CDC Map of Colorado, COVID-19 transmission rates

• Music teacher to sing a different tune. A 27-year-old Boulder County teacher was arrested Thursday on suspicion of sexual assault of four of his female students. Da’Jon Tyrik James is facing two counts of sexual assault of a child by one in a position of trust, a Class 4 felony, and unlawful sexual contact, a misdemeanor, according to a Boulder County Sheriff’s Office news release. He was being held Thursday at the Boulder County Jail.

• Top Golf held a hole-in-one contest for $10,000 prize, but denied the prize to 2021 Erie High School grad Adam Bristow at the EHS Tiger Top Golf Fundraiser, claiming they couldn’t verify he made the shot. Don’t they have cameras?

• Homeless Solutions backtracks on empathy less policy requiring 6 months residency in county to receive county services. Homeless Solutions for Boulder County voted to revoke its policy, claiming it was not due to public pressure or the legal issues raised in a letter from the ACLU. The policy change takes effect August 9th.

• The CDC Community Transmission tracker has all Denver Metro counties, including Boulder, at substantial or higher transmission rates. Boulder County is among the areas where indoor mask use is once again recommended as COVID cases start to creep back up after months of decline. Nearly all new infections have been in unvaccinated individuals, but several hundred “breakthrough” cases have occurred countywide, officials report. No official county or state orders have been issued. The latest BOCO outbreak involved six people – all either partially vaccinated or fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before testing positive for the virus. CDPHE reports the outbreak was determined at Supermoon in Boulder July 22.

• Another cyclist was killed on a local road, residents are demanding change, updates, and bike lanes. There is a bicycle project in progress in Boulder County, stretching from Longmont to Boulder, the 119 Bicycle Infrastructure Project, led by Stacey Proctor, with the County. That’s clearly not covering the side roads and other bicycle trafficked arteries in our region. Design and planning isn’t set to be complete till 2023, according to a recent update from Proctor.

• Wildlife update: a moose did a hit-and-run on a car in BOCO, causing $3,200 in damages and leaving antler scratches and hoof marks all over it. Please be safe with wildlife, park in appropriate areas, and don’t approach a moose. They’re gigantic and can be dangerous when angered.

• Lastly, smoke from distant fires is wreaking havoc on local air quality, so stay safe while outside. And the Gross Dam expansion is officially put on hold.

Small Talk

“Top Golf ended up not giving Adam Bristow the money because they couldn’t ‘verify’ he actually made the hole in one. We have been in touch with Adam to see if it’s ok with his parents if The Fowler Group gives him $1,000. We aren’t billionaires like Top Golf, so we can’t afford the $10,000… but hopefully giving him $1,000 will bring back that smile.”
– Brie Fowler, in an email to YS, regarding the Top Golf prize snub

“HSBC has an excellent track record of providing adults experiencing homelessness with targeted, responsive services to support quick, stable housing solutions. Given limits on resources, HSBC must consider the best policies to provide shelter services in a fair and equitable manner.”
– Heidi Grove, systems manager for Homeless Solutions for Boulder County

“All of the metro counties have been above that 50 threshold for at least the last three days. And for those last three days, they’ve all been increasing. And really, they’ve all been increasing since the end of June.”
– Dr. John Douglas, Tri-County Health Department Executive Director

“As we have done since the beginning of the pandemic, we intend to follow the public health orders and best advice of our local public health agencies. They have done an excellent job of striking a balance between protecting students and ensuring that they have the opportunity to learn in-person in the least restrictive environment possible — given the existing COVID situation in our schools and community.”
– Boulder Valley School District officials in an email