food and Drink: Casarecce and Fra Diavolo @ Pastaficio and Spinelli’s Savage Love: Female trouble Weed Between the Lines: Cassandra Maffey’s Scalable Living Soil Cultivation feeds plants the way nature intended

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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 4, 2021 Volume XXIX, Number 13 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.

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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The Highland City Club has a racism problem

Guest opinion by Lawrence Williams

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he Highland City Club is a social center in downtown Boulder for the type of people who can afford their $500 a month base membership fee. Despite the Highland City Club’s “About Us” page’s claim that the club “transcends race” (as if such a thing were possible in a city where Black people are pulled over by the police twice as often as White people,) the club’s “Featured Member” section is comprised of over a hundred White faces with about 6 exceptions. The Highland City Club’s glaring Whiteness exists as a function of a number of systemic factors, but what I would like to shed light on here are racist statements made by the club’s owner Sina Simantob, that surely play a role.

In a 2019 piece published to the Highland City Club’s website titled “Racism” (tinyurl.com/2n6dpzsb), Sina lists a number of racial and ethic groups he discriminates against, arguing that it is a “natural tendency” to see racial

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groups “in terms of stereotypes.”

Sina writes: Perhaps it simply means humans have a natural tendency to initially see each other in terms of stereotypes. As a young foreign engineering student, I remember dropping an advanced calculus class because more than half the students were oriental, and though they weren’t any smarter, they worked 3X as hard, so I had no chance to get a good grade. I stopped doing business with Hasidic Jews in NY because time after time they proved to be better businessmen than me. And I stopped playing sports if there were more black players on the other team. So am I a smart survivalist, or a bigoted racist?

The answer to Sina’s rhetorical question is very obviously the latter. Only a bigoted racist would intentionally avoid: playing football with Black people; taking math classes with Asian people; or doing business with Jews. Sina’s position is rooted in “Race Realism,” a type of (pseudo)race science propagated by SPLC-designated White nationalist Charles Murray, who argues that race is a biological reality, and that racial groups have inherent strengths and weaknesses. Murray’s “Race Realism” is a long debunked and scientifically unfounded idea, but see OPINION Page 6

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OPINION from Page 5

still holds prominence to most of The goal is to have the public read the contemporary white nationalist something crazy in the newspaper and movement. immediately think ‘critical race theory.’

Sina doubles down on his bigotry in We have decodif ied the term and will a March 2021 piece titled “Confronting recodify it to annex the entire range of The ‘R’ Word” (tinyurl.com/e87fxdz4) cultural constructions that are unpopuwhere he posits that Black people’s lar with Americans.” “failure of imagination” is an “impediSina fueling the ridiculous ment to assimiladiscourse around tion [ . . . ] which Critical Race Thelocks us into a hisory should come torical straitjacket.” as no surprise of racial Sina’s reasoning for given his other deflecting responsipublic statements. and ethic groups he bility for hundreds What is condiscriminates against, of years of racial cerning, however, oppression? Two is how much arguing that it is a Black people once support Sina’s stole his wallet in club gets from “natural tendency” to Oakland. public officials at see racial groups “in In a July 2021 the city and state piece titled “Modlevel. The Highterms of stereotypes.” ern Day Philosland City Club ophers” (tinyurl. has hosted events com/vx4mp9dp), featuring Chief of Sina criticizes “cancel culture” and Police Maris Harold, City Council “critical race theory,” the latter being a member Bob Yates, Representative school of legal studies which has been Joe Neguse, Boulder Assistant City weaponized by Christopher Rufo of Manager Yvette Bowden, Boulder the Manhattan Institute in order to Board of Education President Tina mobilize right-wingers against the Marquis, and more. teaching of accurate American history Given the amount of lip service in schools. Rufo has even said as our public officials gave about jusmuch, writing on Twitter that: tice and equality since the George “We have successfully frozen their Floyd uprisings, the least they could brand—’critical race theory’—into the do is not go to events hosted by a public conversation and are steadily man who boasts about his bigotry driving up negative perceptions. We on the company website. will eventually turn it toxic, as we put This opinion column does not all of the various cultural insanities necessarily reflect the views of Boulder under that brand category.

Weekly.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Pain • Stress • Recovery • Sleep Skincare • Hemp Oil for Wellness A NURSE’S PERSPECTIVE I am a Labor and Delivery nurse.

I have been a nurse for 7 years and a Labor and Delivery nurse for 6 years. L&D has become a part of my identity. I love that I know how to care for people and keep them safe while they bring their babies into this world.

However, even with my passion for the work, I am contemplating leaving it all behind.

As an L&D nurse, I get to see a side of humanity that is vulnerable and authentic. I am with people during their best and worst moments in life and then I get to coach them and keep them safe.

I know that even as the families blur together in my memory, that the patients will remember the nurse that helped them through those hard and scary times. The fact that I am able to be a part of this experience makes me proud and fills my heart with joy. The people that I work with share this special ability. I see the connection they are able to make with people after a matter of hours and I see the value a nurse has on the individual and the entire healthcare system.

Nurses and techs are the backbone of the healthcare team. They are the caregiver that spends the most time with the patient, they are the ones that give the patient the memorable experience, and they are the ones that catch the first sign of a potentially life threatening diagnosis.

With all this being said, I don’t think that my bedside nursing is serving me anymore and I know that this is a sentiment that many of my colleagues feel. All around me, people are quitting or going back to school because they don’t feel valued at work and don’t see room for growth within their field. I have recently heard more of this same kind of story in the news, which helps me understand that this is an issue that is nationwide. We call healthcare workers our heroes, however we don’t treat them like heroes. Nursing is hard work and the people that choose to make it their career know that they will work hard to make a difference in the lives of individuals, however many of us are finding that we don’t get enough back. The pay is not enough to support a family, the benefits do not set you up for retirement, there are not opportunities for career growth, there is not enough emphasis on work/life balance, and often there is not enough staff to allow a lunch break on a 12 hour shift.

I worry that many of our most skillful and hard working nurses and techs will leave for a job or career that shows them more appreciation. This will affect the hospital’s profits and reputation. Without competent nurses and techs, patient care will decline which will reflect poorly on the hospital. If staff continue to leave in masses, there will not be enough people to care for patients and the hospital will have to spend excess money training more people because of the high turnover rate.

Nurses and techs will prioritize going to different states that have better benefits and overall treatment. I believe there is a way that hospitals can continue to make money, while still supporting their staff in the ways that maintain staff retention. However, it has to come from a change in the culture from the top. Make bedside nursing and tech jobs fields that people want to stay in because they love their job, they are good at it, they feel supported by their hospital and they see room for growth in their career. I would be happy to discuss specific ways that I think improvements could be made in our hospital at your convenience. I also urge communities to step forward and demand that hospitals invest more in their nurses and techs to ensure that when you come to the hospital there are enough staff and support to care for you and your loved ones.

Nicole Alexander/Boulder County ACTIVE AND INFORMED? In Dave Anderson’s opinion, “Strike wave may be the beginning of something big” (October 28, 2021), he writes, “If people have more stable and economically secure lives, they have more time and energy to become active and informed citizens. A democracy needs active and informed citizens . . . “ Dave also quotes an article in Labor Notes by J. Furman and G. Winant saying, “ . . . the increase of social inequality and the decline in working-class economic security is the ultimate cause of the destabilization of American democracy . . . “ I wonder, do the extracting and polluting big corporations, super rich people doing pretty much whatever they want, and career politicians actually want the citizens to have enough time and energy to become informed and active?

R. Lawrence/Boulder

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City of Boulder

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he crowd gathered at Ash’Kara on Pearl Street Tuesday night didn’t seem outwardly fazed by the first batch of election results that came in at 7 p.m., though the numbers didn’t give them a lot of reasons to celebrate.

The party at Ash’Kara was hosted by the Boulder Coalition, a group (of groups) backing the so-called progressive slate of candidates for city council: Matt Benjamin, Lauren Folkerts, Nicole Speer, and Dan Williams (all of whom

Election reaction 2021

by Brendan Joel Kelley, Caitlin Rockett, and Will Brendza

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Boulder Weekly endorsed, along with incumbent Mark Wallach). The Coalition also supported Ballot Question 300, the Bedrooms are for People initiative, to increase home occupancy limits in Boulder, and opposed 302, the ballot measure proposing that citizens have the final say in any agreement with the CU South property (which Boulder City Council already agreed to annex, but more on that later . . . ) The earliest returns showed Benjamin and Speer in the fourth and fifth spots, but Folkerts and Williams in seventh and eighth, respectively. Bedrooms are for People was also looking grim, at about 59 percent against the measure.

But among the throng in Ash’Kara, optimism still reigned. A supporter patted Benjamin on the shoulder as they weaved their way through the restaurant—“You’re in, we’ve got this,” he assured the candidate, who’s held a steady fourth place in every count released prior to the publication of this story. “The students, the younger voters, they vote later,” Benjamin told a reporter, hopeful that the numbers would swing as day-of ballots were counted. Councilwoman Rachel Friend, in an emerald wig and with her parents in tow, echoed the hope that NOVEMBER 4, 2021

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later results would bring more votes for the progressives.

Just a few blocks away, at The Post, the opposing slate of candidates, supported by Forward Boulder, were in a triumphant mood.

Three of the Forward Boulder endorsees—incumbent Mark Wallach, Michael Christy, and Tara Winer—were taking the top three slots.

And Steve Rosenblum, widely demonized by the opposing slate’s supporters, wasn’t far out of fifth place (the top four vote-getters win fouryear terms; the fifth gets a two-year term).

The crowd was older at The Post, more buttoned-up, a scene full of wine glasses and white tablecloths, spiced up by the antics of children running around. The Forward candidates—including Rosenblum, who at the time this was printed, continues to be short of votes to earn a seat on council—took to speechmaking around 8 p.m. The second batch of numbers came in around a quarter till 9 (another tally of results was released at 12:37 a.m. Wednesday; those are the most recent results as of this writing).

Winer expressed relief that her campaign was over, but said she’d miss door-knocking—“I might be addicted to that.”

The two subsequent result drops didn’t change the makeup or order of the top five vote-getters, though in the most recent tally Lauren Folkerts edged just slightly past Rosenblum in sixth place. Both were within 450 votes of Speer.

Midday on Wednesday, candidates and advocates for and against ballot measures were taking stock, making guesses as to how many ballots remain to be counted— Mircalla Wozniak, the Boulder county clerk and recorder’s communication director, told Boulder Weekly around noon that she expected about another 10,000 ballots were still to come.

That’s certainly enough to change the thin margins in the city council race. But for 300 and 302, Bedrooms are for People and Let the Voters Decide on Annexation of CU South, the trends would have to drastically reverse to save either initiative.

The results as of early Wednesday morning look like this: Wallach, Winer, Christy, Benjamin, and Folkerts join the new city council; Bedrooms are for People and Let the Voters Decide on Annexation CU South both fail by a curiously similar margin, 58 percent to 42 percent. (Ballot Measure 301, the fur ban, which BW did not make an endorsement for or against, was nearly evenly split at press time.)

“We’re down a bit more than we’d hoped at this point,” Eric Budd from the Bedrooms are for People campaign said Wednesday morning.

Budd and Bedrooms co-lead Chelsea Castellano both pointed to a poll conducted in January showing 75 percent of Boulderites supported expanding occupancy limits.

“This is an off-year election, and off-year elections are always very difficult,” Castellano said.

Former councilwoman Jan Burton—a Coalition member and supporter of the Bed-

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rooms initiative who commissioned the aforementioned poll—felt turnout was strikingly low. Though as she spoke there was no hard data to confirm or refute the notion. “It was a bit of a negative campaign,” she remarked, while she was out collecting political yard signs. “And, frankly, I think people don’t like slates that much.”

Indeed, if these results hold, voters will have chosen three representatives from the Forward Boulder/ slow-growth slate and two from the Boulder Coalition progressive slate, who will join a council composed of four candidates previously supported by the Coalition. This would be a majority for Coalition candidates, but the Boulder Coalition isn’t a political party with a platform candidates adhere to, and that advantage may be irrelevant.

“I hope it’s a council where each council member considers their position and listens to their constituents and considers all sides of an issue and votes,” Burton said, “so it could be that there’s no real one power on the council. I think that can be a very healthy thing.”

Sam Weaver, the outgoing mayor, was looking at two victories, though he was pleased his name wasn’t on the ballot again. Weaver was a strong critic of the Bedrooms initiative and its wording, which didn’t specifically provide for affordability. “I believe the next council is very likely to take up the occupancy issue—I think the good thing about having 300 on the ballot is it shows it’s a priority for a lot of people.”

Weaver also strongly opposed 302, the CU South measure, which sought to prevent the council from doing precisely what it did with Weaver’s support—move forward with the annexation of CU South.

Opponents of the annexation have already filed more than enough signatures for a referendum to reverse the decision the council made, and that question will be on next year’s ballot—though Weaver hopes the results of 302 are a bellwether of that coming vote.

“I think 302 predicts that the community’s going to stand by the annexation agreement,” Weaver said, “and the year we’ll have between now and then will be used to educate people about details that might have been unclear.”

Former councilman and 302 backer Steve Pomerance has a different

vision for CU South’s future in the ensuing year: That the new council will consider the 6,000 or so signees backing the referendum to reverse the annexation, overturn the previous council’s vote, and proceed with a new, different solution.

“You don’t get 5,700 good signatures in under four weeks on something people don’t care about,” Pomerance said Wednesday morning.

“Maybe [the new council] sees this as an opportunity to do something a lot better than what a previous council did. They could get a better deal.”

Down-ballot, voters overwhelmingly supported the measures extending the Community, Culture and Safety tax and the related debt question, and approved the measures related to council subcommittees, council pay, and petition signatures.

But still, too many votes remain untabulated to definitively call the Boulder City Council race, the Bedrooms are for People initiative, the fur ban, or Let the Voters Decide on CU South.

Those currently on the losing end in these counts can reassure themselves that miracles occasionally happen.

City of Longmont

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he fun part of campaigning is meeting people I never would have met otherwise,” Tim Waters, Longmont’s Ward I councilman and mayoral candidate, told a crowd of around 30 people at the Fox Hill Club around 7 p.m. on election night, just before the first round of results was reported.

Moments later, the crowd sighed collectively as the numbers came up on a large screen at the front of the room: Fellow council member and mayoral hopeful Joan Peck was ahead by around a dozen votes.

But the night was young and the crowd, which included uncontested Ward II candidate Marcia Martin, remained optimistic, and grew to around 50 people by 7:30. When the second round of results rolled in around 8:30 p.m., Waters had taken the lead by more than 100 votes. He continued to gain votes through the night, extending his lead by more than 300 votes over Peck by Wednesday morning. Mayoral candidate Gregory Harris trailed Waters and Peck by more than 3,000 votes as of publication.

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In the six-way at-large race, incumbent Aren Rodriguez and newcomer Shaquita Yarbrough appear to have secured the two open seats. This would be Rodriguez’s second term on council.

While Boulder Weekly endorsed Waters in the mayoral contest, we highlighted Peck’s commitment to Longmont’s city council since taking her seat in 2015, and commended her devotion to environmental sustainability and improved public transportation. We received numerous letters in the weeks prior to the election supporting Peck. Peck will retain her at-large seat on council to finish up her final term if Waters’ lead holds.

During a pre-election interview with Waters, he stated, “To be successful, [Longmont has] to have two fundamentals: housing and childcare.” With a quarter-century career in education (as a practitioner and researcher), Waters places a strong emphasis on children and education.

He believes that affordable access to childcare is a critical component to creating workforce stability, and to fully recovering and even expanding Longmont’s economy post-pandemic. Expect Waters to continue being a vocal supporter of bringing a four-year post-secondary campus to Longmont.

Some have accused Waters of being pro-development, and others— including Boulder Weekly—have been critical of his stance on increasing the water capacity of the Windy Gap project, which many environmentalists believe is just another nail in the coffin for the Colorado River. But the ship on Windy Gap has sailed, with the council approving the expansion in 2020.

Waters believes in the Housing First approach that research has shown best benefits those experiencing homelessness, and will continue to support programming that helps people transition back into housing.

With regards to transportation, Waters does not see RTD as the answer to Northern Colorado’s transportation woes; he has stated that he believes the Front Range Passenger Rail is the answer, a “blended” project led by the Southwest Chief & Front Range Passenger Rail Commission, CDOT, and a consultant team that would take passengers from Fort Collins to Pueblo on heavy rail. Along with Ward II council member Marcia Martin, Waters supports the creation of a subscription electric bus service

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that local businesses, like Smucker’s, could buy into to give employees a free, environmentally-friendly option for getting to and from work.

In a second term, Longmont native Aren Rodriguez has promised to continue his measured approach to governance, focusing on “unsexy” but necessary issues like improving town infrastructure, particularly in historic parts of town where water pipes are often more than 100 years old. The performing musician turned real estate appraiser has stated that he will look to practical solutions for sustainability, like creating policies that will include more solar power running through Longmont’s grid, with better incentives for homeowners to install solar. Rodriguez’s ideal solution for transportation would be to pull away from RTD completely and create a special transportation district and work with surrounding municipalities to create a regional transit system.

As stated in Boulder Weekly’s election guide, Shiquita Yarbrough brings a number of critical perspectives to the table: She was the only candidate running for Longmont City Council who rents; she worked for a number of years as a property manager for the housing authority in Austin, Texas; and now she may be the first African-American on council in Longmont’s 150-year existence.

Since moving to Longmont in 2012, Shiquita has been deeply involved in the community, managing core programs at the YWCA, serving on the Housing and Human Advisory board, hosting a KGNU program called “Victorious Single Parents,” and co-founding Families of Color Colorado.

While Yarbrough’s lack of governmental experience was mentioned as a concern by some attendees at Waters’ election party, others countered this critique, arguing that a less privileged, less monied voice is necessary to better balance council.

The crowd at the Fox Hill Club began to wane after the second round of ballots was tabulated around 8:30 p.m. But before supporters could leave for the evening, Waters left them with a limerick: “This campaign has ground on for a while / We’ve worked hard from the first step to last mile / Whatever our fate / You all have been great / So we’ll finish this thing with a smile.” see ELECTION Page 10 9

ELECTION from Page 9

City of Lafayette

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here were four seats open on the Lafayette City Council, and only five candidates—two of whom were very young for public office seekers (both in their 20s). The voters look to have chosen to reelect incumbents Brian Wong and Tonya Briggs, and chose Nicole Sampson and Enihs Medrano to serve their first full terms on city council. Sampson served on Lafayette’s City Council temporarily in 2019 to fill a six month vacancy; but Medrano, who is just 20 years old, has never served in any political capacity before.

All of these candidates talked about addressing Lafayette’s housing crisis by creating both affordable and attainable housing options in the city. They also all supported measures to make their community safer and ensure that residents have access to necessary mental health services.

Wong will likely continue his push for progress on establishing municipal internet for Lafayette.

Briggs will be excited to continue advocating for local small businesses.

Samson will push for more police and firefighters and more resources for both. Medrano will bring a young and energetic Latina perspective to the council, and aims to promote sustainability however she can.

And Brandon Stites, the only official candidate to not be elected this year, should most certainly run again in the future. Lafayette’s city council will undoubtedly need more young, bright, politically motivated locals like him moving forward, as several current council members are term-limited after this election.

Both measures, Ordinances No. 13 and No. 14, pertaining to inclusive language, passed in Lafayette. The first, to amend the home rule charter pertaining to gender neutral references, will remove masculine and feminine pronouns and replace them with neutral, gender-free designations. The second, pertaining to archaic language, will switch words like“citizen” to “resident” (or “the public,” “the people,” and/or “community”) in the charter.

Neither of these ordinances will cost taxpayers anything, and both promote more inclusive language within the City of Lafayette.

Lafayette voted Yes on ballot question 2F, requiring any city council candidates to have been a resident of the town for at least one year prior

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to election day. Previous language required them to have been a resident for one year, prior to the last day for filing to run for the office. This brings the town home’s rule charter in line with state statutory requirements.

The City of Lafayette voted in favor of both ballot issues 2B and 2C—concerning mental health and human services, and public safety respectively.

The Mental Health and Human Services measure makes it possible for Lafayette to partner with nonprofit organizations in Boulder County to support mental health, medical care, domestic violence victims, and families who need assistance funding rent, childcare, utilities, or food.

It adds 0.10 percent sales and use tax to help fund these services.

The public safety measure will provide funds for hiring more police officers, firefighters, and medics; replacing aging and outdated equipment for city firefighters and first responders; purchasing body cameras; and hiring mental health co-responders to accompany police when they’re called to address behavioral health issues. This measure also provides these funds through a .27 percent increase in sales and use taxes.

City of Louisville

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ouisville voters re-elected incumbent Chris Leh, to serve again on the city council. The housing crisis is at the top of his list of priorities to address with a second term, as he promised on the campaign trail to raise the profile of the city’s affordable housing. Leh is also in support of transportation improvements and developing the ConocoPhillips campus.

Uncontested in her ward, Maxine Most secured her seat on Louisville’s city council this year. She’s been a resident since 2006 and wants to enact policies that enforce sustainable development, like a 30 percent open space requirement. And of course, she’s dedicated to maintaining the “small town feeling” of the city she calls home.

Kyle Brown’s life-long dedication to public service will continue, as Louisville voters chose to re-elect the uncontested incumbent. Brown is a big believer in sustainability, and fully supported the city’s attempt to improve transportation throughout the city. But his biggest priorities with a second term on council will be to promote economic vitality and attract NOVEMBER 4, 2021

businesses to Louisville—to develop the city’s currently vacant properties so that they can start generating tax revenue.

Louisville will have to wait on the transportation improvements that Ballot Issue 2A proposed.

The measure would have increased property taxes to pay for $50 million in infrastructure projects installing six different underpasses, bike lanes and pedestrian paths around town.

It was meant to make transportation within the city of Louisville, which is bisected by the extremely busy Highway 36, much easier and safer for residents. However, the estimated annual impact on residential property taxes could have been as high as $390, while commercial property taxes could have increased by as much as $1,581 annually.

The people of Louisville apparently weren’t sold, and voted the measure down by a fairly significant margin.

Boulder Valley School Board

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icole Rajpal will take one of the three open seats on the Boulder Valley School Board, earning 76 percent of the vote as of midday November 3.

This will be Rajpal’s first term on the board, replacing term-limited board President Tina Marquis in District B. She’s served for six years on Boulder Valley’s District Accountability Committee, including two as a chairperson. She has two middle-school-aged children in BVSD. District B Opponent William Hamilton, a stay-at-home dad, had 23 percent of the vote, and write-in candidate Sky Van Horn, owner at Boulder’s OPEX Element 6, had less than 1 percent as of press time.

In District E, Beth Niznik, a special education regional facilitator at the Colorado Department of Education, had a lead over two other contenders for a second seat, with slightly more than 42 percent of the vote. Deanne Bucher and Kara Awaitha Frost trail behind with approximately 40 percent and 18 percent of the vote respectively. If Niznik holds her lead, she’ll replace incumbent Donna Miers, who isn’t seeking reelection after serving a four-year term. Niznik has a child at Eisenhower Elementary.

District F incumbent Kitty Sargent, a former teacher and social worker who specialized in child abuse l

prevention, ran unopposed for a second term.

During a pre-election interview with Boulder Weekly, Rajpal expressed her desire to make scientifically-informed, data-driven decisions about health and safety in schools. Rajpal wants to make sure that the district stays on course to achieve the equitable opportunities outlined in BVSD’s strategic action plan.

St. Vrain Valley School Board

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istrict F candidate Sarah Hurianek looks poised to take one of three open St. Vrain Valley School Board seats with just over 60 percent of the vote as of press time on Wednesday, November 3.

Hurianek, a former pre-K educator with two children at Mead Elementary, told Boulder Weekly that she’s committed to accessibility and listening to the community, and plans to keep the district on its current track.

Opponent Natalie Abshier trailed with nearly 40 percent of the vote.

She believes that families should have a choice in wearing masks and getting vaccinated, and took issue with St. Vrain’s former partnership with the University of Colorado Boulder’s A Queer Endeavor.

Picking up a second seat is District D candidate Meosha Brooks, an aerospace engineer with four children attending St. Vrain schools. Brooks aims to focus on promoting STEM education as well as vocational and trades skills so individual students can find their unique path within the St. Vrain system.

Incumbent Karen Ragland, a community mental health counselor, will take the third SVVSD seat. She says she’s committed to being an excellent steward of taxpayer dollars while keeping the board’s focus on the students, characterizing herself as “governance-focused.”

Statewide

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hree statewide measures were before voters on Tuesday, and it appears all three of those will fail: Amendment 78 to give the legislature more authority over state spending; Proposition 119 to enact a new tax on marijuana to provide funding for outof-school learning; and Proposition 120, which would have cut property tax rates.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Construction hurts Lafayette businesses

Xcel’s ‘Lafayette Natural Gas Project’ is seriously impacting local businesses in Old Town that were already struggling to get by

by Will Brendza

WILL BRENDZA

T

he construction equipment, traffic cones, and yellow-vested workers directing traffic and operating machinery showed up suddenly, without warning, in spring of this year, says Bill Hopkins, co-owner of the Lafayette Flea Market. Traffic through downtown slowed and congested, as asphalt along Lafayette’s S. Public Road was torn up to replace a half mile of natural gas pipelines between Chester Street and South Boulder Road.

The project started in April of 2021 as part of Xcel’s commitment to “system revitalization” to provide “safe, reliable, natural gas services” to its customers, the utility says.

But it’s been over five months since construction on the project began, and the businesses along that

stretch of Public Road are feeling the sting. They’re suffering financially, and many say it’s a direct result of Xcel’s drawn out construction on Old Town Lafayette’s main drag.

“We don’t understand. We’ve talked to public services two or three or four times. We’ve talked to the city. The city says ‘it’s not our project,’ public services says ‘the city’s making requirements, that are making it go longer,’” Hopkins says.

“But what I’m seeing and what my customers are seeing is that they dig up the street, they put a pipe in, they fill it back in and a week later, they dig it back up. And they’re doing it again today.”

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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That observation was shared by several different business owners and employees who spoke about the issue. Employees at Senor Gomez, a Mexican restaurant on the block, also expressed confusion over the “open the hole, close the hole” procedure that has been ongoing outside for months now. On top of the pandemic, the construction parked right outside its dining patio has made an already-hard time nearly impossible to survive, they say.

“We have not had a full lunch rush in a long time,” one Senor Gomez employee says. “We’re not the business that we were. It’s been a while.”

Hopkins claims his bottom line at the Flea Market is down a full 6 percent since this construction started.

“They’re making it so unreasonably difficult to get through Old Town that I have customers that are leaving their phone number with me, telling me to call them when this is over and they’ll come back.”

On top of losing income, Hopkins says the construction has affected his business in other ways, too. It’s been a challenge getting into or out of his own parking lot; he’s had rude confrontations with some of the construction workers; and he’s had problems with the construction company, SiteWise, telling people to use his private parking lot when they’ve blocked others off.

“It’s very frustrating for all of the business owners in Old Town,” he says. “I’ve never seen a construction project run so poorly,” Zina Osborne, owner of Delicious Z’s on Public Road, writes in an email, “The businesses have had to deal with extreme construction noise . . . constant yelling and profanity from the crew, bathroom use, one-lane traffic, long blocked lanes surrounding the building and non-stop chaos.”

Employees at Senor Gomez

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were a little more understanding— but still just as confused as others.

“We’ve gotten to know [some of the construction workers] over the past few months. They’ll come in and get lunch, or get a coffee,” the employee says. “We get that they’re just doing their job . . . It’s just kind of one of those tough situations.”

The City of Lafayette contends that neither this project nor its duration should be a surprise for Public Road’s business owners.

Businesses were notified about the construction project ahead of its start, they’ve been updated as progress was made, and they were warned that it would go into early fall of 2021, according to Debbie Wilmont, the City of Lafayette’s communications director.

Hopkins, however, disagrees.

“Nothing. Never a word said to us,” he says. “We had no idea what was going on.”

Xcel did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this project.

Xcel’s Lafayette Natural Gas Project website includes a sign up for email updates on the project.

The most recent update reads, “Crews are preparing for final restoration, with an estimated completion date of early fall 2021.” And in a pamphlet distributed to some of the Public Road businesses, Xcel states that it plans on starting “final asphalt paving” the week of October 25 and will work through the week of November 1 to completion (though the pamphlet notes “schedules are subject to change”).

“Sure, like we believe them,” Osborne writes.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Hopkins says.

“They haven’t even started that [paving],” a Senor Gomez employee observes.

The City of Lafayette maintains its sympathy. In a statement provided to Boulder Weekly by Wilmont, the city says, “We recognize the frustration and inconvenience the Xcel gas line project has caused both residents and business owners.

We would like to thank everyone for your patience as Xcel wraps up their work on Public Road.”

13

Dildos and the flag flap

November’s First Friday Art Walk will commemorate one of Boulder’s strangest bits of history: El Dildo Bandito

by Caitlin Rockett

COURTESY OF JOEL HAERTLING

EL DILDO BANDITO Rides Again! Celebrating 20 Years of Art vs.

Outrage. 6-10 p.m.

Friday November 5, Mighty Fudge Studios, 4520 Broadway, Unit C, Boulder.

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he November First Friday at Mighty Fudge Studios in the NoBo Arts District is B.Y.O.D.: bring your own dildo.

In addition to customizing your phallus at a paint station, you’ll get the chance to hear speakers commemorate the 20th anniversary of one of Boulder’s strangest bits of history—El Dildo Bandito.

The hosts of the event, Patrick Mallek of Mighty Fudge and Joel Haertling of Open Storage, would be the first to tell you that calling the objects at the center of this story “dildos” is incorrect—flippant, even, considering the context in which they were made. The 21 ceramic sculptures of penises were part of an exhibit at the Boulder Public Library called Art Triumphs Over Domestic Violence, organized by the Boulder County Safehouse as part of Domestic Violence

Awareness Month. The art was created by victims of domestic violence or their family members, and featured paintings (some with nudity and graphic themes) in addition to the sculptures.

The exhibit opened on October 19, 2001, just a month after the September 11 attacks, and for weeks no one seemed to care that nearly two dozen ceramic penises were hanging from a clothesline in a window of the public library—until the “flag flap.”

In early November, the Daily Camera caught wind that the library’s director at the time, Marcalee Gralapp, had declined

an employee’s request in early October to hang a 15-foot-by-10-foot American flag in the main foyer of the library. (Gralapp rescinded approval to hang the flag, according to a memoir of the incident, Long May They Wave, by the employee who requested the flag, Christopher J. Power, but the minutiae of this story does indeed fill a book.) “[The flag] could compromise our objectivity,” Gralapp told the Camera. “We have people of every faith and culture walking into this building, and we want everybody to feel welcome.”

Letters poured into the Camera accusing Gralapp of being unpatriotic.

And it wasn’t long before conservative talk radio picked up on the fact that the library had seen fit to hang penis sculptures but not a flag. It’s hard to say for sure who inserted the phalli into the story, but Powers wrote in his memoir he believes it was the Denver-based Peter Boyles Show.

Perhaps this is where Bob Rowan got the notion to steal the dicks.

Rowan, a Boulder resident, stole them in the morning, during regular library hours, leaving empty the clothesline where the phalluses had hung, save for a sheet of paper: “El Dildo Bandito was here,” it read.

“God Bless America.”

The then-49-year-old contractor stole the sculptures because, as he told the Rocky Mountain News, “It’s not art, it’s garbage. I detest the fact they’re hanging there, number one, but the timing; it’s the wrong time to do something like this. And it should never belong in something I pay taxes for.”

Rowan certainly wasn’t alone in his thinking. Cries of “think of the children” came from people like Cindy Crockett, a resident of Centennial who wrote a letter to the Rocky Mountain News on November 15: “Imagine yourself teaching a newspaper unit with copies of the Rocky Mountain News for each student in a middle school classroom on the day when this kind of news is reported. Or taking a group of students to the BPL for a field trip. Or knowing your high school student is going there to do research.”

The burden of having to talk to chil-

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

dren—even those old enough to be having sex—about sex, bodies, or even violence was apparently more than many local parents could bear.

But back to Rowan. The police showed up at his house around 1:30 a.m. the day after he stole the sculptures, and by all accounts Rowan cooperated in giving the police the sculptures. He said he intended to mail them back to the artist, a then-senior at CU named Suzanne Walker, and never intended to harm the art. In interviews with Power for his memoir, Walker says that many of the sculptures were broken, and one was never returned.

For Mallek and Haertling, the incident is emblematic of the power of art, and this commemorative event on Friday has nothing to do with politics.

“I have no political horse in this game whatsoever,” Mallek says over rum and Cokes at T/Aco recently.

“I really don’t care . . . But I want to be an art force in the community.

Art, to me, is sacred. Everybody’s got to find their line in the sand, what they’re gonna die for, and art, to me, is that line. I will die for art. To me, art means more than anything . . . I’m not going to die for a flag or something like that; that’s great if you want to, but that’s not my thing. So for me, it’s about art needing to have a voice.

But also, if [Rowan] doesn’t steal [the sculptures], none of this ever happens, right? The exhibit goes up, it goes down, no one knowing, who cares,

right? The irony of that is so great.”

Haertling, who was employed by the library at the time of the incident, will be on hand with artifacts from the incident, and colorful stories from his eyewitness position at the library back in 2001. (He showed up at T/ Aco with a manilla folder an inch thick full of newspaper articles about the theft, as well as copies of Power’s book and photographs of the 2001 exhibit.)

Mallek and Haertling have known each other for 20 years as they’ve independently made subversive art around Boulder. Mallek sees this event as a way to lead the North Boulder Art District into a more provocative direction.

“Joel and I also feel that maybe it’s time for me and him to be in charge of this goddamn art community because no one else is doing it, right?” he asks rhetorically. “So it’s great if you’re gonna hang your paintings of sailboats in the doctor’s office—awesome. But let’s make some goddamn art here. Joel and I are trying to stir some shit up on the north side of town . . . We kind of want to plant our flag and say, guess what? You can have all your rich people move up here, but they’re gonna have to deal with some controversial bullshit in the meantime. We are going to take over North Boulder. You want to make an art district? Let’s make it a goddamn art district. This isn’t an art fair, so let’s actually do some goddamn art.”

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Colorado hits vaccination milestone as transmission rates spike to highest 2021 levels

BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF

O

Pearl Street Mall Crawl #Fail

T

he crowd started gathering at the 1100 block of Pearl street sometime around 9:30 p.m. It started with around 200 people, according to police.

But by 11:30 p.m. there were somewhere between 1,000-2,000 costumed Mall Crawlers pressed against one another, shoulder to shoulder, chanting, climbing lamp posts, cresting rooftops, jumping off balconies, and, apparently, smashing up outdoor heaters and patio furniture, damaging windows and doors of businesses.

The Halloween Mall Crawl unofficially returned to Pearl Street on Friday, October 29—reminding many why it’s been discouraged and disallowed in recent years.

“We understand the desire to go out and have a good time on a beautiful holiday weekend,” Deputy Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said in a statement.

“The police department supports safe, responsible gatherings. What occurred on Pearl Street last night, however, posed significant danger to participants, resulted in unacceptable damage to property and required extensive police resources to address.”

While there were no official organizers of the Mall Crawl this year, several Instagram pages—including @bouldermallcrawl, @barstoolbuffs, and @bouldercolorado—advertised the event in the days and hours leading up to it. The @bouldermallcrawl account also links to a website (bouldermallcrawl.com) promoting the 2021 return of this infamous Halloween celebration and listing event details.

“Meet outside Pearl St. Pub on the Mall. As the crowd grows it’ll spread up and down the mall from there” the Event Info page instructs, going on to note, “Be cool. We want this to be big and fun, and for it to keep happening, we need to treat the city proper like.”

Several businesses sustained property damage, but Japango was hit the hardest. Its outdoor patio furniture and heaters were left smashed to pieces in the wake of the event.

While Japango did not respond to a request for comment, Erin Banis, one of the restaurant’s owners, told 9News the next morning, “This isn’t how we want Boulder to be. This isn’t what we want this community to go through.”

No one applied for an event permit for Friday’s massive Mall Crawl, according to police. As of yet, it remains unclear who was behind the creation of the @bouldermallcrawl Instagram page, or the bouldermallcrawl.com website, which seems to have unofficially advertised and promoted this year’s massive mall crawl.

Through a series of posts that were then shared by @barstoolbuffs and @bouldercolorado, word spread quickly drawing the crowd of thousands to Pearl Street.

Redfearn said, “We will be using our investigative resources to demonstrate that there are consequences to destruction of property and other unlawful behaviors.”

n Tuesday, November 2, Governor Jared Polis updated the state on COVID-19 Cases, Boosters, and Monoclonal Antibody Treatment.

He was joined at the capitol by state epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy, and Incident Commander Scott Bookman to make the announcement.

“We hit an amazing accomplishment in the fight against COVID-19 yesterday by reaching 80 percent of adults vaccinated across Colorado with at least one dose of the lifesaving and free COVID-19 vaccine,” said Governor Polis. “But this milestone is nowhere near signaling that COVID-19 is over. Instead, Colorado is in the middle of record COVID-19 case transmission levels and close to record hospitalization rates largely coming from the unvaccinated minority in our state, who make up the vast majority of hospitalizations in all age groups. Currently, one out of every 51 Coloradans is infected with the virus. It’s critical now that every Coloradan takes advantage of every tool available to slow and stop the spread of COVID, with the most effective tool being the vaccine.”

Herlihy then gave an overview of the current hospitalization and COVID-19 case rates across Colorado.

“Over the last few days, we have seen an increase in hospitalizations across the state. As of today, we have 1,847 Coloradans hospitalized,” Herlihy said. “That is the highest number we have seen in Colorado this year.”

BLM moves forward selling Colorado public land to oil and gas companies

T

he U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management announced plans to continue to move forward with selling oil and gas leases on public lands in Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and in several eastern states. In total, the BLM is proposing to sell more than 730,000 acres of public land—over 1,000 square miles—to oil and gas companies.

The proposal comes just a week after the United Nations published a report warning the world that “Governments’ fossil fuel production plans dangerously out of sync with Paris limits.” This has prompted some activist groups like the WildEarth Guardians to threaten litigation.

“Frankly, we’re sick of going to court to defend the climate, but if President Biden continues to reject the law, the science, and the public, then we’ll have no choice,” Jeremy Nichols, climate and energy program director for WildEarth Guardians, said in a press release. “We hope the administration reconsiders these latest plans to sell public lands for fracking, but we will not hesitate to fight back to protect our planet and our future.”

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COURTESY OF KOE WETZEL

Evolution of a sellout

Koe Wetzel hones in on his signature blend of rock, country and hip-hop with first major-label release

by Alan Sculley

ON THE BILL: Koe

Wetzel. 8 p.m.

Thursday, November 18, Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street, Denver. Tickets: $40-$100.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

W

hen word got out last year that Koe Wetzel had signed a major-label deal with Columbia Records, fans let him know they were worried this would spell the end of Koe Wetzel’s sound as they’ve come to know and love it.

“Once we signed, it hurt a lot of people, I guess, just because they felt we weren’t going to keep making the same music,” Wetzel recalls in a recent phone interview. “So I just wanted to kind of tell them look, nothing’s going to change. We’re still going to be the same us. You’ve just kind of got to trust me on it.” leased album Sellout, and including a couple brief sketches joking about his music and the label’s devious plans for him.

That response was in character for Wetzel, who has some rebelliousness in his nature, an obvious sense of humor, and is not always politically correct with his songs or during his live shows.

This authenticity, he thinks, is part of what makes his concerts special for his fans and part of what has made him unusually successful as an independent artist, particularly in Texas, Oklahoma, and surrounding states. It’s quite common to see comments online post-consee BUZZ Page 20

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COURTESY OF KOE WETZEL

Hello Boulder!

All of us at Japango are excited to welcome you to dine with us this summer. Our four patios are the perfect place to enjoy all your Japango favorites or you can opt for a great indoor dining experience with enhanced cleaning protocols and our air filtration system to keep you safe. And if you want to order for curbside pick up or delivery, we can do that too. Hope to see you soon!

Daily 11am-10pm | 303 938 1136 | BoulderJapango.com JapangoRestaurant

JapangoBoulder

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

boulderweekly.com 20

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BUZZ from Page 19

cert from fans raving about Wetzel’s performances and even saying it was one of the best concerts they have seen.

“I think it’s just connecting with the crowd on a normal fucking level, just being personal with people and just not trying to be something we’re not,” he says. “Whenever we go out there, we’re doing pretty much anything we would do on a regular Saturday night or a Friday night. We want to have just as much fun as they do, so we’re partying and we’re acting up. We’re just doing it with instruments in our hands and we’re making music that people can relate to. Man, we want to be loud. If you want people to hear you, you’ve got to be loud. So we crank everything up pretty loud, and I don’t think it’s people leaving going, ‘Holy shit, that was a great show.’ It’s people going, ‘Holy shit, I can’t hear nothing.’”

Unfortunately, it’s been awhile since Wetzel’s fans have heard or seen much of this artist. Like virtually every other act over the past year-plus, Wetzel found himself sidelined from touring because of the pandemic. Only recently as spring was heading into summer did Wetzel and his band get back to touring.

Getting out on the road played a big role in Wetzel’s impressive growth in popularity as an independent artist. The native of Pittsburgh in east Texas began his music career after an ankle injury sidelined him from playing football at Tarleton State University. He subsequently dropped out of college to focus on music.

Within 18 months of playing concerts multiple nights a week around Texas and Oklahoma, his fan base had grown to where Wetzel’s shows were starting to sell out.

Noise Complaint, accelerated his momentum. Four songs from that album—“February 28, 2016,” “Something To Talk About,” “Fuss & Fight” and “Love”—generated tens of millions of Spotify streams each, as more fans were drawn to Wetzel’s brand of hard-hitting, grunge-ish rock with country twang l

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

and a touch of hip-hop thrown in for good measure.

A second album, Harold Saul High, followed in 2019 and gave Wetzel two more popular singles, “Ragweed” and “Forever.” By the time he signed with Columbia Records during last year’s pandemic, Wetzel had sold 200,000 units and amassed 500 million streams.

Despite that success, Wetzel felt he needed to be on a major label to further grow his career JODY DOMINGUE “I just think there’s (only) so much you can do as an independent artist all by yourself. So we wanted to broaden,” Wetzel says. “We didn’t want to be a band that was stuck in Texas or the U.S. We wanted to be with a label that was going to throw us out into the world. We had talked to a couple of different labels and Columbia just felt right.

They didn’t want to change anything we were doing. They didn’t have any crazy ideas.

They were really straight forward with us. We told them what we wanted to do and they were like, ‘Absolutely, let’s fucking do it.’”

Signing with Columbia wasn’t all Wetzel did during his pandemic down time. He also wrote and recorded Sellout, using his touring band in the studio. And Wetzel is right when he says the album has reassured fans that his musical style isn’t changing now that he’s a major-label artist.

Sellout has plenty of the kind of muscular rockers Wetzel’s fans have come to expect, with “Cold & Alone,” “Kuntry & Wistern” and “Sundy Or Mundy” bringing sturdy galloping “Lubbock” and the atmospheric ballad “Drunk Driving.” The wild card on the album is “SideChick,” a rather abstract, effects-laden ballad that doesn’t gel, but is an interesting departure for Wetzel.

Wetzel does feel that with Sellout he’s gotten closer to achieving the stylistic blend he’s been pursuing over the past half-dozen years.

“I think [the difference] was just the mixture, the heavy grunge guitars mixed with the country lyrics and the country twang and then the style of the beats, as far as trying to throw in a little hip-hop and just trying to actually blend all of those together and make that one sound,” he says. “I’d say we captured that a lot better on this album than we have on the other ones.”

“Harold Saul High, the album before Sellout, I think we were getting there,” he adds. “And this album, we really honed in on doing that and blending all of those sounds together and making it what we wanted it to be.”

Wetzel says he’s written a number of new songs since Sellout was recorded. But he’s resisting the temptation to get back in the studio and make a new album. Instead, he’s going to make sure Sellout gets its moment in the sun as he tours through November.

“We’re excited to get out,” he says. “We’ve been mixing in a bunch of our new songs on our new set—we always play the crowd favorites. But we’re trying to throw this new record in as much as we can.”

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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E VENTS

EVENTS

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

Celebrating Community: Art + Science + Action Partnerships

Historic Hover Home Public Tour 10 a.m. Thursday, November 4, Historic Hover Home, 1309 Hover Street, Longmont. Tickets: $12 per person, advance tickets required. Tour limited to 20, stvrainhistoricalsociety.com Tour the 6,000-square-foot Historic Hover Home (built in 1913-1914) with Hover Home Director Luella Lindquist and St. Vrain Historical Society Executive Director Alyce DeSantis. Learn about the Hover Family and their legacy in Longmont. Tour lasts approximately 90 minutes and does require some standing and stair climbing. Ticket fees support The St. Vrain Historical Society and Historic Hover Home.

The Great Big Challah Bake 6 p.m. Thursday, November 4, Boulder JCC, 6007 Oreg Avenue, Boulder. Tickets: $18—includes ingredients, boulderjcc.org

5 p.m. Thursday, November 4, Arbor Institute, 1708 13th Street, Boulder The six projects featured in this exhibition were created in partnership with local communities, the CU

If you are a weekly challah baker, or if you have never baked one before, please join and participate in one of these amazing, powerful, and inspiring programs. Join in-person at the Boulder JCC, or from your own kitchen, and bake along with others.

Engagement, and Boulder County Arts Alliance. The goal was to engage communities in exploring local environmental and social issues— from space junk to cultural and biological diversity. The projects focus on honoring science and art as equal realms of thought.

JustUs: Stories From the Frontlines of the Criminal Justice System Kyle Kinane

7 p.m. Friday, November 5, Boulder Theater, 2032 14th Street, Boulder.

Tickets: $29.50, axs.com Kyle Kinane is an stand-up comedian, actor and voice actor who has appeared on television programs such as Last Call with Carson Daly, Live at Gotham, Conan and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

He has opened for comedians Patton Oswalt and Daniel Tosh on tour. Kinane also runs his own podcast, along with fellow comedian Dave “Street Justice” Stone, called The Boogie Monster, where they wax poetic about ghosts and barbecue.

7:15 p.m. Thursday, November 4, Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road, Longmont. Tickets: $12-$18, motustheater.org Formerly incarcerated leaders tell artfully crafted autobiographical monologues that expose the devastating impact of the criminal legal system and inspire action toward a vision of true justice. Monologue themes include the criminalization of substance abusers, and the systemic racism and poverty that pushes young people into illicit economies. Performance features musical responses by jazz great Robert Johnson. Co-presented with the Longmont Community Justice Partnership and the Longmont Multicultural Action Committee.

Comedy at The Dairy Arts Center: Ryan Hamilton

A Guided Tour of Colorado Songs 7 p.m. Friday, November 5, Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway, Boulder, museumofboulder.org Join CU professor Laurie Sampsel for A Guided Tour of Colorado Songs as she explores Colorado’s negatives and positives using 20 songs in a variety of styles and genres, dating from the late 19th century to the present. From folk songs to rap, from country to rock, from opera to pop, this presentation offers something for everyone.

7 p.m. Friday, November 5, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut Street, Boulder. Tickets: $30, thedairy.org Happy Face, follows a wealth of television appearances and a non-stop headlining tour. Armed with the unique perspective of growing up in rural Idaho to become a favorite in the New York stand-up comedy scene, Hamilton is one-of-a-kind. He’s been named one of Rolling Stone’s Five Comics to Watch, and recent appearances include The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Conan, and opening spots for Jerry Seinfeld.

For more event listings, go online at boulderweekly.com/events 22

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

NATASHA MISTRY

Opening Reception: ‘Diptych’ by Keith Brenner and ‘Contemplation’ by Belgin Yucelen, Natasha Mistry, and Paul Brokering

Louisville During the Great War Walking Tour 10 a.m. Sunday, November 7, Kerr Community Gardens, 100 S. 96th Street, Louisville, bit.ly/31uIaih Join the Museum of Louisville and Open Space for a walking tour of the industries that shaped Louisville’s World War I culture and economy. Learn how the Louisville area. Join the City’s ranger naturalist and Louisville Historical Museum staff for a walking tour of traces from the industries that fueled Louisville’s

5:30 p.m. Friday, November 5, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut Street, Boulder, thedairy.org/contemplatation Join The Dairy Arts Center for the opening receptions of Diptych, featuring photographs by Keith Brenner, and Contemplation featuring works by Belgin Yucelen, Natasha Mistry, and Paul Brokering. In the McMahon Gallery, photographer Keith Brenner will be featuring 50 photographic works paired as diptychs. This is an interactive exhibit, and Brenner invites the viewer to interpret the works for themselves. Viewers will be tasked to write a description of how they interpret the photographs, which will later be shared on a Zoom call during the last week of the exhibition and included in a forthcoming book. In Contemplation, the artists’ works are tied together through themes of meditation, ing, the pieces in this exhibit invite viewers to dive into them and admire their

Let’s Bag Hunger Fund & Food Drive November 5-7, Community Food Share, 650 S. Taylor Avenue, Louisville.

Every fall, Community Food Share hosts the Let’s Bag Hunger Fund & Food Drive, founded by the Daily Camera. This event stocks the pantry shelves of Community Food Share’s 40-plus food pantries and counties to strengthen our local hunger-relief network and put an end to local hunger. Help meet the goal of raising 150,000 meals by November 7.

Boulder’s Story Slam: RACE 7 p.m. Sunday, November 7, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut Street, Boulder (and via Zoom Webinar). Tickets: $15 thedairy.org/event/boulderstory-slam-creating-space-for-race This month, Boulder’s Story Slam is doing it differently. Storytellers have been selected in advance, and were invited to participate in a seven-week workshop in which they dug for and developed personal narrative stories based on the theme of race. The stories have been developed through the lens of anti-racism work. Still a theme, still a time limit, just no judging.

‘Breaking on The Glass Cypher’: An MFA Dance Concert 7:30 p.m. November 5 and 6; 2 p.m.

November 7, Charlotte York Irey Theatre, 261 University of Colorado, Boulder. Tickets: $18, cupresents.org MFA candidate Nicky Shindler fuses contemcelebration of a woman’s authentic self. Through striking rhythms and provoking physicality, Breaking on The Glass Cypher vulnerability, and complexity.

Art + Eat: Local Exhibition and Farm-to-Table Dinner 4:30 p.m. Saturday, November 6 (with events through November 21), Yellow Barn Farm, 9417 N. Foothills Highway, Longmont.

Tickets: $80—ticket proceeds go directly to artists and chefs.

Curated by CU Art History titled Sun Soaked Horizons, presents a collection of paintings by Boulder-based emerging artist Ariana Hoch. This collection is centralized around color contrasting the warm neutral tones of Colorado with vibrant color palettes and thick lively ing between North Carolina, New Orleans, Central America, and Europe painting her experiences. Sun Soaked Horizons features her most recent landscape pieces, each painted outside in the sunshine on raw linen canvas. They explore feelings of vastness instilling a sense of peace and joy. To open this exhibition, in partnership with FoodBridge and Drylands Agroecology Research, the Yellow Barn Art Initiative is proud to host Burmese refugee-turned-chef Zin Zin, who will be using local farm-sourced ingredients to craft a traditional “village-style” Burmese meal. see EVENTS Page 24

Produced by The Dairy Arts Center, Walker and Piggott welcome everyone to join in person or via Zoom to listen to these powerful stories about how race has shaped the storytellers lives. A portion of the proceeds will go to a Black Lives Matter initiative (organization yet to be named).

For more event listings, go online at boulderweekly.com/events BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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E V EN T S

EVENTS from Page 23

CU Boulder Visiting Artist Lecture: Sama Alshaibi 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 9. Virtual Event URL: calendar.colorado.edu

EVENTS

Sama Alshaibi’s photographs and videos situate her own body as a site of performance in consideration of the social and gendered impacts of war and migration. Her work complicates the

Authors We Love: Amy Frykholm 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 10, Longmont Library, 409 Fourth Avenue, Longmont, bit.ly/3CFAJCz In this free event, Amy Frykholm will discuss her new book Wild Woman: A Footnote, the Desert, and My Quest for an Elusive Saint. In the dusty corner of a library, journalist Amy Frykholm discovers a footnote that leads her on a decades-long search for Mary of Egypt—runaway, prostitute, holy desert-dweller, saint, and archetypal wild woman. With a scholar’s eye and a mystic’s heart, Frykholm shares a look at an elusive into our own inner lives. A senior editor for The Christian Century, Frykholm appears frequently on television and radio programs as an expert in American religion. Copies of Wild Woman will be available for purchase and Frykholm will be available to sign copies after the talk.

and moving images. Alshaibi’s sculptural installations evoke the disappearance of the body and act as counter-memorials to war and forced exile. In 2021, Alshaibi was named a Guggenheim Fellow in photography. Sama Alshaibi received her MFA from CU Boulder in 2005. You can livestream this talk on CU Boulder’s Art & Art History YouTube channel.

Charles Pellerin: A New Physics in Our Lifetime?

7:30 p.m. Monday, November 8, Chautauqua Community House, 900 Baseline Road, Boulder. Tickets: $15, chautauqua.com While we have a deep understanding of physics here on earth, central role of experiments in advancing science. Then, examine physics” using telescopes in space that span the electromagnetic spectrum. Spoiler alert: It has not succeeded, yet!

‘The Alpinist’ hosted by the Boulder Environmental Nature Outdoors Film Festival 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 9, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut Street, Boulder.

Tickets: $15, thedairy.org/event/the-alpinist Marc-André Leclerc climbs alone, far from the limelight. On remote alpine faces, the free-spirited 23-year-old Canadian makes some of the boldest solo ascents in history. Yet he draws scant attention. With no cameras, no rope, and no margin for error, Leclerc’s approach is the essence of solo adventure. Nomadic and publicity shy, he doesn’t own a phone or car, and Peter Mortimer (The Dawn Wall) sets out to keep up with his elusive subject. Then, Leclerc embarks on an historic adventure in in solo climbing.

EVENTS

COURTESY BOY PABLO

CONCERTS

Thursday, November 4

Scott Dale. 5 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free.

Den Plays with Strangers. 6 p.m. Bootstrap Brewing Company, 142 Pratt Street, Longmont. Free.

DEADMAU5 with Lamorn Lights. 6:30 p.m. Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 West Alameda Parkway, Morrison. Tickets: $70-$89.95.

Band of Horses with Miya Folick. 7 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street, Denver. Tickets: $38.50-$75.

Sturtz and The River Arkansas. 7:30 p.m. Chautauqua Community House, 900 Baseline Road, Boulder. Tickets: $25.

Friday, November 5

The Who Do’s. 6 p.m. Bootstrap Brewing Company, 142 Pratt Street, Longmont. Free.

Foggy Tops Bluegrass Band. 6 p.m. Großen Bart Brewery, 1025 Delaware Avenue, Longmont. Free.

JD Cordle and Ellen Rice. 6 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free.

DEADMAU5 with Lamorn. 6:30 p.m. Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 West Alameda Parkway, Morrison. Tickets: $70-$89.95.

Beats Antique with Desert Dwellers, Bluetech, and Edamame. 7

p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street, Denver. Tickets: $35-$60.

Ana Popovic. 7 p.m. Dickens Opera House, 300 Main Street, Longmont. Tickets: $33.

Los Chicos Malos. 7 p.m. Caffè Sole, 637 S. Broadway, Boulder.

Suggested $15 cover.

7:30 p.m. Chautauqua Community House, 900 Baseline Road Boulder. Tickets: $25.

Seicento Baroque Ensemble presents An Italian Intermezzo. 7:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1421 Spruce St, Boulder. In-person and virtual options. Tickets: $10-$25.

Lawrence. 9 p.m. The Fox Theatre, 1135 13th Street, Boulder.

Tickets: $18-$20.

see CONCERTS Page 26

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

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NOVEMBER 4, 2021

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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CONCERTS from Page 24 COURTESY OF SIERRA HULL

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Saturday, November 6

Tumbledown Shack. 6 p.m. Bootstrap Brewing Company, 142 Pratt Street, Longmont. Free.

Jazz Guitar with Jason Greenlaw. 6 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free.

Twiddle with Dopapod. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street, Denver. Tickets: $33.50-$55.

Emily Takahashi album release party. 7 p.m. Caffè Sole, 637 S. Broadway, Boulder. Suggested $15 cover.

Full Belly. 8 p.m. The Louisville Underground, 640 Main Street, Louisville. Tickets: $15-$80.

Boy Pablo with Sofía Valdés. 9 p.m. The Fox Theatre, 1135 13th Street, Boulder. Tickets: $20-$25.

Boombox Cartel. 9:30 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th Street, Boulder. Tickets: $25-$32.

EVENTS

WED. NOV 17

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Sunday, November 7

Amanda Schwaniger. 4 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free.

Dr. Dog. 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th Street, Boulder. Tickets: $27.50$30.

Whiskey Myers with 49 Winchester. 7 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street, Denver. Tickets: $35-$79.95.

Sierra Hull with Dead Horses. 7 p.m.

The Fox Theatre, 1135 13th Street, Boulder. Tickets: $20-$25.

Monday, November 8

Porter Robinson with Jai Wolf, James Ivy. 7 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street, Denver. Tickets: $55-$99.

Tuesday, November 9

Porter Robinson with Jai Wolf, James Ivy. 7 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street, Denver. Tickets: $55-$99.

Aletheia Rising. 7:30 p.m. Unity of Boulder Spiritual Center, 2855 Folsom Street, Boulder. Tickets: $12.

Wednesday, November 10

Jack Harlow with Babyface Ray, Mavi. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street, Denver. Tickets: $29.50-$69.50 Booka Shade. 9 p.m. The Fox Theatre, 1135 13th Street, Boulder. Tickets: $20$25.

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

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W

hat I’m trying to do is theorize a way to create a brand new Black cinema,” Skinner Myers says. “Like a new Black cinematic language that does not adhere to anything that’s Eurocentric or Hollywood.”

The Sleeping Negro Rebellion, Third World Cinema, and Slow Cinema—particularly, as the header image shows, Andrei Tarkovsky—but they are jumping off points; acknowledgment of the voices that came before, and a chance to begin again. people and their culture,” Myers continues, citing Djibril Diop Mambéty and Haile Gerima, “but, what tion or ways to make money or to

‘THE SLEEPING NEGRO’ COURTESY OF FILM HAVEN ENTERTAINMENT

nite that path and start where they left off—from a theoretical aspect. perspective, people who come way after me maybe will have a groundwork on how to build upon this theory.”

Myers is having a heck of a year. This summer, the 41-year-

Beyond Eurocentric and Hollywood cinema

Three to see for the Denver Film Festival’s first weekend

by Michael J. Casey ON THE BILL: The 44th Denver Film Festival, November 3-14, multiple venues and online. Informa-

photographer, and professor relocated to the Centennial State and joined CU-Boulder’s Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts department. Back in January, The Sleeping Negro debuted at the Slamdance Film Festival and caught the attention of programmers around the world. It was picked up for distribution, played First Person Cinema in October, and before The Sleeping Negro hits theaters in December, it’ll screen at the Denver Film Festival on November 6 and 7 at the newly built AMC 9 + CO 10.

The Sleeping Negro is one of nine features playing DFF’s Colorado Spotlight sidebar. Some of the entries are from local artists. Some, like Jamie Boyle’s Anonymous Sister (Nov. 12 and 13), tackle local issues. Originally from Golden, Boyle’s doc is a portrait of two family members falling into opioid use disorder and coming out the other side.

More from Boyle and Anonymous Sister in next week’s paper, but grab your tickets now at denverplus features and shorts, narratives and documentaries, music videos and virtual reality experiences screening now until Nov. 14. Some are big titles with big names attached to them; others are small gems that remind you of the power of leaving your home and seeing something on the big screen.

Take Memoria a wandering Scottish woman encountering strangers on her way to clarity. Why is it a must-see? Because Neon, Memoria’s distributor, has announced that Memoria will only play theaters—never home video or streaming. Talk about staking your claim on the theatrical experience.

Ballad of a White Cow (Nov. 7 and 14), from Iranian directors Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghadam, is another best seen in a theater because this is a story you’ll want to be held by. In a way, Ballad is similar to The Sleeping Negro as it’s a movie based in theory, executed in dramatics.

Here, the story revolves around Mina (Moghadam), a woman whose husband is sentenced to death.

Justice is swift, too swift. A year later, another man admits to the crime Mina’s husband died for, and the police department must pay Mina blood money for their error. Money Mina’s father-in-law wants, so he sues Mina for custody of her daughter. If it weren’t for Reza (Alireza Sani Far), Mina wouldn’t have anyone to talk to. But Reza is hiding something from Mina, something that could shatter everything.

Ballad of a White Cow’s power is in its structure. It doesn’t unfold like a typical Hollywood story, seeing it in a theater free of distractions.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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BY ROB BREZSNY ARIES

LIBRA

MARCH 21-APRIL 19: Are you still hoping to heal from psy-

chological wounds that you rarely speak about? May I suggest that you consider speaking about them in the coming weeks? Not to just anyone and everyone, of course, but rather to allies who might be able to help you generate at least a partial remedy. The moment is ripe, in my opinion. Now is a favorable time for you to become actively involved in seeking cures, fixes, and solace. Life will be more responsive than usual to such efforts.

SEPT. 23-OCT. 22: According to an Apache proverb, “It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand.” If you act on that counsel in the coming weeks, you will succeed in doing what needs to be done. There is only one potential downfall you could be susceptible to, in my view, and that is talking and thinking too much about the matter you want to accomplish before you actually take action to accomplish it. All the power you need will arise as you resolutely wield the lightning in your hands.

TAURUS

SCORPIO

APRIL 20-MAY 20: “The delights of self-discovery are

always available,” writes author Gail Sheehy. I will add that those delights will be extra accessible for you in the coming weeks. In my view, you’re in a phase of super-learning about yourself. You will attract help and support if you passionately explore mysteries and riddles that have eluded your understanding. Have fun surprising and entertaining yourself, Taurus. Make it your goal to catch a new glimpse of your hidden depths every day.

GEMINI

MAY 21-JUNE 20: Gemini novelist and philosopher Muriel

Barbery says, “I find this a fascinating phenomenon: the ability we have to manipulate ourselves so that the foundation of our beliefs is never shaken.” In the coming weeks, I hope you will overcome any tendency you might have to manipulate yourself in such a way.

In my view, it’s crucial for your mental and spiritual health that you at least question your belief system‚ and perhaps even risk shaking its foundation. Don’t worry: Even if doing so ushers in a period of uncertainty, you’ll be much stronger for it in the long run. More robust and complete beliefs will be available for you to embrace.

CANCER

JUNE 21-JULY 22: In her book Mathilda, novelist Mary Shelley (1797-1851) has the main character ask, “What had I to love?” And the answer? “Oh, many things: there was the moonshine, and the bright stars; the breezes and the refreshing rains; there was the whole earth and the sky that covers it.” I bring this to your attention in the hope of inspiring you to make your own tally of all the wonders you love. I trust your inventory will be at least ten times as long as Mathilda’s. Now is a favorable time for you to gather all the healing that can come from feeling waves of gratitude, even adoration, for the people, animals, experiences, situations, and places that rouse your interest and affection and devotion.

LEO

JULY 23-AUG. 22: Our memories are always changing.

OCT. 23-NOV. 21: To encourage young people to come to its shows, the English National Opera has offered a lot of cheap tickets. Here’s another incentive: Actors sing in English, not Italian or French or German. Maybe most enticing for audiences is that they are encouraged to boo the villains. The intention is to make attendees feel relaxed and free to express themselves. I’m pleased to give you Scorpios permission to boo the bad guys in your life during the coming weeks. In fact, I will love it if you are extra eloquent and energetic about articulating all your true feelings. In my view, now is prime time for you to show the world exactly who you are.

SAGITTARIUS

NOV. 22-DEC. 21: “If we’re not careful, we are apt to grant ultimate value to something we’ve just made up in our heads,” said Zen priest Kosho Uchiyama. In my view, that’s a problem all of us should always be alert for. As I survey my own past, I’m embarrassed and amused as I remember the countless times I committed this faux pas.

For instance, during one eight-month period, I inexplicably devoted myself to courting a woman who had zero interest in a romantic relationship with me. I bring this to your attention, Sagittarius, because I’m concerned that right now, you’re more susceptible than usual to making this mistake. But since I’ve warned you, maybe you’ll avoid it.

I hope so!

DEC. 22-JAN. 19: Capricorn author Asha Sanaker writes, “There is a running joke about us Capricorns that we age backwards. Having been born as burdened, cranky old people, we become lighter and more joyful as we age because we have gained so much practice in wielding responsibility. And in this way we learn, over time, about what are our proper burdens to carry and what are not.

We develop clear boundaries around how to hold our obligations with grace.” Sanaker’s thoughts will serve as an excellent meditation for you in the coming weeks. You’re in a phase when you can make dramatic progress in embodying the skills she articulates.

AQUARIUS

VIRGO

FEB. 19-MARCH 20: You have at your disposal a prodigiously

the first American to orbit the Earth in a spacecraft.

His flight marked the first time that NASA, the agency in charge of spaceflight, had ever used electronic computers. Glenn, who was also an engineer, wanted the very best person to verify the calculations, and that was Virgo mathematician Katherine Johnson. In fact, Glenn said he wouldn’t fly without her involvement. I bring this to your attention, Virgo, because I believe the coming months will be a favorable time for you to garner the kind of respect and recognition that Katherine Johnson got from John Glenn. Make sure everyone who needs to know does indeed know about your aptitudes and skills.

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CAPRICORN

Whenever we call up a specific remembrance, it’s different from the last time we visited that same remembrance‚ colored by all the new memories we have accumulated in the meantime. Over time, an event we recall from when we were nine years old has gone through a great deal of shape-shifting in our memory so much so that it may have little resemblance to the first time we remembered it. Is this a thing to be mourned or celebrated? Maybe some of both. Right now, though, it’s to be celebrated. You have extra power to declare your independence from any memories that don’t make you feel good. Why hold onto them if you can’t even be sure they’re accurate?

AUG. 23-SEPT. 22: In 1962, astronaut John Glenn became

Save on local dining, entertainment, retail and wellness.

JAN. 20-FEB. 18: As author Denise Linn reminded us, “The

way you treat yourself sends a very clear message to others about how they should treat you.” With that advice as your inspiration, I will ask you to deepen your devotion to self-care in the coming weeks. I will encourage you to shower yourself with more tenderness and generosity than you have ever done in your life. I will also urge you to make sure these efforts are apparent to everyone in your life. I am hoping for you to accomplish a permanent upgrade in your love for yourself, which should lead to a similar upgrade in the kindness you receive from others.

PISCES

potent creative tool: your imagination. If there’s a specific experience or object you want to bring into your world, the first thing you do is visualize it. The practical actions you take to live the life you want to live always refer back to the scenes in your mind’s eye. And so every goal you fulfill, every quest you carry out, every liberation you achieve, begins as an inner vision. Your imagination is the engine of your destiny. It’s the catalyst with which you design your future. I bring these ideas to your attention, dear Pisces, because November is Celebrate Your Imagination Month.

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SUSAN FRANCE

Where the dumplings roam

Boulder is a bastion of diverse dough-wrapped pleasures, from momo and gyoza to gnocchi

BY JOHN LEHNDORFF

W

ithout exaggeration I can honestly say I’ve never met a dumpling I didn’t like, whether potstickers, pierogi, pelmeni, or chicken with dumplings. It pays to be open-minded when it comes to this epitome of warmth and soothing comfort.

Knowing my taste, a reader kindly let me know about a new, bright red food cart on the Downtown Mall dishing hot momo.

Chiri’s Momo Delights is set up next to the Boulder information kiosk in front of the courthouse lawn. Sanjay Nazir greets the curious lunch and early dinner crowd while Chiri Maharjan mans the window to dish their simple but winning menu of steamed chicken, vegetable, or beef momo.

Momo are the beloved steamed dumplings from Tibet and Nepal. The duo makes them fresh in a local commercial kitchen.

Chiri, who grew up in Kathmandu, and Sanjay—born in Kashmir—became friends when they started working at nearby downtown shops. According to Sanjay, every time they cooked the favorite foods from their homelands, family and friends raved and urged them to feed the public. They grabbed a cart spot on the Mall and opened three months ago.

You can taste the herbs, masala spices, onions, scallions, and minced meats in Chiri’s steaming, wheat-dough-wrapped bundles. Their orange chutney is set at medium, heat-wise.

There was a time when Boulder was a virtual dumpling desert. Now there are dozens of eateries serving dumplings within a few blocks and miles of this cart. More momo are served nearby at Sherpa Restaurant and Tibet Kitchen. There are pan-fried

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ABOVE: Chiri Maharjan serves up steamed chicken, veggie, and beef momo from his cart on the Pearl Street mall.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

potstickers available at Zoe Ma Ma and Supermoon, translucent shumai at Izakaya Amu and Osaka’s Restaurant, and sip-able xiao long bao soup dumplings at Flower Pepper Restaurant.

What is and isn’t a dumpling is a subject that foodies love to debate. It’s doughy welcome the oak-roasted potato gnocchi at OAK at Fourteenth, the Italian potato gnocchi at Il Pastaio, the Czech-style gnocchi and Austrian-style spaetzle at Bohemian Biergarten. It embraces the matzo balls in the chicken soup at Rye Society in the Avanti food hall. What about all the spots—Italian and otherwise—dishing cheese, meat, and Meanwhile, Longmont’s Shinkyu-No: Dumpling Delivery service will drop off organic spinach, tofu, and water chestnut-crammed Japanese steamed dumplings at your house.

mante at the House of Bread. and drinks on the eastern end of the 1300 block opposite the famous Rocky Mountain Records. In the late 1970s, that Boulder info kiosk was occupied by Mountain High Ice Cream, makers of a fantastic blueberry ice cream.

SUSAN FRANCE

Local food news

It looks like outdoor din-

Boulder’s restaurant experience this winter and beyond.

Boulder County Public Health issued a Public Health Advisory because COVID cases and hospitalizations are rapidly increasing, putting a strain on ICU capacity. to “move private gatherings outdoors” and wear a mask in crowded outdoor spaces.

Bagel, a new shop featuring scratch-made New York-style bagels, has opened at 95 E. First Street in Nederland . . .

A land-use change approved by the Boulder City CounPIRIPI OWNER cil paves the way for restaurants to operate in Boulder’s HUGO MEYER showcasing a dish Valmont City Park, Flatirons Golf Course and at the Boulder from his establishReservoir where controversy erupted after neighbors ment, which BW complained about its new Driftwind eatery. If you can eat and readers dubbed drink in the sacred Rocky Mountain National Park, it seems best new restaurant reasonable to allow foodservice for visitors and guests at in Erie in the 2021 Boulder’s largest parks . . . Bookcliff Vineyards has released Best of East Boulder its 2021 Boulder Star Bordeaux blend wine. A portion of County awards. the proceeds helps maintain the star, set to be lit again on Flagstaff Mountain on November 11. Bottles are available at the winery’s Boulder tasting room . . . Boulder Weekly readers named Piripi in Erie as the Best New Restaurant in the fresh 2021 Best of East Boulder County awards. Find out which eateries, bakeries, and bars also earned kudos at boulderweekly.com.

Words to chew on

“And we eat until our souls rise up sighing and the most hidden virtues of our wretched humanity are renewed as that blessed soup seeps into our bones.”—Isabel Allende John Lehndorff is the food editor of Boulder Weekly. He hosts Radio Nibbles at 8:20 a.m. Thursdays on KGNU (streaming at kgnu.org).

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You know what you should do?

You should homebrew!

November 6 is Learn to Homebrew Day

by Michael J. Casey

T

hanks to a bureaucratic oversight during the repeal of Prohibition, homebrewing remained illegal in the U.S. until 1978. Many practiced and taught the hobby—notably Boulder County resident Charlie Papazian—despite the illegalities, but all that changed on Oct. 14, 1978, thanks to President Jimmy Carter’s signature on H.R. 1337. From a federal standpoint, homebrewing was once again legal like the brew gods intended. Two months later, Papazian and friend Charlie Zymurgy, the journal of the American Homebrewers Association (AHA).

What happened next is the story of the craft beer revolution: Dedicated homebrewers shared their craft with others. Those others got hooked on homebrew, went pro, and created an industry. “Well over 90 percent of the craft breweries in America were started by homebrewers,” Papazian wrote in the introduction to the fourth edition of The Complete Joy of Homebrewing.

Twenty-one years after the AHA’s inception, the association partnered with the Home Wine and Beer Trade Association to celebrate Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day—later rechristened Learn to Homebrew Day.

Day continues the spirit of sharing that has become a hallmark of the community. And not just, you try my beer, and I’ll try yours, but sharing observations, techniques, and tricks over a couple of pints of homebrew. Coming together and sharing is something we’ve consciously stepped away from for health reasons, but it’s high time to think about reconnecting with friends and family over homebrew. Besides, we hear the weather’s going to be gorgeous this Saturday. isn’t and invite them over. Are you a wannabe homebrewer? Well, you’re in luck. According to homebrewersassociation.org, participants across 13 countries and all 6. There’s a pretty good chance someone in your social circle will be joining the festivities. And homebrewers aren’t shy about their hobby. Chances are, if they’ve

invited you over for homebrew in the past, they’ll love to have you over for homebrew again.

Next steps

So Saturday’s brew hooked

to learn how to cook, you go and pick up a cookbook. And anyone who wants to brew pretty much starts with Papazian’s The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. First published in 1984, Papazian’s introduction and guide to the fun of homebrewing has sold more than a million copies and probably inspired your favorite brewery down the street. It’s a must for anyone interested in beer. And while you’re out shopping for books, you might as well snag a copy of John Palmer’s How to Brew: Everything You Need to Know to Brew Great Beer Every Time, and The Secrets of Master Brewers by Jeff Alworth. Alworth’s book is better suited for the intermediate homebrewer, but if you’ve ever wanted to know how to make those iconic ales and lagers you’ve been drinking all your life, this is

Recipes

Speaking of, one of the joys of the brewing community is the accessibility of the information. Zymurgy regularly publishes recipes for how to recreate your favorite beers at home. For this year’s Learn to Homebrew Day, they have published two to start with: Fuil Croi Irish Red Ale, an all-grain recipe from Palmer’s book, and Lucky 13 Dark Mild, an extract recipe provided by Laurie Ann Gutierrez, co-host of the Brew’d Up podcast and member of the SoCal Cerveceros.

Gear up

Homebrewing can be as straightforward or as complicated as you want it to be. Either way, swing by Boulder Fermentation Supply or Longmont’s Bald Brewer Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies. Both have kits and ingredients for just about every level of involvement and budget.

Now what?

Brew like crazy. Share your beer with friends, show them how you made it, and take requests. Hone your homebrew club. Make friends. Experiment. Maybe someday, you’ll even start a brewery. Maybe you’ll introduce a friend to homebrewing, and they’ll start a brewery. Or noon relaxing with homebrew watching the wort boil.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

COURTESY PASTAFICIO

bY JOHN LEHNDORFF

TASTE OF THE WEEK:

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least not with you),

BY DAN SAVAGE Dear Dan: I want to correct you on something you’ve said repeatedly: a man can “hide” his bisexual orientation.

I disagree. I felt my boyfriend was gay or

your clit if you gave (and probably not even then), why waste nine months on him? You could’ve

suspected it wasn’t you (or your kind) that he wanted to have sex with. it was so obvious! He sucked at sex, he And the record, FAVE, anyone can hide never initiated, and he was clueless about their sexual orientation, not just female anatomy! I was ROMAN ROBINSON bi men. But many bisexuals forced to hunt for proof, don’t come out because they which I discovered after fear being mercilessly outed by nine months. Then I merciangry, bitter, vindictive partners. lessly outed him to friends, Again, I don’t have much symhumiliated him to his face, pathy for closeted gay men who lie to and mislead women. But if your ex-boyfriend was bi, not on a gay hookup app. I engay, and you two hadn’t made joyed every wicked minute a monogamous commitment to exposing his lies and telling each other, he had every right everyone the truth because to fuck other people—including he used and exploited me other people with penises. in a fake relationship. I was Dear Dan: I have a wrong about a couple of things. First, I question for you about pubic hair. I’m thought if I asked him if he was gay, he a straight female in my 40s and began would confess and come clean with me. dating someone new recently. We’ve Wrong, he never did. Second, if he was only been dating for about a month and gay, he wouldn’t hide that fact because this person keeps making requests that I shave or trim my pubic hair. I haven’t I am a fag hag but only because I like known this person long enough to feel feeling superior and enjoy what I get out comfortable making changes to my body on their account. Am I unusual in this not interested in fruit juice. area? Is it standard practice now to get —Furious And Vengeful Ex rid of pubic hair? I honestly couldn’t care less about my partners’ hair, so long as Dear FAVE: You are a terrible person, they’re hygienic. This email may be borI don’t want you reading my column, and I ing, but I was curious about your thoughts hope your gay friends come to see you for on this topic. the toxic person you are and cut you out of —Lover Interrogates My Pubes their lives—unless they’re just as awful as you are, in which case they deserve you.

Dear LIMP: Some people get rid of To be clear, FAVE, what your ex did was their pubic hair to please themselves, wrong. I have always taken a dim view of closeted gay men who date straight women LIMP, and some people get rid of their pubic hair to please their partners. You’re to throw people off the scent of cock on not obligated to shave just because their lips (assuming your ex was gay and not bi). But if this dude sucked at sex (when the man you’re dating asked you to, LIMP, but unless he’s pressuring you or he had it with you), never initiated sex (at

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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pouting about it, I don’t think he’s being an asshole. If he asked nicely and you said no and he dropped it, LIMP, that means your new boyfriend can take “no” for an answer and isn’t that a nice thing to know about him? That said, I don’t think trimming your pubic hair to please even a new partner amounts to “changing your body.” It’s not like getting a tattoo or removing a limb—if you don’t like how a trim looks or feels, LIMP, you can stop trimming and, in a few weeks, your natural habitat will be fully restored.

Dear Dan: I’m a woman in a committed relationship with a man and we’ve just for me to change his diapers. I want to show him I’m willing to clean him and take care of him too, but I feel like subs aren’t really supposed to take on those roles. And to be a good sub, I really want to know my place. I trust your opinion on these things.

—Pensively Approaching Diapered Dom Dear PADD: change your boyfriend’s diapers, PADD, but you’re going to have to check with him. Not all “Adult Baby/Diaper Lover” play involves power exchange, but when people combine ABDL with D/s, it’s typically the sub who wears the diapers (and has them changed) and the Dom who does the diapering and changing. But if your Dom is into wearing diapers, PADD, he’s already blurring those boundaries—so, I don’t see why you can’t at least offer to change his. If having his diapers changed by his sub would make him feel less dominant, he can continue to change his own damn diapers.

Dear Dan: I’m a single cis woman in my mid-40s. I’ve never wanted kids, but I did think at some point I’d get married or have a long-term partnership. That hasn’t my life, I make good money, I own my own home, and I love and appreciate all of the great things that come with being

NOVEMBER 4, 2021

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I want, and—let’s be honest—farting at home whenever I gosh darn need to.) I have a lot of dear friends who are married, and they are family. I accept that I may be single (but not alone!) for the rest down to this: I need physical intimacy. I’m okay with my life, but I’m not okay never having a sexual partner again. I really, really, really like sex. I want to be with a person I know well enough to get com-

don’t exactly have all the boys coming to —She Isn’t Necessarily Getting Laid, Eh? Dear SINGLE: Online meetups feel They’re chance encounters, like striking up a conversation with a stranger in a bar, and like most chance encounters, they typically go nowhere. Occasionally an online meet-up is scary in the dude-gives-off-serialkiller-vibe sense, but most are scary in the making-yourself-vulnerable-and-risking-rejection sense—and there’s no avoiding that kind of scary, SINGLE, only building up your tolerance for it. controversially . . . if you’re content with your life as it is, and if you value being able to fart whenever you need to, there are married men out there who aren’t getting any at home, SINGLE, and not all of them are assholes. Some are marriages who’ve decided to stay married for loving, decent reasons. An ongoing connection with a loving, decent woman who doesn’t want more than they can give could obviously make one of these guys very happy, SINGLE, and it might make you a little happier too.

Send questions to mail@savagelove.net, visit savage.love.

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The natural way to grow

Cassandra Maffey’s Scalable Living Soil Cultivation feeds plants the way nature intended—and the results speak for themselves

by Will Brendza

Maffey is the

she was 18 years old, and got her

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to identify what they need and when they need it,” Maffey

they’ll need.”

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