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news:

Exxon 1’s successful push to add three climate-conscious directors to the oil giant’s board is only the beginning

by Kat McGowan, Grist

adventure:

The decade-long journey to Thumb and Needle Spires

by Carly Herbert

buzz:

On the heels of two Grammy wins, Peter Kater reassess what’s important on his new album

by Caitlin Rockett

15 19 23

events:

Events, music, art, theater and more to do when there’s ‘nothing’ to do...

by Boulder Weekly staff

nibbles:

A mother and daughter infuse soul and some Latin flavors into Boulder’s reviving dining scene

by John Lehndorff

32 38

weed between the lines:

Is it time to reassess the Olympics’ cannabis policy?

by Will Brendza

departments 5 6 8 13 28 29 30 31 35 37

Writers on the Range: As Lake Powell dwindles, wonders open up Guest Column: Toward a slaughter-free America Letters: Signed, sealed, delivered, your views News: Draft CU-South annexation released, affordable housing and more Words: ‘Yours for the Taking’ by Chloe Chinchilla Astrology: by Rob Brezsny Film: Two new movie-loving books for summer reading Savage Love: Emotional Arsonists Beer: Brian Lutz on brewing Belgian-style beers in Boulder Taste of the Week: Pho @ Pho Mi

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Publisher, Fran Zankowski Circulation Manager, Cal Winn EDITORIAL Senior Editor, Angela K. Evans Arts and Culture Editor, Caitlin Rockett Food Editor, John Lehndorff Editorial Intern, Carly Herbert Contributing Writers, Peter Alexander, Dave Anderson, Emma Athena, Will Brendza, Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Sarah Haas, Jim Hightower, Dave Kirby, John Lehndorff, Rico Moore, Amanda Moutinho, Katie Rhodes, Leland Rucker, Dan Savage, Alan Sculley, Ryan Syrek, Christi Turner, Betsy Welch, Tom Winter, Gary Zeidner SALES AND MARKETING Market Development Manager, Kellie Robinson Account Executives, Matthew Fischer, Sami Wainscott 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 Cover, Susan France July 15, 2021 Volume XXVIII, Number 48 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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Boulder Weekly welcomes your correspondence via email (letters@ boulderweekly.com) or the comments section of our website at www.boulderweekly.com. Preference will be given to short letters (under 300 words) that deal with recent stories or local issues, and letters may be edited for style, length and libel. Letters should include your name, address and telephone number for verification. We do not publish anonymous letters or those signed with pseudonyms. Letters become the property of Boulder Weekly and will be published on our website.

As Lake Powell dwindles, wonders open up

by Tim Treuer

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n May 9, protected by neoprene, I bobbed around in a flooded canyon in Utah’s Lake Powell. The reservoir had fallen below 35% full, which gave me the unique opportunity to free-dive through an underwater bridge that was now suddenly within reach.

I eyed the 100 feet of sheer sandstone rising out of the water. For much of the past half-century, boats that entered upper Fiftymile Canyon in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area could blithely float over Gregory Natural Bridge with about 40 feet of clearance.

Not anymore. Two decades of drought had diminished the lake, and motorized river traffic could no longer float overtop.

Now, however, a new passageway to Fiftymile’s inner sanctum was possible. That gave me a chance to become (possibly) the first person to pass under Gregory Natural Bridge since the archway was drowned 52 years ago.

Doing so would require swimming underwater while

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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holding my breath, something I’d practiced over a decade and a half of visiting coral reefs. I’m far from a professional free diver, but I have been known to spend a minute or two communing with croaking toadfish 50 feet beneath the waves.

I filled my lungs one last time and plunged down, scissor-kicking my way into the bracing, turbid water.

I’d spent the previous week with 11 other Alaskans in southeastern Utah, negotiating the rapids of the Escalante River, an underappreciated gem that used to join the Colorado River but now feeds into Lake Powell. The Escalante has traditionally been considered navigable only during its spring flood. But word had trickled out that pack-rafts and patience could get you down the last 40 miles of it before it reached Lake Powell, even during low flows.

Upriver in the town of Escalante, a water gauge gave a reading of just half a cubic foot per second for much of our journey, which began at Fence Canyon, 40 miles down the river. Only the cumulative output of spring-fed side canyons kept us moving.

When we arrived at Lake Powell’s “full pool line,” where the reservoir used to start when Glen Canyon Dam was at capacity, we were in for a shock. It would have been impossible to guess see WRITERS ON THE RANGE Page 6

JULY 15, 2021

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BRETT FRAZER

Toward a slaughter-free America

by Jon Hochschartner

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remember my first chicken harvest, land, fresh water, and greenhouse gas as it was euphemistically called. It emissions required to produce it are was 1999 and I was 12. In a video a tiny fraction of those necessary to of the event, you can see me in my raise animals. Meanwhile, there is no denim work jacket, gripping my runoff of agricultural waste into rivers neck in vicarious horror. There was a and oceans, since cultured meat is performative aspect to my reaction. produced in a closed system.

But despite this, the slaughter was the The public-health benefits of first real instance of violence I had cultured meat are very important. It ever seen, so far as doesn’t require I can remember. artificial growth And it was hormones and unhorrifying. necessary antibiotpeople recognize there Undoubtedly I ics. Since animals is something wrong had witnessed are removed from schoolyard scufthe process, the with our treatment of fles, but nothing of zoonotic animals. What they may danger like this. Nothing viruses making the not be aware of is an that resulted in a jump to humans is bucketful of the eliminated. emerging technology lopped-off heads The anithat will make aligning of living individmal-welfare uals, blinking in benefits offered our values and our their apparent last by cultured meat actions easier. moments of conshould be apparsciousness. When ent. We kill over a it was over, I trillion aquatic and remember lying in land animals every the grass with my year for food. The friends, publicly vowing to become amount of suffering this represents is vegetarian. This oath, of course, lasted impossible to comprehend. To put it a few days tops. in perspective, only about 107 billion I think many people recognize humans have ever lived, according to there is something wrong with our the Population Reference Bureau. treatment of animals. What they By my third harvest, in 2001, I might not be aware of is an emerging was thoroughly desensitized to the technology that will make aligning violence. Together with a girl I briefly our values and actions easier. I’m dated, I wrestled a turkey into a talking about cultured meat, which is large bucket with a small slit, just big grown from cells, without slaughter. enough for its neck to stick out from.

It’s better for the environment, public I pinned the animals’ writhing body health and, of course, animal welfare. to the ground after its head was cut This may sound like science off with an axe, until the poor creature fiction, but it’s not. Cultured meat bled out. has already been granted regulatory From there, we brought the carapproval in Singapore and is even cass through the methodical process available for home delivery. Meanof boiling, plucking, gutting and while, an Israeli company has reduced cleaning. Somewhere, there’s a photo production costs for a quarter pound of me smiling, holding the corpse upof cultivated chicken to less than $4. side down, waving to the camera with The environmental benefits of see GUEST COLUMN Page 8 this new protein are manifold. The

I THINK MANY

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WRITERS ON THE RANGE from Page 5

that water once covered the banks; now, cottonwoods three stories tall bordered the river.

It would take us another day and a half of increasingly arduous travel to finally enter Lake Powell.

As the shoreline vegetation shrank, then disappeared, we gave up trying to float and began walking our boats. The braided river channel was choked with sediment that broke off from the banks in basketball-sized chunks. A rock pinnacle called Explorer Island was ringed with cracked mud studded with dry buoys.

I’ve worked as a field ecologist for almost as long as the Western Rockies have been in a state of drought, but I’ve never seen a place so clearly in the throes of change. In 36 hours, we’d rewound the tape on 20 years of ecological succession — from riparian forest back to mud.

We were ready to quit sloshing through the Escalante River when we finally reached the depleted reservoir and our rented houseboat. Then it took us less than an hour to reach our goal, the place where Gregory Natural Bridge lurked beneath us. There, time compressed as I dropped underwater and passed through a shimmering boundary between the sun-warmed surface layer and the colder depths.

Only then did the top of the archway come into view.

As I passed under it at about 15 feet, there was more overhanging sandstone. Low visibility obscured what was ahead, but I decided to trust my lungs and finned forward, following the gradual rise of the rock above me.

A diffuse glow became refracted l

IT WAS QUIET, with no sound of boats or people.

Around me rose a redrock panorama hidden for years. It was glorious. light and then sunshine as I splashed back into the day. I was just 50 feet upstream, but once under the bridge and out the other side, I was in a world removed from where I had taken my last breath.

It was quiet, with no sound of boats or people. Around me rose a red-rock panorama that had been hidden away for years. It was glorious.

True, it might be a tragedy for flat-water recreationists and businesses if climate change and over-allocation of water rights in the West doom Glen Canyon Dam, letting loose the Colorado River.

But I can attest there would be marvels for visitors, and what a boon for nature that would be.

Tim Treuer is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, a nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He lives in Alaska and is a writer and ecologist.

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

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TOWARD THE FUTURE President Biden’s American Jobs Plan shows the type of leadership and initiative to take responsibility our country needs, while creating jobs and tackling the climate crisis simultaneously. From being climate-ambitious during his campaigning, to beginning the implementation of this new plan, the American Jobs Plan will reboost our economy after the pandemic and begin the journey of saving the planet.

Being a young woman in Colorado, I care about protecting not only my family and loved ones, but my future children and all wildlife, creatures, and organisms as well, from the potential disaster we are facing.

Transportation, including personal vehicles, busses, trucks, etc. are one of the biggest causes of anthropogenic pollution in the United States. Biden’s plan focuses on clean transportation — especially in Black and Latino neighborhoods and low-income communities in Colorado. By pushing toward a future of cars, trucks and buses with zero emissions or tailpipe pollution, the President is not only protecting the health of millions across the country, but also the future for us all by facing all the challenges and opportunities that come from the changing climate.

We have an opportunity in Colorado to change our planet and the economy for the better. President Biden’s American Jobs Plan will lead us toward the future we all want to see for our children, their children, and seven generations to come!

Alexa Benglen/Boulder TRUMP, FAUCI AND MASKS Recently Dr. Anthony Fauci has been criticized for “flip-flopping” last spring on whether or not Americans outside the health-care field should wear masks. Initially he had said “no,” we shouldn’t wear masks and then about 1-2 months later he said we should wear masks. In response to the recent criticism Dr. Fauci has said that his position changed based on the scientific information available on the subject changing. It’s not a bad response and might be part of the truth. But one of the reasons given for discouraging Americans from wearing masks during the very early weeks of the pandemic was that there weren’t 8

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enough masks for both people in the medical field and everyone else as well. But that wouldn’t have been an issue if then-President Donald Trump had used the Defense Production Act to make the appropriate companies increase production of masks at the very beginning of the pandemic.

Changing scientific advice when the data changes is a good idea. But I really think that Trump’s reluctance to tell businesses what to do is why many people like Dr. Fauci initially discouraged mask wearing by people outside the medical field. Who knows how many lives would have been saved if the Trump administration had used the DPA to get more masks and had then encouraged all Americans to wear them in those early weeks.

And since Trump and his supporters like to accuse Dr. Fauci of flip-flopping, what about Trump’s enthusiastic endorsement of hydroxychloroquine? Dr. Fauci publicly disagreed with Trump on that from the very beginning, and when Trump got COVID-19 he (Trump) was treated with everything BUT hydroxychloroquine. Obviously Trump finally accepted that he was wrong about that, after promoting it like crazy for several months.

Tom Shelley/Boulder SPEAK UP FOR FAMILIES Exciting news for families working hard to give their kids the basics and better futures. (Re: “The Child Tax Credit: income for your family,” July 8.) Thank you, Senator Bennet for your tenacious work on making this Child Tax Credit happen, benefiting 96 out of every 100 Colorado families and families across America. Of course this is temporary, but Senator Bennet and others are working to make it permanent. We can help by thanking Senator Bennet and telling him stories of how this changes things for the better in your family, and asking Senator Gardner to join in this effort, along with your representative. Any member of Congress can be reached at 202-2243121. Speaking up now can help millions of families continue to have better lives.

Willie Dikerson/internet JULY 15, 2021

THE FILIBUSTER IS A JIM CROW RELIC There’s so much being written about the filibuster these days, but in all the articles I read I feel like this important point gets lost: The filibuster isn’t mentioned in our Constitution. Not even one time.

Despite what some in the Senate might imply, the filibuster is just a procedural measure that can be changed at any point, like when Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump put Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court.

That’s why it’s so ridiculous that the filibuster still stands in the way of almost every single progressive

priority on Democrats’ docket. The Biden-Harris administration clearly has their eye on passing necessary reforms, like comprehensive climate legislation and raising the minimum wage, but the threat of the filibuster continues to throw the future of their legislative agenda into question.

Luckily it doesn’t have to be this way. I’m putting my faith in the Senate to get rid of the filibuster as soon as possible. We can’t let a minority of senators continue to block the progress a majority of Americans voted for.

Sabrina Wilsdon/Boulder

GUEST COLUMN from Page 6

a glove-covered hand smeared with blood. While most people don’t participate in slaughter, I think many undergo a similar desensitization to animal suffering.

I think we learn the rationales for non-human exploitation in fits and starts. This education — or more accurately, miseducation — probably takes place throughout our lifespan, with different answers formulated to meet our ideological needs at different times and places.

There’s nothing particularly nefarious in the process. Human violence against animals is just the way it’s always been.

I want to live in a world where this self-deception doesn’t feel necessary. I don’t think our food system needs to accelerate global warming, heighten our pandemic risk, or be so cruel. Cultured meat l

can help address all these problems without noticeable dietary change.

That’s why I want the federal government to fund open-access research into cellular agriculture.

Despite great progress in the private sector, there’s so much more work to be done in order to reach price parity with slaughtered meat and develop whole-cut products, like steaks and filets. I hope legislators will support this effort.

Jon Hochschartner is the author of a number of books, including The Animals’ Freedom Fighter: A Biography of Ronnie Lee, Founder of the Animal Liberation Front. He lives in Connecticut with his family, where he enjoys watching the Knicks and “Ocarina of Time” speedruns.

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

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Engine 1’s Exxon insurgency

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ong-suffering environmental activists cheered last month when an organized investor revolt forced ExxonMobil to add three climate-conscious directors to its corporate board.

Despite nearly a generation of shareholder activism, nothing like it had ever happened. It seemed like a historic comeuppance for the petroleum powerhouse.

But those who pay close attention to the tension between fossil fuel companies and their investors offer a more nuanced take. Don’t expect the Exxon oil tanker to turn around overnight, they say. Instead, consider the move the beginning of a cultural shift, one of those fuzzy, hard-to-recognize but essential-in-retrospect moments when everything starts to change. In coming years, similar tactics could be leveraged against other stubborn, carbon-loving corporations. And, in a page from the Big Tobacco playbook, investors could join forces with legislators, plaintiff ’s attorneys and others to finally put the whole industry on its heels.

“It’s a real sign that investors are impatient, fed up,” says Kathy Mulvey of the Union of Concerned Scientists. “It’s a strong indication that there’s going to have to be substantive shifts in the company’s direction.”

What makes it more surprising is, among Big Bad Oil Companies, Exxon was once the Biggest and the Baddest. More than a decade ago, it was the largest public company in the world, with a reputation and a hefty dividend that made it a bedrock of many investment portfolios. More recently, as other oil giants pledged to reduce emissions or pivot to renewables, Exxon promised to drill, baby, drill, and planned to

The upstart hedge fund’s successful push to add three climate-conscious directors to the oil giant’s board is only the beginning.

by Kat McGowan, Grist

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ramp up production of fossil fuels.

For a generation, activists of all stripes pushed the company to change, with little impact. But last December, a small San Francisco hedge fund called Engine No. 1 launched a public campaign to replace four corporate board members with directors who acknowledge climate change. Its motivation was money: Exxon’s returns are lagging, its debt is sky-high and its value has crumbled. The company’s refusal to plan for a low-carbon world is just bad business, they say.

Exxon leadership fought back, and lost. At the company’s annual shareholder meeting, where such things are decided, on May 26, fund managers like BlackRock and massive investors like California’s state employee retirement fund voted with Engine No. 1.

Three of the four rebel candidates were elected to the board.

The loss hit the carbon-spewing colossus where it hurts. It’s essentially a vote of no confidence in senior leadership by major investors. By pointing out Exxon’s poor economic performance — and linking that failure to the company’s recalcitrance on climate — Engine No. 1 revealed a weak spot in the oil and gas giant. Though the three new board members can easily be outvoted by the other nine directors, it will be difficult for executives to ignore these new voices.

Besides, the move seems to be part of a trend: During that same week, Chevron shareholders approved deeper cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, and Dutch Shell lost a major climate court case. It’s as if a door that had been sealed shut is now cracked open.

As Engine No. 1 founder Chris James told the Financial Times: “Our ambitions are clearly broader than Exxon.”

Here’s what to watch for to see if change is truly coming — and what we might expect next.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Kathy Mulvey

Climate accountability campaign director at the Union of Concerned Scientists “This sent a message that reverberates more broadly, and certainly the other major oil and gas companies are taking note.”

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’ve been going to fossil fuel company shareholder meetings for the last five or six years. The annual meeting is the company’s turf. It’s their show.

Anything that creates this much drama is exactly what they don’t want.

I was stunned that it got to this level. It’s way out of the norm in terms of how these buttoned-up investors operate. Going after the board [as Engine No. 1 did] is a serious ratcheting up. It’s a real sign

that investors are impatient, fed up. It’s a strong indication that there’s going to have to be substantive shifts in the company’s direction.

I don’t expect a magical transformation. Exxon has a corporate culture, a swagger around digging and burning. It’s going to take continued pressure from investors, animated by the youth-led climate movement and the amount of activism in this space. There needs to be continued visibility around what happens: Do these new directors get sidelined, or does the company actually put them into important positions, like on the audit committee or the nominating committee?

But this sent a message that reverberates more broadly, and certainly the other major oil and gas companies are taking note. I think that what Engine No. 1 has done could be a model. One could certainly

Joseph Majkut

Geoffrey Supran

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Director of policy at the Niskanen Center “The business model that has allowed Big Oil to be a high performer is likely going to have to change.”

Research associate at Harvard University “As laudable as this is, if shareholders hope to have a meaningful impact on climate change, they’re going to need to go further.”

s a sign that business as usual is over, as a cultural marker for other investors, I think it’s very significant. It’s ExxonMobil! That’s the big one. It sat atop the oil and gas industry in the United States for decades. The fact that activist investors can come in and effect change in this way is really significant.

The board of directors is really important to the company, and this kind of move is not a vote of confidence in recent decisions. It probably should’ve happened years ago, but here we are. The business model that has allowed Big Oil to be a high performer is likely going to have to change. I think that’s what Engine No 1 was really getting at.

Part of what we’ll be watching as Exxon takes on these new board members is how much they are working within the company: Is the company changing its investment and business practices to reflect that we’ll be living in a carbon-constrained world?

Success breeds success, so I imagine we’ll see other events like this. That said, this doesn’t solve the climate problem.

David Turnbull

Strategic communications director at Oil Change International “Oil companies are not the strong investments that they once were. The market is starting to understand that.”

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hree board members aren’t going to shift that behemoth overnight, even if it were three Naomi Kleins and Bill McKibbens. But it is a big deal because of its unprecedented nature.

It might provide some encouragement to other big shareholders out there, that they can be more aggressive on this issue.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

envision Engine No. 1 taking up issues that are climate- or energy-focused with additional companies, or other investors using this as a model on issues of racial justice, human rights, a whole range of concerns where there’s already groundwork to build upon. A similarly positioned investor would now have a lot of leverage to bring corporate leadership to the table, to avoid this kind of situation. For companies that are digging in their heels on issues related to social justice, racial justice, and democracy, I could see something modeled on this tactic sending a powerful message from the investor community.

I think we can expect investors to up the ante next year if ExxonMobil doesn’t respond in some significant way. I don’t know what that looks like, but I wouldn’t want to be [CEO] Darren Woods if they don’t signal a real shift in direction.

’m excited but skeptical. It truly is a momentous day — a day that offers humanity a glimmer of light. It’s a very clear, decisive message to ExxonMobil and the fossil fuel industry writ large. Shareholders have had enough of business as usual on climate change. It’s seismic in terms of building further activism by shareholders, but the reason it feels seismic is because shareholder activism has yielded nothing for the past 25 years.

That said, we need to be careful in keeping this in perspective. Three rebel board members in and of themselves are unlikely to instantly change things. It’s a cultural and political shift, in the sense that clearly shareholders are ready to change things up a bit. But are they willing to do it at the scale and speed to hold back dangerous warming?

As laudable as this is, if shareholders hope to have a meaningful impact on climate change, they’re going to need to go further, including some combination of the full disclosure of lobbying, or divesting, or firing CEOs. Shareholders and the broader community will need to push for clarity and commitment in terms of the specifics of their pledges and plans.

I think we’ll see pushback from these companies on all fronts — social, political and legal. This is an industry with 100 years of expertise in the invention and innovation of public affairs, and they will bring all that to bear. But this is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to fossil fuel companies being held accountable by shareholders, lawyers, and the public. It foreshadows what’s to come. I definitely think this would be the first round of aggressive shareholder activism.

The entire industry has got to be on notice that their investments, financial security and future are really being questioned. I think there’s also some nervousness from investors that they’re going to have some stranded assets on their hands if they don’t align their business with a climate-safe future.

The other piece is the volatility of the oil market through the COVID era, which has helped to highlight the fact that this industry is not a sure thing.

I think that recognition is clear across the fossil fuel industry: You need to take climate change seriously or you’re going to be left behind.

Oil companies are not the strong investments that they once were. The market is starting to underl

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stand that.

The number one thing we’ll look for is whether they’re setting an absolute target of ramping down their extraction. I can’t say I necessarily expect Exxon to announce that in the next year, but that’s what we’d be looking for.

You could imagine different scenarios — one would be the simple recognition that they need to exit the oil and gas extraction business. That would be a visionary approach: In the long term, it would probably provide the highest value for shareholders, because they are planning [for it] now rather than continuing to invest in assets that will have to be abandoned if we’re going to have a livable planet.

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ANGELA K. EVANS

Draft CU South annexation agreement released

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n Monday, July 12, the City of Boulder and University of Colorado released a draft annexation agreement regarding 308 acres of CU-owned property, known as CU South, at the junction of U.S. 36 and Table Mesa Drive. If approved, the annexation would move the City one step closer to building a flood mitigation project to protect people and homes in the South Boulder Creek floodplain from historic flooding like what occurred in 2013.

For years, various parties have gone back and forth about potential design concepts that would impact the area differently, and the process has been complicated, involving a wide variety of stakeholders with competing priorities. (See News, “The controversy surrounding CU South explained,” May 14, 2020).

In the newly released draft annexation agreement, CU commits to transfer 155 acres to the City for flood protection and open space uses, including continued public access to the site, as well as transfer water rights needed for habitat restoration and a phased housing and development plan that includes binding covenants setting height, size, and location limits for

buildings and locations for a multimodal traffic plan. It also dedicates 5 acres for permanently affordable housing.

The agreement has not been finalized, however, and there are plenty of upcoming opportunities for public review and comment from July 14 through Aug. 13. Feedback can be given on key agreement topics through a City questionnaire at beheardboulder. org. Additionally, the agreement will be discussed by a variety of board and commissions, as well as City Council, which is expected to make a final decision by September. The CU Board of Regents are expected to discuss its approval of the agreement by the end of the summer. If annexation is approved, CU still needs to go through a master planning process before any development begins, which will not occur until after the City’s flood protection project is complete.

Colorado interfaith advocates join national effort to secure citizenship for all

What everyone is talking about: affordable housing

B

oulder Weekly may be in the middle of a series on affordability solutions (check out the tag (un)affordable at boulderweekly.com), but we’re not the only ones talking about affordable housing in Boulder County and beyond.

At the Longmont’s City Council’s annual retreat, talks about addressing affordability dominated the conversation on July 9, with Mayor Brian Bagley telling the Time’s Call he was shocked to hear that the majority of Longmont renters are housing burdened. On Tuesday, July 13, Congressman Joe Neguse hosted U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge in Boulder for an affordable housing tour and roundtable to share the state’s priorities for addressing the affordable housing crisis with the Biden-Harris Administration.

“Across the Front Range and northern Colorado, as our communities expand and grow, families are being priced out of the communities they love and forced to live farther away from where they work,” Neguse said in a press release announcing his Housing Our Communities plan, which includes legislative solutions to preserve the federal government’s commitment to affordable housing. “In our mountain towns the affordable housing stock is limited, locals are being displaced and workers can’t find affordable rental properties. We are at an inflection point for affordable housing, and it’s critical that we find creative solutions that meet this moment.”

The night before, on July 12, East County Housing Opportunity Coalition (ECHO) and Together Colorado released a report of community-based recommendations to create more affordable housing with funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, otherwise known as the COVID-19 Stimulus package.

“There are some things that we must do now if we want our next generations to have hope; if we want our communities to thrive,” Hermine Ngnomire, founder of County Collectives and participant in the coalition said in a press release. “We must provide and build affordable housing for the least of us.”

Recommendations include developing a Housing Trust Fund to provide grants to local communities, nonprofit organization and housing authorities; provide cash assistance to individuals; pursue regulatory changes like local planning and zoning codes; and improve community outreach.

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fter the U.S. House passed bills that allow farmworkers and people with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) to apply for permanent legal status on a bipartisan basis in March, interfaith leaders around the country are now calling on the Senate and the Biden administration to follow suit this summer.

In Colorado, more than 900 individuals and 195 faithbased organizations sent a letter to Congress calling for a path to citizenship by any means necessary. Recent polling from Data For Progress shows that 74% of Coloradans polled support legislation that would create a path to citizenship for essential workers and other undocumented immigrants. As part of the effort, faith leaders, immigrants and activists from Together Colorado kicked off a #FastForFreedom to demand citizenship for all.

DACA “offers no pathway to citizenship and is constantly under attack,” Laura Peniche, community leader for Together Colorado and Faith in Action, said in a press release. “Living in this limbo, wondering if the next court date will be the end of DACA and my ability to work, is anxiety producing and unjust. Not only for myself, but also for my three children who were born in this country.”

Although past legislative attempts have repeatedly failed, the groups are urging Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper to help pass comprehensive immigration reform this year. Both have already pledged their support of Biden’s proposed U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, which would provide Dreamers (DACA), TPS holders and some farmworkers with an expedited three-year path to citizenship, and give all other undocumented immigrants who pass background checks and pay taxes with an eight-year path to citizenship without fear of deportation.

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Conserving Colorado’s climbing The decade-long journey to save Thumb and Needle Spires

by Carly Herbert

S

itting high above Estes Park on top of Prospect Mountain are the Thumb and Needle Spires, two prominent landmarks of Colorado climbing history. The Spires are home to more than 50 different climbing routes of varying difficulty but have been closed to the public for almost a decade by the area’s private landowner.

However, after nearly 10 years of campaigning and fundraising close to $600,000, the Town of Estes Park now owns the Thumb and Needle Spires and will transform it into the new Thumb Open Space.

While the management plan is still being finalized, the area will eventually be used for climbing and recreation, as well as environmental and ecological education, all with an inclusive focus. But the process of securing this land for public use was not an easy one and it required collaboration by many different local and national organizations, along with the Town of Estes Park.

Access Fund, a Boulder-based nonprofit organization that focuses on “keeping climbing areas open and preserving the natural climbing environment,” was just one of the organizations that stepped in and helped the project move forward.

“The Thumb and Needle have been important climbing areas in the Front Range for many decades and about eight or nine years ago we started pursuing the landowner to see if we could work out some sort of agreement,” says Erik Murdock, national policy director for Access Fund and an Estes Park local.

With the help of other organizations including the Estes Valley Land Trust and Rocky Mountain Conservancy (RCM) as well as businesses and private donors, on May 26, the Town officially purchased the property, with the trailhead nestled in the Prospect Highlands Neighborhood.

The Town of Estes Park’s management plan will outline how the community wants to preserve and maintain the area. Although work on the plan began before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

in 2020, work more or less ceased for the last year.

Now, with things slowly easing back toward normalcy, creating a plan that reflects the needs of the community as well as respecting and preserving the land has resumed.

The Town currently has an ecological consultant surveying the property to determine what kind of wildlife inhabits and frequents, from flora to mammals to raptors. So far mountain lions, bears and elk have been documented, and a family of ravens have made a home on top of the Spires. With this

testify about the value of the Thumb and Needle Spires.

“This is close enough for a quick after-school club or a science project, or even an outdoor recreation club of some sort. It was really fun to have sixth graders standing up and testifying, it was probably their first formal involvement in the civic engagement process,” she says. “Even one elementary school student at one point who is a rock climber spoke.”

While the management plan is being finalized, the trails are currently MIKE WHEELAN COURTESY ACCESS FUND undergoing restoration so that they will be suitable for hiking, biking and more, but motorized vehicles such as ATVs will not be allowed on the trails.

Additionally, due to a lack of trailer parking and the short length of the trails, horseback riding will also most likely be prohibited.

At the end of the trail, there are numerous climbing routes for beginners and experts alike.

Trail work is being done by a volunteer Conservation Corps team from RMC. The Corps is made up of volunteers from all over the country, which helps highlight the educational opportunities that are information, the management plan can determine available from this property. whether or not the Spires need to close during “We draw from a national audience,” Estee nesting season in order to protect wildlife and Murdock says. “[We are] a Corps that outfits them maintain the beauty of the natural species in the from head to toe. We don’t want the price of boots area. There will also be additional opportunities for and appropriate outdoor gear and camping equipthe community to voice their concerns and hopes ment to be a barrier to these opportunities and for the space. conservation experiences, so that allows us to draw So far, the community has provided an outfrom a really diverse pool of national applicants pouring of support for this project, especially the because we aren’t asking folks to come in as rugged young outdoor adventurers in the area. One of the backcountry rangers. “ main goals of this project is for Thumb Open Space With the help of RMC’s Conservation Corps, to be a place of education and engagement for all the 50 climbing routes can be expected to open members of the community — but especially the in the summer of 2022, as there is a great deal of local kids. restoration work to be done before climbers can Estee Murdock, executive director at Rocky head up.

Mountain Conservancy (RMC) and Erik’s wife, “It’s a great place for people to learn how to recalls one community meeting before COVID in climb,” Erik Murdock says. “Climbing educators which the local middle school brought students to see SPIRES Page 16 l

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SPIRES from Page 15 CARLY HERBERT

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have an incredible opportunity to get people to the top of a free-standing spire that looks right at Longs Peak, Mount Meeker and the Twin Sister.”

The routes featured on the Thumb and Needle feature a wide range of climbing grades, with the easiest routes rated 5.3 and going all the way up to 5.13. Additionally, the routes allow for different types of climbing, including sport climbing, trad climbing and top roping.

In order to get to the Spires to climb, climbers must hike a short,but steep trail. Brain Berg, park supervisor for Estes Park, shares that the Town wanted to try to make the area and the trails inclusive for adaptive athletes.

“The goal with the trail building is to make it possible for adaptive athletes, especially with the new motorized bikes that are coming out,” Berg says. He explains that when Access Fund, RMC and other groups hit the trail to begin restoring it, the Town is encouraging them to keep these elements in mind.

“It’s a pretty rugged trail right out of the gate, it’s a steep trail that needed to be redone so it was more resilient. It was just eroded out, it needed a lot of trail work,” Murdock says. “That’s when we realized that given the current technologies for adaptive athletes we could create a trail where different modes of transport would be possible, including things like handcycles.”

To do so, the organizations consulted with Quinn Brett, a professional climber, advocate for protecting the outdoors and another Estes Park local.

After a climbing accident in Yosemite in 2017, Brett became paralyzed from the waist down and began her journey as an adaptive athlete. “[She] tested out different angles and helped us design the right type of trail with the right angles, the right turns, the right traverses, to allow handcycles which are becoming a lot more popular with a lot of groups including veteran athletes,” Erik Murdock says. “It was really testing with Quinn [Brett] that was the main way to determine how to design the best trail.

However, Erik Murdock stresses that these trails will not be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

“It’s really common in Colorado for adaptive athletes to look for better challenges and more interesting landscapes and this is the perfect one because it’s really unique to have a really beautiful challenging trail that gets you to an outstanding climbing objective that’s also climbable by adaptive athletes,” he says.

Not only does the beauty of the Thumb and Needle set it apart from other climbing locations, but it also holds a rich history of Colorado climbing, which is one of the reasons the Town felt compelled to take on this project. Back in 1940, revered American mountaineer Tom Hornbein made the first ascent of the Needle Spire. Years later, American rock climber and Estes Park local, Tommy Caldwell, cut his teeth on the Spires when he was young. Now, decades later, the iconic Spires will finally return to the public as the grand opening of Thumb Open Space arrives next year.

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Preparing for the ‘Rapture’

On the heels of two Grammy wins, Peter Kater reassess what’s important on his new album — and gives fans a chance to soundtrack their lives

by Caitlin Rockett

COURTESY PETER KATER

P

eter Kater’s never been religious, but he’s had his share of divine experiences.

Mushrooms, LSD, fasting, meditation — the two-time Grammy-winning, classically trained pianist has intentionally explored the outer reaches of human consciousness over and over through the decades.

In the apocalyptic doom of 2020, isolated by quarantine, Kater found himself turning again toward something transcendent.

“I have experienced rapture in the last 18 months,” he says from across the couch in his home in North Boulder, each of us nursing cups of jasmine green tea. “I’ve experienced being lifted out of the world, even though I was never really part of the world, ’cause I was always an outsider ... always, you know, exploring whatever. I feel like the shift that happened over the last 18 months, for me, felt similar to either preparing for a rapture or actually being in a spiritual rapture. Just like, OK, we’re not part of this world anymore — we’re ascending.”

Kater dropped dead weight from his life: relationships that no longer served him, actions that no songs that make up his latest album, aptly titled Rapture.

Part jazz, part ambient mood, part pop, Rapture’s instrumentals capture the sensation of transisee RAPTURE Page 20

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COURTESY PETER KATER

RAPTURE from Page 19

tioning into a new phase of life: There’s sadness, a little fear, but mostly love, joy and acceptance.

“I didn’t ask for it,” Kater says of his own transition. “I didn’t try to create it. It just kind of started to happen ... something just shifted and all of a sudden things looked different and I was drawn to different things. It was actually so extreme that I talked to a therapist for a while.”

In this way, Kater is dogmatic: an evangelist for introspection, a crusader for vulnerability. It’s evident across his collection of more than 60 albums of romantic, contemplative piano work, which have netted him 14 Grammy nominations over the last 20 years. It wasn’t until 2018 — his 13th nomination — that Kater took Kater has no shortage of inspiration from his own life. German-born and 4, Kater bounced between the countries throughout his adolescence, studying in the States, summering with his grandparents in the Rhineland. There was intergenerational trauma, the effects of two world wars trickling down to Kater’s own parents, whose whirlwind young romance resulted in pregnancy and a forced marriage.

It was Kater’s mother — denied the 20

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opportunity to INFO BOX: Tickets learn piano as are on sale now for Peter Kater’s next a child because concert, Sept. 24, her own parents saw it 2590 Walnut St., as unsavory and frivolous are $25–$50 at — who pressed thedairy.org her son to take up the keys.

“I decided I wanted to play a wind instrument,” Kater be the piano.’” rebellion, scaring off three teachers in his got me a new teacher every single time,” he says. “She didn’t mind — she was determined.”

Eventually so was the young Peter, who clicked with the instrument as a teenager and never considered another career beyond music. ive with his grandson’s musical aspirations as he was with his daughter’s.

“My grandfather was the most critical of me,” Kater says. “You know, ‘Get a real job, don’t do this music stuff.’ He used to tell me, ‘You’re just dreaming of Hawaii,’ which is a German expression meaning

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

you’re out to lunch, basically. So of course of fans looking to explore their own inner I wound up living in Hawaii for a bit just to worlds. And Kater has become a sort of prove him right.” guide, though quite by accident.

But long before Hawaii, when Kater At a home concert some years ago, was just 17, his mother’s developed canKater noticed some of the audience cer in her liver. Nine months later, a day creeping closer toward the piano until after Kater’s 18th birthday, she died. one uninhibited soul laid underneath it.

“It set me free, though,” Kater says. “I Soon, more crawled under and laid down had no brothers and sisters, my grandpar- to bathe in the sound. Kater just kept ents were in Germany, my stepfather was playing. abusive.”

Today Kater invites his listeners to So he traveled, hitchhiking around the open up to him for 20-30 minutes before country for a year and a half before landing crawling under his piano to experience in Boulder in the late ’70s. Here, nestled an improvisation written just for them — in the foothills, piano readings, COURTESY PETER KATER he calls them. He Kater fell in with “older hippies” and records the track explored his mind and presents it to through psychethem as a kind of delics. mini soundtrack to “Never to partheir lives. ty,” he says. “AlWhen I crawl ways for curiosity, under the piano to isolate, drop out at Kater’s house, and meditate for a the melody that couple hours.” surrounds me He waited speaks to the grief tables and played of losing my last piano during brunch living grandparent and dinner at coffee just weeks before, shops and clubs and to the boundbetween Boulder less gratitude I and Denver. Deeply have for the strong inspired by pianist bonds I have with Keith Jarret’s improvisational fusion of jazz my family. I can hear the melancholy that and classical, Kater felt stymied by the has seemed to follow me through most of requests of patrons seeking pop standards my life, but hope is the refrain, sadness like “Piano Man” and basically anything from simply a bridge. I smile through the tears.

Elton John’s oeuvre.

Kater lost his grandfather some 15 “So I was playing at the Hotel Boulde- years ago.The criticism around his career in music never stopped, Kater says, but hour or whatever,” Kater says. “And one his grandfather’s death was the hardest night this guy comes up to the piano loss he’d ever experienced. and I think, ‘Oh, no, here comes another “My mother died, my aunt died, my disappointed customer: No, I’m not going grandmother died, and I dealt with all of to play ‘Hotel California,’’” he says with a that. But when my grandfather, at 92, laugh. “But he comes up and he puts $20 passed away, I lost it. I could cry right out on the piano and says, ‘Play me a now. I think about him almost every day. I thunderstorm.’” think, ‘I wonder what he would think about Stunned but eager, Kater conjured a brooding, tempestuous melody. that he loved me, but he just did not know “He comes back, throws another $20 how to express it.” down and says, ‘Play me a picnic in the Perhaps that’s why Kater expresses desert.’” himself so readily, and why he encourages others to do so.

“It felt like the universe was giving “I don’t believe in writer’s block,” he me permission to explore music the way I says. “For me, [music] just happens. And wanted to.” when it’s happening, it’s very clear. I don’t In the years since, Kater has continknow, but I think it’s all of the other stuff ued to follow that path, capturing the inthat I do around self-exploration and alIt’s garnered him a dedicated following

trying to be clear. More authenticity.”

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July 16-18, 2021

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EVENTS

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

SUGAR MOON BAND

33rd Annual Charles Sawtelle Memorial Mountain Jam.

11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m Sunday, July 18, Gold Hill Inn, 401 Main St., Boulder. Tickets: $35$45, goldhillinn.com The Charles Sawtelle Memorial Mountain Jam, aka “The Charles,” is named for the beloved Hot Rize guitarist, Charles Sawtelle, who helped start the event in 1989 and was a great supporter of KGNU Community Radio. After his passing in 1999, the station renamed the event in his memory. Celebrating its 33rd anniversary this year, The Charles is a family-friendly mini-festival of al fresco bluegrass and Americana music aimed at music fans who enjoy the clear mountain air, dazzling acoustic music in a spectacular outdoor setting. This year the event features three Colorado bands: Sugar Moon Band, High Lonesome and the Sam Armstrong Zickefoose Band.

Upslope Brewing 5K.

10 a.m. Sunday, July 18. Upslope Brewing Co., 1898 South Flatiron Court, Boulder, bit.ly/3AZtfKe Weave through this 5K-ish course at whatever pace you like, because no matter what there’s a beer waiting for you

Boulder Creek Festival.

July 16-18, along the Boulder Creek from Ninth Street to 14th Street between Canyon Boulevard and Arapahoe Avenue, bouldercreekfest.com It’s back, just a little earlier this year: the Boulder Creek Festival offers a jam-packed weekend of family fun including concerts and performances, a marketplace full of artisan vendors, tasty food and events for the kids.

eTown Pay or Play: July Edition.

6 p.m.Tuesday, July 20, eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. Tickets: $20, etown.org eTown continues to celebrate the birthday of well-known songwriters with its Pay or Play event. For the month of July, eTown will celebrate Greg Brown, Woody Guthrie, Beck, Debbie Harry, Don Henley, Bill Withers, Iron and Wine and Arlo Guthrie. To attend in person, either perform a song by one of the performers or purchase a ticket for $20 (plus applicable fees).

Shows will only be sold to approximately 70% capacity to ensure the safety of those in the community.

Carousel of Happiness to Launch New Butterfly Ride.

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, July 17, Carousel of Happiness, Caribou Village Shopping Center, 20 Lakeview Drive, Nederland. Ride tickets are $3.

The Carousel of Happiness presents artist Scott Harrison’s newest animal riders onto the carousel also will be unveiled. The new carving was inspired by the middle-grade children’s novel On Wings of Wonder by Doug Cosper, a journalist with deep roots in the carousel. His daughter, Anna Cosper, illustrated the book and also will be on hand to sign it. On Wings of Wonder is available for purchase at the Carousel as well as on Amazon and in local bookstores.

a.m. 10% of all proceeds go directly to a local organization that will be onsite promoting their organization. All participants collector’s pint glass or seasonal swag item from the Brewery

Boulder Environmental / Nature / Outdoors Film Festival.

local vendors.

Creating Community During COVID.

6 p.m. Tuesday, July 20, Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway, Boulder, museumofboulder.org This event brings together Boulder-based artists, writers and performers to talk about how the pandemic has impacted and informed their recent work. First, Carolyn Kerchof will read from current drafts of Boulder COVID Stories, a storytelling and print publishing project. Second, a panel of Boulder artists will discuss their pandemic experiences and their works in progress, answering questions from the audience. Following the event, the panelists will continue the conversation at a nearby restaurant. If you are interested in joining for dinner and drinks, please email bouldercovidstories@gmail.com by July 16.

5:30-9 p.m. July 15-July 18, Virtually and at the Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder.

Tickets: $12-$15, boulderenoff.org Boulder ENOFF is back this year at the

focus on outdoor adventure and issues facing the is Super Frenchie, directed by Chase Odgen, 8 Billion Angels, directed by Victor Velle, and the much-awaited The Loneliest Whale, directed by Joshua Zeman. Can’t make it to the Dairy Arts purchasing a virtual ticket. see EVENTS Page 24

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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EVENTS from Page 23

EVENTS

ROSE HILL DRIVE

MUSIC

Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St., Boulder:

An Evening with Trickster Carousel. 8 p.m. Thursday, July 15. Tickets: $25.

8 p.m. Friday, July 16. Tickets: $25.

Catch the traditional hard rock and early metal–psychedelic sounds of Rose Hill Drive.

An Evening with Morsel. 8 p.m. Saturday, July 17. Tickets: $30-$35.

ALI AND BETH

The Caribou Room, 55 Indian Peaks Drive, Nederland:

Cycles. 5 p.m.- 8 p.m. Saturday, July 17. Tickets: $25+.

Gold Hill Inn, 401 Main St., Boulder:

Arkansauce. 5 p.m. Friday, July 16. Tickets: $10.

The Jakob’s Ferry Stragglers. 5 p.m. Saturday, July 17.

Ali and Beth. 6 p.m. Sunday, July 18.

Ali & Beth sing soulful tunes with tight harmonies, incorporating guitar, violin, and viola into their originals and covers.

The Muse Performance Space, 200 E. South Boulder Road, Lafayette:

Pete Lewis Quartet. 7 p.m. Friday, July 16. Tickets: $15.

Julie Koenig Quartet. 7 p.m. Saturday, July 17. Tickets: $15.

Art Lande and Flex-Band Plus. 7 p.m. Sunday, July 18.

Suggested Donation: $20.

Brad Goode Group. 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 20. Tickets: $20.

Clare Church Trio. 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 21. Suggested Donation: $20.

BONOBO, PHOTO COURTESY NINJA TUNE

Stone Cottage Studios Backyard Summer Concert Series, stonecottagestudios.com:

An Evening with Arkansauce. 6:30 p.m. Sunday, July 18. Tickets: $15-$30.

Dickens Opera House, 300 Main St. Longmont:

Still the Same (Bob Seger Tribute). 8 p.m. Friday, July 16. Tickets: $16.

Austin Young Band. 8 p.m. Saturday, July 17. Tickets: $16.

Red Rocks Amphitheater, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison:

The String Cheese Incident. 7 p.m. Friday, July 16 and Saturday, July 17.

Tickets: $74+.

Bonobo. 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 20. Tickets: $30-$70.

Beloved DJ and producer Simon Green, aka Bonobo, brings some friends to Red Rocks for an all-out summer dance party.

The Tune Up, Full Cycle Bikes, 2355 30th St., Boulder:

The CBDs. 5-7 p.m. Sunday, July 18. Free. see EVENTS Page 26

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EVENTS

EVENTS from Page 24

WORDS

Author Talk: David Gessner — ‘Quiet Desperation, Savage Delight.’

5 p.m. Thursday, July 22. Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St., Boulder. Tickets: $5, boulderbookstore.net When the pandemic struck, nature writer David Gessner turned to Henry David Thoreau, the original social distancer, for lessons on how to live. Those lessons — of learning our own backyard, re-wilding, loving nature, self-reliance and civil disobedience — hold a secret that could help save us as we face the greater crisis of climate. Join him on July 22 to hear his story on questions unknown.

Author Talk: Jessamyn Stanley — ‘Yoke: My Yoga of Self Acceptance.’

5 p.m. Thursday, July 15, Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St., Boulder. Tickets: $5, boulderbookstore.net In Yoke, Jessamyn Stanley takes readers on an autobiographical journey to self-acceptance. In Sanskrit, yoga means to “yoke.” To yoke mind and body, movement and breath, light and dark, the good and the bad. This larger idea of “yoke” is what Stanley calls the yoga of every day — yoga that is not just about perfecting your downward dog but about applying the hard lessons learned on the mat to the even harder daily project of living. This book explores the larger themes of intersectionality and self-acceptance that inevitably arise in any yoga practice.

Boulder Story Slam: CAMP.

7 p.m. Sunday, July 18. Grace Gamm Theatre, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. Tickets: $15-$25, storyslamboulder.com They’ve got the mic. You bring the stories. This month’s Boulder Story Slam theme is CAMP. Audience members are invited to put their names in a hat. If your name is drawn, you’ll come to the stage and tell pened while you were camped out at home during quarantine? Did you get away with staying up past curfew at camp? Did your campiness win you the lead role of the school musical? Did you fall in love with your camp counselor? If you don’t want the mic this time, just come listen to a great night of storytelling.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

EVENTS

ART

NICK FORSTER WITH WILLIE NELSON

eTown Exhibit Opening Reception.

Saturday, July 17, Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway, Boulder, museumofboulder.org In April 2021, local world-renowned radio show turned full-blown multi-

‘Web Model Dot Space’ by Aaron Jones, Waajeed, and with critical writing by Wesley Taylor.

into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. From July 17 through Oct. 4, the Museum of Boulder and eTown present an exhibit of archival memorabilia, including instruments, photographs, celebrity-autographed posters and vid-

July 15 –Aug. 1, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 1750 13th St., Boulder, bmoca.org Web Model Dot Space is a suspended, bell-like dome that graphically represents the interior of an existing Detroit church

family it has built in Boulder and the life-long friendships that have been established with some of the country’s most well-known and celebrated musicians.

EVENTS

venue. Viewers become active participants as they enter the overhanging structure and become enveloped by its phenomenal nature. The environment incorporates looping tracks composed by musical luminary Waajeed. Entitled “Worship Tones,” the music is derived from legacies and experiences within the Black church and therefore both draws upon and inspires certain religious themes. Web Model Dot Space becomes an entry point — or portal — to critical dialogue around how existing spaces can facilitate visionary use.

THEATER ‘Play Me A Memory.’

6 p.m. Friday, July 16 and Saturday, July 17, BDT Stage, 5501 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder. Tickets: $65-$75, bdtstage.com Play Me a Memory celebrates the songbooks of two of the most decorated artists of all time: Billy Joel and Elton John. Collectively, these two artists have sold almost half a billion albums and dominated the music scene for more than half a century.

Jack and Dan Barton breathe new life into these songbooks in an intimate evening featuring songs like “Movin Out,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Only the Good Die Young,” “Bennie, and the Jets,” “Vienna” and many more of your favorite hits. The Barton Brothers are a piano-centric songwriting and performance duo based right here on from Billy Joel to Ben Folds, the best of musical theater, and a little Top 40 mixed in for good measure.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

BY ROB BREZSNY Call 720.253.4710 ARIES

MARCH 21-APRIL 19: In his poem “Litany,” Aries poet Billy

Collins testifies that he is “the sound of rain on the roof.”

He also claims to be “the moon in the trees, the paper blowing down an alley, the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table, and the shooting star.” He does make it clear, however, that he is not “the bread and the knife” on the table, nor the “crystal goblet and the wine.” What about you, Aries?

What are all the earthy and fiery phenomena that you are?

Are you, as Billy Collins suggests, “the dew on the morning grass and the burning wheel of the sun and the marsh birds suddenly in flight”? Now would be an excellent time to dream up your own version of such colorful biographical details.

TAURUS

APRIL 20-MAY 20: “Why else keep a journal, if not to

examine your own filth?” wrote poet Anne Sexton. And yes, Sexton did have a lot of filth to explore, including the physical abuse of her daughters. But most of us don’t need to focus so obsessively on our unlovely aspects. Keeping a journal can also be about identifying our ripening potentials and unused riches. This approach would be especially fun and wise for you Tauruses right now. The coming weeks will be an auspicious time for deep introspection that frees capacities and powers you have only partially activated up until now.

GEMINI

MAY 21-JUNE 20: Journalist Sam Anderson marvels at his

young daughter’s project: a small plastic dome-like structure that houses a community of ladybugs. All they need to consume, for weeks at a time, are “two water-soaked raisins.” I don’t think you’ll need to be forever as efficient and hardy as those ladybugs, Gemini, but you may have to be like that temporarily. My advice? Don’t regard it as a hardship. Instead, see it as an opportunity to find out how exquisitely resourceful and resilient you can be. The skills you learn and refine now will be priceless in the long run.

CANCER

JUNE 21-JULY 22: Cancerian poet Linda Hogan says she doesn’t like to be parched. She wants to be like “a tree drinking the rain.” I think every Cancerian has similar dreams: to be steadily immersed in engrossing feelings, awash with intimate longings, flowing along in rhythm with the soul’s songs. The coming weeks will be prime time for you to relish these primal pleasures. It’s probably best to avoid an outright flood, but I think it’s wise to invite a cascade.

LEO

JULY 23-AUG. 22: Actor Lupita Nyong’o had a starring role in Steve McQueen’s film 12 Years a Slave. She praised his directorial skills. She loved the fact that he told her, “Fail, and then fail better.” Why? “That kind of environment, where failure is an option, is magical,” she said. It allowed her to experiment freely, push herself beyond her previous limits, and focus on being true to the character she was playing rather than trying to be a “good actor.” I think these are excellent principles for you to keep in mind during the coming weeks.

VIRGO

AUG. 23-SEPT. 22: Virgo-born Wayne Shorter is a legendary

jazz composer and saxophonist. He has been making music for over 60 years, often with other legendary creators like Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock. The New York Times described Shorter as “jazz’s greatest living small-group composer and a contender for greatest living improviser.”

Bass prodigy Tal Wilkenfeld, who is 53 years younger than Shorter, tells the story of a show she performed with him.

Just before going on stage, Shorter came up to her, sensing she was nervous, and whispered some advice: “Play eternity.” Now I’m offering that same counsel to you as you carry out your tasks in the coming days. Be as timeless as you dare to be. Immerse yourself in the most expansive feelings you can imagine. Authorize your immortal soul to be in charge of everything you do.

LIBRA

SEPT. 23-OCT. 22: Libran author Paula McLain says the word “paradise” is derived from the ancient Persian word pairidaeza, meaning “walled garden.” For her, this association suggests that making promises and being faithful to our intentions are keys to creating happiness with those we care for. Paradise requires walls! To scrupulously cultivate freedom, we need discipline. If we hope to thrive in joyous self-expression, we must focus on specific goals. I bring these thoughts to your attention because now is a pivotal time to work on building, refining and bolstering your own personal version of paradise.

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SCORPIO

OCT. 23-NOV. 21: Thousands of 28-pound bars of 24-carat

gold are stored in the Bank of England’s underground vault.

To gain entry to the treasure trove, bankers use metal keys that are three feet long. They must also utter a secret password into a microphone. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you Scorpios can now gain access to a more metaphorical but nevertheless substantial source of riches. How? The key is a particular scene in your imagination that has recently begun to coalesce. It is an emblem of a future triumph or breakthrough that you will accomplish. As for the password, which you will also need, it’s vigorous rigor.

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SAGITTARIUS

NOV. 22-DEC. 21: Somehow, I have lived all these years

without ever coming across the rare English word “selcouth.” Today, as I meditated on the exotic astrological portents coming up for you, that word appeared — arriving on my phone via text message from my Sagittarius friend Lila. She told me, “I have a feeling that life is about to get intensely SELCOUTH for us Sagittarians.” I looked up the unfamiliar word and found these synonyms: unusual, marvelous, strange, magnificent, scarce, wondrous, weird, rare and exotic. Those terms do indeed coincide with my interpretation of your immediate future. So Happy Selcouth to you, dear Centaur! Celebrate with awed appreciation!

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CAPRICORN

DEC. 22-JAN. 19: Lexicographer Jonathon Green provides us with the following 19th-century slang words for the sex act: horizontal refreshment, strumming, playing at romps, cully-shangie, taking a turn at Mount Pleasant, dancing the blanket hornpipe, honeyfugle, giving a hot poultice for the Irish toothache, and — my favorite — fandango de pokum.

In accordance with astrological potentials, I recommend that you consider trying them all out in the next four weeks. In other words, experiment with shifting your approach to belly-bumping and libido-gratifying. If you don’t have a human partner, do it alone or with an angel or in your fantasy life.

AQUARIUS

JAN. 20-FEB. 18: If a lover or spouse is perpetually churning out fantasies of you in their imagination, they may be less than totally tuned in to the real you. Instead, they may be focused on the images they have of you — maybe so much so that they lose sight of who you genuinely are and what you are actually doing. The same possibility exists for other allies, not only lovers and spouses. They may be so entranced by their stories about you that they are out of touch with the ever-changing marvel that you are always evolving. That’s the bad news, Aquarius. Here’s the good news: The coming weeks will be a decisive time to correct such distortions — and revel in the raw truth about you.

PISCES

FEB. 19-MARCH 20: Here’s how art critic Walter Pater characterized the work of Piscean artist Michelangelo: “sweetness and strength, pleasure with surprise, an energy of conception which seems to break through all the conditions of comely form, recovering, touch by touch, a loveliness found usually only in the simplest natural things.” I’ve been waiting for the arrival of astrological aspects that would mean you’d be an embodiment of that description. And now they are here. Congrats! For the next 13 days, I will visualize you as a fount of ever-refreshing grace — as a fluid treasure that emanates refined beauty and wild innocence.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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Let’s Go Out! It’s Time...

Reading cinema

Two new movie-loving books for summer reading

by Michael J. Casey

T

hey always say write the book that you want to read,” Brad Weismann says. “I was looking for a reference book that covered

found that there wasn’t one. ... I thought: Well, there’s a need there. I should probably try to Lost in the Dark: A World History of Horror Film is the accumulation of four years of work and hundreds and hundreds of movies watched, “good, bad and indifferent.” being exemplary of a particular period or a particular style,” Weismann says, “But [Lost in the Dark] is not encyclopedic in the sense that it’s 800 pages

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Instead, Weismann focused on larger themes: iconic performers (Lon Chaney), studios (Universal monster movies) and historical periods (Hammer horror, Italian giallo, etc.), and then built outward to establish common trends.

“It does seem that every time society is in Weismann says, pointing to Spanish horror made during the reign of Francisco Franco. At the time, movies were heavily censored, and anything critical ers set their stories in Germany or France and left it to the audience to connect the dots.

“The zeitgeist of that time squeaks out thanks adding that victims in these movies are often “the ones who smoke pot and have sex. Kind of like

ON THE BILL: ‘Lost in the Dark: A World History of Horror Film’ discussion with Brad Weismann and Ron Bostwick. 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 12, Boulder Book Store. Tickets: weismannbbs.eventbrite.com.

You transgress the cultural norm, and immediately you’re food for monsters.”

Digging through horror’s history is a way to peer into the psychology of the time, even how we view the acts of today. As Weismann points out, Life’ is available now from when insurgents attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. Sutherland books.

6, the images we saw resembled The Purge movies with shocking similarities. How did we get here?

Horror has a few ideas.

If horror’s not your cup of tea, then Ira Wells’ 400-page portrait Norman Jewison: A Director’s Life is the book for you.

In the Heat of the Night, A Soldier’s Story, The Hurricane) and crowd-pleasing hits (Fiddler on the Roof, Jesus Christ Superstar, Moonstruck) is ripe for reevaluation. Yes, the movies hold up, but the biggest big names and bigger budgets without losing sight of his vision. It’s about who has the juice, Steve McQueen told Jewison. Sometimes Jewison had the juice, and sometimes he didn’t. But when he did, nothing could stop him.

Free from gossip and thoroughly researched, Norman Jewison: A Director’s Life is academia that reads like a novel. It’s great.

info@co-techpoint.com • 303-848-3738 • www.co-techpoint.com 30

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BY DAN SAVAGE with you again — this may be one of those rare instances where ghosting would’ve been kinder. At the very least he should’ve given you a chance to he told me right after. We were actually get dressed before he let you know he still in bed naked when he told me. He wasn’t interested in having sex with you kept cuddling me to make me feel a bit again. better but it still hurt to hear. Other than That your very first sex partner slight doubts about genitals and my face chose to brutalize you like this — that (I have Asian features and having my face he didn’t make the slightest effort to and living in a Western country isn’t alspare your feelings — is an almost unways easy), I didn’t go into forgivable betrayal. Unless that experience expecting this boy is somewhere ROMAN ROBINSON to be rejected. We had on the spectrum and has talked about all the sexual difficulty anticipating how a stuff we wanted to do and direct statement might hurt he had previously told me another person’s feelings, I was attractive and thicc BODIES, there’s no excuse and paid me other comfor what he did. Sticking pliments. Undressing for around to cuddle after someone and then being saying that shit isn’t proof rejected was devastating he’s a good person. The and I don’t have other arsonist who sticks around experiences to weigh this to piss on your house after one against and take reassetting it on fire isn’t being surance from. My self-esteem dropped. I kind, BODIES, he’s warming his dick by know his tastes and preferences shouldn’t the fire and enjoying the blaze. be a problem for me now, since we are no Please know that being rejected by longer together, but I can’t stop thinking someone doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with your body, BODIES, or He means a lot to me and we want to with your genitals or your face or your continue to be friends. I wish someone race or your features. Swiping right on had told me that having sex with somesomeone who didn’t swipe right on you one isn’t a guarantee that everything will or sleeping with someone who doesn’t always work out. (Having sex with them want to sleep with you again isn’t proof being sexually open and generous and you’re flawed or unattractive. It just having nice tits too!) I started therapy but I means you’re not right for that particalso wanted some advice from you. ular person, BODIES, and for reasons —Babe Only Desires Intuitive Emoparticular to that person. Rejection tional Support sucks and it always hurts and for that reason we should strive to be as Dear BODIES: “People who are considerate as possible when we have brutally honest generally enjoy the to reject someone. Considerate but brutality more than the honesty.” clear, considerate but unambiguous, but The late Canadian humorist and always considerate. And what this guy newspaper columnist Richard Needham did to you — not even letting you get wasn’t talking about your ex-whateverdressed first — was as inconsiderate as he-was when he made that observapossible and you have every right to be tion, BODIES, but he could’ve been. angry with him.

Yeah, yeah: sometimes we only realize If you had to get a therapist after we aren’t as attracted to someone sleeping with someone, it’s a pretty as we thought until after we’ve slept good indication that person should have with that person. That’s sadly the no place in your life — as a lover or a case sometimes. But your ex-whatevfriend — going forward. Keep seeing er’s comments were so gratuitously your shrink, BODIES, and stop talking cruel, BODIES, that it’s hard to avoid to this asshole. concluding (if I may borrow a phrase) Send questions to mail@savagelove.net, that cruelty was the point. He could’ve follow Dan on Twitter @fakedansavage, and and should’ve given you a million other visit savagelovecast.com. reasons why he didn’t want to sleep

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PHOTOS BY SUSAN FRANCE

Field of greens

A mother and daughter infuse soul and some Latin flavors into Boulder’s reviving dining scene

I

f you fry it right, the fried chicken people will most

CLASSIC SIDES

stewed with smoked

by John Lehndorff

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

“People would say: ‘Girlfriend, can you ern- and Caribbean-born locals, the mother make me some of your good collard greens? and daughter have a larger mission in mind for Everybody was telling Isha and me for years the majority of residents. that we needed to start selling our food,” Kay “Both cuisines have a lot in common “Blueberries were distributed along their whole says. and slaves created both styles of cooking,” route and served to bait the tired party forward.

That’s how the warm and welcoming says Kay, who has lived in and near Boulder When any lagged behind, the cry of ‘blueberries’ mother and daughter came to launch Rae’s & since 1980. “One of the reasons we opened Kay’s Melting Pot in October 2020 during the this business was just that there aren’t a lot was most effectual to bring them up.” pandemic. “We decided to try it and people of Black-owned businesses in Boulder. We —Henry David Thoreau, The Maine Woods have really responded. They were looking for wanted to help introduce people here to Black good carryout food,” Kay says. culture.”

Besides fried chicken, the soul side of the menu features spare ribs — puree of onions, bell peppers, garlic, cilantro and spices. three big, meaty bones that are boiled Lafayette’s got some new additions to its food scene.

Hot sauce comes with every order. and grilled to a fine level of tender. This isn’t Casian Seafood, 211 N. Public Road, is dishing everyHer pastelitos smoke-driven “barbecue” with dry rubs and sauce on the side. Kay’s ribs are immersed in the sweet, Besides sweets, Button Rock Bakery now includes per-satisfying rellenos de papa is a fried cornmeal shell mild smoky sauce until almost candied.

Kenny Lou’s Deli for sandwiches as well as sushi chefs stuffed with seasoned mashers and meat.

Kay’s sides include classic cheddary mac and dishing serious rolls, sashimi, nigiri and other JapaPuerto Rican mofongo is hard to describe, but it’s a cheese, collards stewed with smoked turkey, vegetarian nese specialties. And, Mountain Dogs Cafe and Coffee crave-able half-mash, half-hash of plantain with crispy, black-eyed peas, macaroni salad and tender, candied Roastery is making espresso at 1724 Majestic Drive with chewy bits of meat, garlic and layers of spices and (but not cloyingly) sweet potatoes. a panoramic view of the foothills. ... A new nanobrewery The most popular side is her “famous” potato tasting room, Howlin’ Wind Brewing & Blending, is open Island side dishes range from arroz con gandules salad with mustard, hard-boiled egg and bell pepper, I in Rollinsville with beer and kombucha on tap. ... Dry — rice with pigeon peas and briny green olives — to guessed. “I could tell you the recipe but then I’d have to Land Distillers’ new tasting room is open at 519 Main St., tostones, fried green plantain slices with garlic dip. kill you,” Kay says, before letting out a giant laugh.

Longmont.

With ample portions, generous soul and Puerto Almost everything comes with slabs of cornbread, Rican side dishes you can mix and match — plus a either Southern-style or the sweet variation, because John Lehndorff is the Boulder Weekly’s Food Editor. complimentary cookie — you won’t still be hungry after there are two regional cornbread “schools.”

Comments and local food news to: Nibbles@Boulderdinner.

Rae leans to the spicy side with her Puerto Rican Weekly.com Besides providing a yummy taste of home for Southsofrito, the traditional green

Words to Chew On

LOCAL FOOD NEWS

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still get so excited talking about Belgian beers,” Brian Lutz, West Flanders Brewing Co.’s brewmaster, says. “I love the Belgian approach, which is just the opposite of [American brewers]: Don’t try to give everything to everybody. Try to be really, really good with one or two things, and do it for 500 years and, yeah, everything will work out.”

And it has. Among national brewing traditions, Belgium remains unparalleled in the array of beers produced. On Lutz’s last trip to Belgium, a fellow drinker told him there were “14,000 unique beers in that small geographic area,” he says. “And I’ve never had a bad one.”

Lutz has been one of Boulder County’s most prominent purveyors of Belgian-style beers for close to three decades.

WEST FLANDERS BREWING CO.

In search of harmony

Brian Lutz on brewing Belgian-style beers in Boulder

by Michael J. Casey

What to drink

J

uly 18 is St. Arnoldus Day, the patron saint of Belgian brewers and hop-pickers. July 21 is Belgian National Day. What better time to visit West Flanders for a quaff or three?

West Flanders has about a dozen taps pouring at any given time, and like most brewpubs, rotates through a wide variety of brews. For those not ready to go international, West Flanders has a handful of IPAs to choose from — try the tangerine IPA, Lizard Lips.

But for those raring for an adventure, start with Holy Wit!, possibly the most thirst-quenching

Lutz was an “incessant” homebrewer who got his professional start at Left is full of carbonation, sweet orange, spicy coriander and creamy malt. It drinks dangerously Hand Brewing in 1994. A fast. few years later, Lutz moved Moving up in strength, Trippel Lutz is a must, and not just for the name: rich and smooth over to the long-gone with loads of banana esters on the nose and notes of caramel and clove in the mouth. It’s RedFish New Orleans Brewhouse on 13th Street. kettle sour made with blueberries and vanilla bean that is sweet, tart and tangy all in one.

That’s where he started selling his Belgian-style abbey ales over the counter.

If you were a beer drinker probably did more for the beer than Lutz physically brewed. in Boulder back then, chances are it was ever could by himself. “[Each beer] deserves its own perAngry Monk remains one of Boulder sonality, deserves its own character,” Lutz didn’t.

County’s iconic ales, one you’ll often says of the variety of strains they use. “It’s “It was rough,” Lutz says. “[People] find anchoring Lutz’s Belgian-inspired just killer.” weren’t willing.” line-up at West Flanders Brewing Co. It’s also incredibly diverse. Remember As Lutz explains, the average beer Lutz joined as brewmaster when the Lutz’s quote about the “14,000 unique drinker in the ’90s was still resistant to brewpub opened in 2012. Fifteen years beers”? If you think beer in Boulder experimentation. So Lutz decided to open earlier, Lutz had to practically convince tastes different from brewery to brewery, minds with education. He called the beer customers to take a chance on his abthen Belgium will blow your mind. From Trappist Ale and committed to explaining bey ale. Now, he could model a whole the variety of brewing processes to the what made it special — to each and every brewpub around these beers. ingredients used, Belgian beers encomcustomer if need be.

“I’ve always been excited about West pass just about everything. Categorizing it Then came the cease and desist Flanders,” Lutz says. “We go the extra is a fool’s errand. And yet, there are beer mile to try to bring some authenticity. ... fests and competitions in Belgium similar are produced by Trappist monks within Especially when you’re trying to do a style to those we have in the states. the walls of Trappist monasteries. It’s not that’s been done a million times over.”

“How are they judged?” Lutz asked a a style so much as it is a trademark, and Lutz says he and his head brewer, brewer from Belgium.

Lutz’s Trappist Ale was an infringement Erin Casey, have “11 different yeast “On one thing,” the brewer replied, — at least in name. Lutz acquiesced strains going at any single time.” And “Harmony.” and retitled the ale Angry Monk. But the yeast is the living organism that can make And with every beer, Lutz and his publicity generated by the litigious monks a beer “Belgian,” regardless of where it’s team get that much closer.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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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!

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

BY JOHN LEHNDORFF

JOHN LEHNDORFF

TASTE OF THE WEEK: Pho @ Pho Mi EDWIN ZOE, PHOTO BY SUSAN FRANCE

PHO SOUP HAS gone from an exotic rarity in Boulder County and environs to a common menu item. The truth is, some of it is not great and tastes processed because it is assembled from packaged ingredients.

Take one sip of the aromatic amber broth Edwin Zoe makes at Pho Mi and you’ll understand how good it can be. The Vietnamese focused eatery is part of Chimera Ramen in Boulder, next door to Zoe Ma Ma. He roasts onions and boils bones to make the broth, which is more subtly spiced than ramen broth, and fills it with rice

PHO MI. 2014 10th St., Boulder, 720-580-1100, chimera.kitchen

noodles. Instead of an platter of greens, this pho comes garnished with the perfect amount of basil, bean sprouts, mint, cilantro, scallion and jalapeño slices. For toppings, rare steak is available. Asian meatballs are preserved in fat skimmed from the bone broth to make them juicier. The crowning addition that elevates the dish is lightly smoked thin slices of fatty beef brisket, with a squirt of sriracha and a squeeze of lime juice.

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Pickling the pie cherry plethora

hile local pie (or Montmorency) cherry trees are having a rare, abundant crop of small, delicate, tart cherries, many folks are baking pies and cobblers. But consider making a batch of pickled pie cherries for Thanksgiving. Once you’ve tried pickled cherries, you’ll never go back to cranberry relish again.

Easy to make, they can age until the holidays in a jar in the fridge. They are also great in cocktails. You can tweak my recipe to make them sweeter or spicier.

Pickled Pie Cherries 1/2 cup rice, white or champagne vinegar 1/3 to 1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2- 2 pounds tart pie cherries, rinsed and pitted Optional Additions: black peppercorns, fresh ginger, allspice, bay leaves, chile flakes, mustard seeds Bring vinegar, water and sugar to a boil and continue until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add any or all of the spice additions. Some cooks only use salt and peppercorns. Pack cherries into a heatproof jar and fill to the top with liquid. Seal with a tight lid and refrigerate.

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A final toast a Colorado beverage pioneer

Rescue your neighborhood fruit distributes surplus fruit growing in urban areas in Boulder. CFR organizes neighborhood volunteer harvests of backyard fruit trees. The tree owners, participants and food banks and shelters receive the rest.

Nonedible fruit is donated to animal sanctuaries. Community Fruit Rescue is looking for a slew of volunteers to help harvest cherry, peach, apple and other fruit trees. Information: fruitrescue.org.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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We take a moment to toast the recently passed George Stranahan, a remarkable Colorado leader in many areas. A physicist, he raised beef cattle and published the alternative Mountain Gazette.

He founded an early craft brewery, Flying Dog, and employed writer Hunter S. Thompson and illustrator Ralph Steadman to design his labels. He kept the infamous Woody Creek Tavern open Prohibition: Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey.

JULY 15, 2021

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Disqualified for coping

urging the agency to make an exception for her case.

“We urge you to reconsider the policies that led to this and other suspensions for recreational marijuana use, and to reconsider Ms. Richardson’s suspension,” the lawmakers wrote. “Please strike a blow for civil liberties and civil rights by reversing this course you are on.”

The USADA defend its decision to suspend Richardson, but also indicated a new willingness to reconsider some of the cannabis policies that led to her disqualification.

“USADA has consistently put forward recommendations that the rules addressing cannabis and cannabinoids should be more flexible and fair. ... Many of the suggestions supported

by USADA have been incorporated into the rules,” the organization wrote in its response to Ocasio-Cortez and Raskin. “USADA would, however, still go even further in mitigating the harsh consequences of a positive marijuana case in a situation like Ms. Richardson’s.”

However, the USADA added, “there is no longer any legal process to challenge [Richardson’s disqualification] or to reverse it.”

According to research from the University of Colorado published in Frontiers of Public Health, eight out of 10 cannabis users partake either just before or after working out. Athletes say cannabis use prior to exercise relaxes them, allows them to enjoy work-outs more and improves their recovery afterward similarly to Advil or Tylenol.

Sha’Carri Richardson’s heartbreaking disqualification from the 2021 Olympics raises the question: Is it time to reassess the Olympics’ cannabis policy?

by Will Brendza

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hen the USA Track & Field (USATF) released the Olympic roster on July 6, people around the country were equally frustrated and disappointed to see that Sha’Carri Richardson was not listed as a

competitor.

It was the official and final word from the national team: Richardson, a USATF favorite, wouldn’t be competing in the Tokyo games. She’d tested positive for THC, nullifying her June 19 win at the Eugene, Oregon, Olympic trials, and disqualifying her from both the 4x100-meter relay and the 100-meter individual race. The situation has sparked a heated conversation among the public, Olympic officials and lawmakers about whether or not the Olympic rules on cannabis need reevaluation.

Richardson, the fiery-haired 21-year-old sprinter, was favored to compete for gold at the 2021 games. But between the very recent death of her biological mother, and the incredible pressure of training for the Olympic trials, Richardson says she chose to self-medicate and cope with emotional stress with cannabis, which is legal in Oregon.

On NBC’s Today show Richardson said, “I know I can’t hide myself, so in some type of way, I was trying to hide my pain.” athlete to run into trouble with cannabis. Famously, Michael Phelps, the 23-time-gold-medalist swimmer, was disciplined in 2009 and lost sponsorships after he was photographed smoking from a cannabis pipe. However, 12 years later the conversation around Olympic cannabis controversies seems to have taken on a strikingly different tone.

On July 2, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamie Raskin sent a co-authored letter to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), defending Richardson and

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JULY 15, 2021

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But there simply isn’t research indicating that THC is actually “performance enhancing,” CU’s Angela Bryan, a professor of psychology and neuroscience, told CU Boulder Today. When it comes to improving a person’s speed, power or strength (especially days after consumption), there’s no evidence that cannabis has any kind of notable effect. One study she points to actually showed decreased power and strength among some athletes high on THC, with little-to-no change in performance for others.

What there is growing evidence to support, however, is that cannabis can greatly help people treat depression, anxiety, sleep problems and pain. Which is what Richardson claims to have been using cannabis for in the first place: to manage her stress levels and anxiety, and to cope with the loss of her mother.

“I’m human,” Richardson tweeted on July 1, when the announcement of her failed drug test was made.

Then, on July 3 she wrote, “I’m sorry, I can’t be y’all Olympic Champ this year but I promise I’ll be your World Champ next year.”

The leaders of the USADA called Richardson’s disqualification “heartbreaking.”

The World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) stated that its “rules concerning marijuana must change.” Even Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, suggested that the rules need to be reevaluated.

Until they are, however, there’s nothing to be done for Richardson except to wait for her triumphant return.

As President Joe Biden remarked on the situation, “Rules are the rules. And everyone knows what the rules were going in. Whether they should remain that way is a different issue. But the rules are rules, and I was very proud of the way she responded.”

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