Indy - Sept. 27, 2023 Vol 31. No. 38

Japanese metal-core girl groups are converging on Colorado, and no one knows why

Our mission is to deliver the truth, build community and engage citizens.

PUBLISHER

Fran Zankowski

COVER DESIGN BY Zk Bradley

PHOTO Courtesy Hanabie.

EDITORIAL

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Bryan Grossman

MANAGING EDITOR Helen Lewis

COPY EDITOR Mary Jo Meade

SENIOR REPORTER Pam Zubeck

CULTURE REPORTER Nick Raven

CONTRIBUTORS

Heidi Beedle, Rob Brezsny, Bill Forman, Jim Hightower, Clay Jones, Mike Littwin, Matthew Schniper, Tom Tomorrow, Andrew “Shaggy”

Warren

ONLINE CONTRIBUTOR “Hiking Bob” Falcone

SALES

AD DIRECTOR Teri Homick

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Monty Hatch, Sean Cassady, David Jeffrey

ART AND PRODUCTION

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

Zk Bradley, Rowdy Tompkins

OPERATIONS

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Lanny Adams

DIGITAL/SOCIAL MEDIA SPECIALIST

Sean Cassady EVENTS, MARKETING & DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR

Tracie Woods

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THE WIRE

UTILITIES BILLING WOES ADDRESSED

Colorado Springs Utilities’ new $19.7 million customer billing system hit a few snags recently — bills weren’t sent to about 2,000 customers and then later those customers were double-billed.

Utilities spokesperson Danielle Nieves says via email, “We did experience issues with our autopay system after the launch of our new billing system.”

The autopay hiccups are being addressed via a $429,956 contract with Ernst & Young LLP, which also was involved in the original customer billing system for which it was paid $13.6 million as of July 1, records show. Another major contractor on the billing project was I3-Milestone LLC, which was paid nearly $1.9 million as of the end of May.

Nieves says the problem impacted “a small percentage of people” who signed up for autopay after the new system was launched.

“We did individually reach out to each of those customers, and assured them there would be no disconnection of services as a result of this error,” she says. “We also provided information to let those customers know they can set up a payment arrangement in order to get caught up on payments that didn’t automatically withdraw as intended.”

She says a notice wasn’t posted on Utilities’ website because most customers weren’t affected.

Since undertaking the project in 2021, vendor contracts have been amended several times to alter scope of work or add cost, records show.

Despite the issues, the City Auditor’s Office issued a report in July that said the billing system implementation “was effectively managed.”

NEW CLIMATE CORPS WILL TRAIN YOUNG PEOPLE FOR GREEN JOBS

President Joe Biden took executive action to create an American Climate Corps, a new service that, as Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colorado) says, takes a page from FDR’s New Deal Civilian Conservation Corps.

“Since first being elected to Congress, I have proudly championed leg-

ALLIANCE INCREASES FOURYEAR DEGREE OPTIONS AT PPSC

CSU Pueblo (Colorado State University Pueblo) and Pikes Peak State College announced a fiveyear deal on Sept. 20 that will enable students to complete an associate degree and a bachelor’s at one location.

“This transformative partnership ... will provide our students with the unique opportunity to easily transfer to CSU Pueblo to complete a fouryear degree,” CSU Pueblo President Dr. Timothy Mottet said in a news release.

Upper-level classes will be offered this fall for students to finish their associate degrees and seamlessly transfer to CSU Pueblo while remaining on the Centennial Campus. Course offerings include options to complete a bachelor’s and master’s degree in social work and a bachelor’s degree in criminology and sociology.

PPSC President Lance Bolton said in the release that the agreement helps streamline the transfer of credits for students seeking four-year degrees, creates pathways for military students and supports enrollment growth at both institutions.

The release said that nearly half of PPSC students intend to transfer to another school after earning an associate degree.

islation creating a new 21st century Civilian Climate Corps,” Neguse said in a news release. “One that will work for our generation, while taking inspiration from the program responsible for creating wonders across my home state of Colorado — from the Red Rocks Amphitheatre to the countless roads, trails, and campgrounds in Rocky Mountain National Park.”

The new agency will “mobilize Americans in response to the climate crisis,” creating a climate-focused workforce,

Matter of Record

The city’s Westside Community Center is accepting proposals from businesses and organizations interested in renting space for events with up to 150 guests. On Oct. 3, the center expands hours till 7 p.m. TuesdayThursday for evening programming. See coloradosprings.gov/WestsideCommunityCenter for details.

Amazon announced Sept. 19 that it’s hiring 1,290 people in Colorado Springs, part of its addition of 250,000 employees nationwide for full-time, seasonal and part-time jobs. Apply at amazon.com/apply.

The El Paso County Treasurer’s Office will hold its first-ever online tax lien sale on Oct. 17. About 3,000 properties will be sold after owners failed to pay taxes on them. The online auction, held by Realauction.com, will allow bidders nationwide to participate. Register as a buyer at elpaso. coloradotaxsale.com.

Brenda Sue Delgado Miller has announced she’ll run in 2024 for El Paso County commissioner in District 4, a seat held by Longinos Gonzalez Jr., who is term limited from seeking a third term. Miller is an Army veteran who works as a civilian at Army Space and Missile Command.

the release said.

The Colorado Sun reported that Biden’s order will mobilize thousands of young people who will learn to use climate-resilient strategies to conserve public lands.

The report also noted that the Colorado Youth Corps Association represents eight conservation corps across the state that perform tasks associated with climate, clean energy and wildfire prevention projects.

The White House issued a statement

saying, “The American Climate Corps will put a new generation of Americans to work conserving our lands and waters, bolstering community resilience, advancing environmental justice, deploying clean energy, implementing energy efficient technologies, and tackling climate change. American Climate Corps members will gain the skills necessary to access good-paying jobs that are aligned with high-quality employment opportunities after they complete their paid training or service program.”

Compiled by Pam Zubeck

El Paso County Commissioner Stan VanderWerf greets attendees at a recent “on the road” meeting. To his left are Commissioners Carrie Geitner, Longinos Gonzalez Jr. and Cami Bremer. Commissioner Holly Williams isn’t pictured. The final “on the road” meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31, at Fountain City Hall, 116 S. Main St., in Gonzalez’s Commissioner District 4.

Courtesy El Paso County

SWITCHING GEARS

The city will in-source fleet maintenance after decade-long private contract

BY PAM ZUBECK | zubeck@csindy.com

with the city increasing payment by about 20 percent that year and adding a consumer price escalator clause for 2018.

As for performance, in the contract’s third year, the Indy obtained documents through a records request that showed the city had imposed penalties for performance-related issues, including turnaround times for vehicle repairs.

Regardless, in 2018, the city elected to stick with Serco and canceled a request for proposals for a new five-year deal, citing issues with transitioning from one contractor to another.

AFTER CONTRACTING

with international firm Serco to maintain a fleet of nearly 5,000 vehicles, the city of Colorado Springs and Colorado Springs Utilities will switch gears and bring operations in-house while hiring dozens of workers.

The new operations, to begin on Jan. 1, 2024, will give the city more control over costs and quality of work, says Henry Martin, the city’s support services division manager who oversees the fleet.

“There’s a limited budget at the city,” he says. “Without throwing more money at a problem you tend to sacrifice quality. We saw rising costs.”

Recapping an analysis conducted in the last year of the fleet contract, he says, “We found we could internally do the job at a cost savings or at the same cost, and we could control our own quality.”

The difference this time: The city and Colorado Springs Utilities will each run their own fleet maintenance programs, rather than combining them, as they had prior to outsourcing.

Maintenance for the Colorado Springs Fire Department’s apparatus and spe -

cialty equipment remained in-house over the last decade, with the Fire Department managing that work. But CSFD’s SUVs and pickup trucks have been maintained as part of the outsourcing contract.

OUTSOURCING FLEET MAINTE -

nance was the brainchild of former Mayor Steve Bach, who served from 2011 to 2015. In 2014, he shut down fleet maintenance, laying off about 60 city workers, and hired Serco.

Bach’s goal was to save $4 million over the five-year contract term, despite paying $700,000 in severance pay to the laidoff workers. Part of the costs avoided by outsourcing were the city’s contributions to those workers’ pensions.

The City Auditor’s Office reported in 2017 that “the target cost was overpaid by $149,908 for invoices submitted from 2014 to 2016.” (It was difficult to compare Serco’s costs to city costs year-to-year, though, because the city’s fleet budget included fuel, fire truck maintenance and other things Serco’s did not.)

Those results came in late August 2015, three months after Bach turned things over to his successor, John Suthers,

after not seeking reelection.

A city audit of the contract’s first three years, in 2017, showed a savings of 30 percent less than expected.

In the contract’s fourth year, 2017, Serco demanded a 22 percent price increase, saying it had lost money in the first three years. That request was denied by the city and led Serco to file a lawsuit. But later the city filed a motion to dismiss — noting an internal process of dispute resolution had not been completed — and the judge dismissed the case.

Had the city granted the request for the increase, the contract would have risen to nearly $8.2 million by adding $1.4 million over the city’s 2016 cost, city information showed at that time.

The city took the position that the contract dictated any price increases in the fourth and fifth years would be tied to an inflation factor, which would limit the increase to 2.6 percent in 2017.

After a review panel heard the matter and sided with the city, Serco sued again in July 2017. That lawsuit was dismissed in August 2017 by mutual agreement,

A YEAR AGO, THE CITY ISSUED

A request for proposals for the outsourced fleet contract starting in 2024, Martin says.

A 13-member internal city panel reviewed the proposals and chose three finalists — Serco, King and George LLC, and Vector Fleet Management. (Vector withdrew before providing a cost estimate.)

Serco provided two estimates, with each based on different variables. The first totaled $15.3 million, with the city’s share coming to $8.3 million; the second totaled $16 million, with the city’s share coming to almost $8.7 million.

King and George proposed a cost of $13.5 million, with the city share totaling $7.4 million.

All those bids were higher than the $6.5 million the city paid Serco in 2022. (The city expects to pay Serco nearly $6.8 million this year.) Utilities paid Serco $5.7 million in 2022 and expects to spend $6.4 million with Serco this year.

The city canceled the RFP and revisited doing the work in-house.

“A very large consideration was cost,” Martin says. “I believe we’ll have a more cost-effective and quality process internally than we would have externally.”

— Henry Martin

This time, though, a few things will be different. First, the city and Utilities will operate their own maintenance operations. The city’s will be located at the longtime site at Fontanero Street and Interstate 25, and all five police substations will also have their own fleet operations to care for the city’s 2,800 vehicles.

Utilities will run four sites around the city to tend to its roughly 2,000 vehicles. Opting for insourcing stems from analysis of the priorities and needs of

We saw rising costs.

The city’s fleet includes thousands of vehicles like this truck being serviced at the Fontanero Street facility.

Courtesy city of Colorado Springs

the city and Utilities, Martin says. Each entity has specialized vehicles, and toppriority times could overlap. For example, snow plows would take top line for mechanics’ time during storms, while Utilities’ electric line repair vehicles could also be considered top priorities at the same time.

“The biggest concern I heard is the priority thing,” Martin says. “Everybody wants their vehicle to be maintained first, and Serco had a big task to manage priorities between the city and CSU and not everybody got the priorities they wanted.”

In addition, the two fleets are different. Utilities has specialized equipment used to respond to gas line leaks, water line breaks and the like, while the city’s fleet includes street sweepers and other specialty vehicles, as well as police cruisers.

Another difference under the new arrangement will be repair parts. The city won’t keep an inventory and doesn’t plan to purchase Serco’s stockpile. Rather, the city will competitively bid a contract for a parts supplier, Martin says, noting this strategy saves the city a big outlay of cash at the start of operations on Jan. 1. The city will buy parts as they’re needed from the supplier, which will have the option of whether to purchase parts accumulated by Serco.

That process, while seemingly good for all parties, gave rise to a finding of an “opportunity for improvement” by the City Auditor’s Office cited in an August 2023 audit report. The finding noted that Utilities began considering insourcing without telling the city, placing the city “in a reactive position.”

Like the city, Utilities wants more control over fleet maintenance and believes it can save $3.5 million over five years by insourcing, Utilities spokesperson Eric Isaacson says via email.

“Over the last five years, our average cost per work order has increased 37 percent and the number of work orders has also increased 14 percent,” he says.

“Based on the last four years of actuals from Serco, target costs (defined as preventative maintenance such as oil changes, tire rotations, etc.) have increased 43 percent and non-target costs have increased 228 percent.”

Utilities checked with 12 large public power operators and found that all but one maintained fleets in-house, he says.

NOW, THE CITY AND UTILITIES are in hiring mode.

The city has posted job openings for fleet technicians of varying skill levels, with pay rates ranging from $52,000 to $81,432 per year.

Utilities has posted job announce -

ments for fleet technicians with a pay range of $58,468 to $81,827 a year.

“I’m really excited about the insourcing option, to manage metrics and control quality and priority,” Martin says.

By insourcing, he adds, the city can focus on the employees and their development and training, which he predicts

will minimize turnover and inspire more “buy in” for what the city’s trying to accomplish. Overall, those factors, Martin says, will lead to greater professionalism and economic efficiency.

Isaacson echoed those thoughts, listing better technician retention as a plus of insourcing.

Employee retention is cited by the city and Utilities as a plus of insourcing.

BY BILL FORMAN

WHEN THE ETERNALLY PRESCIENT

Carl Jung came up with the term “synchronicity” as a way of describing a meaningful coincidence, he was most likely contemplating the upcoming invasion of our fair state by Japanese metal-core girl groups.

At first glance, it would appear to be a coordinated effort: BABYMETAL, the genre’s best-known act, will be headlining a sold-out show Sunday at Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium. The following night, their fast-rising heirs apparent Hanabie. will be coming down to the Springs to play The Black Sheep.

Given the timing and the fact that both bands are from Tokyo, it’s only natural to assume that they are touring together, and that Hanabie. will be opening for BABYMETAL up in Denver.

But that’s not actually the case. Hanabie. will be playing Denver on Sunday, but not on the same bill with BABYMETAL. Instead, they’ll be headlining their own show at the Marquis Theater, which has also sold out. The fact that both bands happen to be touring America at the same time, and that their paths will converge in Colorado, is merely coincidental.

All of which may be for the best. Geography and gender notwithstanding, the two bands are, in many ways, worlds apart.

J -POP IS ’T K-POP

After the entertainment industry realized the profit-making potential of treating music as product, it was only a matter of time before it began viewing artists the same way.

That’s been going on for a while. Back in the mid-1960s, auditions were held in L.A. for a television show that aimed to cash in on the success of The Beatles. Four musicians, all of whom were unknown to each other, became The Monkees, who broke network ratings records and scored dozens of hit singles.

Decades later, at the height of the reality television boom, a steady stream of star-struck singers competed for fame on America’s Got Talent, Star Search and American Idol

Around the same time, Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club had begun playing the unlikely role of incubator for teenage pop stars. Major success stories included Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, who started out in the prefab boy-band New Kids On The Block before launching a massively suc-

cessful career of his own.

Today, of course, the epicenter of the star-making machine is the K-pop industry, where young talents are trained in the art of singing, dancing, autographing merchandise and posing for endless selfies. Along the way, they’re reportedly pushed as close to the physical and psychological breaking point as necessary in order to create that next BLACKPINK or BTS.

Meanwhile, 700 miles away, Japan continues to make its own strides toward music world domination. J-pop groups, often referred to as idol groups, are now the driving force in the Japanese music market, with acts like Perfume and AKB48 attracting armies of devoted followers.

To get an idea of just how popular idol bands are in Japan, consider the over-the-top success of Auri Hirao’s If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die, a manga series about a woman who becomes obsessed with the least popular member of a minor idol group named Chamjam.

The books have so far sold more than 12 million copies, while the theme song to its anime television adaptation racked up more than 100 million streams on Spotify and YouTube within two weeks of its release. This summer also saw the theatrical release of a live-action film adaptation.

But while real-life Japanese idol bands are, in many cases, just as talented as their Korean counterparts, success beyond their country’s borders has eluded them… with one exception.

Japanese metal-core girl groups are converging on Colorado, and no one knows why

Over the past year, Ha abie.’s hard work has fi ally begu to pay off.

Courtesy Hanabie.

MILLIO -DOLLAR BABIES

BABYMETAL’s origins are about as far removed from the metal-core universe as you can get. Co-founders Yui Mizuo and Moa Kikuchi hadn’t yet reached their teens when, as a “sub-unit” of the J-pop group Sakura Gakuin, they began starring as hummingbird-sized angels in a series of TV commercials for one of Japan’s top fiber optic internet services.

After aging out of those roles, the two young performers were assigned by their management agency to work with Ken Kobayashi, one of the company’s top in-house producers, who was looking to create a girl group that could combine sugar-coated J-pop vocals with extremely heavy metal headbanging. The two teens weren’t all that familiar with the latter, but they were up for the challenge. And it all worked, brilliantly.

Like other boy bands and girl groups throughout history, BABYMETAL do not write their own songs. Nor do they play their own instruments, either onstage or in the studio. But their talent, charisma and choreography were unassailable. They also sported black baby-doll dresses, which made them stand out from the rest of the thrash pack.

In the years since, BABYMETAL has played numerous arena gigs, appeared on the covers of high-profile music and fashion magazines, and won over metal fans who were initially put off by their gimmick. They also just put out a new single featuring Tom Morello, who lent them additional credibility while bringing home one of his biggest paychecks since the early Rage Against the Machine days.

WE ARE OT KAWAII

In 2015, the same year that BABYMETAL released their Live at Budokan album, four classmates at an all-girl high school decided to started a band called Hanabie.

Their original plan was to play metal-core covers and have fun. But they soon began writing, performing and recording their own music, going the DIY route with a self-released single, EP and, finally, a full album called Girl’s Reform Manifest

Meanwhile, they gigged relentlessly, playing tongue-in-cheek anthems like “Sunrise Miso-Soup,” “Reinaldo Dating App Generation” and “We Love Sweets” at Tokyo’s “Live House” clubs, a semi-underground scene that embraces the raw energy of early punk venues like CBGB, but with better hygiene.

As their profile rose, they began referring to their music and image as “Harajukuan-Core,” Harajuku being a Tokyo neighborhood that celebrates urban fashion and cultural diversity. Their hope was to inoculate themselves against being tagged with BABYMETAL’s self-described “kawaii metal,” kawaii being the Japanese word for unbearably cute. (Think of it as magical girl anime vs. Hello Kitty.)

Over the past year, Hanabie.’s hard work has finally begun to pay off.

They made their first major festival appearance at Brazil’s Satanic Carnival, where they excitedly announced from the stage that they’d just signed to Sony Japan.

They’ve since released their first major label album — which incorporates the best and/or goofiest elements of metal, EDM, J-Pop, K-pop and bubble gum pop — and are now in the midst of their first headlining American tour.

To top it all off, Hanabie. recently surpassed 1.3 million streams on Spotify. And while that may not be as impressive as BLACKPINK’s 3 trillion, it’s a start.

IF YOU GO

• Hanabie., with Dropout Kings, Fox Lake and Runoff

• Sunday, Oct. 1, doors open 6 p.m.

• The Black Sheep, 2106 E. Platte Ave.

• $20, all ages, blacksheeprocks.com

• Check out Hanabie. at tinyurl.com/Hanabie-sounds

BABYMETAL will be headlining at Fillmore Auditorium in Denver this Sunday.

Hanabie. will not spare The Black Sheep during its Japanese metal-core invasion.

The heavy quintet performs in front of throngs of adoring fans.

Courtesy Hanabie. Courtesy Hanabie. Creative Commons

NO CIGAR

Judge denies D49 board member’s bid for spot on November ballot

BY HEIDI BEEDLE |

Colorado

Times Recorder

AN EL PASO COUNTY JUDGE ON Sept. 20 denied Colorado Springs School District 49 Board member Ivy Liu’s petition for injunctive relief, filed after Liu was not allowed onto the ballot for the Nov. 7 election.

In D49, board members represent specific geographic sub-districts, and Liu was removed from the race for D49’s District 5 seat. According to the ruling, “The Court finds that Petitioner was not a resident of DD5 when she picked up her election packet on August 25, 2023, and was not an elector eligible and qualified to run for office or be a candidate for office in DD5.”

Liu did attempt to change her residence to meet election requirements, but the court notes:

”The only apparent reason for Petitioner to move, which she implicitly admits in her texts and testimony, is to run for office in DD5. She claimed that she would rent a room from her daughter and that her daughter’s family would continue to reside at the [new address]. She could only cite one change of address that she has completed to date, changing her Amazon account to the [new address]. She has not changed her driver’s license address, mailing address with the post office, or any other address. She claimed her home was now rented out to other bona fide tenants, but admitted under cross-examination that she had been renting out rooms in her home for three years. She admitted she has not rented out her personal bedroom in Petitioner’s [old address]. Petitioner originally testified that her landlord was a ‘friend,’ but under cross examination admitted the landlord was her daughter.”

The court found that D49’s election official, Lanette DePaul, acted appropriately in denying Liu access to the ballot. “There is circumstantial evidence that one or both of the leases provided to [DePaul] were backdated by [Liu],” wrote Judge Thomas Kane. “[Liu] admitted she wrote to [DePaul] in text messages that she was having the landlord sign the lease electronically on August 24, that a prior lease had her moving in on August 25, and that the revised lease had her moving in on November 8. Since both leases provided by [Liu] were dated August 24 and [Liu] testified there were only two leases

between her and her daughter, at least one of them was backdated to August 24. [DePaul] is charged by statute to determine whether [Liu]’s nomination and application meet the qualifications and eligibility to be a candidate. When presented with conflicting accounts of residency, conflicting and possibly backdated leases, and a motive to game the system for cross purposes, [DePaul] reasonably concluded [Liu] was not credibly supporting her claim of residency in DD5.”

In addition to not meeting residency requirements, Liu also failed to gather the required number of signatures. “The Court finds that [Liu] provided the signatures of only 47 electors, three short of the requisite 50 needed to support her nomination,” wrote Kane. “[DePaul] properly excluded six of the seven signatories identified by [Liu] as electors that she argues should have been deemed electors by [DePaul].”

The seats up for grabs this year are those currently held by board President John Graham, board Vice President Rick Van Wieren, and Liu. In this historically conservative district, the election of Liu and Jamilynn D’Avola in 2021 marked a rightward shift in the district’s governance, which has led to a series of contentious board meetings.

D’Avola was the subject of a complaint last year from the Freedom From Religion Foundation for “proselytizing a student.”

Liu, who has been vocal in her support of conservative battles against critical race theory, social emotional learning and LGBTQ issues, has had a tumultuous term on the D49 board. In April 2022, Liu was removed from her position as treasurer and other committee assignments as a result of a harassment campaign against fellow board members Graham and Lori Thompson. In November 2022, Liu was officially censured by the board after quoting Adolf Hitler on social media. During Liu’s tenure, two top district executives resigned and Van Wieren told the Colorado Springs Independent in November 2022 that he anticipated the district would lose “dozens of employees as a result of what she’s doing.”

Now running unopposed for the District 5 seat is Mike Heil, a Navy veteran and parent who has served on D49’s Cultural Leadership Advisory Council and the Mill Levy Override Committee. During a Sept. 18 candi-

date forum, Heil discussed his position on social emotional learning, one of Liu’s favorite topics for fomenting conservative outrage.

“I think the key word there in social emotional learning is ‘learning’ and that’s what we’re here to do in school,” said Heil. “It’s absolutely vital for the teacher to be able to foster respect among the student body so that they can focus on what they’re there to do, and that is academics. As far as the controversies around it — we’ve asked again and again and again for evidence of ill intent and nobody has actually come forward and produced any, so as somebody who will always be driven by evidence, I can’t take that concern very seriously.”

Running for the District 2 seat is Debra Schmidt, who did not take part in the Sept. 18 forum. Schmidt is a Liu ally who in April filed a lawsuit against D49 after she was removed from a February board meeting for holding up a sign with the words “Rick Lori John RESIGN.”

Running against Schmidt is Candace Lehman, a retiree who decided to run because she “heard the divisiveness and inflammatory rhetoric in other districts in Colorado and in District 49 so I decided to run. Hopefully I can bring back respect and dignity and still hear and respond to all opinions. In my previous job I had to work with multiple departments with different needs and goals to put together a cohesive project packet to present to customers. I believe that I can listen and hear all sides to implement the best policies and procedures for all stakeholders in the district.”

In District 3, retired Marine Mark Cravens, former teacher Marie LaVere-Wright, and mom Ralene Revord are competing for the seat. Revord did not respond to the D49 Student Board of Representatives’ candidate survey [d49.org/Page/10382] or attend the Sept. 18 forum, but her website features the endorsement of El Paso County Commissioner Carrie Geitner. At a July 11 meeting, Geitner pushed the county board to deny a $20,750 Community Development Block Grant to The PLACE, a nonprofit that helps youths exit homelessness, over Geitner’s concerns related to abortion and parents’ rights.

Ballots will be mailed to voters in mid-October.

[Liu] was not credibly supporting her claim of residency in DD5.

— Judge Thomas Kane

Pro-school Neighbors For Education members called on Liu to resign at a special board meeting in 2022.

Liu was stripped of her board assignments in 2022.

File photo

Courtesy

D49

BY MATTHEW SCHNIPER

DO UP-FRONT PAYMENTS DULL the sparkle of Michelin’s stars?

THE TALK OF THE

town in culinary circles and beyond is the recent announcement of The Michelin Guide awards doled out in Denver, Boulder and Aspen. Five single stars plus a couple green stars (for sustainability) and several Bib Gourmand nods (best value for cost).

This is the first year Michelin has covered Colorado’s food scene, generating local excitement over their prestigious culinary king-making. But along with photos of (rightfully) ecstatic restaurateurs and chefs hugging the puffy Michelin Man mascot, you’ll also encounter lots of laments and a mild backlash across social media pages. Not because of who didn’t win, but because of the big money behind Michelin’s grading system.

In part, we can thank a New York Times article published the same day as the Michelin award ceremony at Mission Ballroom in Denver: “Michelin’s Coveted Stars Can Come With Some Costs.” Subhead: “As its universe of dining guides expands to new places, the company is asking those regions to help pay the bill. And some chefs fear the honors are fostering a world of restaurant clones.”

The article, by Julia Moskin, quotes outspoken C. Springs celebrity chef and mental health activist Brother Luck as disappointed that the state’s second-largest city was left out. But many of us also came to learn through the story that Denver, Boulder and several ski towns had paid Michelin between $70,000 and $100,000 to be included for consideration, while the Colorado Tourism Office also kicked in $100,000 (for this year, agreeing to pay that annually for three years). Aurora and Colorado Springs declined to participate. CTO Director Tim Wolfe was quoted as saying, “If Colorado Springs wanted to get involved, they have to get involved.”

Visit COS declined to comment to the Times on the matter, and when I reached out to them on Sept. 13 with a friendly appeal to hook a local reporter invested in our community up with a quote, I was also told “VCOS will not be commenting at this time.” (It was worth a try.)

I posted the NYTimes article on our Culinary Colorado Springs Facebook group, soliciting opinions on the matter. Among those who commented was Brother Luck: “At the end of the day awards and recognition should not be why we do this. I think ‘pay to play’ is wrong. Top Chef [on which Luck appeared] does the same thing when deciding which city to film. After my [NYTimes] interview, I had a great conversation with [Visit COS President and CEO] Doug Price to better understand the finan-

continued on p. 10 ➔

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20 E. COLORADO AVE. | 719-633-2888 | COLORADOSAIGONCAFE.COM

Open for Lunch and Dinner Mon-Sat. Welcome to the Saigon Café the award winning Vietnamese restaurant in Colorado Springs. Our cuisine is cooked with fresh vegetables, herbs and meats in authentic Vietnamese style. Try our renowned noodle bowl, a lunchtime favorite. M-Th 11AM–3PM; 4PM–8:30PM F-Sat 11AM–3PM; 4PM-9:30PM

BIRD DOG BBQ

ASIAN BBQ

3 LOCATIONS + CATERING | BIRDDOGBBQ.COM | 719-573-7671

Bird Dog now offers online ordering from the location of your choice! Order and pay online, then skip the line when you pick it up! Visit our website at www.BirdDogBBQ.com and click ORDER ONLINE to place your order. We also offer our award-winning catering services in individuallyboxed meals! Call 719-573-7671 for details.

CRAFT PUB

ODYSSEY GASTROPUB

311 N. TEJON ST. | 719-999-5127 | ODYSS EYGASTROPUB.COM

Voted Best New Restaurant 2015 by Indy readers. Specializing in an eclectic mix of craft food, craft beer, and craft cocktails. Odyssey Gastropub is a downtown gem with a warm, intimate atmosphere and awesome staff. Start your adventure with us! Mon.- Fri. 11am - 10pm, Sat. & Sun. 10am - 10pm

YOUR RESTAURANT HERE

Call your sales rep today to advertise your establishment.

PAID

Chef Jose Avila, La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal

Courtesy Chef Jose Avila, La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal

PAID ADVERTISEMENT • 719.577.4545

GERMAN

EDELWEISS RESTAURANT

34 E. RAMONA AVE. | (SOUTH NEVADA & TEJON) | 719-633-2220

For 50 Years Edelweiss has brought Bavaria to Colorado Springs. Using fresh ingredients, the menu invites you to visit Germany. Support local business! We’re open and doing drive-thru and takeout with a limited menu that can be found on our website! www. edelweissrest.com.

SOUTHWESTERN/MEXICAN

JOSÉ MULDOON’S

222 N. TEJON ST. | 719-636-2311 | 5710 S. CAREFREE CR @ POWERS | 719-574-5673

Since 1974. Features authentic Tex-Mex & Mexican fare in contemporary Sante Fe-styled establishment. Across from Acacia Park, and west of Powers & Carefree. Josemuldoons.com. Support local restaurants! We are open for delivery, carry out, and dine-in at both locations! Please check our Facebook page for hours daily, as they are subject to change.

STEAKHOUSE

THE FAMOUS

31 N. TEJON ST. | DOWNTOWN | 719-227-7333

Colorado Springs’ finest upscale steak house and lounge located in the center of downtown. Dine in an elegant and classic steak house environment. Award winning prime steaks, fresh seafood, premium wines, craft brews and piano bar provide a provocative mix of atmosphere and entertainment. Reservations suggested.

MACKENZIE’S CHOP HOUSE

128 S. TEJON ST. HISTORIC ALAMO BUILDING | DOWNTOWN | 719-635-3536

Offering half off all bottles of wine under $100! Voted Best Power Lunch, Steakhouse and Martini! Downtown’s choice for quality meats and mixed drinks. Mackenzieschophouse.com. Open Mon.-Fri. 11:30am-3pm for lunch, and 5pm- close every day for dinner!

cial decision of not participating. He made the right call. I personally don’t think any of these platforms should justify our value. The staff and customer experience will always tell you the truth of where you’re really at. None of us are perfect so why chase the unattainable?”

That may be as close to an answer as we’ll get to why our area’s marketing organization declined to pony up several hundred thousand dollars over the next few years. Indeed, would it be the wisest use of public funding? (Much of which comes through our local Lodgers and Automobile Rental Tax, mostly paid by tourists.) And if we’re honest, how many stars or even Bib Gourmand designations do we really think we’d win today? (Side thought: Maybe The Broadmoor alone should have ponied up because they’d stand a chance with the Summit or Ristorante Del Lago. In effect they could have benevolently sponsored others in the area to at least get judging attention.)

A couple other (local, independent) chefs commented on my post. Hannah Cupples said, “Ever since culinary came into fashion in the public eye, the standards for what actually makes good food has taken a sharp detour from quality and actual skill to attention and clout-chasing. It’s a popularity contest.”

Talor Migliaccio said, “… I think [the film] The Menu gives a fine commentary on Michelin. Also, I think the story of Noma [which dominated the culinary world for 20 years but has announced it’s closing] is quite telling. The pursuit of stars and the (imo) misguided chasing of art over amazing food has [led] to a twisting/corruption of what food even is. The boundaries of flavor must always be pushed, but the molecular gastronomic direction, and the elitist push of hyper locality may have gone too far. These attributes are not exclusive to the food world. The boundaries on wine, whiskey, and other spirits are being pushed similarly. As I see it, we are going through a revolution of sorts, where the very value of food and those who make/serve it is being challenged…”

I later heard from another chef (they weren’t ready to comment officially, as they were gathering more data about Michelin’s impact on other cities/states) who felt that Visit COS had missed an opportunity to draw more international tourism to our area. They felt the culinary scene had been slighted, and that city entities had ponied up big bucks in the past for other projects/efforts — why not invest in this tourist-adjacent industry?

FOR MY PART — AND I WON’T LAUNCH INTO ANY OVERLY GRAND EDItorializing here — I will say it’s obviously not a perfect system. Michelin as a business needs to make money to pay for reviews at the most expensive eateries internationally (which includes travel, lodging and peripheral costs) in addition to all other standard operating costs at a big-business level. Who’s going to pay for it? Obviously not the restaurants directly, which would be a conflict of interest. (There goes my Broadmoor idea.) So is asking municipal/regional tourism boards to pony up money (in addition to seeking corporate sponsorships) truly a faux pas? Would it be any less insulting if the dollar figure was lower, maybe $25,000 or less? What would make up the margin, assuming it’s not over-padded with profit?

PAID ADVERTISEMENT • 719.577.4545

Back to Brother Luck’s point about chasing awards. Sure, humility wins the day. But eaters are still going to want professional restaurant reviews (like the ones I provide at Side Dish with Schniper, ahem) to help sort out all the suspect ones listed on rating sites like Yelp. I’ve perused Michelin guides and lots of local-to-my-travel-destination media resources to curate my own to-do/to-eat lists when I travel. We’re all chasing the dragon when we seek out our next memorable (and likely expensive) meal. Someone’s got to sort through the middling malaise to find the sweet spots. Comment at csindy.com and/or sidedishschnip.substack.com to weigh in.

You won’t find any Springs establishments on this list.

Courtesy Victor Matthew, Paragon Culinary School ➔ continued from p. 9

IN BRIEF

• Chef Noah Siebenaller (State of Plate, Episode 4, csindy.com) will leave Cheyenne Mountain Resort at month’s end. “I’ve taken an [executive chef] position with Quality Branded out of NYC,” he tells Side Dish. “I’ll be the EC for 3 of their brands in Cherry Creek”: Kini’s, Cretans, and Chez Roc. Congrats, chef! His departure will be a loss to the Springs’ scene.

• A third C. Springs Graze Craze (grazecraze.com/southeast-colorado-springs-co) location recently opened at 2035 B St. The franchise has more than 30 locations across roughly 20 states, with more on the way. They claim to be “the innovator in an attractive food trend sweeping the nation known as “grazing.”

• Stellina Pizza Cafe (749 E. Willamette Ave., stellinapizza.co) kicked off its monthly, five-course Supper Club Series on Sept. 18. Next up: 6 p.m., Oct. 16; $65.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Thursday, Sept. 28 to Oct. 1: Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort hosts the Folk’n’Flannel Festival & Fundraiser for UpaDowna (upadowna.org/folknflannel-festival-fundraiser). Craft beers and spirits plus food trucks.

• Sept. 29: Dead Man’s Brewfest (switchbacksfc.com/dead-mans-brewfest) includes beers, wines and liquors at Weidner Field.

• Multiple Oktoberfests are happening around the area in the coming days/weeks. Focus on the Beer has a comprehensive rundown at tinyurl.com/FOB-fests.

Matthew Schniper is the former Food & Drink editor and critic at the Indy. You can find expanded food and drink news and reviews at sidedishschnip.substack.com.

Chef Noah Siebenaller

stock.adobe.com

PLAYING AROUND

(1,203 performances)

2. The Move’s “California Man” (1,162 performances)

3. Big Star’s “In the Streets” (504 performances)

4. Velvet Underground’s “Waiting for My Man” (398 performances)

Small wonder then that the no-lesseclectic Kurt Cobain frequently sang the band’s praises. “I’ll be the first to admit,” he wrote in the liner notes to Nirvana’s Insecticide album, “that we’re the ’90s version of Cheap Trick.”

YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE to judge books by their covers, but rock bands are another story.

With the exception of that mercifully brief period when bands were doing ironic hardcore versions of Barry Manilow and Captain & Tennille songs, the covers that musicians play onstage can tell you a lot, not only about the music they love, but also, in many cases, what inspired them to follow their own muse.

WEDNESDAY, 9/27

Attila, metalcore, with Gideon, ten56., Until I Wake, Devil’s Cut, Fighting the Phoenix ; 5:30 p.m., The Black Sheep, blacksheeprocks.com.

Al Chesis, blues ; 7 p.m., Jack Quinn’s, facebook.com/jackquinns.

Grass It Up, bluegrass; 6:30 p.m., Front Range Barbeque, frbbq.com/events.

Pikes Peak Jazz Guitar Summit: Jazz guitarist Joel Harrison, with Gary Versace (piano), Gregory Tardy (bass), EJ Strickland (drums) and top regional guitarists; 6-9 p.m., Armadillo Ranch, manitouarmadilloranch.com.

SofaKillers, covers; John Wise & Tribe, New Orleans R&B/blues/jazz/island; Brandon Henderson, singer-songwriter ; 6 p.m., Hillside Gardens, hillsidecolorado.com/upcoming-events.

Springs Contemporary Jazz Big Band; 6 p.m., Bancroft Park, facebook.com/ SCJBB.

THURSDAY, 9/28

John Adams Band, John Denver tribute; 7 p.m., Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts, trilakesarts.org.

Big Richard, bluegrass/country/pop, with The Cody Sisters; 8 p.m., Lulu’s, lulusdownstairs.com.

Blackthorn, traditional Celtic ; 7 p.m.,

A good example would be Cheap Trick, the Rockford, Illinois, power-pop band best known for their multi-platinum At Budokan album as well as hookladen hits like “The Flame,” “Surrender,” “ELO Kiddies” and the inescapable “I Want You to Want Me.”

Based on the more than 2,000 setlists that fans have posted online, Cheap Trick’s most-performed cover songs are as follows:

1. Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That a Shame”

Cheap Trick, in turn, recruited Nirvana producer Steve Albini to go into the studio with them and re-record the band’s sophomore album In Color, which brought out more of the rock and punk inspirations that their label bleached out in favor of a more AM-radio-friendly sound. Sadly, the reworked album never saw the light of day, but you can find a leaked version of it online (see link below).

None of this is to take away from the band’s history of commercial successes. But like the At Budokan album, it lends further credence to Cheap Trick’s longstanding reputation as “the best fucking rock band you’ve ever seen.” A bit overstated, perhaps, but not all that far from the truth. —

Bill Forman

Jack Quinn’s, facebook.com/jackquinns.

Folk’n’Flannel Festival, Colorado bands/ UpaDowna fundraiser, through Oct. 1, Buffalo Lodge, see tinyurl.com/FnF-fest for more info.

Steve Langemo Trio, jazz ; 7:30 p.m., Summa, dizzycharlies.com.

USAFA Band’s Academy Winds, new works by Ofer Ben-Amots, Reggie Berg, Chris Glassman, Andrew Friedrichs; 7 p.m., Packard Hall/CC, tinyurl. com/cc-premieres.

Dizzy Wright, rap, with Jarren Benton & Demrick; 7 p.m., The Black Sheep, blacksheeprocks.com.

FRIDAY, 9/29

The Doctor Fine Rhythm & Blues Revue, ’50s-’70s soul; 7 p.m., Stargazers Theatre, stargazerstheatre.com.

Eternal Temples, reggae/rock/space funk/jam fusion ; 8 p.m., Armadillo Ranch, manitouarmadilloranch.com.

Folk’n’Flannel Festival, Colorado bands/ UpaDowna fundraiser, through Oct. 1, Buffalo Lodge, tinyurl.com/FnF-fest.

Goya, rock ; 8 p.m., Good Company Bar, goodcompanybar.com/events.

Rob Leines, Southern rock ; 7:30 p.m., Brues Alehouse, Pueblo, bruesalehouse.com.

Letdown., singer-songwriter, with JØhn Tyler, Long/Last ; 7 p.m., Vultures, vulturesrocks.com.

Mike Massé, acoustic/rock , with Nikki Giron; 8 p.m., Oskar Blues, coloradosprings.oskarbluesfooderies.com.

Chuck Snow, singer-songwriter; 8 p.m., Jack Quinn’s, facebook.com/jackquinns.

The SteelDrivers, Americana/bluegrass ; 7 p.m., Boot Barn Hall, bootbarnhallco.com.

Sueco, pop rap/ trap/pop punk , with 44Blonde; 7 p.m., The Black Sheep, blacksheeprocks.com.

Tava Blue, eclectic rock ; 7 p.m., Crystola Roadhouse, Woodland Park, crystolaroadhouse.bar.

The Truth Project Band, jazz ; 7 p.m., Summa, dizzycharlies.com.

WAR, funk/rock/soul; 7:30 p.m., Pikes Peak Center, pikespeakcenter.com.

Jon Wolfe, singer-songwriter ; 6 p.m., Whiskey Baron Dance Hall & Saloon, tinyurl.com/whisk-dh.

SATURDAY, 9/30

28 Years of Son Volt: Songs of Trace and Doug Sahm, Americana, with Peter Bruntnell; 8 p.m., Lulu’s, lulusdownstairs.com. Jeffrey Alan Band, country/rock ; 6 p.m.,

Whiskey Baron Dance Hall & Saloon, tinyurl.com/whisk-dh.

Blues on the Mesa: Damon Fowler and Jason Ricci, Too Slim & the Taildraggers, Deborah Stafford & the Night Stalkers, Austin Young Band, Scott “Shack” Hackler ; 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Gold Hill Mesa, bluesonthemesa.org. Brahms, Colorado Springs Philharmonic; 2:30 p.m., Pikes Peak Center, csphilharmonic.org/event/brahms.

The Brothers Landreth, alt-country/ folk , with O’Connor Brothers Band, Roman Clarke; 7 p.m., Oskar Blues, coloradosprings.oskarbluesfooderies.com.

Dear Summer Fest, with Anonymous

Fred, Anwar Mercury, Bryse Taylor, CYOTI, Dante M’$ and Jahndi Anres, Dobbie Danx, Dog Tags, Estephanyart, Faerret, Fountain of Youth, Jaedawn, Jevion Ice, Mango Slushy, Neeks, Noah Vale, Saint Law, The Hardly Nevers, Trey Armstrong, Yung Boy Prophet, Yvng MC; Soda

Springs Park, Manitou, dearsummer fest.com/musiclineup

Jeremy Facknitz Band, Friends House Concert; 7:30 p.m., 719-373-8879.

Folk’n’Flannel Festival, Colorado bands/UpaDowna fundraiser, through Oct. 1, Buffalo Lodge, see tinyurl.com/FnF-fest for more info.

Gnome, stoner/prog/hard rock , with BoneHawk ; 7 p.m., Vultures, vulturesrocks.com.

Hell’s Circus, metal , with 2nd Horseman, Ram Savage; 9 p.m., Legends Rock Bar, facebook.com/LegendsRocksCO.

Kings of Prussia, Phish tribute; 9 p.m., Armadillo Ranch, manitouarmadilloranch.com.

The Long Run, Eagles tribute; 7 p.m., Stargazers Theatre, stargazerstheatre. com.

Pacific Dub, hip-hop/rock/reggae, with

BIG GIGS

Upcoming music events

Tunnel Vision; 7 p.m., The Black Sheep, blacksheeprocks.com.

School of Rock, rock ; 7:30 p.m., Jack Quinn’s, facebook.com/jackquinns.

SUNDAY, 10/1

Brahms, Colorado Springs Philharmonic; 7:30 p.m., Pikes Peak Center, csphilharmonic.org/event/brahms.

Folk’n’Flannel Festival, Colorado bands/UpaDowna fundraiser, Buffalo Lodge, see tinyurl.com/FnF-fest for more info.

Hanabie., metalcore band from Tokyo, with Dropout Kings, Fox Lake, Runoff ; 6 p.m., The Black Sheep, blacksheeprocks.com.

Traditional Irish music; 3 p.m., Jack Quinn’s, facebook.com/jackquinns.

A Vintage Future, pop, with Oryad, Fell Harvest; 7 p.m., Vultures, vulturesrocks.com.

The Chats (Aussies who play “shed rock”) take The Black Sheep stage on Oct. 7 with Cosmic Psychos, The Schizophonics and Gymshorts.

The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie, Mission Ballroom, Denver, Sept. 27

03 Greedo, Cervantes’ Other Side, Denver, Sept. 27

Attila, Black Sheep, Sept. 27

Erin Rae, Lost Lake Lounge, Denver, Sept. 27

Tyler Childers, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Sept. 27-28

Derrick, Black Sheep, Sept. 28

Girl Named Tom, Bluebird Theater, Denver, Sept. 28

Big Richard, Lulu’s, Sept. 28

Dizzy Wright, Black Sheep, Sept. 28

Big Gigantic, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Sept. 29

Squeeze and The Psychedelic Furs, Bellco Theatre, Denver, Sept. 29

Sueco, Black Sheep, Sept. 29

Queens of the Stone Age, Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre, Englewood, Sept. 29

Trace Bundy, Boulder Theater, Boulder, Sept. 29

Charlotte de Witte, Mission Ballroom, Denver, Sept. 30

BABYMETAL, Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, Sept. 30

Samantha Fish, Gothic Theatre, Englewood, Sept. 30

Hanabie., Marquis Theater, Denver, Sept. 30

Snarky Puppy, Ogden Theatre, Denver, Sept. 30

The Mission UK, Oriental Theater, Denver, Sept. 30

Pacific Dub, Black Sheep, Sept. 30

Lastlings, Summit, Denver, Sept. 30

Pueblopalooza Music & Arts Festival, Analogue Books and Records, Pueblo, Sept. 30

Brahms/Colorado Springs Symphony, Pikes Peak Center, Sept. 30-Oct. 1

Continued at csindy.com

MONDAY, 10/2

LOOK’EE HERE!, blues; 5:30 p.m., Armadillo Ranch, manitouarmadilloranch. com.

WEDNESDAY,

10/4

8th Street Alley, rock ; 6:30 p.m., Front Range Barbeque, frbbq.com/events. Oktoberfest! Polka Folk; John Wise & Tribe, New Orleans R&B/blues/jazz/ island ; 6 p.m., Hillside Gardens, hillsidecolorado.com/upcoming-events.

THURSDAY, 10/5

Ivano Ascari (trumpet) and Leonardo Carrieri (organ); 7 p.m., Shove Chapel/ CC, tinyurl.com/CC-Sheffer.

The Kaleidoscope Kid, hip-hop/rap ; 7 p.m.; Oskar Blues, coloradosprings. oskarbluesfooderies.com.

Moodlite, alternative electro-soul, with Daddi; 8 p.m., Lulu’s, lulusdownstairs. com.

Roots & Boots: Aaron Tippin, Sammy Kershaw, Collin Raye; 7 p.m., Boot Barn Hall, bootbarnhallco.com.

Luke Henery

Scott “Shack” Hackler joins this year’s Blues on the Mesa lineup.

BACKYARD DOCUMENTARIES

Youth Documentary Academy celebrates 10 years of teaching new storytellers

BY NICK RAVEN | nick@csindy.com

YOUTH DOCUMENTARY

Academy took to Denver’s Sie FilmCenter this month to celebrate a decade of teaching underserved local youths how to tell their stories through the medium. The Colorado Springs-based summer program — based at Pikes Peak State College — graduates a small class of new high school-aged storytellers each year.

“When the audience was asked to raise their hands if this was the first time they’d seen a YDA film or been to a YDA screening, three quarters did so,” says Tom Shepard, documentary filmmaker and YDA founder.

YDA screened four of the program’s highest-profile and award-winning works, including Skinned Knees — Olive Van Eimeren’s short film documenting her trek to Grand Junction to interview her estranged biological father — and Under the Wire, Madison Legg’s Heartland Emmy Award-winning short film about teen suicide.

“It was exciting to bring some of our award winners to such a new audience,” Shepard says, stating that those in attendance included the film commissioner of Colorado and Denver Public Schools staff. “The bad-assery was palpable in the theater.”

For Shepard, the celebration wasn’t just a milestone on a calendar; it was recognition of how the program has grown and found acceptance, sought out now by Denver Film, Aspen Film Festival and the Windrider Bay Area Film Forum. Their stories on mental health, diversity and equity have attracted financial sponsors including Kaiser Permanente and encouraged school districts to join in on the conversations these young filmmakers are starting.

“In the first few years, very few people knew about us,” Shepard says. “We were always having to beat the drum to capture folks’ attention and to build an audience. Now folks are approaching us.”

Shepard grew up in Colorado Springs,

where his family has lived for several generations. With eyes on medical school, he attended Stanford University, graduating with a degree in human biology. He earned a certificate in film production on the side, but it wasn’t until he began working as an editorial assistant for NPR’s Linda Wertheimer in Washington, D.C., that he fell in love with storytelling. His directorial debut, 2001’s Scout’s Honor, was based on the Boy Scouts of America’s decades-long cover-up of sexual abuse allegations in the organization.

Returning to the Springs to support his family and ailing father, Shepard networked with local filmmakers and entities including Rocky Mountain Women’s Film and Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College about starting a documentary academy locally.

“You see them in San Francisco, L.A. and New York, but they don’t exist in most of the middle of the country,” Shepard says. “People asked me, ‘Why

didn’t you do this in California, where you were living?’ And it was because, especially in the Bay Area, it’s an echo chamber. I think in Colorado Springs, we’ll have a young person whose family are active members of the New Life Church sitting next to a kid who’s in the LGBT community sitting next to a kid who’s a first-generation immigrant sitting next to a kid whose parents are in the Air Force. To me, that’s pluralism. That’s democracy at its best.”

Inspired by mentorship from experienced crew members working on Scout’s Honor, Shepard wanted to use industry-standard film equipment and instruction by professional filmmakers to teach filmmaking to young storytellers with diverse backgrounds.

“We talked a lot about equity in the arts and the equity rubber really hits the road when you put cameras in the hands of young people, train them and get out of the way,” Shepard says. “I don’t know if we necessarily knew that those young people were going to make powerful films that amplify their voices, but I also don’t know if we appreciated that they were going to [use film] to work through some very difficult issues in their lives.”

YOUTH

DOCUMENTARY ACADE-

my was founded in April 2014 with classes starting that summer at the Fine Arts Center with the financial support of thenPikes Peak Community College and other donors. From its very first class, After War — Bailey Francisco’s documentary about his father’s struggles with PTSD — won the All-American High School Film Festival’s Best in Show award in NYC, the first of YDA’s many accolades.

New students are accepted into YDA with their story pitches in hand, leading them to spend their eight weeks in the program focusing intensely on story development, technical education, shooting and editing. That most of the projects coming out of the program wind up becoming intimate portraits of the student, their family or their community is a product of the program’s design.

“Eighty percent of documentary filmmaking is access,” says Shepard. “More often than not, it becomes those first-person stories because that’s what they have access to. Student filmmakers are on both sides of the camera — they’re making a film but then they also might be in it, or their parents might be in it. They go to their [family’s] social media archives and we’ll find this trove of found footage that is so personal, like home movies.”

Kareem Hooper, a 2022 graduate, receives instruction from YDA teacher and director of operations Mona Adelgren.

Alongside their more grounded, hardhitting and emotional works on social issues are more colorful films like Sonder, a meditation on life from 2022 graduate and musician Logan Richardson. It’s a kind of filmic portrait, says Shepard, that’s become increasingly popular among students.

As film production has become more democratized in YDA’s first decade, allowing a new generation of content creators to make movies from the comfort of their homes with cameras they carry in their pockets, students rely less on conventional talking head interviews. While trends change, what hasn’t changed is the shape of the program’s core mission.

“I think the most useful skill that we impart is really around storytelling,” Shepard says. “Maybe they’ve shot a whole bunch of stuff, they may have a YouTube channel, they may have learned lighting from tutorials, but what they haven’t done is transpose an idea — especially if it’s their own story — into visual storytelling.”

TO YOUNG FILMMAKERS SHOOTing vertical videos on their phones, YDA’s approach to distribution might seem like something out of the old world. Graduate projects aren’t immediately blasted out onto YouTube for family, friends and millions of others around the world to see, they’re curated into film festivals and placed behind Vimeo passwords. This gated approach has allowed

them to build the promotional muscle and exclusivity that’s supported the program’s growth, especially when the subject matter of many of their student works isn’t friendly to the algorithms that drive views on video platforms.

In 2019, YDA created Our Time, a show that allowed them to cut pairs of their students’ 10- to 12-minute short films into standalone episodes. The show now plays on 80 percent of PBS stations across the country, granting them access to a strong national brand with a built-in audience. It also allows them to compete for television awards.

While Shepard and YDA participants dream of financial support that would cut the volunteer hours required of them, he says the organization is gaining attention and thriving. Those involved look forward to expanding to additional film festivals, where they’ll become more broadly implemented instruments to begin conversations about matters affecting youths in Colorado Springs and across America.

Long-term, they’d like to be able to replicate YDA’s success in underserved Midwest towns, allowing them to better document their own local legacies through film.

“I think that even if YDA were to shut down in 10 or 20 years,” Shepard says, “We have 30 years of time capsules of maybe historical, cultural and social narratives that don’t always make the front page of the newspaper.”

In the first few years, very few people knew about us. Now folks are approaching us.

— Tom Shepard

Alayshia McCall’s 2023 film is about mental health in the Black community.

Courtesy Youth Documentary Academy

Your guide to events in the Pikes Peak region CALENDAR

ART EVENTS

October is Arts Month, when we’re all invited to gorge ourselves on this year’s 31day buffet of cultural events in the Pikes Peak region. Go to artsoctober.com/ events and start marking your calendar (and be sure to enter this year’s sweepstakes to win the “ultimate Arts prize package,” tinyurl.com/Arts-sweep).

CLASSPORT, have you wanted to take an art class, but don’t know where to begin? This is a great time to meet Cottonwood instructors, check out materials and techniques, and see what students have made in their classes. Friday, Oct. 6, 5-8 p.m.; Cottonwood Center for the Arts, 427 E. Colorado Ave.; cottonwoodcenterforthearts. com/classport.

ART EXHIBITS

Editor’s note: On Friday you’ll find our preview of October’s First Friday Artwalk openings at csindy.com. (Better yet, get it delivered to your inbox by subscribing to our free newsletter at csindy.com/newsletter.)

45º Gallery, 2528 W. Colorado Ave., Suite B, 719-434-1214, 45degreegallery.com. Paintings and prints by Stephanie Moon and wood sculpture by Jim Bradshaw. Academy Art & Frame Company, 7560 N.

Academy Blvd., 719-265-6694, academyframesco.com. September shows: Miniature & Small Works, 12th annual judged show, in conjunction with the inaugural Massive, Big, Huge exhibit.

Anita Marie Fine Art, 109 S. Corona St., 719-493-5623, anitamariefineart.com. Past and Present, works by 30 artists who studied with Chuck Mardosz and Richard Dahlquist. Through September.

The Bridge Gallery, 218 W. Colorado Ave., #104, 719-629-7055, thebridgeartgallery. com. Works by Gary Weston, who uses recycled materials to create 3D pieces inspired by “Leonardo da Vinci and Jules Verne, as well as steampunk, sci-fi and space-age works.” Through September.

Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, 30 W. Dale St., 719634-5581, fac.coloradocollege.edu. From Source to Mouth: A Creative Survey of Monument Creek, Erin Elder’s “community-centered creative research project that engages elements of geology, hydrology, ecology, land use, and history, as well as personal memory and sensory awareness to explore the multiple, overlapping, and sometimes contradictory perspectives about Monument Creek.” Through Nov.

9. “We Don’t Have a River: A Discussion from Many Perspectives” — “Because Colorado Springs augments its local water from intermittently flowing smaller

streams by piping water from Pikes Peak and the Western Slope, the city has developed a unique and complex relationship to water. This multidisciplinary panel discussion looks at Monument Creek, the city’s first and primary water way, as a microcosm of larger issues, midsets, and inequities.” Wednesday, Nov. 8, 5:30 p.m. Mi Gente: Manifestations of Community in the Southwest, with works from the FAC collection; through Feb. 3. FAC museum free days: Oct. 14 and 20.

Commonwheel Artists Co-op, 102 Cañon Ave., Manitou Springs, 719-685-1008, commonwheel.com. Many Shades of Brown — Thomas Conter’s wood creations, all with his signature turquoise inlay. Plenty of Color — paintings by Springs artist Susan Tormoen, who works in pastels, oils and woven tapestry. Through Oct. 2.

G44 Gallery, 121 E. Boulder St., 720-9510573, g44gallery.com. Corey Drieth’s Found Objects: “Inspired by daily life, the natural world, art history and religious traditions such as Zen Buddhism and Quaker Christianity, this work explores contemplative spiritual experience.” Through Sept. 29.

Gallery 113, 125½ N. Tejon St., 719-6345299, gallery113cos.com. Teri Homick’s Dark Reveries — “abstract ethereal works on canvas, embellished canvas prints, inlaid wooden boxes and more....”

The Garfield Gallery, 332 E. Willamette

ART EXHIBIT

The Pikes Peak State College Faculty Exhibition opened last week and you have till Oct. 20 to check it out. There’s a reception Friday, Oct. 6, 5-8 p.m. at PPSC’s Gallery at Studio West, 22 N. Sierra Madre St.; see tinyurl.com/PPSC-fac for gallery hours.

Ave., 719-227-8836, garfieldgallery.com. On My Way to See Mother, photography by Jené Jackson — “the story of last summer’s road trip to return to her mother’s grave in Tennessee for the first time in 10 years.”

GOCA (Galleries of Contemporary Art, UCCS), Marie Walsh Sharpe Gallery, Ent

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ART EXHIBIT

Floyd D. Tunson: Figures and Forms — “I especially enjoy switching from one medium to a contrasting one because that sparks my imagination and helps keep my thinking fresh. Hence, the choice of photography and abstract painting for this show.” Through Sept. 29; Kreuser Gallery, 125 E. Boulder St., 719-464-5880, kreusergallery.com.

Center for the Arts, 5225 N. Nevada Ave., gocadigital.org. Martha Russo’s Caesura

“her sculptural investigations appear at once fragile and potentially dangerous, cautioning one away while hypnotically drawing one in — ever closer — for intimate examination.” Through Dec. 2. Martha Russo visiting artists and critics lecture, Sept. 28, 6 p.m.

Hunter-Wolff Gallery, 2510 W. Colorado Ave., 719-520-9494, hunterwolffgallery. com. Featured artist: oil painter Karen Storm.

LightSpeed Curations, 306 S. 25th St., 719-308-8389, lightspeedart.art. A Woman’s Touch, “celebrating 17 local female artists” — Mac Coplin, Jo Carol Ciborowski, Sydney Wilkerson, Vashti Ruiz, Dawna Isham-Pierce, Kimberly Sewell, Sherrie Mitchell, Elizabeth Juvera, Liza Tudor, Jade Doe, Kristy Lorenzen, Sherrie Gibson, Jen Kruse, Rebecca Jones, Ellia Vaga, DollyGirl and Jessica de la Luna.

The Look Up Gallery, 11 E. Bijou St. (inside Yobel), thelookupgallery.com. Fragmented, new works by Yana Fanaro that “play with the multiple emotional experiences I face as a mother, the pieces of myself that are fragmented, out of focus, scattered and blurred.” Through September.

Manitou Art Center, 513/515 Manitou Ave., Manitou Springs, 719-685-1861, manitouartcenter.org. Susan Morello: A Retrospective — Morello works mostly in soft pastels — in the Hagnauer Gallery.

Platte Collections, 2331 E. Platte Place, 719-980-2715, plattecollections.myshopify.com. Fiber art by Fort Collins’ Elizabeth Morisette.

Portraits of Manitou by C.H. Rockey, features original town views and significant historical buildings. Manitou Springs Heritage Center, 517 Manitou Ave.; manitouspringsheritagecenter.org; through November.

Surface Gallery, 2752 W. Colorado Ave., 719-359-6966, surfacegallerycos.com.

De-code, a father/son show by Daniel Romano “combining painting and sculpture in unexpected materials and forms,” and “calligraphy-based art, spanning mediums of street art, paint, metal work, clothing and jewelry” by his son Foster.

ZoneFIVE, 1902 E. Boulder St., zonefivecs. com. Idiom: Works by Warren Arcila, “a collection of paintings, drawings, and sculptures created throughout the years.” Through September.

CREEK WEEK

Sign up now to be a cleanup volunteer with Creek Week, Sept. 30-Oct. 8. Clean up litter along creeks and trails and in parks and open spaces throughout the Fountain Creek watershed — from Palmer Lake down to Pueblo. Sign up at fountaincrk.org/creek-week-2023-registration. See tinyurl.com/creek-week-23 for events list.

Cleanup opportunities at Fountain Creek (Sept. 30, 9 a.m. to noon) and Bear Creek (Oct. 7, 9 a.m to noon) nature centers, see tinyurl.com/epco-fun for info.

Clean ’n’ Crawl, a four-stop pub crawl (ages 21 and up) and Tejon Street cleanup, with drinks, games and prizes. Saturday, Sept. 30, 1-5 p.m.; tickets at fountain-crk. org/clean-n-crawl.

continued on p. 18 ➔

“Untitled 210” by Floyd D. Tunson

CALENDAR

➔ continued from p. 17

Litter Letter art installation, unveiling of this year’s trash-filled word — IMPACTFUL — with music and beverages/snacks, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 5 p.m.; America the Beautiful Park, 126 Cimino Drive; fountaincrk.org/litter-letter-project.

FILM

Colorado Short Circuit 2023, Indie Spirit Film Festival event with award-winning shorts from Colorado independent filmmakers — “comedy, drama, documentary, Women in Film, animation, music videos, experimental, horror/sci-fi, and more.” Friday-Saturday, Oct. 6-7; Ivywild School, 1604 S. Cascade Ave.; indiespiritfilmfestival.org/csc.

Six Feet Under Horror Fest: Movies from the Morgue, the quarterly gathering, with trivia, prizes, raffles and voting for the best short. Sunday, Oct. 8, 1-7 p.m.; RoadHouse Cinemas, 3030 N. Nevada Ave.; tinyurl.com/sixfeet-oct.

KIDS & FAMILY

LEGO Habitats, let your creativity run wild! Join Bricks & Minifigs to learn about LEGOs’ commitment to sustainable practices and the environmental advantages of re-use. Saturday, Sept. 30, 9-10:30 a.m.; 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; and 1-2:30 p.m.; $7/ person per session, prepaid (Bear Creek Nature Center minifig included); register at tinyurl.com/Bear-legos. Bear Creek Nature Center, 245 Bear Creek Road.

Cool Science Carnival Day kicks off the 16-day Colorado Springs Cool Science Festival devoted to all things STEAM (sci-

ence, technology, engineering, art, math) for parents, teachers and kids in grades K-8. Sept. 30, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; free but registration required at tinyurl.com/cscdsteam; UCCS, 1420 Austin Bluffs Pkwy.; tinyurl.com/Cool-carnival. Festival runs through Oct. 15, with 60-plus events scattered all over the Pikes Peak region (full schedule at tinyurl.com/CoolSci-23).

The City Dog and the Prairie Dog, part of Creede Repertory Theatre’s Young Audience Outreach Tour. Tuesday, Oct. 3, 6 p.m.; Sallie Bush Community Building, 10795 Ute Pass Ave., Green Mountain Falls; tinyurl.com/greenbox-dogs.

Concrete Coyote Grand Opening, celebrating of the park officially being open to the public and more than four years of programs, projects and activities. With performances, fun activities, food and drink. Saturday, Oct. 7, 1-7 p.m.; 1100 S. Royer St.; concretecouch.org/events.html.

LEARNING & LECTURES

“The Propaganda Playbook” by Srdja Popovic, “leader of CANVAS, a nonprofit organization dedicated to working with nonviolent democratic movements around the world.” Presented by Colorado Springs World Affairs Council. Friday, Sept. 29, 5:30-8 p.m.; Phantom Canyon Brewing, 2 E. Pikes Peak Ave.; tinyurl. com/Popovic-23.

“Refugees Then, Refugees Now: Justice Across and Within Borders,” UCCS professors discuss “the history of refugees and migration into the modern era, the philosophical and political implications of the ongoing refugee crisis”; Tuesday, Oct. 3, 5:30 p.m.; Heller Center for Arts & Humanities, 1250 N. Campus Heights Drive; tinyurl.com/refugees-heller.

“Gay Pride and Resistance in Colorado Springs,” with high school teacher Kat Pacetti. History of the LGBT+ rights movement in the Springs, 1962-1992, including the fight against Amendment 2. Saturday, Oct. 14, 2 p.m.; free, but donations welcome, register at tinyurl.com/ gaypride-cspm; Penrose Library/PPLD, 20 N. Cascade Ave.

MUSEUM EXHIBITS

Americans and the Holocaust is “a traveling exhibition from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum that examines the motives, pressures, and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism, war, and genocide in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s.” Through Oct. 11; East Library/PPLD, 5550 N. Union Blvd.; ppld. org/HolocaustExhibit.

ART EVENT

“Path to Source,” Erin Elder

A Conversation Between Artists About Monument Creek — “How can art open our ears and eyes to the spaces we inhabit, cherish, or even overlook?” With artist Erin Elder (From Source to Mouth), CC music professor Iddo Aharony and Jessica Hunter from CC Creativity & Innovation. Friday, Oct. 6, 5:50 p.m.; Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St.; reserve a (free) spot at tinyurl.com/creek-convo.

Black Wings: American Dreams of Flight is “the story of African Americans who, despite facing tremendous racial barriers, attained amazing achievements in aviation history. ... stories and artifacts from local Tuskegee Airmen will be on exhibit to highlight the many Black heroes in our community.” Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; free; Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum Annex, Plaza of the Rockies, 121 S. Tejon St., #100; cspm.org.

THEATER

Jacob

Midge and the Butcher, by Springs Ensemble Theatre’s Quinn Smola, is “equal parts humor and horror” — “Midge, a recently out trans teen, has been having some troubles with a former-friend-turned-bully. With school about to start and no clear allies, Midge does the only thing she can think of to make sure she has protection: she summons a demon from Hell.” World premiere Sept. 28 , runs through Oct. 15; The Fifty-Niner, 2409 W. Colorado Ave.; facebook.com/springsensembletheatre.

POETRY & PROSE

Poetry 719 Festival, through October: First Wednesday Open Mic, all acts welcome. Haiku battle (if there are enough people) and a baby slam, but... “It’s not about the points, it’s about the poetry and the people.” Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m.; Bottles and Taps, 4763 Flintridge Drive; tinyurl.com/Poetry719-openmic. Erotic Open Mic & Pole Showcase, Saturday, Oct. 7, doors open at 7 p.m.; Pole Revolution, 1861 N. Circle Drive, tinyurl.com/p719-erotic. Keep Colorado Springs Queer, queer open mic featuring Irina Amouzou; Wednesday, Oct. 11, doors open 6:30 p.m.; ICONS, 3 E. Bijou St.; tinyurl. com/p719-Amouzou. See full events list at tinyurl.com/p719-festival23.

All Pikes Peak Reads — This year’s selection, The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line — Untold Stories of the Women Who Changed the Course of WWII — Retired Army Gen. Mari K. Eder’s biography “takes you inside the lives and experiences of 15 unknown women heroes from the Greatest Generation.” Check out a copy at your neighborhood PPLD branch. Author visit with Mari Eder: Keynote address, Q&A and book signing, Saturday, Oct. 7, 3 p.m.; Library 21c, 1175 Chapel Hills Drive; ppld. org/appr.

SOUNDS WEIRD; I’M IN

360° Healing Music Journey in Cave of the Winds, an underground soundbath with live music by Tommy Dill. Saturday, Sept. 30, 6-8 p.m.; 100 Cave of the Winds Road, Manitou Springs; tinyurl.com/cavesoundularity.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Dead Man’s Brewfest, with beer, liquor, wine, kombucha and seltzers. Friday, Sept. 29, 6-10 p.m.; Weidner Field, 111 W. Cimarron St.; tickets at switchbacksfc.com/ dead-mans-brewfest.

Dear Summer Fest, a family- and dogfriendly gathering with live music and arts of all kinds, food trucks, vendors and game booths. Saturday, Sept. 30, noon to 8 p.m.; free, but RSVP at dearsummerfest. com; Soda Springs Park, 1016 Manitou Ave., Manitou Springs; see music lineup at dearsummerfest.com/musiclineup.

Indigenous Peoples’ Weekend, with storytelling, art show, Ute dancers, a community potluck, and the ceremonial planting of the peace tree. FridaySunday, Oct. 6-8, see tinyurl.com/Indigenous-MAN23 for events schedule; various locations in Manitou Springs.

THEATER

Steel Magnolias, You’re invited “into the intimate world of a Black beauty shop in small-town Louisiana and the lives of the women who keep both the shop and the county running.” Through Oct. 15; Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater, Ent Center for the Arts, 5225 N. Nevada Ave.; entcenterforthearts.org.

Prologue: Forums on American Theatre — Dody DiSanto, director of The Center for Movement Theatre, and one of the nation’s premier clown teachers. Sunday, Oct. 1, 2:30 p.m.; Ent Center for the Arts, 5225 N. Nevada Ave.; tinyurl.com/DiSantoclown.

Romance at the Chautauqua, a melodrama based on the 1891 disappearance of Palmer Lake founder Dr. William Finley Thompson and his daughter’s search for him. By Springs-based playwright Richard Sebastian-Coleman, presented by Palmer Lake Arts Council. Oct. 6 and 8; Palmer Lake Town Hall; plartscouncil.org.

Ghost Stories of Old Manitou, walking tours by THEATREdART “tell the stories of real people from Manitou Springs’ history.” Oct. 6-27; tickets and more info at tinyurl. com/Ghosts-Manitou.

Hacker

LOWDOWN

By Jim Hightower jimhightower.com

SEN. TED CRUZ’S NEW FAKE THREAT

OH, THANK GOD FOR TED CRUZ!

Once again, the far-right-wing U.S. Senator is saving you and me from a political horror that doesn’t exist.

This is Ted’s specialty, for he seems unable to deal with the real economic and social problems that workaday people actually have. Thus, he constantly tries to divert attention from his senatorial incompetence by staging embarrassing political stunts, such as his furious fulminations against Big Bird, Mickey Mouse and other fictional characters. Unable to triumph over them, however, Cruz is now conjuring up entirely fictional conflicts to let him (a Harvard-educated elitist) pose as a hero of working-class commoners.

Beer drinkers, for example. The Cruzer recently swooped onto a Republican TV show, squawking like Chicken Little that Joe Biden intended to restrict us Americans to only two beers a week! Oh, the horror. “What is it with liberals that want to control every damn aspect of your life?” squealed the senator (who, by the way, does want government to control every woman’s reproductive rights, people’s voting rights, the rights of labor, what books people can read, etc., etc.).

But Ted’s in a tizzy over Biden’s two-beer limit. Only… there’s no such thing. Actually, Biden has said nothing about beer — zero, zilch. Joe’s kinda busy — you know, Ukraine, global warming, health care… real problems — so unlike the little senator from Texas, he doesn’t have time to play political pickleball.

Embarrassingly, such other GOP officials as Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst have joined Cruz’s screwball crusade to stop Biden’s nonexistent Beer Bust. It’s like they all went to clown school to learn to be “senatorial.” As for Ted, his nonstop series of nutty PR antics reveals that he is to a real senator what near beer is to beer — only not nearly as close.

AND THEN THERE’S BIG PHARMA...

Corporate and government hucksters intentionally cloak their schemes in convoluted obfuscations so we commoners can’t really know what they’re saying — or doing — to us.

That’s why our Hightower Lowdown team takes pride in regularly trying to deconstruct their arcane jargon,

translating it into plain language. Recently, for example, I pointed out the slick deceit in Big Pharma’s assertion that its outrageously high drug prices are just a factor of “core cost recovery.” Huh? That’s supposed to mean that it costs a lot to do basic research for discovering new medicines, so they must recover those costs.

But wait, I hollered: Basic drug research is not paid for by brand-name corporate monopolists. Rather, this essential humane work is done by such public entities as the National Institutes of Health — paid for by us taxpayers. And it’s a huge tax-paid subsidy to these private profiteers. In 2020, a study by the Institute for New Economic Thinking (ineteconomics.org) laid out the scam in stark terms: “Taxpayers have been footing the bill for every new drug approved between 2010

and 2019.” Hello — every new drug!

The institute’s study traced the funding of 356 new drugs approved in that period, finding that a whopping $230 billion in public-financed research paid for the basic science that created the medicines. In what the researchers called “a robust pipeline” to industry, monopolistic patents were then obtained on those ingredients by Big Pharma to market drugs made possible by the “scientific capital” we taxpayers invested.

For drug profiteers, this is manna from heaven. The system hands new drug products to them, letting them arbitrarily fix prices that enrich their investors with nearly double the profit levels of the other corporate powers. If you suspect the system is rigged to gouge you — there it is!

Ted’s in a tizzy over Biden’s [nonexistent] two-beer limit.

FAIR AND UNBALANCED

By Mike Littwin Courtesy The Colorado Sun

MCCARTHY AND THE NATION

Both are fighting for survival

IT’S LATE FRIDAY, SEPT. 22, AS I write this, and I have one question: Do you know where your congresspeople are?

I’ve got a hint. Most likely, they’re not in D.C., doing the work of America. No, if they’re not junketing somewhere or seeing if they can get in on the Robert Menendez deal, they’re back in the home district, having to explain to constituents why the government is about to shut down.

With a shutdown looming at the end of the month, as of this writing, Speaker-for-now Kevin McCarthy has sent Republican House members home until at least Tuesday, which would leave, by my count, five days before a shutdown would begin. Is it just an illusion or does this particular doomsday clock seem perilously close to midnight?

So, you’re asking, why did McCarthy send everyone home when time is so short to get a deal done?

I can think of a few reasons. It could be a giant time out for the less ruly members in the GOP caucus, although in this case, I think the oldschool dunce cap might be more appropriate.

It could be that McCarthy just can’t stand the sight of Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz and the rest of the rotating Freedom Caucusers who believe that shutting down the government is a viable option.

It’s pretty clear how McCarthy is thinking: After Gaetz and company beat back a rules vote on whether to bring a defense appropriations bill to the floor — which was also a vote to cut McCarthy off at the knees — the speaker-fornow said, “This is a whole new concept of individuals that just want to burn the whole place down. It doesn’t work.”

Yes, they are arsonists or, as one Republican put it, “a clown show.” Another congressman asked of Gaetz, in presumably a rhetorical question, “What has he ever done anyway?”

You may recall exactly what Gaetz, along with Lauren Boebert (CD-3) and the rest of Team Anarchy, did when they held up McCarthy’s bid to become speaker, a process lasting a humiliating

15 rounds. McCarthy didn’t get the job until he made all manner of promises to the crazies — not all of them yet known — that he seems unable to keep.

One we do know about is that he agreed to allow a single member of his caucus to, at any point, call for a motion to vacate, which, in more common language, means a motion to kick McCarthy out of his job. We know it’s coming. In one caucus meeting, McCarthy shouted to his nemeses that they should just go ahead and “file the f---ing motion.”

Come to think of it, maybe that’s why he sent them home, so he could keep his phony baloney job at least until Tuesday.

And here’s the funny part — I knew you were looking for one. The House

funding bill that has been rejected by the ultra-MAGA team would be dead on arrival at the Senate anyway. It’s not a serious plan. It’s a plan loaded with a right-wing wish list that everyone knows the Senate will laugh off the floor. The plan may not give the MAGA guys everything they want — just more than anyone else would.

And that included McCarthy’s refusal to invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to speak to the House. Maybe that’s because McCarthy knows how many of his members want to cut off aid to Ukraine, and he feared a possible scene. Or maybe he just didn’t want them to see what a real leader looks like.

Twice, McCarthy thought he had the

votes to get the defense funding bill to the floor, where it could be debated. And twice — the sound you hear is Sen. Nancy Pelosi saying, “Can’t these guys count?” — they didn’t have enough votes. This is beyond humiliating. It’s closer to being humiliatingly incompetent.

ONE OF THOSE VOTES TO STOP the defense bill came via Ken Buck (CD4), who has been presenting himself lately as a semi-sane member of the Freedom Caucus while going on every available cable TV news show to try to undermine the Republican case for impeaching President Joe Biden.

The rumor is that it’s all basically a tryout for Buck as a talking head on, say,

Speaker-for-now Kevin McCarthy

Wikimedia |

Gage Skidmore

CNN, where they prefer their right-wing commentators to be mostly sane. Buck has admitted he’s interested. But the more often the rumor’s repeated, the more often Buck says that, no, he still plans to run for his House seat again.

It should be noted, though, that the next time the bill came up, Buck changed his no vote to yes. Was he hoping Wolf Blitzer would notice?

And yet, there are options, we’re told, to save the Republicans from going all Newt Gingrich on us. After all, conventional wisdom, such as it is, suggests that a shutdown would give Democrats a huge boost in taking back the House in 2024.

Rep. Michael Lawler, a New York Republican from a district that voted for Biden, has said he would vote along with the Democrats on a clean funding resolution, which would bring all the House Democrats with him. If Lawler could get three or four more Republicans, the government would be funded, and I’d be getting my Social Security check on time.

Of Gaetz and his team, Lawler told reporters, “You want me to follow that clown show? These folks don’t have a plan. They don’t know how to take ‘yes’ for an answer. They don’t know what it is to work as a team. They don’t know how to define a win.”

Lawler later explained in an interview with CNN’s Manu Raju, “You keep running lunatics, you’re going to be in this position.”

Another option would be for McCarthy to cut a deal with Democrats that if he finds a way to send over a reasonable bill, they won’t vote with the Republicans when they call to vacate his chair.

Of course, if McCarthy is dumped, Democrats won’t be surprised if someone tries to float Donald Trump as a successor. In one more piece of Washington weirdness, it seems you have to be an actual member of the House to be speaker. And whoever it would be, there’s every chance that the person would be even weaker than McCarthy.

I’d say the most likely scenario is that the government shuts down — saving McCarthy’s job for the moment — and then when it eventually reopens, McCarthy gets the boot.

It’s a lose-lose-lose situation, which shouldn’t be surprising. At a time when all seems very close to being lost, Rep. Victoria Sparta, (R-Ind.), tweeted this possible epitaph for Speaker-for-now McCarthy’s job.

“Unfortunately, real leadership takes courage and willingness to fight for the country, not for power and a picture on the wall,” she wrote.

The picture may stay up. But you have to believe that McCarthy is going down.

Mike Littwin’s column was produced for The Colorado Sun, a reader-supported news organization committed to covering the people, places and policies of Colorado. Learn more at coloradosun.com.

McCarthy didn’t get the job until he made all manner of promises to the crazies.

If you like...

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): If you have ever contemplated launching a career as a spy, the coming months will be a favorable time to do so. Likewise if you have considered getting trained as a detective, investigative journalist, scientific researcher or private eye. Your affinity for getting to the bottom of the truth will be at a peak, and so will your discerning curiosity. You will be able to dig up secrets no one else has discovered. You will have an extraordinary knack for homing in on the heart of every matter. Start now to make maximum use of your superpowers!

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Have you been sensing a phantom itch that’s impossible to scratch? Are you feeling less like your real self lately and more like an AI version of yourself? Has your heart been experiencing a prickly tickle? If so, I advise you not to worry. These phenomena have a different meaning from the implications you may fear. I suspect they are signs you will soon undertake the equivalent of what snakes do: molting their skins to make way for a fresh layer. This is a good thing! Afterward, you will feel fresh and new.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): According to legend, fifth-century Pope Leo I convinced the conquering army of Attila the Hun to refrain from launching a full-scale invasion of Italy. There may have been other reasons in addition to Leo’s persuasiveness. For example, some evidence suggests Attila’s troops were superstitious because a previous marauder died soon after attacking Rome. But historians agree that Pope Leo was a potent leader whose words carried great authority. You, Sagittarius, won’t need to be quite as fervently compelling as the ancient Pope in the coming weeks. But you will have an enhanced ability to influence and entice people. I hope you use your powers for good!

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Singer-songwriter Joan Baez has the longevity and endurance typical of many Capricorns. Her last album in 2018 was released 59 years after her career began. An article in The New Yorker describes her style as “elegant and fierce, defiant and maternal.” It also noted that though she is mostly retired from music, she is “making poignant and unpredictable art,” creating weird, hilarious line drawings with her non-dominant hand. I propose we make Baez your inspirational role model. May she inspire you to be elegant and fierce, bold and compassionate, as you deepen and refine your excellence in the work you’ve been tenaciously plying for a long time. For extra credit, add some unexpected new flair to your game.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Aquarian author and activist Mary Frances Berry has won numerous awards for her service on behalf of racial justice. One accomplishment: She was instrumental in raising global awareness of South Africa’s apartheid system, helping to end its gross injustice. “The time when you need to do something,” she writes, “is when no one else is willing to do it, when people are saying it can’t be done.” You are now in a phase when that motto will serve you well, Aquarius.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I invite you to spend quality time gazing into the darkness. I mean that literally and figuratively. Get started by turning off the lights at night and staring, with your eyes open, into the space in front of you. After a while, you may see flashes of light. While these might be your optical nerves trying to fill in the blanks, they could also be bright spirit messages arriving from out of the void. Something similar could happen on a metaphorical level, too. As you explore parts of your psyche and your life that are opaque and unknown, you will be visited by luminous revelations.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Author Diane Ackerman says it’s inevitable that each of us sometimes “looks clumsy or gets dirty or asks stupid questions or reveals our ignorance or says the wrong thing.” Knowing how often I do

those things, I’m extremely tolerant of everyone I meet. I’m compassionate, not judgmental, when I see people who “try too hard, are awkward, care for one another too deeply, or are too open to experience.” I myself commit such acts, so I’d be foolish to criticize them in others. During the coming weeks, Aries, you will generate good fortune for yourself if you suspend all disparagement. Yes, be accepting, tolerant and forgiving — but go even further. Be downright welcoming and amiable. Love the human comedy exactly as it is.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus comedian Kevin James confesses, “I discovered I scream the same way whether I’m about to be devoured by a great white shark or if a piece of seaweed touches my foot.” Many of us could make a similar admission. The good news, Taurus, is that your anxieties in the coming weeks will be the “piece of seaweed” variety, not the great white shark. Go ahead and scream if you need to — hey, we all need to unleash a boisterous yelp or howl now and then — but then relax.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Here are famous people with whom I have had personal connections: actor Marisa Tomei, rock star Courtney Love, filmmaker Miranda July, playwright David Mamet, actor William Macy, philosopher Robert Anton Wilson, rock star Paul Kantor, rock impresario Bill Graham, and author Clare Cavanagh. What? You never heard of Clare Cavanagh? She is the brilliant and renowned translator of Nobel Prize Laureate poet Wisława Szymborska and the authorized biographer of Nobel Prize Laureate author Czesław Miłosz. As much as I appreciate the other celebrities I named, I am most enamored of Cavanagh’s work. As a Gemini, she expresses your sign’s highest potential: the ability to wield beautiful language to communicate soulful truths. I suggest you make her your inspirational role model for now. It’s time to dazzle and persuade and entertain and beguile with your words.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I cheer you on when you identify what you want. I exult when you devise smart plans to seek what you want, and I celebrate when you go off in high spirits to obtain and enjoy what you want. I am gleeful when you aggressively create the life you envision for yourself, and I do everything in my power to help you manifest it. But now and then, like now, I share Cancerian author Franz Kafka’s perspective. He said this: “You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be quite still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Let’s talk about changing your mind. In some quarters, that’s seen as weak, even embarrassing. But I regard it as a noble necessity, and I recommend you consider it in the near future. Here are four guiding thoughts. 1) “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” — George Bernard Shaw. 2) “Only the strongest people have the pluck to change their minds, and say so, if they see they have been wrong in their ideas.” — Enid Blyton. 3) “Sometimes, being true to yourself means changing your mind. Self changes, and you follow.” — Vera Nazarian. 4) “The willingness to change one’s mind in the light of new evidence is a sign of rationality, not weakness.” ― Stuart Sutherland.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “The soul moves in circles,” psychologist James Hillman told us. “Hence our lives are not moving straight ahead; instead, hovering, wavering, returning, renewing, repeating.” In recent months, Virgo, your soul’s destiny has been intensely characterized by swerves and swoops. And I believe the rollicking motion will continue for many months. Is that bad or good? Mostly good — especially if you welcome its poetry and beauty. The more you learn to love the spiral dance, the more delightful the dance will be.

All words to be constructed pertain to the topic to the right. To your advantage one word has already been traced. You must trace the three remaining words, using only the letters designated by the darkened circles. Words may begin and end from either column but each letter can only be used once.

Each puzzle has a difficulty rating (right). Four stars signify the highest degree of difficulty.

Given to the right are the point values for each word. Your words must correctly match these point values.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Edited by David Steinberg | Themeless Sunday 53 by Rafael Musa

MINI SUDOKU X

SUDOKU X

BY THE EDITORS AT ANDREWS MCMEEL

Mistaken identity

As dog-walkers passed the Seascape Cafe in Chapel St. Leonards, England, on Sept. 6, they were startled to see what they thought was a “ritual mass murder” inside, United Press International reported. Police were called to the scene, but it turns out the people lying on their backs were just taking part in a yoga meditation exercise. The class’ teacher, Millie Laws, said class members had dispersed before officers arrived, and assured the community on her Facebook page that “[w]e are not part of any mad cult or crazy clubs. ... They were all participating in a beautiful deep relaxation, and it could have never run through any of our minds that it could be taken this way.” Namaste.

Repeat offender

Reza Baluchi just can’t stop getting into trouble with the U.S. Coast Guard, NPR reported. The Iranian-born man from Florida was arrested on Aug. 29 after officers tried for three days to convince him to abandon his plan: running across the Atlantic Ocean in a “hamster wheel” fitted with buoys, with his final destination being London, England — 4,000 miles from his starting point. He tried similar stunts in 2014, 2016 and 2021, “all of which resulted in USCG intervention,” said Coast Guard Special Agent Michael Perez. In a short documentary made about Baluchi by Vice, he explained his motivation: “If you drive a boat, nobody cares. Bubble, nobody did before. ... Make

PUZZLE ANSWERS

me crazy. They stop me every time, they save my life. I don’t no need it, save my life.” After the 2016 incident, the Coast Guard sank Baluchi’s bubble, so he redesigned and built a new one. He faces charges of obstruction of boarding and violation of a captain of the port order.

Surprise!

Goodwill employees in Goodyear, Arizona, were startled on Sept. 5 when they opened a donated box and found a human skull inside, The Arizona Republic reported. The skull still had some of the teeth attached and featured a false eye set in the left eye socket. Goodyear Police spokesperson Lisa Berry said they believed it to be “historic” and to have no “forensic significance, meaning there appears to be no associated crime.” The Goodwill store would not comment on whether the skull will be added to the store’s shelves (perfect for Halloween!) or how it would be priced.

Police report

John McKee, 51, of Vincennes, Indiana, landed in the Knox County jail on Aug. 23 after a state trooper observed him driving a Power Wheels Jeep around 9 p.m. on a city street. According to police, the toy car didn’t have lights or reflectors, and McKee failed a field sobriety test, The Smoking Gun reported. He told the officer that he had crystal meth and marijuana in his system. He was released on bond, and his fancy ride was collected by Troy’s Towing, a trooper said.

THE NORTH WALES POLICE ARE WARNING RESIDENTS ABOUT a new strategy being used by burglars, Sky News reported. Criminals are leaving Christmas gnomes in people’s front gardens, then watching to see if the little figurines are moved. That way, they can discern whether residents are away and the home is an easy target. “We would advise residents to be vigilant,” a spokesperson for the police said. Dodgy.

Colorado Springs Chess Club

QUIZ SET No. 1967 (by Shelby Lyman) ; week of Sept 14

CHESS QUIZ w________w árdwdsdsi] à0pdshs0p] ßsds0sdwd] ÞdPds0sdq]

Photo illustration assets from

At the intersection Focus Arts & Business

Downtown Ventures’ Winchell

can be found where the

arts and

BY NICK RAVEN

business collide

As executive director of Colorado Springs’ Downtown Ventures and the Downtown Colorado Springs creative district, Michelle Winchell has a great view of how art and business intersect locally. Winchell assumed the position in February 2023, but her background highlights an education in art and how it functions in the built urban environment.

The daughter of technical parents — her father worked at IBM on mainframes, her mother worked as a math teacher with an engineering degree — Winchell grew up playing the piano and creating art. She learned Photoshop, so her high school teacher had her teach the program to other students. With an artist’s brush in one hand and digital tools in the other, she pursued an education in design. Working on her master’s at Indiana University, she led a team of interdisciplinary students to address creative placemaking in and around the oldest building on campus, educating her on how people use public spaces.

Her passions eventually brought her back to Colorado Springs where she took on communication and outreach roles at Ent Center for the Arts as it opened in 2018. Now at Downtown Ventures — whose Art on the Streets program has been installing art around Downtown Colorado Springs for the past 25 years — Winchell’s creative fluency goes hand in hand with the transformation of Downtown into a more vibrant place for creatives to live and work.

How does your role at Downtown Ventures overlap with the other branches of the Downtown Partnership?

Downtown Partnership is the 501(c)4 membership organization with both individual and business members. Ultimately, we’re thinking about how we make Downtown a vibrant and exciting place that

people want to be in — the cultural heart of the city — so we have this toolkit of different organizations that focus on different aspects. The Downtown Development Authority is focused on business development while the Business Improvement District [maintains] the ‘clean and safe’ aspect.

Downtown Ventures is the nonprofit arm and we’re focused on managing the creative district and all of the cultural programs. We’re using the arts to enliven Downtown to make it a welcoming place and something our whole city can be proud of.

I think the organizational structure is useful because we can work closely and collaboratively between all those different focus areas.

Why is Downtown’s creative district important for business?

Downtown Colorado Springs is a statecertified creative district — first certified in 2014 and then recertified in 2019 — through the Colorado Office of Economic Development where there’s recognition that investment in creativity and creative industry can be a driver for business.

With Art on the Streets being in its 25th year, it’s an interesting time to reflect on its impact because I think its success was a big driver in initially getting certified. If you imagine Downtown in 1998 and then today, it’s drastically different with all of the housing that’s opening and [the new] energy and excitement. Investment in public art is a big part of making Downtown feel like an exciting place to be.

How do you connect with creatives and their businesses Downtown?

I’m in touch with galleries and creative businesses through the creative district and our programs like First Friday. In addition to our more traditional fine artists and gallerists who do fantastic work that people

can explore, last year we started an event called MADE to highlight unique retailers Downtown that carry handmade, thoughtfully made, locally made goods that you can’t find anywhere else in the city.

We have a bunch of [communication] channels, like our email newsletters and our regular merchant meetings. I always try to make it to different cultural organization and community events to connect with new people, other arts and culture leaders and more of our local artists to get a sense of what they’re thinking, what’s going on and what’s working well.

What are the benefits of a robust creative economy?

I think it ties into your sense of place. You feel like your city has a strong identity.

When I asked people what they love about our Downtown or our public art program, the stories that I hear are really are about having a sense of pride in the place that you live and sharing that with visitors or friends.

We’ll do walking tours sometimes with groups from out of town — sometimes from larger cities that I think have fairly robust art scenes — and they’ll be blown away by the amount of art Downtown has and how beautiful it is. They’ll get caught up in the beautiful vista of Pikes Peak, the openness [of the city] and how clean everything is. I think what’s unique about our city is a through-line to our city’s founding: our focus on arts, culture, wellness and the natural environment.

continued on p. 27 ➔

Downtown Ventures Executive Director Michelle Winchell

Nick Raven

three-month accelerator for Hispanic-, minority-, veteran- or womanowned businesses

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Pikes Peak SBDC

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1404 Ledge Rock Terrace

Pinon Bluffs Town Homes - $550,000

Westside 3436 sq ft 4 bed, 3 ½ bath 1 ½-story townhome with total 1-level living. Beautiful mountain & Pikes Peak views. Huge trees. Across the street from Ute Valley Park. A/C. Security system. Gas log fireplace. Former model with vaulted ceilings. Tons of glass & sunshine. MLS# 1911501

1295 Winterhall Point

The Enclaves at Bayfield - $549,900

Stucco & stone end unit 3068 sq ft 4 bed, 3 bath rancher townhome with amazing mountain & city views. Master suite with 2 walk-in closets & 5-piece master bath. Open kitchen with wrap around bar. 2 gas log fireplace. Built-ins. 12x12 covered Trex deck & 12x12 patio. Walkout basement with large family & wet bar. 2-car finished garage. A/C. HOA takes care of everything outside for you. Move-in ready!

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WHEN YOU’RE SERIOUS ABOUT REAL ESTATE

What kind of feedback do you get from the local business community about Downtown Ventures’ work?

We’ll get really positive comments every time we have a public art exhibition launch. We’ve gotten fantastic feedback about Revel — our alley party that happened this past weekend — with comments ranging from ‘I can’t believe I’m in Colorado Springs’ to ‘This was the best party I’ve ever been to in this town’ to ‘I’m so excited to see something like this happening here and I can’t wait to see what this grows into.’

That event was new for us this year and it was a way to highlight our AdAmAn Alley project and explore what’s possible when you have a public space like that, how it can be activated and how it can be incorporated into that community’s sense of self and excitement.

I think the dinner also revealed that people are hungry for new and exciting experiences. One of my motivations for doing it was to highlight and celebrate different aspects of our creative district. We have this high concentration of local restaurants Downtown and so doing the dinner in a collaborative way where we have five different chefs and each one is making a course and they collaborate on the appetizer… it worked incredibly well. Seeing that collaborative community spirit, creativity and what people are exploring in our culinary scene was fantastic.

And then we celebrated the 25th anniversary of Art on the Streets as well. A lot of people had maybe seen the alley during the daytime but hadn’t seen the light show at night, so we really got to showcase that and all of the work that went into it. The light art installations are new and there’s nothing else like that in the city. I know that a lot of the businesses on that block are interested in more events like that, or ways that they can utilize that space as part of their business, too.

AdAmAn Alley is the biggest project of its kind that we’ve taken on and [it’s] had a big impact — we’ve had private developers approach us and ask about details of the project, how we manage it, how we found artists and things like that. I think it will inspire more investment in public spaces of that type, which is fantastic for the city.

What are some creative businesses you might not think are in Downtown Colorado Springs?

Design firms want their studio spaces to feel cool and creative so they’re less publicly visible than retail, but they’re very much part of the Downtown creative industry fabric. [Creative agencies] Fixer Creative and Neon Pig both have studios Downtown; we also have RTA Architects, Senger

Design Group and Robin Pasley Interiors.

One of the things we’re thinking about for the future is what infrastructure and support exists for our performing artists here in town because we do have the Colorado Springs Conservatory and the Fine Arts Center in the creative district as well.

What urgent needs do Downtown businesses come to you for?

Because we’re known for our flagship Art on the Streets program, most frequently it’s, ‘Hey, I want a mural. How do I do that?’ or ‘Hey, I’m interested in a public art piece. How do I do that?’ so we support people through that process. We help them understand the variables that they should be thinking about when approaching those types of projects — whether it’s community organizations or individual property owners.

A lot of times, those variables are about navigating permitting with the city. If the mural has a visual representation of the goods or services of the business, it’s considered a sign, so it has to meet sign ordinance and there are technical aspects, materials [required], etc. With sculptures, it’s placement, durability and things like that.

Is there an economic dashboard that says, ‘Well, if your business has a mural, your sales will go up some percentage?’

There have been a lot of attempts at quantifying that and it’s kind of tricky. I think it’s often more anecdotal: ‘Oh that mural is a beloved spot Downtown and because of the selfie station or whatever, people are drawn to it.’

Gentrification can be a blessing and a curse for building and maintaining a creative economy. How do you and Downtown Ventures think about it?

There’s always this tension there and it’s something that’s definitely on my mind.

I lived in Denver when the RiNo Arts District was ascendant. You had a lot of long-term artists in DIY live/workspaces that had been there for 10-plus years — and not necessarily legally. Then as RiNo became more desirable and businesses were moving in to take advantage of that, a lot of the artists got pushed out.

We have something that’s very top of mind for the Downtown Partnership as a whole: finding permanent space for creatives Downtown as we grow and see more investment. Artspace is one way to do something about that permanently. That project broke ground earlier this year and we’re really excited to have permanent affordable housing and studio space Downtown for artists that’s in perpetuity no matter how much things grow and change.

It’s something we’re always trying to keep an eye on.

n CSBJ

BBB

PRESENTS THE 29th ANNUAL A NIGHT OF EXCELLENCE

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12th

PRESENTED BY:

OF SOUTHERN COLORADO

AdAmAn Alley is the biggest project of its kind that we’ve taken on...

Hispanic heritage month

Each year from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, Americans celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month as a time to recognize the many contributions, diverse cultures and extensive histories of the Latino community in the United States. Hispanic heritage and traditions hold an important place in the heart and soul of our nation, and this celebration reminds us that the American identity is a fabric of diverse traditions and stories woven together. During National Hispanic Heritage Month, we reaffirm that diversity is one of our country’s greatest strengths.

The Biden-Harris administration and U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman are committed to the success of Hispanic communities. More Hispanics than ever before are seizing the opportunity to create new businesses which improve their cities and neighborhoods. Data shows that five million Latino-owned businesses contribute $800 billion each year to our economy. In the past decade, Latino entrepreneur growth rates have risen 10 times faster than non-Latino business rates. In Colorado, Hispanics own nearly 73,000 small businesses in the state, employing thousands of workers and steadily contributing to the local economy. Hispanics comprise approximately 20 percent of the state’s workforce.

Both President Joe Biden, and Administrator Guzman — the highest-ranking Latina in the President’s Cabinet — have made strengthening our Hispanic-owned small businesses a priority. Over the last 33 months we have seen the fastest creation rate of Hispanic-owned businesses in over a decade, which was more than 20 percent faster than pre-pandemic levels. The president made a goal of increasing by 50 percent the amount of federal contracting dollars going to small, disadvantaged businesses by 2025 — which would translate to an additional $100 billion for minority-owned and other underserved businesses, and help more Americans realize their entrepreneurial dreams.

President Biden directed the development of an ambitious, government-wide interagency plan to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for Latino communities. The SBA established four equity goals that focus on direct assistance including:

Goal 1: Improve access to capital for underserved communities, including Hispanic small business owners: SBA is investing in additional technology to match underserved borrowers with Community Financial Institutions, including Community Development Financial Institutions. For borrowers, application requirements will be simplified, data will integrate automatically, a high-quality

customer service support system will be available, and the process will be mobile-friendly.

Goal 2: Expand access to federal procurement and contracting opportunities: SBA will enroll more small, disadvantaged businesses into its business development and contracting programs including the 8(a) Business Development program, HUBZone program, and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business certification program. The goal is to strengthen those businesses’ capabilities to compete and perform on contracts.

Goal 3: Provide support and expanded access to disaster assistance: SBA will work with its field and program offices to develop a systematic and formal process with its resource partners to assist minority-owned businesses with disaster loans, including application completion, reconsiderations, credit repair, and managerial and technical services.

Goal 4: Increase access to business counseling, training, and services: SBA will investigate innovative approaches for reaching Hispanic and immigrant clients through its Community Navigators Pilot Program, Women’s Business Centers, Small Business Development Centers, SCORE and Procurement Technical Assistance Centers.

This equity plan is in addition to the legislative successes over the last three years including the American Rescue Plan, the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 which makes urgent investments that will bring down costs, level the playing field, and open historic opportunities for America’s 33 million small businesses and innovative startups — especially those businesses owned by minorities, women and veterans.

During National Hispanic Heritage Month, we carry on the important work of honoring Hispanic culture and entrepreneurship. Let us give thanks to the many generations of Hispanic leaders who have helped build this country and continue to fight for equality and justice. Let us pledge to invest in the next generation of Hispanic men and women entrepreneurs who hold the destiny of our nation in their hands. For more information on SBA’s programs and services, please visit sba.gov and remember to follow us on X (Twitter) @SBArockymtn and @SBA_Colorado.

With the RideMMT App and the new Metro Card, riding the bus has never been easier!

Convenient, Flexible

Aikta Marcoulier is the SBA’s regional administrator in Denver. She oversees the agency’s programs and services in Colorado, Montana, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

Frances Padilla is the Colorado district director.

Aikta Marcoulier

Frances Padilla

Diversity is one of our country’s greatest strengths

Clear the air

Demystifying the VA loan for homebuyers

For many people, their homes represent their most significant debt — and their largest investment. For veterans and current military members, buying a home in a new market can be difficult, challenging, and stressful.

Most military members and veterans don’t fully understand the options available through the Department of Veterans Affairs or how the loans really work.

Here are a few common misconceptions about VA loans:

Myth No. 1: The Department of Veterans Affairs lends money for homes.

In fact, the VA sets minimum guidelines for other lenders. The VA does not actually lend money.

Myth No. 2: VA loans can only be used once.

That’s not true. VA loans can be used over and over. Personally, I’ve used a VA loan between eight and 10 times over the years.

Myth No. 3: Service members and veterans can only have one VA loan at a time, and it must be for their personal residence.

False, again. Recent changes to the law mean that service members can buy a home as their primary residence and in a year or longer, buy their next home, as a primary residence, with some limitations. As service members move frequently or families grow, this option allows both flex-

ibility for their family, and creates an income stream in places with higher rents.

Myth No. 4: VA loans aren’t worth the hassle.

By working with an experienced VA lender, the process becomes easier. For those who are eligible, a VA loan has great value: no down payment, and no mortgage insurance. VA mortgage rates can sometimes be lower than conventional loans.

Myth No. 5: VA loans can’t be used for remodeling or renovations.

Another recent change in the regulations opens the doors for VA loans to be used for homes that might need some work. This kind of loan is appraised subject to the home’s value after all the work is completed. It opens the market up to more homes with less competition. Fewer buyers want homes that require additional work.

Myth No. 6: Every veteran or service member must pay the VA Funding Fee, ranging from 2.15 percent to 3.3 percent of the mortgage, (usually added to the mortgage).

While this is largely true, veterans with a disability do not have to pay the fee. There is no statute of limitations to apply for a VA disability. And service members still in the military who have received a Purple Heart don’t have to pay it either — the assumption is there will be a disability once they leave service if they have a Purple Heart. (For those who don’t know, Purple Hearts are given to military members who are injured because of an enemy or a hostile attack, a terrorist attack or a friendly fire incident.)

Myth No. 7: There’s a specific time in service or type of discharge required to be eligible for a VA loan.

For those currently serving, the time frame is 90 days. For veterans, if they completed their time in service commitment and have the right discharge, they may be eligible. But for those with medical discharges or reductionsin-force that end commitments early, a VA loan is still an option. It will depend on your personal situation. If you think you might be eligible, talk to your lender.

One final piece of advice: New homebuyers should always attend a class specifically designed for first-time homebuyers. Mt. Carmel offers these classes, go to veteranscenter.org for class dates and times. The reason is simple: Studies show that people who attend these classes are 30 to 40 percent less likely to get behind on payments and far less likely to default on their mortgages.

Sterling Campbell is an ambassador for Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center and teaches a class for first-time homebuyers for veterans at Mt. Carmel. He is a loan consultant at loanDepot and is the vice president of the board of directors for Honor Flight of Southern Colorado.

The Front is a collaboration between the Colorado Springs Business Journal , Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center and its partners.

Sterling Campbell

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Evoqua Water Technologies LLC seeks an Engineer IV to lead complex projects and customer support for the Heavy Industry Business Unit. Will also be responsible for committing to deliverables with customers and acting as a technical resource in Controls and Electrical Engineering functions. Employees can expect to be paid a salary of $131,893. Additional compensation may include a bonus or commission (if relevant). Additional benefits include health care, vision, dental, retirement, PTO, sick leave, etc. Apply at https://careers.evoqua. com , #34207.

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156 Ellers Grove

Sand Creek Commons - $290,000

Upper level 1357 sq. ft. 3 bed, 2 bath condo backing to large common lawn area. Central air. Gas log fireplace. Brand new flooring and fresh paint throughout. Open & bright. Move-in ready. Low monthly HOA.

MLS# 5866091

1295 Winterhall Point

The Enclaves at Bayfield - $549,900 Stucco & stone end unit 3068 sq ft 4 bed, 3 bath rancher townhome with amazing mountain & city views. Master suite with 2 walk-in closets & 5-piece master bath. Open kitchen with wrap around bar. 2 gas log fireplace. Builtins. 12x12 covered Trex deck & 12x12 patio. Walkout basement with large family & wet bar. 2-car finished garage. A/C. HOA takes care of everything outside for you. Move-in ready! MLS# 7912985

A/C. Security system. Gas log fireplace. Former model with vaulted ceilings. Tons of glass & sunshine.

MLS# 1911501

5671 Tramore Ct –Banning Lewis Ranch

- $419,900

Beautiful 1766 sq ft 3-story that shows like a model. 3 beds, 2 baths, loft, flex space, & 2-car garage. Granite throughout. Stainless steel appliances. LVP flooring. All appliances included. A/C. New blinds. Covered patio, balcony, and fenced yard. Maintenance free landscaping. D49. Community clubhouse, pool, playgrounds, and more. Close to shopping, dining, entertainment, schools, parks, and military bases. MLS# 9404662 Call Bobbi Price. The Platinum Group. 719-499-9451.

REAL ESTATE

3179 County Road 61

– Cripple Creek$80,000

Beauitful 5.25 acre lot in a small gated community called Rainbow Ridge with only 9 parcels. Pikes Peak & mountain views. Community stocked fishing pont on lot. Towering pines & aspen. Lots of sunshine. Located approximately 10 miles south of Divide off Highway 67. Easy commute & privace on several possible building sites. This subdivision is off grid. MLS# 8657980 Call Bobbi Price. The Platinum Group. 719-499-9451.

RENTALS

Rentals Central

1124 N Matt Drive

– Pueblo West$38,500

Flat 2.34 acre lot with mountain views. Backs to a no-build area. Horses allowed. Houses on either side of this lot & across so utilities are right there. Easy 35 minute commute to Fort Carson, 15 minutes to Pueblo & 10 minutes to shopping & dining in Pueblo West. 1 lot from all paved roads. MLS# 7361250 Call Bobbi at 719-499-9451 for more information.

DOWNTOWN SENIOR LIVING

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