It’s Wednesday, Boulder, and I hope you’re well. Here’s what’s going on.

Today, I cover a Boulderite who electrified his life and wants to help others do the same. Stuart Cummings, a former Navy pilot and Naval Academy graduate, is trying to launch a new organization Go Electric Colorado that would guide those interested in electrifying their cars and homes through the barriers put up by contractors and cost. His advice isn’t what you often hear.

“Make solar dead last,” he said. “It’s way more important to get an EV, get a heat pump, or even start with a hot water heater. That’s the low-hanging fruit.”

Also, Jessica Mordacq covers a studio expansion memorializing the late Betty Woodman, a ceramic artist who looked to blend the beautiful with the practical. In the 1950s, Woodman started training seven students one night a week in a Boulder-sponsored pottery program. The operation grew to include hundreds of clay-throwers. Now, Studio Arts (which oversees the pottery program) will be opening an 11,000-square-foot space in 2024 capable of training many more than seven Boulderites.

We also have the latest on the ACLU of Colorado’s lawsuit against the City of Boulder, Eldora’s season opening, and more.

Enjoy that mid-week hump. I’ll see you Friday.

— Tim, reporter

It’s a good day to support local journalism

What to know today

  • Heavy sweater, and maybe raincoat, weather: Today and tomorrow will hover in the 50s with a chance of precipitation. Today, maybe rain; tomorrow, possibly snow.
  • ACLU lawsuit moves forward: In a new development in the lawsuit to nullify Boulder’s camping ban, ACLU lawyers increased their efforts to blame the police chief for what they argue are constitutional violations.
    • “This case does not present a political question, and this Court does not intrude on executive power by holding Chief [Maris] Herold to minimum constitutional standards,” ACLU attorneys wrote in an Oct. 21, 2022 Boulder County District Court filing.
    • The filing comes in response to the City of Boulder’s arguments, defending its controversial camping ban, that the power of the court on the matter is limited due to the “doctrine of separation of powers” giving city police the ability to use their own discretion when enforcing laws. The city’s attorneys also argued the lawsuit is political in its purpose and should be resolved by the Boulder City Council — not the courts.
    • On May 26, 2022, the ACLU of Colorado sued the city over the camping ban that makes it illegal for homeless people to sleep in public spaces. The suit said the ban violates state constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment and government endangerment. The city is still enforcing the ordinance. The judge will now decide whether and how to allow the case to proceed.
  • Even-year election endorsement? The city’s Human Relations Commission, a five-member panel advising the Boulder City Council on social issues, sent a letter to councilmembers urging them to publicly endorse 2E, the ballot measure that would move city elections to even years starting in 2026. The measure seeks to boost voter turnout by coinciding with state and federal elections, particularly among CU Boulder students and other voters who are less likely to cast ballots in odd-year local elections. With less than two weeks before ballots are due, it’s unclear whether city councilmembers will schedule a vote to endorse the measure. A majority of them have publicly endorsed it in their personal capacity.
  • What are those weird bike boxes painted on intersections? You might have seen them on 17th and Walnut. Called a “two-stage left-turn queue box,” it is an option for cyclists to turn left without the stress of merging into traffic.
    • For those who want a visual demo of how the boxes work, the city released an explanatory video. Basically, the biker goes through the intersection as though they’re continuing straight, but stops in the box that’s outside traffic to wait for a break in traffic, or for the light to turn in the other direction.
    • “It’s a chance to familiarize Boulder residents with a new, low-stress, bike facility option,” says the fellow in the video.
    • If you enjoy merging with traffic, the queue box is not required.
    • A “No Left Turn On Red” sign has been put where the boxes are in place, which may be irritating to some.
  • Boulder might be forced to allow oil extraction: On Nov. 1, Boulder County commissioners will consider allowing Extraction Oil & Gas, Inc. to sink wells in unincorporated Boulder County. If the commissioners do not approve the well, the oil and gas company could force them to allow it anyway. Per the county’s release:
    • “According to Extraction’s offer letter, if the county does not agree to lease 552 acres of mineral rights or to accept a working interest in the Blue Paintbrush wells, Extraction will seek a statutory (or “forced”) pooling order from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC). Extraction filed an application with the COGCC to force pool the county’s minerals on July 7, which is currently set for a hearing Jan. 25, 2023, if the lease offer is declined.”
    • The public can attend and/or comment in person, online or by phone.
  • Eldora opening and new prices: Eldora announced its opening trails for skiing on Nov. 18. An adult season pass is $769. At $449, its season passes for Nordic skiing are among the most expensive in Colorado. So is its uphill pass, which is slated to cost $200. (Although this year, anyone with an Ikon Pass will have uphill access included.) New this year, the mountain is charging $10 for single-occupancy vehicles on weekends, holidays and weekdays with more than 10 inches of snow. On weekends, you can take the free shuttle from the Boulder County Justice Center or get a free pass from the mountain to take the RTD bus from Downtown Boulder Station, according to Eldora.
  • Mountain bike champions: On Monday, Boulder High’s mountain bike team became Division 1 Colorado State Champs.

Go deeper

After carbon-neutralizing his own life, Boulder resident is launching an organization to help other climate-conscious locals do the same

By Tim Drugan

After graduating from the Naval Academy, landing planes on aircraft carriers, and flying cargo around the world in FedEx jets for almost 30 years, retirement requires a worthwhile pursuit.

For Stuart Cummings, a former aerospace engineer and current Boulder resident, carbon-neutralizing his life — and helping others do the same — seems a valuable pastime. He considers himself “working the problem into the ground.”

“When you’re a pilot and your plane is going down, you don’t waste time screaming,” he said. “You try to fix what’s wrong until you hit the ground.”

Continue reading…

On donated land in northeast Boulder, teaching legacy of pioneering ceramics artist Betty Woodman lives on in new building 

By Jessica Mordacq

The legacy of ceramics artist Betty Woodman, the CU Boulder professor who died in 2018, is indelible in Boulder art circles and worldwide. Woodman was the first living woman to have a retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 2006. Now, that legacy will be memorialized in an expanded Boulder arts studio that aims to continue what she began here decades ago.  

In the 1950s, Woodman launched the first city-sponsored pottery program in the country, funded by the Boulder Parks and Recreation Department. What began as a pottery class for seven students one night a week, grew over the years into a full-fledged program training hundreds of people.   

At the Pottery Lab at 1010 Aurora Avenue near Chautauqua — where it remains today — Woodman provided people access to expensive potter’s wheels and kilns to make tableware, mugs and flower vases. 

Eventually, her own work would propel the status of ceramics as fine art.   

Woodman “really wanted to challenge the divide between fine art and craft art,” said Kari Palazzari, executive director of Studio Arts Boulder, the organization that has run Pottery Lab programs since 2015 for the city. “We inherited that impulse, because a lot of our students make really beautiful pottery that’s also functional.” 

But the 3,200-square-foot studio Woodman founded has become too small to accommodate growing demand. The Pottery Lab has enough equipment for around 250 students to take weekly classes. There are 300 to 350 people on waitlists at any given time. 

Continue reading…

BRL picks

🌲 Nature walk and painting: Saturday, Oct. 29, join Out Boulder County for a nature walk “through the Meyers Homestead Trail at Walker Ranch just outside of Boulder and talk about nature and enjoy the company of other LGBTQ+ folks!” A watercolor activity will follow. RSVP beforehand.

📕 Old Country: Tonight at the Boulder Bookstore, readers can get their horror fix of the season. Matt Query and Harrison Query will speak about, and sign, their new book, Old Country. After moving into a lonesome house in the Teton Valley, a young couple discovers it’s haunted. And the spirit isn’t happy, as they so rarely are. The event starts at 6:30 p.m.

🤣 LOL at the Velvet Elk Lounge: On Thursday, Oct. 27, it’s comedy night at the Velvet Elk Lounge, hosted by Zoe Rogers. Lineup includes: Linus Leas, Ricky Ramos, Miriam Moreno and Derrick Stroup. Tickets are $15. Doors open at 8:00 p.m., show starts at 9. It’s a 21+ venue.

🎺 Motown Halloween dance party- reminder: On Saturday, Oct. 29, the Roots Music Project is hosting a Motown dance party, the music provided by a seven-piece band “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” Channeling the vibes of the 1960s, you’ll be taken on a tour of soul music “from Memphis to Detroit.” Tickets are $20. (Learn about the Roots Music Project here.)

Covid in Boulder County: Oct. 26, 2022

  • 56 daily new cases (7-day avg.) ⬇️ Down 1% over preceding 7-day avg.
  • 13 patients hospitalized with Covid (7-day avg.) ⬇️ Down from a high of 14 last week.
  • 69% percent of ICU is occupied. ⬆️ Up from avg. of 65% since July 2020.

What else we’re reading

  • The wind farms in Colorado are old. But as turbines have been sold to different companies, owners of the land they’re on aren’t sure who to contact about maintenance or contract renegotiation. Landowners are worried turbines on their properties might just be abandoned.

ICYMI

Tim Drugan was a climate and environment reporter for Boulder Reporting Lab.