Best of the Rest

Radio Show
C : KCFR’s Colorado Matters
Every morning when I get in my car, my radio is pre-set to 90.1. I’ve gotten into the habit of listening to NPR on my commute because I like news better than shock jocks and prefer national headlines over the super-local news on some AM talk stations. Imagine my surprise, then, when I started hurrying to get out of the house by 7:50 to catch Colorado Matters on KCFR. The show’s reports (which are also aired at 10am and 7pm weekdays as well as 7pm on Saturday and 1pm on Sunday) range from local interest to state politics and run the gamut from fluffy to fairly hard-hitting. It gives my daily shot of NPR a little local flavor.
R : KBCO’s Bret Saunders

Reason to Live in East County/North Metro
C : Yellow Scene, big houses and neighborly residents
Recently, our publisher was chatting with a woman in a Boulder restaurant about Yellow Scene. “I have a friend who lives in East County,” the woman said, “and she loves your magazine because it makes her feel hip.” We’ve grown since our humble beginnings, and so has the entire North Metro/East County area. Plus, you can get a house bigger than a postage stamp here for less than the GDP of a small nation. And while it may not be a place where everybody knows your name, the small-town feel of our cities does give us a certain genial familiarity with our neighbors that a big city just can’t replicate.
R : Proximity to cities without the traffic or crowds

Reason to Live in Boulder
C : The outdoor-centric, green-minded, locavore lifestyle
It doesn’t have anything to do with granola or patchouli or dreadlocks. The “Boulder lifestyle,” as it’s so often called, is more about getting healthy than getting high; more about being responsible than sticking it to the man; more about sustainability than peace, love and rock ‘n’ roll (though, those are pretty OK too). Somewhere between a hippie and a yuppie lies the Boulderite, and that’s what makes Boulder cool, man. Way cool.
R : Proximity to outdoors and recreation

Photographer
C : Julie Levy
Photographer
R : Doug Goodin

Artist
EC.c : Nick Mott
EC.r : Scott Fraser
BD.c : Elizabeth Black
BD.r : Regan Rosburg

Politician-City Level
EC.c : Andrew Moore (Mayor of Erie)
EC.r : Chad Auer (Mayor of Firestone) and Chris Cameron (Mayor of Lafayette)
BD.c : Shaun McGrath (former Boulder mayor)
BD.r Gabe Santos (Longmont City Councilman…Obviously not a Boulder politician)

Green Person or Business
EC.c : AVA Solar (now Abound Solar)
EC.r : John Breaux
BD.c : Xcel Energy
BD.r : Eco-cycle

Environmental Effort
Raising Carbon Tax in Boulder

Bar
EC.c : Niwot Tavern
There’s an old Russian proverb that goes, “The church is near, but the road is icy. The bar is far away, but I will walk carefully.” It’s a personal motto, mostly because some bars—good bars like the Niwot Tavern, where the bartender cares, where conversation and community are never missing, where the food is good…but even better with a pint of something hoppy—are worth battling snow storms, flash floods and tornado warnings. You didn’t think snow boots, long underwear and mittens were made for something other than surviving the commute to the local bar, did you?
EC.r : Pumphouse Brewery

BD.c : George’s Food & Drink
Named after George Paper—the manager of the Curran Theater, Boulder Theater’s predecessor, in the 1920s who, legend says, accidentally hung himself in the building’s wiring while trying to fix the lighting—George’s Food & Drink is by all means historic. And like wine and Porsches, bars are better with age and a good story.
BD.r : Scotch Pub

Billiards
EC.c : Dicken’s Opera House
There are pool players and then there are people who play pool. These are two drastically different sorts of people. One will bring their own queues to a bar and will ensure that everyone is playing by the “rules.” The other is always up for an impromptu game at a nearby bar. Dicken’s is a prime spot for the latter—an upscale-ish yet relaxed place to show off your “I don’t really play that often” skills.
EC.r : Bit of Billiards

BD.c : The Foundry Billiards Club
Despite shrinking its pool table fleet, The Foundry is still the place in Boulder to satisfy your late-night competitive urges. Plus, with only five tables, there’s more room for people to watch you either A) embarrass yourself while breaking or B) make a fool of your trash-talking friend who bragged about taking two semesters of billiards in college.
BD.r : The Foundry Billiards Club

running loop
EC.c : Niwot Loops
BD.c : Marshall Mesa Trail
We all know that the Boulder and North Metro areas hold some of the fittest people in the nation—so it’s only right that these communities also hold some amazing outlets for those athletes. Niwot has an unbelievable number of running loops, a mixture of both suburban and open space trails. Just start at the Niwot Loop Trailhead and you’ll be running in circles all day. As for Boulder, the Marshall Mesa Trail, just east of the intersection of Highway 93 and Marshall Road, will get you out into what city folk like to call “nature”—we just call it our backyard. You’ll glide through gorgeous grasslands and connect with the Community Ditch Trail to make yourself a perfect loop.
EC.r : Waneka Lake
BD.r : Bobolink Trail