Welcome back to Monday and your email, Boulder. Hopefully this is one of the better ones.

For today, Jessica Mordacq covers First Sip, a means for Boulderites to discover the fancy and creative drinks local restaurants have to offer without the pressure of committing to a full-course meal. Dry Storage, for example, is offering a flight with iced kumquat-thyme espresso, raspberry vanilla matcha and a hibiscus limeade for $13.

Also, in case you missed it on Friday, a special counsel, appointed by the City of Boulder to investigate complaints surrounding the city’s Police Oversight Panel, recommended that one of its members resign. The suggestion is likely to reignite a debate over community policing in the weeks ahead.

Enjoy your week’s beginning. I’ll see you Wednesday.

— Tim, reporter

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What to know today

  • Lovely followed by lovely: Today and tomorrow will enjoy temps in the 70s, while the middle of the week will drop all the way to the 50s with a slight chance of rain. Clouds will shuffle across the sky all the while.
  • Sharps disposal containers appear to be working as intended: Since May 2020, when the City of Boulder and Boulder County installed red containers near the city’s downtown for people to dispose of hypodemic needles, more than 689 pounds have been collected, according to city officials.
    • “Based upon weight of a syringe, we think that’s about 62,000 needles,” Ali Rhodes, the director of Boulder Parks and Recreation, told city councilmembers last Thursday. “Staff are reporting finding fewer abandoned syringes in nearby public spaces since installation.”
    • The number is a grim reminder of drug addiction in the city. Disposing of used needles can reduce the risk of infection and hepatitis C, a life-threatening disease. The kiosk near 13th and Arapahoe was recently taken down. In an email, Rhodes told Boulder Reporting Lab that the city and county are planning to place the container somewhere else in the area “to measure/test if/how usage changes depending upon location.”
  • Structure fire on Friday: Several residents lost their homes following a structure fire last Friday at the Shady Creek Apartments on the 2000 block of Canyon Boulevard. At around 3:00 a.m., Boulder Fire-Rescue responded to a fire on a ground-floor outdoor patio, spreading to the floors above. Although the fire caused interior damage to several apartments, it stayed mostly on the outside of the building.
    • Firefighters extinguished the flames and evacuated the building safely. All residents and their pets were accounted for. One resident was treated on scene for minor burn and smoke injuries. Unfortunately, several apartments are now uninhabitable, and those residents were put in touch with the Red Cross and Boulder Police Victim Advocates. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
  • Details released on coming landscaping presentation: Ahead of the April 27 city council study session on what to do about gas-powered landscaping equipment, the City of Boulder has released a memo detailing options for councilmembers to weigh. City staff seem to recommend a middle-of-the-road approach — a combination of education and incentives while trying to push change at the state level, like potential future bans that wouldn’t put the onus entirely on Boulder to aid companies in the transition.
    • Not recommended by staff: an overarching leaf blower ban or gas equipment sales ban. But also not recommended is business as usual. Though some change is advised, many of the steps landscaping professionals feared the most — like an immediate and complete ban on gas-powered equipment — are recommended only for future consideration and even then with potential seasonal exceptions.
    • In the memo, city staff outline the noise, health and climate impacts of using gas-powered equipment, while also acknowledging that in the grand scheme of climate change, lawn care probably isn’t the highest priority. “According to the EPA, gas-powered landscaping equipment is responsible for just 0.3% of total CO2 emission nationally,” the memo reads.
    • Staff also address the possible equity ramifications of doing away with the gas equipment without care. “While landscaping service is a successful entrepreneurial industry, the margins are thin,” the memo reads. It also acknowledges that many landscaping workers make little more than minimum wage, and many are minorities.
    • The memo presents a typical assortment of gas-powered machinery for a landscaping company, sans mowers, estimating total costs at about $4,880. The estimated equivalent for electric equipment would be $15,950. Additional batteries and rapid chargers are a good portion of the increased cost. Again, that’s not including mowers.
    • Several times, the memo states that electric equipment “will continue to evolve.” As electric gains steam, and eventually overtakes its gas-powered counterparts, a transition will become easier and easier.
    • Read BRL’s overview of the issue and a follow-up brief about an event hosted by Boulder County’s PACE program to let local landscapers try electric equipment.
  • Helping with housing transitions: The City of Boulder recently launched a program called “Building Home,” which aims to provide support to newly housed community members. The program is designed to assist those living in Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) to reduce feelings of isolation by building a community for people who have formerly experienced homelessness.
    • The Building Home program has two components. The first is the peer support and daytime programming services, provided by Focus Reentry. This matches individuals who have lived experience in homelessness and at least one year of stable housing with those who have been in PSH less than two years. The second component is the housing retention team, operated by the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, which provides mental health and homelessness case management professionals.
    • The program is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). According to the city’s dashboard, the program will receive $1.5 million.
    • Megan Newton, policy adviser for Housing and Human Services, said, “Through Building Home, the city is supporting an essential safety net that has been shown to increase the success of newly housed community members remaining in housing.”

Go Deeper…

Boulder’s second annual drink week offers a new twist on restaurant week

By Jessica Mordacq

April 16, 2023

The First Sip event celebrating the local drink scene runs from April 26-30 and will feature over 30 participating bars and restaurants.

Continue reading…

Following complaint alleging a bias against police, city-appointed investigator recommends Police Oversight Panel member resign

By John Herrick

April 14, 2023

Lisa Sweeney-Miran, the executive director of a homeless shelter, said she does not plan to resign. “That I am open to alternatives to police responses when force is not needed, does not make me biased,” she said.

Continue reading…

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Get involved + BRL Picks

⛑️ Mental health planning: Boulder County’s behavioral health planning team is hosting a virtual community meeting on mental health on April 26 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. “This community meeting will discuss the development of a long-term plan to ensure all community members can access the right mental and behavioral health supports at the right time.” The event is open to all via Zoom. For more information, contact Marcy Campbell at mcampbell@bouldercounty.org.

🍽️ Farm dinners are back: The Lyons Farmette has released its schedule for its farm dinner series this summer and fall, each one featuring a different chef and theme. The dinners start in July and end in October, and this year’s dinners include chefs from Rosetta Hall, Jacaranda, Forage Sisters, Blackbelly, Mountain Crust and more. Head’s up: At least one dinner is already sold out. (h/t Boulder Food News).

🌱 The Found Collective x Rembrandt Yard: Mark your calendars for Sunday, May 13, when the Found Collective x Rembrandt Yard will host their Spring Marketplace Event, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at The Rembrandt Yard in downtown Boulder. “30+ artists, artisans, local small businesses, designers & experiences will be carefully curated for this special Mother’s Day weekend event.” Tickets are $5.

For ideas on what to do this week, check out BRL’s Local Events page.

ICYMI

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