Usually, I write this column about theater and performance. Well, we are all performing now, in the public theater of this nation—the world’s last, best hope of democracy. I try to keep things lighthearted and positive, but sometimes you have to just tell your story as it is. In this moment where the violence and horror that never ended have once again come into focus with the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many more, I feel the overwhelming need to do something, *anything* to help.  And so, on several nights this week, I marched my shiny, fragile, privileged, white ass down... Read More

  Photo credit: UniversityParent.com This past Wednesday, a couple of unfortunate events took place. The first was waking up to an Amber Alert text message saying there was a man with a machete on campus and to act accordingly. I was still in bed so it didn’t really spark a reaction in me. Later, news came that the police had him under control. Again, no reaction from me because I had just assumed the situation would be taken care of. When you aren’t close to the situation at hand, you don’t really question your safety. It turns out that the police had shot and killed the man because... Read More

Meet Officer Compton! He was working on Pearl street mall today, which he says is one of the most exciting places in Boulder to patrol!  He has been a cop for about three years now and became interested in a career in law enforcement at an early age. “My dad was a cop for 35 years, so growing up around him influenced me to follow in his footsteps.. as kids often do.  It’s actually very fun and you get to do a lot of stuff.  You just never know what you’re going to get on any given day.”  Read More

On January 1st, 2013, one of Boulder’s most beloved animals was shot and killed by police officer Sam Carter. The Mapleton Elk, a common visitor of Boulder’s Mapleton Hill area, was once considered a “guardian” by some residents of the neighborhood. After a few hours of discussing the matter, the Boulder County jury came to the conclusion that Carter plotted the kill and tried to use his position as a police officer to cover up the story. Sam Carter was found guilty on nine accounts, four of which were felonies, including an account of forgery and two accounts of tampering... Read More

It all began on Wednesday evening, around sundown, when the rain started dumping. Forget cats and dogs, this was lions and bears. I was heading back from a friend’s house and remember thinking that the raindrops were so big and coming down so hard that it felt more like hail than rainfall. After being outside for only about a minute I was as drenched in water as if I’d just climbed out of a swimming pool. The heavy rain kept up and continued throughout the night and all the way through Thursday. So far, we’ve recorded six to eight inches of rainfall and nearly every waterway... Read More