Good Friday morning, Boulder. Today’s BRL Today is sponsored by Rosetta Hall, Boulder’s all-day cultural hub where food, design and community come together.
Leading today’s edition: The first Ponderosa Mobile Home Park residents have moved into new net-zero Habitat for Humanity triplex homes, marking a milestone in the city’s long effort to replace aging mobile homes at Ponderosa with permanently affordable housing. The project offers a rare path to homeownership in North Boulder, but not all residents are welcoming the changes. Some worry about rising costs and future displacement. The city says it is working to ensure nearly all Ponderosa residents can qualify for a new home through subsidies and flexible financing. Brooke Stephenson reports.
Also today: If you’ve been following Stephenson’s reporting on Boulder’s use of Flock license plate reader technology and the controversy surrounding the company in Colorado and nationally, Longmont just made a different call. After an hour and a half of public comment dominated by privacy concerns, Longmont City Council voted this week to pause all Flock data sharing and to study what it would take to end its contract. The decision stands in contrast to Boulder, where staff have said they plan to renew the city’s Flock contract when it expires in 2026 and where city council has not weighed in.
Plus more, Below the Fold:
- BoulderCAST: Dry and warm, no sign of snow.
- Wind woes: 1,500 mountain residents lose power.
- E-bike uptick: Crashes rise, severe injuries drop.
- Fire check: Boulder hits 1,000 home assessments.
- Canyon rescue: Drone finds lost climber in the dark.
- Arts Week: 2026 event submissions now open.
Thanks, as always, for reading,
– The BRL team
Rosetta Hall is Boulder’s all-day cultural hub — a third space where design, flavor and community come together. Every visit is a creative experience, from a beautifully plated lunch to a late-night DJ set. Whether you’re here for a cocktail, a celebration or just the vibe, Rosetta offers more than a meal — it offers connection.
Boulder speeds up replacement of Ponderosa mobile homes with Habitat for Humanity housing
Some residents are elated to become homeowners through a city project backed by millions in investment, while others remain uneasy with the changes to their neighborhood. Continue reading…
Longmont halts Flock license plate reader data sharing and weighs ending contract as Boulder plans to renew
Longmont City Council said privacy concerns were too great to continue sharing data from the AI license plate readers, which collect information on every passing car and have shared information with ICE. Continue reading…
Where to give in 2025: Boulder Reporting Lab’s holiday guide to local nonprofits, volunteering and community support
From food assistance to housing, seniors, arts and environmental causes, here are dozens of ways to support Boulder County nonprofits. Continue reading…
Staying gusty and warm
It’s been a blustery week, and the wind isn’t letting up just yet. Expect downslope gusts in the 20 to 30 mph range today and tomorrow before the jet stream finally shifts north later in the weekend.
The upside? Temperatures will stay mild alongside the wind, with highs near 60 degrees. Fire danger will be elevated, but not critical through Saturday.
Looking ahead, the warm stretch sticks around through at least the middle of next week. Don’t count on rain or snow in Boulder soon. We may not see much of anything between now and Christmas with largely warm and dry conditions favored by every long-range weather model.
Hundreds of customers in Boulder County’s mountains lose power amid high winds
Xcel Energy reported that more than 1,500 customers in Boulder County were without power yesterday as high winds battered towns in the foothills and slowed repairs. Residents in the Gold Hill area have been reporting power outages since Monday.
Sydney Isenberg, a spokesperson for Xcel, said crews are working to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. “However, the winds are creating hazardous conditions for our crews, delaying the restoration process,” she said.
Forecasters expected gusts of about 50 mph in the mountains Thursday. As of Thursday afternoon, outages were reported for about 800 customers in Nederland, 300 in Jamestown and 300 near Salina, with additional outages across the county, according to Xcel’s outage map. The outages were unplanned, according to Xcel. In other wind events, the utility has preemptively cut power to certain lines to reduce wildfire risk from downed trees. Read more on BRL.
E-bike crashes in Boulder see sharp increase, but severe crashes are down from pre-pandemic rates
Non-serious crashes in the City of Boulder involving e-bikes are on the rise, and the rate of severe crashes has decreased over the past five years, according to a crash data update provided to the Transportation Advisory Board in November.
In the past four and a half years, 16% of bicycling crashes involved an e-bike, according to officers’ narratives of crash reports. Total bicycle crashes involving e-bikes have increased from 4% in 2021 to 25% in 2024. The percentage of severe crashes, defined as incidents that result in serious injury or death, involving all bicycles remains at 36%. The City Attorney’s Office has been directed to research the city’s authority to regulate e-bikes, and city staff are monitoring crashes that involve e-bikes versus traditional bikes.
Citywide and across vehicle types, Boulder saw 45 severe crashes in 2024. Through September 2025, the city had 34 severe crashes and is expected to see similar rates to those in 2024 by the end of the year. These rates are an improvement from the years leading up to the pandemic. Read more on BRL.
Boulder Fire-Rescue completes 1,000 wildfire-proofing property assessments
The city announced that Boulder Fire-Rescue has completed 1,000 detailed home assessments since the program launched in November 2023. During each assessment, a risk reduction specialist tours the property and provides tailored recommendations to reduce wildfire risk. Most assessments were conducted in Boulder’s wildland-urban interface, where fire danger is highest.
“Creating a more wildfire ready community is a cross-departmental, community wide effort, and we are lucky to be here in Boulder where much of our community is willing to take up the task,” Michael Calderazzo, Boulder Fire-Rescue chief, said in a city press release.
Demand surged this spring following major fires in Los Angeles, leading to months-long backlogs. Danielle McNutt, Boulder Fire-Rescue’s community risk reduction senior program manager, told Boulder Reporting Lab the recommendations focus on practical steps to reduce fire risk in existing homes. Completing an assessment is required before applying for funding through the city’s Wildfire Resilience Assistance Program.
Boulder has taken several steps this year to ramp up wildfire resilience, including expanding the high-risk fire zone to more than 10,000 additional homes, requiring fire-resistant materials for new construction and proposing new landscaping codes to promote fire-resistant plants. Wildfire experts say that for communities to truly reduce the home-to-home ignition that has destroyed neighborhoods in Boulder County and elsewhere, similar home-hardening requirements will need to apply to existing homes as well. The question of how far the city should go on this became a prominent issue in last month’s city council election.
Lost climber rescued at Eldorado Canyon State Park
A 24-year-old climber was rescued early Thursday after becoming lost at Eldorado Canyon State Park. His family called 911 just before 2 a.m. when he failed to return home after attempting the multi-pitch Naked Edge route. According to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, the climber had depleted all of his headlamp batteries and his phone had died, leaving him in the dark during the hike out.
Rescuers located him using a Boulder Police Department drone, and the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group assisted him down a technical descent. The operation lasted about six hours and involved the Sheriff’s Office, Boulder Police, park rangers and Rocky Mountain Rescue. Officials said the incident is a reminder to share trip plans, set check-in times and carry adequate lighting and emergency equipment.
Get your event on the Boulder Arts Week calendar
Event submissions are now open for the 12th annual Boulder Arts Week, taking place April 3-12, 2026. Anyone hosting exhibitions, performances, workshops, open studios or other creative experiences is encouraged to add their events to the official calendar to boost visibility. Boulder Arts Week celebrates the city’s thousands of artists and 140 arts organizations, showcasing everything from murals to dance.
☀️ Explore events in Boulder and use the self-submission form on our events page to reach thousands in our community — for free! To have your event featured on our Monday to-do list, make sure to submit it to our events calendar.