Boulder Weekly 8.20.2020

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Elsewhere citizens were given the opportunity to petition electronically — why not in Boulder?

by Emma Athena

26,

2020

news:

Elsewhere citizens were given the opportunity to petition electronically — why not in Boulder?

by Emma Athena

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Boulder, Colorado

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boulderganic:

Fairview student wins international clean tech prize; learning with 350Colorado and more

by Angela K. Evans

buzz:

Amon Tobin’s latest alter ego offers his most intimate album yet

by Caitlin Rockett

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Final days of Artmix 2020, Shanna in a Dress, Frequent Flyers and more to do when there’s ‘nothing’ to do...

by Boulder Weekly Staff

Marlowe, Ariwo, Oscar Jerome, The Land of Rah, Kaki King and No Joy

by Caitlin Rockett

35

feast:

Zucchini and yellow squash at Oxford Farms

by Matt Cortina

departments

26 27 28 29 31 33 37

Guest Column: Air Quality Monitoring in Longmont and COGA Letters: Signed, sealed, delivered, your views News: How one altercation has frightened the Longmont Latinx community Words: “What I saw,” by Karen Morgan Astrology: by Rob Brezsny Film: ‘Tesla’ is a delightfully anarchic take on the current wars Savage Love: Quickies Food/Drink: What to try this week in Boulder County Beer: Walter’s Brewery & Taproom: Everything old is new again in Pueblo Weed Between the Lines: Speeding edibles up

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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AUGUST 20, 2020

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Publisher, Fran Zankowski Editor, Matt Cortina Circulation Manager, Cal Winn EDITORIAL Senior Editor, Angela K. Evans Arts and Culture Editor, Caitlin Rockett Special Editions Editor, Michael J. Casey Adventure Editor, Emma Athena Contributing Writers, Peter Alexander, Dave Anderson, Will Brendza, Rob Brezsny, Paul Danish, Sarah Haas, Jim Hightower, Dave Kirby, John Lehndorff, Rico Moore, Amanda Moutinho, 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 Graphic Designer, Daisy Bauer 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

August 20, 2020 Volume XXVIII, Number 1 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.

690 South Lashley Lane, Boulder, CO, 80305 p 303.494.5511 f 303.494.2585 editorial@boulderweekly.com www.boulderweekly.com Boulder Weekly is published every Thursday. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. © 2020 Boulder Weekly, Inc., all rights reserved.

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.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Colorado on fire ANGELA K. EVANS

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ov. Jared Polis instituted a statewide open fire ban on Aug. 18, as wildfires have burned more than 175,000 acres across Colorado. Hot, dry and windy conditions have helped spread at least four fires, all of which are less than 10% contained.

As of Aug. 19, the Pine Gulch fire north of Grand Junction is currently the biggest, at 125,100 acres and counting. Caused by lightning, it’s now the second largest fire in the state’s history. The Grizzly Creek fire (at approximately 28,000 acres) continues to keep I-70 closed through Glenwood Canyon with no estimated time of reopening. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, as is that of the Cameron Peak fire (at 15,738 acres) in Arapaho and Roosevelt National forests, which have filled the skies in Boulder County with smoke and even ash, and closed down Highway 14 west of Fort Collins. It can be seen here on Friday, Aug. 14.

The human-caused Williams Fork fire near Hot Sulphur Springs has burned more than 6,700 acres since Friday. For up-to-date fire information visit inciweb.nwcg.gov.

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AUGUST 20, 2020

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Gardner fails on women’s health care A senator’s primary job should be promoting the health of our citizens.

It is beyond belief that in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic, with millions losing their employmentbased health insurance, Gardner supports repealing the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, thousands of newly unemployed Coloradans are without health insurance. It is disturbing, but predictable that Senator Gardner’s campaign website lacks a single word on women’s health care.

As a Colorado legislator he voted against requiring health insurance companies to provide coverage for contraception or labor and delivery.

He voted against providing workplace accommodations for nursing mothers and against Medicaid coverage for family planning for lowincome women. He voted to repeal funding for school-based health centers. He voted numerous times to defund Planned Parenthood, often the only affordable health care for gynecology and cancer prevention for low-income women. He voted against allowing pharmacies to supply emergency contraception. He voted against allowing military sexual assault victims to have someone not in their direct chain of command to rule on their case.

When will Gardner ever support women and their health care?

It does not matter what Gardner says, or what the flashy ads say, just look at how he votes. How will you vote?

Scott Johnson, MD/Loveland

One person, one vote Here’s a disturbing fact: In two of the last five elections, the presidential candidate who had the most popular votes LOST the election. That’s you, George W. Bush and Donald Trump.

These two contenders were able to seize the White House because the electoral college system is broken.

A system that allows the candidate who lost the popular vote to win the presidency is broken because it silences the will of the voters.

The only way that we can ensure that every Colorado voice is heard 6

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and every vote is counted is through National Popular Vote (NPV). Prop 113 guarantees the presidency to the candidate who wins the most votes in all 50 states.

NPV does not abolish the electoral college but works within the guard rails as described in the U.S. Constitution. Don’t be misled by those who would have you believe this mandate will abolish the electoral college. That is simply not true.

NPV changes the votes of Colorado’s electors from whichever candidate wins the most votes in our state to the candidate who earned the most popular votes nationwide.

Gov. Polis signed the NPV into law last year because he knew it was good for Colorado. He recognized that NPV will require presidential candidates to run a 50-state campaign rather than paying attention only to those states where the race is close.

That means no more “fly-over states.”

I urge all Coloradans to vote Yes on the National Popular Vote, Prop 113. Join 14 other states and Washington, D.C. to affirm that every vote should count equally and every vote should matter. NPV is good for democracy and it’s good for Colorado.

Catherine James/Boulder (Editor’s note: Prop 113 is a referendum on the NPV law Polis signed in 2019.)

Trump does not support democracy The coming election is about democracy versus dictatorship. It’s possibly the most important election in world history.

Trump is a classic “strong man” who dreams of being a dictator. He will cripple American democracy, and create a police state. We can already see this in Trump’s sending federal troops to urban areas to crush protests and encouraging local police to be violent and repressive; we can see it in Republican attempts to curtail voting; we can hear it in every menacing comment Trump makes.

So, what happens if Trump clearly loses and refuses to leave office? Here’s what his silly script see LETTERS Page 7

AUGUST 20, 2020

Air Quality Monitoring in Longmont and COGA

by Joan Peck

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he presentation that Dr. ing the wells to the east and north of Detlev Helmig gave at the our city.

Longmont City Council The world has been plagued by meeting on July 28 was industries making billions of dollars detailed and conclusive as to selling products which cause addicthe source of the tions, terminal high concentradiseases and tions of ethane, death. Two exammethane, propane ples are the and other VOCs tobacco compawe [volatile organic nies and most compounds] that must be made aware of the recently the cause health Sackler family affect the emissions from problems. and Purdue Longmont conPharma, who are the flaring and leaking of tracted with Dr. being prosecuted Helmig for air for their part in fluids from the oil wells quality monitorcontributing to ing after noting the opioid epithat are being fracked. the high concendemic. trations of VOCs In the July 31 at monitoring stations at Boulder article in the Longmont Leader, “Oil Reservoir. and gas association takes aim at Following the wind patterns, it researcher’s findings regarding emiswas clear that the readings were com- sions in Longmont,” the CEO of the ing from the north and northeast. Dr. Colorado Oil and Gas Association Helmig’s instruments to measure air (COGA) blasted the scientist that quality are more sophisticated and Longmont has contracted for air accurate than those used by city staff. quality monitoring. In the article, The unusually high spikes in the Dan Haley, CEO of COGA, said, “The VOCs after midnight are concerning. findings from controversial research Is this when these wells are flaring? scientist Detlev Helmig are driven by Our city needs to continue monitorsee GUEST COLUMN Page 7

With our current COVID pandemic,

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

LETTERS from Page 6

will sound like: “The liberal Democrats have encouraged illegal aliens to mail in fraudulent ballots and cheated! I, the greatest president the country has ever had, have decided to reject these fake results.”

He’ll try to get the Supreme Court to back him, and in the meantime, he’ll call for a de facto civil war, telling those he sees as allies, (“bikers,” violent white supremacists and other heavily armed rightists, fascists within the police and military) to attack protestors and anyone who dissents, even non-violently. His message will be, “To save us, I’m taking over. Anyone who opposes me is going to get hurt.”

Trump neither understands nor supports democracy; in that sense, he’s fundamentally unAmerican and a betrayer of the nation. He’s a thug who in the name of Make America Great Again will destroy all that’s great about America. At the end of Saving Private Ryan is the heroic death of Captain Miller (Tom Hanks); his last words are “Earn this.” Do we honor the sacrifices of those who fought against monarchy and tyranny in the American Revolution, the “honored dead” of Gettysburg, and especially those who fell to destroy a dictatorship of Nazis, by enthroning an American Hitler? If Trump triumphs, these patriots will have “died in vain,” and government of the people, by the people and for the people may indeed perish from the earth.

Paul Dougan/Boulder

Boulder fracking ban CU Boulder’s breathtaking backdrop of the Flatirons, perfect weather and abundance of outdoor activities has led to its ranking as the number one college town in America, and attracts thousands of out-of-state students making up half of the student population, including myself. For this reason, it is in Boulder County’s best interest to preserve its pristine natural environment, which has led to its popularity and reputable name.

A ban on fracking is necessary at the economic, environmental and social level. Fracking pollutes the air, drains our freshwater supply, intensifies climate change and contaminates crops and soil through flowback returns. Despite the newly released CDPHE study revealing how the “exposure to chemicals used in oil and gas developments, such as benzene, may cause short-term negative health impacts” and that “there is a possibility of negative health impacts at distances from 300 feet out to 2,000 feet,” the process of fracking is still underway, all while we are in the midst of a global respiratory pandemic. The COGCC needs to increase the distances from homes, schools and other occupied buildings beyond what is currently proposed in the objective criteria, given the preponderance of health studies indicating serious harm to public health and safety at distances of 2,500 feet and beyond.

Colorado communities deserve full due process and a halt to permit-

ting to allow time for a thoughtful, thorough process that enables public participation in rulemaking at the state and local levels and accomplishes the intention of SB19-181 — protection of public safety, health, welfare and the environment.

I am disappointed that the county commissioners decided not to let the voters decide on a ban on fracking. I am calling on them to take continued action to protect us from the dangers of this polluting industry.

Kacie Beth/Boulder

World Plant Milk Day I’d like to applaud Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ recent appointment of Ellen Kessler to the public at large position on the State Board of Veterinary Medicine. The board activities include licensing veterinarians, investigating complaints, disciplining violators, and making, amending and adopting reasonable rules and regulations that govern the conduct of veterinarians. The board is made up of five veterinarians and two public members. Ellen’s appointment has caused quite a stir in the animal agriculture community. Why? Ellen is a vegan activist. Let’s break that down since the word vegan evokes ideas of radical individuals and dreadlocked hippies. Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose. How about activist? A person who uses or

supports strong actions in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue.

So Ellen supports strong action in favor of excluding exploitation and cruelty to animals for any purpose. It seems like that’s exactly the person you want on a board which regulates the conduct of veterinarians (a person qualified to treat diseased or injured animals). Ranchers and farmers can continue to needlessly kill animals for profit with an advocate for the animals on this board.

This in no way impedes on their ability to exploit animals for profit.

However, one day I would like to live in a world where we no longer support exploitation of animals or humans in our society. Where farmers grow plants, not raise animals for murder by exploited human workers at slaughterhouses like JBS in Greeley.

If you want to live in that world too, maybe start by switching to plant milk. Aug. 22 is world plant milk day.

Visit worldplantmilkday.com for more information.

Joshua Smith/ Boulder

End the Muni How much has the City of Boulder spend so far on this quest? Is this an ego thing? Please give it up...

You’ve spent thousands on this idiocy of your “proud Mary” surge. Try to co-plan with Xcel your objectives and timelines, and let the public get relieved of your useless ambition and pursuits.

Tom Valeski/internet

GUEST COLUMN from Page 6

his distaste of the oil and gas industry and studies that show oil and gas emissions are no more harmful than those coming from the family lawnmower.”

These statements are similar to ones made by the tobacco industry and Purdue Pharma when they were starting to be made accountable for their industries’ harmful activities.

This is a weak defense but understandable given the declining market for the gas and oil industry. It is troubling that COGA has so much influence in our public universities and our local newspaper. John Spina was fired by the Times Call and Dr. Helmig by the University of BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Colorado after the readings at Longmont’s monitoring stations were made public.

In February, I was contacted by residents about unusual activity around the Stamp well on the northwest bank of Union Reservoir. It wasn’t until May that TOP Operating, owner of the well, reported a leak and ground contamination.

This well is so close to our reservoir that I’m concerned about water contamination.

I support renewing Dr. Helmig’s contract with Longmont for air quality monitoring. It is my duty as a council member to advocate for the health and welfare of our resiI

dents both in the city as well as the county. With our current COVID pandemic, we must be made aware of the affect the emissions from the flaring and leaking of fluids from the oil wells that are being fracked.

Anyone with lung problems and autoimmune diseases are at risk.

Benzene is one of the VOCs monitored at Union Reservoir. The World Health Organization states there is no safe level. The levels given by EPA are based on adults during a work week, not children who may be exposed 24 hours a day.

Benzene can cause a wide array of issues including leukemia and other types of cancer. (emergency.cdc.gov/ AUGUST 20, 2020

agent/benzene/basics/facts.asp) We can all monitor the air quality in Longmont on a daily basis by going to bouldair.com/Longmont. htm. This website works best on Google Chrome. If the air quality is bad, consider staying inside and closing your windows. My hope is that Senate Bill 181 can give municipalities more authority and control over air quality.

Joan Peck is a member of Longmont City Council. The comments and opinions expressed here are her own and do not represent Longmont council as a whole.

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

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Courts rule

Elsewhere citizens were given the opportunity to petition electronically — why not in Boulder?

by Emma Athena

Editor’s note: This article is part of a series analyzing online signature-gathering’s role in the future of direct democracy in 2020. Reporting for this series was made possible, in part, thanks to the Solutions Journalism Network. Para leerlo en español, por favor visita boulderweekly.com

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hile dozens of Boulderites spent the spring risking their health to collect thousands of petition signatures and get citizen initiative measures on the 2020 ballot, this wasn’t the case elsewhere in the nation. From the East Coast to the Southwest, legislators in other states were able to provide secure electronic systems that allowed their constituents to collect signatures online.

It was a surprise to some political scientists, as Boulder was the first municipality in the nation to have voters approve use of an electronic petitioning system back in 2018. Colorado, too, is known in election law circles as a state with relatively active and progressive use of direct democracy. As John Cluverius, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, says, “Outside of the pandemic, Boulder should really be leading the way.”

Instead, Massachusetts — a state with tougher standards for direct democracy compared to Colorado, with greater signature thresholds and shorter collection periods — implemented the first successful electronic ballot initiative petitioning sys8

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tem when, on April 29, the state’s Supreme Judicial Court ruled in favor of citizen initiative campaigns.

“I’m shocked that this wasn’t deployed everywhere,” Cluverius says. “You all are in Boulder, Colorado. There’s already been a democratic commitment that favors this. The voters have said already they like this and they want it.”

With a pandemic killing tens of thousands of Americans a day, he adds, “This is a no-brainer.”

Before COVID-19, none of the states that allow citizen initiatives were using remote, electronic petitioning systems. Everyone had to collect signatures in person, and though Colorado and Arizona did pioneer new technologies in the mid-2010s to assist with petitioning, these methods weren’t necessarily helpful for the 2020 campaigns trying to navigate a pandemic. The City of Denver’s unique eSign system facilitates the use of an iPad, but still requires someone in-person to supervise the signing; Arizona implemented an electronic petitioning system in 2011, but it was designed only for use by candidates seeking election to public office, not those petitioning ballot initiatives. In Boulder, the electronic system championed and approved in 2018 remains months away from deployment.

Pre-2020, conversations about the concept and/ or application of electronic petitioning systems were relatively absent on a national scale. But, as with so much else, the pandemic quickly changed that.

Suddenly, collecting signatures online, from the safety of one’s home, was not only a topic of national AUGUST 20, 2020

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debate around democractic participation, but also a question of legality. Before long, a wave of legal challenges began populating dockets in many state supreme courts.

Only 24 states (plus Washington D.C.) guarantee citizens the right to petition for ballot measures — often following a very specific set of rules. These rules are outlined in state constitutions, statutes and city charters. The process varies in detail state to state and municipality to municipality, but all citizen initiative procedures share a common outline: gather enough valid signatures by a certain deadline, and your measure is guaranteed a spot on the ballot. Because support from elected officials is not needed, ballot initiatives provide an avenue for citizens to advance solutions to issues and enact structural changes that might be overlooked or ignored by politicians.

Thus, when the conditions around these rules changed due to the pandemic, petitioners were quick to engage with those governing the petitioning process, requesting accommodations to rules during these unprecedented circumstances.

According to Richard Collins, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Colorado Law School, it became a matter of trying to understand what constitutions intended. “The people who put [the rules] in the constitution, they plainly were not thinking about how these provisions should be applied in the case of a disease epidemic,” he says. In many ways, it boils down to a question: What’s more important: the right to petition, or the rules BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

SCREENSHOT

that determine how to access that right?

As signature-collection deadlines loomed over spring and summer, with no reliable precedent for health accommodations and no progressive movements from leadership in sight, campaigns across the country began suing for the right to petition electronically as early as April. Many figured, if it’s possible to securely deposit checks, sign leases and apply for federal assistance programs online, it could be possible to facilitate community endorsements of petitions, too. Some were successful in their lawsuits, but most were not.

In Boulder, four citizen campaigns began the petitioning process for ballot initiatives this spring. Potential use of an electronic system during the pandemic came up quickly, as many citizens were aware of the community’s 2018 vote to approve an electronic system. Plus, City Attorney Tom Carr was coincidentally scheduled to update Boulder’s City Council about the system’s implementation in March.

At this meeting, Carr announced the electronic system would not be ready to use in the 2020 election cycle — as city staff and Runbeck, the contracted software vendor, are still developing the system and conducting security tests — but he offered the potential for a temporary system that could help petitioners during the pandemic. Council asked Carr to draft an ordinance that would temporarily permit electronic petitioning, but the conversation around it swiftly ended in mid-April, when Council voted not to pursue Carr’s ordinance (for more on this, see News: “What will happen to Boulder’s 2020 citizen initiatives?,” July 30). Council members cited concerns about data security and burdens placed on petitioners to switch systems mid-campaign. Many citizen-initiative volunteers, however, had explicitly asked for such a health-preserving accommodation. Ultimately Council made no concessions, directing the four ballot initiative campaigns to continue collecting pen-and-paper signatures.

Only one of Boulder’s citizen initiative measures — “No Eviction Without Representations” (NEWR) — made it onto the 2020 ballot via this process, BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

COURTESY LIZ POPOLO AND YES ON 2

though campaign organizers had started collecting signatures two months before the pandemic hit. The other campaigns, with later starts, weren’t as successful, though organizers spent hundreds of hours gathering thousands of handwritten signatures. Their efforts were further stymied when the City Attorney revealed his office had misinformed campaigns about the rules, and Council again took no action, declining to correct the mistake. Now one Boulder campaign, “Bedrooms Are For People” (BAFP), is appealing its case to the Colorado Supreme Court, requesting Council place the measure on the ballot.

BAFP campaign co-chair Chelsea Castellano explained in a statement that organizers will continue litigating “on behalf of all Boulder voters who wish to exercise their right to direct democracy, this year and in the future.”

THOUGH citizens were What’s allowed to sign petitions happened on online, Massachusetts’ the municipal Yes on 2 campaign had to print out each individlevel, with city ual’s petition signature officials quickand turn in paper copies ly determining to county clerks. “rules-arerules,” has been mirrored on the state level. In Colorado, citizen initiative campaigns pressed Gov. Jared Polis for emergency petitioning accommodations, as did dozens of other campaigns in Massachusetts, Idaho, Michigan, Arizona, North Dakota, Montana, Ohio and more.

“We’re only asking for the chance to be able to have the people vote,” says Cara Brown McCormick, campaign manager for Massachusetts’ Yes on 2 initiative proposing ranked choice voting. The Yes on 2 campaign filed its lawsuit, asking the state to

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AUGUST 20, 2020

accept electronic petitions in April following the lead of candidates who’d filed a similar suit. In early May, Massachusetts judges granted permission, and campaigns worked closely with their Secretary of State, Attorney General and the electronic-agreement company DocuSign to find common ground.

“It really was a compromise,” Cluverius explains. “The effect was one where everybody came together and the state reached a conclusion that preserved why we have signature gathering requirements, which are to prevent a glut of ballot initiatives, but also give these initiative campaigns the flexibility they need to [have a reasonable chance at success].”

Using DocuSign, the Yes on 2 campaign was able to collect one signature every two minutes for 40 days in a row, totalling more than 30,000 electronic signatures by the end of their campaign. All together it became the largest signature gathering effort in the history of Massachusetts, eclipsing the 13,374 signatures required to place the measure on the ballot.

“That’s the way it’s meant to be: People taking things into their own hands to petition their government.

And that’s what this was, a pure exercise,” McCormick says. “It was tremendously successful.”

Perhaps most importantly, McCormick adds, “The Secretary only disqualified a tiny number of signatures. There was no fraud.”

From her years of experience, McCormick knows there are ample ways for governments to reject signatures and petitions. “In this case, when the campaign delivered the petitions to the hundreds of town clerks for certification and then to the Secretary of State, there were no problems — no forgeries, nothing,” she says, “It just seems to me that the judges in Massachusetts were very much aligned with democracy moving forward, even during a pandemic.”

While Massachusetts was able to quickly deploy a new electronic petitioning system, Arizona was able to at least partially rely on a framework that had already been in use for years. In 2011, the Secretary of State’s office see PETITION Page 10

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PETITION from Page 9

created an electronic petitioning system, known as “E-Qual,” that prospective candidates can use when running for state or legislative office.

Initially, the system was meant to help candidates for national, statewide and legislative offices collect signatures and qualifying financial contributions, explains Sophia Solis, public information officer for the Arizona Secretary of State’s office. At one point E-Qual expanded to include more candidates seeking election to county, city or town offices.

So, when the pandemic hit Arizona and several petition campaigns were already underway, citizens pursuing ballot initiatives asked if E-Qual could be further extended to support their signature collections. Six ballot initiatives ended up filing lawsuits, seeking authorization to use E-Qual.

Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who was in the legislature in 2011 and voted in favor of E-Qual at the time, championed the campaigns’ request.

“I won’t oppose the request being made by these organizations,” she wrote in a statement. “I plan to let the court know that my office can implement the necessary changes, should that be the court’s order.”

She argued, given the challenges COVID-19 poses to in-person signature collection, “allowing initiative campaigns to use the E-Qual system, as some candidates already do, is a reasonable option for protecting public health and supporting continuity in our democratic processes.”

A district court judge in Arizona, however, dismissed the lawsuits, first stating the pandemic was not enough of an “extraordinary circumstance” to merit reevaluating the long-standing state election laws.

Solis explains the use of E-Qual for ballot initiatives is not authorized in state statute, and to expand into this realm would require a legislative change. The judge also justified his dismissal by asserting the ballot initiative campaigns should’ve begun collecting signatures before the pandemic.

“Had Plaintiffs simply started gathering signatures earlier, they could have 10

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gathered more than enough to qualify for the ballot before the COVID-19 pandemic started interfering with their efforts,” the judge ruled.

In response, Hobbs remained sided with the citizen campaigns: “We can and should make reasonable accommodations in light of the global pandemic,” she stated in a press release. “I hope that the court will recognize the need for workable solutions.”

In Colorado, a similar fate awaited Secretary of State Jena Griswold, as she collaborated with Gov. Polis on an emergency executive order that would make signature collection easier for people who wanted to participate in democracy, but not risk their health. Griswold and Polis’ proposed system, via emer-

not legally permissible is what the courts don’t allow.”

The range of Colorado’s Supreme Court political perspective “is considerable from left to right,” Collins says, and that makes their decision particularly significant. “The procedures are spelled out in some detail, and what the Supreme Court has said: [citizen initiatives are] a right, but it’s a right on specified conditions, and the conditions haven’t been met and that’s that, signed: Love, Justices.”

At the Boulder County Democratic Party’s executive meeting on Aug. 12, Griswold briefly explained Colorado’s constitution effectively bans electronic or remote petitioning on a state level, due to a EMMA ATHENA rule requiring certified in-person witnesses be present for a valid signature. “There would have to be a constitutional change before we saw online petitioning” used in state initiatives, Griswold says.

In Boulder, this rule is applicable only to local initiatives pursuing City Charter amendments, as the charter amendment process is dictated by the state constitution. Local municipal ordinances, however, are still technically eligible for electronic or remote petitions.

CU LAW professor gency executive order, was “Trying to say, Richard Collins designed to facilitate “remote ‘Massachusetts did it, we signature gathering,” where didn’t’ is probably too people could print petitions simplistic because there in their homes, sign them, are other differences in and then either mail or scanthe two states,” Collins and-email the paperwork directly to says. Aside from technical distinccampaigns. tions, he postulates Colorado judges But Polis’ executive order was might be “a little more skittish about challenged in two lawsuits — one filed making it too easy to get on the balby the pro-business group Colorado lot.” He says, “Massachusetts might Concern, and the other by a Denvernot have had, let’s say, the experience based citizen initiative group petition- of the TABOR amendment, or, in ing for anti-abortion legislation. The other words, what can happen using case was taken to the Colorado this initiative procedure to embed Supreme Court, and was swiftly and something very troublesome in the unanimously struck down. So far, it’s state constitution.” been the only emergency executive Other states like Ohio and order in Colorado successfully chalMichigan saw lawsuits favor electronlenged during the pandemic. ic petitions in lower-level courts, but At the end of the day, it’s the as appeals brought the cases higher courts that rule, CU Law professor up the legal ladder, federal courts Collins says. “What’s legally permissi- were quick to overturn rulings, and ble is what the courts allow, and what’s ultimately most electronic system AUGUST 20, 2020

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proposals have since been rejected.

As campaigns and states turn toward Massachusetts to learn from its successful electronic system adaptation strategy, McCormick says many of the cited concerns — disrupting traditional procedures, lowering democracy standards, data security, etc. — need not hold much weight. “First of all, I don’t want people to think that this was easy.

Because it’s not,” she says.

For one thing, not all of the Massachusetts citizen initiative groups were able to pivot and gather enough signatures this year, even with the option of campaigning online. This exemplifies the challenge of adapting to a new procedure and leveraging social media networks, but it also serves as an assurance to elected officials: electronic systems won’t “throw our governments into disarray,” McCormick says — using 21st century technology won’t open the flood gates to dozens of citizen initiatives each year: “Going forward it’s simply a way to get more and more people involved and engaged in citizen democracy.”

Concerns about fraud don’t hold up for Cluverius either, as paper petitioning itself is far from perfect, he says. “[Paper petitioning] is rife with fraud and people paying signaturegatherers per signature, which incentivise them to falsify here and there.”

Thus, there’s no reason not to try something new, he says. “The goal is to make the best choices you can with the democracy you have.”

The entire U.S. political system is built on the premise of community engagement — on city, state and national levels. Some of Boulder’s most defining qualities — like the open space sales tax and buildingheight ordinance — came from citizen initiatives. “The last thing that American democracy needs is to associate participation with a risk of infection,” Cluverius says. “Of all of the things that maybe the democratic system could bend a little bit on, I think signature gathering for ballot access is one of the most obvious.”

And McCormick agrees.

Petitions, after all, are only used to grant the community the chance to vote, and “that right should never be taken away.”

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THE ROUNDABOUT near Green Acres Park at 18th and Spencer streets in Longmont where Jorge Rodriquez says he was assaulted on Aug. 9.

W

hen I try to go to sleep at night, it wakes me up and it’s something that I can’t get out of my mind. It just has me like this,” Jorge Rodriguez says as he circles his hands around each side of his head.

It all started on Sunday Aug. 9, after a 14-hour workday. Rodriguez, who works in siding for a Longmont construction company, was picking up a 12-pack of beer at the Hover Crossing Wine & Spirits drive-thru like he often does after a long week. But as he sat in his truck counting his change, the truck behind him began honking. Rodriguez says he waved in the mirror, said sorry, and pulled out of the way to finish what he was doing.

As the truck drove past him, Rodriguez says the driver yelled: “Fuck you, motherfucker,” while throwing him the middle finger.

Rodriguez says he then exited the parking lot, heading down the street to his boss’ house. The man in the truck was in front of him.

At the small roundabout by Green Acres Park at 18th and Spencer streets, Rodriguez says the man slammed on his brakes causing Rodriguez to quickly pull his e-brake to avoid hitting him. According to Rodriguez, the man then got out of his truck and so did Rodriguez.

“He started coming toward me and I was afraid,” Rodriguez says says through an interpreter. “I was thinking, why is this person coming toward me? Why are they insulting

A broken nose, a swollen face and no rest How one altercation has frightened the Longmont Latinx community

Story and photos by Angela K. Evans

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

me? He was saying things in English like, ‘fuck you, Mexican.’ And that was when he hit me the first time.”

Rodriguez says the first blow to the left side of his face knocked him to the ground. He says he was hit about 30 times over the course of five or six minutes, while he was on his knees on the asphalt. At one point, Rodriguez says the man climbed on top of his back as he continued to say, “Go back to your country, Mexican.”

Rodriguez is from Honduras and has been in Colorado for about 10 years, since leaving home to find work in the U.S. “You see this in the news and you know that it happens daily, but you never think that it’s going to happen here or to one personally,” Rodriguez says. Rodriguez says he’s never experienced anything like this either in the U.S. or in Honduras. “Maybe [it happens] in the big cities, but I come I

from a small town where we just work the land. There’s not that type of violence,” he says.

Rodriguez says he didn’t try to fight back but just kept asking, “Why you push me? Why you hit me?” in English. “I just felt fear. I thought he was going to kill me.

Because you always see on the news how people come out and they have guns or weapons with them. And so there was that fear of, I don’t know what he’s got. I don’t know what he’s bringing with him.”

According to Rodriguez, a woman with the accused assailant tried to intervene, telling Rodriguez to go back to his car and getting in between the two men. Eventually two other women who were walking around the park came upon the scene, but Rodriguez says at least one of them joined the man in yelling at him to go back to his country.

“And they were saying, ‘Oh, we’re AUGUST 20, 2020

going to call police,’” he remembers. “But then they never did. And I was hoping that somebody would call the police.”

And then all of sudden, Rodriguez says, everyone was gone. And he was left alone in the street.

“I went back to my truck,” he says. “I had misplaced my wallet. The only thing I could find was my phone. I was completely confused. My face was swollen.”

Charges have yet to be filed in the case, but Longmont detective Nick Aiello referred the investigation to Boulder County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday, Aug. 18. “We need to go through their entire investigation and determine whether any follow up is needed, and upon receiving any follow up requested we will then determine what, if any, charges should be filed in this matter,” says Christian Gardner-Wood, director of community protection at the DA’s office. He expects to have an update in the next couple of weeks.

As of Friday, Aug. 14, Aiello confirmed a suspect had been identified and interviewed, as well as several independent witnesses. At the time, Aiello said the department was still searching for the two women who came upon the incident. Aiello added in an email, “Thus far, there are differing accounts of what occurred.”

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cases, including these types of cases,” Gardner-Wood says. Anecdotally, he says, law enforcement agencies in Boulder County have seen an increase in reporting of hate and biased-motivated crimes in recent years.

“One of the things we always wonder is,” Gardner-Wood says, “is it because of increased incidents or is it because of increased awareness and knowing that this office does take it seriously and that people will be supported?”

The DA’s office implemented its bias and hate crimes initiative in 2018, focused on prevention, training and prosecution, soon after Michael Dougherty was elected.

The initiative includes a designated bias and hate hotline. Statistics either from the hotline or overall bias and hate crimes aren’t readily available, Gardner-Wood says.

According to Colorado Crime Statistics, Longmont had four crimes in 2019 classified under hate, which the FBI defines as “a criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.” Overall, there were 273 reported hate crimes in Colorado the same year, with 10 cases reported through the Boulder Police Department.

Nationally, data on these crimes is often incomplete as there aren’t uniform reporting requirements.

Donna Lovato, the executive director of El Comité de Longmont, says she’s also heard of more and more verbal attacks on immigrants and the Latinx population, although nothing like what Rodriguez says happened to him.

“It doesn’t escalate to physical violence, but it’s clearly verbal abuse,” she says. “When they see us [with] dark hair, dark eyes, they don’t care that you’re from Mexico or Central America or South America, or even have lived in the United States for — well my family goes back something like 17 generations.”

Rodriguez says after the attack, he put his truck in first gear since the abrupt stop had jammed his transmission, and slowly drove to his boss Jackie Gonzales’ house down the street. Gonzales was in Aspen, however, so Rodriguez called and texted her over the next several hours while he waited for her outside her house.

“It was just really frustrating because I’m not getting reception and all he’s telling me is, ‘I’m attacked. It was these racist people,’” Gonzalez says.

Although she told him to call the police, Rodriguez refused, saying he was afraid to call them by himself without the ability to speak better English.

Gonzalez has lived in Longmont for 10 years, about as long as she’s known Rodriguez. Running a construction company, Gonzalez says it’s common for her to intervene and help her employees communicate with law enforcement because of language barriers. But, she says, she’s never experiI

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

enced anything like this.

“I’ve never been through something like this. I’ve never had one of my employees be assaulted like this,” she says. “It’s not like Longmont is immune to it. But just as a whole, Longmont is not very violent. You don’t hear about that type of stuff.”

Gonzalez is the one who first called the police and told Rodriguez to walk to the site of the incident to wait for them. She says that around 10 p.m. he began to tell the officers what happened in his broken English, as there wasn’t an interpreter present. When she arrived, she retold the officers Rodriguez’ story, translating his Spanish.

Rodriguez says he’s continued to cooperate with the police, including describing the man who allegedly attacked him and helping identify him.

Still, he says, it’s hard for him to interact with the police because of the language barrier.

“It’s difficult because they have their way of doing things,” Rodriguez says. “And it’s hard for me to understand with my English and everything.

They always have to get a translator and that’s what’s lacking here in Longmont.”

“Through this process, we realized that there was definitely a lot of confusion with the police that first day,” adds Josh Stallings, a community organizer with the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC). “We would love to know what the Longmont police department’s policies are around language access because if there isn’t a requirement, we would love to work with the City to create a policy to make sure that everyone has access in their language of choice to interact with the police.”

According to Deputy Chief of Public Safety Jeff Satur, the department has 28 employees who participate in the bilingual compensation program, a three-tier program that rewards people who are fluent in Spanish and American Sign Language. Fifty officers within the department have also attended Spanish immersion courses (some of whom are now in the bilingual compensation program) and the department prioritizes Spanish language skills in hiring. Additionally, three victim advocates are fluent in Spanish as well as a few employees from dispatch. The entire department has access to a translation service via a cell phone app.

Satur adds in an email that there are Spanish-speaking officers and detectives throughout all shifts, but with 92,000 calls for service every year, “a lot of other factors go into availability, which is why we also have the language line, which is always available to the officer.”

Likewise, Gardner-Wood says about half of the victim advocates in the DA’s office are bilingual, as are all of the receptionists. “I think we do a good job of in terms of being able to communicate with our Spanish-speaking victims or Spanish-speaking community members,” he says.

Rodriguez says after he spoke with the police at the park that night, Gonzalez took him to the hospital. He had a broken nose, swollen face and scrapes and bruises. He already couldn’t see well out of his left eye due to a childhood injury, but now it’s even worse. He says he also has ringing in his left ear and it’s difficult to sleep because of the pain and pressure in his head.

He hasn’t been able to work since the incident.

Rodriguez’ story has drawn widespread public support as a GoFundMe to cover lost income, truck repairs and potentially medical bills has raised more than $22,500. There was also a rally on Saturday, Aug. 15 to show “hate has no place in Longmont.” (It was reported a counter-protest was also held across the street, with folks displaying American and Trump flags.)

Rodriguez says the incident has also frightened his friends and roommates, and other members of the Latinx community in Longmont and beyond.

“I think it’s something that’s affected the entire Latino community,” he says, “because if this happened to me at a liquor store, it could happen to anyone anywhere.”

If you witness or are a victim of a hate or bias-motivate crime, call the DA hotline at 303-441-1595.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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COURTESY OF CENTER FOR SCIENCE, TEACHING & LEARNING

Fairview student wins international clean tech prize

by Angela K. Evans

W

hile a student at Fairview High School in Boulder, Jasmine Li was used to hearing her teachers talk about the climate crisis and how her generation was going to going to be the one to help solve it. In early August, Li was awarded first place at the International Spellman HV Clean Tech Competition for her project “solarjasmine,” which looked at making perovskite solar cells (PSCs) more stable and therefore an economically viable alternative to fossil fuels.

Li’s research is a product of her Fairview class “Science Research Seminar,” which allowed her to pursue an independent project her last two years of high school. She became interested in PSCs because “they’re really promising,” she says. First introduced in 2009, “they’re really efficient and they’ve seen drastic growth over the past 10 years and they’re also cheap,” she says, especially compared to first (made from silicone) and second (thin-filmed) generation solar cells.

“But the only limitation that they’re really facing right now is this instability within the perovskite solar cell itself and the ability arises having these different grain sizes when you’re actually fabricating them,” she adds.

The grains are the mechanism for conversion within PSCs, and they are susceptible to environmental conditions like moisture and heat, which makes it difficult to use PSCs for commercial or industrial use.

In conventional methods, scientists use a multi-step process that includes adding anti-solvent to a methyl ammonium lead iodide compound to create a reaction and grow these grains, resulting in the instability and lost efficiency. But using a combination of heat and spin casting, Li was able to create a thin uniformed layer by

Love our Lands — A virtual learning series with 350Colorado

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doing all the steps at once.

“You’re basically pipetting,” she says. “When you actually drop it, you have those grains that are starting to form and since it’s already at a high temperature it can start forming immediately while it’s spinning versus the other conventional methods, there are separate steps.”

Li’s research included finding the ideal chemical concentrations to effectively use the hot-casting technique and then comparing it to other techniques.

But, she says, there’s still a lot of work to be done before PSCs can be used on a large scale, especially given their size. Li was experimenting on small-scale cells measured in centimeters.

“One of the next challenges is scaling it up because we’re not using just one solar cell on the centimeter scale to power everything,” she says.

With a goal to inspire young people to pursue STEM education and careers, the Clean Tech Competition is open to pre-college youth from around the world and spearhead by the New York-based notfor-profit Center for Science, Teaching & Learning. Li was the only finalist from Colorado; others were from nine different states and five different countries.

She says the win was unexpected, and she really just enjoys the process of scientific competitions more than anything: being able to present her research and meeting other students around the world who are working on interesting projects in different fields. Her first place award came with a $10,000 prize.

Li, who graduated from Fairview in July, is now a Stamp’s President Scholar at Georgia Tech, where she plans on continuing her research.

J

oin 350Colorado for a virtual learning series over the next three months exploring how we all can participate to protect, connect and grow our relationship with the land under our feet.

The series kicks off Aug. 21-23 with a virtual screening of the documentary Public Trust, which explores how extractive industries and the politicians they support, are a threat to public lands by looking at three specific examples: a national monument in the Utah desert, a mine in the Boundary Waters and oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

People who RSVP will be sent a I

link to watch the film and will be invited to a post-screening discussion with 350Colorado’s next public lands committee meeting.

The learning series continues in September with a virtual book club discussing Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country with author Pam Houston. The October event includes a regenerative agriculture discussion and screening of 2018 award-winning film The Need to Grow, which documents the need for healthy soil and how quickly it’s disappearing around the world.

Visit 350Colorado.org for more details.

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WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Animal Cruelty Enforcement Act introduced in the U.S. House

I

n a bipartisan effort, Boulder Congressman Joe Neguse introduced the Animal Cruelty Enforcement (ACE) Act in the U.S. House on Friday, Aug. 14. If passed, the measure would create an animal cruelty crimes division within the U.S. Department of Justice.

This would “allow for robust and effective enforcement of these crimes by designating personnel focused on these issues. DOJ already has dedicated sections on other important societal concerns, such as environmental protection, wildlife and organized crime,” according to a press release from Animal Wellness Action, which helped draft the legislation along with the Animal Wellness Foundation.

“Proper enforcement of animal cruelty laws will protect animal welfare and help keep each of our communities safe from the violence often linked to these crimes,” added Rep. Neguse.

This comes on the heels of the recent passing of a wild horse protection amendment in the U.S. House that would direct the BLM to use $11 million of its annual budget on a fertility control vaccine (PZP) for its Wild Horse and Burro Program, instead of widespread roundups and removals from public land. The amendment was also sponsored by Neguse who said in a press release: “I am pleased to stand with the vast majority of my constituents and the over 80% of Americans who want wild horses protected on Western public lands. I’m proud that Colorado has been leading the way for humane management of wild horses with PZP fertility control.

This Amendment will improve stewardship of wild horses and burros in other areas of the West.”

NISP hearings begin in Larimer County

O

n Aug. 17, the Larimer County Commissioners began hearings on the controversial Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP), which would create a new reservoir north of Fort Collins by diverting water out of the Poudre River.

Before the meeting, citizens groups including Save The Poudre, No Pipe Dream, and Save Rural NoCo notified the Commisioners they expected members Tom Donnelly and Steve Johnson to recuse themselves due to their public support and endorsement of the project since at least 2009. The groups accuse Donnelly and Johnson of supporting NISP at rallies and having private conversations with Northern Water, the main backer of NISP, regarding the project. This, the groups argued, would prevent them from judging “the permit application from an unbiased viewpoint,” according to a press release.

“Both the Larimer County land use code and the Colorado constitution require that county commissioners not have taken a position prior to a hearing and quasi-judicial 1041 permit,” said Gary Wockner, director of Save The Poudre. “Both Commissioners Donnelly and Johnson have publicly supported, and been listed as endorsers for, NISP for at least a decade, and therefore are biased. As such, they must recuse themselves from the hearings and vote.”

The groups also suggested that Larimer County delay the NISP hearings until after the 2020 election, since both Donnelly and Johnson are term-limited.

Still, the Commissioners proceeded with the hearing on Monday evening, with Donnelly and Johnson refusing to recuse themselves and arguing that they will make their permit decisions based on the land use code and not on their personal opinions. The meeting included presentations from Larimer County staff and Northern Water. Public comments will be heard both in person and online at the Aug. 24 and Aug. 31 meetings.

(Register to speak at larimer.org/planning/NISP1041.) The Commissioners are set to make a decision on Wednesday, Sept. 2.

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AUGUST 20, 2020

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Exploring ‘The World As We Know It’ Amon Tobin’s latest alter ego offers his most intimate album yet

by Caitlin Rockett

T

he warmth of the debut Figueroa album, The World As We Know It, radiates from the first flurried guitar that opens the album; it’s there in every squeak as fingers slide across wound strings, it’s there in the lonesome moan of an organ’s pipes.

The warmth is there despite any instruments. That flamenco guitar that opens the album? Made with a MIDI, every strum, pluck, buzz and squeak painstakingly created by a hand that doesn’t know how to play guitar.

Figueroa is a pseudonym for avant garde producer Amon Tobin, who has long chosen to classify his diverse catalog of electronic music under different projects: hip-hop-meets-drum-and-bass as Cujo, heavy bass as Two Fingers, punked out electronic as Only Child Tyrant, and a master of cutting, splicing, repurposing and modulating under his given name.

“It would have been easier to just learn to play the bloody guitar,” Tobin jokes about his work as Figueroa. But Tobin’s never been one for the beaten path.

Taking cues from the sun-kissed, psychedelic sounds of California

ON THE BILL: ‘The World As We Know It,’ by Figueroa (Amon Tobin), available now on Nomark Records and to stream on major platforms.

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AUGUST 20, 2020

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folk rock bands like The Byrds, its focus firmly centered on melody, harmony and emotive lyricism, The World As We Know It is Tobin’s most vulnerable work to date, a unique jewel in his crown of accomplishments, and a testament to his mastery of sound design.

And he never intended it to see the light of day.

“I mean, I’m not qualified to make this record, that’s what’s so weird about it,” Tobin says with a laugh. “It was something that I did very much as a personal thing, trying to learn about harmony and songwriting in the more traditional sense.”

The character Figueroa — though it had no name at the time — was born during a period of self-isolation in Northern California. There’d been a break-up, and “there was a lot of tequila going on,” Tobin admits, “so I was just making these songs as a kind of a personal sketchbook of things.”

But the songs sat on a hard drive for nearly a decade as Tobin continued to make music under the Two Fingers moniker with fellow British drum-and-bass producer Doubleclick. Looking closer at this period in Tobin’s professional life, it could read as though Tobin was taking a break from himself, letting eight years pass between 2011’s ISAM, and 2019’s Fear in a Handful of Dust, both released under his given name.

When Tobin looks back, he sees a time when his professional aspirations took on a life of their own, expanding in that exponential, uncontrollable way that great ideas tend to in a capitalist society.

In 2011, things had gotten big for Tobin. Like, 3 tons big. ISAM, his seventh studio album, was also an immersive audio visual show featuring a 25-foot-wide, 3 ton digital installation Tobin built himself. The album was an exploration in the possibility of sound, made from heavily-processed field recordings that provided a wild soundtrack for the digital installation to illustrate. Tobin was riding the crest of the immersive art wave that was about to break in the States, and the industry was eating it up, sending Tobin criss-crossing North America with his enormous creation, and eventually launching an even larger ISAM 2.0 project.

Tobin, meanwhile, was feeling a bit like Dr. Frankenstein.

“I felt quite conflicted about the scale of all of that, even while I was doing it, honestly,” he says. “I appreciated the reach it was giving me, but a lot of careers were being kind of held up by the scaffolding of that project. You suddenly realize that all your agents and managers and their livelihoods are being propelled by this, and they’re all actually making a lot more money than you are to begin with and then relying on you, so they’re pushing you to do more and more of that. At a certain point, you start to realize that you’re working for other people.

I

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S OUTHWEST A CUPUNCTURE C OLLEGE B OULDER

“THERE IS A HUMAN EMOTION all the

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more palpable when expressed through a synthezier.”

“When the scale of things gets to a certain tipping point where you’re finding that you’re doing things to sort of sustain other people’s hopes and dreams and livelihoods, you have to kind of decide,” he says. “Everyone feels you’re very important because you are very important to their livelihoods. So you have to weigh that up against maybe being less important, maybe less significant to people, but then having a greater degree of autonomy in your own world. And I kind of feel like that might be a better fit for me.”

The intimate music of The World As We Know It illustrates Tobin’s decision to turn inward after ISAM. Those first recordings made in isolation in California were no less ambitious than ISAM, no less detail-oriented or laborious, but they were his and no one else’s — a physical expression of the emotional toil of the ISAM project.

“There is a human emotion all the more palpable when expressed through a synthesizer’s limited range,” Tobin said of ISAM when it was first released. “If a piano played this, it would be sentimental. Perhaps it still is a bit.”

His words ring true listening to the opening Figueroa track, “Weather Girl.” A lowaction guitar burns through a repeated run, racing like thoughts, never ending, never slowing. In a hushed voice, Tobin wonders: “Do you ever feel like something’s severed / Something’s wrong?” But the track rollicks along, just as the world does, problems be damned.

Contrary to Tobin’s self-assessment, not only is he qualified to make this record, he’s the only one who could make this record, creating guitar work so intricate in some tracks (“Put Me Under,” for instance) that classical players have told Tobin the runs are impossible to play as written. In anyone else’s hands (which is what Tobin had envisioned for the tracks before Tool-producer Sylvia Massy convinced him to keep them for himself), The World As We Know It would still be beautiful, just different.

Brian Eno once said, “Regard your limitations as secret strengths. Or as constraints that you can make use of.” Words Tobin seems to live by.

“I sort of have an idea about creativity being born of limited resources,” he says. “I often think of scratch DJs as a good example of that, where they take a tool like the (Technics) 1210 turn table, and they’re doing things that are so far beyond what that tool was invented for, what it was designed for. And that’s where the creativity is, being able to go beyond the parameters that were set for the thing.”

Aliases, like Figueroa, also play into Tobin’s creative process, allowing him to disassociate a bit from the experience of having to sell his work over and over and over to a world hungry for narrative.

“Over the years, the thing that’s annoyed me the most is whenever you make a record, as soon as you start having to talk about it or promote it, the question always gets asked: What’s the story? As though the record in and of itself is worthless [unless you] attach a bunch of other embellishments to make it palatable.”

(Figueroa, for the record, is a street near where Tobin lives now in California. A common surname among Latin Americans, particularly Mexicans, Figueroa touches a bit on Tobin’s proclivity for listening to Mexican radio during the time when the album was made.)

Despite being made nearly a decade ago, The World As We Know It is a timeless record, versatile enough to be read as a break-up album, a depression manifesto or, as Tobin himself suggested, a treatise on the plague that is humanity.

“Some of the themes lyrically in this record somehow lined up with things that are going on right now, like us being put in our place by a virus,” he says.

“What can I say / Yesterday’s gone / Don’t be a bitch,” he sings on the penultimate track of the album.

A mantra for 2020 if ever there was one.

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LIVE PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION AT DICKENS OPERA HOUSE

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

EVENTS

BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF

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

PREMIERE OF “A BETTER LIFE?” — A PODCAST.

Aug. 20 on all major distribution platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Himalaya, Pocket Casts, Spotify and Stitcher, fi2w.org.

The story of a Boulderite kicks off a new podcast by Feet in 2 Worlds. Premiering Aug. 20, “A Better Life?” explores how the coronavirus pandemic and America’s failed response to COVID-19 has reshaped immigrants’ lives and their relationship to the United States. Each episode tells a different immigrant story and examines how the crisis has challenged or changed that person’s ideas of what it means to be American. “A Better Life?” also includes conversations with immigrant elders — grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles — to hear how they’re coping during this time, and what they’ve learned over the years that can help the rest of us survive today’s challenges. This 10-part series is hosted by Zahir Janmohamed, the co-creator and host of the Racist Sandwich podcast, and produced by Mia Warren, a former producer at StoryCorps and former resident of Boulder.

FINAL DAYS OF ARTMIX 2020.

Through Aug. 22, bmoca.org.

It’s not too late! By purchasing a ticket to ARTMIX, you’ll support the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art’s exhibition and education programs and the local artist community. A $15 ticket gives you access to the on-site exhibition, online art auction, and the virtual closing event. Half of sales from the auction benefit BMoCA and half go directly to the artist. You can visit BMoCA to view the curated exhibition where all works are for sale, or view detailed photos of each artwork virtually — the virtual exhibition is always open. Join the party from afar on the final night of bidding (Saturday, Aug. 22) with a grazing plate for two from Cured. In addition to your plate you can order wine pairings at several price points, floral arrangements from Boulder Blooms, and delivery anywhere along the Front Range.

8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21 via Twitch, facebook.com/prismcolorado.

Join the paranormal investigation team from Prism Colorado as they visit one of their favorite haunted hot spots — the Dickens Opera House in Longmont. To keep up with social distancing, this event will be streamed via Twitch (search Prism Colorado on twitch. tv). Donations will be collected during the live stream to support the Opera House and Prism Colorado. Everyone who donates will be entered into a raffle for prizes.

COURTESY OF GEN3

BOULDER MARKET.

11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23, Central Park along the Boulder Creek Path between 13th and Broadway, coloradoevents.org.

The 19th annual Boulder Market is back for one more weekend before the summer ends. This unique and enjoyable open air marketplace takes place in Central Park in downtown Boulder, right along the Boulder Creek Path. At the market you will find visual art, high-quality handmade items and unique treasures sold from a plethora of local merchants.

GEN3 AT THE BACKPORCH CONCERT SERIES.

6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23, Dairy Arts Center loading dock, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder, thedairy.org.

Come ’round the back of the Dairy for a live performance from Gen3, a generation-spanning band playing a combination of originals and covers — from classic rock to funk to jam band. The loading dock is the stage, and the shaded parking lot offers space to enjoy a real live show while remaining socially distant — each party will have an assigned marked off section, and face coverings are required. Concessions including beer and wine will be available for purchase with credit card only.

Tickets are $20 at eventbrite.com.

SHANNA IN A DRESS — PRESENTED BY LITTLE TREE HOUSE CONCERTS

6 p.m. Aug. 23, littletreeacoustic.appspot.com.

For the past year, Shanna in a Dress curated and hosted the monthly show “Women in Song” in Boulder, and has toured regularly in the U.S. and Europe. Before the pandemic interrupted business as usual, Shanna took her witty, humorous brand of acoustic storytelling to the stages of Swallow Hill Music, South Florida Folk Fest, Black Bear Americana Fest, Casey Jones Music Fest and eTown Hall. She will be on tour supporting Red Molly in 2021.

Donations for this online concert are $12 and up, on a sliding scale — just give what you can. Little Tree House Concerts asks that you donate early to allow ample time to contact you about how to join the concert live online.

Frequent Flyers return to the skies in a brand new live performance. This one-time event takes place Sunday, Aug. 23 (rain date Aug. 30) in the parking lot west of Blackbelly 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23, the park- Restaurant — masked and socially distanced. While it’s too late to make dinner reservations, you can still grab a ticket ing lot west of Blackbelly Restaurant, to the performance through 9 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 23 for 1606 Conestoga St., Boulder. $25. Tickets are available through Eventbrite. Audiences will arrive at 5:30 to collect picnic meals (if ordering) and to get seated socially distanced in the parking lot in the demarcated areas. Bring your own chairs or blanket! No seating will be provided. Show is 6-7 p.m.

FREQUENT FLYERS AERIAL DANCE LIVE PERFORMANCE.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

CRITERION COLLECTION

HOMEVIEWING

by Michael J. Casey Sometimes you have to create your own history. —Cheryl Dunye

S

he calls them “Dunyementaries”: Cinematic blends of fiction and documentary, construction and confession.

They’re self-reflexive works — existing somewhere between personal diary and public exhibition. They’re primarily concerned with gender, race, sexual orientation and desire, but they also take a playful approach to the truth; history with the suggestion of manipulation.

Born in Liberia and raised in Philadelphia, Cheryl Dunye began her career at the tail end of the 1980s, right as the New Queer Cinema was putting down roots. Queer cinema had existed for decades, but mostly in Europe and in the underground cinema of the American independent scene. By the time critic B. Ruby Rich coined the term “New Queer Cinema” in 1992, the underground found its way up, and filmmakers like Dunye were at the forefront. Using emerging video technology, her work had the disarming aesthetic of a home movie paired with classic narrative construction.

Video works wonders for Dunye. Her films present a world you might assume is autobio-

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

graphical, but there’s no telling if what you are seeing and hearing is truth or construction.

You’ll find it in all of her work, but it’s most evident in Dunye’s 1996 feature debut, The Watermelon Woman, with Dunye playing herself — or a reflection of herself — a gay Black woman living in Philadelphia becoming a filmmaker. In addition to odd jobs as a wedding videographer, Dunye works in a video store where she meets Diana (Guinevere Turner), who is white. The two start a relationship, much to the chagrin of Dunye’s friend, Tamara (Valarie Walker), who is Black and wonders why Dunye is carrying on a relationship with a white woman.

Dunye wonders herself, but when she finds out Diana has had multiple Black boyfriends, Dunye stops wondering where Diana fits in her life and starts wondering where she fits in Diana’s past.

It’s not the only past Dunye is concerned with: She’s stumbled across a Black actress from Hollywood’s Golden Age credited only as “The Watermelon Woman.” Dunye goes digging, discovers her name, Fae Richardson, and discovers that Richardson was also gay and also in a relationship with a white woman, film director Martha Page.

But neither Richardson nor Page was real: Dunye (the director) conceives them whole

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cloth, further refracting the reality of her video diaries. Even the convincing archival photographs and Hollywood footage Dunye uses (created by New York City-based photographer Zoe Leonard and starring Lisa Marie Bronson as Richardson) are faked.

The Watermelon Woman isn’t the first time Dunye played fast and loose with the truth, picked apart her past sexual experiences, and drew the viewer’s attention to the construction behind the camera. Her early shorts, Vanilla Sex, She Don’t Fade and The Potluck and the Passion, show the building blocks of The Watermelon Woman while remaining decisively individual. Each work feels like something Dunye pulled from her guts while retaining a beginner’s mischievousness: The kind that comes from picking up a camera and realizing that it can’t reflect everything, only a portion of everything. And that whoever holds the camera gets to decide what gets reflected. Maybe even manipulated.

The Watermelon Woman and six of Dunye’s shorts are streaming on The Criterion Channel.

see EVENTS Page 24

AUGUST 20, 2020

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EVENTS from Page 23

Thank you, Colorado!

Our local business has received so much community support since we reopened for regular care. We love seeing and hearing from all of you during our new normal.

Dr. Terri Oneby 303-443-4545

Let’s keep Boulder healthy and look forward to better days.

HEAVY

ROTATION by Caitlin Rockett

“FUTURE POWER SOURCES,” MARLOWE

Dr. Lowell Steinberg 303-447-8470

bouldervisioncenter.com

When Seattle beat-architect L’Orange teams up with North Carolina wordsmith Solemn Brigham, the result is loop-digging, old-school hiphop in the vein of Madvillain: crisp, witty bars spit over subwoofer-busting basslines. Don’t come here seeking hooks; Brigham has too much to say to waste time repeating himself. Their second album as Marlowe — the obviously named Marlowe 2 — sees the pair picking up where they left off, with Brigham weaving social commentary into cutting rhymes while L’Orange mines the crates for earworms. Here, L’Orange laces in lo-fi, funky horns to accentuate Brigham’s machine-like flow. DJ Trackstar (from Run the Jewels) adds vocal scratches to put the cherry on this hip-hop sundae.

“SUN FOR SOMEONE,” OSCAR JEROME

It’s hard to believe at first that the blue-eye soul of this Oscar Jerome track is a vessel for a message about climate change, so delicate, so intimate — so warm — is Jerome’s delivery. But Jerome’s understated, folksie voice is half of his superpower, the other half being his deceptively laid-back guitar playing. Bright and nimble, “Sun for Someone” warns that the Earth doesn’t need humans to survive, and quite frankly, the planet will be better off when we’re gone. With UV rays for guitar riffs, Jerome keeps heads bobbing, never allowing us to succumb to the nihilism of it all: “Melancholy evidence / Happily berate their ignorance / The earth will sigh as it watches us die / Along with our belligerence.”

“FLAMEBACK DANCE,” ARIWO

In Central Park Downtown Boulder 13th St & Canyon

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The word ariwo, according to the Londonbased band’s website, means “noise” in Yoruba, but that feels too broad, too negative (at least in English) to describe the quartet’s melodic fusion of electronic music with traditional, ancestral rhythms. Hailing from Iran, Cuba and Canada, Ariwo draws on musical traditions from around the world, as well as from their motherlands. This single, from a compilation album featuring 27 other artists, features a face-melting Afro-Cuban jazz horn line that eventually gives way to free-wheeling trumpet and sax solos.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

“DREAM RAT,” NO JOY FEATURING ALISSA WHITE-GLUZ

“AREVIL’S GARDENS (RIP),” THE LAND OF RAH

No Joy, paradoxically, channels the most exuberant moments of Nine Inch Nails, leaning more readily into glitzier disco beats than Trent Reznor typically cares to, while still retaining the jagged edges that typify industrial rock.

For “Dream Rat,” No Joy teams up with nu-metal vocalist (and sister of frontperson Jasamine White-Glutz) Alissa White-Glutz for this Duran-Duran-meets-Ministry slice of rock ‘n’ roll.

The Land of Rah’s debut album, An Ancient Evil & A Huge Pumpkin, is just as ridiculous as the title suggests — but it’s also adeptly crafted, boldly experimental and highly ambitious in its wild turns between narrative and genre-blending tracks. Over two hours and 32-tracks, this Sydney-based collective spins fantastical, often hilarious yarns (about, well, a primitive evil and a large gourd) set in a Tolkien-esque world. The group slips and slides into genres with ease, allowing the lyrical tone to dictate whether a song calls for chamber pop, psych rock, postpunk… there are no boundaries in this magical world. “Arevil’s Gardens (RIP)” starts off sleepily enough before eventually blasting off into space, fueled by fuzzy snyths and buttery vocals. Epic tales of evil aside, The Land of Rah knows how to offer up phrases that transcend the whimsical narrative to speak to life in general: “Don’t know where we going but we know where we been.”

“TEEK,” KAKI KING

“It feels spooky but songs can write themselves,” Kaki King says of the lead single from her 10th studio album, set for release this fall, “if one is prepared to receive them.” The world-renowned guitarist and composer actually created the Passerelle bridge that makes her six-string guitar in this track sound like a 12-string Japanese koto or Chinese guzheng.

The video, made at home during quarantine, is a whimsical, one-shot, stay-at-home “travel” video, sure to give you a case of the warm fuzzies.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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AUGUST 20, 2020

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What I saw

by Karen Morgan Email: Kelly@SeptemberSchool.org www.SeptemberSchool.org

I didn’t see the little boy tuck a stolen loaf of bread under his jacket as he ran with his desperate bounty, but I saw the long lines of SUVs bought in better times, queueing up for hours for two boxes of free groceries.

I didn’t hear the ominous rusty creak of arthritic tracks as the tanks rolled in. But I heard the chants of thousands of voices going hoarse from “Black Lives Matter!”

I didn’t hear the radio announcer tell us Poland had fallen, but I heard an American mayor on TV cave in and admit federal troops.

I didn’t see the resigned folks walk under the sign, “Work Makes You Free”, but I saw the long lines outside the unemployment office, waiting for an inadequate system to collect their own personal numbers.

I didn’t see Nazi flags draped from large buildings, but I saw a middle-aged Minnesota couple with swastikas on their face masks.

I didn’t see anyone saluting the Fuehrer, but I saw four men making the White Supremacy circle with thumb and index finger in an “O”.

I didn’t see a grim guard on the train walking up the aisle slowly, demanding papers, but I did see thousands upon thousands being denied entry at the border, or flown back due to lack of a paper ticket.

I didn’t see the shoddy barracks for the Jews, but I saw chain link fencing dividing up the endless warehouse into sections for the dark children.

And I didn’t see a haggard mother in line, being forced to make an impossible choice.

But I did see the drowned body of a father washed up on the shore of the Rio Grande, his arm clutching the limp body of his little girl.

I could tell you history is repeating itself. Some might deny this is fascism. I see what I see, and it’s wrong.

Karen Morgan is a retired local poet and activist. She misses reading at the Laughing Goat and the Twisted Pine.

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BOULDER WEEKLY

LIBRA

SEPT. 23-OCT. 22: “I transformed still-

BY ROB BREZSNY ARIES

MARCH 21-APRIL 19: “We never know what is enough

until we know what’s more than enough,” said Aries singer Billie Holiday. I don’t think that applies to everyone, although it’s more likely to be true about the Aries tribe than maybe any other sign of the zodiac.

And I’m guessing that the coming weeks could be a time when you will indeed be vivid proof of its validity.

That’s why I’m issuing a “Too Much of a Good Thing” alert for you. I don’t think it’ll be harmful to go a bit too far and get a little too much of the good things; it may even be wise and healthy to do so. But please don’t go waaayyyy too far and get waaayyyy too much of the good things.

TAURUS

APRIL 20-MAY 20: Taurus author Honoré de Balzac

(1799-1850) took many years to write The Human Comedy, an amalgam of 91 intertwined novels, stories and essays. For this vast enterprise, he dreamed up the personalities of more than 2,000 characters, many of whom appeared in multiple volumes. I bring this to your attention, Taurus, because I believe that the next 15 months will be an excellent time for you to imagine and carry out a Balzac-like project of your own. Do you have an inkling of what that might be? Now’s a good time to start ruminating.

GEMINI

MAY 21-JUNE 20: Not until the 19th century did

humans begin to take organized actions to protect animals from cruelty. Even those were sparse. The latter part of the 20th century brought more concerted efforts to promote animal welfare, but the rise of factory farms, toxic slaughterhouses, zoos, circuses and cosmetic testing has shunted us into a Dark Age of animal abuse. I suspect our descendants will look back with horror at our barbarism. This problem incurs psychological wounds in us all in ways that aren’t totally conscious. And I think this is an especially key issue for you right now. I beg you, for your own sake as well as for the animals’, to upgrade your practical love and compassion for animals. I bet you’ll find it inspires you to treat your own body with more reverence.

CANCER

JUNE 21-JULY 22: Cancerian literary critic Harold

Bloom bragged to the New York Times that his speedreading skills were so advanced that he could finish a 500-page book in an hour. While I believe he has indeed devoured thousand of books, I also wonder if he lied about his quickness. Nonetheless, I’ll offer him up as an inspirational role model for you in the coming weeks. Why? Because you’re likely to be able to absorb and integrate far more new information and fresh experiences than usual — and at a rapid pace.

LEO

JULY 23-AUG. 22: “Magic lies in challenging what seems

impossible,” says Leo politician Carol Moseley Braun.

I agree with her, but will also suggest there’s an even higher magic: when you devise a detailed plan for achieving success by challenging the impossible, and then actually carry out that plan. Judging from the current astrological omens, I suspect you’re in an unusually favorable position to do just that in the coming weeks. Be bold in rising to the challenge; be practical and strategic in winning the challenge.

VIRGO

AUG. 23-SEPT. 22: “Joy is a mystery because it

can happen anywhere, anytime, even under the most unpromising circumstances,” writes author Frederick Buechner. What he doesn’t say is that you must be receptive and open to the possibility of joy arriving anywhere and anytime. If you’re shut down to its surprising influx, if you’re convinced that joy is out of reach, it won’t break through the barriers you’ve put up; it won’t be able to land in your midst. I think this is especially important counsel for you in the coming weeks, Virgo. PLEASE make yourself available for joy. P.S.: Here’s another clue from Buechner: “Joy is where the whole being is pointed in one direction.”

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

nesses and darknesses into words,” wrote Libran poet Arthur Rimbaud. “What was unspeakable, I named. I made the whirling world pause.” In accordance with current astrological potentials, I have turned his thoughts into a message for you. In the coming weeks, I hope you will translate silences and mysteries into clear language. What is unfathomable and inaccessible, you will convert into understandings and revelations.

Gently, without force or violence, you will help heal the inarticulate agitation around you with the power of your smooth, resonant tenderness.

SCORPIO

Boulder’s Local Music Shop Since 1971 Shop online at hbwoodsongs.com for no contact pickup or free local delivery (on purchases over $20).

Open to customers or for pick-up with these new hours of operations: Mon.-Sat. 12-5 pm Sun. 12-4 pm

OCT. 23-NOV. 21: “Your desires, whether or not you

achieve them, will determine who you become,” wrote author Octavia E. Butler. Now is a fertile time for you to meditate on that truth. So I dare you to take an inventory of all your major desires, from the noblest to the most trivial. Be honest. If one of your burning yearnings is to have 100,000 followers on Instagram or to eat chocolate-covered bacon that is served to you in bed, admit it. After you’re through tallying up the wonders you want most, the next step is to decide if they are essential to you becoming the person you truly want to be. If some aren’t, consider replacing them with desires that will be a better influence on you as you evolve.

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SAGITTARIUS

NOV. 22-DEC. 21: If you can manage it, I recom-

mend taking a break from business-as-usual. I’d love to see you give yourself the gift of amusement and play — a luxurious sabbatical that will help you feel free of every burden, excused from every duty and exempt from every fixation. The spirit I hope you will embody is captured well in this passage from author Okakura Kakuzo: “Let us have a sip of tea. The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos, the fountains are bubbling with delight, the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle. Let us dream of evanescence, and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things.”

CAPRICORN

DEC. 22-JAN. 19: Rapper Eminem advises us,

“Never take ecstasy, beer, Bacardi, weed, PeptoBismol, Vivarin, Tums, Tagamet HB, Xanax and Valium in the same day.” What’s his rationale? That quaffing this toxic mix might kill us or make us psychotic? No. He says you shouldn’t do that because “It makes it difficult to sleep at night.” I’m going to suggest that you abide by his counsel for yet another reason: According to my analysis, you have the potential to experience some wondrous and abundant natural highs in the coming weeks. Your capacity for beautiful perceptions, exhilarating thoughts and breakthrough epiphanies will be at a peak. But none of that is likely to happen if you’re loaded up with inebriants.

AQUARIUS

JAN. 20-FEB. 18: “Everyone who has ever built a new

heaven first found the power to do so in his own hell,” declared philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. That’s a rather histrionic statement! But then Nietzsche was a Maestro of Melodrama. He was inclined to portray human life as a heroic struggle for boldness and liberation. He imagined us as being engaged in an epic quest to express our highest nature. In accordance with your astrological potentials, I propose that you regard Nietzsche as your power creature during the coming weeks. You have a mandate to adopt his lion-hearted perspective. And yes, you also have a poetic license to build a new heaven based on the lessons you learned and the power you gained in your own hell.

PISCES

FEB. 19-MARCH 20: Here’s some knowledge from author John le Carré: “In every operation there is an above the line and a below the line. Above the line is what you do by the book. Below the line is how you do the job.” According to my analysis, you have, at least for now, done all you can in your work above the line. That’s great! It was crucial for you to follow the rules and honor tradition. But now it’s time for a shift in emphasis. In the coming weeks, I hope you will specialize in finessing the details and massaging the nuances below the line.

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AUGUST 20, 2020

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IFC FILMS

Everybody wants to rule the world

‘Tesla’ is a delightfully anarchic take on the current wars

by Michael J. Casey

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F

or Nikola Tesla, it all started with a cat. Specifically, a black cat named Macak, a feline friend from Tesla’s boyhood. One day while stroking Macak’s back, Tesla managed to raise a series of static electric sparks from the cat’s fur. It dazzled Tesla, and probably pissed off Macak. But Macak’s displeasure unlocked something in Tesla’s mind: He’d seen sparks in the sky, lightning bolts zigzagging this way and that. They looked like the ones he raised from Macak’s back. Could nature be a cat? Tesla wondered. And, if so, who strokes its back?

Another anecdote — this one 30 years later and 4,300 miles west of Tesla’s Austria in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

Tesla is now working for Thomas Edison. The two men are believers in electricity, though they stand on opposite sides.

In Tesla’s corner: Alternating current (AC). In Edison’s: Direct current (DC). If that weren’t enough, Edison owes Tesla $50,000. The two men are eating ice cream cones, and Edison will not budge. So, Tesla stuffs his cone into Edison’s face and walks out. The current wars have begun.

“This probably didn’t happen,” actress Eve Hewson tells us. Sitting at a desk in front of a MacBook and dressed in 19th-century clothing, Hewson explains that she is Anne Morgan, the youngest of four to banker J. Pierpont Morgan, and the unrequited affection of Tesla. She knows what really happened on that day in Menlo Park. Neither man had a cone in his hand, and Tesla (Ethan Hawke) probably just walked out of the room once Edison (Kyle MacLachlan) said no. The current wars started without a spark.

But what about the story of the cat’s back? That could be true, but it’s hard to say. Hewson wasn’t there, and Tesla has been dead since 1943. We only know of Macak because Tesla wrote it in a letter in 1939. Whether or not he made it up is his business.

And Tesla is writer/director Michael Almereyda’s business. Tracing Tesla’s adult life in America, from Edison employee to electrical visionary, from Menlo Park to AUGUST 20, 2020

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ON THE BILL: Colorado Springs, Tesla has the look ‘Tesla’ is available via and feel of a rote bio-pic until it sudVideo On Demand denly doesn’t. Hewson/Morgan starting Aug. 21. moves freely from the narrative to the narrator, correcting falsehoods and filling in information gaps. She is revising history in real-time, which sounds dangerous. But as one character says, “A fire is dangerous if you stick your hand in it.”

Can anything seen in Tesla be taken as fact? In addition to Hewson’s interjections, Almereyda routinely has the actors stand in front of artificial backdrops and paintings.

As if Tesla were standing atop Niagara Falls. As if J. Pierpont Morgan (Donnie Keshawarz) were standing in front of The Great Sphinx of Giza. Backdrops and paintings have provided cinematic backgrounds for a century, but cinematographers always took pains to make the actors appear to inhabit the two-dimensional image. Not here.

Here cinematographer Sean Williams places artificiality center stage.

Bio-pics are funny things. They purport to educate their audience factually — as if they’ve condensed 600 pages of academic research into two entertaining hours of sex and violence. Their style presents objectivity, but their results are far from it. You can feel the guiding hand of the subject (sometimes still living, sometimes protected by an estate) highlighting this moment over that, sanitizing that moment over this. It appears true but feels false.

Almereyda’s Tesla feels nothing of the sort. The way he and Hawke present Tesla feels natural and authentic, and Hewson’s ability to move between the story and the commentary is effortless. MacLachlan is exquisite as Edison, ditto for Keshawarz and Jim Gaffigan as George Westinghouse. It all feels perfect. And when you think it can’t get any better, Tesla walks onto a stage for a karaoke rendition of an ’80s pop song. Electric.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

KEEP CONNECTED

BY DAN SAVAGE Dear Dan: I’m a 35-year-old woman. because dog collars no more turn conI recently discovered I’m a size queen. senting adults into dogs than diapers (Is it OK for me to use this term?) This turn consenting adults into infants. And has been brewing for a while as I have the disapproval of strangers on the interdabbled with purchasing larger and largnet not only won’t stop an adult who er cucumbers and fucking myself with wants to wear diapers from wearing diathem after a good wash. I use a condom pers, WETONES, that disapproval and tons of lube and it’s been amazing. makes wearing diapers all the more Are there any safety or health concerns I arousing because the transgression and should be aware of? I’m moving away “wrongness” of wearing diapers makes from fucking produce and purchased my wearing diapers arousing — not for first sizeable toy. I see safety tips online everyone, of course, but for most people for men who like large toys in their butts who are into wearing diapers. Which but I wanted to know if there is anything I means your disapproving friends are should be aware of as a vagina-haver. I playing right into the pervy hands/crinkly mainly partner with men but am expandrubber shorts of all the diaper lovers out ing to date women and there. And while it’s true I’ve been fisted only once ROMAN ROBINSON that some people who are by a woman and absoluteinto age play are also into ly loved it. diapers, WETONES, it’s not —Finding I Lately true that everyone into diaLove Enormous Dildos pers is into age play. For most people who get off on Dear FILLED: So long diapers it’s the humiliation as you’re taking it slow, of being a diapered adult FILLED, so long as you’re that turns them on, not the using lots of lube, so long fantasy of being a child. as you’re playing with toys that have flared bases and Dear Dan: My husband were designed for inserand I recently watched the tion play, and so long as fantastic ’70s porn ‘Alice in those toys are made of body-safe materi- Wonderland: An X-rated Musical Fantasy’ als like silicone, then you’re doing every- (we got to it by watching ‘Meatballs’). It thing right. And yes, FILLED, you may was everything I’ve ever wanted in a use the term “size queen” to describe porn. Perhaps you or your readers could yourself! recommend something similar to put in our rotation?

Dear Dan: I’m a longtime fan of your —Likes To Watch column and your podcast. Recently a discussion came up on Facebook and I Dear LIT: Check out Caligula. This was curious as to what your take on the intermittently pornographic 1979 film situation was. It was about diaper play: A probably isn’t as lighthearted as the vergroup of people seem to think that enjoy- sion Alice in Wonderland you stumbled ing this kink is the same thing as being a over, LTW, but it doubtless has a much pedophile or engaging in “pedo-lite” more interesting backstory and far bigger behavior. Another group — myself includ- stars. A young and sexy Malcolm ed — believes that it is simply an expres- McDowell as the mad Roman emperor sion of a kink between two consenting with Peter O’Toole (!), John Gielgud (!!) adults, and therefore isn’t the same as and Helen Mirren (!!!) in supporting roles. pedophilia at all. I was curious as to what Even better, this amazing train wreck of your take on the situation was, or if you a movie is based on a screenplay by had any suggestions on how to approach Gore Vidal. (Got a 70s porn recommenthis topic with the first group? Thank you, dation for LTW? Share it in the comment wishing you all the best! thread!)

—Wandering Ethical Terrain Of On the Lovecast, it’s Dr. David Ley Nappies Employed Sexually on sex addiction vs. kink, savagelovecast.com.

Dear WETONE: Does fucking someSend questions to mail@savaglove. one who’s wearing a dog collar count as net, follow Dan on Twitter @ bestiality? Of course not, WETONES, FakeDanSavage and visit ITMFA.org.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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RINCON ARGENTINO, 2525 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder, 303-442-4133, rinconargentinoboulder.com

TRY THIS WEEK:

veggie empanadas @ Rincon Argentino

WITH AN EXPANSIVE menu, the empanadas from Rincon Argentino

are about as good as Argentine hand pies can get. On a recent visit, we opted for a vegetarian trio, three empanadas each with its unique flavor profile and hand-crafted shape. The Espinaca comes full of spinach, onion, peppers, pine nuts and spices with a fresh lemon to squeeze on top of the squared pastry. Filled with a mixture of mozzarella and provolone cheeses along with green onion and spices in a crispy shell, the Queso y Cebolla is a savory treat. But the Hongos is the real star: a combination of wild mushrooms including cremini, oyster and shiitake are stuffed into the empanada dough with ample garlic and spices. Any three empanadas come with your choice of salsa and we typically tend toward the traditional Argentine Chimichurri sauce — a rich blend of fresh parsley, oregano, red peppers, garlic and other spices.

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1 Drink this: Avery Brewing Co.’s Pomona Barrel-Aged Tart Ale Brewed with bushels of blueberry and pomegranate and then aged over four months in oak barrels, Avery Brewing Co.’s newest addition to its barrelaged beers is a beauty. Named after the wood nymph and goddess of fruitful abundance, Pomona pours a fleshy magenta and sparkles with rich berries and a tinge of rustic funk. That comes courtesy of the Brettanomyces, but the farmhouse yeast is kept in check thanks to lactobacillus and pediococcus, which gives the beer a creamy and tangy flavor of Greek yogurt. The malt provides a backbone to hold everything up, and the oak contributes a tingle of vanillin on the back. And then the whole experience comes to a close with palate-cleansing fruit and barrel tannins. It’s tasty stuff, a beautiful bridge beer to carry the dog days of summer into the harvest’s autumnal crackle.

BOULDER WEEKLY

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New squash sandwich at Organic Sandwich Co. LEARN ALL ABOUT local yellow squash and zucchini in Feast on page 35, but if you’d rather eat it than read about it, head to Organic Sandwich Co.’s Boulder and Louisville locations. In celebration of National Sandwich Month, OSC is selling a squash sandwich. It’s got roasted pattypan squash from Boulder’s Kilt Farm, along with red onion, gruyère cheese, white Cheddar and garlic aioli. It’s all compiled on grilled French country bread. OSC is a masterful composer of vegetarian sandwiches, so this one’s likely to hit the spot.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Tour de brew: Walter’s Brewery & Taproom

Everything old is new again in Pueblo

by Michael J. Casey

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aybe airplanes aren’t the way to go right now, but there’s plenty of Colorado out there to discover via the open road.

And about 150 miles south, Pueblo boasts a revival of one of Colorado’s iconic breweries: Walter’s Beer.

Situated on the banks of the Arkansas River, Pueblo was commandeered by settlers in the mid1800s before incorporation in 1870. Steel soon became the town’s industry, and an influx of workers brought families and the need for ancillary businesses, beer being one of them. That’s when Martin Walter, a German immigrant hailing from Wisconsin, purchased the Pueblo Brewery for $7,000 (roughly $200,000 in today’s money) and tagged it with his name. As of 1889, Walter’s Brewery was open for business.

Prohibition wasn’t far behind, but Pueblo paid no nevermind. According to Ed Sealover’s Colorado Excursions with History, Hikes and Hops: “Pueblo was a town that never really went dry during Prohibition, and its downtown is pockmarked with tunnels leading between various taverns. As a result, it was rumored to have more bars per capita than any town in the United States up until the start of the 21st century.”

At its height, Walter’s was distributing 100,000 barrels of beer a year. And like the other major brewery to the north, Walter’s marketed its beer as brewed with clean Colorado water. But the 20thcentury nationwide consolidation of the brewing industry made business tough,

and Walter’s was sold. The new owners closed the doors in 1975, and Walter’s Brewery started collecting dust.

Then in 2014 — after 10 years of convincing the Walter family that they could honor the tradition — siblings and Pubeloans Andy Sanchez and Diana Bailey resurrected the Walter’s Brewery & Taproom in an 1883 train depot on the industrial side of downtown. The back patio overlooks the tracks while the inside feels like stepping inside the watering

holes of yore. The walls are decorated with memorabilia, one of which is a news clipping of Frank Bensik, who spent 12 years saving 32,400 Walter’s Beer can pull tabs to make two large “curtains” for his bedroom. That’s not something you’re likely to find in a brewery ’round these parts.

Nor are the beers on tap: Practically all taste like delicious throwbacks. None more so than the Original Walter’s Pilsner, a pre-Prohibition recipe with a wonderfully unrefined quality: Neither rustic nor masquerading as such. It’s grainy on the nose, cold in the mouth, clean in the throat. To drink it is to know what all those steelworkers quenched their thirst with after a long, hot day at the mill.

Per the German/ Wisconsin/19th century brewing tradition, Walter’s core lineup stays on the lager side of life — Original Pilsner, Walter’s Blood Orange Lager, Bock, Coffee Bock, Lemon Shandy and Pueblo Chile Beer (see sidebar). But Walter’s colors outside the lines with a pumpkin ale (brewed with pumpkins for color, pumpkin spice for flavor) and Colorado Strong Pale Ale, its hoppiest beer on the board. The brewery even feature a line of hard seltzer.

Though production isn’t nearly what it used to be — Walter’s produced 400 barrels in 2019 — it still distributes, primarily to Loaf ‘N Jug and grocery stores (per the bartender), and A Okay Liquor at 2690 28th St., Boulder. But, for the full experience, a trip to the Pueblo taproom is in order. Breweries of this stripe are a dying breed; better get while the getting’s good.

Walter’s Pueblo Chile Beer

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or far too long, Pueblo chiles have been overshadowed by the nationally known (and better marketed) Hatch green chiles of New Mexico.

There’s no reason for such a slight: Pueblo chilies are meatier, have a more pronounced pepper flavor, a smoother burn and a spectacular taste. No wonder they’re the key ingredient in Walter’s most popular pour.

Walter’s Pueblo Chile Beer pours an attractive gold with a soft, sheen of foam on top. One whiff will let you know there’s spice a-coming, but it won’t shear your nostrils. Nor does it cook your palate, though you’ll definitely get heat. Drink it with a sandwich and you can leave the giardinieras off.

Drink it with roasted nuts and it’ll soak up the salt with ease. And if you need just a little more oomph, Walter’s serves Pueblo Chile clamato-style — on the off chance that you had one too many the night before.

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AUGUST 20, 2020

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BOULDER WEEKLY

in season

Zucchini and yellow squash at Oxford Farms

by Matt Cortina

O

ne of the joys of home gardening is being able to plant zucchini, yellow squash and the like. They’re easy to grow from seed, the plants are resilient and the crops they produce can get massive, so you’ll feel like you at least nailed one thing in your garden. Plus, you can stuff, fry and eat the zucchini flowers.

But you can take any guesswork out of the process by sourcing your zucchini and yellow squash from a local farmer. I found unblemished crops of all shapes and sizes at the Oxford Farms stand at the Longmont Farmers Market recently.

Prepare zucchini and yellow squash by grilling (I like to marinate them in balsamic vinegar before they get heat), steaming or sautéing. But they’re also great pickled and they provide pleasant texture

they’re available, but try to resist. You may get more mass for your buck, but the taste, texture and pliability of smaller crops are hard to beat.

Bigger zucchini and yellow squash — I’ll keep other, autumnal varieties out of this discussion since the rules change — tend to be drier and have a less pleasant texture (though, I suppose, that’s subjective). You won’t lose any flavor in selecting small or medium-sized zucchini and yellow squash, and you might find them easier to work with.

Smaller varieties also make preparations like pickling and salting easier, and in recipes like ratatouille (see below) the innards of your squash and zucchini slices are more likely to retain their structure if their diameters are smaller.

RATATOUILLE

in stews, sauces and soups.

If you have either or both in your garden, you know it’s boom times for zucchini and yellow squashes. If you don’t, Oxford Farms is a good place to start. Either way, go get ’em while the getting’s good.

BIGGER IS NOT BETTER

You’ll be tempted to grab the massive zucchini and squash on display at any farm stand where

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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Since zucchini and squash started showing up on farm stands this year, ratatouille has become a staple in the dinner rotation in my house.

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Peel the zucchini (you don’t have to, though; I like a hybrid striped peel to maintain structure) and the yellow squash, which I peel just to take the outside rind off — the rind is thick so it’ll maintain its texture while cooking. Slice them thin, about a quarter-inch, and heat butter and/or olive oil in a Dutch oven on the stove.

When the butter melts, throw in the zucchini and squash. Feel free to throw in sliced garlic or leeks (which I got from Oxfarm Farms as well).

Eggplant works in this, too.

Stir frequently, adding salt and pepper as you go. Dump in a 15-ounce can of crushed tomatoes — though add more or less depending on how many zucchini and squashes you have. You want enough tomato to barely cover what’s in the pot, but not so much it becomes soupy or saucy.

Stir for about five minutes more, put the lid on the Dutch oven and throw it in oven for 40-45 minutes. The tomatoes will concentrate and integrate with the zucchini and squash. It’s kind of magical, actually. Take it out and eat as a side, top on pasta or polenta or atop toasted baguette slices.

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Speeding edibles up

by Will Brendza

T

he cannabis market is saturated with edibles: chocolate bars, tinctures, brownies, butter, cookies, tablets, dissolvable powders, gummies, lollipops — any and every conceivable confection.

Walking into a dispensary these days can feel a little like walking into a candy store.

But the problem I run into with edibles is always the same: they work slow. More often than not, I eat one, go about my business, get lost in my day, carried away by tasks and chores and then — WHAM — an hour or more later and I’m high as a kite. Sometimes, edibles don’t peak in the blood for up to four hours. It can be a surprising high. It can catch you off guard and under unideal circumstances.

That slow absorption rate is an unfortunate feature of most edibles, and a big reason why many people (myself included) tend to lean away from them. Even though they’re better for your lungs than smoking or vaping, and even though they’re easier to dose with real accuracy — there’s simply nothing immediate about them.

Now, thanks to science, that’s starting to change. Based in Louisville,

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Quicksilver Scientific, a professional dietary supplement company that develops advanced new systems of nutrient, vitamin and medicinal delivery, has developed technology that puts the “fast” in fast-acting edible products, like Wana’s new THC gummies.

It’s called “nano-emulsion technology” and it essentially solved the slow

to a molecular level, according to Shade.

“When you take cannabinoids in oil form, they have to combine with the bile that’s formed in your liver and then they’re dumped into your small intestine that emulsifies the oil, and then you absorb those emulsified droplets,” Shade says. That’s why it generally WILL BRENDZA takes so long for an edible to kick in: its got low and slow bioavailability.

However, nano-emulsion represents a way around that. It pre-emulsifies the THC oil so that it’s five times more bioavailable and therefore peaks in the blood five times faster. When you ingest it, it’s already prepared to absorb across your mucus membranes — across the lining of your mouth, under your tongue and through your cheek, or into the upper GI tract — and into your capillaries.

And suddenly you’re high. absorption problem of edibles.

“It’s essentially taking one of the Quicksilver’s founder and CEO, Dr. natural processes that happens during Christopher Shade, explains that the digestion — the assimilation of these company’s goal was to create higher compounds — and sort of pre-digesting and more rapid bioavailability in medici- it and making it much more efficient,” nal cannabis products that doctors are Shade says. “These [THC products] will trying to use. Translation: higher and peak in the blood between 20 and 30 faster absorption rates in the body. minutes after you take them.”

How did Quicksilver Scientific Quicksilver Scientific is licensing achieve that? By breaking things down this nano-emusion technology to any

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cannabis company that wants to use it in their products. So far, it haws teamed up with cannabis partners in California, Canada and those right here in Colorado, like Wana.

“We provide them the equipment and the chemistry and the expertise and oversee how they make their products,” Shade says.

Wana uses Quicksilver’s nanoemulsion technology in its 5 milligram fast-acting gummies. These rapid onset edibles come in three different “happy hour” flavors (piña colada, peach Bellini and strawberry margarita).

Five milligram dose gummies, like these, make it easier for users to control their high, too. Instead of passing through your lungs, THC passes through your liver when you eat it, so edible highs tend to be more intense than those you get from smoking — and they last a lot longer. It can be very uncomfortable if you over dose yourself. So, starting with a 5mg, fast-acting Wana THC gummy, it’s much easier to gauge how high you are and control how much higher you want get.

The days of slow-acting cannabis edibles might soon be behind us. As companies like Quicksilver Scientific refine and perfect cannabis delivery systems like nano-emulsion and more producers like Wana adopt their technology, the medicinal and recreational value of marijuana will only continue to grow.

And edibles will continue to speed up.

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