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All roads lead to Boulder

Transportation opportunities and challenges as more people commute to the County

by Matt Cortina

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Transportation opportunities and challenges as more people commute to Boulder County

by Matt Cortina

A roller coaster week for eviction prevention and housing justice

by Emma Athena

14

buzz:

Jackie Venson’s revolution

by Caitlin Rockett

events:

Fourth of July along the Front Range, plus art, books, music and more

by Boulder Weekly staff

nibbles:

How one Boulder chef reopened his restaurant and refocused on the people in the kitchen

by John Lehndorff

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weed between the lines:

Could recently signed “Regulating Marijuana Concentrates” law be the end of Colorado’s medicinal marijuana?

by Will Brendza

departments 5

Just Economics: Pushing for Medicare expansion and social transformation

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Publisher, Fran Zankowski Circulation Manager, Cal Winn EDITORIAL Senior Editor, Angela K. Evans Arts and Culture Editor, Caitlin Rockett Food Editor, John Lehndorff Editorial Intern, Carly Herbert Contributing Writers, Peter Alexander, Dave Anderson, Emma Athena, Will Brendza, Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Sarah Haas, Jim Hightower, Dave Kirby, John Lehndorff, Rico Moore, Amanda Moutinho, Katie Rhodes, Leland Rucker, Dan Savage, Alan Sculley, Ryan Syrek, Christi Turner, Betsy Welch, Tom Winter, Gary Zeidner SALES AND MARKETING Market Development Manager, Kellie Robinson Account Executives, Matthew Fischer, Sami Wainscott Advertising Coordinator, Corey Basciano Mrs. Boulder Weekly, Mari Nevar PRODUCTION Art Director, Susan France Senior Graphic Designer, Mark Goodman CIRCULATION TEAM Dave Hastie, Dan Hill, George LaRoe, Jeffrey Lohrius, Elizabeth Ouslie, Rick Slama BUSINESS OFFICE Bookkeeper, Regina Campanella Founder/CEO, Stewart Sallo Editor-at-Large, Joel Dyer

July 1, 2021 Volume XXVIII, Number 46 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. © 2021 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.

Improved Medicare for All: simple, universal, affordable

by Bill Semple

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e can meet the health care needs of us all, in a way we each can afford, spend less and have better health care.

To get there, we can build on what works — Medicare, which has the highest satisfaction rate of any U.S. health care coverage. It can be improved by covering hearing, dental, vision and long-term care, while eliminating deductibles and co-pays. We need the profound administrative simplifying of one, not-for-profit system. The administrative savings on the payer and provider sides and the leverage to negotiate fair drug and hospital charges are what accomplish affordably covering everyone with such robust care.

Opponents of Improved Medicare for All invoke the fear of taxes. The good news is pre-paying for health care based on income is progressive; the CEO and the janitor

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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no longer pay the same. And, when care is needed, good care is the focus, not the cost.

To get there, we need to take the leap.

For-profit insurers will always have the incentive to collect premiums and avoid paying for care; they compete to avoid risk. Through deductibles, high co-pays, narrow provider networks, prior authorizations, claims denials and surprise billings, as well as covering the younger, healthier and wealthier, and avoiding the older, sicker and poorer, they’ve become very good at meeting these incentives and will continue as long as we let them.

It is also important to see how the insurance corporations, in partnership with the drug and large hospital corporations, work as a price-fixing cartel. They’ve succeeded in being able to charge us almost twice the average per person as do other countries with universal systems that have better outcomes.

No wonder they are the largest lobby to control our politics to maintain what works for them.

see JUST ECONOMICS Page 6 l

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JUST ECONOMICS from Page 5

We often hear health care detwo to three times more likely to die scribed in terms of a marketplace: from COVID. Yet, the inequities in that we need choice of insurers, that health care greatly lessen at age 65: It’s competition will control prices, that not magic. price transparency will inform savvy In 2019, the Colorado legislature consumers of health care, and that passed the Health Care Cost Savings we need to pay at the time of care Act (HB 19-1176). It created a task to have skin in the game. But health force to compare the costs and other care can have the same message as a social impacts of three fundamenthief in a dark alley: “It’s your money tal ways to pay for health care: how or your life.” Mostly, we don’t know we do now, a multiplayer universal what health care we’ll need, and then, health care system, and a single when we need it, we need it. The payer system. The task force hired the past decade has seen the Affordable Colorado School of Public Health Care Act (ACA) increase the percent to do the analysis. The task force will of Americans who have coverage, take the CSPH’s report and create mostly through a final report to the expansion of the Legislature by Medicaid. At the Sept. 1. While the false same time, the CSPH’s full report hope stated that a scourge of unis not yet public, der-insurance has their conclusion is: public option can be grown. Conserva“For health a stepping stone to a tively, a quarter of care reform in Americans who Colorado, introuniversal system. Rathpay premiums ducing universal er, big medicine wants every month are health coverage to maintain focus on the that is either a not able to afford care when needed. public option and not on multi-payer or sinWhile the ACA gle payer system an improved Medicare has helped some has the potential to get needed care, to increase access for All. it has exaggerated to care, improve an already complihealth outcomes, cated system, throwing more taxpayer and possibly provide sector-specifdollars at private insurance. ic employment benefits. Our cost Colorado has seen recent attempts estimates suggest that a multi-payer to create a public option. Intense universal health care system will likely pressure got the legislature to scale lead to small increases in the total back to a model based on private cost of Colorado’s health care system. insurance. There is false hope stated Introduction of a full publicly fithat a public option can be a stepping nanced and privately delivered health stone to a universal system. Rather, care system could yield significant big medicine wants to maintain focus healthcare savings, particularly if on the public option, and not on an pricing regulations are put in place improved Medicare for All. Win or to control cost growth in the future. lose, with the fight about public opThe financial health of hospitals and tion, for-profit insurance abides and clinics and clinician retention should big medicine wins, not us. all be carefully considered with any How we pay for our health care potential pricing regulations.” is a major part of how we structure Wealthy, powerful interests see racial and economic inequality in our things working just fine. The macountry. Even before the pandemic, jority of Americans want improved seven to nine million Americans have Medicare for All to create the kind of been driven into poverty every year, just society we want to live in. paying for needed care. While maternal Bill Semple is the Board Chair for mortality rates for white women in Colorado Foundation for Universal the U.S. are twice as high compared to Health Care. Just Economics is writCanadian women, for Black women in ten by members of the Economic Justice the U.S. rates are six times higher than Collective of the Rocky Mountain Peace in Canada. The pandemic has shown & Justice Center. that people of color are two to three This opinion column does not necessartimes more likely to be infected and ily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly.

THERE IS

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HOAS AND US “Pressure points” (RE: News, June 17) regarding HOA fees and operations gave me pause. I’ve lived with HOAs and without them, in five states. I spent a good portion of my professional career in real estate (not brokerage), and my analysis differs from that offered in the Weekly.

Most home buyers who enter into a relationship with an HOA do little if any due diligence regarding them; indeed, a rigorous cost-benefit analysis would consider both sides of that conjoined twin.

One inescapable fact is that an HOA must virtually always contract third parties to maintain a property; there is no regular onsite staff with the required expertise.

This means, even if three bids are required or invited for every task, that the HOA is subject to not only a competitive market but also the vicissitudes of engaging self-employed persons who must budget revenues to cover the inevitable down times, personal downtimes, and failure of some clients to pay. The brain damage involved is removed from the shoulders of the association members. What can that mean?

Answer: a lot. At best non-HOA properties (usually single-family detached homes) chase contractors independently, achieving duplication and often poor results. What becomes of many “independent” neighborhoods need not be detailed here. Suffice it to say that without an HOA a homeowner can do little if anything about the clutter, deferred maintenance, propagation of waste, and lack of upkeep that so often results around him or her.

Contrast this to a well-managed HOA. l

Yes,the fees may rise each year.What doesn’t?

It may seem crass to so address the situation, but the affordability of HOA fees should also be considered in building a housing budget.If one cannot afford the fees,can the home be?

I live in a magnificent subdivision governed by a cooperative and competent HOA. Think citizen legislators or traffic cops. I invite you to see it. It’s named “Twin Peaks Village,” and it dates to 1992.

It took me four years to get in, even in a slower real estate market. So something right is being and has been done. Don’t shoot the day bank guard when your depository institution is burgled at night.

Gregory Iwan/Longmont BUSINESS MODELS Google and the University of Colorado maintain the same business model of constant expansion for sustainability and profit. Neither cares substantially for the well being of life in Boulder. Their life is all about their ambitions. The Arvada City Council recently turned down an Amazon annexation request to build an 112,000-square-foot delivery hub with an added 1,000 parking spaces. Traffic and quality of life were the concerns of citizens. The City Council of the People’s Republic of Boulder, on the other hand, gave the keys to the City to Google to locate here despite worries of traffic and quality of life, and it continues to regard the University as a Sacred Cow and “fellow well met” in its expansion onto its “South Campus.” Strange it seems that “liberal” Boulder, the Colorado birthplace of Open Space Planning, has fallen behind Arvada in its foresight for the city.

Robert Porath/Boulder

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All roads lead to Boulder

Transportation opportunities and challenges as more people commute to the County

story by Matt Cortina photos by John R. Ford

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WITH RTD DOWN ou’ve likely gathered enough anecdotal evidence in talking to ridership, revenue friends and colleagues to know that Boulder County is quickly and service lines, becoming an unaffordable place to live; the problem is, many transportation planpeople still work here. ners contemplate And indeed, current and forecasted data bears out that obhow to best improve servation. The Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG), infrastructure and a cooperative of municipalities, counties and organizations that tracks mobility in, around transportation data, estimates that regional trips to and from Boulder and out of Boulder County.

County will increase by 60% by 2040. The destinations and points of origin with the largest increase are Weld and Broomfield counties — in fact, when Boulder County tracked data on Highway 119, it found about 30% of travelers in the study period were coming in from Weld or Larimer counties.

Makes sense: Home prices have doubled in Boulder County in the last decade. The average — about $650,000 — is approximately $200,000 more than the average for homes in Larimer and Weld counties (as well as suburban communities around Denver).

That’s a problem, because Weld and Larimer counties are outside of the Regional Transportation District (RTD), meaning public transportation options must be generated outside of that organization. It’s also a problem because the roads that take us to and from Boulder County — Highways 119 and 7 and U.S. 36 — are not currently suited to handle the projected increase in traffic.

Add on top of that the disturbance of the pandemic — RTD ridership is down 60% and is facing a $140 million shortfall in its 2021 budget — plus the generally slow nature of building out transportation improvements, and the situation might seem dire.

Or, it can be an opportunity to make bold changes.

“COVID affected everything, but what we’re really focused on now is how do we come back,” says Boulder County Deputy Director of Transportation Planning Kathleen Bracke.

“How does transportation serve a critical support function to help our communities come back and create access to education again, access to jobs, access to the outdoors? We really need to be upping our services again, because people are coming back.”

One factor of increasing economic mobility in Boulder County is increasing mobility itself. Here’s how local agencies, organizations and governments are planning to do that, in spite of all the challenges, and given the need to move quickly. see TRANSPORTATION Page 10

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TRANSPORTATION from Page 9

The big picture

In 2020, Boulder County finalized a transportation master plan that outlined more than $2 billion worth of projects (a hefty portion of that is implementation of a regional rail service — more on that later) that would improve mobility to and from Boulder County. The state legislature also recently passed a $5 billion transportation infrastructure package, with funds to be distributed throughout the state.

While these plans and funding packages will likely impact hundreds of corridors, in Boulder County there are three important travelways that have the biggest impact — Highway 119 from Longmont to Boulder; Highway 7 from Boulder to Lafayette; and U.S. 36 from Boulder to Broomfield and beyond.

Improving the transportation options on those corridors is vital to making sure people can get from their homes to their places of work (and places for recreation, entertainment, health care and more).

“Those are critical travel corridors for commuters in and out of Boulder,” says Boulder Chamber of Commerce President John Tayer. “We need to make sure we’re driving resources into the those corridors that support a full range of options, from automobiles to efficient modes of transport.”

But change comes slowly — the addition of paid express lanes on U.S. 36 took about 20 years to implement, for example.

“Our region is growing in population and employment. We can’t sit on our hands and wait. We have to plan for interim solutions to move people,” says Audrey DeBarros, executive director of Louisville-based Commuting Solutions, a nonprofit that works to improve transportation options in the region. DeBarros says Highway 119 is a top priority for local transportation improvements.

Work there is commencing with studies and plans for multi-modal paths (bike and bus lanes), but much of the funding is yet to be secured. For what it’s worth, RTD Communications Director Marta Sipeki says folks should expect a similar paid HOV lane on 119 when all is said and done.

While 36 has been improved (though weekday-morning commuters trying to get into Boulder may contest just how improved it is), the “sleeping giant,” DeBarros says, is U.S. 287, which runs from Broomfield through Longmont to Fort Collins.

One thing that could greatly improve transportation on all these corridors is the implementation of rail. Boulder County residents have been paying for such a service for years now — without anything to show for it — but there is now reason for optimism: The state legislature recently passed a bill that creates the Front Range Passenger Rail District, which will help oversee the creation of a

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costs $1.25 to ride, and runs between Fort Collins and Boulder (with stops along the way) — is a perfect example of collaboration for agencies and governments that have a need. Funding is made possible through partnerships between the cities along the route.

Too, there’s a chance to think even smaller when it comes to improving mobility. Tayer says for those looking to get to work, improving options for the first and last mile could make a big difference.

“From the operations perspective, we are working collaboratively with our regional partners to develop both the regional transit services as well as the first- and final-mile programs that get rail line, and ask taxpayers to fund it. folks from regional bus, let’s say, to their COVID STIMULUS monies helped keep The hitch: a line into Boulder and up place of work,” Tayer says. “Examples of to Longmont is only one of several that are everything from micromobility options; that is, after all the broken vehicles or units like electric scooters, promises, there still could be a rail line to shuttle buses that would meet the north of the Denver area, it might just workforce at the connection with their go to Firestone. regional transit ride to then swiftly take Rail would be a marked improvement in terms them to their place of work. And [those options of service options, but that’s a costly, years-away are] critical to making public transit function as a endeavor. So when looking for immediate improve- viable alternative to the single-occupant vehicle.” ments to public transportation service, look first to Tayer also supports the idea of 15-minute RTD. neighborhoods — expanding on the idea of live-work developments — where people can get groceries, recreate, go to school and entertain As mentioned, RTD is down riders, down reve- themselves without requiring automobiles. East nue and down service lines. RTD received three in- Boulder can be a case study for the creation of such fusions of stimulus money from the federal support a neighborhood. packages of the last year-plus: $232 million, which “One of the most significant [opportunities] it spent in 2020; $203.4 million in January 2021, is what we’re looking at for the future planning of which it used to bring back operators it was forced East Boulder and the opportunity to build a cozy to lay off due to budgetary constraints, Sipeki from environment out there that is accommodating to the agency says; and $338.4 million, which it can a diversity of our workforce, but also meets a lot spend until 2024. That’s, of course, a ton of money, of the current neighborhood interests in retail,” but it all came with the stipulation that it could Tayer says. “When you think about the commercial only be spent on COVID impacts, personal protenants out there, many of them want that same tective equipment, cleaning supplies and operations kind of atmosphere, to not only accommodate costs — notably, not capital improvements. their workforce for living but also so folks don’t For those capital improvements, RTD is runhave to drive 3 miles to get lunch. That’s a beauning a Reimagine program, which will solicit input tiful example of the kinds of more compact, more from communities and stakeholders on how best to environmentally efficient and affordable live-work improve service in relevant areas. Sipeki says RTD environments.” is also undergoing a fare study and equity analysis, Developing 15-minute neighborhoods jives which will help guide how much services will cost with the times, too — many workers were able for people in communities that rely on public trans- to stay home (and many still can) because of the portation the most. (Right now, it costs $5.25 to get pandemic. People can access almost everything from Denver to Boulder and vice versa; a regional remotely more easily now: health care, shopping, day pass or trip to the airport is $10.50.) RTD has work, entertainment (if they’re not really sick of also lowered the requirements for neighborhoods it by now). Though certainly in-person work has to enter into the EcoPass program, which will, in returned and will continue to do so, Bracke sees it theory, give more people access to public transporas a positive output from the pandemic. tation.

“The silver lining is workplaces were able to But one thing is clear: no one agency can embrace online work and working remotely and reprovide enough service to meet the growing and mote education and online health care and all kinds evolving needs of Boulder County commuters. So, of different things we learned to do this last year,” the creation of lines like the Flex bus — which she says. “I hope we don’t lose that.”

Looking ahead

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A roller coaster week for eviction prevention and housing justice

by Emma Athena

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n Friday, June 25, Gov. Jared Polis signed into law SB173, which will “ensure tenants have more options to stay housed,” the bill’s prime sponsor, State Senator Julie Gonzales, says. “More Coloradans than ever find themselves working harder just to make rent and keep up with the rising cost of living. [We] believe this will help more Colorado renters make rent and avoid the eviction process altogether.”

It’s the latest in a collection of seven housing justice bills the Colorado state Legislature has passed since the coronavirus pandemic began in early 2020. Among a suite of changes, the new law, which doesn’t go into effect until October, establishes a cap on landlord-issued late fees, extends the grace period for rental payments and eliminates the bond tenants are currently required to pay to courts when disputing living standards.

“This brings Colorado law in line with other states, kind of catching us up,” explains Zach Neumann, co-founder of the Denver-based COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project.

“The legislation really addresses the court process around evictions. It essentially creates more time to pay back rent. It creates more rights and the ability to assert defenses in the eviction process.”

These are but few of the many changes Colorado housing justice advocates have been working on for years. “Colorado is a landlord-friendly state,” explains Sen. Gonzales. When Princeton University’s Eviction Lab

created a COVID-19 Housing Policy Scorecard last year, Colorado was issued a score of 0.73 out of a possible 5.00. If silver linings to the pandemic exist, one of them is that COVID has highlighted and accelerated the need for more tenant protections and rental assistance programs.

“I don’t know if [SB173] is going to fundamentally change eviction, which is a conflict in power between the tenant and the landlord,” says Ruy Arango, a housing justice advocate in Boulder. “That being said, this is all good. Colorado tenant’s rights are dogshit, so this is all a step in the right direction. These are very small steps though.”

The day before Polis signed SB173, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a final extension to its ban on evictions, which blocks landlords from evicting tenants who are currently unable to pay rent and don’t have another safe housing option if they are evicted. This nationwide moratorium will now expire on July 31.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates about 7% of Coloradans are not current on rent or mortgage payments, or have slight or no confidence that their household can pay next month’s rent or mortgage on time. Among these households, it’s “very likely or somewhat likely” more than 30% will face eviction or foreclosure in the next two months. Translation: 77,000 more Coloradans will likely face eviction or foreclosure by the time school starts in August — and before SB173 goes

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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TO LEARN MORE into effect.

“So we’re going to have a period of August and September where cases that are getting processed are not being processed under SB173,” Neumann says.

Even then, the new law doesn’t put a “blanket stop on evictions.”

The COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project is most concerned about what will happen to epidemic,” he explains. “There’s this clients who, due to COVID-related desire to go back to, ironic air-quotes, work stoppages, fell behind on rent ‘business as usual,’ but for eviction, and lack of access to benefits. Even that means taking people out of their if they have now gone back to work, homes and making them homeless.” many have a debt they can’t repay, says Boulder’s Eviction Prevention Neumann. “There’s significant rental and Rental Assistance Services assistance available,” he explains. “But (EPRAS) program (NEWR’s legacy) a number of renters who need access has already begun providing free legal to this resource don’t know it exists, and rental assistance to tenants facing or alternatively they’re in the process eviction, and the City is currently of getting the assistance, but because interviewing candidates for the new of federal guidelines, it takes quite a Tenant Advisory Committee. long time to successfully complete the Still, Arango says, the fundamenwhole process. Without the protectal issue of eviction and the housing tion of the moratorium in place, folks crisis more generally won’t be solved who are waiting in line for rental “as long as we use a market to distribassistance may face eviction because ute housing and determine who gets they haven’t been able to access funds access to housing and who does not, quickly enough.” because the market needs winners and Arango, chair for the No Eviction losers, and the need for housing is inWithout Representation (NEWR) elastic — as in your need for water is campaign that resulted in a City of inelastic. It doesn’t matter how much Boulder ordinance guaranteeing legal money you have, the amount of thirst assistance to tenants in eviction cases you have is the amount of thirst you and creating rental assistance prohave. Everyone needs water, everyone grams, says the CDC’s moratorium needs housing, and unless we address extension is “entirely insufficient.” and change this fundamental contra“We’re still reeling from the diction in how we give people access effects of COVID, people are still to housing in our country, we are still getting COVID, the world and going to experience eviction. You will our nation is still dealing with this still experience housing insecurity.”

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PHOTOS COURTESY JACKIE VENSON

A rebel cry

Jackie Venson’s revolution

by Caitlin Rockett

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week before she sets off on a 26-city, three-month tour, Jackie Venson is packing up to move into more spacious digs in her hometown of Austin, Texas.

“If you want to tank a relationship, live in a one-bedroom apartment together,” the guitarist deadpans as she grabs a drink before settling into our Zoom call. “I don’t give a shit who you are… you can literally be Jesus Christ and Mother Teresa, and they’ll kill each other in a one-bedroom apartment.”

Amen.

“We have to be out [of the current apartment] by August, and I’m gone for three out of four weeks in July, so the few days that I have home, I’m packing boxes.”

So it goes for a working musician like Venson, who’s slowly but surely built a fanbase around her effervescent blend of blues, soul, pop and R&B since the release of her debut album, The Light In Me, in 2014. Venson knows what it takes to make a living as a musician, having watched her father, singer and bassist Andrew Venson, work stages around the country until his retirement a few years ago.

JULY 1, 2021

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And while 2020 certainly changed Venson’s plans, it didn’t exactly slow her down. new material, two live albums and two albums of remixes of her own work under the name jackie the robot. From March to October she livestreamed nearly 100 shows before making her debut on the long-running PBS show Austin City Limits in November.

But 2020 wasn’t all fun and games. Last June, Venson took to her Facebook page to call out white tastemakers in the Austin music scene for exclusionary booking practices.

Things came to a head when radio host Andy Langer offered Venson a spot on last year’s virtual iteration of Blues on the Green — aptly redubbed Blues on the Screen — with white blues artists Bob Schneider and Shinyribs.

“And I didn’t want to be a part of that, because I felt like I would have been a direct hypocrite to everything I just posted publicly online,” Venson told the Austin American-Statesman. “I’m getting dangerously close to a token situation right now.”

Venson and her manager, Louie Carr, pushed for an all-black lineup, but, according to Carr, Langer said there weren’t enough BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Black Austin artists with a large enough draw to support an all-Black bill. When Venson was dropped from the bill entirely (replaced with two Black artists), she decided to get louder.

“The [American-Statesman] called me and asked me if I was comfortable telling the whole story, and I was like yeah, I am very comfortable disclosing this entire story,” Venson says. “Five years ago I wouldn’t’ve told this story, but now, no, I don’t need this guy. I don’t need this show. [Blues on the Green has] a responsibility to the community to foster a cultural scene that actually represents the city.”

Langer ate crow after the article ran and offered Venson the opportunity to curate an all-Black lineup for Blues on the Screen, which she did. But she’s not

Jackie Venson’s Heavy Rotation BROCKHAMPTON

KYDD JONES

term “boyband.” Diverse in every sense of the word, the rap group/artist collective/Kanye West fan club talk about race, gender, sexuality and capitalism.

Listen to: “Boogie”

EARTHGANG

Hip-hop duo Johnny “Olu O. Fann” Venus and WOWGR8 “Eian Undrai Parker” formed EarthGang in 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia’s Southside, which also birthed hip-hop heroes OutKast and Future.

Listen to: “Run it up”

Austin-based emcee/producer/singer-songwriter Randell “Kydd” Jones made waves after performing at SXSW in 2019, subsequently becoming a cultural ambassador for Austin and working with artists like Yelawolf, Eric Dingus and Max Frost.

“I love his whole attitude. He’s so relaxed, even when he talks about hard stuff. I love that because he’s being present and he talks about being present in his own special way.”

Listen to: “Hall Pass”

“Same shit, different day,” Venson says. “I’ve heard that shit 10,000 times before ... that I’m not a national act and I don’t draw a crowd — for a free event.

I’ve heard that through other people… It’s just the same shit every day.”

Everyday as a Black person in America, that is. Venson knows how it goes: Black folks create the culture, white folks appropriate it. It’s foundational to American pop culture, from hairstyles to music to clothing to slang.

Venson seems to address this ongoing battle for recognition and equality in “‘Til This Pain Ends,” the lead single from her forthcoming album, Love Transcends: I will not be fooled / Shall not be moved / Won’t sell my soul, won’t live in vain / Know I was born to work until my dying day / So that’s what I’m gon do, til this pain goes away Venson channels generations of Black culture and pain into the track, weaving together the mournful cry of blues with the transcendent invocation of Her virtuosic skill on guitar is a sonic prayer to those who paved the way for her: Libba Cotten, Rosetta Tharpe, Memphis Minnie.

“Blues has always been a rebel cry,” Venson says. “It’s saying what everyone else is too afraid to say. It’s doing stuff people don’t expect you to do. It’s about following what’s truly in your soul at the time of the creation of the blues.

The blues was created by slaves in the field. They’re supposed to be working.

They’re not humans, they’re animals, and they’re treated as such. And the fact that they sang words to each other and feelings to each other while working, that’s a rebellion. Do animals sound like this? Do animals speak language? It was like a rebellion in its earliest form.”

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EVENTS

FOURTH

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

BOULDER

July Fourth Celebration with Boulder Symphony Orchestra.

7-8:30 p.m., Sunday, July 4. Boulder Bandshell, 1212 Canyon Blvd., Boulder. Tickets: $5-16.

Looking for a way to make your Fourth of July weekend special? Check out the Boulder Symphony Orchestra’s performance at the Boulder Bandshell, featuring seven performers and a collection of Independence Day symphonic classics and fan-favorites, including songs from the soundtrack of Star Wars.

BROOMFIELD

Great American Picnic.

Spend your Fourth of July with your family, friends and neighbors at the 2021 Great American Picnic! There will be fun for the whole family, with beer garden for those 21 and up. Add a creative spin to your holiday in the one-of-a-kind bike parade, then enjoy live music and giveaways starting at 6 p.m. The

Broomfield Fourth of July Carnival.

9 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday, July 1-Monday, July 5, Flatiron Crossing Mall, 1 W. Flatiron Crossing fashioned carnival.

LONGMONT

Private Firework Show from Fox Hill Country Club.

9:45 p.m. Visible around Longmont.

Longmont Skyline Kiwanis are hosting a private event at the Fox Hill Country Club on the evening spectators will NOT be allowed on the course to watch the show. Instead, they are encouraged to watch from their homes or to park at the public parking lots at Stephen Day Park, Clark Centennial and Sandstone Ranch. Union Reservoir will have expanded hours to accommodate parking as well.

Red, White, and Brew 5K.

10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, July 3, Wibby Brewing, 209 Emery St., Longmont. Cost: $30, register at cobreweryrun.com weaves through the surrounding area, and no matter percent of all proceeds go directly to a local organization that will be onsite promoting their organization. You also have the chance to win sweet door prizes from the Colorado Brewery Running Series.

NEDERLAND

Fourth of July Parade.

Noon.-1 p.m. Snyder Street, Nederland.

Ned is celebrating Independence Day with its community parade! Come join the fun as the procession moves around First, Second, and Snyder streets. There will be a grandstand at Snyder Street by Salto and Tin Shed Sports, though you are free to bring your own chair. Get there early to grab a good spot!

GREELEY

Independence Day Parade.

9 a.m. Saturday, July 3, Historic 10th Avenue, Greeley, greeleystampede.org/p/attractions/parades The Greeley Stampede Independence Day parade equestrian entries from all over Colorado and many surrounding states. The parade runs north along historic 10th Avenue starting at the beautiful University of Northern Colorado campus at 19th Street and ending on Fifth Street beyond historic Lincoln Park.

DENVER

Downtown fireworks.

July 2, 3 and 4, visible around Denver.

LOUISVILLE

Firework Show from the Coal Creek Golf Course.

8:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m. Coal Creek Golf Course, 585 W. Dillon Road, Louisville.

Coal Golf Course will NOT be open to the public

Field on July 2 and 3 following the Colorado Rockies games against the Cardinals. On July 4, Elitch Gardens is offering a

see EVENTS Page 18

encouraged to watch from their homes or from one of Parking Lot, 992 W. Via Appia Way; Louisville Recreation & Senior Center, 900 Via Appia Way; or Vista Adventist Hospital, 100 Health Park Drive.

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SETUP & SUPPORT

E V ENTS

PARENTAL CONTROLS

EVENTS from Page 17

EVENTS

Afield 2021.

• Protection options at the device and network level • Manage device usage by limiting screen time and reinforcing healthier habits • Protect against unwanted communication with strangers • Deter children from accessing mature content

6 p.m. Saturday, July 10, Ollin Farms, 8627 N. 95th St., Longmont.

Tickets are $150, bmoca.org Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art’s education programs include seven different programs that serve over 8,000 people annually. BMoCA strives to increase the positive impact of art on the community, working toward the goal to double the number of people reached with its arts education programs to 15,000 people. The focus of these efforts will be on delivering arts education to K-12 youth in schools, particularly those schools designated as Title 1 which serve a high percentage of children from low-income families. To support these efforts, BMoCA presents the second outreach education programs. Local chef Nonna Eats, in partnership with Ollin Farms and local artist Rolf Dahl, will create a night of sensory excitement through food and art.

‘Race to Save the World’ Film Screening.

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

6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 7, Trident Booksellers and Cafe, 940 Pearl St., Boulder. Tickets: $10, tridentcafe.com From Joe Gantz, the Emmy-winning producer of American Winter and Ending Disease, The Race To Save The World offers an intimate portrait of activists, aged 15 change. Encompassing protests and arrests, courtroom drama and family turmoil, these everyday heroes push to create a sustainable world, often risking their relationships, careers and freedoms in the process. Drawing on powerful footage and moving interviews, The Race to Save The World is an inspiring call to action, urging each one of us to become climate warriors for a livable future.

Author Talk: Tana Wojczuk — ‘Lady Romeo.’

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

6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 6, Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St., Boulder. Tickets: $5, boulderbookstore.net Lady Romeo tells the true story of Charlotte Cushman, a young woman who refuses to submit to others’ expectations.

Raised in Boston at the time of the transcendentalists, a series of disasters cleared the way for Crushman’s life on the stage. Behind the scenes, Crushman was radical, making an independent income, colonies abroad, and living publicly as a queer woman. The story of an astonishing and uniquely American life, Lady Romeo reveals one her to center stage, where she belongs.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

EVENTS

NICHOLAS GALANIN

ARTS

‘Never Forget’ by Nicholas Galanin.

July 2-Aug. 29, east window, 4949 Broadway, Unit 102B, Boulder, eastwindow.org In this exhibit, Nicholas Galanin revisions the iconic Hollywood sign — one of the world’s most evocative symbols for ambition, assimilation, misrepresentation and the impacts of settler colonialism. Never Forget directs us toward the possibility of transferring land titles and management back to local Indigenous communities, while reminding us that land acknowledgments become only performative when they do not explicitly support the land-back movement.

2021 Louisville Art Association Member Theme Art Show and Sale.

July 1- July 31. East Simpson Coffee Company, 201 E. Simpson St., Lafayette.

Emergence can be interpreted in different ways: as emergence from the cold, snowy winter; emergence from the darkness of 2020; emergence from the fear and isolation of the pandemic; and more. Come to the Louisville Art Association’s Member Art Show and Sale to see works that revolve around the theme of emergence. Through the month of July, pieces will be on display and for purchase. Stop by and get a cup of coffee (or a glass of wine) and enjoy.

see EVENTS Page 20

SUSAN MURPHY

‘Portraits of a Toppled World Exhibit’ by Susan Murphy.

July 2-Aug. 1, NoBo Art Center, 4929 Broadway, Boulder.

Susan Murphy used her quarantine time to chronicle many of the past years’ events with brush and paint. This 65-piece exhibit shifts from optimism to fear to anguish and back again. The exhibit has been designed as a silent auction with 100% of proceeds going to the Colorado

recent mass shooting victims, families and communities. Stop by the artist’s reception between 3 and 8 p.m. on July 2 to meet Murphy and chat about her work.

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EVENTS

EVENTS from Page 19

MUSIC COURTESY CHRIS DANIELS

The Caribou Room, 55 Indian Peaks Drive, Nederland:

The Alcapones. 5-8 p.m. Friday, July 2. Tickets: $25 per vehicle includes one person, $15 for each additional person up to four total.

Dairy at the Bandshell, 1212 Canyon Blvd., Boulder:

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17 & 18 July

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Chris Daniels and the Kings.

7-10 p.m. Friday, July 2.

Tickets: $25.

This seven-piece band has won awards for releasing horndrenched rock ‘n’ soul. The Kings are celebrating their 37th year of touring internationally with the release of their 16th album.

Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St., Boulder:

Donavon Frankenreiter with Daniel Rodriguez. 8 p.m. Thursday, July 1.

Tickets: $25-35.

Float Like A Buffalo with Guerrilla Fanfare. 8 p.m. Friday, July 2.

Tickets: $30-$35

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

Zeds Dead. 5 p.m. Friday, July 2. and Saturday, July 3. Tickets: $52+.

Blues Traveler. 8 p.m. Sunday, July 4. Tickets: $55-$75.

Dark Star Orchestra. 7 p.m. Monday, July 5. Tickets: $45+.

Lindsey Stirling. 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 7. Tickets: $54+

Gold Hill Inn, 401 Main St., Boulder:

Moors & McCumber (folk/Americana). 5 p.m. Friday, July 2.

Fourth of July Twang Fest and Barbecue. 12:30 p.m. Sunday, July 4.

Tickets: $25.

Dickens Opera House, 300 Main St., Longmont:

INDIGENOUS. 7 p.m. Saturday, July 3. Tickets $28.

St Julien Hotel, 900 Walnut St., Boulder:

BOULDERCREEKFEST.COM

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Strange Byrds. 6-9 p.m. Thursday, July 1.

Dave Tamkin. 6-9 p.m. Friday, July 2.

Venture Still. 6-9 p.m. Saturday, July 3.

Nancy (classical piano). 6-9 p.m.Wednesday, July 7.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

spiritual in every ordinary thing that you do every day.” You have to work at it a bit, he says; you must have it as your

BY ROB BREZSNY ARIES

MARCH 21-APRIL 19: Columnist Linda Weltner says that there’s a dual purpose to cleaning your home, rearranging the furniture, adding new art to the walls and doting on your potted plants. Taking good care of your environment is a primary way of taking good care of yourself. She writes, “The home upon which we have lavished so much attention is the embodiment of our own self love.” I invite you to make that your inspirational meditation for the next two weeks.

TAURUS

APRIL 20-MAY 20: “For peace of mind, I will lie about anything at any time,” said author Amy Hempel. Hmmmm.

I’m the opposite. To cultivate peace of mind, I try to speak and live the truth as much as I can. Lying makes me nervous. It also seems to make me dumber. It forcto stick to my same deceitful story when the subject comes up later. What about you, Taurus? For your peace of mind, do you prefer to rely on dishonesty or honesty? I’m hoping that for the next four weeks, you will favor the latter. Cultivating judicious candor will heal you and boost your intelligence.

GEMINI

MAY 21-JUNE 20: In her essay about education, “Don’t Overthink It,” philosopher Agnes Callard reminds us, “No matter how much we increase our investment at the front end — perfecting our minds with thinking classes, long ruminations, novel-reading and moral algebra — we cannot spare ourselves the agony of learning by doing.” That will be a key theme for you in the next four weeks, dear Gemini. You will need to make abundant use of empiricism: pursuing knowledge through direct experience, using your powers of observation and a willingness to experiment.

CANCER

JUNE 21-JULY 22: Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said that

when our rational minds are working at their best, they inspire us to cultivate our most interesting and enlivening passions. They also de-emphasize and suppress any energy-draining passions that might have a hold on us. I’m hoping you will take full advantage of this in the coming weeks, Cancerian. You will generate good fortune and sweet breakthroughs as you highlight desires that uplift you and downgrade desires that diminish you.

LEO

JULY 23-AUG. 22: Leo author Wendell Berry suggests,

“It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey.” Although there’s wisdom in that formulation, I don’t think it’s true a majority of the time. Far more often we are fed by the strong, clear intuitions that emerge from our secret depths — from the sacred gut feelings that give us accurate guidance about what to do and where to go. But I do suspect that right now may be one of those phases when Berry’s notion is true for you, Leo. What do you think?

VIRGO

AUG. 23-SEPT. 22: In 1750, more than 250 years after were still a majority of the continent’s population. But between 1776 and now, the United States government stole 1.5 billion acres of land from its original owners — 25 times the size of the United Kingdom. Here’s another sad fact: Between 1778 and 1871, America’s federal administrations signed over 500 treaties with indigenous tribes — and broke every one of them. The possibility that these sins will eventually be remedied is very small. I bring them up only to serve as possible metaphors for your personal life. Is there anything you have unfairly gained from others? Is there anything others have unfairly gained from you? The next six months will be prime time to seek atonement and correction.

LIBRA

SEPT. 23-OCT. 22: Libran Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh

vegetables, and washing the dishes become holy and sacred if mindfulness is there,” he adds. I think you Libras will have a special knack for this fun activity in the coming weeks. (Thich Nhat Hanh wrote a series of “Mindfulness Essentials” books that includes How to Eat, How to Walk, How to Relax, and How to Connect. I invite you to come up with your own such instructions.)

SCORPIO

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OCT. 23-NOV. 21: My unexpected interpretation of the cur-

rent astrological omens suggests that you will be wise to go naked as much as possible in the coming weeks.

Being skyclad, as the pagans say, will be healing for you. You will awaken dormant feelings that will help you see the world with enhanced understanding. The love that you experience for yourself will soften one of your hard edges, and increase your appreciation for all the magic that your life is blessed with. One important caveat: Of course, don’t impose your nakedness on anyone who doesn’t want to witness it.

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SAGITTARIUS

NOV. 22-DEC. 21: If you analyzed the best-selling songs as measured by Billboard magazine, you’d think we were in the midst of a dangerous decline in population. The vast majority of those popular tunes feature lyrics with reproductive themes. It’s as if there’s some abject fear that humans aren’t going to make enough babies, and need to be constantly cajoled and incited to engage in love-making. But I don’t think you Sagittarians, whatever your sexual preference, will need any of that nagging in the coming days. Your Eros Quotient should be higher than it has been in a while.

CAPRICORN

DEC. 22-JAN. 19: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Donna Tartt, born under the sign of Capricorn, writes, “Beauty is rarely soft or consolatory. Quite the contrary. Genuine beauty is always quite alarming.” In my view, that’s an unwarranted generalization. It may sometimes be true, but is often not. Genuine beauty may also be elegant, lyrical, inspiring, healing and ennobling. Having said that, I will speculate that the beauty you encounter in the near future may indeed be disruptive or jolting, but mostly because it has the potential to remind you of what you’re missing — and motivate you to go after what you’ve been missing.

AQUARIUS

JAN. 20-FEB. 18: On July 21, 1969, Aquarian astronaut

Buzz Aldrin was the second human to walk on the moon. It happened during a spectacular astrological aspect, when transiting Jupiter and Uranus in Libra were trine to Aldrin’s natal Sun in Aquarius.

But after this heroic event, following his return to earth, he found it hard to get his bearings again. He took a job as a car salesman, but had no talent for it. In six months, he didn’t sell a single car. Later, however, he found satisfaction as an advocate for space exploration, and he developed technology to make future trips to Mars more efficient. I hope that if you are now involved in any activity that resembles Aldrin’s stint as a car salesman — that is, a task you’re not skilled at and don’t like — you will spend the coming weeks making plans to escape to more engaging pursuits.

PISCES

FEB. 19-MARCH 20: Astronomers say the Big Bang birthed the universe 13.8 billion years ago. But a star 190 light years away from Earth contradicts that theory.

Its age seems to be 14.5 billion years, older than the

informally referred to as Methuselah, named after the Biblical character who lived till age 969. Sometimes, like now, you remind me of that star. You seem to be an impossibly old soul — like you’ve been around so many thousands of lifetimes that you too predate the Big Bang. But guess what: It’s time to take a break from that aspect of your destiny. In the next two weeks, you have cosmic permission to explore the mysteries of playful innocence. Be young and blithe and curious.

Treasure your inner child.

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advises you and me and everyone else to “seek the

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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Let’s Go Out! It’s Time...

The totality of me

Discover Marlon Riggs, a signifying American filmmaker

by Michael J. Casey

C

all Marlon Riggs whatever you want. He describes himself as an “independent

Those quotes come courtesy of an interview conducted with Riggs in 1992, gathered in a new set from The Criterion Collection: The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs

pop culture produces mass assumptions make him an ideal candidate for reappraisal.

Ethnic Notions from 1986: Riggs traces racially charged images from STILL FROM ‘SUMMERTIME’

stereotypes continually manifested throughout the

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set, says Riggs “had a way of seeing everything at once.” You feel that in both Ethnic Notions and Tongues Untied, an audiovisual poem incorporating documentary, performance, mantra and

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community and racism in white gay culture. To be Black or gay is to belong to a community. To be both is to live as an outsider, and Riggs did everything he Both Ethnic Notions and Tongues Untied have ON THE BILL: The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs is available now on from The Criterion Collection.

how most saw them. Credit goes to the National Endowment were programmed in the dead of night, as one station managa line in Ethnic Notions inconvenient.”

Is... Black Ain’t

Black

Black Is...

Black Ain’t Black Is... Black Ain’t

Black Is... Black Ain’t with a shot of Riggs dancing. Riggs loved dancing and incorporated it into his work.

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BY DAN SAVAGE Dear Dan: I just attended the nauseating wedding of my 30-year-old niece to her boyfriend of several years. Both of them seem as gay as possible but they are diehard religious fanatics. I can list 50 signs these two are gay and once you point it out to someone who isn’t a Bible thumper they go, “Yeah, that makes so much sense.” The bride’s father, who was also the minister, praised them for not moving in together before the wedding — another sign. I personally

and she knows she has at least one family member she can turn to. Now if you were to take the next step — a radical step — and actually call your niece on the phone and ask her if she’s queer... if you were to list all the traits you regard as proof both she and her husband are queer... it’s possible she might suddenly come out. Unlikely, UNCLE, but possible.

But it’s almost certain you would be scratched from the guest list for all future family events — whether or highly suspicious. In fact, refraining from not your niece comes out — which seheterosexual intercourse riously tips the scales in until that age only seems favor of making that call.

ROMAN ROBINSON realistic if someone is gay or asexual. Our extended Dear Dan: “LGBT” families are all religious patterns are neurotic, blowhards and we’re the preventable and treatonly queer-friendly outlet able. The Left has been lyin the family. I want badly ing about this for decades. to let the newlyweds know Friskiness is one thing, it’s OK to question the comperversion is another. Earplexities of sexuality and ly-life problems in parental that we’re here to support bonding are the root of them. I fear they’ll live for most conditions of sexual decades in awkwardness irregularity. because my niece’s minister father is —Sharon Offers An Opposing View beyond judgmental and insists love (and marriage) can only exist between one Dear SOAOV: Lemme guess, ShaMAN and one WOMAN. Is there any ron-Rhymes-With-Karen: many, many tactful way to ask someone if they’re years ago you caught your husband gay? Or to at least offer support if they with a cock in his mouth — the same are closeted? How do we let them know husband who was never big on initiating our little corner of the family will love and sex (at least with you) — and somehow support them? I wish someone had asked your husband managed to convince you it was just one of those things, just one —Union Not Concealing LGBTQ of those frisky things, a trip to the moon Energy on cocksucker wings, just one of those things. I’m here to tell you there wasn’t Dear UNCLE: Why would you go to just one. Your husband has sucked that wedding when it’s still possible to more cock than you know, SOAOV, plead pandemic? And avoid having to and less cock than he’d like. And for sit in a room full of unpleasant people the record: LGBT describes people, and their equally unpleasant friends? not patterns, and everything you claim Both real and imaginary? A group of — that we’re neurotic, that we can be people who are also highly likely to be cured, that we failed to bond with one unvaccinated? parent or bonded too much with another Anyway, UNCLE, if you’re out to — was debunked decades ago. I would the family about being queer and/or urge you to do a little reading but your being queer-friendly — it’s unclear time might be better spent checking what you ultimately figured out about in on your husband. Where is he right yourself — your work here is done. now?

Your niece knows queer people exist because you exist; she knows queer Send questions to mail@savagelove. people live openly because you live net, follow Dan on Twitter @fakedansavopenly. So she knows she has options age, and visit savagelovecast.com.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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JANEY HAWLEY FAT BIRD MARKETING

Shaking up Salt

How one Boulder chef reopened his restaurant and refocused on the people in the kitchen

by John Lehndorff

W

hen a space has been a restaurant almost continuously for nearly 75 years, it retains echoes of all the people who’ve eaten and worked there and all the meals they’ve had. inside Tom’s Tavern across from the bar and had a cheeseburger with fries in 1976 and the beer to try was the only Colorado brew: Coors Banquet. been open since it went into hibernation occupied at Tom’s Tavern.

glow of candles, the cocktails, the good bread and butter, the hot plates, the soft murmur, clatter and clink in the takeout from a plastic dish and of not doing the dishes.

My notes from that night included this statement: dining critic to admit. steamed with San Marzano tomatoes and vermouth, a Tuscan bean soup with sofrito, olive oil and rosemary.

The Cara Cara orange and shaved fennel salad was coup de grace-d with a topping of crunchy-creamy

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polenta croutons.

Bradford Heap grew up in Boulder eating at Tom’s Tavern, attending Fairview High School and cooking in local eateries before heading to California. He graduated trained in France and Monaco before returning to Boulder. at the Daily Camera. With partners, he went on to serve his fare at Chautauqua Dining Hall, Colterra in Niwot, Full Moon Grill, Wild Standard and Pepper the Noshery. left, Salt, and it was busy and doing well.

“Then one day they said: ‘No more indoor dining.’ We

process of reopening Salt in the spring with a new menu and a new service model that made pay more equitable for workers in the kitchen. With all the changes, he says started to rebuild a staff he faced the restaurant worker shortage every Boulder eatery now deals with.

The new lean reality means that the owner is wearing

still remains an advocate for sustainable, equitable and locally sourced food, but with a human emphasis.

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JANEY HAWLEY FAT BIRD MARKETING

The chef has had a thing for lamb since

pasta, Parmesan and garlic-seared chard.

Craft Lager.

LOCAL FOOD NEWS

TASTE OF THE WEEK

WORDS TO CHEW ON dain

—Anthony Bour-

John Lehndorff is the Boulder Weekly’s Food Editor. Comments: Nibbles@boulderweekly.com

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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TUE-THUR 4:30PM-9PM

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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t wouldn’t have happened without the pandemic.

“I would have been too busy with events,” Laura Lodge says. “And Candace probably wouldn’t have even had enough bandwidth to look at that opportunity to purchase the URL.” Lodge is the force behind the Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines Festival; the Customized Craft Beer Programs; and the author of Distribution Insight for the Craft Brewer.

Candace is Candace Moon, also known as The Craft Beer Attorney and author of Brew Law 101. And the URL is startabrewery.com, a recently launched website offering a Especially those from underserved wealth of information for those looking communities: to join the brewing industry and those “Somebody who’s aspiring to do this looking to improve their business. but doesn’t have a local brewery, doesn’t Lodge and Moon go back years. So have a mentor, doesn’t have a buddy that does the web address, but the pandemthey can work with, doesn’t have, you ic brought them together for this new know, an uncle to invest, doesn’t have venture. all of these resources that “We have all this inforLAURA LODGE many [other] brewery ownmation,” Lodge explains. ers have had,” she says.

“We’ve been presenting And it doesn’t just stop about distribution, about at information and tips. trademarks, about youLodge sees startabrewname-it in the legal and ery.com as a chance for events and distribution “chambers of commerce world for years. ... So, to and state organizations to have one place where say we have scholarships, people could go to get we have funds, we have the answer to all of those all sorts of opportunity.” questions ... just seems like An opportunity to raise the a slam dunk opportunity.” bar and help create “better Startabrewery.com startups, smarter startups, launched in May and aland startups that are really ready has 50-plus vetted contributors with integrating with their community.” posts covering everything from ingredi“I think [startabrewery.com] will be ents to designing tap handles. There’s an a good way to disseminate information endless string of known unknowns when about consciously building a culture,” opening a brewery, and Lodge knows Lodge continues. “In light of this whole their platform will be of service to anyone #MeToo craft beer reckoning that we’re and everyone entering the industry. going through right now, the need for

CANDACE MOON

‘To benefit the industry’

Laura Lodge on startabrewery.com

by Michael J. Casey

‘With regards to being inclusive’

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odge has been in the beer industry for a long time. Long enough to see the “huge strides” women in the industry have made.

“I don’t think we’re anywhere close to

opportunities offered,” she says. “There’s still a long way to go about treating women equitably, and that’s not necessarily just with opportunities — it’s with the day-to-day culture. And I think that the culture will drive or impede us from being better as an industry, with regards to being inclusive.

“If you have an open, mindful, respectful culture in your BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

information and resources is very apparent. And so to have a platform that is free and open and available to anybody and everybody, I think is really going to be helpful.”

Lodge plans to have advertisements pay for bandwidth and upkeep, so the content of startabrewery.com remainss free. That’s important to Lodge because, as she explains, subscription-based organizations or memberships tend to get backed into a corner by focusing on the topics the members are interested in.

“So, until there was a crisis, there wasn’t a lot of interested in ‘How do I develop the culture in my brewery?’”

Lodge says. “For a while, there was kind health focus. And there’s never really been a focus on liability or focus on just being a better employer.”

Lodge is quick to point out that startabrewery.com is not a substitute for programs already in existence. Nor is it designed to replace established educational resources.

“This is more of a funnel to get all the people who need that,” Lodge says. “This

brewery, you are more likely to be of interest to someone who might feel less comfortable in a different space,” Lodge continues. “Ultimately, I think it’s being better people, but it also takes work, and it takes money, and it takes time.

And that’s three things that brand-new brewers have very little of.

“There’s all this talk about your human resources people and continuing education and team building,” she continues. “None of that happens in a startup — in 99% of the startups — because there’s no money, and there’s no time.”

It’s an aspect that has to change. It starts with acknowledgement but requires action. Lodge remains hopeful that brewers, owners and customers can come together to create a respectful and “positive, inclusive space.” l

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

CARLY HERBERT

TRY THIS WEEK: Chicken Pesto Parm Bowl @ Sweetgreen

SWEETGREEN. 1601 Pearl St., Boulder, 720-259-3557, sweetgreen.com

IF YOU’RE LOOKING for a healthy lunch spot, Sweetgreen is the spot for you.

Although the restaurant is a chain with stores all across America, the clean, sleek interior makes it seem like a quaint local secret. The menu is full of fresh but hearty ingredients, including roasted sweet potatoes, portobello mushrooms and various tangy dressings. Looking for something with the perfect blend of fresh greens and warm grains? Try the Chicken Pesto Parm Bowl, packed with fresh spinach, quinoa, roasted chicken, thickly cut parmesan cheese, and covered with a zesty pesto dressing. Also, if you’re looking for a great side, try the Rosemary Foccacia bread, which is light and full of flavor despite its thick cut. Sweetgreen is the perfect place to stop in for a quick bite on your lunch break or for a light dinner.

— Carly Herbert

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1 SAL DIVINCENZO/SDVPHOTO.COM

Jamestown Fourth festivities feature pie contest, live music, parade

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he first local pie contest in two years takes place as part of July Fourth festivities in Jamestown. Fruit, berry and nut pie entries will go crust versus crust for prizes and kudos from veteran pie judges John Lehndorff, Karen DeVincenzo and Phillippa Ward. Kid pie makers are especially welcomed. Pies need to be dropped off by 9 a.m. but breakfast will be available until 11 a.m. in the town square with a parade at noon.

Jamestown’s July Fourth activities include pie tasting, music, a taco lunch, a wood splitting contest, kids’ games, artist vendors and a raffle in Elysian Park. Register for pie and cake contests by July 2: tinyurl.com/july4piecontest — John Lehndorff BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

COURTESY TOCABE

Marketplace offers true tastes of Indian Country

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’ve always loved the Indigenous menu ranging from bison ribs to fry bread served by Matt Chandra and Ben Jacobs at the two Denver locations of Tocabe, An American Indian Eatery.

Now, they’ve opened a new online service offering authentic ingredients to the public and support to native suppliers across the country. Tocabe Indigenous Marketplace products include wild rice (Red Lakes Nation) as well as honey, wheat berries, blue cornmeal, beans and maple products from Ziibimijwang Farm and bison from the Cheyenne River Sioux Nation. Some funds raised will benefit native community organizations. Information: shoptocabe.com — John Lehndorff

JULY 1, 2021

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Concentrated regulation

Could the recently signed “Regulating Marijuana Concentrates” law be the end of Colorado’s medicinal marijuana?

by Will Brendza

A

fter months of contentious debate, close to 30 amendments in the Colorado legislative session, and a veto request letter from over 100 medical marijuana doctors and nurses, HB1317 “Regulating Marijuana Concentrates” was signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis on June 24.

The controversial new legislation aims to get high potency cannabis out of the hands of Colorado’s youth and to learn more about the molecule’s effects on developing 18- to 20-year-old medical marijuana patients abusing concentrate THC products — like shatter, illegally diverting them to minors, or others their age.

However, opponents of the new law say it will effectively kill this state’s medical marijuana industry. They argue that this bill requires Colorado’s medical marijuana doctors to break DEA rules and it strips them of their ability to diagnose patients. Which is why Cannabis Clinicians Colorado (CCC) is suing the state, to stop its implementation.

The bill was sponsored by House Speaker Alec Garnett (D) from Denver, and Rep. Yadira Caraveo (D) from Thornton.

“The reality is that it’s too easy for Colorado’s youth to access high-potency marijuana when they shouldn’t be able to, and we don’t have the full picture of how these products impact the developing brain,” Garnett said at the bill’s signing.

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all medical marijuana licenses potency” level recommended for the patient, as well as dosage form, daily authorized dosages and directions for use — none of which were previously included in a cannabis

recommendation.

Martha Montemayor says that puts doctors at risk of violating DEA law. Montemayor directs the CCC, a network of medical marijuana health-care professionals tion blurs the legal line between “recommendation” and “prescription.” And because cannabis is still a schedule I substance, that distinction is very important for doctors to maintain.

“Doctors are allowed to talk to their patients about whatever they want,” Montemayor says.

“So as long as it is a ‘recommendation’ and not a ‘prescription,’ it doesn’t violate federal law.”

However, requiring authorized potency, recommended dosage and directions for use pushes medical marijuana doctors into risky territory, according to Montemayor.

Another big issue Montemayor points to is that it circumvents the Medical Practices Act, stripping marijuana doctors of their ability to diagnose patients. It also forces medical marijuana patients to pay for two separate medical visits: one to diagnose their “debilitating or disabling medical condition,” and another to get the cannabis recommendation written.

And it requires physicians check the patient’s mental health history, as well as their medical history, before issuing the medical marijuana recommendation.

Not only does that make it much harder and more

JULY 1, 2021

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Montemayor points out that it becomes a social equity issue. People without health insurance likely won’t be able to afford both of those visits; and even if they can, without access to prior medical records, they won’t be eligible for a cannabis recommendation.

“That makes it so that marijuana is only for people who have had health insurance consistently, and have access to their medical records,” Montemayor says.

The new law also reduces the quantity of THC concentrates a medical patient can purchase in a day.

Instead of being able to buy 40 grams of concentrate at once, medical patients — who use concentrates to treat epilepsy, chronic nausea, arthritis, insomnia and any number of other health issues — will be limited to purchasing just 8 grams in a day. Medical patients ages 18 to 20, however, will now be limited to purchasing just 2 grams a day.

The Colorado School of Public Health (CSPH) will the “possible” mental and physical health effects of using these substances at a young age, plus an educational outreach campaign.

Supporters of this bill argue these are logical regulatory steps to ensure that only 18-20-year-olds who really need access to cannabis concentrates are getting them. It also offers an opportunity for more research and a better understanding of how these substances affect developing brains.

To pro-cannabis activists like Montemayor, though, And it’s all being based on unsubstantiated claims from lobbies representing concerned parents, health-care organizations and anti-legalization organizations, like “Smart Approaches to Marijuana” — which ushered this bill along from conception to passage.

Montemayor says not a single cannabis specialist was consulted, however.

While she and her colleagues are fully in favor of helping stop the diversion of cannabis to minors, and fully in favor of research on cannabis and education, they cannot support this bill, claiming it will end Colorado’s medical marijuana program.

“We are suing the state to stop this bill from being enacted because it violates so many areas of the law,” she says. “It simply shouldn’t be implemented.”

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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