This piece is part of Yellow Scene Magazine’s Opinion section. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent a reported news position. At Yellow Scene, opinion pieces speak freely, challenge assumptions, and say the quiet parts out loud.

I love you. I really do. And I say that with all sincerity. Nobody champions local more than we do. We believe it is as close to a circular economy as we can get. We believe small businesses aren’t trying to bribe their elected officials. And we believe if you want to BDS, there is an easy fix: shop local.

I often joke that no one in their right mind stays in local journalism. I am a dynamo salesperson, an elite, a rainmaker. I could have left the field to make more money, but I didn’t. And the reasons have only compounded the longer I stay in local journalism and observe our world.

I got my first media job at the age of 21 and fell in love. I got my start in the sales department as an art college dropout. With zero training, knowledge, or experience, I landed a position where they gave me all the leads that never advertised and told me if I could sell them, I could keep my job.

So 21-year-old me, happy-go-lucky and extremely ADHD (I like to spell it Adhhhd), walks into the door of my first lead with the Christmas Guide I was supposed to sell. Promptly, the lady tells me to bugger off—she doesn’t want any.

Not knowing how the industry worked, obviously, I didn’t know what to say or do. So I went home and hand-sketched an idea for her. It was clever and funny, and different. Now, in hindsight, I am grateful I didn’t know that my industry didn’t help you with these things. So I carefully worked the concept out, even hand-lettering it.

Taking it back the next day, I told her I had an idea and held it up for her to see. She proclaimed no one had ever done something like that for her. She liked it, and she bought it. I fell in love. The idea that I could use my art skills to help hard-working business owners was deeply enriching. My career was born.

At this crossroads in America’s history, each of us has a decision to make about who we are supporting and why.

I have always worked in independent media. I was shaped by some brilliant journalists who poured the Kool-Aid down my throat: the 4th estate, the watchdogs, and the idea that democracy needs a free press.

Attorney Matt Simonsen (left) presents Yellow Scene’s argument to Court of Appeals judges (left to right) Stephanie Dunn, Gilbert Román and Craig Welling. (Credit: John Eisele, Colorado State University)

Recently, Yellow Scene appeared at a Court of Appeals hearing in Fort Collins at CSU in our case with the City of Boulder over police transparency. It’s a big deal and could set a state precedent. It’s also scary. But I am proud that we did it, as holding truth to power really does matter to us.

Corporatization is not just impacting journalism. Today roughly 90% of news media is owned by just a small handful of conglomerates. With the Ellisons expanding their control over more major media platforms, the ownership pool has shrunk even smaller. There is no doubt corporatization has had negative impacts on the United States’ democratic process, influencing policies that enrich a small few while consolidating power.

Corporatization is also coming for small business. Today, roughly 70% of vets and dentists are owned by corporate conglomerates. Other industries are seeing this as well—from mechanics and daycare centers to food sources, banks, and medical practices—all being gobbled up and consolidated.

Yet roughly 50% of businesses in America are still owned by a sole proprietor, a number that has declined 20% or more over the past two decades. It is a wonder we have them left, and we should be doing everything we can to protect them.

Downtown Louisville, CO

This is true for local business choices as well. As the last and only locally owned, independent news platform left serving all of Boulder County, you can imagine our frustration when we see our small business owners handing their advertising dollars to Meta.

I love our small business owners, but most are not masters of marketing. Too often it’s treated like the red-headed stepchild. I see folks jump from one shiny bandwagon to the next with less than 1% allocated to marketing, treating it like an expense instead of an investment, with messages that are dry, boring, and cookie-cutter, only to hear them say, “advertising doesn’t work.”

They are right. When approached that way, it doesn’t work. That is why we provide our Marketing Guidebook and Growth Objective Calculator, to help with crafting a strategy. It is also why we offer agency-quality copywriting and design, so the message has meaning instead of just telling people they exist.

But uttering the tired old line “print is dead” is lazy thinking as well. That was a sales pitch from the tech bros to convince business owners to give them all their money. Funny thing: 25 years after the tech revolution, we are so saturated that people are paying not to see online ads, and if they don’t, 86% have “banner blindness.”

Until AI starts spending money in the marketplace, we still need humans. Hopefully, we want a society where all humans can thrive, not just survive.

There is a reason we never gave up print. First, we didn’t buy that print was dead. Book sales only decreased for a few years, and it was about a 5% decrease. Today, books are on the rise. Additionally, e-books only capture about 15% of the sales.

Why would people prefer print over digital? Lots of reasons, but let’s start with the fact that human beings need connections. That is a biological fact. In fact, the more digital that is thrown at us, the more people burn out on it and start to seek authentic connections. Also, fun fact: we retain 7x more information from print than digital, so give your kids books—not tablets.

Yes, we have lots of online coverage, and our website is seen even more than our social media. But we have also learned that a surefire way to have a failed event is to only rely on social media. It takes nothing to like something and move on.

Yellow Scene has been committed to producing authentic journalism since we started. We are very proud of the stories we cover for the community on shoestring budgets. We could have more money if we accepted “sponsored content,” something a vast majority of platforms have taken to publishing. We won’t.

I am sorry, but a story about a realtor or insurance salesperson isn’t a feature. It’s called vanity marketing for a reason. It’s a disservice to democracy, to the advertiser, and to the reader.

And frankly, readers don’t go home on Friday night and watch infomercials. They watch well-produced shows. I can hear the conversations: “Hey, have you seen the latest infomercial? It’s got me on the edge of my seat!”

That’s exactly why we’ve never accepted pay-to-play articles at Yellow Scene. We have never taken money to write about any subject. Our calendar is free, press releases are free, and our journalists are free from influence. So if we wrote about you, it is because you had a story to share. Yellow Scene truly is your authentic local free press.

I have been in journalism my entire life; I am not going to start doing quid pro quo now. The struggles we face aren’t from not being able to get readers. We have a 97% pickup rate in stands and 75,000–100,000 views a month on the website.

After 25 years sustained by advertising, part of our work is helping small businesses understand that content is king, that local media serves the local community, that the latest fad is just that—a fad, and that we would rather help them craft strategies that incorporate a full-funnel approach. We work our asses off for our small businesses and love doing so.

But it sure would be nice if they stopped jumping on bandwagons and giving their money to all the tech-lords.

I started this work as a 21-year-old art school dropout, sketching ideas for small businesses. Four decades later, I still believe the same thing: when local businesses and local media support each other, communities thrive, and yes, people still read.

In the meantime, to remain truly free from corporate influence, we are moving to a sustaining supporter model. Yes, similar to NPR. In today’s world of corporate consolidation, advertising alone is no longer enough, and we have no interest in answering to a board. Being reader-supported means the only people we answer to are our community.

Whether you are a small business owner or a reader, if you value having one locally-owned platform committed to journalism standards in your backyard, supporting local media is a meaningful way to participate in local democracy.

Just $8 a month gets it delivered to your house and helps keep local journalism thriving.

And for the local business owners I care so much about, local media reaches the local community with more impact and for far less than digital advertising.

The post An Open Letter to Our Local Community, Including the Local Businesses That Serve It appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Give and Get Democracy: Your support keeps local journalism unbossed and unbought.

Dear Champions of Local News,

The first Yellow Scenes

It’s hard to believe 25 years have passed since Yellow Scene first hit Boulder County. I had just left Boulder Weekly and was living in Erie, thinking East County could use its own local source. Funny how times change. I sold ads before I even had a product—or, for that matter, a business. It proved how much local businesses needed a true community voice.

That same spirit of taking a risk on a hunch still drives us today. We look for what the community needs and strive to fill it. Most people pick up the magazine and say, “There’s interesting stuff in here.”

It’s startling that people are surprised by the quality of reporting in a local magazine. Having started in media at 21, my career has been rooted in local journalism. I grew up believing in its mission, which is simple: Who has the power? And who is causing the harm?

With 85% of U.S. media now controlled by six major conglomerates, what we’re served often protects those in power—or worse, isn’t journalism at all. We have plenty of “lifestyle” magazines filled with sponsored content.

Yellow Scene is the last locally owned, independent publication serving all of Boulder County—and we still print. Even though it could ease the financial challenges of independent media, we refuse pay-to-play content and hold ourselves to high standards. Being interesting is the point.

Over the years, we’ve never shied away from hard subjects. Recently, one of our reporters went undercover at the ICE facility to talk to a detainee not receiving the medical care they needed. Another zigzagged through the heartland, talking to people resisting the current administration—sleeping in his car to keep costs down. Our lawsuit against the City of Boulder isn’t for money; there’s no payout if we win. But the people of Colorado will benefit, because a win would set a statewide precedent for transparency and the public’s right to know.

Local advertising alone can no longer sustain a newsroom. We could have made it easier on ourselves—taken the sponsored content and played it safe—but that’s never who we were. We chose the harder path: to stay people-powered and independent. This is the kind of journalism your support makes possible.

For $8 a month, you can enjoy Yellow Scene delivered to your door—award-winning stories, bold design, and coverage that connects our community. Right now, every dollar you give is matched through Dec. 31 by the Colorado Media Project. Your $8 monthly commitment counts as $96 for the year, which doubles to $192 with the match.

Fifty-two new sustaining supporters by Dec. 31 will help us reach our goal. Please consider joining today, because local democracy is just as important as what’s happening in D.C.

When you become a sustaining supporter, our only boss is you.

Give & Get Democracy Today.

This is #newsCOneeds.

The post The Ones Who Dared to Fight City Hall — and Why It Matters appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

This piece is part of Yellow Scene Magazine’s Opinion section. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent a reported news position. At Yellow Scene, opinion pieces speak freely, challenge assumptions, and say the quiet parts out loud.

Correction: This editorial incorrectly stated that Chief Stephen Redfearn approved the ketamine injection of Elijah McClain. He arrived after the use of force and ketamine injection, while McClain was still alive, and later changed the CAD report from “suspicious person” to “assault on an officer” before any investigation was completed. Court proceedings have established that McClain did not assault or threaten officers. The article has been updated to reflect the public record.

Last night I dined at a top restaurant in Boulder with my roommate. We chose to sit at the bar. I’m the type of person who loves to talk to strangers. I like learning where people come from, their beliefs, and their views. Sometimes it leads to meeting lovely people; sometimes it’s an opportunity to see how the other half lives. Sometimes the conversations start nicely but end less so.

There’s a myth about Weld and Boulder Counties, the idea that everyone in Boulder is liberal and everyone in Weld is MAGA. Colorado, including Weld County, has seen tremendous growth over the last 30 years. It’s not like realtors are asking for voter registrations before selling a house. “I’m sorry, you’re registered D; we don’t sell houses in Weld County to D’s.” Not happening.

Erie gets scooped up in that analogy, and I’ve even seen reporters stand on County Line Road for a story outlining that notion: “Here’s the Boulder County side, which is liberal, and here’s the Weld County side, which is Republican.”

First of all, in the 2024 election, Boulder County voted approximately 76 percent blue, and Weld voted 60 percent red. Those are facts. But when it comes to Erie, those numbers change. In 2020, Erie voted 68 percent blue, and the 2024 council elections saw three progressive candidates take the lion’s share of votes, with the more conservative mayor squeaking by with a mere 500 votes.

There’s also the idea that everyone in Boulder is liberal. An old editor I worked with 27 years ago at the Boulder Weekly once told me, “Boulder is a bunch of Republicans too afraid to vote that way.” That dinner conversation reminded me that fascism doesn’t always wear a uniform. In Boulder, it can wear a Patagonia vest.

Boulder recycles, bicycles, and supports the LGBTQ community. The city has recently passed mental-health measures to address addiction and a lack of services. But it’s not the progressive bastion folks think it is.

While the rest of the country voted for progressives in this year’s elections — not just New York, but also places like Aurora, Westminster, and Colorado school boards — Boulder elected three of the four billionaire-backed candidates. Approximately 32,000 to 35,000 people voted out of about 70,000 active registered voters in Boulder. 

Most people don’t know this, but roughly 57 percent of Boulder rents, with students making up about 20 percent of that number. Only 19 percent of households have children under 18. There are a lot of young people in Boulder. Unlike New York City, they didn’t vote and often don’t vote in city elections, allowing those with power and influence to make decisions for those without. 

In Weld, right-wing extremism is worn loud and proud; in Boulder, it’s tucked into coded language.

Boulder’s billionaire-backed slate didn’t run on more affordable housing but on removal, even promoting ads urging voters to oppose the two candidates who fought to end the blanket ban, Boulder’s ordinance that criminalizes the city’s unhoused residents by making it a crime to sleep outside with a blanket.

Homelessness and the firebombing of Jewish protestors demanding the release of the hostages were used to stoke fear, turning “law and order” into a political weapon to justify police escalation and the criminalization of poverty. Meanwhile, the city keeps paying out millions for police violence and just hired Stephen Redfearn as police chief — a decision so controversial the NAACP Boulder County chapter fractured over it and ultimately collapsed. He later changed the CAD call type from “suspicious person” to “assault on an officer” before any investigation was complete, a decision his critics say helped frame a false narrative in the case and remains at the center of ongoing controversy and legal cases in Boulder.

This is “safety” as cover: no divestment from companies profiting off the Gaza genocide, no real reckoning with policing, and a blanket ban for the homeless.

But back to last night’s dinner. My roommate and I ate at the bar. I began talking to the man next to me because he was dining alone. He ordered everything with garlic, and I joked he wasn’t going home with anyone that night. He said his wife was home sick and he was indulging, so we kept chatting while Luna and I ate. For the most part, it went all right; he seemed open-minded enough to talk with.  He was a retired banker, the kind Boulder has in surplus: friendly, articulate, and convinced civility is the same as morality.

Then I noticed a bottle on the shelf called Revolution, with what looked like an old white guy’s face on it. I made a joke about that, and our friendly diner got offended. He lectured me on the stereotypes white men suffer under. “Fair enough,” I said. “I know some white dudes who are fighting the power.”

I said what we’re witnessing is fascism in our government, and he scolded me for using the word fascist.

“Fine,” I said. “How about authoritarianism?”

He told me we’re not witnessing fascism or authoritarianism, and that when it comes to basic human rights, they don’t exist. He said rights are privileges granted by the government.

While I love me some good contractarian philosophy, and lean more toward Locke than Hobbes, his comments offended me, so I ended the conversation. After three glasses of wine, I probably could have ended it better. But by then, White Banker Guy from Boulder was telling me the system is the way it is, and we have no human rights unless the system grants them. Coupled with his denial of authoritarianism, it was too much. We told him to get lost, paid our bill, and left.

Here’s why that logic is dangerous. When you redefine rights as privileges, you hand their ownership to the state — or whoever holds power next. From there, every abuse becomes justifiable: slavery becomes economics, fascism becomes order, genocide becomes policy. It’s the same argument echoing from the far right today, that losing rights isn’t oppression but “the system working.”

We are a nation of laws founded on a social contract, which means agreeing that some harms; rape, murder, theft, are intolerable. I grew up believing that as a nation, we fought for others’ rights. But a country that elevated property rights over human rights for centuries — through 400 years of chattel slavery and our own genocide — doesn’t flip overnight. What I was taught as a child doesn’t match what we do in practice.

The rise of Trump and MAGA isn’t new; it’s regression. And now we hear, “America isn’t a democracy; it’s a republic,” a talking point used to rationalize the authoritarian impulses of the Trump era. Aside from the bad civics, it’s the casualness that chills — the ease with which people defend the erosion of rights.

The fight for human rights shouldn’t be a fight, but in a world that values personal property more than human life, it is. And silence is complicity. Whether it’s Boulder’s polite cruelty or Washington’s open authoritarianism, people are stripped of dignity while power congratulates itself for keeping order. 

America is facing a moral dilemma, and we each have to choose who we will be — the people who helped on the Underground Railroad or those who turned Anne Frank in. I may not change that over dinner, but I can damn sure name it out loud.

The ones who dared to fight City Hall.

When Boulder denied public access to police body-cam footage, we took it to court. Our fight for transparency is now before the Colorado Supreme Court — because accountability doesn’t stop at the city line.

Through December 31, every gift to Yellow Scene will be matched — dollar for dollar — through the Colorado Media Project’s Matching Grant. Give & Get Democracy this Holiday Season. Your $8 recurring monthly support not only gets you YS delivered to your house, but it’s matched for the entire year, bringing that $8/month to $192. 

Because Independent journalism isn’t just about telling stories. It’s about protecting your right to know, holding power accountable, and keeping democracy in the light. This is #newsCOneeds

The post White Banker Man from Boulder appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

This piece is part of Yellow Scene Magazine’s Opinion section. The views expressed here are those of the author in their role as Publisher, and do not represent a reported news position. At Yellow Scene, opinion pieces speak freely, challenge assumptions, and say the quiet parts out loud.

This is our 25th Commemorative Issue, and I had planned to write something about how we started and why we still do investigative journalism and even still print monthly. But such is life; even reaching 25 years doesn’t promise smooth sailing. The world is always changing.

I am very proud to have reached this milestone, and I am also proud of the work we have delivered to Boulder County over the last 25 years. The fact that we’ve helped connect a large part of the growing East County residents to local businesses since our inception makes me feel good about our contributions. Today, Yellow Scene is the last and only locally-owned, independent publication doing authentic journalism for the entire county. We never accept sponsored content, and we never charge people for stories. Restaurants don’t pay to be featured. Our calendar is free. There is no paywall. Our coverage has always been focused on civics, education, health, sports, arts, entertainment, and in general, our lives. Which we have been recognized 209 times for excellence in reporting over the last 25 years. We are, in fact, the Free Press.

For 25 years, Yellow Scene has chosen to report truthfully and honestly. That commitment has earned Yellow Scene a loyal audience, but it has also drawn out a few haters over the years. But I know they don’t reflect the character of this county. I know the heart of our community because I speak with people every day and see the values they uphold at the ballot box. 

Three issues in, I published letters to the editor about a developer’s shady practices. This resulted in phone calls to advertisers claiming we were “violating election law.” It wasn’t true, but the harassment was real. I am forever grateful to the legendary Percy Connaroe, whom I often disagreed with, for coming to our defense.

When 9/11 happened, Yellow Scene was just one-year-old. I had to decide: do we shy away from the hard truths, or report them? We chose truth — documenting why the invasion of Iraq was a bad idea. We received hate mail, angry calls, and threats. The same happened when we supported Proposition 112, when we covered police accountability, and even when we made a joke about “Freedom Fries.” At one point, we were even doxxed by Joseph Camp, deemed Colorado’s notorious “supertroll” by Westword, now in prison in Belize, where laws against doxxing are stricter. 

Now, in our 25th year, we are facing the same pattern again. The same circle who have harassed me and others for over a decade is targeting our advertisers with a smear campaign about me and Yellow Scene. The flashpoint was our coverage of Charlie Kirk and a social media post that said, “Imagine that, half-mast for a Nazi.” Whether you think it was right or wrong, the point stands. We did not lower flags for the Evergreen students terrified by gun violence that same day, or for Officer Brian Sicknick, who died after January 6th, or for Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, who were murdered in a politically motivated attack. The Trump administration didn’t even lower them for Jimmy Carter. But they were lowered for a billionaire-backed podcaster whose legacy is being whitewashed, and those speaking out are being vilified. 

The gun violence that killed Charlie Kirk is a stain on America. Nowhere else in the world experiences gun violence the way we do. And while Kirk should not have died from it, that does not erase the words he used in life. Kirk defended the idea of America as a “Christian nation” rooted in white European heritage, pushing narratives that non-white immigrants are “diluting” the country. He dismissed systemic racism as “a lie,” attacked Black Lives Matter as a “terrorist organization,” and mocked Black women leaders as unqualified “DEI hires.” He called LGBTQ acceptance a “contagion,” smeared schools as “grooming” children, and compared gender-affirming care to “child abuse.” He suggested political enemies should be punished or even executed publicly. He insisted the 2020 election was “stolen” and encouraged January 6th attendees to “fight for Trump.” He was a staunch defender of gun rights and said: “I think it’s worth it. I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.”

I do not recall any of Jesus’ teachings calling for a white-ethno state. 

None of these comments warrants justifying violence. But if his words are protected under free speech, why are critics punished for pointing them out? This week, Jimmy Kimmel was fired for comments, joining a growing list of journalists, teachers, and others who have been punished for speaking out. Free speech protects Kirk’s words, but those who highlight his violent rhetoric are canceled. The irony isn’t lost: the same people who have screamed about “cancel culture” for a decade are now running their own cancel campaign — a national tactic now showing up in Boulder County.

The folks gunning for Yellow Scene are not new. They’ve called our advertisers before, left vicious online reviews, and harassed us and our neighbors over Pride, Black Lives Matter, and oil and gas regulation. Our former Black mayor was harassed endlessly; at his job, at his children’s school, even in his own yard. They are doxxing neighbors who speak up, and now they’ve packaged their bullying into a slick “boycott packet” designed to scare local businesses. They claim to represent “thousands,” but it’s the same small group of Erie names recycling the same old tactics. This isn’t about Charlie Kirk. It’s about silencing truth.

America is on the very slippery side of the slope toward authoritarianism. The POTUS is using the military against citizens; he is illegally snatching people off the street and imprisoning them without due process; and he is targeting dissent by criminalizing protest and arresting people simply for speaking out. We are facing a moral dilemma as a nation. Yellow Scene is clear on where we stand: with democracy, truth, and our community.

Through all of this, Yellow Scene continues to do what we have always done: connect our communities, and that includes our local businesses. 

If you value local journalism in your backyard, I encourage you to support our advertisers, tell them you shop with them, and consider becoming a sustaining supporter of Yellow Scene. We honestly can’t afford to lose advertisers, and thankfully, many are finding these threats offensive. They are not making a list of which businesses to boycott; they are making a list of which ones to support. 

We may be facing one of the darkest times in our history, but I believe connecting with our community is absolutely critical to everyone’s survival. Shop Local. Support our advertisers. Support local journalism. Support democracy.

Support the local press that’s been telling the truth for 25 years. Become a sustaining member and get our monthly print edition at home. We’ve weathered 9/11, floods, fires, economic crashes—and some deeply chaotic years. With your support, we’ll keep going. Because democracy still depends on journalism.

The post Everyone Should Be Fired Over Charlie Kirk appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

This piece is part of Yellow Scene Magazine’s Opinion section. The views expressed here are those of the author in their role as Publisher, and do not represent a reported news position. At Yellow Scene, opinion pieces speak freely, challenge assumptions, and say the quiet parts out loud. 8/7/25 Updated to reflect that Ryan Schuchard and Nicole Speers’ op-ed was in response to a meme.

The June 1 firebombing on Pearl Street shocked the city. Mohamed Sabry Soliman hurled a makeshift Molotov cocktail into a crowd rallying for the release of Israeli hostages and POWs in Gaza. One person was killed; several others were hospitalized. In the immediate aftermath, Yellow Scene called it, “an act of horror that will take a long time to heal from.”

But in the weeks since, the tragedy has taken on a life of its own. It has become a political litmus test and a flashpoint for how Boulder speaks (or doesn’t) about Gaza, Zionism, and dissent. 

That tension recalls a moment from not so long ago. In the aftermath of September 11, national grief quickly hardened into dogma. Muslims were scapegoated. Civil liberties were stripped. The Bush administration launched wars in the name of security, killing hundreds of thousands. In Boulder, Boulder Weekly published Pamela White’s now-famous cover story, “Why Are We So Hated?” just two days after the attacks. It asked the question few dared to at the time: what motivates our enemies, and what do their grievances say about us?

In that piece, CU professor Ira Chernus cautioned against moral absolutism: “The general assumption is that if you listen to what they say, that endorses [the attack].” But listening, he argued, was essential to preventing future violence. Other voices have echoed the same sentiment. David Barsamian called terrorism “the poor man’s B-52,” highlighting the power imbalance between nations and those who resort to desperate, brutal tactics. Joel Edelstein added, “Americans would not sit quietly if they were treated like the Palestinians are treated by the Israelis,” pointing to the double standards in how suffering and resistance are framed depending on who experiences them.

The parallels in today’s discourse are hard to miss. After 9/11, anyone seen as “disloyal” or critical of U.S. policy was branded un-American, even treasonous. The Dixie Chicks were blacklisted. Journalists were sidelined. Protesters were smeared. Yellow Scene received hate mail and calls for speaking out against invading Iraq. Similarly, in Boulder today, the space to ask uncomfortable questions—about Gaza, about power, about complicity—is rapidly closing.

And just as post-9/11 narratives erased decades of U.S. interventionism to cast America as a blameless victim, today’s narrative risks painting over 74 years of occupation and apartheid that set the stage for October 7th.

Within hours of the Pearl Street attack, leaders across Colorado denounced it as an act of antisemitism. Governor Jared Polis issued a statement. A pledge was circulated among the members of the Boulder City Council. “It was important to stand with our Jewish community,” one council member said. Six members signed immediately.

One didn’t: Councilwoman Taishya Adams. Instead, she released her own statement mourning the tragedy while also addressing the broader political context, particularly with regards to Gaza.

Her refusal sparked outrage, and social media erupted. A petition to remove her from office began circulating. A few days later, councilmembers Mark Wallach and Matt Benjamin published an op-ed accusing Gaza solidarity activists of “abandoning all standards of decency” and engaging in “juvenile, performative politics.” The piece focused on a “Wanted” poster circulating online that criticized council members for refusing to pass a ceasefire resolution or divest city investments from weapons manufacturers.

Wallach and Benjamin claimed the poster implied council members were criminals: “Dead or alive?” they wrote. “This is on the very edge of incitement to violence… This antisemitic characterization of the Council, some members of which are Jewish, is abhorrent, and perhaps the most offensive thing that can be said to a person of the Jewish faith.”

The accusation feels disingenuous. Every council member who opposed a ceasefire resolution, Jewish or not, was included on the poster. The message was clear: refusing to act on Gaza has political consequences. To frame that criticism as antisemitic because some targeted officials are Jewish confuses identity with ideology and erases the fact that many Jews in Boulder are also calling for a ceasefire.

Adams made her position clear. “My decision to withhold my signature from the June 2 city statement did not reflect any lack of empathy or support for Jewish community members – or an attempt to somehow justify the horrific act committed by this individual. Whatever his motivation, violence and terror are NEVER the answer.”

She condemned the attack unequivocally. She met with Jewish constituents to offer support. But she also questioned the framing of the pledge, which she claimed ignored the attacker’s stated motives: both antisemitic and anti-Zionist. 

“If we are to prevent future violence and additional attacks in our community, I believe we need to be real about the possible motivations for this heinous act.” Adams continued, “Denying our community the full truth about the attack denies us the ability to fully protect ourselves and each other.”

That distinction matters. Not because it makes the attack less horrific, but because severing the attack from its political context ensures it will happen again. It is possible to mourn a violent act and still ask what produced it. It is possible to condemn antisemitism and still interrogate Zionism. But in Boulder, attempts to do both are being cast as heresy.

The backlash continued. A second opinion piece—this time from council members Nicole Speer and Ryan Schuchard—accused Adams of posting “antisemitic content” that “minimized and unnecessarily appropriated the Holocaust.” Their response was directed at a meme she shared about the genocide of Native Americans by the United States, which led to the Indigenous population dropping from an estimated 15 million to just 250,000 by 1900.

Yet her official statement made no mention of the Holocaust. Her focus was squarely on Gaza and city investments. The accusation underscores a deeper problem this moment has revealed: the collapse of any distinction between principled criticism of a government and hatred of an entire people. 

That’s the pattern now. Every attempt to analyze this tragedy in its full context, every mention of Gaza, apartheid, or U.S. complicity, is met with accusations of antisemitism. No matter how many disclaimers Adams includes, no matter how clearly she condemns the violence, the label sticks. It is a pervasive black and white way of thinking that justifies erasure.

 CU professor Nathan Schneider, who lost relatives in the Holocaust, called this narrowing of discourse “the unspeakable.” In a widely shared reflection on the Pearl Street attack, he wrote:

“The word antisemitism has shifted from a cry against genocide into a way to excuse it. … Locally, the explanation of antisemitism doesn’t compute. Another group of demonstrators—many of them Jewish, calling for a Gaza ceasefire—rallies downtown regularly. They weren’t attacked. Why one group and not the other?”

For Schneider, Adams’ refusal wasn’t a betrayal; it was, as he put it, “a raid on the unspeakable.” A rare moment of honesty. An acknowledgment that the firebombing on Pearl Street cannot be divorced from the firebombing of Gaza.

Yellow Scene warned of this. In the days after the firebombing, we wrote that grief would be weaponized to silence people. Since October 7th, accusations of antisemitism have become the bluntest tool to shut down criticism of Israeli policy. That national pattern is now playing out in Boulder.

None of this excuses violence. But it demands we ask: If the language of antisemitism becomes a shield for a state committing genocide, what happens to those trying to stop it? And what happens to a city that confuses condemning an attack with condemning a movement?

Adams’ refusal to sign the pledge drew swift backlash, but her posts made her reasoning clear: Boulder can’t claim to stand against hate while continuing to invest in corporations profiting from the siege on Gaza. Her critics are entitled to push back. But reducing her dissent to antisemitism sets a dangerous precedent.

That is the line Boulder is standing on now. Grief on one side. Fear on the other. And in between, a reckoning over whether this city will choose accountability or protection of power. 

It hit hard when, after 31 years, a beloved local publication closed its doors. Independent journalism in Colorado just got a little smaller. And a lot more vulnerable.

In Boulder County, only one locally-owned, independent news platform remains: Yellow Scene Magazine. We don’t answer to a corporate board. We’re not backed by a hedge fund. We answer and report to our readers..

The future isn’t found in selling out or corporate donors. It’s in community.

Help us keep unbought, unbossed journalism alive and delivered to your mailbox.

Become a sustaining supporter for just $8/month.

The post Boulder’s Breaking Point: Grief, Gaza, and the Language of Power appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Updated to include a fundraiser organized by former staff to help cover expenses after being let go without severance. KUNC interview with Shay Castle, 7/11/25. 9News coverage, Boulder Weekly halts publication after 32 years, 7/11/2025, Daily Camera, Boulder Weekly’s future uncertain after reporting staff laid off, 7/10/2025, Interview with Stewart Sallo, Inside the News in Colorado, 7/11/2025

Yesterday, I learned that Boulder Weekly, the county’s once-beloved alt-weekly, has quietly closed its doors. The owner, Stewart Sallo, let the entire staff go, save for a bookkeeper and a special operations manager.  No farewell, no final issue, no tribute to the journalists who made it what it was. Just… gone.

Some might assume I’d feel triumphant. I don’t.

Boulder Weekly wasn’t my first job in media. I started in California at Good Times when I was 21, and later spent five years in a corporate role after moving back to Colorado. I wouldn’t reach Boulder Weekly until early 1996, and I’d stay until August 12, 2000. It was barely a year and a half old at the time—scrappy, ambitious, and fighting for survival against steep competition. I left a secure job after the birth of my son to take a leap back into journalism. It was a risk. But that leap, and that newsroom, shaped the publisher I am today.

The team I worked alongside was brilliant, dedicated, and often underpaid. I drank the “journalism matters” Kool-Aid because of them. We produced stories that sparked dialogue and made real change, all while scrambling to make rent. We were the first media outlet in the country to question whether the Oklahoma City bombing was domestic terrorism. We sent a reporter to Bosnia. The staff made Boulder Weekly matter.  Not the ownership, it was always the staff.

Boulder Weekly staff, circa 1998 or 1999 (or so)

Boulder Weekly was also where I cut my teeth on the business side of things. I was a full-commission ad rep, and I worked hard for my clients—pushing for design that went beyond phonebook aesthetics. One designer later told me that, after working with me, they learned to say, “Anything is possible.” That spirit of collaboration and excellence is what defined my career. I brought in about 60% of the Weekly’s revenue. I worked hard, earned strong commissions, and helped build something special. But when ownership decided I was making too much and offered to cut my pay while expanding my responsibilities, I knew it was time to go. That decision—painful as it was—ultimately led to the creation of Yellow Scene, originally serving the East County market before expanding to the entire county.

Now, 25 years later, Yellow Scene is the last locally owned news print publication serving all of Boulder County.

Everything else is owned by a hedge fund, a franchise, or a conglomerate. This is not a badge of honor I wear lightly. It’s a warning. If we don’t support independent media, it disappears.

 I’d love to hire some of the Boulder Weekly staff. However, the reality is that this work is expensive.  We still rely on advertising (and I’m endlessly grateful to the local businesses who understand authentic journalism is the bridge to an authentic community), but ad sales alone no longer sustain the newsroom.  We need both advertisers and readers to make this work.

I still print because it offers a tangible, high-touch value that digital doesn’t. The truth is, these days, our profit margins are slim. I used to fund this work with ad revenue alone. Now, I fundraise because I believe in what we’re doing—because local, independent journalism matters.

I’m grateful to the community that continues to read and enjoy YS, and especially thankful for those who have become sustaining supporters. Those small monthly gifts? They go farther than you might think.

If you’ve ever read a story in Yellow Scene that made you feel seen, informed, or inspired,  I hope you’ll consider becoming a sustaining supporter. Only $8 a month helps us print, pay writers, and hold power to account. It keeps real journalism alive, helps us hire the necessary staff (hopefully some from Boulder Weekly), produce the news, and deliver it to your mailbox.

Boulder Weekly’s closure is a loss for local media and our community. I’m grieving, with deep respect for the journalists and artists who made it great.

Please consider contributing to the staff-led fundraiser, created to help former Boulder Weekly employees cover rent and expenses after being let go without severance.

To those former colleagues: thank you. You shaped the publisher I am today. And to our readers, advertisers, and supporters—you’re the reason we’re still moving forward in this new landscape for local media.

Shavonne Blades
Publisher, Yellow Scene Magazine

Become a sustaining supporter and keep local, independent journalism strong.

The post Publisher’s Note: No Goodbye, No Final Page: What the Loss of Boulder Weekly Means for Us All appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

You know that feeling when you’ve been in a relationship with a dreamy, charismatic billionaire, only to realize they’re actually an empty shell of a human being—and extremely toxic?

Maybe that’s how Americans felt today. But let’s be real—many saw the toxicity long before the breakup. The relationship with America is over, Elon. You blew it. She doesn’t want you back.

Tesla Takedown, Superior CO, March 1, 2025, photo credit: BlueSky: Jose-Luis Jimenez

Hundreds gathered in Superior, Colorado, at the Tesla dealership today for the national #TeslaTakedown protest, and the message was loud and clear. Instead of backlash, protesters were met with cheers and supportive honks from passersby, proving just how many people are ready to say goodbye.

The protest remained peaceful, even joyful, as demonstrators sent a message to the world’s most infamous narcissist: It’s over.

BlueSky Post

The so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, has initiated mass layoffs, over 200,000 federal employees across various federal agencies. Notably, the Department of the Interior saw 2,300 employees dismissed, including 1,000 from the National Park Service, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, has cut 405 employees, with the majority coming from FEMA, while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lost 388 staff members. These abrupt firings have sparked widespread concern about their legality and impact.

Trump orders more layoffs, Musk touts cuts at cabinet meeting – Reuters

We all suffer from federal workforce cuts – Southern Environmental Law Center

As The Hill puts it, Congress needs to put DOGE in a time-out. Marshall Ramsey’s editorial cartoon, “Sorry, Sir,” nails it—Air Force One soars as figures parachute out, with a speech bubble reading, “Sorry, sir, DOGE accidentally fired all the pilots.” It’s a sharp jab at Musk’s reckless mass firings, but the reality isn’t so funny. It’s not just federal workers being tossed out—it’s a gut punch to the entire economy. With key agencies gutted, industries disrupted, and consumer confidence shaken, we’re all in freefall. The question is: Who’s left to land the plane?

Tesla Dealership, March 1, 2025, photo credit: Jose-Luis Jimenez_Blue-Sky

When it feels like there’s nothing left to do, remember—your economic power is great. Get involved.

Tesla Takedown Movement motto:
• Sell Your Tesla
• Dump Your Stock
• Stop Musk Now!

Learn more: www.teslatakedown.com, or on BlueSky, or Facebook. We pretty much quit X, so if you are on X, you know how to find it.

We strongly encourage shopping locally at times like this.

Find additional resources at yellowscene.com:

How to Decorporatize Your Groceries

Ethics Are Alive and Well in America’s Small Business Community: 25 Businesses that are 25 Years or Older

Best of the West 2025

Get more Tesla Takedown News here on Blue Sky. You can also find Tesla Takedown coverage by local documentary photographer Chris Goodwin of desrowVISUALS.

photo credit:
ChrisGoodwin/desrowVISUALS

Like journalism like this? Consider becoming a sustaining supporter (and get our printed copy monthly at home.)

Democracy needs journalism more than ever. We’ve been telling the truth for 25 years. Your support helps us keep telling it for at least the next four more.

Democracy needs journalism more than ever. We’ve been telling the truth for 24 years. Your support helps us keep telling it for at least the next four years.

The post Tesla Takedown Hits Superior, CO as Nationwide Movement Kicks Off – March 1, 2025 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

11/20/2024 Updated to reflect new reported vote numbers: Trump: 76,781,645, Harris: 74,256,209

Sitting down to write this month’s Publisher’s Note has been tough. This past week has pretty much been wasted. I have a long to-do list, and as an independent media still committed to true journalism, I can’t afford to take midweek days off. But I was spent. I couldn’t focus on anything in front of me.

Yellow Scene Magazine (YS) did not endorse Donald J. Trump in our Annual Election Guide. In fact, we rated him as too extreme—and we stand by that rating. America now faces a potential future of fascism and tyranny, where lives and loss of rights are at very real risk. It’s disheartening that we’ve reached a point where some find joy in the pain others express over these outcomes. 

Matthew Shepard

I am preparing for those who supported Donald J. Trump to feel emboldened. What I fear most is seeing people targeted, beaten, or attacked for simply being who they are—especially those who don’t fit the vision of America outlined in Project 2025 and those who oppose it.

Project 2025 isn’t new; its roots trace back to the 1970s. After the New Deal and the revolutionary progress of the 60s, the right realized it couldn’t win elections if left solely to voters. As America moved beyond the Robber Baron and Slaveowner eras, those clinging to the past organized, launching think tanks and securing corporate funding. Over the last 40 years, anti-trust laws and civil liberties eroded, granting corporations more rights than individuals. Both Republicans, led by Ronald Reagan, and Democrats, including Bill Clinton, played a role. As Heather Cox Richardson notes in Democracy Awakening, no single party will “save us.”

I’m troubled by how the mainstream media framed this election. Throughout the campaign, major networks portrayed Donald Trump as a legitimate candidate, often overlooking his 34 felony convictions, numerous civil suits, and involvement in the January 6 insurrection. In their pursuit of ratings, they failed to present all the facts, leading to the normalization of a candidate with a significant criminal record.

Since the election, they have presented a narrative of how America moved right. This is not factually correct.  In 2020, Trump received 74,224,319 votes. In 2024, he received 74,312,688. In 2020, Joseph Biden received 81,282,916 votes, and Kamala Harris garnered 70,383,093.

It is not so much that Trump won but that the Democrats lost. 

This isn’t to overlook the nearly 300 years of racism, sexism, patriarchy, and classism that are embedded in America’s foundation. Manifest Destiny and Chattel Slavery remain horrendous stains on our history, and racism and sexism are far from over—they persist in plain sight. But the deeper question is, why did 12 million people choose not to vote this time?

Voter suppression is still very real, and it certainly plays a role. However, in 2020, we had a national mail-in ballot system due to the pandemic, which made voting more accessible. This is precisely why Republicans work so hard to erode voting rights. Meanwhile, Democrats failed to effectively communicate how they would protect and uplift Americans, leading many to stay home.

I recently joined Denver journalist and influencer Jeff Fard on his show for a deep and thoughtful conversation. We delved into many topics, and while I didn’t have answers to all the questions, two points stood out: Jeff suggested that the first female president of the United States could likely be a Republican. More importantly, he emphasized that white people might abandon “woke” efforts and revert to a default state of whiteness to navigate the current climate. I fear this potential silence as much as I fear Project 2025.

You can watch the full discussion here: 

The Robber Baron’s corrupt business practices set the stage for the Great Depression. The 2008 Great Recession showed us that unfettered capitalism inevitably leads to collapse. America thrived most from the 1930s to the 1980s, a period when big business was also heavily regulated. Before Jack Welch took over General Electric, corporations prioritized a balanced approach: growing their businesses, providing stable jobs, and generating profits for shareholders, all while considering long-term sustainability and the greater good. Profit wasn’t the sole focus—there was a broader sense of responsibility. Welch changed that, championing the idea that shareholder value should come above all else. This shift moved corporate America away from a holistic role in society.

Today, we’re left with a proliferation of billionaires who, in my opinion, are overly idolized. Meanwhile, wages stagnate, the cost of living skyrockets, small businesses are squeezed, and industries and companies are gutted—all so a small elite can control 90% of the world’s wealth.

I don’t know what the future holds, and right now, it doesn’t look very bright. But throughout history, humans have endured cruel and unjust practices, and over time, humanity seems to push progress forward. It’s the short term that’s frightening. While I fear for what lies ahead for LGBTQ+, BIPOC, immigrants, women, and all other marginalized groups in our country, I have been in this fight for a long time.

In 2001, YS was just a few months old. We had grown from a simple yellow flyer into a true community resource. Then 9/11 happened, and I faced a pivotal decision: What kind of publication would we be? Would we stay silent and stick to safe stories, or would we speak out? We chose the latter, taking a stand against the Iraq War.

Looking back, I’m comfortable with the issues I’ve chosen to speak out on throughout my life. As a child, I didn’t understand why my Black friends and I couldn’t play together more often or why some people lived in slums while I lived in the suburbs. By my twenties, civil liberties became my focus, and back then, we believed we could win those battles.

I rebelled against the “Greed is Good” mantra of the 80s and vocally opposed Ronald Reagan, which didn’t win me new friends. I understood why the riots happened after the police beat Rodney King, and I was told I didn’t understand the nuances when I tried to explain. I spoke out against apartheid in South Africa and stood in support of Nelson Mandela. As a woman in business, I fought for equal treatment and batted away more than one unwelcome hand as a waitress.

I’ve taken a stand on Ireland’s right to self-rule, opposed Bush’s invasion of Iraq, and reminded people that the U.S. had one of the worst UN violation records—perhaps why 9/11 happened. I went to Standing Rock, covered the 2020 racial justice protests, and loudly fought against Oil and Gas harming human lives while advocating for alternative energy. I’ve pushed for criminal justice reform and spoken against the Prison Industrial Complex (everyone on the planet needs to watch the documentary 13th). I’ve called out the trauma at the root of addiction and our nation’s abhorrent treatment of mental health. Over the 24 years (soon to be 25) I’ve owned YS, I’ve published countless articles rallying against antisemitism. I’ve stood firmly against supporting the genocide of Palestinians, and looking ahead, I’ll be vocal about Project 2025, too.

I am discouraged that all the progress we’ve made could be undone in the face of Project 2025. I’ve dedicated my life to local journalism, and after 38 years, I believe in its importance now more than ever. Journalism must speak truth to power and hold those in power accountable. But despite the challenges, I also believe in humanity. There will always be truth-tellers. We may face threats, violence, and even death, but humanity does eventually seem to keep moving forward, even if prevailing feels uncertain right now.

As a community, we face a choice: Do we come together and keep fighting, or do we retreat underground and stay silent?

For my part, I will continue the mission of producing local journalism as we head into our 25th year in 2025. However, this is no small task. I have a team to support—writers, artists, printers, drivers, and our bookkeeper—all of whom make this work possible.

Next year marks our 25th anniversary. While I’m uncertain how celebratory the occasion will feel, I am committed to fostering joy and a sense of community amidst it all. Over the years, we’ve tackled vital topics like mental health, trauma, climate change, disaster recovery, economic crises, education, voting, democracy, justice, elections, corruption (both local and national), culture, and even marketing.

We must remain rooted in our community to find hope for our future. And to continue delivering truth to that community, we need your support.

The next issue coming up is our Annual Locavore Holiday Guide.

When you support the local businesses in our community, you support your neighbor, not the Billionaires. For this Holiday Season, vote with your pocketbook. 

Now more than ever, local journalism is essential. Please consider becoming a sustaining supporter and start receiving the printed copy at home. Research shows that most of us prefer reading on paper—it’s just crucial that what’s printed truly matters. YS is dedicated to bringing you the stories and insights we all need to stay informed, engaged, and connected to our community.

The poem read on Jeff Fard’s show:

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Like journalism like this? Consider becoming a sustaining supporter (and get our printed copy monthly at home.)

Democracy needs journalism more than ever. We’ve been telling the truth for 24 years. Your support helps us keep telling it for at least the next four years.

Democracy needs journalism more than ever. We’ve been telling the truth for 24 years. Your support helps us keep telling it for at least the next four years.

The post Elections and Holidays: At Least We Have Christmas to Look Forward To appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

10/27 updated to reflect the Comp Plan restricts density to 5-10%.

Welcome to Erie, CO, for all the newcomers. It’s a good little-big town, it really is. I have lived here a long, long time. Election season can be stressful, but that’s true in most places. I hope you find Erie to be a good town to live in, raise your children in if you have them, shop and dine in, and, of course, choose to volunteer in our town.

I welcome all the newcomers. Like all towns, elections get messy. But in rapidly growing municipalities with lots of outside interests, there can be added motives. In our last election, we had Dark Money in Erie.

I would advise watching our town council meetings to learn more. They are all available at the Town of Erie website. https://www.erieco.gov/322/Watch-Meetings-on-Demand. It will give you a flavor of how current elected officials, up for reelection, govern.

Having experienced over twenty election seasons since moving here in 1992, I’m personally voting for these candidates because I believe they best represent the vision we need for our future.

• Reelecting Justin Brooks for Mayor
• D1: Pesaramelli, Garcia
• D2: Reelecting Hoback, Hemphill
• D3: Reelecting Baer

The slate I am not aligning with chose not to interview with the YS Election Guide, and although that isn’t the only reason I’m not supporting them. The way they chose to turn us down gives a peek at their mindsets and temperament. All candidates were contacted by our journalist and provided the same questions. Brandon Bell posted on social media that he would rather be caught on fire and rolled in salt than interview with YS. Andrew Moore claimed they were not Erie questions; John Mortellaro initially ignored our request but did eventually respond on NextDoor. You can view our exchange there. Sadly, they chose partisan politics over reaching their community. However, the same slate has demonstrated a lack of willingness to respond to questions from voters.

• Andrew Moore (former mayor from 2004-2010, 55 well pads during that time)
• D1: Mortellaro, Sawusch (Incumbent)
• D2: Bell (Incumbent), Maloit
• D3: O’Connor, and Pinz

The policies the Moore slate has advocated that I take issue with include:

• A water park at the airport (which has one way in and one way out, and years ago, the airpark residents voted down connecting Bonanza, so are they cool with a water park?)
• Vouchers for housing but no density housing (where are the vouchers coming from? Is the Town going to buy a bunch of houses? That makes no sense?)
• Home Rule, which was just approved by Erie voters in 2023, already needs to be repealed or changed (?)
• Taxing citizens more for what we need instead of using the Capital Investment Fund for Capital investment improvements
• Claiming Erie is overbuilding “high-density.” This term has been bantered around as the main talking point. Erie needs to have more than just a sea of high-income housing to sustain itself. The recent Comp Plan, approved in a 4-2 vote, raised the total to 37 units per acre. By comparison, Boulder and Longmont are at 40 per acre, and Aurora is as high as 200 per acre on some properties. Additionally, the Comp Plan designates 5-10% for density. Don’t worry Erie can continue to build a sea of houses.
• Claiming the Comp Plan was rushed. See local resident Ms Terranova’s Letter to the Editor. In short, it was a two-and-a-half-year process, with community volunteers who participated.
• More fireworks and snowplows
• The Moore slate typically does not respond to citizen’s inquiries
• Councilperson Bell chose to share a private Facebook post of a local citizen in response to a letter to the editor she wrote that endorsed the Brooks slate.
• Oil and Gas is just fine with 181; there is no need for further regulations by the town, according to several of the Moore slate.

Erie has been heavily fracked for 20 years for those who don’t know. Draco Pad is a huge problem, and you may want to attend the meeting Oct 29th, 2024, at Erie Middle School: https://yellowscene.com/events/

There are many new homeowners in our town now. I have been to neighborhoods I have never been to, ever. There are so many houses—I can not believe how many houses. Erie has become a sea of houses where there was once wide open plains and little light pollution in just under 25 years.

I would like:

• Less sprawl, please. Yes, build more density so things are closer together.
• Driving across town is a hassle because there are so many houses and cars. There are also more potholes because there are more cars! Yes, public transit, please.
• Yes, to things staying closer together and being walkable. Why would anyone think that sprawl is a good thing?

Now that we are done publishing the Election Guide, it is time to turn in my ballot. Only 14% of you have as of the time of this writing. If you are not sure about all those messy ballot issues and candidates, check out our endorsements in this year’s Election Guide. Last year, it won first place at the Better News Awards.

Yellow Scene Election Guide 2024

Erie Colorado Moderated, Facebook group

Like journalism like this? Consider becoming a sustaining supporter (and get our printed copy monthly at home.)

Democracy needs journalism more than ever. We’ve been telling the truth for 24 years. Your support helps us keep telling it for at least the next four years.

Democracy needs journalism more than ever. We’ve been telling the truth for 24 years. Your support helps us keep telling it for at least the next four years.

The post YS Publisher’s 2024 Election Endorsement in Her Hometown of Erie appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

The Carnivale Masquerade Gala is returning, and this year we’re bringing the disco vibes with DJ Drake!

Join us on October 10, 2024, from 5-9 pm at the new Bricks on Main in Longmont for an evening of dancing and celebration. Tickets are just $25 and the VIP room tickets are just $55. Tickets available through this link HERE

How much can change in a short amount of time? From the recent elections to the evolving landscape of local journalism, it’s clear that our community relies on platforms like Yellow Scene Magazine now more than ever. As one of two locally owned media outlets in Boulder County amidst corporate acquisitions and franchise takeovers, YS remains dedicated to authentic, community-driven journalism. We’re proud of our continued recognition and nominations, underscoring our commitment to delivering stories that matter to you. But we think if we have to do the whole fundraising thing, it is time to party!

Looking ahead, 2025 marks our 25th anniversary, a milestone we’re eagerly preparing to celebrate. The landscape of media funding has shifted dramatically, with digital advancements and rising production costs reshaping how we operate. Yet, amid these changes, media corporatization looms large. Today, 90% of what we see or hear is controlled by six major corporations. If a hedge fund owns our local newspaper, how much money is it investing in the costs of doing true journalism? Just google “journalism layoffs.” Will they refuse to print a story because of special interests? At YS, we remain committed to upholding rigorous journalistic standards, delivering unbiased reporting on critical issues, and fostering community dialogue.

I have never had to explain that YS does authentic journalism as much over my career as I have in the last decade. Consumers now have to consider whether what they are reading is AI, corporate backed, or sponsored content. As long as there is corruption, there will always be truth-tellers. The challenge is having powerful , trusted platforms to tell those truths. Despite the digital age’s dominance, and providing a robust website of news, YS remains dedicated to print publication, recognizing its unique ability to combat digital fatigue and provide a tangible connection with our readers. Print offers a sensory experience unmatched by screens, fostering deeper engagement and trust among our audience. This commitment to authenticity has enabled YS to maintain a loyal readership and deliver compelling content that resonates across generations. As we continue to navigate an increasingly complex media landscape, your partnership and support are more crucial than ever.

Join us at the Carnivale Masquerade Gala for an evening of music, dancing, and community spirit on October 10. Let’s celebrate 25 years of YS and look forward to the stories yet to unfold.

Tickets: https://fundrazr.com/YellowSceneGala?ref=cr_bDbOR0

Warm regards,

Shavonne Blades, Publisher

The post Letter from the Publisher appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

The Colorado Press Association annual convention concluded this weekend with lots of energy, new ideas, and recognition for newsrooms across the state. Overall, it was an excellent convention but also concluded with some very exciting news for our team of artists and journalists.

YS Magazine took home a total of sixteen awards, including the prestigious Best General Excellence in our title and eight first-place finishes. 

And we are ecstatic. The YS team works incredibly hard, long nights on a journalist’s pay. They do this so our community never suffers from being in a news desert — because they love telling the stories of the communities we serve. We are extremely proud that we have never published sponsored content in 23 years. We are so honored and proud to see that commitment rewarded this year at the CPAs.

Additionally, YS took home awards for graphic design, best print ad, best media design agency, and our 2022 Heroes Series won for Best Series. 

Articles such as The Fire Next Time, Underground Gardens, Dark Money In Erie, and It’s Time to Start Talking About the Connection Between Our Mental and Physical Health were all recognized with awards from their categories.

Congratulations to all the authors, designers, interns, and assistants who have made this incredible year possible, but most of all, we want to thank our readers and supporters for valuing engaging and relevant content that we take so much pride in.

YS 2023 CPA awards

*List also includes our earlier awards this year from the Society of Professional Journalists. 

Editorial Awards:

SPJ – Oversized Housing, Zoe Jennings

CPA – Underground Gardens, Ashley Kay Mauer

CPA – The Heroes: The Firefighters, Thomas Rutherford, Photography Paul Wedlake

SPJ – Soft Skills vs Hard Skills, Zoe Jennings

CPA – Dark Money In Erie: What special interests seek to gain by influencing Erie’s election, Robert Davis

CPA/SPJ – The Fire Next Time, Robert Davis

CPA – Thoughts, Prayers and Blood, Steve Nelson

CPA/SPJ – The Case for Civics Education: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You, Steve Nelson

SPJ – “Rise of the Matriarch: Bridging the “Ambition Gap”: Emerge Colorado tackles inner voices and external critics of womxn running for office, Valerie Passerini

CPA – What Rhymes with Holocaust, French Davis aka Dave Flomberg

CPA – It’s Time to Start Talking About the Connection Between Our Mental and Physical Health, Austin Clinkenbeard

Design Awards:

SPJ – Best of the West, JB Loucks

CPA – Summer Hot Issue, Irina Ratzek

CPA – Heroes: Trades, JB Loucks

CPA – Heroes: Farmers, JB Loucks

CPA/SPJ – The STYLE Issue: Fabulous: A Look Into the Colorado Drag Scene, photography Dustin Doskocil

CPA – Civics, Irina Ratzek

CPA – Berkelhammer Tree Experts, JB Loucks

CPA – Yellow House Design Agency

Title Award:

CPA – Best General Excellence, Yellow Scene Magazine

Please consider becoming a sustaining supporter and keep excellent local journalism going strong & delivered to your home when you do!

The post Yellow Scene Magazine wins big at the Annual Colorado Press Association Awards appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Another man has died at the hands of police. His name is Keenan Anderson. He was a 31-year-old high school teacher in Los Angeles, California. He was in a minor traffic accident when he was tased to death by the LAPD.

Teacher and cousin of Black Lives Matter founder ‘Tased to death’ by LAPD

Based on the police video released, Keenan Anderson was experiencing a mental health crisis. He appeared paranoid and panicked, but he was NOT violent.

Instead of practicing de-escalation, LAPD’s violent response only increased his state. Yet he was still not violent. He was in a state of panic. By all appearances, he was having a mental health crisis, a situation that all too often the police are responding to with unnecessary violence, as they did when they killed Christian Glass in 2022.

Had a mental health unit been deployed, Keenan Anderson would most likely be in a hospital bed right now getting mental health treatment instead of at the coroner trying to figure out the “cause of death.”

Criticism of police having only one tool in their bag is warranted. Everything is NOT a nail.

Police Violence has been there decade after decade, century after century. The difference now is they have a lot more artillery. Now, they have been been “warriorized”.

Radley Balko‘s book, Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces, explains the Prison Industrial Complex and how it is tied to the Military Industrial Complex.

My Role As A Straight White Man Wanting to Support the Black Lives Matter Movement was submitted to Yellow Scene Magazine, by Charles Dalton-Telschow, in 2020.

Charles writes, “Straight, young, white men like me have had a very loud voice for a very long time, and the ultimate takeaway I have from the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests over the past week is that, at this moment, it is time for us, (the white people) to not shut up and stand down, but to sit at the table with everybody, and change what we have historically been saying. Advocate for the defunding of the police, tell them your interest for protection from police has changed.  We no longer agree with the historical and modern form of policing in American that was designed solely to protect our interest in white superiority.”

Accepting progress as good enough is a state of privilege that can not be afforded. There are more than enough laws on the books. Asking police to stop killing people is reasonable, the police asking us to believe all killings are warranted is not.

People have the right to not be killed by the police for a traffic stop

The post Everything and everyone is not a nail-it’s time to change the perspective appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Anger pours through my entire being. In 2014 I had never been to a protest. Then Michael Brown was murdered, and I knew what I was watching on TV was not the whole truth. So I drove to Ferguson and reported on what I saw in the community-all the facts. It was NOT as major media was reporting it.

In 2020, I spent the entire summer covering the George Floyd protests. I watched as police officers teargassed homeless camps, brutalized protestors, and was tear-gassed myself.

I was filming in Aurora for an Elijah McClain march when a jeep tried to run us over (some people have stated they believe the Aurora PD let onto the freeway). I have written countless articles chronicling police abuse. I was part of helping create a nonprofit in my community, called Being Better Neighbors as a result.

Colorado passed SB20-217-Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Bill. Which got rid of Qualified Immunity. Officers can now be individually sued. Denver added the Star Program, which has been so successful it is being expanded and replicated across the country.

Under STAR, no one has been arrested, and most definitely, no one has been killed.

In spite of all this “progress”, last year Christian Glass was sitting in his car experiencing a mental health crisis, and the police brutally murdered him. Today, LAPD did what police have been doing for far too long and tased Keenan Anderson to death—for crying for help. They tased him to death for a traffic accident and having a mental health crisis.

Teacher and cousin of Black Lives Matter founder ‘Tased to death’ by LAPD

In many ways, I am merely an observer. I have not had to live with worrying about my child being followed by police walking home, nor have I had to have “The Talk” with him. I am a white, middle-class woman. Which is all the more reason this work can not stop. As an individual and a publisher, I will keep fighting to change this ugly system. My feeling of our nation making progress is a state of privilege. EVERY child should have the right to walk home from school without being followed by the police.

And no one should ever be murdered at the hands of police for being black, having a mental health crisis, or walking down the street.

This is lifetime work. It is never done. This can not be forgotten, and progress is when people stop dying at the hands of the police.

source: Post.news

Muriel Vieux
American Haitian Poet

It’s the lamentation of a Black Man
Kafkaesque

The post People have the right to not be killed by the police for a traffic stop appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

All my friends are on Facebook. All my customers are on Instagram.

All my peers are moving over to the Post. Twitter is for rubber-necking these days.

TikTok is cool, even though I have no account.

Reddit is great for getting the real scoop.

LinkedIn is for business. YouTube for learning and entertainment.

Books and magazines are for reading and escaping them all.  

And the Rocky Mountains for exploring.

There is a real dilemma of being tracked, monitored, and manipulated by the tech industry, as the dire warnings in the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma portrays. It doesn’t change the fact that we will continue to use social media no matter how many chips they follow us with.

Being the manager for all of Yellow Scene Magazine’s (YS) social media, I have often found myself in the dilemma of how many accounts I can actually run and which ones do I really need.

I do not like to work on my phone. I use my laptop for almost everything. I like having  20 open tabs at my fingertips. Plus, I have fat fingers and am super hyper, so I hate texting. There are days I think, “dump it all,” but of course, that is not a reality for a local publisher. Why don’t I hire someone to handle social media for us? I did say we are an independent, hyper-local print and digital publication still adhering to journalism standards, right? In other words, not in the budget.

Let’s see, there is Facebook (FB). It’s the oldest social media account I have, and most of my friends are still on it. It is the place to connect to the local community and friends far more than any other platform – at least in my life. I manage both the YS account and my personal account. However, all of Facebook’s manipulations have rendered it almost useless for local businesses these days. I used to get a lot more exposure and engagement on my business page, but now you have to pay for a “boost” to be seen. However, even boosting is becoming out of reach for local businesses as FB is increasingly requiring more and more money just to be seen. Active Groups are solid on Facebook, so that still gives a local business some opportunity to connect to the community, and they are also nice for connecting with neighbors as a resident. My personal page is quite active, but while I have a fairly large friend circle, my personal account is locked down to only them. I really get to connect with my friends on FB, so that original purpose is still applicable, no matter how much FB is trying to f*ck that up. 

Surprisingly, NextDoor (ND) has actually gotten better and is quickly becoming one of the places to connect with neighbors, which was the original intention. It went off the rails with trolling, but ever since they added more moderators, it’s improved dramatically. ND has typically not been a space for deep discussions, but it is a good space for sharing local information. With the new moderation component, it looks promising for engaging in local dialogue. It is not the space for memes. I also do not have a business account on ND in spite of how pushy they are about making one. They even made one for me, which I requested be disabled. ND does not seem like the space to have a brand account, at least for this hyper-local, Indie.

I like Instagram (IG) now, I hated it at first. I think much of my resistance was around having to add one more god-damn social media platform to my list. Why did I need Instagram? Doesn’t Facebook do the same thing and more? While it is true many people moved to IG, I question if it is really reaching the numbers people think. I’ve heard a lot of business owners quip, “it’s where all the young people are.” Sure, maybe before Facebook bought it and before TikTok, but in my view, it is also where a LOT of the businesses are. I even had a shoe store tell me, “you gotta be on Insta.” I enjoy the more positive nature that Instagram delivers. I have not gotten into Reels because I still suck at video editing. I often scroll on mute because the constant noise can be overwhelming. I don’t know if this makes me old and cranky or if constantly shoving Reels at us is simply not necessary, no matter how much Instagram wants to keep up with TikTok. I have a business account on IG, but I do not use the personal one FB/IG also made for me. I should probably delete it.

While I enjoy all the fun videos from TikTok, I simply can not add it as another platform to manage. I have resigned myself to enjoying TikTok when shared but not diving in myself. I appreciate there is a lot of subculture action on it, but I don’t think I would be talking to my community there. YS is a hyper-local resource that covers politics and culture. While we do take on a lot of national topics, our focus is on how these topics impact us locally. I don’t see how the TikTok crowd is going to connect me to the area enough to spend my already stretched resources there. Plus, since I really suck at editing videos, I guess I have to forego my cool factor on that one.

I know a few associates who are using LinkedIn for business connections and sharing news stories, but they tend to be more national businesses. However, it is a good resource for making professional connections. I do share articles as I can, but it often sits forgotten because I only have so much time. (Sorry, Alignable, I clearly have no time for you either.)

I am not a Redditor, but I do love Reddit. They could even be cooler than TikTok. It’s also a great source for reaching many subcultures and is absolutely bomb for getting the inside scoop on what people are saying. I have never had the bandwidth to Reddit myself, although my son is a Redditor.

Twitter is nothing more than a shitshow at this point. Our account was never big, it was grossly ignored by us for the first 14 years and quite possibly shadow-banned based on the number of views. It was fun to follow “my people” when I did finally get active in 2020. The newsmakers, journalists, politicians, and activists ensured it was up-to-the-second news. It is quite amazing to watch how in just six weeks, one person has been able to destroy it. After Musk took over, we just trolled for a couple of weeks. Our Yellow Scene account lost over 100 followers, and for a small account, that was a lot. It seemed pointless even to try and tweet sincerely. But trolling got boring quickly. I admire the folks still in there fighting the disinformation hub that Twitter has become, but I only have the energy to poke in a couple of times a day. I had a personal account that was even smaller than our YS account, but I disabled it when he took over. I have left the Yellow Scene account active at this time. It’s like watching a train wreck, I suppose. 

This leads me to the Post and Mastadon. I have not created a Mastadon account yet because I established one in the Post. You can guess why, I don’t think I can manage adding two new platforms at the same time. It’s a lot of work to build an account, actually. Besides, I am really getting into the Post. I can get lost for hours reading in there. 

I am struggling with identity, though. I probably should make a personal profile as the publisher, but in our 22 years, I have never branded myself. I have never wanted to be a public “persona” in spite of “knowing everyone in town.” I used to tell my staff, “people don’t know me, they know the magazine,” to which they would scoff. I have lived here for 32 years and had YS for going on 23 now, so I do know a lot of people. I have only put my picture in the magazine two times. I would rather be behind the camera than in front of it. I love talking to everyone, but the spotlight is not for me. This can be difficult because, in spite of my denial, I am the damn publisher. My only desire is to create a space for writers to publish important stories. It’s not me they are reading, it’s YS, so why do I have to do all this personal branding shit?

The social dilemma I am experiencing as the voice behind our social media is that I can’t keep adding more accounts. This adds a layer of complexity while engaging with others on social media. Do I speak in ‘we’ or ‘I’? Is it possible to be both a person and a business? (After all, corporations are people.) Can a magazine platform still engage in dank memes?

Where does all this “analysis” take us? How do you choose? As soon as we build our audience on one, it dies. I understand the pain people are feeling watching Twitter be demolished by an egotistical, greedy billionaire. I have watched newspapers be gutted for 30 years by Hedge Funds. Who knows, by the time I finally learn Reels, they might just be passe by that point. 

The best advice I have after three + decades in print media (and now digital as well) is: Content is King, and the Audience matters. 

But the truly time-tested tactic for reaching the local community that never fails? Feet-on-the-street. 

On that note, I am headed outside to enjoy the Colorado Rocky Mountain life and meet with my client face-to-face because it’s the deadline, and we have a magazine to print.

The post The “Other” Social Dilemma; What to do when there are too many social media? appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

News happens everywhere, every day.

Help YS reach our goal of $5,000 by Dec. 31, 2022, and Colorado Media Project will match us.

#newsCOneeds #GivingNewsMonth

With many communities suffering from news deserts, it is rare to have true local, community journalism. Yet Yellow Scene has been committed to this for 22 years. After a tumultuous 2021, this year also brought its share of challenges. For our newsroom, that meant learning to function with less staff, less resources, and less money, all while continuing to produce award-winning journalism.

That’s why we need your help. As we head into 2023, we’re asking you to support the growing movement of trustworthy local news.

YS does not have a large benevolent benefactors but rather is made up of the collective of the community. The average donation is between $36-$50, so our goal is 142 local contributors to help us reach this goal. Will you help pitch in (in any amount) before Dec. 31st, 2022? www.yellowscene.com/contribute

Any amount large or small helps us reach our Matching Grant goal:

www.yellowscene.com/contribute

The post Colorado Media Project Matching Grant ends Dec. 31st, 2022 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

I don’t even know how to begin this column. My eyes are filling with tears, and I am having a hard time breathing regularly. I just called to move an appointment so I could compose this story and began crying with a complete stranger.

I just watched the videos from Acme Fine Goods in Louisville this morning. Eric was talking about the passing of our good friend, neighbor, and community member, Moxie Bread owner, Andy Clark.

Andy and I would have long conversations regarding our community. Part of it would go as follows;  I would call to ask him to advertise, and he would tell me how he has too much business, which was hard for me to counter – because I was a regular and knew how busy the stores were. He would laugh and sometimes buy an ad anyway. But when he didn’t buy an ad he was always so gosh darn nice when he told me no. He would tell me; “Shavonne, I want to support you because I believe in the work you do, we need community journalism.” And so he would buy one or two ads a year. He also donated to our crowdsourcing during the Pandemic. He would tell me, “I am just going to donate because I can’t take on any more business.”

That is the kind of person Andy was. But not just for YS – for everyone. During the Pandemic he was vocal about protecting the community and even took some hate for it. But he went above and beyond – just like he did with everything. After the Marshall Fire, Andy and Moxie Bread were some of the first to be out on the frontlines feeding people, making sure they had what they needed. Maybe that is why his bread was so good, it was filled with all that love.

What Andy never knew was that he was a source of light for me during a very dark time in my life.

I had built Yellow Scene up from literally a yellow flyer, to the largest publication in the County. We borrowed no money our first decade and we scrapped and worked hard every step of the way. As comes with success, there is a cultural component to American business that we always think we must get bigger.

For a multitude of reasons, I took a risk and started a second magazine that was distributed from Denver to Fort Collins in 2011. I was blessed with an amazing staff who had drank the kool-aid with me and worked those long hours right alongside me. But as time went on, people got married, had babies and moved on from YS. I was thrust into managing two platforms, with double the staff and frankly, had no clue how to be that big. I started to drown, mistakes started to happen, and stress became a constant. I am not proud of how I acted on that stress during that time, and have worked hard to rectify it, but the damage to my beloved company had been done. By 2017, I had spent so much money I had gone from no debt to 6 figure debt, and I was still sinking. In my mind, I had screwed up my life’s work.

Many do not know this about me, but I sank into a deep depression. Sure, I hid it, but at night I would lay in bed with suicidal ideation running through my mind. I couldn’t stop the thoughts or from crying. Every choice I made seemed to lead to another bad outcome. I couldn’t think straight. I was a hysterical mess.

I was blessed with some very wise people who, for whatever reason, wanted to help. One person trusted me enough to loan me $50,000 and a few others smaller amounts, but several loaned me their time and expertise. Blair Koch, of TAB Denver West, donated an entire year to me for consulting services. I still hear her first words to me; “You have to turn off that noise in your head.” At the time I had no idea how to do that. I was crushing under the weight of my failure, my finances, and my grief.

Most probably think I am crazy for staying committed to printing YS every month, but I absolutely love what I do. I love that we truly do create something that is real, no compromises, and filled with stories that uplift and inform our community. I love working side by side with small businesses (even if during the Pandemic that was a tad scary). I love crafting smart, clever designs for them and giving them our marketing and design services for free, which is something not really found elsewhere. I love the photoshoots and the art and the fact we have never put the Flatirons on the cover. I love serving this community.

I know Andy loved everything about what he did too.

Photo by Jimena Peck, Published in 5280 Magazine

I don’t know exactly why I did not follow through on those thoughts of suicide. Most people recoiled when they learned of my plight. I felt like a leper.

But not everyone. It wasn’t just Blair who supported me, my CPA did too. He just kept believing in me no matter how ugly the numbers looked. I had friends who constantly checked in on me, would go on walks with me while I sobbed hysterically. I finally got a therapist to help me sort through the emotional mess I had become.

There is a deeper component that happened for me. I had to figure out who I was successful or not, and I had to learn to love that person, mistakes and all. I came to a realization that in our culture we value human life on net worth, and I had to understand that my worth wasn’t the same as my income. That has been a very hard journey as it goes against our societal constructs. I hope to god I have come through a richer person than before, even if it’s not in my bank account.

Andy may never have known that he helped lift me up during some of the darkest times of my life. That he believed in me, and I needed that.

Andy Clark, photo by George Lange Studios, georgelange.com

For those of us who love someone that decides to leave this world, we can never really know what haunted them. It’s a hard, god-damn world to live in, and those striving to create value against a system that works to devalue human beings, tend to care more. They hold that pain because they understand it can be better. Sometimes the pressure of trying to make the world a better place can become too much.

Andy always strived to make the world a better place and the world was better for him being in it. I will mourn the loss of this kind, dear soul, as there are no perfect words. I wish I had known of Andy’s struggle so I could have been the light for him. Because of the gifts he gave us all, I can only hope I can carry his work forward in mine.

Please help support Andy’s family during this time.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/b6eku6-andys-family

988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

Hours: Available 24 hours. Languages: English, Spanish

MENTAL HEALTH & SUICIDE RESOURCES

https://rmcrisispartners.org

https://afsp.org

https://www.sprc.org

https://www.riseagainstsuicide.org

https://namibouldercounty.org/in-a-crisis/boulder-crisis-services

https://www.hopecoalitionboulder.org/resources

SLIDING SCALE THERAPY

https://www.naropacommunitycounseling.com

https://www.boulderpsychologicalservices.com

The post Andy was there for me when it was dark appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

COVID-19 hit journalism hard. Sure, there were more stories to cover than ever before and at YS we did.

However, COVID was brutal on independent media. We work with local businesses and they too had a brutal year.

Revenues were down 25% while printing costs went up 25%. While Pandemic Relief funding was being given out to the large corporations, small businesses were left with scraps.

Way back when our publisher started in media at the age of 21. She likes to say she drank the “Journalism Matters” Kool-Aid. And she did.

Starting YS out of her 500-sq. ft. apartment as nothing more than a flyer, over years of dedication to authentic journalism and exceptional design, she grew YS into Boulder County’s most widely read publication, without ever having an outside investor. It was built on the talents, creativity, and drive of our staff to produce a local resource that connects our community to the important aspects of our lives. Discover the people who built YS in our ‘Ourticles’ Series.

While YS is not burdened with the kind of corporate oversight that buries stories that matter, YS does not shy away from the disenfranchised. We follow the stories that shape and impact our lives. The beauty of independent journalism is its ability to approach and dissect stories in ways that monolithic corporate news is either unable or unwilling to cover.

In the last 20 years, the number of journalists in Colorado has gone from 15,000 to fewer than 50 at the Denver Post. Eighty-five percent of the current media is now controlled by six major companies.

And almost all of their investigative departments have been gutted. We rely on independent journalism to find stories that hide in the background. To hold public figures accountable. To expose chronic abuse of the disenfranchised. To show the connections between monied interests and policy changes. And to show the beauty of the human spirit — from the arts to the activists.

This is why we’re asking for your support during these challenging times. We’re celebrating our 22nd year next year and plan on continuing our path of excellence for as long as the universe lets us. This truly is our life’s work. We have a goal of raising $25,000 which would go a long way for this humble, independent publication.

Over the last two years, these are just some of the important stories Yellow Scene Magazine covered, whether the money was there or not.

• Evidence Emerges; Tay Anderson Controversy
• The Coming War for Water: Is Colorado’s Plan for the Lifeblood of Life… Smart?
  
• The Blue Puddle: Colorado’s Legislators v. Oil and Gas
  
• Erie v. Crestone Peak Resources: Background on the Operator’s Agreement Invites More Questions Than Answers
  
• Rainbow Open Space: From Protected Land to a Class III Compost Facility?
• Front Range Air Quality 2020: How Now Brown Cloud?
• Racism, Redlining, And Recessions: Vastly Greater Numbers Of People Homeless Than Previously Reported, With BIPOC Folks Far More Likely To Suffer
• Denver’s US District Court Rules Against State, Denver Police Department, in Use of Force Class Action Lawsuit
• Mead HS Students Mock Black Death: Black Face/Kneeling Incident Dismissed as Harmless
  
• Aurora Police Use Unnecessary Force at a Peaceful Vigil for Elijah McClain
  
• Polis v. Earth: Reckoning
  
• Denver: You Have More Than a Problem with Anarchists. You Have a “Proud Boys are Friends with your Officers” Problem
  
• Erie Board of Trustees Passes Massively Opposed Operator Agreement with Crestone Peak Resources
• School Funding Woes
  
• Racial Tech Gap: Causes and Solutions for a Diverse Future
• A Living Language: How English Has Changed, Where it’s Going, and Neopronouns
• Trauma in Our Schools: How Boulder County Schools are Addressing this Silent Epidemic
• Gardens of the Mind: Mental Health Improvements for Prisoners Found in the Earth
• Dr. Seuss v. Censorship: BIPOC Librarians Have Thoughts
• Faces of Summer: Black Lives Matter Edition

Everyone who donates qualifies for our gift certificate giveaway, and anyone who donates over $500 I will happily provide marketing and advertising services.

Even better, when you support local media you also support local businesses. Everyone who contributes $50 or more qualifies for our Thank You Gift Bonus. 

Your donation — whether it’s $5, $50, $500, or $5000 — does more than just support local media and journalism. It gives you back the power of what you see in your news feed: the truth.

Make your donation here!

or right here on our website: www.yellowscene.com/support

ONE TIME CONTRIBUTION:

$50 & receive a $10 Gift Card

$100 & receive a $25 Gift Card

$300 & receive a $100 Gift Card

MONTHLY CONTRIBUTIONS:

$5 per month earns a $15 Gift Card

$10 per month earns a $35 Gift Card

$25 per month earns a $100 Gift Card

$50 per month earns a $300 Gift Card

The post So Much News to Cover – Support Local Journalism appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Update 9/9/2021: Revised to reflect Virgil Majors reached out to YS to inform us he is no longer on the Board for the APA.

Additionally, since publishing this article social media posts were removed. They will remain in the article to demonstrate this. 

APA Tax Return

https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/475520793

Aurora Police Department decertifies the Aurora Police Association as the official union representing APD

Statement released by Aurora Police Association Board of Directors, Sept. 1, 2021, regarding the 32 indictments against 3 Aurora Police Officers and 2 Paramedics

The statement by the APA invoked shock and horror for many in the community. This organization is not affiliated with the City of Aurora or Aurora Police Department per the statement released in response to the APA’s.

The Aurora Police Association was founded as a social club in 1942 for police officers serving the Aurora, Colorado Police Department. As law enforcement changed over time, the APA expanded their services to protect officers and their families in contract negotiations with the City of Aurora, offering legal services, insurance benefits and a host of other programs for their members and the Aurora community.

The Aurora Police Association Charitable Foundation was founded to help Aurora police officers and their families during times of hardship. The foundation has grown to support scholarships for high school students entering law enforcement careers and the twice-annual Shop with a Cop program to provide back to school supplies and holiday gifts for Aurora children and their families. The Charitable Foundation fundraisers have supported scholarships for the children of Aurora Police Officers, aided the Aurora Police Explorers program and provided donations to Children’s Hospital of Colorado.

The Charitable Foundation provides financial assistance to our APA members, their families and other organizations throughout Aurora and our law enforcement community.

You should probably have them cease & desist or clarify. They claim to represent ALL of the APD with statements like "OUR officers did nothing wrong". How is the public supposed to trust you when your officers are sending mixed signals? Get your shit together @APDChiefWilson pic.twitter.com/le58C5CHx4

— Alex ? (@JoeyHighRollr) September 1, 2021

How many @AuroraPD officers are members of the @AuroraAPA ?

— AWanderingHippo (@AWanderingHippo) September 1, 2021

Aurora Police Association Board of Directors

The majority are currently employed at Aurora Police Department.

Bob Wesner APA President / Police Lieutenant / Public Safety Communications Director at Aurora Colorado Police Department

Gregg Gallozzi APA Vice President / Real Estate Broker at Cherry Creek Properties

Judy Lutkin APA Secretary / Aurora Police Officer

Machelle Williby APA Asst. Secretary / Brotherhood for the Fallen Aurora, Membership Secretary / Special Officer, Aurora Police Department

Lawsuit:

https://aclu-co.org/aclu-sues-aurora-police-ousting-black-man-hoodie-coffee-shop/

https://www.westword.com/news/omar-hassan-sues-two-aurora-police-officers-for-racial-profiling-at-caribou-coffee-9536563

Joe Cornell APA Trustee / Grievance Steward at Aurora Police Association / Police Academy Instructor / Officer Aurora Police Department

Virgil Majors APA Asst Treasurer / Community Relations Officer Aurora Police Department UPDATE: Mr Majors notified YS that he is no longer on the Board for APA.

Colorado city task force to study police, public interaction

The post Who are the Board of Directors of the Aurora Police Association? appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

We ask the question, why does America experience these shootings and violence when other countries do not? What is the cause and what is the right answer?

America ranks at #12 in the world for Gun Violence only led by El Salvador, Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Columbia, Brazil, Bahamas, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago. However, we are the only developed country that experiences this level of Gun Violence.

How The U.S. Compares With Other Countries In Deaths From Gun Violence

But can we boil the answer down to one solution?

Our problems with gun violence extend far beyond gun regulations and mental health (although both are needed). Adding more security everywhere we go creates more violence. We simply resort to becoming a police state in the Land of the Free and sadly, the good guy with the gun died on March 22nd, 2021 in Boulder Colorado.

Boulder shooting victims: Identifying the 10 lives lost

So what are the answers? It has been 22 years since the Columbine Shooting and we are still debating it.

That is because it is a cultural issue and there is not just one solution.

• Gun regulations are going to need to be part of it. It would be great if the 2A folks could step back from their emotions and review it from a more logical place. We are neither anti-gun or pro-gun at YS. Some of our staff own guns. None of us can find a logical reason, (not philosophical, but logical), for citizens to own automatic weapons (used in the broad sense for our 2A folks) or not be registered, or not have background checks. But gun regulations alone won’t fix the issue.

• Mental Health is part of it. There are NO beds for people who need help. There is NO mental health care that is easy to get for those without funding. But mental health care alone wont fix the issue.

• Equity and a Living Wage need to be a serious part of it. In America, our social outlook is to value humans on Net Worth. If you have no net-worth, you have no value. As a community, we come together and value supporting one another, but as a society, we view people through the lens of their checkbook. Wealth Disparity is going to need to be seriously looked at.

Suicide, addiction, depression, and mass shootings are up in America. Humans need to feel value and in a social construct that values human life on net-worth, this is a problem. 

• Better corporate regulations certainly need to be a part of it. It is their influence on legislation (and greed) that has set the stage for an inequitable society.

• Finally, we need to get really, really honest about our own Violence as a society. How we, as a nation, treat the homeless, the addicted, the depressed, those who have made mistakes, and our planet is brutal. Our judicial system is Violent, our police are often violent, our treatment of those without homes is violent. Our treatment of POC is violent. Our treatment of our planet is violent. From top-down America is violent.

To make these changes, it means those who are absolute in their views on guns – whether that is for or against – need to be able to talk.

Corporations need to be out of influencing public policy. We need to value human life beyond what is in the bank account and there needs to be normalcy to mental health care.

We need to ask ourselves what are the values of American life and does our society reflect that?

Today, it is quite apparent those values are agitating violence, not decreasing it.

So America, are we ready to talk about a variety of answers, or will we spend another 22 years debating how to solve America’s gun violence problem?

It requires ALL of us to come to the table and be willing to examine our beliefs and values.   

‘The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.’

—Fyodor Dostoevsky

Speaking at the Boulder Vigil 

The post A Short Essay on America’s Gun Violence appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

pic.twitter.com/83ihxutJ5F

— Jack Henrique (@JKHQ) March 7, 2021

Boulder Police Tweet at 8 pm about the CU Riot. It started at 3 pm.

CU Alert: Boulder Police is responding to a large party in the area of 10th & Pennsylvania. People in the area could be subject to arrest and CU sanctions.

— CU Boulder (@CUBoulder) March 7, 2021

Boulder police forced to break up massive party on University Hill

District Attorney Michael Dougherty Statement:

District Attorney Michael Dougherty released the following statement regarding the incident in the Hill area:

“Our community was put at risk last night by the individuals involved in the incident in the Hill area. Their callous disregard for our community’s safety and

— Boulder District Attorney (@DABoulder20th) March 7, 2021

The post Open Letter from YS Publisher to the University of Colorado and the City of Boulder appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Local contribution by a community member

You really have to hand it to Antifa here, considering they managed to:

–Trick countless ring-wing social media sites, personalities, and pages to promote this “March on the Capitol” rally, including the President himself, for months.  Giving everyone at the rally had tons of Trump flags, gear, and apparel, including the “Storm the Capitol on Jan 6th” t-shirts, was a nice touch.

–Trick the President, his sons, his lawyer, and other big-name right-wing figures into talking at the rally about fighting and conflict, riling up the crowd and making them seem angry and violent.  Ending the rally with the President literally telling angry people to march on the Capitol and tell Congress what you think was also a nice touch.

–Trick the DC Capitol Police into dramatically under-preparing for your well-publicized rally so your agitators could break into a secure government building.  This is an especially nice touch considering the DC Capitol Police abuse, arrest, and harass left-wing protestors for sport and were not likely to be susceptible to an Antifa infiltration and sabotage at the highest level.

–Trick many well-known and recognizable right-wing figures with large social media presences to not only walk around a secure government building committing crimes without wearing a mask, but to make sure they stream it to Youtube, post about it on Instagram, and let New York Times and BBC reporters film and talk to them.  Nice touch tricking the feds into not getting involved until the very last minute, so these people could be well-documented doing crimes.

–Probably the masterstroke, though, was tricking the President into thinking that your false-flag agitators were his people, seeing as he praised them and told him how much he loved them multiple times over Twitter and on video.

Boom, now everyone thinks that a bunch of Trump-loving people, wearing Trump gear, at a Trump rally, doing what Trump said, surrounded by recognizable Trump-loving public figures, clearly documented on video saying how much they love Trump, being told they’re special by Trump himself, did a bunch of obviously bad stuff and now Trump looks bad.

The dude at the CIA whose job it is to overthrow governments in Central America should be taking notes.  Just a masterful play.

01.06.2020: American Culture Collection: 

(we’ll keep adding as the days go by, send us your favorites: editorial@yellowscene.com

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The post You really gotta hand it to Anitfa-they tricked Trump and everyone. appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

To demonstrate how much damage Trump has actually done, we are celebrating a Neo-liberal winning. 

It was Pennsylvania that gave Trump the Presidency, and Pennsylvania that took it away. 

Unfortunately, it looks as if Biden will not be pursuing the trial that Trump deserves. 

The post Associated Press calls it-Joe Biden is President-Elect appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

<Updated August 29th, 2020 to include Saturday’s event with Denver Police Department firing on non-violent protestors while mingling with armed White Supremacists. We are unable to see viewing Off-Meta Media’s stream where there was a need for police to escalate. 

We have all now seen the video of the Denver Police Department and Mayor Hancock declaring a riot from Saturday Night’s protest. Total Anarchy in the streets. Windows were broken. Mayhem and Danger. Fear for your lives, the anarchists are here. 

But not everything is as it seems. In Wisconsin, Officers are caught on video thanking White Supremacits or “Patriots” as they call themselves, for showing up, even handing out water to them. Within a few hours two people were killed by 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who is reported to have an obsession with cops and fancies himself a member of the militia.

Now we are seeing this in Denver.

Cell phone footage shows Kenosha police telling armed insurrectionists, “We appreciate you guys. We really do,” and giving them bottles of water. Shortly after this video was taken, one of these men shot and killed two protesters and wounded another.

pic.twitter.com/ORN31z9IMw

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) August 26, 2020

LOOK AT THIS CLIP! LOOK! THEY ARE WORKING ALONGSIDE THE POLICE pic.twitter.com/BPL5clfjrc

— A Friendly Dad (@AFriendlyDad) August 26, 2020

What most have not seen is the video of white supremacists, (or “Patriots” as the Proud Boys, the threepercenters, Colorado American Guard, Boogaloo Bois, and John Tiegan’s merry men refer to themselves as), who were out in equal or greater numbers than this particular set of protestors. Many dressed in black themselves. They even confirmed their numbers with Channel 7 News in this interview.

Proud boys, posted up behind a corner near the #DenverProtest tonight. One appears to give a Nazi salute. pic.twitter.com/DPcoOuEVdv

— Charles Schwaebe Jr. Jr. (@TroutBoneless) August 24, 2020

CALL TO ACTION: Step up to defend & protect what is OURS in Denver, Colorado on Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29.

Expecting Antifa and BLM rioters at the Denver capitol.

Be ready for the call at 5 PM on… https://t.co/rujqFZjmLA

— John “TIG” Tiegen (@JohnTiegen) August 26, 2020

It is not being reported that these “Patriots” were hanging out with the cops while waiting for action.

A truck full of militia patriot fascists were chilling with SWAT in Denver and were mobilized to brutalize black bloc protestors last night.

Paramilitary groups acting as an arm of the law isn't how the Nazis came to power or anything ? pic.twitter.com/oCf5lcQH0u

— abolishicedenver (@abolishice303) August 24, 2020

It is not being reported that SWAT was out before the protestors even arrived.

(I had attended the ‘Say Their Names #1000milesforracialjustice Caravan from Louisville KY to Denver’ earlier at the State Capitol with several state elected officials in attendance. The event ended at 8 and we dispersed peacefully. As I walked back to my car, police presence was heavy in the streets, with MRAV’s and SWAT vehicles out in numbers. I wondered to myself, as I left, why there was so much police presence for a peaceful rally.)

It is not being reported that tear gas was fired before the protestors did anything like smashing a window or catching a bush on fire.

It is not being reported that they pepper-sprayed people in the back. 

It is not being reported that officers were flipping the bird and screaming obscenities at the protestors and laughing when they shot projectiles at them.

It is not being reported that police charged the crowd and drove over someone’s bike – while he was on it. Fortunately, the rider had jumped to safety.

It is not being reported that the Proud Boys were seen piling debris in a dumpster and spray painting ‘Justice for Elijah McClain’ on it.

It is not being reported that white supremacists were driving around in truckloads of men armed and ready to shoot someone.

It is not reported the police were protecting these “Patriots”. Or that the Patriots like to play music eerily like the Nazi’s in WWII. Open Carry is prohibited in the City of Denver.

VIDEO OF EXCHANGE WITH PROUD BOYS AND POLICE DEFENDING THE PATRIOTS

(File is too large to embed and can only be provided as a link.)

There are those that would say the protestors are just partying. Then there are others who believe they are the antichrist here to steal our Democracy (don’t worry, that is being done before our very eyes with the sitting POTUS), and there are those with ill-intent who just want to “f*ck up protestors” in the name of “Patriotism”, the very word now associated with Right-wing extremists and White Supremacists.

This begs the question, why were no Proud Boys or White Supremacists arrested? Especially if they were armed – and odds are strong they were. 

LEAKED DOCUMENTS SHOW POLICE KNEW FAR-RIGHT EXTREMISTS WERE THE REAL THREAT AT PROTESTS, NOT “ANTIFA”

What is being reported is that a set of about 75 protestors came out, approx. 24 windows were broken and a bush was caught on fire. It is not known if protestors ignited a transformer, or someone else did. It is not even known who was breaking the windows. Yes, they were dressed in black and perhaps they just wanted to smash things, but it is also known that provocateurs come out to infiltrate protests and instigate violence. 

Agent provocateurs: Police at protests all over the country caught destroying property

What is being reported is that people in power are ready to declare martial law because of these riots, with very little mention of the violence being initiated by white supremacists or the police, who fired upon them before any vandalism had begun. 

This is just a few days after DPD was caught on film beating people in houseless encampments with batons as they “cleared” it. 

Will the police and Mayor Hancock be concerned about these men showing up?

Are they issuing warnings that armed Patriots are planning to disrupt this coming weekend rallies planned?

It is easy to sit at home and watch the news sensationalize what is happening. They are in their vans and helicopters or behind the police when they report. Or worse, simply resort to reporting what the police tell them without asking further questions.

We decided to ask the protestors ourselves why they chose to put themselves at risk.

We spoke to several people who were in attendance that night about what they witnessed and how they feel.

Before we dive into what they had to say, let’s get some things clear about what they stated to us:

No one knows who made the flyers for the event on Saturday. We know it was not Black Lives Matter. Not even those who attended know who organized it. It was all put out by an anonymous source. Many stated they were not even sure if the Denver Police themselves created the flyers. They also do not know if the person(s) breaking windows were part of their protest. We have three witnesses report the crowd moved away from the person(s) who broke the windows. So most were not there to smash things. In fact, many protestors were heard telling them to stop.

When asked why they would attend the event if they did not know who the organizers were, they all said, unequivocally, it was to fight for justice.

‘They are tired, they are angry and they are tired of asking for justice. It is not being served.

You can hear the pain in their voices when they speak. Countless black and brown bodies lost to police brutality, and justice alongside it. To date no officer has been charged in the killing of Elijah McClain, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, or the countless others killed at the hands of police.

Homelessness, addiction, suicide, mass shootings are up and our system does nothing about it – except state a window has more value than a human life.

They will be in debt for the rest of their lives just to have a college education and while over 200 other countries on the planet have a healthcare system that works for its citizens, the United States does not. COVID-19 only pulled the curtain back on all that is wrong with the country’s politics and policies. They have families, people they take care of, they want a better world, and they want the attention of those in power.’

These are the things they said to me.

Two more shootings by police happened this weekend. One was the almost execution-style shooting, by the Kenosha WI Police Department, of Jacob Blake getting in his car with his 3 children in the backseat. This led to large turnouts of protestors and cars being caught on fire in Wisconsin. And more killings.

Wisconsin police shoot a Black man as his children watch from a vehicle, attorney says

“It’s going to take a miracle for Jacob Blake Jr. to ever walk again.” CNN

Louisiana officials are investigating the police shooting of a 31-year-old Black man

Yes, cars are being caught on fire in Kenosha. Windows are being smashed around the country. Donald Trump is sending in the Federal agents — again.

We find it puzzling that the same Patriots who stand so strongly for the Second Amendment, will back federal interference with States experiencing people exercising their First Amendment rights. Worse, that these “Patriots” literally do say they want to kill them for saying “Black Lives Matter” — and sometimes they do kill people. We witnessed the Jeep in Aurora. Conservatives are coming to the defense of Kyle Rittenhouse.

They call them all rioters and looters as the justification, but the fact is with as many protests that are taking place, most of them are peaceful. Those that become disruptive and turn to vandalism, all have experienced police violence escalating them. We witnessed this first-hand in Denver.

What many people do not recognize is police behavior, and the police response to the protests of that behavior has escalated the situation, far more than people dressed in black who break windows can ever do. The Denver PD even stated they thought this group was amateur so why the heavy artillery tactic? Why target such small groups with such heavy artillery? Watching the feeds all week leading up to Saturday, August 22nd, 2020 it was as if violence was being welcomed.

It is important to note who all was in the Audience Saturday night. A LOT of police; heavily equipped, a significant number of ‘White Supremacists’ along with the Proud Boys, and the ‘Anarchists’ as referred to by Mayor Hancock.

I do not hear these officials decry any of the reasons WHY protests might turn ugly. They blame one sect and that is concerning. With a cocktail like that in Downtown Denver, what did they think was going to happen?

Sadly, the most likely outcome from these investigations will go the same route as the countless others. No wrong-doing found.

Elijah McClain was walking down the street. Breonna Taylor was sitting in her house. Justice has not been served for them.

Rather than painting these protestors as “rioters and looters” why not find out why people feel as they do? The current method of communication between policing bodies and the greater community is not working.

We already know the answer to that question. It would require us to look at a Justice System that is not working for all, and frankly never has. It would require us to examine our own values, our own prejudices and how those racial biases play out in society. It would require us to look at how greed has corrupted our electoral system to the point that our current President -with known ties to mobsters, Russians and numerous convicted criminals- is willing to shut down the Post Office in order to not relinquish power.

It has corrupted us to the point that 751 people have been killed by the police in 2020. In the last few years it has been averaging approximately 1000 people a year killed at the hands of officers. This year, we are on track to almost double the number from previous years.

mappingpoliceviolence.org

For those that state the police are also putting their lives in danger, 105 officers died in 2019, 55 of them on the job, the remaining 50 were accidents.

US police shootings: How many die each year?

This isn’t to say that officers’ lives don’t matter, quite the contrary. It is merely stating that officers are nowhere in as near as much danger as portrayed. Officers choose their profession, people don’t choose the color of their skin.

Currently, the United States spends $100 Billion on our Police Departments. They are not underfunded. In fact, they probably receive too much funding.

Would this kind of scrutiny on police budgets cause them to escalate? They did bring out all the heavy artillery Saturday night. 

Our police have become mini-militaries, not only in equipment but also in attitude. Police officers are not medical examiners, they are not mental health providers, they are not social workers, they are trained to pretty much do one thing: Shoot who they perceive are bad guys.

Unfortunately, they see too many people as bad guys. They are trained to see bad guys hiding in every citizen.

What the Police Really Believe-VOX Magazine

The officers themselves also bring some baggage with them, with many of them aligning with radical “Patriots” far too often. The FBI warned 10 years ago about White Supremacists infiltrating the ranks, and secret cop hate groups are being outed regularly. They have the highest rate of suicide of any profession and domestic abuse is rampant among officers.

They do not see citizens (without privilege) as people who need protection, they see them as the people the privileged need to be protected from. They see black men as dangerous – no matter how old they are or what they are doing. Tamir Rice was on a playground and Elijah McClain was simply walking home from the store, but both were viewed as “reasonable” to kill. Here at home, Denver ranks in the top 15 for most violent departments.

https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/compare-police-departments

Denver Police Brutality History 2004-2020

Aurora PD, meanwhile, seems to be competing with Denver PD for generating negative coverage, with many of the same problems. In fact, Aurora Police Department was out helping the Denver PD when the protests first started, and Aurora Councilwoman Alison Coombs was threatened by Aurora Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 49 President Marc Sears for simply standing with Black Lives Matter. We cover some of Aurora’s troublesome history, including Elijah McClains brutal killing, in this article.

Aurora Police use unnecessary force at a peaceful vigil for Elijah McClain

We might ask ourselves, why would the police want violence?

That answer is easier than we think. It deflects from what is really happening. Black and brown bodies are killed and receive no justice, the homeless are beaten, and anyone who protests this system of inequality is seen as a criminal. Meanwhile, violence runs rampant through the departments. Not to them, from them.

Maybe we should consider the job isn’t really working for them either?

What would happen if we changed how the job looked? Defunding the Police does not have to be a radical idea. It is the idea that as a just society, we want to lift as many people up, not down, in order to lift ourselves up too. Maybe if the job didn’t require them to be judge, jury, and executioner, maybe they would be happier too?

If we think violence is breaking a window and not vandalism, then we must remember that violence has been employed by those oppressed throughout history.

The Suffragette Movement did not consist of women having tea and crumpets. It consisted of women getting beaten and raped by cops for protesting, and it consisted of women responding by breaking windows.

The Suffragettes’ militant campaign of window-smashing and rock-throwing

Our elected officials can join the police in pretending that the real problem is the protestors. But it isn’t.

Our real problem is that America has a broken system. It’s time for them to stop beating the homeless, stop criminalizing the addicted, stop killing people, and it’s time to Defund the Police.

While breaking windows isn’t really our method of protest and we feel deeply for the small businesses impacted (so please don’t smash local businesses, we have enough economic issues from COVID-19), we are trying to understand why this is happening around the Country. We hope you will too.

The post Denver: You have more than a problem with Anarchists, you have a “Proud Boys are friends with your Officers” problem. appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

A constitutional crisis and civil unrest is taking place in America – amidst a pandemic, but it’s nothing new in our history.

As we witness America in crisis, from failing miserably at dealing with a pandemic, to a sitting President who believes it’s okay to send federal agents out to fire on American citizens exercising their 1st Amendment rights, it is becoming increasingly clear that we are facing a Constitutional Crisis. 

Since May hundreds of thousands of Americans have come out to protest racial injustice and police brutality. While the murder of George Floyd by police is not the only instance of police brutality, it appears to have been the catalyst to today’s unrest. 

The vast majority of protests have started peacefully. We spent the first few days in Denver covering what was taking place. As soon as the Denver Police Department was forced to stop firing at the crowds, the violence pretty much came to a stop. In Erie Colorado, 1,000 people marched against Racial Injustice and had the support of the police and town government-it was as peaceful as they come. While Portland has escalated, Denver was deescalating. (Of course, it took a restraining order to accomplish that.)

Denver was de-escalating, that is, until this weekend, when a Jeep attempted to run over protestors marching for Elijah McClain in Aurora. The Aurora Police Department not only did not arrest the driver but left their post blocking the ramp to the highway, just minutes before the Jeep entered as the marchers were passing that ramp. Prior to this Aurora Police Department had been blocking the freeway from cars entering. 

Unfortunately, police departments across the country have chosen to respond to citizens peacefully assembling with violence. In the places where police departments either chose to respond peacefully or changed their tactics to peaceful response, protests remained calm. When police advanced with aggression, protests escalated. 

Aurora is no exception. From the killing of Elijah McClain to officers mocking his death by posing in photos to the fact Aurora Police Department has found no wrongdoing by officers in his death Aurora PD seems to have a litany of troubling circumstances throughout its history, including officers found drunk on duty passed out in their cars, a doctor being harassed at his office (that he owns), and ultimately the killing of more than one POC. 

Interim Police Chief, Vanessa Wilson, appears to be more of the same. Generally armed with excuses for the problems the community has experienced at the hands of Aurora Police Department, she has even gone so far as to claim a badly taken photo of an Antifa flag (that no other video of the event seemed to have captured) was cause for firing on a peaceful assembly with children playing the violin in honor of Elijah McClain. Even IF, there was an Antifa flag at the rally, it was peaceful, why would the Aurora Police Department need to fire on a violin vigil with children?

Many involved are aware that much of the disruption has been instigated by provocateurs, oftentimes right-wing extremists intent on disrupting the peaceful nature of the protests or by the police themselves. This was evident in Minneapolis and has been true in Portland. When the Portland protests started there were less than 400 people on the street. Today it has grown to over 10,000. In large part, thanks to Donald Trump sending in federal agents to shoot at and kidnap protestors using the same federal agents who have been terrorizing migrants fleeing brutal dictators. 

The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the use of force by the federal government against citizens of the United States. That doesn’t seem to have stopped this administration.

And in Aurora, it appears that may very well be true. 

No arrests have been made of the driver who sped onto the highway to run down 1000 protestors. Mayor Mike Coffman criticized not protecting the police station but had little to say about protecting those marching.

The organizers of Saturday’s event asked many of the questions we are, regarding why the driver of the Jeep was not only not arrested, but greeted with smiles by the Aurora Police Department.

While the Jeep driver has stated that he was scared because protestors had surrounded his car, there are no videos showing this, and in fact, the police had the road closed just minutes before he entered. Additionally, he was speeding up-not slowing down as he approached the marchers. In fact, the only thing that slowed the Jeep down was truck driver Sebastian Sassi, who was part of the March, pivoting his vehicle into the Jeep.

Community Leader Candace Bailey in the Press Statement made on July 27th.

“ There is a narrative in our environment right now that is dangerous within our community.

 

There is a narrative that FPRA and PSL are violent, that we are not safe in our community, that we are having destructive behaviors. The behaviors that were displayed at Saturday’s events were not reflective of PSL, nor FPRA. The Frontline Party for Revolutionary Action does not have violent events. You can look back in time. We have organized with the city of Aurora. Blackout 2020 on June 6 was held on the municipal lawn, with the city of Aurora, and Claudine McDonald who coorganized and financially sponsored that event. There was zero violence. 

I will not meet you with the same thing that you meet my community with. 

But what was orchestrated on Saturday and I do mean orchestrated. There are eyewitness accounts that watched this vehicle, enter, when the police had supposedly barricaded the entrances. There is not a question who barricaded and who let someone in. We didn’t barricade the highway. We did not do that. We know that our citizens in the community of Aurora support us in these acts. This is not frivolous, we are not out here, causing harm to the citizens of the city of Aurora. Not at all. Not at all. We have been peaceful. We are concerned about every one of our community members. We are not leaving a single community member uncounted. a matter of fact, we actually had an event here, Feed the Homeless Youth from 10-2 on Saturday morning, before we went and demonstrated what a democracy looks like. 

Because there has been zero justice for the murder of Elijah McClain. There was a firing after a picture was released. There wasn’t a firing when Elijah McClain was murdered. 

So all these diversions that are happening. Why would this driver be met by the police off the 6th ramp. Well, we’ve got Bob here, Bob and them just pulled up. They got out. They shook hands. That’s your friend – that is your comrade.

We have pictures of the driver of the Jeep, smiling, as he goes down the highway at 70 miles an hour. That is 1000 counts of attempted vehicular homicide. That is 1000 counts of attempted vehicular homicide. 

But instead of that, they got a handshake when they were greeted by their friends at APD, then their vehicle was taken into the parking lot where they gave a thumbs up, a thumbs up to the camera people who were there. Then they were given a ride home by the APD while their vehicle was put on a tow truck. You help me to understand how vehicular homicide turns into a ride home?

Oh, but don’t forget, this is a APD, they gave the Aurora theater shooter Burger King. They murder in the name of protecting and serving, I highly doubt that.  

You can attempt to turn this any way you want, but we will continue in fighting for Elijah McClain and for justice for him. 

We are not here damaging our community. We are supporting that community in ways that the city and Aurora police never have and never will. We are not dependent on them to support our community.  We come out here we know the people. Those who are houseless that actually occupy this space; we feed them, we clothe them, we just provided them with showers. We are trying to help them get housing within our community. So that this madness stops that cannot be brutalized in our city. 

This is our city. That grass was cut off. We were told that isn’t our grass. I am sorry, Aurora, we pay that bill. That is our grass and this is our city and we do not approve of the brutality that was orchestrated. 

Vanessa Wilson made a statement apparently that said she had never heard from the organizers of the rally. Well, it’s not my responsibility to call Vanessa Wilson, when she sees it she’s watching me. I’m sure she could call me because she has my personal cell phone number. So, lets stop the excuses, lets stop the games. The Aurora Police Department allowed the Jeep to come into us and attempt to murder us. There were murderous intentions. He does not slow down, He, in fact, speeds up. He speeds up. 

There are no questions. We are here to make a statement period. Just like APD, you will not be asking us questions. If you have questions, you may go to Amplify the Voice. There is a video that you will see that is a real depiction of what has happened.

And that is my suggestion to you.

We are giving you the opportunity to hear our narrative and to stop being a pawn in this game because you are you are on the highway as well as media, and they did not have any regard for your lives either. And so we stand together, we will continually be mowed down. You have been shot with rubber bullets. 

Now, we gave you the opportunity to hear our statement because we have a voice in this community and that is why you are here, you have questions I suggest you ask the APD why they attempted to murder over 1000 people on Saturday. Thank you for coming.”

Regardless of the wisdom, of the protestor shooting a gun at the Jeep speeding at the crowd of protestors, the intent was self-defense. The intent was to protect others. The intent of the Jeep driver by all accounts appears to have been to run over the crowd. A crime that the Aurora Police Department has not yet charged the Jeep driver with, but Elijah McClain is murdered while walking down the street, doing nothing but coming home from the store. 

While the officers who participated in Elijah McClain’s death are free to live their lives without consequence, those protesting the actions by Aurora Police Department are having those same officers charge them. 

Throughout history, there have been Americans who took to the streets to fight for justice and change, and throughout history have been met with brutality for advocating change for a more just America. 

In modern history, the Boston Tea Party is hailed as a great achievement by those rebel Americans. At the time the British called them terrorists. 

From there we had the Revolutionary War and in the famous words of Thomas Jefferson;

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.”

• The Civil War, America’s most deadly war, had brother killing brother. While most of us understand that historically it did not stem from fighting for the rights of enslaved humans, that is where it ended. 

• The Women’s Suffrage Movement also experienced extreme violence with women often being beaten by the police and spectators. It took the Suffragettes over 60 years to obtain the right to vote. 

• The Labor Movement in America was met with Union Busters who violently attacked strikers demanding a living wage and safe work conditions. 

• In 1968 Martin Luther King was shot and killed for the Civil Rights Movement he had helped lead for almost two decades. Just a few years after Malcolm X became a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement, he too was shot and killed. 

• In 1969 members of the LGBTQ community were violently attacked for asking for the mere right to exist openly at the Stonewall Riots.  

• In 1970, students of Kent State University who were peacefully protesting the US’ expanded involvement in the Vietnam War were attacked and killed by Ohio National Guardsmen.

It might be funny to cheer on violence toward protestors but throughout American history, those who have fought for a more just nation, have advanced this country in ways that are now acknowledged as advancing humanity. 

At a time when the sitting POTUS’ ratings are dropping to an all-time low, it appears Donald Trump (or his Advisors) are pushing to escalate the violence at these protests by dispatching unmarked federal agents of the DHS, who have been kidnapping and attacking peaceful people, in order to turn public sentiment against the people protesting. 

We know he is not above misusing active-duty troops to stop a nonexistent caravan of migrants for political points, and locking children in cages was done all too easily.

What makes us think he would defer to the Constitution now-just months before the Election?

Donald Trump suggests delay to 2020 US presidential election

Understanding Trump’s game plan in Portland could be the key to preventing a coup in November

Thanks to Off-Meta Media  for their coverage as well, in Portland, Denver, and Aurora. 

The post Is Aurora Police Department showing its colors (again)? appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

*Updated June 29th, 2020 to reflect the breaking story of photographs of  Aurora police officers posing in the carotid chokehold at the site where Elijah McClain was killed by 3 Aurora police officers. 

Photo by Brittney Buckley

Elijah McClain was a 23-year-old, quiet young man, who played the violin. He was walking home from getting his brother an iced tea at the store, wearing headphones and an open-face ski mask he used to combat getting cold due to anemia. That’s all he was doing.

Yet someone called the police on him. Aurora Police decided to stop him for “suspicious behavior” which involved nothing more than walking down the street. 

Within 15 minutes, McClain gasped for air, because the first responders had nearly killed him. Three days later life support was pulled and he died.

To read a full account of Elijah McClain’s killing, The Cut provides a well-detailed report. 

Elijah McClain’s Final Words to the Police:

“I can’t breathe. I have my ID right here … My name is Elijah McClain. That’s my house. I was just going home. I’m an introvert. I’m just different. That’s all. I’m so sorry. I have no gun. I don’t do that stuff. I don’t do any fighting. Why are you attacking me? I don’t even kill flies. I don’t eat meat. But I don’t judge people, I don’t judge people who do eat meat. Forgive me. All I was trying to do was become better … I will do it … I will do anything. Sacrifice my identity, I’ll do it. I’ll do it. You all are phenomenal. You are beautiful and I love you. Try to forgive me. I’m a mood Gemini. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Ow, that really hurt. You are all very strong. Teamwork makes the dream work.”

Why officers had to restrain a man who weighed no more than approximately 140 pounds and was clearly not resisting the unnecessary arrest, is a puzzle to us. This level of aggression is not needed or helpful in society. 

According to the police on the scene, Elijah McClain had “incredible strength” as he was gasping for breath and begging to be let go. Listening to the video, it mostly sounds like Elijah is gasping for his life. 

The District Attorney came to the decision that the police acted in accordance with the law. 

Over the years, Aurora, alongside Denver, has had a long history of police violence. In fact, it could be stated that the Aurora Police department is corrupt enough to consider disbanding the entire department. The case of the “drunken officer slouched in his police car with his gun in the patrol car seat” never being charged is just one of many examples. 

Reports of Aurora Police misconduct:

• https://www.denverpost.com/2020/06/06/controversial-police-deaths-in-colorado/
• https://www.denverpost.com/2018/05/22/aurora-police-brutality-woman-kicked-in-head-settlement/
• https://www.denverpost.com/2019/09/06/aurora-police-excessive-force-andre-williams/
• https://sentinelcolorado.com/0trending/video-aurora-cop-pointing-gun-at-doctors-head-prompts-excessive-force-lawsuit/
• https://www.westword.com/news/shocking-david-baker-aurora-police-death-video-11390566https://thisistrue.com/aurora-pd/
• https://thisistrue.com/aurora-pd/
• Added Dec.11,2020: https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/aurora-police-to-pay-settlement-for-excessive-force/73-d232bd0f-c5db-4a29-b6ef-d2ca3221e7b5

Alcohol is not the only substance cops have been known to abuse. It is a long-known problem that many officers are abusing steroids, and perhaps if we do not dismantle this department, they should at least be tested regularly for substance abuse, covering all manner of drugs and alcohol. 

• https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/brochures/steroids/lawenforcement/
• https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3745740&page=1

Several years ago, following the killing of Michael Brown, I went to the Aurora City Hall as part of a protest that local minister and Community Organizer, Anthony Grimes, had organized. While there were maybe 75 protesters max (mostly black), there were at least 75-100 Aurora Police Officers surrounding the protest, many on the roofs with guns pointed at the crowd. Quite a different scene from Boulder Colorado, where protestors at the time had shut down Highway 36 with the help of the Boulder Police. 

In December 2019 I reached out to Mayor Mike Coffman asking him why the bodycam footage had not been released. I got a pat response from his aide, but what made the response even weirder is they commented on my home listing on Zillow, alongside emailing me. When I asked why they would use Zillow as a form of communication, I never received a response back. A little creepy to say the least. 

YS previous coverage of this story:

• https://www.facebook.com/YellowScene/posts/10156445690941793
• https://www.facebook.com/YellowScene/posts/10156203587621793

Below are first-person accounts of how Aurora Police handled the protest.

Aurora Police is rumored to have immediately called the protests violent as soon as the permit was pulled. We do know, that instead of learning from Denver Police, Aurora Police chose to call the Vigil, with adult and children violinists and cellists playing classical music, an Unlawful Assembly in order to justify the use of force.

Alongside these stories, we know that Aurora Police fired teargas and pepper spray at a peaceful assembly that included children playing the violin.

Photo by Dan Rib

Per the ACLU:

What happens if the police issues an order to disperse the protest?

• Shutting down a protest through a dispersal order must be law enforcement’s last resort.
• Police may not break up a gathering unless there is a clear and present danger of riot, disorder, interference with traffic, or other immediate threat to public safety.
• If officers issue a dispersal order, they must provide a reasonable opportunity to comply, including sufficient time and a clear, unobstructed exit path.
• Individuals must receive clear and detailed notice of a dispersal order, including how much time they have to disperse, the consequences of failing to disperse, and what clear exit route they can follow, before they may be arrested or charged with any crime.

It is clear by the countless videos that the Aurora Police and Sheriff failed to follow any of the prerequisites before declaring the assembly “unlawful”, while most importantly, public safety was not at risk, and yet none of the officers or leaders will face charges for trampling on the First Amendment in such a blatant and violent way.

Aurora Police are demonstrating that they are no longer able to uphold the law to serve and protect and the question must be asked, not should, but when should they be dismantled?

Editor Johnathan Duran gives a first-hand report via Facebook Live:

Johnathan was able to capture on film the police sending pepper spray and tear gas at the peacefully assembled crowd. 

Cut the Plastic 5-hour coverage of the event:

Aurora Police storm the Vigil and start firing rubber bullets and tear gas:

(spotty reception is suspected cell signals being jammed)

Additional Video Coverage:

no less than 30 minutes later, APD fired tear gas at us ????? https://t.co/6l5O15enup

— Dr. Sucio ?? (@_blvckson_) June 28, 2020

Reddit Timeline of the event with corresponding video

STORIES:

Jolene Fisher

Assistant Professor in the Department Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design at University of Colorado Boulder

Hi, y’all. I know you rarely see me post on FB, but I have something really important that I need to share. Please see my FB Story for videos and details of the horrible actions taken by the Aurora, CO Police Department last night during a violin vigil for Elijah McClain. I am going to document the timeline of experience in detail below. Their actions were unacceptable and it needs to be documented. ACLU of Colorado Governor Jared Polis The Denver Post Daily Camera
As a reminder, three officers from the Aurora PD murdered Elijah McClain almost a year ago. They have worked with and protected his murderers every day since. Last night, at a violin vigil for Elijah, they shot tear gas into a park filled with children and pushed those gathered into a parking lot. Later they started arresting people.

4 p.m. – we arrived for the rally and march led by area high school leaders. I am sad that I don’t know the names of the speakers but they were fierce! Amazing. The kids are all right, that’s for sure. The organizer noted that the police department had tried to stop this rally from happening, but they were able to get the permits and make it happen anyways.

We marched through Aurora, closing down some of the town’s busiest intersections. The organizers KEPT ON REMINDING US TO BE PEACEFUL. Again and again they said – be peaceful. If someone tries to start something look away. At one point while we were all kneeling in the middle of an intersection a White guy in a giant truck (of course) got angry we were blocking his way and honked and did this quick peel out and people started to yell. The organizer stopped us and said “That right there is what you ignore!”

On our way back towards the Aurora Municipal Building the organizer stopped and said they were getting word that there might be an incident happening back in the park between police and protestors and that we were going to not go back there and instead end outside of the park to protect the many young people in the march. It was ALL about peace and safety while making our presence known.

When we got back to the area near the Municipal Building someone got on a megaphone and said that police had come out in riot gear and had their gas and rubber bullet guns out and were taking a concerning stance against the protestors there. They asked anyone who was comfortable with it to go over and be another body so that the police wouldn’t feel they could take unlawful actions against the group gathered. We (me, my husband and sister in law) felt it was right to go over.

So, we stood for over two hours with a group of maybe 150 (max) people near the Aurora Police Department. The police had erected a fence that we were behind; they had on full riot gear and had their rubber bullet and gas guns out. We chanted; people screamed at them; but nothing done by the protestors was unlawful.

Police kept taking a step back, then they would randomly advance towards the fence and the group. Every single time they did this every single protestor put their hands up in the air and chanted Hands Up, Don’t Shoot. Every time. At one point the police got on their megaphone and said they saw someone with cement and if we threw cement we would be arrested. We were honestly in a small area – there were no rocks around, no sticks, no cement. And nothing, I repeat NOTHING was thrown.

8 p.m. – After about two hours we realized the violin vigil had started (this is literally right behind us) so we walked over and sat in the grass to enjoy. Maybe 20 minutes later we hear the police on their megaphone say “This is an unlawful gathering” they then start shooting tear gas and people start running. The cops start advancing in a huge wall (have to be more than 70 of them). Children are bawling, mothers are frantically trying to gather their kids. The police are pushing us back and back. At one point I kneeled down in front of them because I couldn’t back up (people behind me) – if my husband hadn’t grabbed my shirt and pulled me back they would have just run me down.

Half of the officers have their badge names and numbers blacked out. That half is extra aggressive. They start using their batons in a rowing motion to push people back. Someone falls.

Suddenly, an amazing human pulls his truck around, jumps in the back, and starts playing his violin over a speaker. The police can now either literally push us into the truck or stop. We all start dancing to the music – they are still trying to push but finally stop. We then have 45 minutes of exquisite beauty – musicians are playing, everyone is singing and dancing, the mood is total peace and unity and honestly beautiful. Beautiful.

The police let it go on until they apparently get tired. They decide to start pushing those who are still in the park – some who were originally near the stage for the violin music but had gotten walled in by police – into the parking lot. The music stops. Things get tense again. It’s now protestors chanting. We decide to leave around 9:30 (I think). The police start arresting people. #defundthepolice

Kino Alyse

Although the afternoon protest was a peaceful one, the anger was palpable. Organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation, thousands of people gathered to listen to those close to Elijah McClain, including his family, part vigil, part dire promotion for racially-motivated murders to stop. Many of the protestors came in the same ski mask Elijah was wearing on the night he was murdered despite the intense Saturday afternoon heat.

“The only way that I want people to go home satisfied tonight is that tonight, before midnight, they put every single one of those killers in jail. They put the paramedics in jail and the sergeant in jail,” exclaimed one of the protestors into the microphone. Several speakers notated snipers on the boarded up municipal building’s roof.

A youth-led march began after the family and some leaders were finished speaking. [I’m not sure how many… maybe 3-5k??] protestors marched, danced, and sung their way west towards 225 and marched north. Along the way, a woman had a medical emergency. A truck was quickly on the scene as protestors made way and she was taken to the hospital.

The protest led back onto the streets of Aurora almost incident free: a woman tried to run over a protestor. Protestors retaliated by beating on her car. While she was in the crowd, leaders were quick to respond and disperse the crowd, asking to let her go.

The march ended back at the municipal building where more demonstrations were had.

Dan Rib

Dan Rib Media from McClain Vigil

I, unfortunately, did not have the ability to make it to the afternoon protests at City Center Park in Aurora due to prior commitments. However, my evening was free so I was very excited to attend the publicly advertised violin concert and vigil for Elijah McClain at 8:30pm in front of the Aurora Municipal Center. As I drove into the neighborhood around 7:45pm I saw sign-holding protesters walking away from the area, having been there since early afternoon. I found parking in the neighborhood bordering the park, where I saw a couple walking toward the park, both carrying violin cases. I passed multiple families walking their dogs in the direction of the park as well.

I have been to many of the downtown Denver protests and bring a backpack of supplies ranging from first aid, to ski goggles, to water and snacks. Those events are protests and I expect to see police and understand that anything can happen. But this event was a peaceful concert, so I left that backpack at home in favor of a vest, blazer, and fedora to go with my cloth facemask for coronavirus safety measures. Seeing all the musicians and families walking in my direction, I knew I had made the correct decision.

As I turned the corner of the Aurora City Municipal Court Building, I could hear and see a crowd of protesters echoing familiar protest chants toward the Police Department Building. The crowd was gathered between the History Museum and the Courthouse facing about 30 riot police – all standing at attention, batons in hand and armed as one would expect for a riot. Behind this group of protesters on the lawn in front of the Municipal Building was where the majority of the crowd was assembled…where all the musician and families were congregating.

It’s my understanding the riot police were in front of the police station in response to the earlier protests, but as the protest ended and the concert crowd grew, the Aurora police seemingly took the growing crowd size as a threat and announced, “We see people with rocks. This gathering is no longer legal. You are now subject to arrest and chemical agents.” At that announcement, a swarm of riot police poured out of the surrounding buildings and flanked the crowd. “Move out of the park. This has been deemed an unlawful gathering and if you remain you are subject to arrest and chemical agents.” continued to blast from a megaphone behind the line of face-masked troops. Many people retreated from the protest area upon seeing the reinforcements march in, others booed and held their ground.

At that point, I had retreated to half way across the lawn. Like a vast majority of the attendees, I had nothing to protect myself from chemical agents if they were deployed so I wasn’t going to stand near the front line of the conflict. As I recorded the scene unfolding on my phone the call for a medic was screamed and a woman was being dragged back into the park away from the police. Shortly after, a billow of while smoke was released and folks started retreating en masse. The line of riot police stretched across the entire park and they began to slowing push their line across the grass.

At this point, it was just about 8:30 and a group of musicians had begun playing in front of the Municipal Center. Looking east there was music and dancing. But turn around toward the sunset and under the colorful clouded sky a militaristic black line of gas masked troopers was advancing on the crowd.

Eventually, the police had pressed the entire crowd, including the musicians (which they did allow to pack their things up peacefully) off the lawn and entirely into the south parking lot. Their directive was to secure the grass. As the crowd squeezed back, a loud blast of violin came from the back of a pickup truck. A man stood up on the tailgate, speakers in the truck bed, and started playing “Dream On” o his electric violin in an epic tribute to Elijah McClain. The crowd was compressed up to the truck, both out of adoration of the skill and passion from this musician, but also because the police line had pressed them a far as they could go. The batons of the police were at attention inches from the backs of the rows of vigil attendees.

The sidewalk at the end of the lawn was where the riot brigade remained until about 11pm. Groups of musicians played on the concrete with no amplification for a few hours. Some of the remaining crowd listened to a protester with a megaphone speak about politics on the far side of the lot. Police and news helicopters blasted the crowd with their spotlights periodically. And once the crowd had dwindled to just a few hundred, the police retreated, militaristically back into the police department building with the crowd at their heels chanting “Nah Nah Nah, Hey Hey, Goodbye!”

At one point during the evening, I spoke to one of the police officers who told me that prior to the past few weeks, they had never previously used the riot gear in his time as an officer. When I asked why this vigil was grounds for the actions that were taken by the police, another officer answered, “Oh, I don’t think we should answer that question.” Another officer claimed that the smoke released earlier was just a smoke bomb, not tear gas. But as we’ve all been made aware of in the past month, when you release a smoke bomb and then spray pepper spray into that the cloud of smoke, it has similar effects as a tear gas cannister.

This event was meant to be peaceful. At no point while I was watching or recording did a single protestor instigate violence toward the police. It is my wholehearted opinion that had the riot police not been unleashed on the crowd, the event would have gone on entirely without incident.

Angie Simmons

I attended most of the 4pm rally for Elijah McClain on Sunday, Jun 27th at Municipal Hall in Aurora.  My partner and I arrived a bit after the rally began, around 4:30pm. 

 As we walked along the Alameda side of the building complex, we noted about 6 officers in (at least) partial riot gear, standing alongside squad cars, blocking the entrance off Alameda.  They were blocking people from entering on foot here to get to the rally on the opposing side of the building.  

We walked past this entrance to go through the walking gardens on footpaths to get to the parking lot and rally area.  At this point, we didn’t see many police on the ground in the immediate rally area.  

There was a good-sized crowd focused at the staging area where black youth were speaking and the crowd was responsive.  There was a secondary group in the back area (away from the stage space) that seemed to be doing a lot of call and response rally chants, building energy.  This was ongoing throughout the rally.  Many people were wearing supportive shirts, signs, and masks.  

We had to leave around 5:45 or so and walked back toward our car, but by this time walking out the Alameda Street entrance had been blocked.  We chose to drive back to this intersection in our car when leaving just in time to see the rally on foot, turning its energy mobile as it blocked the intersection, kneeling and chanting.  The police cars and motorcycles blocked the traffic to allow this.  We were directed by police to turn our car around and so we pulled into a neighboring shopping area lot.  

We watched as the rally continued in the intersection and cars were diverted.  We pulled onto Alameda just as the rally began to march on Alameda, taking over both lanes of traffic behind us.

From the Party of Socialism and Liberation of Denver, who hosted the event earlier in the day:

How much money is Aurora PD spending to gas protesters right now? How much money did they spend on overtime pay, on equipment, on bringing in reinforcements from surrounding precincts to patrol our protests today?

Meanwhile, APD still has Elijah classified as a “suspect,” allowing them to avoid paying a single penny of restitution to the McClain family. Every cent that APD spends trying to repress us will only make it more clear to the community—and to the entire nation now watching Aurora—how hellbent they are on escaping justice.

We will not stop until we get JUSTICE for Elijah McClain and nothing less:

1) FIRE all three APD officers (Nathan Woodyard, Jason Rosenblatt and Randy Roedema), as well as Lt. Peter Chichuniec and medic Jeremy Cooper of Aurora Fire Dept. who were responsible for administering ketamine to Elijah.

2) File murder charges against all three APD officers and the two paramedics who actively participated in Elijah’s murder.

3) Provide immediate restitution to the McClain family, reflecting the incredible injustice committed against them.

PHOTOS BY KINO ALYSE

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PHOTOS BY BRITTNEY BUCKLEY

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The post Aurora Police use unnecessary force at a peaceful vigil for Elijah McClain appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Below is a press release sent to us by LGBTQ Aurora Councilwoman, Alison Coombs, regarding the call for her resignation for speaking out against police brutality.

The charge against Ms. Coombs was initially led by Aurora Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 49 President Marc Sears.

Aurora is the same police department that has a long history of violence against its own residents and in the case of Elijah McClain – his death.

Two weeks ago, 1000 Erie residents came out and marched against Racial Injustice. They were joined by the Mayor, the entire Board of Trustees, and the Police Chief.

Boulder District Attorney, Michael Dougherty, has stood with Black Lives Matter.

Representatives Leslie Herrod and Jonathan Singer were in Denver on the first day of protests.

Elected leaders across the country are standing with Black Lives Matter. 

What makes the case of Alison Coombs different?

Perhaps it is because she spoke out strongly against police brutality. Perhaps because she used the word ‘fuck’. Perhaps it is because she is openly gay. We don’t know.

Yellow Scene Magazine has seen our own share of hate mail and online attacks for criticizing Trump, for featuring the DiverCity series, for insisting that masks save lives, for criticizing the Iraq war, for questioning gun laws, the list goes on.

What we do know is that the level of hate being conveyed by those retaliating against Councilwoman Coombs and others must end. This is the same violence that has led to churches being bombed, supremacists running over protestors, and the deaths of too many people at the hands of police. 

COUNCILWOMAN ALISON COOMBS’

PRESS RELEASE

 

Background: On June 15th, Councilwoman Coombs made a personal Facebook post expressing solidarity between the LGBTQ+ community and the ongoing Black Lives Matter uprisings. Four days later, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 49 President Marc Sears located this post, and shared it on his group’s Facebook page, which began to attract attention from police and families of police across the country. They began to comment en masse, often in blatantly homophobic and threatening tones. Councilwoman Coombs set the post to private on June 20th. That same day, Fox 31 ran a story on the issue, featuring a heavily truncated statement from Councilwoman  Coombs, and an interview with Marc Sears, who called upon Ms. Coombs to resign. Denver 7 News ran a short, pre-recorded interview with Ms. Coombs on the 21st.

 

The Post: The original post is a shared image featuring the text: “Fuck Pride. It’s Wrath Month. NO COPS. NO KKK. NO RACIST USA. ALL LIVES DON’T MATTER UNTIL BLACK LIVES MATTER. WE’RE HERE, WE’RE QUEER, AND WE’RE FUCKING ANGRY FOR OUR BLACK SIBLINGS.” 

 

Messaging Guidelines: Messages on this issue can be left on Councilwoman Coombs’ official Facebook page, on comment threads attached to relevant news stories, or submitted as comments during Public Invited to be Heard during official Aurora City Council meetings by emailing publiccomment@auroragov.org. Messages submitted to council can be either written, or recorded, but in both cases must be under 3 minutes in length.

 

Topline Message: This is a manufactured controversy created to distract from the fact that FOP is on the wrong side of history. Ms. Coombs stands by her comments, and is saddened that this issue is distracting from the much-needed policy that will protect our black neighbors from an out-of-control police culture. 

 

• “No Cops” may seem like a radical and scary idea, but it just means reimagining how policing works in this country. The police are currently called upon to deal with almost every social problem, while receiving only minimal training to handle these issues.
  • When we train our police like occupying soldiers, they treat us like enemy combatants.

 

• The future of policing that Ms. Coombs envisions still involves the police, but as a single small part of a much larger social support network. This network involves caregivers, therapists, counselors, social workers, animal control, and conflict resolution specialists. Armed, sworn officers would only be a last resort to respond to imminent violent threats.
  • Many officers and chiefs of police have acknowledged that their forces are not adequately equipped to handle the range of issues they are currently responsible for.
  • In several cities, police advocacy groups have organized work slowdowns: essentially, police strikes. Data from these events indicate that communities were no less safe when police ceased their routine activities.

 

• Ms. Coombs supports steps taken by the Colorado legislature, namely, SB 217, and several of the directives issued by Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson to curb violence within the APD. 
  • She also strongly supports the efforts of her colleague, Councilmember Marcano, to ban the use of carotid holds, ketamine injections, and tear gas.

 

• Solidarity between the Black and LGBTQ+ communities is essential to advance justice for all. Pride Month was kicked off by trans women of color who were resisting police brutality. Ms. Coombs is proud to carry on this legacy of mutual support and fighting for justice.
  • As the first and only LGBTQ member of the Aurora City Council, Ms. Coombs feels strongly about voicing her support for her Black neighbors and constituents.

 

• At a time when Elijah McClain’s family still has not received justice, when trans women are being gunned down by State Patrol Officers, and when police across the nation have responded to historic civil rights protests with brutal violence, it is a shame to see our local officers wasting time on a Facebook post.
  • The homophobic and threatening messages Ms. Coombs has received speak to how far gone police culture really is. Our Black neighbors face worse every day.

 

• Police engaging in retaliatory harassment against an elected official who dares to stand up for justice shows why the vast majority of Americans want to see real action taken to demilitarize and defund police forces nationwide.
  • Using threats and intimidation to stymie progress is un-democratic and un-American. We must all resist a group that feels it has the right to kill without oversight or consequence.

 

• Complaints about tone, decorum, and civility are just distractions to prevent real action from being taken. Injustice is injustice, no matter how sweetly it’s whispered. Justice is justice no matter how coarsely it’s shouted. Alison Coombs will not be quiet about injustice, and will not stop fighting for her Black siblings.

The post Aurora Councilwoman under attack for supporting Black Lives Matter appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Marchers leaving the Erie Community Center. Head to the end of the article for more photos and videos.

Twelve days ago my friend, Pat Reed, suggested we plan a march for racial justice in Erie. I jumped in without hesitation. I thought, Okay, there will be maybe 20 of us to show up marching down the street with our signs through suburban Erie, being ignored or laughed at, but a worthy purpose, regardless.  

Within one day, our planning group blew up in size. As word got out, we went from a relatively small group of 6 people to nearly 60 Erie advocates for change. I had gone to bed and awoke to a post asking about the march on a different page — from a complete stranger. An early indicator that our small Erie march may end up bigger than we thought. It started with one small post by a woman who was ready to march alone, and less than 24 hours later our planning group became 60. We thought, Okay maybe 100 people will show up. But we had still underestimated our small town.

Saturday, June 13th 1,000 people showed up

in Erie Colorado to Stand in Solidarity

Against Racial Injustice.

June 13th, 2020 in Erie was the day ‘suburbia’ came out and said; they do not support the injustices this nation continues to put forth. They too, want to see change.

1,000 residents of Erie, including the Mayor, the entire Board of Trustees, and the Police Chief, marched through the town, showing up to say they believe there is a better way.

Community organizers, Mecca Scott and Justin Brooks helped direct the mission and the meaning behind the march, with all planning done through chat, email, phone, and Zoom. Artists and craftspeople stepped up to donate labor and services in support of the cause. Erie Police Chief, Kim Stewart wrote a powerful statement in regards to how she wants to see policing done in Erie. Local neighbors and students spoke to us of living in Erie, Colorado as a teen, as a family, and you guessed it, as a neighbor. The Erie Library was there with books, and organizers provided reading suggestions for further education on the movement. Rainbow flags were waved in honor of Pride Month. We saw each other for a few hours in one day and I think it may have been life-changing for all of us. 

I think 1000 people fell in love with each other on Saturday.

Acknowledging that we are still in the midst of a pandemic, the event required participants to wear masks to participate, and from our observations, 99.9% of attendees did.

From the march, a movement was born called Being Better Neighbors: Standing in Solidarity Against Racial Injustice. The group has grown to over 500 members as of today. The idea is to hold future actions surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement and being better neighbors, like porchfront talks, book readings, movie nights, and trips to The Blair Caldwell African American Research Library in Five Points and the Black American West Museum. The movement plans to support diversity programs for our schools, and to promote mental and emotional health for our community. 

I wanted to be conservative in my crowd numbers, lest I overestimate, and honestly, I could not see how big the crowd was. Continuously throughout the event, my estimate for the number of participants changed, as I realized it was much bigger than I thought. This incredible drone footage captured from above by local resident Bob Reed shows the enormous crowd marching. I decided to measure the distance on a tracker and it came out to one mile long. Erie had a march for Racial Justice that extended one mile long.  (It is good to note, that people also maintained a healthy social distance.) It was much, much bigger than anticipated. We were able to spend this one, single day together in solidarity, outdoors, because everyone wore a mask, everyone respected each other, and everyone had a common goal.

After the event, while I was obsessing over counting how many people were there, I started to notice stories popping up in our group. Stories from local residents telling us how they so valued this march – because they no longer felt unsafe in our community.

Once again, my privilege was checked.

Saturday, June 13th had a real-life impact in Erie, Colorado. Neighbors who might have felt afraid before felt welcomed. It brought the community together in such a positive and connected way. It made people feel proud to live here and want to be part of making the neighborhood better.

Looking at Erie as just another majority-white suburban neighborhood would not give you insight into who lives there. Just like looking at someone with a different pigmentation doesn’t tell us who they are. Erie, Colorado showed us that typecasting a community or a person means missing out on all they have to offer, and in too many cases can lead to deadly results. Being a Better Neighbor means getting to know one another.

THE VOICES OF THE COMMUNITY:

I am so sad that I wasn’t able to be there. I’m glad there were so many there to support this! My kids have experienced racial bullying this year and also through school here in Erie. Even I have had some experiences with racism here in Erie. I was starting to feel like, I didn’t know why I was still in this town and letting my kids grow up here. But this, this makes me have so much hope for change.

-Pangy Vue

——

I just want to take a minute to say how proud I am of Erie. Our family is one of the few minority families in Erie. While our experience here has been mostly positive, we have had a few issues that made my stomach turn. The thing that has become very apparent these last few days is that while there may not be many minorities, we are absolutely not alone! The town definitely has our back, and words cannot express how much this means to us.

To Mayor Carroll, Chief Stewart and the entire BOT, your leadership during this time has been amazing! While we all tend to focus on federal elections, events like these remind us how important local elections really are.

Justin and Mecca…I can’t find the right words to express how much your voices mean to our family. The community is so incredibly lucky to have you both.

My heart is full and I thank you all!

-Haley Webster Sema

___

Hello neighbors,

My family and I have lived in Erie for 4 years. My husband is from New York his mother is Peruvian and his father is German. I am a 6th generation Colorado native. When people want to know my cultural background I tell them I am American born and raised here, I am Mexican American, Native American, Spanish and French. We have two children.

Growing up in this beautiful state of Colorado as a brown person in the small town of Gypsum was very HARD. When I lived in Gypsum it was a predominately white farming community, there was no black families in our town and a very small number of brown families. I was called these horrible names quite often:

“A beaner”
“Wet back”
“Stupid Mexican”
“Spic”

Being a part of the march on Saturday opened my eyes to how much I love this place and how I don’t have to feel alone, that me and my family can be accepted for who we are. After Saturday, I feel safe to share what my family and I having been walking through for the past year.

My daughter came out to my husband and I last summer. (She is the beautiful young lady in this picture holding a protest sign that she made herself. I have her permission to share this part of her story) I am a Kids Ministry Director for our church. She was terrified to tell me that she is gay, but she courageously came out, she bursted into tears and said, “Mom you are not going to love me anymore and neither are your church people.” I did what I knew in my heart God would do and that would be to meet my daughter with love and grace. Isn’t that what He does with ALL of us?

I told my daughter that there is nothing that would ever change my love for her, I love her no matter what and so does God. Not every Christian responds this way and it breaks my heart! I’m doing my best to stand firm on leading people within my church community to respond with love and grace and for them to realize that you don’t lose your faith when you love your gay child or your gay friend or gay neighbor. Our family has gone through ups and downs this past year. We had fears of judgment, fear that other parents don’t want their kids hanging around my gay daughter. We’ve learned so much from our confident daughter, my husband and I are embracing this journey.

Sophia faces challenges at school, she has been called horrible names in regards to her skin color and her sexuality by kids who say they are Christians, sometimes she comes home heart broken, asking the questions: “Why are kids so mean?” And “how can they call themselves a Christian and then treat me like dirt?”

Change needs to happen in our schools and our churches. I’m ready to do what it takes to help create a safe place for my daughter to learn and grow. Saturday’s march has ignited a passion in me to take action and serve our community. To ALL of you who showed up on Saturday, thank you for showing me what community looks like!! I felt the love and support with your presence and so did my family! I love this place!! 

Anonymous

——

I wanted to share what yesterday’s march meant to me. It was my first march/protest. I have never experienced anything like it in my life. I feel honored to have been a part of something bigger and so incredibly important. I was moved to tears as we marched and chanted. Seeing all those people in solidarity brought me feelings of hope for our country. My oldest adult son is biracial and endured police profiling and peer discrimination/racism when we lived in Texas. This movement is not only important to my family for him but to all POC around the world. As his mother, I want to be his ally as well as every POC’s ally. I am learning, reflecting, and trying to take action in whatever way I can every day. Thank you to everyone that showed up and the organizers. I can’t express enough what a moving, uplifting, and joyous experience it was for me. Let’s keep this going! I STAND WITH YOU.

-Amy Lum-Francis

——

THANK YOU to all the Erie residents that SHOWED UP to let your VOICES BE HEARD! My heart is full and I’m still beaming so brightly and my eyes are watering as I look back at yesterday’s March. Being part of the 8% minority in this town, the amount of people that showed up spoke volumes and gave me hope that we are moving forward in the right direction. I know it doesn’t end here though. We still have a lot of work to do. I was happy to see many families out with their kids because showing them and teaching them at a young age about equality, acceptance, and having a voice will make for a brighter future. Thank you to everyone who made this event possible!

Ting Sutana

——

Being a very small part of this march brought a huge amount of joy into my heart bucket. I have my own struggles with where I belong when it comes to race. I was adopted when I was three from El Salvador and was stripped of my native language, culture, and race.

I was raised in a biracial family which I didn’t comprehend as I was told continually told I was white. It never made sense to me as I was different in every way possible. I had a large Afro, dark skin and my body shape was so different than all the other girls. People, would continually touch my hair, burn my hair, cut my hair, and make jokes about the curl and size. Most people would let me know how nice my tan was and asked if I was Polynesian.

My mom entered me into Polynesian dance lessons and would allow people to think I was Polynesian. She never would allow me to question or ask about my birth home. It sent the message that I wasn’t okay to be Spanish yet being Polynesian was okay. During school years I learned I was the wrong brown as I was a disgrace to my heritage.

It wasn’t until my best friend’s family said that I missed the boat to Hawaii and it didn’t matter where I came from as long as I ended up in their home. I look at my friends that I made in 8th grade and we each come from a different part of the world. We were called the Ethnic beauties and it felt good to have friends that looked kinda like me. I feel like my whole life I have run from my culture and race. It’s a weird place for me as the older I have gotten the more I wish I was more. Fast forward to yesterday and all I can say is that it felt like home. It felt like I was seen and included for a cause that is so much bigger than me. A cause that has never made sense to me as I live my life with kindness and love. I don’t understand the hate that others have for humans that are different… yet if we think about it we should want these differences and diversity as it brings so much more to our society.

I have so much to learn and I can’t wait to see the next chapter in this book. Thank you to each one you for creating an amazing event that hopefully, will continue to touch all of our lives.

Much love from my heart to yours

Elena C Clark

——

I just have to say my family was blown away on Saturday. I was literally brought to tears as we walked with our community. We are a multiracial family. Between my husband and I, our boys are black, white, Mexican and Native American. Moving to Erie, less than a year ago, when previously living in LA, was a big shift. Obviously, the lack of diversity is something every minority family recognizes and is concerned about. I can’t say enough how much this march meant to us. For the community, the teachers, the mayor and the chief of police to show up and vow to make changes for equality, it is so encouraging! Thank you for organizing the March. This unfortunately, is NOT happening in many communities across the country. My boys needed this, our whole family needed this.

Laci Grace Williams

 

PHOTOS, VIDEOS AND PREVIOUS COVERAGE

FB Live stream of the entire event provided by the publisher of YS, (and yeah, we know our Publisher needs a stick to hold the camera…).

Professional Videography donated and produced by Black Sparrow Media and sponsored by The Fowler Group

Drone Coverage by Bob Reed

See more photos here

Photos provided by George Hudetz, Chelsea Campbell, Christina Pisano, Danny Trevino and Community!

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Erie Colorado kicks off Being a Better Neighbor. Plans Community March for Sat. June 13th

The post The Voices you don’t always know are there. 1000 Erieites stand in solidarity June 13th, 2020 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Being Better Neighbors: A March in Solidarity against Racial Injustice

Having lived in Erie for close to 30 years, I have seen it change from a small, rural town that was once the center of Colorado’s coal-mining to a bustling downtown with 4-star restaurants where there was once only two bars. When I moved here it literally was dirt roads, 500 houses, and a population of 1,200. Today it is nearly 30,000 residents and just about to reach 10,000 homes.

Erie has experienced growing pains over the years, but some of the most combative experiences haven’t necessarily come from Old Town vs New Erie or even Weld vs Boulder.

If we look at how Erie votes, it is by large a Blue town these days. In fact, in 2016 and 2020 Erie was a strong Bernie town. The last two town elections saw the pro Oil & Gas conservative population get approximately 25% of the total votes.

Erie used to have a reputation for a toxic community page. Erie has had a loud, vocal group that has earned a reputation for uncivil conduct on social media. (Although most towns have these same voices steeped in Trump’s rhetoric.) In fact, less than two years ago our Editor, who is Native American, saw the worst of this when he posted we were doing our DiverCity Series featuring local movers and shakers of non-white skin tones, differently-abled, elderly, women, etc. Of the 522 comments, some calling us racist for talking about race, there were definitely people who came out and spoke up. But this loud minority also had many people afraid to speak out as they did not want to experience the same attacks they had seen previously.

Our local police department is well-trained in Community Policing and Restorative Justice. We do not have the same issues with the police that many other communities do. Erie’s demographic makeup is approximately 82.3% white, 10% Hispanic, 5.26% Asian, and .029% black.

So why hold a local March for racial justice if Erie is mostly a progressive town without a lot of crime and a police department that leads the region in practices and has very few people of color?

Our friend who is black was out tending to her patch in the Community Garden when a woman called the police on her even after she told her she lived here. A young biracial girl had the police called on her by a neighbor while she was out jogging. My neighbor who is black told me he doesn’t want his teenage son out after dark. While he feels most of the neighbors are good, he fears that one.

Erie residents recognize that even in Erie systematic racism exists. We have seen it show up in our schools, in our gardens, and on our social media. More importantly, the residents realize how damaging the United States justice system is around the country and they care about changing the landscape when it comes to racial biases and overuse of force by police towards IBPOC and marginalized populations.

Community Organizer Mecca Scott: “It is up to each of us to reach out to one another and actively seek to be better neighbors. To ask when we don’t understand, and truly listen to the response. We must become comfortable with uncomfortable conversations and shed the bias that we all carry. Spread word about this Saturday’s important march to support #blacklivesmatter and stand in solidarity with our Black neighbors near and far, who are so often oppressed by systematic racism. Enough is enough.  

#Erie #beingbetterneighbors #solidaritymarch #blacklivesmatter“

Community Organizer Justin Brooks: “The times of sitting on the sideline, while citizens are denied their right to due process is over. For far too long, we have granted the benefit of the doubt when someone dies at the suspicion of having committed a crime. We see black men and women indicted for their own murders, as if to confirm our own biases relative to their character. The time for action is now. We must deprogram our own biases to treat everyone with dignity and respect regardless of their skin color or lifestyle. Racial profiling and weaponized discomfort is dangerous and must stop now. The notion that non-white people are more likely to commit criminal behavior or be of lower moral character must end. “

Originally the group was small that was planning the march but it quickly exploded to over 50 people involved in planning the event, and almost 600 people who have said they are coming to Saturday’s march. The Police Chief is joining, along with the Mayor and town trustees.

The Town of Erie published a historical Juneteenth Proclamation and had local community members read it aloud broadcast via the town channel.

Reading of the Town of Erie Proclamation

The Town of Erie called a Community Meeting to coordinate and facilitate an action-oriented conversation around race. The focus was on how we can work to break down the barriers of bias in an effort to eradicate racism and create a community where all feel welcome and valued. It is imperative that action is taken by citizens, our police, and town administration to continue the quest for this sort of community.

Community Conversations: George Floyd’s Death and A Call To Action

The residents of Erie are hosting a Solidarity March for racial injustice this Saturday, June 13th at 11:30 AM, kicking off at the Erie Community Center. Recognizing the issues that Erieites face this March is planned by a newly formed group, Being Better Neighbors. They plan future Porchfront Actions including movie nights, book readings, and happy hour get-togethers exactly where you expect to find them by the title: the porch front.

Being Better Neighbors: A march in Solidarity against Racial Injustice

We are thrilled to see this action coming together in this bedroom community. When a mostly white, suburban town sees the need for change, we hope others will too.

From the organizer’s event page:

//Erie is a vibrant and attractive community, with beautiful views, excellent schools, and peaceful neighborhoods. Yet, it is not immune from the issues of bias and racism. The Being Better Neighbors: Solidarity Against Racial Injustice march is an outward display of our personal commitment to stop the willful disregard for black lives by not speaking up for injustices that are frequently encountered by people of color.

This march represents a willingness to work at overcoming our own biases and truly strive to get to know our neighbors, especially the ones who do not look like us. It is our commitment to not only continue community conversations on topics that may sometimes be uncomfortable but more importantly, take action as a town to ensure that bias, racism, and discrimination have no place in the Town of Erie.

Join us this Saturday, June 13th, as we march from the Erie Community Center to Town Hall. Meetup 11:30 am (Erie Community Center), step off for the march at 12:30 pm.

*Bring your own mask, water, sunscreen, and any other personal items for the march. Erie Police Department will provide light refreshments and join in solidarity on the march.

** 6 feet social distancing from people outside of your family is important, as we also want to ensure we keep our families safe from COVID-19.//

A Safe Haven, A Message from Chief Stewart, Erie Town Police

//On Thursday afternoon, I met a resident who was so expressive, so thoughtful and had so many emotions about what was occurring in the world today in regards to the death of Mr. George Floyd, Ms. Breonna Taylor and many others of color.

She shared with me some interactions as they pertained to the Town of Erie and the Erie Police Department.  Most were good, but one was not.

We talked for an hour and I could tell she was conflicted because her father was retired law enforcement. She is bi-racial. I was extremely impressed with her taking the time to come and have a difficult conversation with me. It took tremendous courage.

I can say without question, I learned something about this young lady and something about myself.

The moment I took the oath of office I swore to serve and protect. These incidents go against everything I believe in; the sanctity of life, the dignity of the human spirit, and our responsibility as humans, but most particularly as police officers, to treat all people with respect.

I know there is a path forward. It continues with our willingness to listen, learn, dialog and connect with those we serve.

I take great pride in being your police chief and leading the Erie Police Department. We have amazing individuals working here. They are committed, motivated and dedicated people who endeavor to give their best to you, every day.  Please know the Erie Police Department supports the rights of ALL, no matter the race, ethnicity, sex, age, religion, sexual orientation, or other specific group or segment of our community.  All persons of color are welcome to come into THEIR police department or to call on us at any time!  The Erie Police Department and the men and women who serve as YOUR police officers shall provide a safe haven for ALL.//

ERIE POLICE DEPARTMENT

1000 Telleen Avenue | P.O. Box 510?Erie, CO 80516 | www.erieco.gov/police | 303-926-2800

The post Erie Colorado kicks off Being a Better Neighbor. Plans Community March for Sat. June 13th appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Tides are a complicated dance between gravity and inertia.

But tidal forces’ dependence on gravity can be a bit deceiving. Unlike gravity, tidal forces are much more dependent on distance than mass. So, the relatively small moon exerts a much stronger tidal force on Earth than the gargantuan sun because it is so much closer. Waves transmit energy, not water, and are commonly caused by the wind as it blows across the ocean, lakes, and rivers. The ebb and flow of waves and tides are the life force of our world’s oceans.

We can not talk about racism without talking about criminal justice reform, and we can not talk about criminal justice reform without talking about how American capitalism weaves into our social ills. To support Black Lives Matter is more than a hashtag. Changing the system does not come from a single wave, a single force, but all the forces working together to reach the shore.

My mind is still blown. A federal judge ordered a restraining order (albeit, temporary) against the Denver Police Department. See editor De La Vaca’s breaking report here.

My mind is blown that, for two decades, we have been talking about justice reform here at YS and, in what feels like a sudden turn, communities are standing in solidarity. The residents of Erie – a mostly white, middle-class, suburban community – can see the need for change and are planning a march for Saturday, June 13th. Some folks held a rally of near 40 people on June 10th, on the corner of Erie Parkway and County Line rd featuring mostly youth. However, recognizing that marching and chanting are more a display of support than real forces of change, the residents are also planning a Porchfront Series to include movie nights, book readings, and front yard get-togethers to talk.

My mind is blown by this Juneteenth Proclamation the Town of Erie issued.

Additionally, Tay Anderson, Denver Public School Board member is actively working to get school resource officers (SRO’s) removed from the DPS school system. Having police in schools can actually cause more trauma than help – especially for black and brown children. 

My mind is blown that Minneapolis is working toward dismantling its police department. 

I am desperately hoping that the momentum can last into affecting real change. Occupy Wall Street (OWS), which had significantly greater impacts than the 3 months they were in Zuccotti Park, grew to large numbers, then faded away. The term “1%”  became mainstream after OWS, but the Coronavirus pandemic showed us that we still have a long way to go, as most of the stimulus money that was distributed went to publicly-held companies and tax breaks to the uber-wealthy.

There is an opportunity to make real change at this moment.

I really mean that. For sure, there is every moment of every day, but this moment in history? Rarely do I say this and it is hard to shock me, but this moment is not like many moments I have seen in my lifetime.

Equally, we are in danger of inertia. 

As someone who has advocated for criminal justice reform for over a decade, my mind is spinning at the worldwide uprising – even down to suburban neighborhoods.  A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against the Denver Police Department. The world is responding to a call for a change in how our police operate; specifically how we treat black, brown, and indigenous bodies. Ten years ago – hell, less than two years ago – we could not talk about criminal justice reform or race without being accused of hating America.

Trump’s America in the Bubble

Marching is a start. But it is not enough. A few PR moves by our police will not effect the changes that are truly needed…

…Starting with our justice system. Black men are disproportionately given sentences which, on average, are 3x longer than sentences for white men who commit the same crime. Black people are disproportionately killed by police. Half the people killed by police have a disability. Restorative justice and community-led programs – not traumatizing punishment – must be the focus of our social programs. Many groups are working to address the approaches that, for generations, the “tough on crime” propaganda allowed us to militarize the police.

Community groups will begin taking on 911 calls and low-level cases from the Denver DA.

Restorative Denver will be available in some misdemeanor cases as an alternative to the traditional criminal justice process.

Six years ago, I put together this exhaustive list of resources dissecting the criminal justice system in America. If you want to understand how it works, this write-up gives you more information than you can stand.

A week ago, I had never been tear-gassed before, but now I have. Like many media members on the ground, I experienced the brutal assaults of the Denver Police Department. If I had hidden behind the cops instead of in front of them, I probably wouldn’t have been tear-gassed “as much”. It was still everywhere. I found all kinds of tactical gear on the ground. I watched a man – on his knees, arms in the air – get pepper-sprayed in the face; not just a little, but a LOT. A State Patrol trooper shoved me, even after I told him – and showed him – I was media.

Having a respirator helped a lot – until technical difficulties happened when my vapor filters fell out. Tear-gas was everywhere and I found I couldn’t think  straight. I was trying to hold a phone to film it all and I kind of suck at doing Facebook Live, but all I could think was I have to do it anyway, because it’s a MASSIVE worldwide protest against injustice to black bodies. All during a pandemic.

Right now, people are out there every day. Not just a few, but thousands, around the country and around the world. A few nights ago, it was close to 8,000 in Denver by our estimates. Most TV news won’t tell you that.

While the protests have seen people of all types show up, most are as serious as it comes when wanting to see systematic changes. More importantly, people around the country are talking about racism – from microaggressions to implicit bias, to the heavy hand of the law and defunding.

#GeorgeFloyd

#SayTheirNames

Keeping the pressure on is the issue. Businesses are jumping in and supporting change to our system, with and without sincerity. Some truly mean it –  particularly smaller startups, locally-owned, socially-conscious folks. But many large businesses are jumping in, too. Probably for PR. It’s in fashion. To that I say: THANK GOD.

Communities everywhere are organizing marches and rallies. It is GOOD – very good – but only if we follow through on changing things like privatized justice systems, militarized police departments, The Pentagon, banking, healthcare, homelessness, addiction, mental health, mass transit, living wages for all, and most importantly understanding whiteness.

I am amazed to see the tides turn. I can only hope the sea levels of support change how we see each other, how we talk to each other, and how we treat our own humanity.

We need it. The world hurts.

The post We can only hope the tide is truly turning: Black Lives Matter 2020 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Videos provided by: Yellow Scene Magazine, Adam Stark, Stark Contrast Events, Denver 7 News

Yellow Scene Magazine spent 5 hours at the Protests on Friday, May 29th and 7 hours Saturday, May 30th as well as another 7 hours on Sunday, June 1st. Our publisher shot her first live stream for this event, while editor De La Vaca was shooting the photos. We will be reporting from the ground as this events continue but also have to produce our next publication. We are happy to share videos from some of our favorite boots-on-the-ground streamers. Watch this page for more videos as the days go by.

Denver Police did an about-face from attacking the protestors on Monday and Tuesday after four days of firing tear-gas, pepper-spray, flash bombs, etc, to allow them to break curfew and peacefully march. For the last two days, police have not fired on the protestors and both evenings have ended peacefully. There are reports that the protestors are stopping disrupters themselves. Warning shots were fired around 12:35 AM, May 2nd to disperse the crowd. Multiple reports of gas in the air since Thursday.

Friday, May 29th 2020

Live Stream Recording from Publisher, Shavonne Blades. (Be gentle, she had never done this kind of streaming before.)

Saturday, May 31st

Adam Stark, Stark Contrast:

John Cameron with a special appearance by Mike Posner

Steven Freeman:

June 1, 2020

7 Denver News:

Good video, weak reporting.

June 2, 2020

Adam Stark:

June 3, 2020

Armenian Council for Truth in Journalism:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=924302741328639&ref=watch_permalink

The post Live Streams from Denver Protests-Updates daily appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

It felt good to be a part of this group that is coming together to get the word out about supporting Local Businesses during COVID-19.

Want to know who your local businesses are? Our Directory will help you find just about all of them.

We made this List of Lists for surviving the Pandemic. These organizations can still use your support.

Lists of Lists for local COVID-19 shopping and support

The post Community Before Politics speaks with Publisher Shavonne Blades appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

The post The “real” Fake News to watch out for appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

The post Starting over appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

The post 10 things to do instead of listen to News appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Updated 1/13/2022 – Grocery section revised

COVID-19 LIST OF LISTS

We are building lists of where to shop locally, how to support local businesses during this difficult time. We are hoping to expand this list each chance we can get during our Social Distancing and now lock down. We are currently looking for licensed therapists that are setting up teletherapy for our community, as well as lists of local services that are going virtual with classes, workouts, and anything else, we can help get the word out. Please email us your information and we will post for free.

The YS Directory is pretty complete (although not every business) and can help you find local businesses to support. Pick your category, then narrow by town. It will auto filter for you.

YS Directory of area businesses:

Directory

Local Area Hospitals:

https://tinyurl.com/shvtlxw

Feed the Frontlines

Here are some of the lists we are compiling.

The almighty TP:

https://tinyurl.com/tpj8c4t

Foods:

https://tinyurl.com/u9kg658

Coffee & Tea:

https://tinyurl.com/scv7cs8

Bakeries:

https://tinyurl.com/rh5vnj4

Local Chocolate and Ice Cream:

(always a necessity)

https://tinyurl.com/t8u44or

Soaps:

https://tinyurl.com/sl2kzgl

Fabric Stores:

https://tinyurl.com/wz59rkf

Sew it for COVID

Local Face Masks:

https://tinyurl.com/ybxtyxu9

YS Directory of Local Restaurants:

https://tinyurl.com/uk54gvk

Erie Restaurants:

https://tinyurl.com/t279qlx

Local Retail

For the love of God, before shopping Amazon, please support our local retailers. Most are actively working to provide virtual services. You can filter by town and category with Yellow Scene Magazine’s Online Directory:

https://tinyurl.com/ug6af4d

Governor’s Rally for Volunteers & Support Services:

(It does require a background check.)

https://coloradoresponds.communityos.org/

Medical Reserve Corps of Boulder County needs Volunteers

Did you know that you can dial 2-1-1 or visit www.211colorado.org for help with Coronavirus concerns? There’s a list of local organizations there as well.

https://stayathomeco.colorado.gov/?fbclid=IwAR27dVBuQQTnx9XqDDEl4Z7oAFLRZXBwvqfejnLgixRHSuIeo50yik_2BRM

Local groups rallying support:

Help for Boulder County COVID-19
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Help4BoulderCOVID19/

Erie Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/500182150656435/

Feed the Frontlines

Sew it for COVID

Dena’s Mask Making Bitches

How to make a pleated mask video

Business Networking & Funding:

Funding Checklist

SBA COVID-19 Funding Application

Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council

Payback Protection Program Application

SBA Guide to Economic Injury Disaster Relief Loans

Guide to Employee Retention Tax Credit

Networking:

Multiple Groups listed here:

https://tinyurl.com/vbek8mk

Mental Health Resources & Tips (we will be adding to this):

Local therapists offering sliding scales, reduced rates, and virtual services:

Naropa Community Counseling Center

Metis Center for Psychological Services

Stephanie Small-Psychotherapist

Stacy Ruse Counseling

Resources:

Mental Health Partners is accepting new patients and is screening virtually

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Mental Health America

Social Work License Map

Anxiety and Depression Association of America

NAMI

Mayo Clinic online support groups

Resources for Social Workers and Therapists

BrainCraft a Youtube channel by Vanessa Hill, an award-winning science educator, host and STEM advocate with several videos on coping through COVID.

Boulder County sent us this list as well:

Resources From Mental Health America Website

Mental Health America (MHA) is the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and to promoting overall mental health. Their website has resources specifically pertaining to: Parents, Caregivers, Financial Support, Tools and Info on Anxiety, Tools to Connect with Others, Suicide Prevention/Immediate Response, Domestic Violence Survivors Info, LGBTQ+ Individuals, Veterans, and Older Adults. They also have free webinars, live events, and workshops available.

https://mhanational.org/covid19

Additional Resources For Immediate Response

Disaster Distress Helpline
Call 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746.The Disaster Distress Helpline (DDH) provides crisis counseling and support for anyone in the U.S. experiencing distress or other behavioral health concerns related to any natural or human-caused disaster, including public health emergencies.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals at 1-800-273-8255.

Colorado Suicide Prevention

Need help now? Call 1-844-493-TALK (8255), text TALK to 38255, or access chat via www.coloradocrisisservices.org. Help and hope are available 24/7.

Crisis Text Line
Text MHA to 741741 and you’ll be connected to a trained Crisis Counselor. Crisis Text Line provides free, text-based support 24/7.

The Trevor Project
Call 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678678. A national 24-hour, toll free confidential suicide hotline for LGBTQ youth.

Trans Lifeline
Dial 1-877-565-8860. Trans Lifeline’s Hotline is a peer support service run by trans people, for trans and questioning callers.

Dial 2-1-1
If you need assistance finding food, paying for housing bills, accessing free childcare, or other essential services, visit 211.org or dial 211 to speak to someone who can help. Run by the United Way.

National Domestic Violence Hotline
For any victims and survivors who need support, call 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-799-7233 for TTY, or if you’re unable to speak safely, you can log onto thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 22522.

The National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline
Call 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) to be connected with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.

Caregiver Help Desk
Contact Caregiver Action Network’s Care Support Team by dialing 1-855-227-3640. Staffed by caregiving experts, the Help Desk helps you find the right information you need to help you navigate your complex caregiving challenges. Caregiving experts are available 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. ET (M-F).

The Partnership for Drug-free Kids Helpline
Call 1-855-378-4373 if you are having difficulty accessing support for your family, or a loved one struggling with addiction faces care or treatment challenges resulting from COVID-19 circumstances, the Partnership for Drug-free Kids’ specialists can guide you. Support is available in English and Spanish, from 9:00 a.m.- midnight ET weekdays and noon – 5:00 p.m.

Tips:

Clinical psychologist shares advice on how to cope and better support others amid #COVID19

COVID-19 Wellness Tips

10 Things to Do Instead of Listen to the News

Tips for Staying Healthy During Isolation

Starting Over

Yellow House, Marketing, Design, Direct Mail and Websites:

Yellow House Design and Marketing Boutique

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The post Lists of Lists for local COVID-19 shopping and support appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

• 3 Reasons Why You Should Keep Advertising During a Crisis

• Why You Need to Keep Your Marketing During a Crisis

• When a Recession Comes Dont Stop Advertising

• Seize Advantage in a Downturn

Marketing Strategies for survival are listed at the bottom of the article.

Also at the bottom of the article are links to support systems.

We have an opportunity to connect as a community in a way that I have not seen before.

I was in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. My house was roughly about a mile and a half from the epicenter. It was up in the Scots Valley hills outside of Santa Cruz. The community was devastated. Weeks later, people would start crying when there was an after-shock.

I had landed in London England on September 11, 2001, and was only a few months into Yellow Scene Magazine. I turned on the television and the first tower had just been hit. I watched the news as the reports came across the screen in a London hotel of the second tower being hit. We were only a few issues in, and I was bartending at night to support myself and my son. When I got back, I would hear patrons talk in ways that I don’t wish to repeat, but I have come to recognize that trauma can also bring out fear.

In 2008, the world was changed with the Great Recession. Alongside my fellow business community, we fought to find ways to keep our services relevant as global giants were getting bailouts.

In 2013, our community was hit with The Floods.

All of these I felt the fright as the community around me did. What has kept us going is drive. Pure drive. And some loans too, but mostly a lot of drive and unwillingness to give up.

All of these challenges, including the one I imposed on myself when I did my Rupert Murdoch experiment, has brought out a strength that I did not know resided.

Small Business Owner going to work everyday

I am a fighter. It has gotten me in trouble most of my life, but it also built a 20-year business. For me, having been through hell and back over 20 years of owning a small business, the first thing is to decide how much you want to fight for it.

There will be debt if you do. There will be ungodly long hours if you do. It won’t be easy. In fact, owning an independent publication that has remained true to authentic journalism, (even if the haters hate our positions), has been the hardest and most fulfilling work I have ever done. I don’t love debt, I don’t love working ungodly hours, I don’t love dealing with local, national or world crisis while trying to run a business, but I love what I do. I love the freedom — even with the stress. So I fight.

Part of that fight has not been done alone. There has been devoted staff, mentors, coaches, friends and therapists who I have cried with. Who helped me pick my spirit back up when it was beaten down. I have to do the fight, but I have support. Keeping our mental outlook is one of the most important parts of “the fight”.

Attitude affects everything.

I now know, we WILL get through this and I know we can help our community through it too. 

I didn’t know that before going through hell and back, but I do now. We have the strength. We really do.

We don’t know when this will slow (and are hoping 8 weeks or less), but I do know we have the ability to be there for our community in a way that we never have before.

Rather than focusing on what this will do to our business, we MUST focus on how we can be of service.

It will absolutely make you crazy to spend time on “what will happen to me”. It is noise. Focus instead on putting one foot in front of the other. Be of service, there is nothing that beats the healing power of service.

The key is don’t sit idle, don’t panic and don’t withdraw. Since Madison Avenue began 100 years ago, study after study shows that businesses that marketed during down economies fared far better than those that did not.

If the feet aren’t coming in the door, the strategy has to change. Your promotions have to change, and how you think about marketing has to change. Since the usual foot traffic has dramatically changed, we have to adapt.

The second tip to surviving financial insecurity as a business for the short term; Keep the money moving. Yes, it sometimes means borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, but keep the money moving.

The post How to Survive Crisis as a Local Business appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

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Update: As of Saturday, March 28th, the total number of COVID-19 cases has grown to over 100,000 in the United States, with an expectation of over 200,000 deaths to still come. 

As of Saturday, March 14th, the number of reported cases has grown to over 100. 

https://www.cpr.org/2020/03/14/colorado-coronavirus-updates-march-14-legislature-testing-and-more/

With the closure of our School Districts throughout the state, Social Distancing is the main topic of today. Many questions and fears are being raised because of it. What kind of testing is available? Can I still work? What will happen to small businesses? How long should we practice Social Distancing? How much should we stock up?

The post Boulder County Public Health Public Service Announcement: Coronavirus (COVID-19) & Social Distancing appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

The question was asked why pass gun control when the country already has so many?

On that note…
What’s the point of ending slavery when the country already had slaves?
Why stop the Prison Industrial Complex when we have so many lives already screwed up from it?
We are already involved in so many wars, we can’t stop them now?
Why let gay people marry?
Why let women have the vote?
Talking about racism is racist, why not accept racism is over?
Why legalize Cannabis?
We have already screwed up the planet, why bother being environmental?
Why help kids who are dropping out of school?
Why stop bullying?
Why try and stop the opioid epidemic?
Why have Police Monitoring Committees when so many are already corrupt?
Why try and fix our Democratic system? It’s already broken.
America isn’t ready for a female president, why should we try?
Why change the language? He/She/They/Them
Why reach across the aisle?

and on and on…

The post Why pass Gun Control Laws when the U.S. has so many guns already? appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

*Update 2/24/2020

It is our understanding that the COGCC has not yet approved this well site. This personal blog has a more current status of what is taking place with legal actions around Oil & Gas. Broomfield Concerned also reports as of Oct. 31st, 2019 it is delayed.

*Updates include information on the number of inactive wells in 2015, and statements by the COGCC and CGRS

Tuesday Night, September 12th, 2019 I attended the Erie Oil & Gas Fair.  I had low expectations going in.  Those expectations were met. 

Right now there is an onslaught of advertising paid for by the Oil & Gas industry to tell us how wonderful fracking is. However, from our experience we have learned that the information we get from the industry is often misleading, key information is omitted, and sometimes is just wrong. 

The number of active oil and gas wells in Colorado almost doubled from 22,228 in 2000 to 43,354 in 2010. *Map of all of the oil and gas wells in Colorado through June 29, 2015. At that time there were 52,235 active wells, 49,919 inactive wells, and 5,551 permit locations, for a total of 107,705 wells. Colorado Geological Survey

Today we have over 60,000 active wells, plus another 20,000+ that are inactive but are open for future drilling, with several thousand more applying. Drilling applications have risen (and been approved) by 70% each year since 2016 in Colorado. 

We could face hosting one of the worst sites in the state if the Erie Acme Pad gets approved by the COGCC (Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission). New director Jeff Robbins’ allegiance to the community’s Health and Safety and implementation of SB-181 will be tested with this application. 

*To date, the COCGG has never not approved an application. Some have been rejected for improper completion, but to date, no application has ever been turned down. 181 is supposed to change that by changing the language from ‘foster development’ to ‘health and safety’.

The Acme site got approved right before SB-181 passed, but the city was being told by Crestone, that if Erie did not approve it and the Operator Agreement, they would bypass the city and get it approved by the state. 

For those not aware of the Acme Pad, it is considered the worst site in the state after the Battlement Mesa/Ursa site on the Western Slope, based on proximity to homes and potential impact to nearby residents. The spacing unit for Acme is 36 wells within 500 feet of homes, 100 feet from the airport runway and a few hundred feet from Highway 7—a major thoroughfare for residents and business. This is a MASSIVE site and should concern anyone who lives near it. Erie Thriving, a local group concerned with health and safety has a lawsuit against this project. 

The surface

disturbance area

is 550 x 1000 feet.

Roughly equal to

three average-sized Walmarts. 

I met with the following people at their respective tables at the Erie Oil & Gas Fair: 

• Jeff Webb, Assistant Fire Chief, Mountain View Fire Station
• Tara Webster Environmental Health Coordinator, and Sean Hackett, Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment
• Three representatives from CGRS, “an environmental-consulting company, providing industry- and regulatory-compliance expertise and services to owners and operators in the upstream and downstream petroleum industry”, but only Randy Kenyon gave me his card
• Mark Morton and Mike Leonard, COGCC representatives
• A couple of town officials, as well as the legal consultant to Erie regarding Oil & Gas regulations

I asked a lot of questions and recorded the answers. Here is my summary from this event:

• The Erie administrator present was not involved in the Acme Pad and was brand new, so “couldn’t really answer” any questions on Acme. We did spend quite a bit of time talking about regulations and the pipes being laid up Road 10-1/2 for the Wooley-Sosa site, and which 2,500 homes will eventually be built. Most of the Erie staff there representing seemed ill informed to answer O&G questions, except the outside legal counsel. 

• The Colorado Department of Health was by far the most disappointing. They told me they don’t have “values” for blood because they don’t test blood. They test air, but citizens can petition to have their blood tested. All blood testing is self reported data as the Colorado Department of Public Health (CDHE) does not collect that information. I was told the air samples are what they test for, and their studies show the data at or below their ‘health guideline values.’ The Health Guideline Values are not regulatory limits, but are based on values derived from toxicology studies and do not look at the B-Tags (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and o-xylene) in blood streams. B-Tags are the chemical compounds often found in blood tests of those living or working around fracking. The CDHE was overseen by Larry Wolk for many years, who has publicly opposed marijuana and supported Oil & Gas. He is currently employed by Wonderful Foods — who owns POM, who uses water produced from frack sites for their crops. 

• They told me that the effects people report are often short term and “go away” because the emissions are intermittent. The official statement said to me Thursday night, “if the CDHE saw a health risk, they would work to reduce that risk, and at this time based on the data they have, they do not see a risk around fracking”.

Much of the state now has an “F” rating for air and the data the state is using to demonstrate safety, is outdated.

It is important to note: The tests the Department of Health are using are based on data collected from 2008-2016. However, from 2016-2019, we have seen significant increase in the number of active wells with no current data available. 

• The COGCC (Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Committee) told me that the Acme Pad is up in the air for approval. They stated that 181 would resolve most of the community’s concerns. However, after speaking with activist groups around the state, we found that they do not feel 181 does enough to protect residents. I was told that they do work to oversee accidents/spills on a regular basis. 

• The environmental consulting group CGRS told me that they were consultants for governments, some water boards, and when I asked, confirmed they also consult for the industry. They did not have much to offer in the way of risks to the public, most likely because they are on the payroll for many Oil and Gas companies. It is concerning that cities are employing environmental consultants that are employed by the industry itself. I was told they also help manage mistakes through their services and there are fines involved when these happen. I asked if this happened often, which was responded with a shrug. Fines do not do much for the actual damage caused to the environment, so it is concerning to hear governing bodies appear as if this is all it takes to address the issue. 

• Mountain View Fire Department told me that they have had a couple of accidents/spills a year reported in Erie and have given me the national contact to access all reports statewide.  Statewide we have 12 spills a week. 

• I enjoyed talking with the legal counsel but was told that the overall legal view is that harder regulations will be the answer, because a ban would lose in court. This is where the second part of the debate comes in. There are many people who believe a ban can hold up. In 2016 the Colorado Supreme Court struck down the bans passed by Fort Collins, Longmont and Lafayette, however, that was prior to 181 passing. 

In short, Erie currently has 149 active wells within the city. Out of Erie’s $106,000,000 budget, fracking generates approximately $800,000 a year. Not much money for the extreme dangers connected to the activity.  

We have had three explosions in the area in the last couple years, of which one was deadly, and over 12 spills a week in the state. The IPCC warns we are down to 10 years to get it together.  

Overall, the message I walked away with is that this group of experts was there to tell us that fracking is safe, with a small few telling me that O&G essentially has a gun to Erie’s head and there is little they can do even though they wished they could do more.

No one really addressed the Climate Crisis and fracking’s impact on it.

To learn more about SB-181 the new regulatory bill passed this year, read The Blue Puddle. https://yellowscene.com/2019/02/27/the-blue-puddle-colorados-legislators-v-oil-and-gas/

If you would like to contact the COGCC regarding Acme Pad or any other regulatory issue around fracking: 

dnr.ogcc@state.co.us

The post Will the COGCC approve a fracking site the size of five Walmarts? appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Agreed there is waste at all levels of government.

There is also tremendous waste in all levels of the private sector. Since most people work or have worked in their lifetime, we all can attest to waste on the job.

There is even MORE waste when public services are managed by private entities. THAT is where you find the biggest waste. That and when single industries are allowed to dictate policy. 

From the Military-Industrial Complex, Oil & Gas, the War on Drugs, the Judicial System, Prisons and Private Prisons (even more so), and now Migration “Camps”, Healthcare, Banking, Roads/Transporation. When private companies are banking off of public dollars they have a spending problem-ON THEMSELVES-and not on the services they were contracted to do.

The post Opinion: Government Waste vs the Private Sector appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

In today’s marketplace, we have had recommendations to make changes to our format for bigger profits, cuz you know, “print is dead”. With the way some print vehicles are acting, they might just deserve to die— and this is coming from someone who loves print.

Anyway, here’s the latest round of advice being given to this Independent print media:

• Do what the “competitors” are doing, sell “advertorial” aka Native Advertising (cuz that’s a lot easier to sell than real journalism).
• Focus solely on digital to “keep up”
• Cut your circulation: stop mailing to homes because it costs too much and just throw a huge ole stack in racks and claim four readers per copy, like everyone else.
• Create a formula for the ads so it doesn’t cost so much to produce.
• Be Cheap.

This is actual advice we have gotten, but we think these pointers are from people concerned with the bottom line more than developing and engaging an actual audience.

The number one reason people buy is trust. Audiences aren’t stupid. Audiences are your wife, husband, neighbor, the teacher, the fireman, YOU.  

Right now “Native Advertising” is the hottest trend. Everyone is doing “it”. Sales are going bonkers. Jump on the gravy train right?

From my perspective, after 30 years in print media, I will quit the business before I sell one advertorial.

I simply do not want to be in publishing if that is the kind of publisher I am. I am an artist and I drank the Media Role & Responsibility Kool-aid. I know what my job is and it is to deliver an audience. Anything else I am just selling you space and not really delivering anything for it.

If it doesn’t have substance, it’s for show.  

Dangerous blend: how lines between editorial and advertising are blurring

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2018/03/01/is-native-advertising-sustainable-for-the-long-haul/#6e1f259c3733

When readers start in on one of these “articles”, they realize it’s selling them something, so they lose trust of the outlet. They turn the page (or scroll on by) because they feel tricked, leaving a negative impression of your brand instead of a positive one. At least print ads aren’t offensive and if done well they are newsworthy. Additionally, most content writers have little journalism experience. When was the last time you saw someone post “Wow! That cliffhanger on that infomercial I watched last night just kept me spellbound!”?

There is a reason NPR and HBO believe high production values matter.

In 1999 HBO launched The Sopranos. The premise was High-Production Values. Great screenwriting, great acting and great production that changed television forever. We are now in the Golden Era of TV.

At the same time, greedy Hollywood Executives decided remakes were the cheapest way to make movies, therefore big profits. All this was fine and dandy, at first. It was cool to see Spiderman in CGI. But after awhile we got Zoolander 2 and Bachelor 4. Audiences got bored and stopped going to the movies. In 2017 Hollywood hit an all time low in sales. Executives ignorantly blamed TV because we all got big screens and spend time streaming instead of going to their crappy movies.

Their problem is, it wasn’t the size of the screen. I am not going to watch crappy TV on a big screen anymore than a crappy movie. It is that TV is producing quality programs.

Along comes digital and print is now said to be dead. Mostly because the newspaper is dying on the vine. Why is the newspaper dying? It is because the 24 hour news cycle changed how we get information and personally I don’t think the newspaper should die. In fact I want to save it. BECAUSE THE WORLD NEEDS REAL JOURNALISM. However, if they go to Content Writing and refuse to adapt, they deserve to die too.

(My secret plan to save them: Stop printing daily-it is much too frequent, deliver for free, hire back real journalists and be Slow News. I want a million dollars for helping them.)

Since the onslaught of digital marketing (which is actually on a downward trend right now), media has become this crazy mix of jumping on the latest new thing, resulting in advertisers further exacerbating the Pray and Spray model that is so common among businesses desperately trying to make their advertising work. Ridiculously, digital and direct marketers are the ones promoting pray and spray by pushing the latest trends, all while pulling a Trump on us and stating brand marketing is the problem.

It’s not the platform that is your marketing strategy. The platform is how you execute that strategy. And too many businesses don’t have a real strategy for how they are going to grow or why the consumer will shop them, at least not in their messaging.

Bad advertising is one of the top reasons businesses fail.

And here is a little shocker. The HOT “new” trend of 2019 is Digital companies are investing in making print magazines and direct mailing them to homes. I just got my AirBnB Magazine in the mail the other day. Even more ironic, the online companies making these magazines are being rated on the quality of their content.

So let me get this straight. Digital companies are producing print magazines, direct mailing them, and are valuing real content presence, while traditional media is resorting to advertorials to sell advertising?

There is nothing more constant than the mailbox. We all know what we read from our mailbox is dependent on how interested we are in what is being delivered. In ALL communications, everything pivots around Interest.

Book sales are dramatically up. Millennials are reading twice as many books as boomers and digital companies are even turning to print. The Future of Digital is Print.

New apps like Augmented Reality are being developed for PRINT. Of all the trends out there, this is one we think has incredible promise. The marrying of digital and print!

The fact remains, 20 years after Google people are not reading books ormagazines or newspapers online. They read an article of interest or worst a headline and scream “Fake News”. We surf the web, we swim in print.

There are many reasons print is seeing this “comeback” (it never went away – it just changed). It is trusted more. You remember more. Scientific American has reported on studies that shows that reading in print creates 7x the recall of digital. It is high-touch vs high-tech. We linger on it. We like reading it. However, to engage an audience just like TV, movies or digital, print needs to be interesting. We don’t need 10 fashion magazines, we don’t need a newspaper everyday, it’s just too much saturation. We need it to be special.

YS has no shortage of readers. In fact, the nicest things we hear from readers are “It’s the only thing I look forward to in my mailbox.” and “You are like a national magazine on a local level.” (Shhhhhh…it’s because of journalism standards.) Our drivers tell us people will chase them down the street to get a copy because we run out so fast in stands. We don’t have a problem engaging readers. The hardest part about what we do is getting advertisers to realize we have this readership and why it matters to them.

YS could resort to the “tricks of the trade” and it would get us more advertisers. We don’t think it gets more readers though. People tune into NPR, not the infomercial.

We invest in our journalists, mail to homes directly, and equally important  the design of your messaging. A good ad has 7x the impact of a bad one. You know what makes an ad good?

The copywriting. It’s all about those writers.  If your story is boring, dry, and cookie cutter than you will lose the interest of the audience. Are you Charlie Brown’s teacher or Ted Talks?

Advertising is not magic. It is merely a form of communicating a sales message to your potential future customers. Most media outlets put the responsibility on the advertiser to produce the ad. Most media outlets have what we call production ads. Not crafted. They slap your logo on there with some bullet points. You might buy it because you think the advertising is cheap – but really it is the most expensive and wasteful advertising you can do. This is why along with being the only local publication that mails to homeowners, we are the only publication able to offer agency-quality, strategic branding and marketing.

Which of these spreads grabs you more? No, not all advertising is the same and not all print is the same.

What got YS to 19 years in business as a self-financed Independent media outlet, was not compromising journalism, design or distribution standards, but instead pushing ourselves more. To produce even higher quality, relevant content people enjoy reading. We actually help our customers with High Production Design and spend more to land it in the mailbox.

We would rather be smaller and make a little less profit than sell out the pages. This is how we will make it to 20 years in 2020.

You can learn more about the services Yellow House, our in house agency offers here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17IEyzw2jMjYvBnS9WqicatJQ9lHwei9hKRLTJHNBYtk/edit

Download our Media Kit and Marketing Guidebook: https://yellowscene.com/advertise

Watch our Marketing Seminar: http://www.youtube.com/c/YellowSceneMagazine

The post Your Native Advertising Sucks and Why Content is Still King appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

We are in Erie. The most fracked city in the state of Colorado.

In fact, we have earned the unfortunate nickname “Tour De Frack” by many, including legislators adapting the term. We do not have a choice where a drill or a well goes, whether it is next to our houses or schools, no matter how close it is. Neither does any other community in Colorado.

Don’t want fracking? Guess what, you don’t have a say. You can go to town hall meetings, legislative sessions, and the like — all day long — trying to convey the serious health consequences for those living next to it, as well as the massive impact fracking has on our finite supply of air and water. It does not matter. Your voice is drowned out by millions (and millions…) of dollars spent by the industry to ensure alternative energies and products are suppressed, that misinformation is spread, that any opposition is met with lawsuits — and to ensure that our legislators know their lobbyists by first name.

https://denver.craigslist.org/gov/d/denver-pro-oil-and-gas-democratic/6818388896.html

With a Blue Wave sweeping our state legislation, I asked several of our Democrat elected officials, “Why can’t Colorado pass a ban (or at least a moratorium) with a Democrat majority in our state legislation?” I spoke to six total; Matt Jones, Matt Gray, Stephen Fenberg, Edie Hooton, Jonathan Singer and Angela Williams. Calls to KC Becker went unreturned for interview. 

Every single legislator gave me the same answer: “Because it won’t pass.”

From our conversations, in their own words:

Edie Hooton (HD 10):

…what I would say is, in order to get legislation through, this is just fundamental, you need a consensus. You need 33 in the House, and you need 18 in the Senate. And just because you’re a Democrat, just because you have a D beside your name, doesn’t mean that you’re going to be onboard with the ban. Now, if somebody rang a bell on a fracking ban, every Boulder County legislator would vote for it. And we could probably get a handful of others, but then, there you are seen possibly compromised and characterized. So, first of all, it wouldn’t get passed. It would not pass the legislature, it wouldn’t do that. And the legislators supporting it and running those bills, would then … be characterized in a way that might reduce their effectiveness on a bill that we can get consensus on, that would actually make a lot of difference for Colorado.

Stephen Fenberg (SD 18):

If I could get a ban passed I would, but it won’t pass at the state. They will tie anything like that up in court and the state will get sued.

Matt Gray (HD 33):

Well, the ban and moratorium were different questions, I think. But their relations are similar. A ban, the hardest part of a ban in my mind is that we are not yet in a place where we don’t need oil and gas in the state of Colorado. We have almost every single person on cold nights, like last night, that lives here is kept alive by the fact that we have gas furnaces in almost every building that we live in. We’re not in a place yet where we can say we’re at 100% renewable energy, and so we can’t just disregard the need for oil and gas in the state.

And to the extent that we need to continue it, and for as long as we need to continue using it, I would rather the economic benefits of that and the jobs and the taxes and the employment come from Colorado than come from Iran, Saudi Arabia, somewhere along there. I think that as long as we are using these fuels, I would rather these fuels come from Colorado rather than they would come from somewhere else.

I’m a strong supporter of moving to renewable energy as quickly as possible to combat climate change and a lot of other health instances. But as long as we have it, just because if we instituted the ban in our state, it doesn’t mean we’re not going to use those fuels anymore, it doesn’t mean we’re not going to create the carbon emissions anymore. It just means it’s going to come from somewhere else, and the economic benefits that come with it are going to come from somewhere else and we’re just going to say, “Well look, we’re still going to be users … The impacts we’re going to put somewhere else.” You know what I mean? We’re going to say, Wyoming you deal with it, the impacts. Oklahoma you deal with the impacts. We’re not changing the overall carbon picture. We’re not changing the overall climate change picture, we’re just saying somebody else needs to deal with it. (emphasis ours)

That I don’t think is the right approach. I think the right approach is to come up with combined, come up with a policy where we work towards renewable energy and to addressing climate change as effectively and as quickly as we can. I think that work is going on. But for as long as we are consumers of oil and gas, I think that it’s okay that folks in Colorado develop that oil and gas while we work towards minimizing that need as quickly as we can.

Angela Williams (HD 7):

Why do you want to interview me? I said everything I am going to say at the Town Hall. There are drilling opportunities and some communities want that. It’s not fair to those communities to pass a ban. The jobs are too important.

FYI for Senator Williams and anyone else making the jobs/economy argument but forgetting (or omitting) the facts: O&G is approximately 1% of the job market, employing 40,000 people while most of those jobs are filled from out of state people, and O&G makes up approx. 3% of our state economy. A look at our State Budgets and Economy shows this quite clearly. (7-11 employee and bank tellers should not be included in the count.)

These answers are puzzling. Is the new Blue Wave going to be more of a Blue Puddle?

This is a story of Politics 101. The players include:

• Oil & Gas — and their lobbyists
• Legislators — and their Constituents (which should include you and me, but seems to be big donors more than voters)
• Spin Doctors
• The question of philosophical moral ground, species & planetary survival, the health and safety of citizens and the wishes of Oil & Gas trumping them all

Politics are often seen as universally corrupt. We all are watching the current presidency unfold before us. When you are in the trenches, up close, the degree at which Oil & Gas has harmed and corrupted our planet and governing legislation is so much more magnified, leading to the absolute refusal to do anything significant about it. In this place of inaction (or inability to act) to stop the onslaught, we get to see just how much the actions of oil and gas efforts, along with a complicit political class, are harming the environment.

If you have not read Joel Dyer’s investigative pieces on the industry, they are by far the most comprehensive breakdown of how oil & gas controls not just Colorado, but our country, and indeed the planet. We recommend these readings to get you caught up on the work Dyer is doing:

• Behind the Curtain – 2015
  https://www.boulderweekly.com/news/behind-the-curtain/
• Who Killed the Vote on Fracking? – 2014
  https://www.boulderweekly.com/…/who-killed-the-vote-on-fra…/
• Who Killed the Vote on Fracking? Part Two – 2014
  https://www.boulderweekly.com/…/who-killed-the-vote-on-fra…/

We  created a spreadsheet of all the fracking companies in Colorado and then looked them up on TRACER at the Secretary of State. TRACER gives the public records for campaign contributions.  From there we looked up all the PACS that the Oil & Gas Industry has donated to over the years. Since 2016, Oil & Gas has made more than $24,000,000 in political contributions to influence Colorado state policy.

Yes, that is $24 Million in 3 years.

This does not count the $40,000,000 they spent to defeat Proposition 112, nor the $35,000,000 they spent to try and pass Amendment 74. Nor does it count individual contributions or undisclosed donations. In fact, more than one in five dollars donated to campaigns in Colorado comes from oil & gas. Why does this industry need to spend this kind of money? (If they had put that money into alternative energies they could get rich all over again.)

The COGCC (Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission) is the oversight group meant to regulate the oil and gas industry. The Commission has largely been made up of lobbyists and former employees of oil and gas for the better part of their history. To date, there has not been a permit they do not like. If an application is missing information, it is rejected. If an application sits too long, it is closed. To our knowledge they have never, ever denied a single well application. 

Their stated mission: “The mission of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) is to foster the responsible development of Colorado’s oil and gas natural resources”, isn’t even pretending to regulate for health and safety.

Meanwhile, the numbers are staggering (citations at bottom):

1. Colorado has 80,000+ wells, of which 60,000+/- are active and 20,000+/- orphaned – up from 22,000 active twenty years ago.
2. Shockingly, over 75%-90% of it is shipped out of state and much of that out of the country. We are not using what we are extracting here in Colorado.
3. Gas prices to heat your home have gone up 61.2% in the last twenty years.
4. The bond to cover the costs of abandoned wells is roughly $10,000, yet it costs $85,000 to clean up an orphaned well, resulting in taxpayers forking out $7 million in 2017 to cover the shortfall. Colorado has over 300 orphaned wells and many of the companies that created them have since filed bankruptcy. A common tactic.
5. A well uses between 1.5 and 16 million gallons of fresh water – which can not be reused.
6. Wells emit toxins that can be seen with infrared, thus fracking is the number one reason we now have an F rating for air quality in Colorado.
7. Spills have increased 17% in the last year and there are an average of 12 spills a week.
8. 1,333 workers died in the nation’s oil and gas fields between 2003 and 2014, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The nationwide death toll in 2014 of 144 was the highest in more than a decade.
9. Employees are 7x more likely to get sick.
10. Low birth rates are attributed to living near a fracking site for pregnant mothers. A study done by Princeton University that looked at data from 1.1 million babies found that  infants born within 1 kilometer of a well were 25% more likely to have low birth weights (less than 2500 grams or 5.5 pounds) than infants more than 3 kilometers away, as reported in Science Advances. Babies born near fracking sites showed significantly lower scores on a standard index of infant health. Weld County, where fracking is the among the most dense in the nation, infant mortality rates are 200% that of surrounding counties.
11. A study by Lisa McKenzie, PhD, MPH University of Denver, Environmental and Occupational Health showed a strong correlation between proximity to drilling operations and childhood leukemia. Children with acute lymphocytic leukemia were found to be 4 times more likely to live near oil and gas development than children with other types of leukemia.
12. The Colorado Department of Public Health found that people who live within a 1/2 mile of fracking are more likely to experience the most grave health impacts from exposure to toxic emissions like cancer, respiratory illness, and neurological disorders.

This does not include the countless testing these suburbanites are getting done on their blood and their children’s blood, showing benzene, ethylbenzene, and O-xylene – all cancer causing chemicals, typically produced by fracking.

The community is more than frustrated. They are scared. And they aren’t being heard.

These aren’t “eco-terrorists” as many in the Oil and Gas Industry like to call them. They are not the fringe. These are moms living in Broomfield, Erie, Commerce City and throughout the state. These are scientists, medical professionals, business owners, lawyers, writers, educators, and working professionals. It is Suburbia. Most didn’t start as activists, but have become activists, over time, as yet another drill, another well, is placed within 500 feet of their homes.  

When suburbia is rising up, that should tell our politicians something.

These are usually the most comfortable communities, middle America, where the major issues used to be enough hours in the day for kids’ activities and making it to the neighbor’s weekly barbecue. This isn’t where most agitation begins. To be clear, none of the community members  I spoke to wanted to be angry with the Democrats. They wanted to believe and trust that they would look out for them, as constituents. But over the years, they have been sold out every time. After all, it was Democrats who gave us the CO Clean Air Clean Jobs Act of 2010, which mandated fracking in Colorado, resulting in an F rating in air quality today.

Complicity or something else?

Accusations surfaced recently regarding the new oil and gas regulation bills being shown to oil and gas industry people prior to submission to the floor. The story was broke by Eldorado Underground in a video posted to Facebook. In it, a woman going by E claims to have overheard two gentlemen, one named Joe Milczewski, who the Greeley Tribune wrote was named Director of Government Relations for the Rockies Region by Anadarko in January 2019. The second gentleman named is Larry Holdren. According to his LinkedIn page he’s the co-founder of the Colorado Energy + Water Institute and director of Holdren Strategic Communications.

Screenshot from Video allegedly showing Joe Miecelzsky and Larry Holden

Miss. E, in the video, says “the thing that caught my attention was Joe from Anadarko started talking about how he oversaw what was happening with oil and gas in Boulder and Broomfield…They then started talking about how Fenberg and KC Becker had told them that they could get an advance look at this legislation, review the legislation that’s coming out. Next they said that they didn’t want that to be public knowledge, meaning KC Becker and Fenberg did not want that collaboration, that partnership to be public knowledge.”

We contacted both KC Becker and Stephen Fenberg who are the legislators crafting the bill. KC Becker denied the allegation. Stephen Fenberg responded with the following:

“I don’t know why they would be making the claims, I have never even heard of them. I have never met them or knew of them to meet with them. To me it’s weird, why would you trust someone from the industry that you supposedly never trust, over the words of people that are actually your allies, trying to solve the problem. I don’t have much to say to it, because it’s not true. We have been working with the advocates every step of the way, working with the groups working on this issue, for some of them to turn around and accuse us of being corrupt is just kind of, I don’t know if it’s worthy of a response. To be totally honest if you asked the companies, Anadarko that they said they work for, they would say ‘this person has never even met with Stephen Fenberg.’

There is zero chance anyone has seen the bill before. The common practice is to work out bill language with stakeholders before its introduced. That is the very common practice. Its encouraged and not considered unethical. Some would say it’s actually irresponsible to write a bill without involvement of the impacted parties. On this particular bill, I have very consciously not done that, because I don’t think the industry is a trusted partner and they have shown year after year, that all they are interested in is status quo and killing any legislation that comes out. Working through language with partners and industry folks only works if they are considered good faith partners and I don’t consider them one of them.

They haven’t seen it and they won’t until everyone else does.”

Calls to Joe Milczewski were responded to with, “I will need my media team to speak to you.” On a follow up call, Larry Holdren stated that he has “never met Stephen Fenberg and that can guarantee that he will not be seeing any drafts of any bills.”

The Highest Levels:

Governor Polis and many of our Boulder County elected leaders tell us they are working on new legislation to protect us; legislation that will make it easier to regulate the industry. Here is what they are telling us they plan to do:

• More electric cars
• Redefining the purpose of the COGCC to health and safety first
• Appointing as new COGCC Head, Jeff Robbins, a lawyer who has experience in dealing with cities and oil and gas issues. (Only time will tell if he is actually new blood or just more of the same…)
• A very vague idea of local control – that does not include the right for communities to ban fracking

Meanwhile there are still 6,300 new permits sitting at the COGCC waiting to be rubber stamped for approval, our air is still rated F, our bodies are still being poisoned, Erie is facing a new proposed “waste site” that will be imposed on residents, a series of new underground pipelines are being proposed, they still want to frack Rocky Flats, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warning about climate catastrophe beginning in 11+ years is still a reality.

While electric cars are good, they are not enough if we are going to continue to frack. Time is running out if you take the IPCC warning at all seriously. Our governors’ 2040 renewables goal is literally 10 years past the date of no return.

So tell us, Blue Wave, how do we stop our communities from being fracked to death? Because we sure as hell still don’t know that answer, not in a world where oil & gas controls our state and our politicians.

Politics 101.

UPDATE 03.05.2019

HB19-181: Protect Public Welfare Oil And Gas Operations

Sponsors Sen. S Fenberg, Rep. K. Becker, Sen. Mike Foote

https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb19-181

Our analysis:

Does the bill protect us from Climate Change? No.

Does the bill prevent oil and gas from drilling? No.

But we are endorsing it.

Overall it is a very well written bill and while it is not the answer to all of Colorado’s Oil & Gas problems, it takes a big step toward protecting residents.

We hope it is one of many bills the legislation will be putting forth and that our legislators do not allow money to be the influencing decision, but rather health and safety.

A Brief oversight of the major pieces of the bill:
What the bill does is create stronger oversights of the COGCC.
Currently the COGCC is to have 3 members from Oil & Gas and one from Environment to authorize permits. The end result has been a rubber stamp. The bill requires the COGCC to be made up of 1 O&G, 1 environmental protection, 1 soil conservation, 1 agricultural producer (or royalty holder), 1 public health, and requires the Director to hire 2 Deputy Directors.

It requires the COGCC change its language from “foster Oil & Gas” to “regulate Oil & Gas”.

It requires operators to install air constant emission monitoring equipment and it allows local governments to be able to monitor  inspect oil and gas facilities; impose fines for leaks, spills, and emissions.

Currently local governments are unable to impose any of this.

It requires operators to go to the local government for approval to drill before being able to go to the COGCC.

Currently, operators go to the COGCC and than the local governments resulting in threats of lawsuits if local governments do not approve after it’s been approved by the COGCC.

It changes the language around leaving it in the ground is not wasteful.

Currently, it is stated to not take it out is wasteful.

Colorado Rising Director, Joe Salazar breaks it down from his keen legal mind:

Sources

1. https://corising.org/colorado-map-oil-gas-wells/
2. https://www.eia.gov/state/analysis.php?sid=CO
3. https://i2i.org/colorados-electricity-rates-continue-to-rise/
4. https://www.cpr.org/news/story/hickenlooper-executive-order-aims-to-clean-up-colorado-s-long-forgotten-abandoned-wells
5. https://www.americangeosciences.org/critical-issues/faq/how-much-water-does-typical-hydraulically-fractured-well-require
6. https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2017/10/30/here-are-the-biggest-contributors-to-denver-area.html
7. https://www.denverpost.com/2018/01/12/colorado-oil-gas-spills-increase, https://kdvr.com/2018/02/19/oil-and-gas-spills-happen-nearly-12-times-a-week-in-colorado/
8. https://aflcio.org/sites/default/files/2017-03/1647_DOTJ2016_0.pdf
9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4469339/
10. https://www.princeton.edu/news/2017/12/13/hydraulic-fracturing-negatively-impacts-infant-health, http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/12/e1603021, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321801272_Hydraulic_fracturing_and_infant_health_New_evidence_from_Pennsylvania
11. http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/PublicHealth/About/news/Pages/Newsroom.aspx?&newsid=1087
12. http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/PublicHealth/About/news/Pages/Newsroom.aspx?&newsid=1087

Additional sources (no reason to short ourselves on all the knowledge at our fingertips): https://www.marketplace.org/2017/11/15/sustainability/environmental-protection-agency-drilling-fracking-wells, https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Colorado_and_fracking#Air_pollution, https://www.colorado.edu/business/sites/default/files/attached-files/cbr_2018_issue_3.pdf, http://www.metrodenver.org/media/396253/Economic-Profile-2015.pdf, https://www.colorado.edu/business/sites/default/files/attached-files/cbr_2018_issue_3.pdf, https://www.cpr.org/news/colorado-data, https://www.coloradoindependent.com/2017/06/02/colorado-cogcc-drilling-permits-martinez/?fbclid=IwAR14Dbj_wOcMSgC_rgfqwfC056-VQ8Wixb0SxoXAjVUaEB4soBJRBv6QdtQ

State Budgets: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/fy18-19bib.pdf, https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/dec2018forecast.pdf, https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/GeneralFund0718.pdf

The post The Blue Puddle: Colorado’s Legislators v Oil and Gas-Update 3.5.2019 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

(Following the publication of this article KGNU (88.5 here in Boulder County) reached out to us and asked us to talk about the experience. Here is a link to the interview with us both: http://kgnu.org/resistance-radio-trumps-america-in-the-bubble/)

We have been doing a series all year of Legendary People in Legendary Locations and they have been fabulous!

Over the years, Yellow Scene Magazine has worked hard to cover our community and provide a voice for all members. We have highlighted the LGBQT community, issues and challenges POC face, Addiction, Mental Health, Homelessness, Education, and the need for Criminal Justice reform.

However, because Boulder County is 90.5% White (alone, percent, according to census.gov estimates for July 2018, Wikipedia lists it at 88.4%), the vast majority of the businesses we cover are white. We are proud of our community’s accomplishments and continue to cover both our business community and the important issues that affect us most – regardless of who or what it is.

Our beautiful series in 2018 showed us how we still have a ways to go in representation of the minority community, leading us to make the decision to do more this year to highlight less visible members of our community.

Our editor, who is Native American, put some posts out in the social media community pages asking for business people, activists, members of the community who would fit the profile.
(Update March 11, 2019: It looks like some days the post is avaiable and some days it is not. In case this is a day it is hidden, screen shots can be found HERE.)

This is our editor’s exact post:

“Hey folks. We’re making a list, checking it twice, because we want to be ready to bring the important stuff to your Yellow Scene pages this next year. Let me know in the comments which businesses in our communities are owned by people of color, LGBT folk, and persons that are differently-abled – also, who are the most need-to-know activists in Boulder County. Ok, go…”

Trump’s America is alive and well even here in the Boulder Bubble (which truly does extend to I-25 these days). What we did not expect was the onslaught of negative feedback for choosing to highlight the area’s minority population, specifically from a subsect of the normally tolerant Erie.

In Erie there is a group called the “No Snowflakes Zone”, and in this group they tell jokes about marginalized people of the community. I was kicked out for objecting to a rape joke (which I was told was not a rape joke in spite of the “joke” being about rape). Our editor’s attempt to join the group wasn’t even allowed.

After putting up the post up in the general Erie page, we were assaulted with questions asking why we would feature minorities and choose to discriminate against white men.  The first question asked, why we “felt the need to single people out based on their color of skin or gender affiliation?”.

The answer I gave: “Gentleman, how disappointing the only page we have posted this to that has given us grief for wanting to highlight minority owned businesses is the Erie Page. The question isn’t why we want to do this, but why you care.”

I thought this helped explain it, apparently it did not. The post then had about 8-10 people work very hard to tear down not just the idea, but the magazine, and our characters as well.

Comments included:

“My point is that you came to this board looking for input on specific demographics of business owners. It appears to me your “inclusive” list excluded a much larger group. I understand your intent but just wonder why it’s important for you to need to focus on the groups you mentioned.” Same person: “Maybe they should highlight on “reverse discrimination”

“Does an Italian count as a person of color. And is it ok that I support trump and am pro life and am pro second amendment also. I live in Lafayette so I am definitely in Boulder County.”

“Yellow Scene should do a Thunderdome article on which identity is the most oppressed and victimized. As my friend Brad says, “When all the easy “oppressors” have been rhetorically rubbed out, the Woke turn on each other. Therefore you can never, ever be quite Woke enough. Because some other person with greater intersectionality is going to rhetorically stomp your face into the mud. For being intrinsically wrong. Simply because you exist, and do not have the intersectional bona fides to defend yourself. Two Wokes enter. One Woke leaves. Oh but you are going to report on it. You’re going to choose the most victimized and oppressed marginalized people you can find, and make sure you include their struggles (whether or not they’re fake doesn’t matter, does it?) It would be way more fun to do a Thunderdome between your oppressed types. A fun scorecard, so the readers can see who checks the most oppressed boxes. I have a Bingo!”

“I think it’s great to feature everyone. Why can’t you feature minority groups without causing division? There is a tactful way to do this.”

This one perplexed me since the sheer mention of covering minority groups caused division.

“At no point did Martin Luther King wish that his children be identified by the color of their skin. But that is exactly what identity politics has become, and it’s poison. Today at Harvard black students are demanding separate dorms, separate graduation ceremonies, and separate cafeterias based on their skin color. Segregation is evil. Identity politics is evil. Am I “aggrieved” at today’s liberal focus on identity politics? Yes, because it’s wrong. Go to a business because it’s a good business, not because of the owner’s skin color.”

And of course there were countless posts telling us we are trash, etc.

“Remind me to throw away the Yellow Scene issue this is BS media making racism and segregation a thing!!!! So done with this type of crap”

“Done with YS after this bs.”

“ROFL not from this magazine, it is infected with a mental sickness…
As this magazine plays the victim roll it also infects the week (sic) minded to believe in nothing but a distraction from what is really going on in the world. Go play the victim on your own time stop trying to convince people your view is the only view. When you try and shame people you are the problem in today’s PC world. #nomorevictimstates #nomorelies #stopfeedingthehate.” Same commenter: “It is a hate magazine, that is all it is. it likes to hide behind things but also stir up the ill in a frenzy. This is the tactic on the mentally ill.”

When asked why highlighting under represented members of our community was a problem here are some of the reasons given:

“Because you are choosing one business over another because of things people cannot control. Race, religion, disability that is wrong period.”

“Answer the question. I don’t live in Boulder because it’s insanely expensive. If someone is living in the area of Boulder, I have a hard time believing a business needs to be highlighted. Now, if you highlighted a business who was supporting kids getting ahead….ok. It just sounds like someone trying to drum up racial divides among people living in higher scale areas? please give me anything….are minorities struggling in Boulder? I don’t notice a minority group, I only notice humans. I am woke!”

“The fact that you want to highlight minority’s is just your way of saying we are all not equal. You are creating racism when we are trying to just be part of the human race. I don’t care where I do business but prefer small town and I sure as hell don’t care about their race religion or beliefs!”

There were a couple local residents of color that told our upset fanbase that it is insulting to use the term “color blind” and posted the article ‘”I Don’t See Color” Then You Don’t See Me!’ by Sam Louie—only to be told that they were wrong.

While this kind of dialogue is heart-breaking at best, it is telling as to how some Trump supporters* see themselves. It’s not their fault that they responded to an innocent question with such anger. It’s our fault for asking them. These responses demonstrate the fear that has taken hold of some of his followers.

In white America, in white Boulder County, (and yes, the Weld portion of Erie is part of that), the topic of race is one that must be had and this exchange on social media demonstrates exactly why.

While POC are disportionately charged and sentenced by our justice system, just bringing up the discussion to cover underrepresented people in our community set off a storm that I was not expecting. These Snowflake members expressed they believe they are being discriminated against by our choosing to highlight minorities this year. While I did not enjoy being attacked, I recognize that POC face this kind of dialogue everyday and in person. How many stories have we seen where white people are calling the police on black people for everyday actions?

YS started in late 2000. 18+ years ago we had to make a decision what kind of publication we would be. We had published a letter to the editor from a community member which got former Erie Mayor, Vic Smith, and one other person in the community calling our advertisers to tell them we printed one sided stories regarding the election. I made the decision we would not be bullied by political players to meet their personal agenda. While their goal was to harm the publication, it did not. It actually increased readership.

In 2001 we chose to publicly come out against the Iraq War which got us hate mail and hate calls. We were told we would go out of business for criticizing the war.

In 2012 we featured a gay man in our Singles in the Suburbs annual feature. Colorado Christian University cancelled their advertising because of this.

In 2014 we went to Ferguson to cover the Michael Brown protests. We lost one advertiser due to this as he stated “those people are the criminals”.

The topic of discrimination is one that is very difficult for some. It is shameful to recognize our own inherent biases that have been passed down through generations. Jim Crow laws only ended a short time ago. Noone wants to believe they might possibly struggle with racism or discrimination. But the truth is-we all do. Being white does in fact come with privileges that we are often too blissfully unaware of. To talk about race issues is not discrimination or “reverse racism”, but rather a fact looking at the 527 years (since Columbus landed and began the worst genocide in history), the 398 years since the Plymouth Rock landing, and the 327 years of how the United States has been for minorities.

Rather than being mad or ashamed by our country’s history, perhaps it is the kinder person who can recognize this and do the work to change it.

And yes, talking about it is a first step.

In 2019, YS will be saluting the diversity that does live in this very homogenized place and will not accept being bullied into silence.

*Update: We have been corrected; not everyone who objected to the post is a Trump supporter.

Since this article published, we have now received a Yelp review from one of the posters on the Facebook post. In addition we have had posts about us to break our window and have been named the Brown Scene by some of the same people on the post.

The post Trump’s America in the Bubble appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

My parents were huge theater fans, even having season passes, so I have seen a fair bit of theater in my lifetime. Some I have thoroughly enjoyed and then there are the few that, well, my seat becomes rather uncomfortable after a bit.

That is not the case with Honorable Disorder. This is one show where I wanted to stay glued to my seat.

If you have a veteran in your life, an addict, someone you know who is homeless (or even that homeless person you carefully avoided), someone who has health issues and is struggling with the crushing costs of medical care, rising rents, or dealing with mental health issues and is struggling to navigate the lack of available support, or someone seeking to be an ally for POC, this is a story that must be seen.

In other words-everyone needs to see this show. You need to see this show.

All told, this is one of the best stories brought to life on stage that we have seen in a long time. When asked what his plans are for taking it bigger, Director and playwright Jeff Campbell says he has no plans to take it anywhere because he wants to make Denver a place to come see work like this. His hope is to create powerful, Black community performances that put Denver – and Emancipation Theater Co. – on the national map.

Campbell was a rapper for Denver’s Kut-N-Kru, along with Gary Martinez and Mike D. Chill, which went onto national recognition as one of Denver’s most influential hip-hop acts.

The quality of performance, production and script parallels anything you might find in the Big Apple (we know, we’ve been), but being homegrown and dedicated to telling a Denver story, that is easily, equally relatable across the country, is what makes this show as compelling as it is unique.

DeShawn Foster (played by the commanding Theo Wilson), struggles to find work and adjust to his return to civilian life. He spends much of his time in Mestizo-Curtis Park at 32nd and Champa, trying to help Justin (played by Corey Rhoads), the only other surviving member of his platoon during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Justin is now a heroin addict and homeless.

DeShawn’s mother, (played by Erica Brown) is facing being removed from her 5 Points home to make way for developers, what locals would call gentrification. Due to health issues and medical costs, she struggles to make ends meet.

DeShawn’s uncle (played by Jeff Campbell), serve’s as both the play’s comic relief, as an ex-boxer and womanizer, to this very poignant story.

Through DeShawn’s journey he meets a social worker, Samantha – from Boulder (played by Devon James), who has to learn many lessons to understand what it means to be a real ally.

The story is beautifully scripted and the performances are captivating. Not only does this play think about issues that are present in everyday life and often overlooked, it will also really make you want some good Peach Cobbler.

Denver is lucky to have the creative talent that brought this magnificent story to our stages.

With shows like this, Jeff’s goal of putting Denver on the map nationally could very well come true. Bravo.

The post Emancipation Theater Co has a hit with Honorable Disorder appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Standing Rock changed my life. I had no idea what was in store when a group of us connected through  social media, and packed two vehicles full of food and supplies, loaded up in a two-car caravan, and headed to the  Dakota’s.

In spite of the mainstream media, the conditions left were not as reported.

There were hundreds of people still in Standing Rock as of this morning. They have asked for more time to clear the final elements of camp (contrary to reports, it is not piles of trash, and the majority of donations have been moved. What is left are the structures built to house this resistance). They are forcibly removing people now. They removed all media except the two Morton County Sheriff approved. They broke the hip of one Media member who was showing no resistance and instead filming. He was rushed by the police, after they broke his hip. The protestors were peaceful, the police not so much.

The head of the Energy Transfer Partners was  quoted as using the slur,’ dirty Indians.’ Maybe because of, or despite, the spin large, powerful conglomerates chose to use, I support this Movement. I would ask people to question why this resistance is taking place.

Many want it to be one-dimensional, but it is not. It may have started from DAPL choosing to move the pipeline from Bismarck (as residents of Bismarck were worried about their water) to the reservation but it has become much bigger. Years of broken promises, years of oppression, years of fossil fuels dominating our wars and land, years of loss of freedoms to corporate monopolies have resulted in Standing Rock. Tho abused harshly through this resistance, Water Protectors have remained peaceful and in prayer. This is not just a fight for a piece of land but a fight for us as citizens to have our government serve the people.

Currently, O&G is pushing multiple legislative bills written to silence those exercising their First Amendment rights-through at many states (several are up here in Colorado, for which I have posted about), to silence and imprison those who ask for clean energy. This shows the depth of what our government has become. (www.snopes.com/lawmakers-criminalize-peaceful-protest)

Citizens United has all but eliminated individual rights and granted sovereignty to corporate business, even if it costs lives through wars, the prison industrial complex, and supremacy.

America should be better than this. Most care about healthy drinking water, clean air,  equal opportunity and, a large number care when businesses are profiting from others suffering. We care about being a fair and just nation seeking to make the world better for all, not just a small few.

Water is life, and Standing Rock is people demanding we stop the injustice and corruption through peaceful resistance.

For additional live streaming:
Democracy and Class Struggle
Unicorn Riot
Digital Smoke Signals

Native Nations March on Denver; March 10, 2017

The post Standing Rock is more than a one-dimensional fight appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

As the publisher of YS Magazine I believe we have a responsibility and obligation to the communities we serve.

I just participated with a conference call with the Protectors at Standing Rock that included 500 other people and wanted to share the message.

• Protectors on the ground are risking their lives everyday, your help and involvement is needed.

• This is a fight that is bigger than Standing Rock, this is a fight for all of us. Anyone who breathes the air or drinks the water on earth this is who and what we are fighting for. It is about protecting all water on Mother Earth for all of us.

• Help that is needed:

-Bodies to help protest-there are several organization and individuals planning trips, please go if you can as soon as you can. Bodies are needed. However, please take time to train in Non Violent Direct Action.

-Legal, medical, financial, clothing and food help is needed.
Non-violent protectors are being arrested and charges keep changing.

We need to end the #mediawhiteout. Contact your local political players as well as media. Post on social media! Get involved in your local community, there are numerous organizations planning events.

Ways to get more information or get involved:

https://nodaplsolidarity.org/support-the-camps/

email: actions@nodaplsolidarity.com

Ways to get involved in Colorado:
facebook: Denver Stands with Standing Rock

Non-violent direct action training resources:
http://soaw.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=644

The post Standing Rock-NoDapl Solidarity appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Since 1997 the Arlington VA-based pop-reggae outfit SOJA has been touring steadily, releasing albums and nabbing the occasional Grammy nomination along the way. Last year’s release Amid the Noise and Haste landed at #1 on Billboard’s Reggae chart and a Grammy nom in the reggae category. We spoke with frontman Jacob Hemphill about social justice, Ferguson and playing with Damien Marley.S

The post Jacob Hemphill of SOJA appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Thirteen or so years ago, Yellow Scene published numerous articles speaking out against the invasion of Iraq. We received angry emails and phone calls telling us we were anti-American, and that we “didn’t support the troops” (and a few other choice words). I am hoping that my visit to Ferguson creates more awareness than it does angry letters.

Ferguson is not an inner-city slum, it is a family-rich community. It reminded me more of Thornton than it did a ghetto. The protesters were family members, not thugs. The thugs and the looters that you’ve been hearing about were outsiders taking advantage of a horrible situation. Yet these families told me that they were peacefully protesting when rubber bullets started to fly (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO1SKC6dK7o).  Yes, Ferguson saw violence but by all accounts, it appears the police fired first.

The protest was triggered by the shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson officer after stopping Brown for jaywalking on a small street winding through a residential apartment development. We don’t yet know exactly what happened but the evidence suggests that we are not hearing the whole truth– a suspicion encouraged by the fact that Officer Darren Wilson has refused to fill out an incident report.

When I was there a week-and-a-half later, I didn’t see rioters. I saw a police department so heavily armed that it frightened me, and was told by one officer that I was “lucky he was there to protect me”, though I had to wonder “from what?” as I did not see anyone acting violently.

All of the protestors I saw and met were peaceful and were there objecting to the unnecessary use of police force. I was told story after story of their 14-year-old boys being stopped by the police, put on the ground, and threatened with arrest, for nothing more than being outside.

Living in Erie, Colorado, I have never had to worry about my son being told to “get off the street”, nor have I ever had to watch police cars to make sure one is not circling around for me, but I have watched the police in neighboring communities arrest teenagers for riding a bike in the crosswalk as well as issuing tickets for traffic violations so petty one can only believe it is a revenue stream.

Using the military for law enforcement almost always end with bad results, which is in effect what we are doing by militarizing our police domestically. Soldiers and police have two different jobs. Soldiers go to war, police are supposed to help keep the peace. If the military themselves are alarmed by what they are seeing by the police (and they are) we need to stop and question what we have our police doing. A “community” approach to policing has shown to decrease crime, whereas a police department showing up for “war” and expecting violence has been proven to actually provoke and increase violence.

This isn’t just a Ferguson issue; our local police departments are also taking part in the militarization and privatization that is spreading throughout our police and judicial system.

Recently Lafayette received 40 military-grade M16’s. I am not sure what is going on in Lafayette that requires the police department to possess these firearms (especially when you consider these guys receive about 6 weeks of training to be an officer) but it does not make me feel safer.

Why? Several factors seems to be in play. Petty infractions are becoming the new tax base and towns are being funded by their municipal courts. Combine low-level infractions as a revenue source with an overarmed police department and we are looking at a model of policing that is not for the safety of the community but rather puts it at risk. And new laws are being passed every day, that turns someone into a felon with two or more minor infractions.

America’s black population, especially black males, bear the brunt of the consequences. Something people of color face is their kids start getting stopped and charged at 14, often for very small petty infractions such as jaywalking, racking up charges against them before they even turn 18.  Do we as a country really believe all blacks are “up to no good”? When people like Cliven Bundy are free to point guns at police and we have case after case of blacks and Hispanics in this country being arrested for the smallest of incidents, to those being shot because they talked back to the police or reached for their phone, we have to stop and admit to ourselves that we have not moved as far forward as we would like to believe. Coupled with drug laws designed to fuel profit for prisons, we are not a nation of laws with justice as the end result.

Why do young, black, males seem to experience far more stops by police than their white counterparts? Blacks face being stopped almost twice as much as whites. People of color make up 60 percent of the prison population while only making up 13 percent of the population overall. Black men are 6.5x more likely to be incarcerated than whites (for the same exact crime) and over 70 percent of people in jail are non-violent offenders. The US is the only nation in the country whose prison population has increased 700 percent over 40 years (resulting in over 2.2 million behind bars). At the federal level, prisoners incarcerated on a drug conviction make up half the prison population, while the number of drug offenders in state prisons has increased eleven-fold since 1980. Most of these people are not high-level players in the drug trade. Most have no prior offenses.

To even begin to deal with this we must admit that racism still exists, even here in Boulder County. We must insist our police departments are working from a Community Police approach first, and we must recognize the drug war is a huge waste of effort.

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