RegularOccurrences

4 La Vida Local

4 Thumbin’ It

5 Soap Box

6-7 Land Desk

The last resort?

Looks like the tiny mountain hamlet of Rico will remain sleepy – for now by Jonathan Thompson

8

Laid to rest

Proposed apartment complex sparks effort to preserve historic cemetery by Jonathan Romeo

8-9 Top Story

10 Gossip of the Cyclers

11 Murder Ink

12-13 Stuff to Do

13 Ask Rachel

14 Free Will Astrology

15 Classifieds

15 Haiku Movie Review

Ear to the Ground

“I make all my new friends in the line at Zia.”

– Well, that’s one way to meet people in Durango; just make sure you don’t have cilantro in your teeth

New venue alert!

Recently, Stillwater Music announced the upcoming grand opening of The Light Box, a “versatile venue” at the music education hub’s space at 1316 Main Ave. (next to Jimmy John’s in the strip mall).

According to Stillwater, the new venue will host a variety of events, including music, dance, visual arts, theater, poetry slams, fashion shows, recitals and more.

“We held a soft opening last fall and have been hosting or renting the space out,” Stillwater Music Executive Director Jeroen van Tyn said in a prepared statement.

All the single ladies

Celebrating the chicks who rage at Sea Otter’s annual bike brodeo by Jennaye Derge

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The 2,000-square-foot venue can seat up to 110 people. In addition to being used by Stillwater’s students, upcoming shows include Elder Grown on May 12 (also the grand opening) and Leslie Mendelson on June 10.

“The creation of this venue is aimed squarely at addressing Durango’s persistent shortage of performing venues,” van Tyn said.

The perceived shortage of venues in Durango (which we covered in a June 16, 2022, story) is typically a hot topic among local music lovers. Of course, there are plenty of bars and niche venues, like The Hive and iAM’s iNDIGO Room, offering music. And in the summer, there are shows at outdoor venues like Buckley Park and Tico Time. (Speaking of which, iAM is taking over E. 2nd Ave. between 7th and 8th streets this weekend for the iAM Music Fest. For deets., see. p. 5)

And of course, there’s the two biggies: FLC’s Community Concert Hall and Animas City Theatre (which will return to live music this summer after hosting magic shows last summer).

Jana Leslie, program director for Stillwater, said The Light Box, however, will put an emphasis on the performance of music itself. “It’s not a bar; it’s a performance space, and you’re here for the music,” she said. The venue, though, will serve food and beverages.

Let’s dance

Is it just me, or have we all been super tired lately? Perhaps it’s the changing seasons. Maybe it’s from thinking about bills before bed and how inflation is making them harder to pay. Maybe it’s the existential crisis of climate change. Or maybe it’s how democracy seems to always be “on the ballot” in every election.

Perhaps tired isn’t the right word. Disconnected? In a world where we can connect with millions of people on social media, I find myself often feeling alone – sometimes on purpose. Is it possible to be too connected? Too in the know? Social media, a powerful tool that I think has been raising awareness for race, class and gender equality, also seems to radiate trauma. As someone who browses their phone before bed, I find I almost have to disassociate from what I just watched or read in order to fall asleep. I think I have been disconnecting in a similar way during waking hours in order to keep moving through the days and weeks.

The healthier version of this idea would be “unplugging.” But unplugging seems to be an idea from the past – something parents might have said in the ’80s or the name of my favorite live concert on MTV (back when they actually played music). However, I tend to unplug by checking my phone, thereby exacerbating this issue. What may be an obvious solution is meditation. But I often find myself dozing off during meditations, or worse, thinking about personal and world issues. At the beginning of this year, I decided that I needed something that would help me be more in tune with my body and become connected to the present – I needed to take a dance class.

As someone who performs in both theatre and drag shows, I hate to admit that my ability to quickly learn choreography has never been my strong suit. I, like many of you, dance when I’m alone and don’t care about messing up a step. It’s all just improv that my body needs to express in the moment – which has been happening a lot since the release of Beyoncé‘s “Renaissance” album last August.

I signed up for a dance class through Fort Lewis College, which was led by instructor Suzy DiSanto. I took this course as a non-degree-seeking student, and I’m pretty sure I was the oldest in the class. However, I looked forward to early-morning classes because it meant that I got to use my body in a way that was different from my otherwise sedentary life – even if some mornings were rough from the night before. It is Mexican Logger season after all.

We would start with a half hour of warm up, followed by another half hour of floor work, and then cap the class by learning numbers choreo-

Thumbin’It

Purgatory Resort announcing it will extend its ski season into May, a feat only accomplished one other time in the resort’s 58-year history.

Gov. Polis signing four gun measures into law last week to tighten restrictions on obtaining firearms in the light of the fact that, oh, there have been an estimated 160 mass shootings in 2023.

Apple and Google partnering to combat “creepy tracking tactics” on the internet. No word if they’ll be clamping down on ex-lovers who stalk your Facebook photos.

graphed by Suzy. Although I started the term off strong in my motivation, I found myself getting frustrated with not only my inability to pick up choreography quickly, but also with how I felt I looked while I danced.

I had a friend in college who was part of a hip-hop dance crew. I loved the crew’s dances, and my friend would teach them to me during downtime in the dorms. However, one time he said to me: “You look funny.” I felt so embarrassed. Did I look funny because I couldn’t make the steps work? Were my knees too stiff? Or did dancing broadcast the thinness of my frame? Looking back, I wonder if I was being a bit melodramatic, but those words stuck with me. I never asked for clarification because I too quickly internalized his words and believed them. Years later, I would receive notes from directors in shows that I was too feminine or “gay” in my movements to play certain male characters. More cases of “looking funny.”

While learning the dances this semester, I often thought to myself how strange and unattractive I probably looked while stumbling through them. Eventually, these thoughts made going to class not only difficult but hurtful to my self-perception. It made me envious of people who could seemingly move through the world with confidence and no body shame. After not attending for a week and half, I remembered – I move through the world with confidence when I’m Rita Booke.

If this is your first column with me, Rita Booke is my drag name. She loves fashion and learning. She’s a bit more sophisticated than your typical “hot librarian” trope, but not by much. And on the nights when my wig is on tight and my outfit is on point, I feel unstoppable. What if I approached these dance classes as Rita? I wanted to channel her confidence in the moments when I was both learning and messing up the steps.

My class experience culminated with a disco number performed by me and two other students set to the tune of “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer (fun side note: Beyoncé named her final song of her album after Donna Summer and used a bit of “Love to Love You Baby” in it). I felt a heaviness in my stomach from the nerves of performing – something I knew I had to push past. We started and then received some applause during our first two counts of eight. It was so unexpected, and I got so excited that I forgot what to do next! We started our number again, and we made it through all the way. We bumped fists as we sat down, feeling both relieved and excited that we had just completed the performance.

I found myself falling asleep early that night. I was alone in bed, but I felt more connected to myself and the present than I had in a long time.

–

SignoftheDownfall:

Another one bites the dust: Bed Bath and Beyond is closing at the Durango Mall. Now where are we going to get all our “Live, Laugh, Love” décor?

A new report that puts the blame squarely on airlines for the majority of flight cancellations. You mean when the pilot says there’s a “mechanical issue” … he’s lying? No!

Hollywood writers forced to go on strike for well-deserved better pay and benefits. However, if this affects the next season of “Mandalorian” and little baby Yoda, we’re gonna loose it.

Doug Gonzalez

The Blue-Sooted Boobie

There’s a priceless, 200-yearold statue of a naked lady at The British National Trust in Worcestershire. Recently, the organization put a sign in front of it saying they were “utterly shocked by the vandalism” that’d happened. Said “vandalism” turned out to be blue crayon scribbles, but after some research, the Trust admitted that they’d “issued blue crayons” to a group of toddlers during Easter. The trust removed the sign and consulted a cleaning expert for advice on how to clean 200-year--old rock, which is just as dumb as giving crayons to toddlers.

Valuing a woman’s life

We’re approaching Mother’s Day, when moms are honored with flowers, cards, gifts, breakfast in bed, meals at a nice restaurant…

It’s a good time to be mindful that sometimes women die from complications of pregnancy. Modern medical care can deal with some things that can kill mothers and babies in more primitive birth situations.

Unfortunately, pregnant women now are threatened with death if something goes wrong in GOP-controlled “right to life” states where abortions are banned or with supposed exceptions to save the life of the mother.

The sticky question is, how close to death must a woman be before a doctor will dare provide treatment, such as to remove dead fetal tissue if it doesn’t come out on its own? Does she have to be out of body and floating up that tunnel toward the glowing white light before the situation qualifies as life-threatening?

National Public Radio has reported on some of these situations.

In Ohio last year, a 10-year-old girl, pregnant through rape, had to go to Indiana to end the pregnancy. Indiana is no longer an option. Who thinks a 10year-old could go through pregnancy and delivery without serious damage to her own health?

Then there was the woman in Ohio who had a miscarriage and went through days of very heavy bleeding after the tissue was not expelled. At what point does blood loss become life threatening? I think she went to Pennsylvania to get treatment, which is the same as a medicinal or surgical abortion.

The drug mifepristone, which the GOP wants to ban nationally, is used to remove dead or hopelessly damaged fetal tissue, not just to end unwanted pregnancies.

The North Dakota governor, a man, recently signed a law that any pregnancy emergency can only be treated within six weeks of the start of pregnancy. Apparently after that, let the woman die, unless she can get to a state where abortions are still legal.

In Texas, a woman was advised around halfway into the 40-week gestation, that the fetus was missing a brain and part of the skull. But she had to carry the doomed pregnancy to term. The baby died four hours after birth.

In Oklahoma, a woman with a “molar” pregnancy, where the fetus is not viable and in this case also was cancerous, could not get treatment in that state, despite risk of fatal bleeding. She was able to get treatment in Kansas. Remember that last year, Kansas voters rejected an effort to remove a right to abortion from the state constitution. Thanks to the GOP and so-called right-to-lifers, non-viable fetuses count more than female bodies carrying them.

– Carole McWilliams, Bayfield

Actually, no on wolves

After attending the meeting on wolf reintroduction last week – although I voted for reintroduction – I now am strongly in opposition. I originally voted for reintroduction, because wolves are keystone species that improve the health of ecosystems.

However, after listening to the ranchers about the impact of wolves in the Northern Rockies on livestock, I oppose wolf reintroduction. I have seen the negative impact of cattle in the backcountry, but rural ranching communities should be able to make a living. If not, they will sell out, and I do not want to see that land subdivided into more multi-million dollar homes.

I propose wolves only be introduced in other large national parks, as has been successful in Yellowstone.

– Margaret Mayer, Durango

Call for transparency

On the LPEA ballot, arriving around May 5, will be a bylaw amendment. This amendment includes three topics.

1. Electronic communication

2. Electronic voting

3. Member-initiated meeting.

Three topics should be three bylaw amendments and three separate votes. It might make a person wonder what the LPEA Board is trying to sneak by its members.

In the guise of aligning with state law, LPEA is virtually abandoning its members’ right to petition for an allmember meeting. Currently, our bylaws specify that an all-member meeting can be initiated by petitioning the board with 500 signatures. Under state law, it requires 10% of members to sign – for LPEA, that is currently around 3,500 signatures. In a rural area like the LPEA service area, it would be nearly impossible to door knock for 3,500 signatures.

Why would the board suggest this change? How does this change serve members?

Please read the amendment carefully, and vote NO.

– John Purser, candidate for LPEA Board of Directors