Issuu

F R E E E v e r y T h u r s d a y F o r 2 6 Ye a r s / w w w. b o u l d e r w e e k l y. c o m / J u n e 2 5 - J u l y 1 , 2 0 2 0

news:

Boulder County DACA recipients respond to SCOTUS decision by Many Voices

Eatery & Marketplace Boulder, Colorado

news: CU study pinpoints the worst ‘fake news’ offenders by Matt Cortina

boulderganic:

buzz:

events:

beer:

New statewide tool calculates economic impacts of climate change by Angela K. Evans

R.L. Maizes’ debut, ‘Other People’s Pets,’ is a study in the perfection of imperfection by Caitlin Rockett

Felonius Smith Trio, the Longmont Public Library’s Trashion Show, and more to do when there’s ‘nothing’ to do... by Boulder Weekly Staff

Seltzers and spirits are only the beginning by Michael J. Casey

feast:

Boulder’s Settembre Cellars launches unique winemaker-paired dinners with old vintages and food from local restaurants by Matt Cortina

THANK YOU

FOR SUPPORTING OUR MISSION

FIRST PLACE: Best Gluten Free Restaurant SECOND PLACE: Best Organic Restaurant THIRD PLACE: Best Vegetarian Restaurant

departments 5 7 9 18 19 21 23 27 29

Danish Plan: A modest proposal for settling accounts with America’s latter-day Red Guards Letters: Signed, sealed, delivered... your views News: Colorado education funding takes multi-million-dollar hit Words: ‘Another Black Floyd,’ by Linda Floyd Film: An ‘Irresistible’ premise and an undeniable reality Savage Love: Blowing up Food/Drink: Food news and what to try this week in Boulder County Astrology: by Rob Brezsny Cannabis Corner: Israel gets serious about legalizing pot

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

FRESHTHYMES.COM EATERY 303 955 7988 2500 30TH ST. #101, BOULDER, CO MARKETPLACE 720 484 5969 2690 28TH ST., BOULDER, CO

JUNE 25, 2020

Computer Glasses Many of us are working on the computer more than ever. Increased screen time may cause digital eyestrain. New technology may help. The Eyezen enhanced single vision lenses offer sharper vision than ordinary single vision lenses. And they help protect blue light. Dr. Lowell Steinberg 303-447-8470

Dr. Terri Oneby 303-443-4545

bouldervisioncenter.com

JUNE 25, 2020

BOULDER COUNTYâ€™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 Cover, Courtesy of the State of Colorado June 25, 2020 Volume XXVII, Number 45 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

A modest proposal for settling accounts with America’s latter-day Red Guards By Paul Danish

t was one of those war stories that if it wasn’t true, it should have been. I first heard it in the 1960s during a bull session with CU political science professor Conrad McBride. I was one of Mac’s graduate assistants at the time. So was the other guy in the room, but he was 10 or 15 years older than I was — old enough to remember World War II and its aftermath. The other guy had some great stories, including one about what happened to servicemen who lost government property. Lost as in misplaced, not lost as in battle. Big, expensive pieces of government property, like Sherman tanks and B-17 bombers. I

It seems hard to believe that someone could lose a tank or a plane, but, hey, it was a big war and there were lots of tanks and planes to keep track of. The U.S. built 12,731 B-17s during the war, and at least 49,234 Sherman tanks. B-17s cost about $238,000 each in 1945 dollars, or $2.7 million in 2018 bucks. A Sherman went for $33,000 in 1942, or more than $550,000 today. So what happened to someone who dropped a bomber or a tank through the cracks? According to the story, Uncle Sam billed him for it. Twenty years after the war there were guys who were still having part of their pay garnished every month to JUNE 25, 2020

compensate the government for a missing Flying Fortress or Sherman. Like I said, I don’t know if the story is true or urban legend. But it strikes me that this would be a great way to settle accounts with the excitable boys and girls who are tearing down historic statues and defacing monuments around the country: Bill them for the cost of the statues and the cost of replacing them. In addition to whatever criminal penalties might be involved for destroying government property, bring a civil action against the perps for the cost of the original statues (adjusted for inflation, of course), the cost of see DANISH PLAN Page 6

DANISH PLAN from Page 5

replacement statues, and for the pain and suffering inflicted on the American people by their vandalism. And spare no expense in making the replacement statues vandal-proof. For instance, the originals were made of bronze or brass (thus the green patina), but since vandalism is now an issue, the replacements should be made of something more robust. Solid stainless steel and titanium alloys for instance, with some cobalt mixed in. (The last is currently selling for a bargain-basement price of $33,000 a metric ton, which is about a third of what it was going for just a few years ago). Clean, Safe and Small Price should be no object, except to run it up to discourage future vanEnhanced showroom cleaning and an intimate shopping dalism. And to make sure the price is Clean, Safe and experience. NoSmall huge crowds here. robust, project management could be Enhanced showroom cleaning and an intimate shopping put in the hands of the Department experience. No huge crowds here. Shop Your Way Our showroom is open again and our of Defense (which knows a thing or In-store, at home, virtually…just let us know what workstwo you.cost over-runs) instead of Enhanced showroom intimate shopping forabout expert is readyand foran your flooring Shop Your team Way cleaning the Park Service. project. experience. No huge crowds here. In-store, at home, virtually…just let us know what works for you. So say a new statue of Ulysses We Love Our Community Grant or Chris Columbus costs a ProudSafe to beand partSmall of [insert city] and grateful for your support Clean, couple million. The members of the WeEnhanced Love Our Community showroom cleaning an intimate shopping of local business. Thankand you! mob who were directly involved with experience. Noof huge crowds Proud to be part [insert city]here. and grateful for your support Boulder tearing down the old ones probably In-store, at home, virtually…just letyou us know what workswe’re for you. of local business. Thank you!make number If new floors would happier at home, here no more than 100. That Shop Your Way works out to $20,000 per vandal. to help. Call us today to chat about your next project. In-store, at home, virtually…just let us know what works for you. Make them pay it off at a rate of If new floors would make you happier at home, we’re here $1,000 a year plus interest for 20 to help. Call usOur today to chat about your next project. We Love Community years, or around $100 a month. That to be part of [insert city] and grateful for your support Proud toProud be part of [insert city] and grateful for your support won’t pauperize anyone, but it should of local business. Thank you! sting enough to discourage most of of local business. Thank you! BC | 123-456-7890 | carpetone.ca Main St, make Anytown them from seeking a career in iconoIf 123 new S. floors would you happier at home, we’re here clasm. to help. Photos Callforus today to chat about your next project. illustrative purposes only. See store for details. ©2020 Carpet One Floor & Home®. All Rights Reserved. A further question is should 123 S. Main St, Anytown BC | 123-456-7890 | carpetone.ca If new floors would make you happier at home, we’re hereConfederate statues be replaced, conPhotos for illustrative purposes only. See store for details. ©2020 Carpet One Floor & Home®. All Rights Reserved. to help. Call us today to chat about your next project. sidering that they were statues of men who committed treason. 123 S. Main St, Anytown BC | 123-456-7890 | carpetone.ca (Treason is defined in the Constitution as “levying war against Photos for illustrative purposes only. See store for details. ©2020 Carpet One Floor & Home®. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back Welcome Back Welcome Back Our showroom is open again and our

expert team is ready for your flooring

showroom is is open again andand our our OurOur showroom open again project. expert team is ready for your flooring expert team is ready for your flooring project. project.

Welcome Back

Clean, Safe and Small

Shop Your Way

We Love Our Community

JUNE 25, 2020

[the United States], or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.” That pretty much covers anyone in the Confederate army who rated a statue.) The answer is yes, their statues should be put back up. Those statues were accepted by the winners of the Civil War as a way of letting the losers, even though they were traitors, know that they would be accepted back into the Union as U.S. citizens, instead of being permanently branded as traitorous pariahs.* Given the way they treated Black people for the next 100 years, like shit, that may seem like giving away a lot, but it was part of the price of reuniting the Union. Even after 150 years, toppling Confederate statues may be tearing the scabs off old wounds, and in the present climate they could fester and become infected. We should be careful about going there. As for the latter-day iconoclasts, they are a bunch of grubby American Red Guards, as stupid as they are vicious. Their goal is not racial reconciliation. It’s Marxist revolution, or worse, nihilism. And in the best tradition of their Maoist role models, they see making Americans loath their history and then themselves as a pathway to this. They are not American social justice warriors, and they should be made to pay for the damage they do. This opinion column does not necessarily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly. *Editor’s note: No. Most Confederate statues were erected around the turn of the 20th century and coincided with the rise of Jim Crow laws. BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Harber for Regent

Romanoff for Senate

Have we ever had a candidate for CU Regent with the lifetime of community commitment Aaron Harber has demonstrated? Neither of his opponents has even begun to approach his record of caring. While they try to mesmerize voters with the refrain, “I am the most qualified,” consider Aaron’s singular accomplishments at AaronHarber.com/Bio. Inspired by his late mother, Adrienne Harber, Aaron’s volunteer involvement and leadership are amazing. He served on boards for the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, Eco-Cycle, and the Boulder Chamber Orchestra. He was an Attention Homes relief house parent. He was the first male elected to the Boulder County Women’s Resource Center and helped create the Boulder Safehouse (now known as SPAN). He headed the Chicano Film Project and was the first president of the Nancy Spanier Dance Theatre of Colorado. He served on the Boulder Human Relations Commission and the Colorado Complete Census Count Committee. He was a Bixby School auctioneer and a lunch-server there and at Peak to Peak, where he also was an Accountability Committee member. He and his daughter were Boulder Valley Guide Dogs for the Blind Puppy Club raisers. He was the first public member to chair the Colorado Attorney General’s Collection Agency Board, protecting consumers. He served on the Prostate Cancer Education Council, the Colorado Media School Community Board, and Boulder Valley School District Mill Levy campaigns. He helped create the Women’s Equity Fund. On the Campaign Cabinet, he helped raise millions to renovate CU’s Macky Auditorium. At Rocky Flats, he marched and helped Joe Daniel, Keith Pope, Allen Ginsberg and Daniel Ellsberg publish A Year Of Disobedience. Aaron knows our community best and has demonstrated an extraordinary level of caring. Vote for the candidate who has been here for all of us and will represent us best: Aaron Harber. Wallace Orr/Boulder

On June 30, Coloradan Democrats and Independents will have the opportunity to vote in the Democratic primary for a candidate to oppose Republican Cory Gardner in the race for the U.S. Senate. Cory Gardner has earned the nickname “Cardboard Cory” for his refusal to attend town halls in Colorado. He has also supported Trump at every step. Thus, for any Coloradan seeking a senator willing to listen to voters and to make independent, considered decisions, this primary election is critical. John Hickenlooper and Andrew Romanoff are the two primary candidates. The two most critical issues that divide them are climate change and health care. Hickenlooper believes in an incremental approach to solving both problems. He has accepted money from the fossil fuel industry and would not ban fracking now. Romanoff states that we have “run out the clock” on climate change; we have to ban fracking as part of acting comprehensively and immediately. As for health care, the story is much the same. Hickenlooper wants to go slow and build on the Affordable Care Act. But we don’t know how he would get from there to comprehensive coverage. Romanoff wants to pursue Medicare for All. He wants the coverage to start at birth and to include, ear, eye, dental and mental health care. It takes only the current pandemic to underscore how critical it is. Other industrialized nations do it and exceed U.S. health outcomes. Romanoff emanates energy, compassion, idealism, work ethic and intellect. He is a strikingly articulate orator, who will energize Coloradans of all stripes to go to the polls and vote for him over Gardner in November. And he will elevate debate in the U.S. Senate to persuade his colleagues to do what is right and necessary to protect our people and our planet. Joan Woodward/Grand Junction

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

CHANGE STARTS HERE. Can we count you in? Boulder Weekly is looking for an Advertising Account Executive to join our team promoting our exciting and growing digital & print products. Email Cover Letter and Resume to Publisher franzan@boulderweekly.com

JUNE 25, 2020

A win, but not the end of the fight

Boulder County DACA recipients respond to SCOTUS decision

by Many Voices

ince President Trump took office in 2017, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has hung in the balance. First introduced in 2012 by President Obama, the program gives undocumented residents who were brought to the U.S. unlawfully as children temporary immigration relief and the ability to lawfully work. But Trump vowed to end the program, and the legal protections it affords recipients, resulting in years of back-and-forth legal battles. On June 18, in a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration from ending the program, citing a lack of justification for the action, while not taking into account how it would affect the nearly 700,000 DACA recipients across the country. The news came as a sigh of relief for many, including the 14,640 Colorado DACA beneficiaries. Still, the program is threatened as the decision leaves room for the administration to bring forward more concrete rationale for its actions and as a Texas lawsuit challenging Obama’s authority to institute the program in the first place is still making its way through the courts. Below, Boulder County DACA recipients respond to the Supreme Court decision and what it means for their future. Read more at boulderweekly.com LAURA SOTO, LONGMONT Motus Theater Monologist and Operations Manager with Philanthropiece Foundation y family came to the U.S. in the winter of 1982, which is the year I was born. We crossed the River Grand — mid-winter — in search of a better life. They held the 6-month-old baby high above their shoulders as if holding her in offering to the skies above as a prayer for their future. My family tells a story of how the newborn baby’s life was at risk because she got sick with pneumonia after crossing the frozen river. This for me is proof that I was born a warrior. Life challenged my strength from the very beginning

even as an infant and I didn’t die, I passed the test of resilience; this test has marked my path. My family has always had strong ties to both the U.S. — many are born or naturalized U.S. citizens — and Mexico. The broken immigration system of this country has left me with an undocumented status that creates unjust barriers for me (as it has for the millions of childern growing-up in the U.S. undocumented) to build a meaningful, fulfilling life. However, I was born a LAURA SOTO warrior and I have overcome countless adversities. I embody the identity of most U.S. citizens by loving and serving my community, seeking to educate myself, advance in my profession and share my talents. Thanks to DACA, I am a business owner, a cultural broker, a homeowner and have raised two U.S.-born citizens on my own as a single mom. However, what we saw last Thursday is the grim reality of the DACA program: it hangs by a thread. And it will continue to hang by a thread until Congress passes the Dream and Promise Act. SCOTUS’s decision allowed for a moment’s breath. The DACA program can still be eliminated by this president or any other subsequent president. The lives of DACA recipients have always been at the mercy of political campaigns, as have immigrants as a whole, we are politicians’ scapegoats, they literally play with our lives during their campaigns. There is no telling when they will try to end the program again; this is why now, more than ever, we need the Dream and Promise Act to be introduced into the Senate (it has been waiting a year after passing the House of Representatives), written into law and a subsequent immigration reform! JUNE 25, 2020

KIARA CHÁVEZ, BOULDER Community Development and Marketing Coordinator and UndocuAmerica Monologist at Motus Theater he SCOTUS decision to rule in favor of DACA means that we are temporarily protected in two-year increments once more. The fear I have felt for the last four years is slowly leaving my body, but it’s not enough to make it go away. As long as Trump remains in office, I will continue to fear for my community because we are not safe as long as someone is threatening our humanity. The bright side is that with DACA safe, for now, we can fight for permanent protection. We need permanent protection and more people need access. There are still thousands of us not protected, like my parents. There are still children in cages. This is a win, but it’s not the end of our fight. La decisión de SCOTUS a favor de DACA significa que estamos protegidos temporalmente en incremenKIARA CHÁVEZ tos de dos años una vez más. El miedo que he sentido durante los últimos cuatro años está abandonando mi cuerpo lentamente, pero no es suficiente para que desaparezca. Mientras Trump permanezca el presidente de los E.E.U.U., seguiré temiendo por mi comunidad porque nadie esta seguro mientras alguien amenaza nuestra humanidad. El lado positivo es que con DACA seguro, por ahora, podemos luchar por protección permanente. Necesitamos protección permanente y más personas necesitan acceso. Todavía hay miles de nosotros sin proteccion, como mis padres. Todavía hay niñas/os en jaulas. Esta es una victoria, pero no es el final de nuestra pelea.

HUGO JUAREZ, LONGMONT Housing Stabilization Program (HSP) Coordinator at Sister Carmen Community Center and Motus Theater UndocuAmerica Monologist he SCOTUS decision meant to me some type of relief and not just for me but for my parents as well. For a long period of time, DACA recipients lived a life of uncertainty after the Trump administration decided to cancel DACA. After the SCOTUS decision was made, I started to cry, and right away I called my mom, then we both started cryHUGO JUAREZ ing because we knew that at least my brothers and I still had a chance to stay in this country. But the fight doesn’t stop here. My older brother didn’t qualify for DACA, my parents are still undocumented — that means that our work is not done. We need every undocumented American protected from deportation.

NANCY CONTRERAS, BOULDER grew up in Boulder. The SCOTUS DACA decision means a lot to me. If I didn’t have DACA I might not have been able to go to college. Because I did have DACA I was able to pursue my degree and be the first person in my family to go to and graduate college. It means I can continue to work to support myself and my family. DACA has opened up more possibilities for me. It has also allowed me to be less fearful of my situation. Having that said, there is definitely more that needs to be done. This is a temporary solution for anyone in my situation and, as we have seen, could potentially get taken away at any point. And if it had been taken away, where would that leave us DACA recipients after exposing ourselves as undocumented?

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Colorado education funding takes multi-million-dollar hit by Matt Cortina

olorado students entering 10th grade in the fall will never have been in a fully funded public school classroom. After recent cuts at the state legislature to stabilize the budget, it’s likely those students will eventually graduate having never sat in a classroom that received all the funding resources they require. In the face of a $3 billion deficit, the state legislature made budget cuts across the board last month. As K-12 funding represents roughly one-third of the state’s general fund expenditures, it received the bulk of the cuts — $577 million in 2020, with the potential to exceed $1.18 billion in cuts by 2022. Already, Colorado ranks 49th in the country for teacher pay. But the ramifications of these funding cuts extends far beyond educator compensation, says Amie Baca-Oehlert, a high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association, the state’s teachers’ union. “I think all we have to do is look to the very recent past to see the consequences of what that kind of funding reduction means,” Baca-Oehlert says. “More that half our schools in Colorado are on a four-day week. We have students sit in class sizes that are much too large. We have students that don’t have access to mental health support. We have one of the highest youth suicide rates in the country. We have one of the largest educator shortages that we’ve ever experienced.” Complicating matters is (of course) the coronavirus pandemic, which shuttered schools in March for the remainder of the academic year, and forced educators and students to adapt on the fly. Still, the shutdowns highlighted inequities in Colorado’s education system that years of underfunding had helped create: many students didn’t have access to technology, some parents who worked essential jobs weren’t home to guide their children through remote learning, and some didn’t have adequate access to specialty or mental health care. Those challenges will be present when the next school year starts in the fall, Baca-Oehlert says, and will only be exacerbated by the reduced budget. “The fact is our students are going to be going back to school with significant needs,” she says, “We know our students are going to need more resources, and our funding has been cut to a point where there’s going to be less resources.” CEA lobbied lawmakers at the end of the recent legislative session to make changes that would boost education spending, like reducing or redirecting the amount spent on standardized testing and “costly” evaluation systems into avenues that support educators better. Last year, the state spent $23 million on standardized testing, with much of the money going to private testing companies, Baca-Oehlert says. CEA also lobbied for cutting corporate tax loopholes, which would allow more funds to flow to the education system. That resulted in a bill that ultimately passed but, after opposition from business groups, was limited to $100 million in funds redirected to education over several years — much less than was anticipated by education advocates. There is also some relief in federal CARES Act funding, at least this year, with $510 million going to K-12 spending in Colorado. Come November, education advocates will also try their hands at the ballot box again. Initiative 271 is currently circulating for signatures and would tax high earners more, with 50% of the revenue going to K-12 schools. But if the initiative is anything like others that sought to raise funds for education in Colorado, it’s got a long shot at passing. “My greatest hope is that Coloradans see the need and that they will prioritize what I consider our greatest resource: our students, our children, our future,” Baca-Oehlert says. “Why voters have not prioritized this in the past, that’s tough question. All we can do is hope voters see the reality [now].” BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Authentic NYC BAGELS in Colorado GOLDEN on Route 93 303.279.1481 BOULDER at Meadows Shopping Center 303.554.0193

LAFAYETTE 489 US Highway 287 303.665.5918 LONGMONT Prospect Village 1940 Ionosphere, Ste. D 303.834.8237

25% OFF

the purchase of a Big Daddy Club Mug, & get FREE COFFEE REFILLS EVERY MONDAY WITH THE MUG

VOTED BOULDER’S BEST THAI

LUNCH: Mon-Fri Noon-4pm DINNER: Mon-Sat 4-9pm Sun 5-9pm

1600 Broadway, Boulder

YEARS IN A ROW!

We Deliver!

SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS We’re all in this together.

Save 20-50% off Gift Cards for Boulder County retail, dining and wellness to use now or at a later date. No expiration.

bestofboulderdeals.kostizi.com JUNE 25, 2020

Spreading lies

CU study pinpoints the worst ‘fake news’ offenders

by Matt Cortina

hat is “fake news”? Where does it come from, and who spreads it? And what impact does it have on democracy? Those were the questions researchers at CU-Boulder tried to answer in a recent study of how “fake news” spreads. It’s a timely study: The president is in a spat with Twitter over “censorship” after it attached a fact-check to one of his tweets. Facebook, for the last four years, has faced calls to do more to curb the spread of misinformation after the 2016 election interference debacle. The cultural climate that fostered the rise of “fake news” — the researchers prefer the term countermedia to refer to misleading content, often promoted as news — is the result of several factors, says lead researcher Toby Hopp: mistrust in “mainstream media,” mistrust in those that have power and the decline of information’s historic gatekeepers, newspapers. “There are fewer news organizations now than there have been for quite a while. The ones that do exist are understaffed, and we feel these effects on the local level,” Hopp says. “You’ve also seen the nationalization of politics. News organizations increasingly focus on large political issues in a polarized country, which allows for certain types of actors to pursue political gain. … When you factor in social media, it is perhaps historically ripe for various forms of low-quality news-like info, ‘fake news,’ misinformation, disinformation and hyper-partisanship [to flourish].” Facebook is to blame, too. Hopp suggests because Facebook is not transparent about its decisions to place advertising, users don’t know if they’re being pushed toward content. And because

Facebook has avoided responsibility for these ads, it lacks a set of standards that users (and regulators) can use to make sense of all the content it hosts. “Facebook doesn’t have an ideology,” Hopp says. “They do whatever they think the federal government wants them to do at any given moment in time. If I’m going to blame one actor for perpetuating the spread of ‘fake news’ — and of course there are many actors and players that share some of the blame — if I’m going to place the most blame, it’s going to be Facebook.” Facebook is the primary driver to countermedia content, Hopp says. Of the people the study analyzed, 29% of people shared countermedia on Facebook, compared to only 5% on Twitter. Most of that misinformation came from the politically extreme — both conservative and liberal. And older people were more likely to share countermedia than younger folks. Regardless, the type of false content users of all stripes and ages share isn’t always necessarily “false,” Hopp says — “it omits detail. It uses hyperbolic language. It tries to elicit negative emotional reactions. It uses euphemisms. It presents a polarized view of reality.” That confuses things for the user, and is one reason why countermedia is so effective. But it also calls into question our responsibility as individuals to snuff out misinformation and curb its spread. Truth is, we’ve been spreading half-truths and politically convenient arguments for a long time. Now that social media has accelerated how quickly we do that, unique problems have emerged. “People have always lied and told various versions of the truth in order to suit their ends. This is not a huge [change in] human behavior,” Hopp

says. “But when you start to look at the scale of social media and all the other challenges American democracy is facing right now… if we’re talking about salacious ‘fake news,’ we’re not talking public policy, we’re not talking governance and structural reform. We’re talking about this made-up story that was made up in a way to provoke emotionality.” So, here’s the million-dollar question: How do we get out of this? We’re more aware now that foreign actors will use social media to shape views and sow discord — though Hopp says it’s “hard to pin down” if that was the reason Trump won in 2016, and there’s little evidence the current administration has any interest in effectively quelling such interference this time around. But the countermedia that’s being circulated as we speak is largely a domestic product, and so figuring out a solution that doesn’t trample First Amendment rights to free political speech is tricky. “Like any of the problems we face in a democracy, the answer is complicated,” Hopp says. “Reputable news organizations cannot cede the digital spaces to these countermedia or ‘fake news’ websites, as frustrating as it is for journalists and news organizations to be on Facebook. I don’t think we can give up trying to form an objective version of the truth.” Hopp also advocated for “social pressure” to halt the flow of countermedia by encouraging others to fact-check media, and even for organizations to stage “interventions” to curb the tide of misinformation when it’s abundant. Outside of that, regulation — maybe borrowed from countries that are doing it responsibly — “might be helpful in stemming some of this ‘fake news,’” Hopp says.

OF COUNTY 2020 WINNER

OF COUNTY 2020 WRITE-IN

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

JUNE 25, 2020

Personalized Interventions and Targeted Transitional Services to Support K-12 Students in Reaching their Full Potential

Kate Riedell, Ph.D., Director Specialized Expertise in Autism, Learning and Intellectual Disabilities and ADD/ADHD

400 E. Simpson Street, Suite G02 Lafayette, CO 80028 info@truelearningeducation.com 510-909-9939

LONGMONT’S FAVORITE

PUB & ALE HOUSE DINING ROOM OPENING MAY 28TH! 512 MAIN ST., LONGMONT, CO 303-772-0252 www.mikeoshays.com

Longmont’s source for BEAUTIFUL QUALITY GLASS 303-827-3181 LIKE US! facebook.com/publicmon Longmont’s

NOW OPEN!

INDOOR FLEA MARKET

OVER 90 DEALERS! Items & Gifts for Ages 0-99 FURNITURE NEW & USED HOME DECOR & TONS MORE! LOCALLY OWNED FOR OVER 30 YEARS!

Not venturing out yet? You can still pick up your Japango favorites. Just call in your order and we’ll bring it out to you.* D E L I V E RY

Everything you love is also available for delivery. U B E R E AT S | D O O R DA S H | G R U B H U B

BoulderJapango.com

Daily: 11am–10pm +1 303 938 0330

45 + toppings to

create what you crave

CURBSIDE PICKUP

HOURS & PHONE

Vegan & Gluten Free available!

We’re excited to welcome you back for “Social D” sushi, drinks & more in our dining room and extended patios. Make your reservation today at boulderjapango.com

JUNE 25, 2020

Thank you for your continued support of our Japango family. It means the world to us!

*Sake, beer, wine & cocktails available for curbside pickup with valid ID.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Starting the conversation

New statewide tool calculates economic impacts of climate change

by Angela K. Evans

istoric floods. Severe drought. Record wild- baseline information to even be getting to have fires. Since the turn of the century, those conversations.” Colorado has experienced extreme weather The project is a joint effort between CWCB events made worse by climate change, and Colorado Division of Homeland Security and resulting in significant damages to people, Emergency Management (DHSEM), developed property, infrastructure, industries and the environwith grant funding from the Federal Emergency ment. Policy-makers from local jurisdictions to state Management Agency (FEMA). It’s the first of its agencies are tasked with preparing the Centennial kind in the country — although other states are State for the future marked by such events, as it’s attempting to implement similar projects, the likely they will only become more frequent and FACE tool will help inform those efforts. more severe. But, “The reality is COURTESY STATE OF COLORADO this is the first time until recently, it’s been difficult for governwe’ve been able to ments to understand quantify the economjust how such hazards ic cost of climate affect their bottom change, and we’re line. hoping to take this Enter the Future data, begin to reflect Avoided Cost it in local hazard mitExplorer (FACE), an igation plans and interactive web-based then define mitigatool that allows decition measures that sion-makers to will offset some of explore the economic these costs,” says impacts of these hazSteve Boand, state ards based on 2050 hazard and mitigation projections of both a officer with warming climate and DHSEM. population growth. “This tool can Initially seen as a pilot also be used to show project, the tool came what are the costs of out of updating the inaction if you just sit state hazard mitigaback and don’t do ON THE BILL: FACE USER tion plan, which idenanything. We can tally it up, what it may look like,” DEMO. 10 a.m. Thursday, June 25, virtual. The event will tifies flood, drought adds Patricia Gavelda, program manager for FACE be recorded and made availand wildfires as the with DHSEM. “Not only here in Colorado, but able for later use. Visit cwcb. three main atmospheric across the country, some see the value of mitigation colorado.gov/webinar-futureavoided-cost-explorer-userhazards the state faces. planning more than others, but this is another way demo for more info. The tool seeks to to quote-unquote sell mitigation actions that can quantify impacts of lead to resiliency.” these hazards on local Using county-level data, FACE specifically economies by translating increases in temperature looks at how the impacts from the three hazards are and population growth into dollars and cents. The felt across seven different economic sectors: buildhope is that local governments will use this inforings, bridges, crops, cattle, skiing, rafting and supmation to implement cost-saving mitigation plans pression (wildfire). But the tool is also open source, at the local level, which every jurisdiction in the which allows jurisdictions to mimic the project with state is required to have in order to be eligible for other localized data. state and federal mitigation funding. “I think the biggest step for us initially was to “Regardless of who’s up top or who’s making just track down what information’s out there,” says decisions, people want to make responsible investRyan Spies, a scientist with Lynker, a water ments that see those dollars actually being effective resources consulting group based in Boulder, which to addressing the risk,” says Megan Holcomb, helped develop the FACE tool. senior climate specialist for the Colorado Water In the agriculture sector, for example, the Conservation Board (CWCB). “And this is just the USDA has robust data sets that the creators were BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

JUNE 25, 2020

able to use. For other sectors, like rafting and skiing, they had to get a bit more creative to track down specific impact data, he says. Considering total damages, the Front Range will be hardest hit, simply due to exposure: the people, livelihoods, infrastructure or economic assets that could be adversely affected by these hazards. “Some of the exposure in the future is really driven by where people are going to live and where they’re going to work — continuing to grow in the floodplains or growing into the wildland-urban interface, as you imagine, increases your exposure more,” Spies says. But breaking it down further, looking at these impacts on a per capita basis, that’s when “you start to see which counties, which regions of the state are really going to be hit hard from a local economic perspective,” he says. Rural counties that depend largely on agriculture, for example, could be especially susceptible to economic hardship due to drought. For Boulder County, the tool shows that flooding could cost an additional $39 million under the high population growth (a 63% increase from current numbers) and more severe climate scenarios (an increase of 3 degrees Celsius in the summer.) Wildfires could cost an additional $41 million per year, and drought $14 million annually. Added all together, these hazards alone could cost Boulder County an estimated $94 million per year in estimated damages. “So you put that in the context of what the County’s general fund is ($439.9 million for 2020) [and] about 40% of the annual budget of Boulder County would have to be refashioned in some way to address these concerns,” Boand says. Looking at it another way, it would be $450-$530 per year for each household, he says, approaching the annual cost of other utilities like a water bill. The tool doesn’t translate data into specific recommendations for local areas, however. But it does give a picture of where cost savings could occur, and offers examples of actions local governments can initiate now to improve future community resilience. “A lot of what our goal is with this project is to provide a resource, to have more conversations, more dialogue on understanding where we’re heading as far as climate change and population growth, and then what can we do about it,” Spies says. “We can paint a doom and gloom picture all day long, but I think where we really want the conversation to go is where and how and why do we need to devote resources to promoting resiliency and adaptation.” I

A Imperfect characters

nimal behavior specialist Temple Grandin has often said that autism helps her connect with animals. “I think in pictures,” she told Stanford’s School of Medicine in 2014. “Since animals do not have language, their memories have to be sensory-based instead of wordbased.” Grandin tunes into the way animals move, to their body posture. It can seem as though Grandin can communicate with animals in an almost telepathic way. It’s like a super power. Local author R.L. Maizes has often found herself wondering what life would be like for someone who really could feel what animals feel, not just in the way that Grandin is keyed into animal behavior, but a real super power that allowed a human to physically experience what an animal does: the ache of hunger, the throbbing of arthritis, the disorientation caused by a tumor pressing against the spinal cord. “What kind of decisions would that person make,” Maizes says during a recent phone call, “and how could she stand moving through the world?” In Maizes’ debut novel, Other People’s Pets (out July 14 from Celadon Books), Louise “La La” Fine discovers she’s an animal empath — she can physically feel what animals are feeling — after her mother, Elissa, abandons her and her father. A locksmith-turnedtheif, her father, Zev, is a devoted but misguided parent who homeschools his daughter so she can join him in a life of daytime home burglaries and backroom-fenceoperation haggling. As an adult, La La has divorced herself from her adolescent life of crime and almost made it through veterinary school when her father gets arrested... for burglary, of course, but unforeseen circumstances raise the stakes substantially for Zev. Faced with losing the man who raised her — the parent who didn’t abandon her — La La has to figure out how to make enough money to pay for her father’s lawyer, and the only option she sees is to go back to robbing rich households of their jewelry and silverware. She justifies her return to crime by only targeting homes where she can feel an animal in distress. Armed only with her veterinary bag — never a weapon — she helps the animal before she flees the scene.

R.L. Maizes’ debut novel, ‘Other People’s Pets,’ is a study in the perfection of imperfection

by Caitlin Rockett

ON THE BILL: ‘Other People’s Pets,’ a novel by R.L. Maizes, is out on July 14 from Celadon Books. Head to boulderbookstore.net to pre-order a copy.

JUNE 25, 2020

Other People’s Pets is a clear evolution from Maizes’ debut collection of short stories, We Love Anderson Cooper, again using magical realism to explore the complex nuances of human emotion and interpersonal connection. In We Love Anderson Cooper, cats become proxies for our anxieties about alienation, birds symbolize the love we want from our mothers and dogs remind us of how we’ve gone astray. Similarly, in Other People’s Pets, La La’s ability to experience what animals feel is a substitute for her inability to intuit human behavior: why her mother left, why her father won’t allow her to have normal childhood experiences, why her fiancé can’t understand why she must return to crime to save her father. While La La struggles to cope with her own trauma around abandonment, she easily understands the trauma animals endure when they are abandoned. Maizes creates a novel full of anti-heroes shaped by trauma: We can root for La La and Zev despite their flaws because we understand the source of their pain, the abandonment that left them searching desperately for something to fill the void. Even Elissa, the mother who abandoned her child, feels relatable when we consider the pressure Zev — and society — put on her to have a child when she never wanted to be a mother in the first place. “I don’t think any of us get away without suffering,” Maizes says. “So one of the questions the book poses is how do we move past that? How do we move past our childhood trauma or our childhood suffering? Are we stuck in it? Is it determinative of everything we’re going to do as an adult? Does it create barriers that we’re not going to be able to overcome, or are there ways for us to open up as adults and to heal and move forward?” Other People’s Pets uses humor, pathos and just a touch of magic to unpack the meaning of family — the family we’re born with and the family we create. It explores the coping mechanisms we develop to move forward and asks us to recognize that holding on to the past — even when it’s rooted in love — robs us of our future. Each time La La robs a home, she robs herself — of stability, of better opportunities. But with every burglary La La executes, you may find yourself wondering how different your own coping mechanisms are; are your own emotional crimes really victimless? What are you robbing yourself of each time you turn the television on instead of talking to your partner after a fight, or when you have another drink to dull the reality of life, or when you lash out because you’re feeling insecure? Maizes offers a chance for readers to see themselves as anti-heroes, as imperfect characters with traumas and bad coping skills, but not as villains incapable of redemption. We all have super powers, it’s just a matter of learning to use them. BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS FROM R.L. MAIZES

We are all about

‘THE YEAR OF YES,’ BY SHONDA RHIMES As a self-described introvert, Maizes says this book was essential reading before she embarked on the media circuit for Other People’s Pets. In The Year of Yes, Shonda Rhimes — creator of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal — opens up about her struggles with anxiety and fear, despite her massive success. When her sister called her out for saying no to practically everything, Rhimes realized she had to make a change in her life. For one year Rhimes said yes to everything that scared her. This book is a poignant, hilarious memoir about how saying yes opened Rhimes’ life up in ways she never could have imagined, and how saying yes could open your life up as well. ‘SEPARATION ANXIETY,’ LAURA ZIGMAN It’s easy to see why Maizes finds this novel endearing: The main character takes to wearing her small dog in a BabyBjörn as her marriage crumbles, her career nosedives and her teenage son drifts further away. Separation Anxiety uses humor and compassion to explore the ebb and flow of our closest relationships, and the insecurities and fears that keep most of us from achieving our dreams.

Available Now!

Apartments at Winter Park Base with Village access. Available units: studio, two bedroom, two bedroom plus den. $1500 - $3500 970-531-7670 Chillrentalwinterparkcolorado.com Chillwinterparkcolorado@gmail.com

SELECT SANDALS ON SALE UP TO 50% OFF Shop in-store or online with free delivery or curbside pickup

‘YOU’RE NOT LISTENING: WHAT YOU’RE MISSING AND WHY IT MATTERS,’ BY KATE MURPHY You’ve got two ears and one mouth for a reason, they say: Listen more, talk less. But we could all use a little help being better listeners, which includes knowing how to ask the right questions. Kate Murphy outlines how to ask questions of the important people in your life that actually help you know them better. Maizes says the book has helped her think differently about how she talks to everyone in her life, from her family to her professional relationships. ‘THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR,’ BY YEWANDE OMOTOSO A story about the years-long feud between two neighbours, Marion and Hortensia, living in post-apartheid South Africa. Much like Other People’s Pets, The Woman Next Door connects the reader to the two main characters by detailing their backgrounds, allowing you to see how they came to believe the things they believe. After an unforeseen event forces these two polar opposite women together — one black and acerbic, the other white and racist — Omotoso picks apart the nonsensical notions that drive racism and classism.

Visit comfortableshoes.com for updated hours and Coronavirus Safety protocols

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

3101 28th St, Tebo Plaza, Boulder

‘DEAR EDWARD,’ ANNE NEPOLITANO When young Edward is the sole survivor of a plane crash, he’s forced to move through the world alone with a trauma few have experienced. Part drama, part mystery, Dear Edward asks a question that’s similar to the central premise of Other People’s Pets: When you’ve lost everything, how do you move forward?

303.449.0516

hbwoodsongs.com

Now Offering:

For more information: 720-333-7978 BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

JUNE 25, 2020

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

VIRTUAL EVENTS BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF

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

7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 25, facebook.com/longmontmuseum. Enjoy a virtual concert from the Felonius Smith Trio live from Stewart Auditorium in Longmont on Thursday, June 25. Offering up pre-war blues music at its most authentic, the Felonius Smith Trio takes you back to a time when original bluesmen were pioneering a new musical style. These concerts — through July 30 — are free. Simply visit the Longmont Museum’s Facebook page at 7:30 p.m. on the night of the concert and click on “videos” to join. Learn more at longmontmuseum.org or call 303-651-8374.

THE LONGMONT LIBRARY’S TRASHION SHOW.

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT PRESENTS ‘UNFOLLOW THE RULES: THE THE BIG DREAM WEEKEND LAUNCH PARTY. PARAMOUS SESSION.’ 6:30 p.m. June 26-28, thebigdream.life. Join in for a weekend of free online playshops, panels and parties hosted by Diana Sabreen and The Big Dream. Build community based around playfulness, creativity and adventure, get inspired, and start living your own big dream. Head to thebigdream.life to see a schedule of events and register.

DENVER BLUEGRASS ALLSTARS. 7 p.m. Friday, June 26, live at Mighty Fine Productions, nugs.net. Members of the Infamous Stringdusters (Andy Hall and Chris Pandolf), Greensky Bluegrass (Paul Hoffman) and Leftover Salmon have joined together to form the Denver Bluegrass Allstars. The supergroup will perform live at Mighty Fine Productions in Denver with a free livestream at nugs.net. Donations are encouraged, with a percentage of proceeds going to the newly launched Arnold Shultz Fund, designed to support activities increasing participation of people of color in bluegrass music.

care workers addressing how art might address implicit bias and racial disparities in health care, and opportunities to scale up. Breakout groups will follow the panel conversation. Registration is required.

MUSEUM VIRTUAL SUMMER CONCERT: FELONIUS SMITH TRIO.

Noon, Saturday, June 27, facebook.com/ BoulderTheater. Rufus Wainwright will present his new album, Unfollow The Rules: The Paramour Session, in a socially distanced acoustic concert from the iconic Paramour Mansion in Los Angeles. Tune in on Boulder Theater’s Facebook page at noon (Mountain Time) on Saturday, June 27 to watch the full show for free.

‘RESILIENCY MOMENTS: ART AND HEALTH CARE DURING A TIME OF CRISIS’ — A LIVE PANEL.

1 p.m. Thursday, July 2, letsreimagine.org. Resiliency Moments, a project by Denverbased performance art group The Clinic, connects artists from around the world with health care workers for a one-on-one, 30-minute creative experience designed to make the health care worker feel seen, heard and cared for. This panel will feature artists and health

JUNE 25, 2020

10 a.m. Monday, June 29-July 14, longmontcolorado.gov. The Longmont Library’s Trashion Show is going virtual. Work on your own or as a team to create one or more fashion items from your household trash. Items can be clothing or accessories. Send the library a photo and or video of your creation to josie.brockmann@longmontcolorado.gov. Photos and/or videos are due on Monday, July 13. All ages are encouraged to participate. If you need trash, pick up a specially curated bag of (clean) trash at the Library’s Curbside Delivery station on the Library’s east side Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. starting June 29.

SUSTAINABILITY AND THE ARTS FOR THE UNINITIATED. 7 p.m. Tuesday June 30 (and July 7) via Zoom, bouldercountyarts.org. In this online workshop, artist Ian Garrest will help dispel myths, assuage fears, and contextualize how to start thinking about ecopositive change across all aspects of the arts by addressing the challenges you anticipate or barriers you’re running up against. The Zoom meeting link will be sent the day prior to the workshop to all registered participants. Please arrive at 6:45 p.m. to settle in and address any issues with Zoom.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

HEAVY

ROTATION Five new tracks for your ears By Caitlin Rockett ‘GARDEN SONG,’ BY PHOEBE BRIDGERS

Phoebe Bridgers has turned making you giggle while you cry into an art form. The video for “Garden Song” starts with Bridgers, clad in a matching pajama set, taking a healthy rip from a bong before launching into lyrics that dissect the complicated nature of nostalgia. The song never rises above a gentle whisper, but its effect is resounding: “I don’t know how but I’m taller / It must be something in the water / Everything’s growing in our garden / You don’t have to know that it’s haunted.” But just as you feel the gloom settling over you, Bridgers cracks a joke: “The doctor put her hands over my liver / And she told me my resentment’s getting smaller.”

‘DAMSEL IN DISTRESS,’ BY RUFUS WAINWRIGHT After Rufus Wainwright and his husband, Jörn Weisbrodt, moved to Laurel Canyon, Weisbrodt became obsessed with the music of one of the Los Angeles neighborhood’s most iconic troubadours, Joni Mitchell. Wainwright admittedly wasn’t that familiar with Mitchell’s work, but after taking “a journey into her music” with Weisbrodt (and meeting the Canadian folk singer), he was hooked. “Damsel in Distress” is Wainwright’s tribute to Mitchell, an effortlessly soaring song about a damaged relationship. The track rides the same line between delicate and sturdy that’s a hallmark of Mitchell’s compositions, evoking visions of sunlight dappled through California bay laurel leaves. Wainwright is deceptive in his delivery; it might feel like sunlight on your face, but it’s actually the

‘HEROINE,’ BY JEHNNY BETH Music journalists like to use the word “provoca-

solo album, To Love is to Live. But provocation

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

seems evident she writes music to speak truth to power — for catharsis and connection. To Love is to Live is a deeply sensitive album driven by an urgency that overtook Beth after David Bowie died; rock star or not, everyone joins the great majority. “Heroine” channels the dark electronic groove of Nine Inch Nails (who Beth was set to open for in a now-canceled fall tour) with a necessary: “All I want is some good tunes, and my great body / All I want is to feel me come the way I love and only I can do it / All I want is ... to be a heroine.”

‘BLACK 2,’ BY BUDDY Rising Compton rapper Buddy (a nickname Simmie Sims III has had since childhood) gets down to brass tacks on “Black 2,” calling out the endless ways white America has appropriated to deal with the dangerous realities of actually being black in America. “Everybody tryna get dreads and shit, but they ain’t African / All the light girls gettin’ the tan so they can darken they skin.” Let the wrecking ball hit you in the chorus and deposit you in the Land of Real Talk.

‘I CAN’T BREATHE,” BY H.E.R. Gabriella Wilson is only 22 years old, but her voice and lyrics draw from a deep well of wisdom. Her stage moniker, H.E.R., stands for Having Everything Revealed, which Wilson does on her new single “I Can’t Breathe,” simultaneously a eulogy and a protest song. Wilson’s verses, but then she dips into spoken word to drive the message home in the third: “We are fed up eating your shit / Because you think your so-called ‘black friend’ / Validates your wokeness and erases your racism / That kind of uncomfortable conversation is too hard for your trust-fund pockets to swallow / To swallow the strange fruit hanging from my family tree ... Do not say you do not see color / When you see us, see us / We can’t breathe.”

see EVENTS Page 18

JUNE 25, 2020

EVENTS from Page 17

Home viewing

Satire streams by Michael J. Casey

lecture may get your point across, but a story illustrates it better. And if you can smuggle in a little humor, it’s a better bet the medicine will go down. Irresistible (reviewed on page 20) got you hankering for more? Here are four to stream right now.

COLD TURKEY

Craving some much needed positive PR, the Valiant Tobacco Company announces a cockamamie scheme: Any American town that can give up smoking for one month will win $25 million, tax-free. Eagle Rock, Iowa — population 4,000 — needs that kind of coin to revamp Main Street and attract a military missile factory that will bring industry and life back to their dying Midwestern town. At least that’s what Rev. Brooks (Dick Van Dyke) hopes happens. Valiant’s PR man (Bob Newhart) sure hopes it doesn’t. Director Norman Lear was a titan of television, but Cold Turkey remains his lone cinematic effort. He made it in 1969, but the movie was shelved for two years because the studio feared it would piss off advertisers. They were right, but so was Lear: His vision of consumers, marketers and politicians all in bed together is as relevant now as it was then. Streaming on Fubu and Watch TCM.

THE DEATH OF STALIN

Multi-hyphenate Armando Iannucci might be the best working satirist today (all seven seasons of Veep are streaming on HBO Max and DirecTV). His take on the transfer of power in the USSR circa 1953 is so loaded with jokes you have to watch it twice to get it all. From backstabbing to assassination, pajamas and concert recordings, it all seems so terribly trivial until it’s all so terribly real. It’s like Mean Girls, only with the fate of millions hanging in the balance. The cast is top-notch, but Jason Isaacs steals the

Catch-22

George Clooney’s 2019 adaptation for Hulu was faithful to Joseph Heller’s novel until it missed the mark. He condemned Yossarian to a Sisyphean hell rather than set him free and off into the world. Clooney’s deviation probably comes from a weariness of the industrial-military complex — placing America forever in that bombardier bubble with a naked and shivering Yossarian. Mike Nichols’ 1970 adaptation of the book hews closer to Heller’s intent, running its motor on humor rather than coasting on resignation. Alan Arkin plays Captain John Yossarian, and Bob Newhart steps into the shoes of Maj. Major Major — it’s a hoot. Streaming on Amazon Prime and Pluto TV.

WALL-E What starts as a charming love story between

two lonely robots à la Chaplin’s City Lights gives way to some serious castigation once humans are involved. The consumer world hasn’t just destroyed the planet; it’s turned individuals into mindless bulbous masses existing only to buy more — pretty sharp stuff for a kid’s movie. Then again, if you want to change the future, you start with the present. And where most tion (Dr. Strangelove, Blazing Saddles, etc.), WALL-E is one of the few that closes on a note of profound hope. And a Peter Gabriel song during the credits doesn’t hurt either. Streaming on Disney+.

JUNE 25, 2020

Another Black Floyd by Linda Floyd

George, I don’t know how many of us are here who share your Texas line of long chocolate bodies who can dance on and off the court with a smile that warms the heart how many share my Mississippi roots with light skin and blonde curls who prefer their mustards without meat, their tea without sweet because none of these traits matter George as no shared DNA is needed to make you kin, and call you ‘Bro because I, too, am a Floyd and I gasp again and again with a heavy and sad heart when I hear your call for Mama while you begged that man not to silence your voice, your breath, your spirit with his knee George, I am back now where I came from scared and angry and filled up seeing images of our people hanging from a tree dragged by a car beaten with a whip all with tied hands begging for one more breath that didn’t come for they were just like us, George, born black, given the same name I can’t cry anymore and won’t gasp anymore Mama I can’t breathe. Linda Floyd was born in Mississippi 62 years ago, and now lives in Oregon. She shares the family name of George Floyd and wrote this piece in pain shortly after his death.

Calling all creatives! It’s time for BW’s sixth annual short fiction contest. Submit up to five stories of 101 words or fewer to editorial@boulderweekly.com by midnight Sunday, June 28. Winners, honorable mentions and finalists will be published in midJuly. I

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

The lie that points toward the truth

ON THE BILL: ‘Irresistible’ is available On Demand starting June 26.

An ‘Irresistible’ premise and an undeniable reality

by Michael J. Casey

ary Zimmer (Steve Carell) is a typical liberal elite, the kind they grow in labs somewhere along the coast. He dresses well enough to look like he has taste, works at a job that makes him enough money to look like he is a success, and tosses around French words as if they mean something they don’t. When he swoons over a plate of haricots verts, he asks Col. Jack Hastings (Chris Cooper) if he’s FOCUS FEATURES ever had the dish. “Green beans?” Hastings responds a little perplexed, “Sure.” But next to Zimmer is a glass of deep red wine. If Zimmer knew anything about anything, then he’d know that a nice Sancerre would better enhance the fresh veggie’s brightness. Then again, Zimmer isn’t one for culture. If he were, he wouldn’t walk into a Germanthemed Brauhaus in the middle of Wisconsin and order a burger and a Budweiser. The King of Beers doesn’t reign in Wisconsin. Pabst or Miller does. He could also scan the number of tap handles next to him and order a helles to pair with a more appropriate schnitzel. You don’t have to spend too much time with Zimmer to realize he’s not one for cues. Most of what he knows of the Midwest comes courtesy of Fox News. And most of what he knows about male/female relationships probably comes from the movies. When Hastings’ daughter Diana (Mackenzie Davis), a woman 25 years his junior, befriends him, Zimmer assumes something romantic is around the corner. Only in the movies, Zimmer, and you ain’t in a Woody Allen picture. This one’s from writer/director Jon Stewart, and he has a few thoughts on dunce heroes like you. As the saying goes, art is the lie that points to the truth, and Zimmer is the butt of Stewart’s joke. BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

But what is Zimmer doing in Deerlaken, Wisconsin, in the first place? Politics. Retired Army Colonel Hastings is a stand-up guy who just wants a little human decency back in his hometown. His impassioned speech to the mayor of Deerlaken is captured on camera and goes viral. Zimmer, a D.C. political strategist wearing blue trunks, sees an opportunity: If he can get Hastings to run for mayor of Deerlaken as a Democrat, the swing state is as good as his. As goes Zimmer, so goes the circus — descending on Deerlaken like vultures picking apart a corpse. Archrival Faith Brewster (Rose Byrne), playing for the red team, joins in on the fun. It’s not the first time their paths have crossed, professionally or romantically. Though there’s not a lot of room for romance in their relationship, it’s more like they’re power pumping each other up and down America. Irresistible is a spectacular piece of storytelling, one that is so dedicated to the joke it almost ruins the results. Almost. Brewster has a few tricks up her sleeve, as does Stewart. Zimmer has nothing beyond his ego, his made-to-order values and the ability to find money. That seems to be enough to win an election these days. There’s an echo of Cold Turkey (reviewed on page 18), Norman Lear’s criminally underseen satire where a small town gives up smoking for one month to win a cash prize from a big tobacco company. Like Lear, Stewart has a lot to say and knows comedy is the sugar that makes the medicine go down. Most of that sugar comes courtesy of Cooper, a gifted actor who never seems out of place, even in the most ludicrous of situations. And Irresistible is ludicrous, absurd and out of control. Until it isn’t. Then it’s just politics as usual. I

JUNE 25, 2020

Open Range Competition Teams Summer Day Camps Classes & Private Lessons

Target & Hunting Full Service Retail Pro Shop & Service Recurve & Compound

High Altitude Archery 455 Weaver Park Rd #500 Longmont, CO 80501 720-491-3309

JUNE 25, 2020

BOULDER COUNTYâ€™S INDEPENDENT VOICE

BY DAN SAVAGE Dear Dan: I’m committed to my where, the shit this woman is pulling male partner and he’s committed to me. would still be annoying, unsettling and (I’m a woman.) But we both understand totally bothersome. we need to flirt and that we will both And this shit should be disqualifying want to sleep with someone else at — meaning, your partner should’ve shut some point. We live together, we have a this woman down already. He should’ve dog and neither of us believes in martold this woman to knock it off and, if riage. We plan to purchase a house in she didn’t knock it off, he should’ve told the coming months. Here’s her to fuck the fuck off and the issue: he met a woman ROMAN ROBINSON blocked her number. If he at work. He’s not sexually tried to shut her down and attracted to her at all. She, she kept texting him, however, would love to DPRESSD, then I have to blow him. She’s in an wonder why he hasn’t he unhappy marriage and has blocked her number no friends. They already. Assuming he’s exchanged numbers when telling you the truth about my partner was transferred not being attracted to her and now she texts him — and it sounds like he is constantly. It doesn’t totally — he may have allowed bother me. But not only this to go on because he does she text him at all enjoys feeling desirable hours of the day and night, and/or he doesn’t want to but she continuously tells him he’s the hurt her feelings. If it’s the former, make hottest man she’s ever met. She sends it clear to your partner that you wouldn’t him nudes, which I’ve seen, and wants have a problem with him finding someto suck his “huge dick.” (It is huge.) But one else to swap flirty sext messages even though I know he’s not sexually with, so longs as it’s someone who can attracted to her, I’m still feeling threatsext in moderation and at appropriate ened. I have extremely low self-esteem times. If it’s the latter, DPRESSD, make right now and I’m struggling with depres- it clear to your partner that this shit is sion. I’m speaking with a therapist and hurting your feelings and, as his partner, I’m on meds. But the meds have made you expect him to prioritize your feelings me gain about 50 pounds, which doesn’t over his former coworker’s feelings. help with the depression. I get the need All that said, DPRESSD, even if the and desire to flirt. But right now I’m not thought of your partner going off to play confident enough to be OK with him with another woman didn’t make you being sexual with another person even if feel insecure, you wouldn’t want your it’s just texts. And I feel this way knowpartner getting blown by this particular ing he has no plans to be with her! He woman. Even if your partner has never continues to tell me he has no desire to said, “Don’t text me at all hours of the spend his life with anyone else but me. day and night,” that’s no excuse. No one Yet he’s suddenly hesitant to buy a wants their phone or their partner’s house. I guess I’m asking WTF should I phone blowing up at 3 a.m.; that’s not a do? boundary anyone should have to articu—Dinging Phone Really late to set and, articulated or not, no one Exacerbating Semi-Serious Depression with any common sense would do that. (And, holy crap, if this is how this Dear DPRESSD: You say it doesn’t woman behaves in pursuit of your partbother you — it doesn’t totally bother ner’s big cock, how is she gonna behave you — that this woman texts your partafter she gets a taste?) ner day and night, DPRESSD, which As for the house issue, DPRESSD, strikes me as odd. Because that shit press your partner to clarify his sudden would drive me up the wall. Blowing up hesitancy. It may have nothing to do with someone’s phone at all hours of the day your relationship; it’s entirely possible and night screams “I HAVE NO that he’s freaked out by the state of the BOUNDARIES! I AM INCAPABLE OF world — because, my God, who isn’t? BEING CONSIDERATE! I HAVE NO — and he’s having second thoughts SELF CONTROL!” Even if you were in a about sinking his savings into a house. place where you felt better about your Depression often puts the worst possible partner getting some attention elsespin on things; it can lead us to reject a BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

calming truth someone is telling us in favor of an alarming lie we’re telling ourselves. Don’t fall into that trap. And finally, DPRESSD, please talk to your doctor about switching out your meds. If weight gain is a side effect of the ones you’re on now and weight gain is making you more depressed, then it doesn’t make sense to keep treating your depression with the meds you’re on now. A different med might give you the same benefits without this particular side effect. Dear Dan: I’ve been dating someone long distance for seven months. I’ve been transparent about my need for an open relationship. Recently this gentleman asked me to tell him if I slept with someone else. I agreed because I’m not sleeping with anyone at the moment due to COVID-19. But since March, I’ve been having phone sex with a long-term booty call who lives across the country. Neither knows about the other and neither one knows I’m bisexual. No big deal, right? I’m a first responder in a male-dominated field and I put up with enough bullshit without the men in my life knowing I eat pussy. How much of an asshole am I for not disclosing what I don’t need to? —Not Banging (Other) Dudes Dear NBOD: You’re being an asshole — to yourself. Hiding your bisexuality from the men you’re dating increases your odds of winding up in a relationship with someone who judges, shames or hates you for being bisexual, NBOD, and why on earth would you want to do that to yourself? Disclosing your bisexuality ups yours odds of attracting a guy who fetishizes your bisexuality, of course, but it’s easier to weed those guys out early than it is to leave (or divorce) some guy who reveals himself to be biphobic after you’ve made a huge emotional investment in him. As for the phone sex... you should disclose that too. If Mr. Seven Months can’t handle you having phone sex with some other guy, NBOD, he certainly won’t be able to handle you sleeping with someone else. And if he can’t handle that, he’s not the right guy for a woman who wants/needs/ requires an open relationship. Send questions to mail@savagelove. net, follow Dan on Twitter @fakedansavage and visit ITMFA.org. JUNE 25, 2020

Adam Sloat Broker/Owner

Your Boulder Real Estate Expert and Music Guy

Q&A BUYER ADVICE FROM A LOCAL HOME INSPECTOR, MY GO-TO GUY CHUCK Question: Hey Chuck, what advice would you give buyers before going through their first home inspection?

Answer: Yes, we are going to talk about anything major or safety issues in the home. But we are also going to talk about many, many smaller items. This is common - and having a great agent like Adam is immensely helpful when determining what is most significant when considering your home ownership goals.” – Chuck Bohall, A-Pro Home Inspections

720-466-8212 adam@adamsloat.com www.westwaterrealty.com I

S I M P L E

L O C A L

S AT & SU N 9 AM - 2 PM

FA R M

T O

TA B L E

TUE-SUN 4:30PM-8PM

JUNE 25, 2020

BOULDER WEEKLY

BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF

TRADITIONAL CALZONE, $9-$11. Lefty’s Gourmet Pizza, 364 Second Ave., Niwot, 303-652-3100, leftysgourmetpizza.com

TRY THIS WEEK:

Traditional Calzone @ Lefty’s Gourmet Pizza

LEFTY’S GOURMET Pizza in Niwot is a throwback

pizzeria — a classic red sauce joint with pizzas warming on top of the oven and a friendly, neighborhood feel. Order anything off the menu of pizzas, salads, subs and calzones and you’ll get something similar to what you’d get back East. We opted for the traditional calzone on a recent visit — ricotta, mozzarella, spinach and red onions tucked into a pizza crust and baked to melty perfection. The crust is crispy and charred on the ends, soft and pastry-like in the middle, and the filling is creamy, slightly sweet and salty... a perfect balance. The red onions provide a welcome snap of acid.

1 Drink this: Oskar Blues Brewery Wild Basin Hard Seltzer

303-604-6351 Curbside Pickup! Bring Your Blanket & Enjoy a Picnic in Lovely Forest Park! Wednesday Sunday 8am-8pm

Pick Up Available Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Prettiest Patio In Boulder County

New Boulder food hall announced final concepts

2019 was the summer of seltzer, and the bubbly stuff is already the oddson favorite for a back-to-back repeat. Oskar Blues’ latest line of boozy water, Wild Basin, is a combination of cane sugar, Champagne yeast and natural flavoring: Blueberry Mango, Black Raspberry, Strawberry Coconut and Yumberry. Black Raspberry reigns supreme, fruity and bright, but if you’re looking for something light on a sweltering hot day, Strawberry Coconut wins the crown. Each weighs in at 5% ABV, 100 calories, zero grams of sugar and one gram of carbohydrates per 12-ounce can. Non-beer beer is getting better by the day; more on page 25.

BOULDER WEEKLY

Dining Room Now Open!

Avanti Food & Beverage, which is slated to open in the old Cheesecake Factory location on Pearl Street in August, recently announced the final three concepts to fill out its roster of food stalls. Joining Rye Society, New Yorkese and Rooted Craft American Kitchen are: Quiero Arepas from Igor and Beckie Panasewicz, who built their business from a food truck to a stall at the Denver Avanti location, selling gluten-free arepas — corn flatbreads stuffed like a sandwich; Boychik, from Charles Troup and Chase Devitt (who runs Miner’s Meat & Cheese in Golden), which will serve a Middle Eastern-inspired menu; and Pig and Tiger, serving modern Taiwanese cuisine from Darren Chang and Travis Masar, who competed on season 11 of Top Chef. JUNE 25, 2020

MORNING GLORY CAFE 1377 FOREST PARK CIRCLE, LAFAYETTE, CO 80026

1085 S Public Rd. Lafayette (303) 665-0666 Hours: Tues. Weds. Thurs. Sun 11am - 9pm Fri. Sat 11am - 9:30pm

Thank You for Voting us Best Asian Fusion

Restaurant

Closed Monday

2016

High end quality meats Catering also available

2426 Arapahoe Ave. Boulder 303-443-0596 www.kalitagrill.com

JUNE 25, 2020

BOULDER COUNTYâ€™S INDEPENDENT VOICE

And the future of beer is...

The curious case of seltzers

Seltzers and spirits are only the beginning

by Michael J. Casey

ith the releases of Red, Many figured the future of beer lay in Rosé, Rosé with Bubbles wild flavors, ancient and undiscovered and White on June 10, Odell styles and IPA by the barrel. But 2016 Brewing Co.’s latest venture, was also the year Mark Anthony Brands The OBC Wine Project, is unleashed White Claw Hard Seltzer on ready for its close-up. After 30 years in an unsuspecting market. Its previous the brewing world, Odell is getting into venture in the flavored-malt beverage the wine game. (FMBs) sector, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Not that Odell is ODELL BREWING CO. closing up shop and taking its iconic 90 Shilling and IPA with it — there will be plenty of malt, hops and yeast coming out of its Fort Collins brewery — but when the brewery announced in August 2019 it would start packaging a line of wine, the signal was clear: To stay afloat in the brewing world, you had to diversify. Packaged in 12-ounce cans, The OBC Wine Project retails for about $8 a can, which is a did well, but nothing like White Claw. pretty good deal for two glasses of Popularity grew slowly, and then quickquality wine. Red is fruit-forward and ly, even out-pacing Budweiser sales in jammy, White is citrusy with refreshing July 2019. minerality, and Rosé plays it subtle with Budweiser punched back earlier this nuances of strawberry and rhubarb. year, releasing Bud Light Seltzer. They They pair nicely with dinner at home, are not alone; five Boulder County but better with a picnic. breweries package a line of hard seltzer Four years ago, a brewery making with a sixth, Left Hand Brewing, packwine was preposterous. Hazy IPAs were aging a non-alcoholic line of seltzer marching toward ubiquity, pastry stouts water infused with CBD. were catching fire, and sours were conAnd that’s just the beginning. Ska verting wine drinkers into beer drinkers. Brewing’s Ska Street outpost on

Arapahoe Avenue also incorporates a distillery, Peach Street Distillers, coowned by Bill Graham and Dave Thibodeau of Ska, and Rory Donovan. Hailing from Palisade, Peach Street has never shared a facility with Ska (headquartered in Durango), but when the former FATE Brewing Company facility came available, Boulder proved to be ideal for a joint location. FATE had planned to expand the brewery and incorporate distilling when the company went belly up in 2019. The jump from brewing to distilling isn’t unprecedented. Spirit Hound Distilleries’ co-founder and head distiller Craig Englehorn used to brew, too — he helped design the original Dale Pale’s Ale for Oskar Blues Brewery back in the late-’90s. Now Oskar Blues has a line of seltzer (see page 23), and Englehorn has a line of spirits. Regardless, there are still more than 50 breweries in the county that have neither. And, as long as you’re small, another beer on the menu is diversification enough. But in a world where the bigger breweries are fighting for shelf space in the absence of tap handles and packed tasting rooms, breweries exploring non-beer products appear to be the next frontier.

hough they aren’t all made the same way, they all aim for similar results: 100-ish calories, one-ish grams of carbs, one-ish grams of sugar, 5% ABV and gluten-free. How they get there is their own business, but usually follows this trajectory: Sugar (cane) water is fermented with yeast and then dosed with water-soluble flavors: Yumberry, juniper and lime, grapefruit, etc. That’s where the story ends. When we talk about beer, we talk about what’s in the glass: The ingredients used and where they may or may not come from. The style of beer and what it may or may not say about the origins of the beverage. The brewer and what they may or may not have wanted to bring to the beer. Techniques involved, food pairings and so on. Seltzer is the exact opposite. Seltzer is about what’s not in the glass: Calories and carbs, gluten and aggressive flavors. Whereas hop-saturated IPAs and heavily roasted stouts smack you in the mouth with flavor, seltzers are specifically designed not to. They’re meant to taste crisp when it’s hot outside, refreshing in the club and light enough not to blow out your palate with bitter, sweet or sour. For some, they’re a pre-charged mixer, for others, Le Croix with an edge. And any way you slice it, they’re the key component to growth in the beer market these days.

A MODERN SHRINE TO REGIONAL MEXICAN CUISINE Our kitchen is 100% Gluten Free

#EatMoreTacos

SUN l THURS 11am - 9pm l FRI l SAT 11am - 10pm TeocalliCocina.com l 103 N Public Road, Lafayette l 303.284.6597 BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

JUNE 25, 2020

COURTESY OF SETTEMBRE CELLARS

Uncork an experience

Boulder’s Settembre Cellars launches unique winemaker-paired dinners with old vintages and food from local restaurants

by Matt Cortina

fresh, authentic, tasty japanese food

[ 26

]

AUTHENTIC JAPANESE CUISINE

LUNCH Tue-Fri, 11:30am – 1:30pm DINNER Tue-Thu & Sun 5pm–8:15pm Fri-Sat 5pm – 8:45pm. Closed Monday Follow us on instagram: Sushiyoshilouisville JUNE 25, 2020

n spring during normal years, Settembre Cellars Owners Blake and Tracy Eliasson would be passing out samples of their well-aged, singlevarietal, Colorado-grown wines in their North Boulder taproom. But this is not a normal year, and so, like other food and drink businesses, the Eliassons pivoted. What they turned to is a unique winemaker-paired dinner that (at the risk of sounding too promotional) is an exceptional way to try Settembre’s older vintages and support local restaurants. The next dinner, June 27, for instance, marries meals from Jaipur Indian Restaurant and some choice Settembre vintages — mushroom mater with 2013 cabernet sauvignon, saag paneer with 2013 syrah and saag paneer with 2012 reserve cabernet sauvignon. You’ll get three bottles basically split into two 325-milliliter bottles (using one of the Eliassons’ fancy rebottling tools), so you can taste your way through the dinner without having to glug down a whole bottle. The Eliassons pair wine with food through extensive taste-testing: They order a bunch of meals from one of their favorite restaurants, sample their own wines to see what complements what best, and then pass the results onto us in a dinner ordered entirely through the winery (secure.settembrecellars.com/page/wine-dinner-home.) “I like to call them wine-maker paired dinners because a lot of times wine dinners are chef-paired,” Tracy says. “For me, a wine dinner is about getting to try a food and how it pairs with the wine, so it’s not just wine with dinner.” The Eliassons have invited guests to I

their back patio to run these pre-run taste tests, and Tracy says it’s been a novel way to feel a sense of community while social distancing. The ability to sample these older vintages of Colorado-grown single-varietals is somewhat unique to Settembre. The Eliassons age wine longer than larger wineries typically do, which has helped them carve out a niche in the local wine scene. “We want to know what that vineyard, what that place, what the potential is,” Tracy says. “We get the best grapes we can, and we treat them as if they’re great grapes form Burgundy, hand-sorting and buying the best oak. I like to say we’re light-handed in our wine-making, and let the grapes shine through.” New to Settembre is a 2017 rosé (rosato) made from cab franc grapes, as well as a 2017 cab franc from the same vineyard that provided grapes for the rosé. It’ll return its much-heralded dry riesling with a 2015 vintage this summer, and the Eliassons are also dipping into the cider world, offering a 10% ABV dry, uncarbonated cider made from Colorado apples. The proceeds from the sale of the cider will be donated to the nonprofit Conscious Alliance, Hillside School (a Longmont school that works with kids with dyslexia), and the Columbine Elementary PTA. To taste these new wines, order curbside pickup or join the Settembre Cellars Wine Club, with discounts on wine, exclusive offerings and wine tastings (when the Eliassons choose to reopen the taproom). BOULDER WEEKLY

LIBRA

SEPT. 23-OCT. 22: When Libras become

BY ROB BREZSNY ARIES

MARCH 21-APRIL 19: In addition to being a magnificent

storyteller, Aries author Barbara Kingsolver raises chickens at her home. “There are days when I am envious of my hens,” she writes, “when I hunger for a purpose as perfect and sure as a single daily egg.” Do you ever experience that delightful rush of assurance, Aries? I suspect that you’re likely to do so on multiple occasions in the coming weeks. And if you are indeed visited by visions of a perfect and sure purpose, your next task will be to initiate practical action to manifest it in the real world.

authoritative enough to wield clout in their own sphere of influence, it’s often due to three factors: 1) the attractive force of their empathy; 2) their abilities to listen well and ask good questions, which help enable them to accurately read people’s emotional energy; 3) their knack for knowing specific tricks that promote harmony and a common sense of purpose. If you possess any of these talents, dear Libra, the next eight weeks will be a favorable time to employ them with maximum intensity and ingenuity and integrity. You’re primed to acquire and wield more leverage.

OCT. 23-NOV. 21: There is only one kind of erotic intima-

physicist Richard Feynman got his undergraduate degree from prestigious MIT and his Ph.D. from prestigious Princeton University. Later he taught at prestigious Caltech. But his approach to education had a maverick quality. “Study hard what interests you the most in the most undisciplined, irreverent and original manner possible,” he advised his students. I think his strategy will work well for you in the coming weeks, which will be a favorable time to gather valuable information and polish your existing aptitudes.

GEMINI

SAGITTARIUS

have the potential to upgrade and fine-tune your relationship with money. In the hope of encouraging that prospect, I offer you the counsel of author Katharine Butler Hathaway. “To me, money is alive,” she wrote. “It is almost human. If you treat it with real sympathy and kindness and consideration, it will be a good servant and work hard for you, and stay with you and take care of you.” I hope you’ll consider cultivating that approach, dear Gemini: expressing benevolence and love toward money, and pledging to be benevolent and loving as you use the money you acquire.

Sagittarian-born Werner Heisenberg received his doctorate in physics and mathematics from a German university — even though he got a grade of C on his final exams. Nine years later, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics because of his pioneering work on quantum mechanics. What happened in between? One key development: He was mentored by physicists Niels Bohr and Max Born, both of whom also garnered Nobel Prizes. Another factor in his success was his association with other brilliant colleagues working in his field. I hope this story inspires you Sagittarians to be on the lookout for catalytic teachers and colleagues who can expedite your evolution. The planetary omens are favorable for such an eventuality.

APRIL 20-MAY 20: Nobel Prize-winning Taurus

MAY 21-JUNE 20: You’re entering a phase when you’ll

CANCER

JUNE 21-JULY 22: “Who would deduce the dragon-

fly from the larva, the iris from the bud, the lawyer from the infant?” Author Diane Ackerman asks her readers that question, and now I pose the same inquiry to you — just in time for your Season of Transformation. “We are all shape-shifters and magical reinventors,” Ackerman says. I will add that you Cancerians now have the potential to be *exceptional* shape-shifters and magical reinventors. What new amazements might you incorporate into your life? What dazzling twists and twinkles would you like to add to your character? What will the Future You be like?

LEO

JULY 23-AUG. 22: Qabalistic teacher Ann Davies asked,

“If you stick your finger in the fire, do you then complain that it is unfair when your finger gets burned? Do you call the fire bad?” I offer you this caution, Leo, because I want to encourage you not to stick your fingers or toes or any other parts of you into the fire during the coming weeks. And I’m happy to inform you that there are better approaches to finding out what’s important to learn about the fire. The preferred way is to watch the fire keenly and patiently from a modest distance. If you do so long enough, you’ll get all you need.

VIRGO

AUG. 23-SEPT. 22: In accordance with upcoming

astrological portents, I urge you to engage in a vigorous redefinition of the term “miracle.” That will open you up to the full range of miraculous phenomena that are potentially available in the coming weeks. For inspiration, read this passage by Faith Baldwin: “Miracles are everyday things. Not only sudden great fortune wafting in on a new wind. They are almost routine, yet miracles just the same. Every time something hard becomes easier; every time you adjust to a situation which, last week, you didn’t know existed; every time a kindness falls as softly as the dew; or someone you love who was ill grows better; every time a blessing comes, not with trumpet and fanfare, but silently as night, you have witnessed a miracle.”

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

All credit cards accepted No text messages

SCORPIO

cy between consenting adults that can truly be called “unnatural”: an act that is physically impossible to perform. Everything else is potentially vitalizing and holy. No one knows this better than you Scorpios. You’re the champions of exotic pleasure; the connoisseurs of blissful marvels; the masters of curious delight and extraordinary exultation. And from an astrological perspective, the coming weeks will be a time when these aspects of your character could be especially vivid. But wait a minute. What about the pandemic? What about social-distancing? What about being cautious in seeking intimate connection? If anyone can work around these constraints so as to have sexual fun, it’s your tribe. Use your imagination!

TAURUS

Call 720.253.4710

NOV. 22-DEC. 21: When he was 22 years old,

NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS!

CAPRICORN

DEC. 22-JAN. 19: You Capricorns aren’t renowned

for causing controversy. For the most part you’re skillful at managing your reputation and keeping it orderly. But there may soon be a departure from this norm. A bit of a hubbub could arise in regards to the impressions you’re making and the effects you’re generating. I’m reminded of Capricorn author J. D. Salinger, whose book Catcher in the Rye was for a time widely taught in American schools but also widely banned because of its allegedly controversial elements. These days the book is regarded as a beloved classic, and I suspect you will weather your commotion with similar panache.

AQUARIUS

JAN. 20-FEB. 18: Novelist Tom Robbins articulated

a vision of what it means to be bold and brave. He said, “Real courage is risking something that might force you to rethink your thoughts and suffer change and stretch consciousness.” I’m hoping you will make that formula your keynote in the coming weeks. The time is right for you to summon extra amounts of fortitude, determination and audacity. What new possibilities are you ready to flesh out in ways that might prod you to revise your beliefs and welcome transformation and expand your awareness?

One of Boulders best and oldest furniture stores. We have been serving Boulder since 1986. Locally and Veteran owned Family business.

PISCES

FEB. 19-MARCH 20: Joan of Arc performed her

heroic and magical feats in 1430 and 1431. But she wasn’t canonized as a saint until 1920 — almost five centuries later. It took a while to garner the full appreciation she deserved. I’m sure you won’t have to wait as long to be acknowledged for your good deeds and fine creations, Pisces. In fact, from what I can tell, there’ll be a significant honor, enhancement or reward coming your way sometime in the next four months. Start visualizing what you’d like it to be, and set your intention to claim it.

We sell brand new fully assembled furniture. Now you can see our inventory of new items on our website. GENTLY USED CONSIGNMENT FURNITURE AND NEW FURNITURE SINCE 1986

USEDFURNITUREBOULDER.COM JUNE 25, 2020

Israel gets serious about legalizing pot By Paul Danish

t may have nothing to do with the recent archeological discovery suggesting that King Solomon may have been a stoner, but Israel is getting serious about legalizing marijuana. According to a story in the Jerusalem Post, The Ministerial Committee on Legislation on June 24 decided to advance two bills in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, that would legalize private possession and use, but not sale, of marijuana in the country. Significantly, one of the bills is sponsored by Sharren Haskel, a Likud Member of Knesset (MK), and Ram Shefa, an MK from Blue and White. Likud and Blue and White are the two main parties in Israel’s coalition government. Haskell has been advocating legalization in Israel for five years. She says there are more than a million marijuana users in the country of 8.75 million. The main provisions of the bills are that possessing up to 50 grams of marijuana or two plants grown for personal use under natural light in a private place would not be a crime. Possessing more ganja than that would be subject to a substantial fine. Public consumption would still be illegal. The minimum age for legal use would be 21, with the exception of those working in security positions. Driving while using weed would be prohibited and a de rigueur fund to educate students about the dangers of marijuana would be established. The legalization proposal is roughly similar to the legalization scheme adopted by the Vermont legislature when that state became the first to legalize recreational marijuana through the legislative process rather than a citizen initiative. The bills passed a preliminary reading in the Knesset on June 24 and are now expected to be combined in committee. After that they will reenter

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

the legislative process as a government-sponsored bill and will then have to pass three more times, in both committee and in the Knesset as a whole, to become law. Said MK Tamar Zandberg of the far-left Meretz party, “There is no sensible reason in 2020 for cannabis users to be considered criminals. When we started this struggle, we were called names and made fun of,

but like in any just struggle, when you do not give up or get afraid, you can emerge victorious.” The Library of Congress has an ongoing project called “Chronicling America,” which digitizes media from throughout U.S. history. Earlier this month it put up a selection of 15 years of reefer madness news stories, dripping with anti-Mexican racism. Here are some of the more rancid examples, selected by Marijuana Moment’s Kyle Jaeger. From a source identified as the Mexican Herald: “Marihuana, our local hasheesh, continues to impel

JUHE 25, 2020

people of the lower order to wild and desperate deeds. A great deal of crime here can safely be attributed to this nerve exciter.” From the Tombstone Prospector: In a story about a failed attempt to smuggle pot into a prison, marijuana was termed “a kind of loco weed which is more powerful than opium.” “The Mexicans mix it with tobacco and smoke it in cigarettes, which causes a hilarity not equaled by any other form of dissipation,” it adds. But the piece that took the prize came from The Ogden Standard (Utah): “Are the Mexicans becoming a mightier and braver race, or in the language of Texas, are they becoming ‘locoded?’” the article asks. “Reports received here indicate that the sudden burst of bravery on the part of the Mexicans is due to an increased use of the weed known as Marihuana, which has much the same effects as opium or morphine on its users. “When a Mexican is under the influence of Marihuana he imagines that he can, single-handed, whip the entire regular United States army, while if reinforced by several other Mexicans, he might include a few European nations in his dream conquests,” it adds. “While under the influence of marihuana Mexicans are liable to commit murder and when arrested give the authorities great trouble.” The most striking thing about the Smithsonian’s tranche of reefer madness material is that it came from 1897 to 1915. The better-known explosion of anti-pot propaganda that finally resulted in marijuana being outlawed in 1937 occurred in the 1930s. What the earlier campaign shows is that pot prohibitionists conducted a grinding, relentless campaign that stretched more than 40 years before it succeeded. And they have never really stopped.

IN CEL EBRAT ION OF PRIDE PICK ANY DAIL Y DEAL AL L JUNE!

WithLove There is Hope!

Happy Pride Boulder!

$99

Mix & Match

Ounces

nuhi sugar wax & SHATTER 4G for

$5.00 $7.00

$55

PRE-ROLLS KIEF PRE-ROLLS

$25 NUHI LIVE RESIN VAPE CART BUY ANY TWO 1906 CHOCOLATES, GET BOTH FOR 50% OFF

25% OFF Text JOIN THC to (720) 513-3543 for Deals and Promotions

ORDER ONLINE WITH OUR LIVE MENU

www.thchealth.com

OUR FLOWER OUR QUALITY YOUR LOW PRICES Rec 21+ Happy Hour: Tues-Sat 8-9 am/pm, Sun & Mon all day long!

537 Canyon Blvd. Boulder, CO ALL SALES VALID 6/25/20 - 6/28/20

Help Wanted The Health Center, an award winning dispensary, is hiring for a Full Time Budtender at our Boulder location! We are looking for a highly motivated and dependable person with a MED Support or Key Badge. 21+. Prior experience preferred, but not necessary. Hourly +Tips. Please send a copy of your MED badge and resume to

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

We are all about

ORDER ONLINE WITH OUR LIVE MENU - WWW.THCHEALTH.COM VALID JUNE 25 - JUNE 28

537 Canyon Blvd. Boulder, CO • 720-532-8664 • www.thchealth.com • 21+

Available Now!

See our ad below

“Cannabis Corner” on page 29

Award-winning seafood, affordable! Dine-in and Patio seating and Take-out with Curbside delivery now available. Locally-owned, Independent.

Cleanest Artisan Cannabis & Extracts Naturally-grown award winning flower since 2009

(720) 630-8053 • 11am-9pm

Atlas Valley Center, SW corner of Arapahoe and 95th

www.eatreelfish.com

Featuring ALL NEW top-shelf MEDICAL flower including CBD strains. Check us out today! 5420 Arapahoe • Unit F • 303.442.2565 • www.boulderwc.com Now open til 8p Thurs, 9p Fri & Sat, 6p Sun, 7p Mon-Wed

Met Your Soul Drum Yet? HAND DRUMS, DRUM SETS, AND LESSONS FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES.

PEARL STREET MALL - BOULDER 303.444.1564

Mix-and-Match OZ Deal

HELPINGHANDSDISPENARY.C0M Order Online - Quick, Easy Curbside Pickup

LYONS

BUDDEPOTDISPENSARY.COM