Press releases are provided to Yellow Scene Magazine. In an effort to keep our community informed, we publish some press releases in whole.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 8, 2026

Erin Pruitt has filed a Complaint and Jury Demand against Aurora police department officers for violating her rights under the Colorado Constitution to be free from unlawful seizure and under the Law Enforcement Integrity Act.

The Aurora Police Department investigated multiple individuals alleged to have pimped a young neurodivergent woman. The alleged victim identified one of the perpetrators as a transgender woman who lived at a different apartment, but at the same apartment complex, as Ms. Pruitt. The allegations included very specifically the apartment unit number of the alleged transgender perpetrator, whom she identified by the name Amber.

An Aurora detective and other officers, rather than attempting to arrest the alleged perpetrator at the apartment number the alleged victim provided, did a search of the entire apartment complex and identified Ms. Pruitt as a transgender woman living in another unit. They provided the alleged victim with photos of Ms. Pruitt, and the alleged victim did not confirm that it was the perpetrator. Per Ms. Pruitt’s Complaint:

Facts that would have raised significant concerns for a reasonable officer include that 1) Amber’s legal name is William. Plaintiff’s legal name is Eric; 2) Plaintiff did not live at the address the alleged victim provided; 3) Plaintiff’s only similarities to the alleged victim are that they are both transgender and lived in the same apartment building; 4) a significant age difference of twenty-one (21) years between the true suspect and Plaintiff; 5) the true suspect has a history of military service Plaintiff does not and; 6) confirmation from Plaintiff, the Apartment Manager, and upon information and belief, Amber herself, that Plaintiff is not Amber.

When an Aurora officer showed up with an arrest warrant for Ms. Pruitt, even the apartment manager, of his own volition, informed the officer that there was a transgender woman named Amber in the apartment number the alleged victim had provided, thus independently confirming that the officer had the wrong person. The officer even spoke to Amber, but asked leading, unhelpful questions of her such as “is your name Eric Pruitt?” When Amber responded no to the officer’s questions, the officer returned to Ms. Pruitt’s apartment and carried out the arrest.

This lawsuit seeks to hold Aurora police responsible for taking unlawful and harmful shortcuts in their investigation of a serious crime. These shortcuts led to the unlawful arrest of Ms. Pruitt and left the perpetrator free.

Ms. Pruitt seeks actual damages as well as compensatory and consequential damages in amounts to be determined at a jury trial. Cassandra Zobel and Darren O’Connor of Zobel Law and Darren O’Connor Law look forward to getting justice for Ms. Pruitt, and to inform Aurora police, in no uncertain terms, that simply sharing status as a transgender woman is an insufficient basis to assume an alleged perpetrator matches the description given by an alleged victim, when that description readily provides the police with enough information to locate and arrest the proper person.

###

Contact: Darren O’Connor, 720.961.3869, darreno@dolawllcocm

Darren O’Connor, Esq.

Darren O’Connor  Law, LLC

Tel.: 720.961.3869

www.dolawllc.com

The post Aurora Police Sued After Arresting Wrong Person in Trafficking Investigation appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

[ Boulder County ]

• Newly formed Boulder County Employees Union, representing 1,400 employees, accuses the county of delaying negotiations during layoffs and a budget deficit.
• Russell Vought, the director of Office Management and Budget under the Trump Administration, has called to close the National Center of Atmospheric Research, located in Boulder, claiming it was a leader in climate alarmism.
• Erie hometown hero, Jacob Slavin, will be representing the United States in Italy as he joins the roster for the national Olympic hockey team.
• For commuters taking the Diagonal Highway from Longmont to Boulder, be aware that speeding fines doubled on January 12.

[ State ]

• Colorado Springs Utilities is stating that they are unable to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2030, as requested by the state, without shutting down the Nixon 1 coal generated unit near Falcon, which they refuse to do.
• More than 20 female faculty members at the University of Colorado Denver filed a class action lawsuit in Denver district court Friday, alleging systemic wage discrimination based on gender.
• 46-year-old Kristen Marie Kovatch of Fort Collins was the victim of a mountain lion attack. This is the first death caused by the animal in Colorado since 1999.

[ National ]

• The Trump administration sent shockwaves through the U.S. mental health and drug addiction system late Tuesday, sending hundreds of termination letters, effective immediately, for federal grants supporting health services. Many of the group impacted are non-profits working at the street level.
• The House Oversight Committee will seek to hold former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress after she did not appear for a scheduled deposition as part of the Republican-led panel’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, Chairman James Comer announced Wednesday.
• The Environmental Protection Agency says it will stop calculating how much money is saved in health care costs avoided and deaths prevented from air pollution rules that curb two deadly pollutants.

[ International ]

• The United States has started evacuating hundreds of troops from its largest air base in the Middle East ahead of potential military action by President Donald Trump against Iran, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the matter.
• Last year was the third-warmest in modern history, according to Copernicus, the European Union’s climate change monitoring service. In 2025, the average global temperature was approximately 2.65 Fahrenheit higher than from 1850 to 1900,  the period scientists use as a reference point, since it precedes the industrial era in which massive amounts of carbon pollution have been pumped into the atmosphere.
• Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are hosting the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland today amid President Donald Trump’s efforts to take over the vast, semi-autonomous Danish territory. Buying Greenland could cost the U.S. as much as $700 billion

[ Quotes ]

“I tend to think of death as the last and best reward for a life well lived.”

–Bob Weir, founding member of the Grateful dead who passed away at the age of 78 this month.

“Every summer everybody got sick. One summer it was my turn, not just to get sick but to get disabled from it.”

–Carol Boigon: a Colorado resident, Polio survivor, and a new member of the pro-vaccine team that is working amidst the revised federal guidelines.

“[This was an] extraordinary, aggressive action that is deeply concerning and raises profound questions and concern around the constitutional protections for our work.”

–Matt Murray, Executive Editor of the Washington Post after federal agents executed a search warrant at reporter Hanna Natanson’s home in search  of classified information.

“I agree with President Trump, I agree with Marco Rubio. I think Vice President Vance would be a great nominee.”

-Governor of Virgnia, Glenn Youngkin adding to the bid to push J.D Vance towards the Republican nomination for the 2028 election.

“Spain did not recognize the Maduro regime. But neither will it recognize an intervention that violates international law and pushes the region toward a horizon of uncertainty and belligerence.”

– Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez

[ By the Numbers ]

1000+

The number of protests across the country asking for accountability or the abolishment of ICE after the murder of protester Renee Good.

7%

The decrease in land inhabited by prairie dogs in 2025 due to the lethal removal program put in place by Boulder County.

$2.7 Billion

The estimated amount of lost economic productivity and revenue in Colorado due to disruptions in childcare for in families with infants and toddlers. A crucial number as affordable childcare becomes at risk.

1500+

The number of attack ads the Trump administration has put out against transgender participation in sport, despite the occurrence being extremely rare.

Like journalism like this? Consider becoming a sustaining supporter — and get our print edition delivered to your home each month.

Democracy needs journalism more than ever. For 25 years, we’ve told the truth — your support helps us keep doing it for the next four and beyond. Administrations come and go. Our team stays, ready to lead no matter who’s in charge.

The post Month In Review | December 2025 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Water was passed out and space shared in the shade of a tree-lined Capitol Hill street as hundreds of people paused their peaceful protest through Colorado’s capital to listen to messages from community members and those impacted recently by the violence against trans Americans.

The flashing blue and red lights and clanking of militarized uniforms from the police were notably absent. Different from the mass mobilizations and parades held this past weekend on these same streets, the autonomous action was patrolled by community members, negotiating patiently with motorists to wait their turn as important words were shared in an occupied space.

Organized by Bread & Roses Legal Center and ACLU of Colorado in response to the recent SCOTUS U.S. v. Skrmetti ruling upholding Tennessee’s rejection of medical science and well-documented evidence that gender-affirming care saves lives, the Proud & Free: United for Trans Power rally and march brought together Coloradans from across the state.

Unity and belonging, even during the most trying times, was the theme of the day. As marchers caught their breath, the call was made to surpass the superficial societal divides – look beyond rural or urban, red or blue – and to remember that genderqueer people exist everywhere. They see the rhetoric and deserve to feel safe and supported wherever they are.

Event organizers Z Williams and Maya Blasingame play a verbal game of call and response as they lead an autonomous protest of hundreds through the streets of Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood during the Proud & Free: United for Trans Power rally and march. Photo by Vince Chandler / Yellowscene

Z Williams, an attorney and community health advocate, read an emotional statement from Cherilynne Gratton-Camis, the mother of Jax Gratton, a Denver trans woman who was found dead this month in Lakewood after an extended missing persons search.

“My heart is broken,” Cherilynne wrote in her statement, “but I know this: My child deserved to be seen, respected, and protected. All of our children do. Please, educate yourself. Listen, love, and help build a world where every child can grow up safe and supported.”

Addressing the reality that the highest court in the United States has said it is acceptable to reject medical science on the grounds of personal animosity toward a marginalized group, seeing the difficult and deadly moment in history the queer community is facing, without despairing was the tightrope speakers, organizers, and attendees were navigating together in the sun that Saturday.

Hours earlier, the crowd growing on the Capitol’s west steps as speakers delivered their messages of community and hope, constant reminders were offered that even on the darkest day, progress has been made and there’s a swell of support which still exists.

“That’s why trans lives are under attack,” said Julian Camera, Lead Organizer for the ACLU of Colorado in his speech. “We see the injustices in our communities and we’re fighting, and we show up not just for our community but for all people.”

Medical professionals and caregivers shared stories of denied care, of people suffering first-hand because of the decisions made by policies meant to control bodily autonomy. Miss Trans Florida 2025 Freya Misdemeanor shared her personal experience with watching overreaching and controlling policy creep across state lines.

Colorado State Representative Brianna Titone, who represents HD-27 and is Colorado’s first openly transgender state legislator, took to the microphone to address the hyperbole in the general zeitgeist about trans youth and healthcare risks. Too often, she asserted, extremely rare – at times invented – stories are elevated disproportionately above the menial, at times boring, reality that more often gender affirming care can save an individual life without anyone noticing.

Colorado State Representative
Brianna Titone – who is running to be State Treasurer – speaks on the steps of the Colorado Capitol during the Proud & Free: United for Trans Power rally and march brought together Coloradans from across the state. . She speaks on the reality of hyperbole in the general zeitgeist about trans youth and healthcare risks. She quotes Justice Sotomayor in her recent dissent. Photo by Vince Chandler / Yellowscene

The real risks, she said, is to deny medical science and to withhold care through government control. Harnessing the community and continuing the movement of radical self love, supporting peer-reviewed medical science, and by building with open hearts and arms, speaker after speaker painted the picture of success despite difficult.

“I want you to love what you see in the mirror every day,” co-host and emcee Maya Blasingame told the crowd on those Capitol steps as folks began limbering up for the march. “As the Black, indigenous, queer, trans goddess I am, do I love what I see in the mirror every day? Yes I do. The question is what can we do to get you there.”

With applause and enthusiasm, they streamed off the steps and in to the Summer sun. The familiar soft colors of trans pride moving through the sky as flags shimmering in the wind, bobbing on painted signs, and the pattern echoing across clothing and makeup.

Colorado’s Parasol Patrol moved with the group, coordinating closures at intersections and helping marshalls calmly navigate the loud and proud crowd through the business and residential streets surrounding the seat of the state’s power.

Chants were led demanding equitable access to hormone care, calls made for people to drop what they were doing and join. Denverites honked horns, hung from windows, cheered from bar patios and some did – indeed – step off of the sidewalk and into the streets.

After resting and reflecting in the shade on Logan Street, the march continued with voices raising in remembrance of Jax Gratton and community members who led in the movement for queer equality, but who are now gone too soon.

Seeing the size continue to grow, some people grabbing signs still stashed from last week’s No Kings from their back seats, served as a reminder that so long as a voice remains steady the chorus can continue. Ralliers stepped toward the Capitol once more, a bride pulled her groom and photographer in to the fray – making photos which will last a lifetime on the mantel and in marchers’ memories.

“Trans youth are not a threat, they are a gift,” said Emily Stout, founder of the Parenting the Rainbow. In the shade of the trees on the hills of the Capitol, the tone returned to next steps. “They deserve more than survival. They deserve safety, celebration, and freedom.

An activist marches in the Proud & Free: United for Trans Power rally and march brought together Coloradans from across the state to support sensible medical-based policy around gender-affirming care.

Organizers thanked the crowd for remaining loud and high-spirited despite the heat. The reminder was given that all struggle was interconnected and calls were made to continue conversations today with intention of protecting immigrants, stopping genocide, and in solidarity with marginalized groups from Gaza to Tennessee.

“The action was a first step in what needs to be an ongoing grassroots led trans liberation movement,” Z Williams told Yellowscene, reflecting on the event. “We have to demand more than the opposite of the Trump Agenda. We have to fight for trans futures.”

The post SCOTUS Denies Gender Affirmative Care: Colorado Rallies in Capital appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

By Melanie Asmar, Chalkbeat Colorado

President Trump’s targeting of transgender rights as he begins his second term is raising questions about the potential impact on Colorado laws meant to protect transgender students, including a new one that requires educators to use students’ chosen names.

Several school districts, the Colorado Department of Education, and the state Attorney’s General’s Office provided a variation of the same answer when contacted by Chalkbeat: We don’t know yet whether there will be an impact but we are searching for answers.

While experts said executive orders of the kind Trump is using can’t override state laws, they conceded that the legal landscape under Trump is uncertain. Meanwhile, advocates said the orders are seeding fear in the transgender community, which they said was likely the intent.

“I’m receiving a lot of emails from the community about, ‘What does it mean? How does it impact us?’” said Jax Gonzalez, the political director at LGBTQ advocacy organization One Colorado.

“And that is the point of those executive orders,” Gonzalez said. “Those are about scaring people and repressing movement-building.”

Trump has acted quickly to enact his political agenda, including trying to unwind protections for LGBTQ students. An executive order the president signed last week, on the day he was inaugurated, says that the United States only recognizes two sexes, male and female, and that the sexes “are not changeable.” The order rescinded Biden-era guidance on supporting LGBTQ students.

Already, one Colorado school board has passed a resolution echoing that language. On Wednesday, the Woodland Park school board directed the district’s superintendent to update any district policies, procedures, and facility usage guidelines “to be consistent with knowledge that there are only two sexes, male and female.”

This week, the Trump administration froze — and then potentially unfroze, after legal challenges — all federal grant funding to purge the government of what it called “wokeness” and “transgenderism.” Trump signed another executive order on Wednesday blocking federal funding from K-12 schools that teach “gender ideology.”

Ian Farrell, an associate professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, said that while the power of the president is limited and Congress ultimately controls U.S. spending, “we live in a weird time where the correct legal answer and what the [U.S.] Supreme Court will say is the correct legal answer are potentially massively different things.

“We’re in an era where there is genuine uncertainty about whether the rule of law will be upheld,” Farrell said. “That should concern everybody.”

Some districts adopted name change policies begrudgingly

Colorado has in recent years extended legal protections based on gender identity. In 2021, a state law protecting people from harassment and discrimination was expanded to explicitly cover gender identity. The state’s bullying law also includes gender identity as a protected class.

Last year, lawmakers approved and the governor signed a bill that protects K-12 public school students who request to use a name other than their legal name at school. Under the law, it is considered discrimination in Colorado for an educator to refuse to use a name chosen by a student to reflect their gender identity.

The idea came from students. The Colorado Youth Advisory Council, a group of 40 students from across the state, helped draft the bill. Both chambers of the state legislature and the governor’s office are controlled by Democrats, and the bill passed mostly along party lines.

“Colorado prides itself so much on being welcoming, where people are free to be themselves and how they live,” state Rep. Stephanie Vigil, a Colorado Springs Democrat, said at a legislative hearing last year. “We feel like it’s important to act on that.”

Many Colorado school districts have adopted policies to comply with the name change law.
But some did so begrudgingly — and with caveats.

The Woodland Park district, which drew national attention in 2023 for becoming the first district in the country to adopt the conservative American Birthright social studies standards,
was one of the first districts to discuss adopting a policy in the wake of the name change law.

One school board member, David Rusterholtz, made clear at the May meeting in which the policy was discussed that the district was “forced.”

He called HB24-1039 “a very bad law” and a violation of his virtues, values, and “Biblical worldview.” He questioned how the law would help a child who he said had been taken up by what he termed “social psychosis.”

It’s unclear whether the resolution adopted by the Woodland Park school board Wednesday that echoes Trump’s language about two sexes will affect the district’s existing name change policy. Neither a district spokesperson nor school board members responded to questions from Chalkbeat seeking clarification.

“We need to stick with science, and the science has always been that there are two sexes,” Rusterholtz said during Wednesday’s meeting. “We need to teach our children the truth. It doesn’t mean we’re going to accept any kind of bullying.”

Other school boards shared Woodland Park’s concerns about the state’s name change law.

Several board members in El Paso County’s Widefield School District 3 said at a meeting in September that the law amounted to “compelled speech” and “government overreach.” A district spokesperson said last week that district leaders had not yet discussed the potential effects of Trump’s executive orders on district policy.

Members of the District 49 school board in Colorado Springs had similar objections to the law.

“The state apparently feels that it can hand down this unconstitutional mandate and tread upon the First Amendment-protected rights of teachers and staff by compelling them to say things that may be against their personally held conscience-based religious beliefs,” District 49 board member Deb Schmidt said at a meeting in November.

District 49’s policy has several caveats. It says a student’s parents must consent to a non-legal name change by signing a form. It limits students to one name change per year and says the district can say no if a name “is vulgar or offensive, obscene, or is used for misrepresentation.”

The policy also allows what it calls “an accommodation to conscience-based objections to compelled speech” — that is, exceptions for those who object — as long as the accommodation does not result in “substantial increased costs” to the district.

Lori Thompson, president of the District 49 school board, said in an email to Chalkbeat that the board was discussing with the school district’s lawyer how Trump’s executive orders might impact the name change policy. She noted that District 49’s policy has a clause that says it will be “immediately voided in its entirety” if the state law is found to be unconstitutional.

“The one thing that will not change,” Thompson wrote, is that “D49 will not withhold information about a student from their parents or legal guardians.”

The post Trump’s targeting of transgender rights creates uncertainty about Colorado laws protecting students appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Last week a Kentucky federal judge struck down the Biden administration’s effort to extend Title IX protections to transgender students. The issue driving the ruling was the expectation that teachers and administrators use a student’s preferred pronouns.

Republican backlash over the proposed protections was centered on the 1st Amendment, with critics insisting that no person should be compelled to say anything they don’t want to say. It is, apparently, a excruciating experience for some adults to say “they,” “them,” “he,” “she,” “him,” “her,” “their, “his,” “hers,” or any grammatical variation thereof. Oh, the agony!

The most offensively ironic aspect of the ruling and its celebration by conservatives is that they claimed that the Biden proposal would threaten other provisions of Title IX. This sudden and profound concern for the rights of women and girls follows the Dobbs decision and the incoming administration’s many advocates for male supremacy and the re-kitchenization of American women. Concern for women and girls is not top of mind for Trump et al.

There are more issues to unbundle with the judge’s decision and its aftermath than space allows, but I’ll give it a partial try. The dialogue is awash in red herrings.

In recent Congressional testimony, the Commissioner of the NCAA estimated that there are about 500,000 NCAA athletes. When pressed, he acknowledged that he was aware of about 10 transgender athletes. The fetid flood of conservative angst over locker room use or unfair advantage given to hormone-riddled coeds is utter nonsense. The NCAA, or a sanctimonious conservative bigot, could build a separate field house for each of the 10 if they are so deeply concerned about an inadvertent glimpse of unexpected genitalia.

And the idea that young folks are undergoing transition therapy or surgery in droves is entirely conservative propaganda. What is happening in “droves” are school shootings, which neither party has the balls (or ovaries) to do a damn thing about. But those trans kids running into poor, innocent girls soccer teams!!  Scour the internet (not fact-free and feckless social media) and find me one – 1 – uno case of a trans kid hurting another athlete.

As to “free speech” under threat, one can innumerate endless daily compulsion of speech in schools. Start with the Pledge of Allegiance. Yes, I know it is theoretically possible to opt out, but show me a kid in Texas, for example, with the cojones to stick her hands in his pockets and zip up their lips while the other more patriotic kids mouth the words “to witches stand” with their hands dutifully over her heart. Catch the pronoun use? It caused me no anguish whatsoever to cover all the identity bases in one fell swoop.

What about the compulsion to use various honorifics despite the abundant evidence that they are undeserved. “Yes, sir!” “Yes Ma’am!”

Or the Hitler Youth level of prescribed chanting required by students and teachers in some of America’s charter schools.

In response to the NYT article about the judge’s ruling, the supposedly “liberal” members of the Times’s readership weighed in heavily in favor of the overdue rejection of wokeness. The volume of insistence on biological binary was deafening. A few charitable cluck-clucks were offered to the poor misguided transgender misfits but, by God, nobody should have to honor another person’s chosen pronouns.

For decades -still in some primitive quarters –  homosexuality was a “choice,” “lifestyle,” or “preference.” Given the historic hostility to gay folks, it always seemed an odd choice or preference. For millions around the world, living this reality has been frightening and dangerous. Now it’s gender identity characterized as a perverse “choice” or “preference.” For the trans folks I know, the only thing harder than this “choice” was living in the wrong identity.

The biological, social and cultural dynamics of gender identity are undoubtedly complex. Even on the athletic level there are sincere concerns about fair competition, especially since hormones and various substances can confer an unfair advantage, completely aside from gender identity. But, as mentioned above, the number of controversial cases is vanishingly near zero. The political and cultural hullabaloo is about bigotry, not biology.

At the center of the legal case, and the issue generally, is a fundamental lack of kindness. I find it nearly incomprehensible that anyone would experience discomfort by extending courtesy to another human by referring to them by the name or pronoun of choice.

When I served as head of a school, the expectation of simple kindness was the operative ethical principle. It is so easy to extend a moment of generosity, especially to a child who might most need it.

I suggest that teachers who find discomfort in honoring a student’s or colleague’s pronouns find another profession.

The post Just Don’t Call Me Late To Dinner appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Press releases are provided to Yellow Scene Magazine. In an effort to keep our community informed, we publish some press releases in whole.

Statement on a Complaint Highlighting the Mistreatment of Transgender People in a Colorado Detention Facility

Boulder, CO — Out Boulder County and El Comité de Longmont have issued the following joint statement on a complaint filed Tuesday, April 9, citing specific instances of inadequate access to necessary medical and mental healthcare and dehumanizing treatment experienced by transgender and nonbinary people detained at the Aurora Contract Detention Facility.

“Out Boulder County and El Comité de Longmont applaud the National Immigration Project, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, and American Immigration Council for their advocacy on behalf of transgender and nonbinary individuals who are being discriminated against, harassed, and denied necessary medical care in a government-funded facility. The complaint filed highlights the need for a better system and policies that require all human beings be treated humanely and respectfully in any setting. This is not an isolated incident, but yet another example of the mistreatment of immigrants and transgender people in this country.”

Out Boulder County is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in the foothills of Boulder, Colorado. Since launching as Boulder Pride in 1994, OBC has evolved to become the most-supported LGBTQ+ nonprofit organization in the state, serving approximately 20,000 community members annually through more than 60 unique events. OBC’s work is guided by a vision of an inclusive, equitable and compassionate world where LGBTQ+ people, families, and communities can live authentically. OBC makes that dream a reality by working collaboratively with the community to create connection and provide advocacy, education, research and responsive programs and services.

El Comité de Longmont is a 44-year-old nonprofit human services and social justice organization serving the Latino and immigrant communities in Longmont and Boulder County, Colorado. It is a trusted community organization, providing resource navigation, client advocacy, adult education, and connection to legal and immigration services to over 3000 people a year.

The post Out Boulder County and El Comité de Longmont Issue a Statement Regarding the Mistreatment of Transgender People in a Colorado Detention Facility appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

[LOCAL]

• Mike Johnston wins the Denver mayoral race, although neither candidate was likely to bring about real change.
• Boulder Beat to close down at the end of this year, sadly ending one of the best voices for real, local Boulder journalism.
• Boulder Police Oversight Panel member Lisa Sweeney-Miran is removed by City Council, prompting the panel to pause their work.
• In yet another controversy, Aurora Police execute an armed teenage boy fleeing from officers after stealing vape cartridges.
• Governor Polis signs “Magic Mushroom” Bill into law, regulating newly approved psychedelic drug therapy.
• Dacono City Councilmembers Jackie Thomas and Jim Turini are recalled over their abrupt actions surrounding the removal of the City Manager.
• Louisville City Councilmember Maxine Most faces a recall election regarding her alleged lack of compassion following the Marshall Fire.
• With recent laws against transgender care, Colorado is offering itself as a safe haven for youths in need of gender affirming care.

[NATIONAL]

• Trump indicted a second time, this time 37 counts including for hiding confidential documents. His lawyers immediately quit.
• Wildfire smoke from Canada obscures views of NYC and creates mass health hazards across North America. Canada still burns.
• Private fishing trips, vacations, and other potentially corrupting events have come to light surrounding multiple conservative Supreme Court Justices bringing into question the ethics of judicial decision.
• Hollywood writers go on strike, stalling many major productions and delaying releases.
• Texas woman who traveled to Colorado for an abortion was shot and killed by her boyfriend when she returned home.
• George Santos turned himself in and pleaded not guilty to charges of financial crimes.

[INTERNATIONAL]

• Explosion rocks the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine with evidence pointing towards Russia as the culprit. This will disrupt water and power supply for tens of thousands of people.
• France erupts in protests when a minority teen boy was killed by the police. Don’t worry, you won’t need to cancel your summer trip to Paris.
• Charles III is crowned King of England, which we honestly still cannot believe is a thing in this day and age.

Small Talk:

“Today is the day that Black Americans really get to celebrate our freedom … And in that, it’s important to get the whole community involved and engaged in that so that we can uplift Black voices together as a community.” – Terryjosiah Sharpe, coordinator of Colorado Springs first widespread Juneteenth celebration

“It’s good. It’s good. The job is done. We can go home now.” – Nikola Jokic on his incredible performance winning the NBA Championship with the Denver Nuggets

“Her pleas for help were shrugged off, she said, and she was repeatedly sent home from the hospital. Doctors and nurses told her she was suffering from normal contractions, she said, even as her abdominal pain worsened and she began to vomit bile. Angelica said she wasn’t taken seriously until a searing pain rocketed throughout her body and her baby’s heart rate plummeted.” – Angelica Lyons on giving birth as a Black woman via AP News

“I can’t imagine how terrible this must be for the child’s family, and also our first responder community… Today has been heavy for the City of Boulder, and we are all thinking of the family who just lost their child.” – Boulder Police Chief Maris Harold on the accidental drowning of a 9-year old in Boulder Creek

“I was incredibly surprised given the fact that I’ve been happily married to a woman for the last 15 years.” – Said Stewart, the man named in the Supreme Court ruling that just set back gay rights

By the Numbers:

$107,500 – Amount a family of four need to earn to live comfortably in the BOCO region
63.01 Degrees – Hottest overall average temperature ever recorded for the globe this past July 4th
2018 – Year when Titanic submersible company OceanGate was warned their underwater vehicle was not safe
28.8 – Amount of points Ron DeSantis lags behind Trump in latest poll according to fivethirtyeight.com
$56,000 – Base pay for teachers in St. Vrain Valley School District after recent raise by the district

The post Month in Review | June/July 2023 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

[NATIONAL]

• NPR quits Twitter after the Musk-led company slapped on a false label of “State Media” to the account.
• National Guardsman is arrested over a massive leak of Pentagon secrets, one of the largest security breaches in decades.
• DeSantis continues his clash with Disney in his latest culture wars brawl, with the company filing a lawsuit against the governor claiming he used his political power to hurt Disney.
• Buzzfeed shuts down its news division and cuts staff by 15% showing it’s more important than ever to support real journalism.
• Tucker Carlson loses his show on Fox News, a blow to disinformation and white supremacy dog whistles everywhere.
• Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony charges in the campaign finance case regarding payments to Stormy Daniels.
• Supreme Court Justice Thomas Clarence has been secretly accepting luxurious vacations and other donations over the years without properly reporting them raising questions over the Court’s biases.

[LOCAL]

• Boulder City Council removes Lisa Sweeney-Miran from the Police Oversight Panel sparking debate over the panel’s effectiveness and independence.
• Governor Polis signs several gun control bills into law including raising the minimum age to buy a weapon to 21 and imposing a waiting period.
• Dacono sets a June 27th date for the recall election of council members stemming from their surprise removal of long time city manager A.J. Euckert.
• False report of a pipe bomb in Erie at the King Sooper’s market sparks fear and highlights the growing threat of false gun and bomb reports.
• Erie Home Rule Commission completed its draft of a Home Rule Charter after four months of meeting and deliberation on the issue.

Small Talk:

“There’s so much excitement and optimism. How can you not feel good in the midst of everything else? … Our city is hungry for a new kind of leadership in these times and we’re already hard at work.” – Yemi Mobolade, on his candidacy for Mayor of Colorado Springs. He will be the city’s first Black mayor.

“I said we are in a battle for the soul of America, and we still are. The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom. More rights or fewer.” – Joe Biden announcing his bid for reelection in 2024

“Our phones should be blowing off the hook, which they are, but they should be blowing off the hook even more.” – Charles Graves, Assistant Veterans Service Officer with the El Paso County Veterans Services on new compensation program for toxic exposure

“These defendants put many lives at risk during what should have been a normal lunch hour on campus.” – CO District Attorney John Kellner on sentencing two teens in 2021 Hinkley High School shooting

“Juul lit a nationwide public health crisis by putting addictive products in the hands of minors and convincing them that it’s harmless.” – Letitia James, New York Attorney General, on $462 million settlement that includes Colorado and other states

By the Numbers:

50% – 1 out of every 2 transgender individuals experience sexual violence according to statistics by MESA

72% – Reduction in plastic bag use after Louisville passes bag tax program

4+ per week – Average number of Americans killed in mass shootings this year, a record pace so far

$38.5 Billion – Proposed total state budget sent to Governor Polis

6 Weeks – New Florida bill would ban abortion following six weeks of pregnancy in the most recent attack on reproductive rights 

$6 Billion – NFL Team Washington Commanders sell for a record amount. Why does building these stadiums need public funding again?

The post Month in Review | May 2023 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

[NATIONAL]

• Ex-president Donald Trump is indicted for payments to porn star Stormy Daniels in an attempt to squash news of his affair, which occurred just 4 months after Trump’s wife Melania gave birth. He previously announced the day of his arrest, which, like most of his statements, turned out to be false. He pleaded not guilty to all 34 charges.
• Nashville school shooting leaves 6 dead, including 3 nine-year olds in the latest string of gun related tragedies plaguing the nation, making this over 130 mass shootings in 2023 so far.
• Lori Lighfoot (D) comes in third place, losing her Chicago mayoral reelection bid which historically has seen the incumbent remain in power for decades.

[INTERNATIONAL]

• Mass protests spread in Paris following the proposed raising of the retirement age. While France is looking at raising it from 62 to 64, we could learn a thing or two about solidarity in the face of stripped benefits.
• UBS takes over one of its largest competitors, Credit Suisse, in a buyout following news of the bank’s fragility.
• Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovic is detained by Russia who accuses him of spying.
• Fire in a detention center for migrants that have been sent back from the U.S. to Mexico kills at least 38 people trapped in the facility.
• Archaeologists have found evidence of horseback riding that pushes the domestication date of these animals back to about 5,000 years ago.

[LOCAL]

• North Boulder was placed under a shelter in place order for several hours after a standoff with armed suspect near 17th and Yarmouth.
• Prop 125 took effect this month allowing sellers of beer to also stock wine on their shelves. Expect more and more faux wine snobs to come out of the woodwork.
• Jenna Ellis, one of Trump’s numerous former lawyers, has been rightly censured in Colorado over fabricated statements regarding the 2020 elections.
• Lauren Boebert announces her underage son will soon be a father, having impregnated an even younger girl. Boebert will be a grandmother at age 36. 
• CU Boulder signed a football player to their program that is under investigation by the El Paso County sherriffs dept for rape, sexual assault, and sexual exploitation of a minor. A petition to expel him is currently circulating but the administration has made no decision by the date this was published.
• Denver East high school experiences a shooting with two injuries and the death of the shooter. Students staged a protest at the State capitol in a plea for lawmakers to do something.

Small Talk

“I have looked into the terrified eyes of many children after they’ve been shot and tried to comfort them… I tell them they’re in a safe place now, but in my heart, I don’t know if they are.” – Dr. Halden Scott on treating child survivors of mass shootings. 

“Aurora Civil Service Commission quietly approved a package of changes to entry-level hiring rules for police and firefighters, giving the commission… the ability to hire candidates whose backgrounds include caveats that would have previously gotten their applications thrown out.” – according to the Colorado Sentinel‘s In The Blue project.

“To all the trans youth who may be affected by this legislation: we stand by you, and we will not stop fighting. You are cherished. You are loved. You belong,” – Kentucky ACLU on the State passing a bill that, among other restrictions, bans all gender-affirming medical care for those under 18.

“The police department is destroyed. City Hall is destroyed. The county courthouse is damaged. The fire department is devastated. There’s no grocery store that’s operable in the community.” – US Rep. Bennie Thompson on the tornado that devastated Rolling Fork, Mississippi.

“What you’re telling me is, you don’t mind  infringing free speech to protest children [from drag show readings] but when it comes to children that have died, you don’t give a flying f*ck to stop that because ‘that shall not be infringed.’ That is hypocrisy at its highest order.” – Jon Stewart to Oklahoma State Senator Nathan Dahm during their conversation on drag shows and gun rights.

By the Numbers 

11 – Candidates still in the Denver mayoral race as voting comes to a close, with Mike Johnston and Kelly Brough now facing each other in a top-two runoff.

19% – American children deaths are from gun violence, now the leading cause of death for those under 18.

48% – Superior residents are renters according to 2020 census data reviewed by Mayor Mark Lacis.

311,000 – Jobs added last month in an already strong labor market 

47% – Of all building and permit fees for the Town of Superior have been issued as rebates to residents wishing to rebuild.

The post Month in Review | April 2023 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

By Sandra Fish, Colorado Sun (via AP Storyshare)

Photo credit: Alexander Grey, Unsplash

A group led by a top adviser to former President Donald Trump is producing Spanish-language mailers and radio ads with anti-transgender messaging targeted toward Colorado’s Latino voters.

The messages come from the political nonprofit America First Legal Foundation, which is led by Stephen Miller, who served as a key aide to Trump, namely on immigration issues. Because it’s a nonprofit, the organization does not have to reveal its donors and so The Colorado Sun refers to it as a dark-money group.

The mailers falsely claim that Democratic President Joe Biden and his liberal allies “are pushing radical and irreversible gender experiments on children” like blocking puberty and removing genitalia.

The mailers also feature a photo of Rachel Levine, an assistant secretary at the U.S. Department Health and Human Services, a Biden appointee who is the first transgender person to hold a federal office requiring U.S. Senate confirmation.

“It’s outrageous,” Colorado Democratic Party Chairwoman Morgan Carroll said. “They’re just outright lying and preying on people’s fears. I think it is disgusting that they have so little regard for the facts and for voters that they would make up such a piece.”

Salvador Hernandez, Colorado state director for Mi Familia Vota, a liberal-leaning group that encourages participation by Latino voters, shared Carroll’s view.

“It’s despicable that they are sending this to Latino voters,” he said. “We denounce this type of language and hate.”

The mailer reviewed by The Sun was sent to a Latino voter in Denver, which is predominantly Democratic. Because America First Legal is a nonprofit, it doesn’t have to report how and where it is spending its money, so it’s unclear how many voters received the mailer and where.

Latino turnout could be key in the state’s new 8th Congressional District, where Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer faces Democratic state Rep. Yadira Caraveo in a contest considered a toss-up.

Both political parties and outside groups are working to engage Latino voters, who make up nearly 39% of the population in the 8th District. The district spans from the northeast Denver suburbs into Greeley. For example, Americans for Prosperity and one of its affiliates, Libre Action, have spent more than $707,000 on canvassing, mailings, digital and other advertising in support of Kirkmeyer.

Israel Ortega, who is coordinating those efforts for Libre Action, said his organization is “not engaged on the issues being addressed in these mailers.” The group instead focuses primarily on economic and business issues.

Carroll said such disinformation campaigns are typically aimed at discouraging people from voting.

“This is rich, white conservatives from out of state that are targeting Hispanic communities with lies trying to get them not to vote,” she said. “Even if just 10% of them believe this, that can change the outcome of an election.”

América Ramírez, program director for the Colorado Organization of Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, said her group will address the mailers on its weekly radio show.

“It’s toxic to see it’s targeting Spanish-speaking communities that are needing more support to turn out to vote,” she said. “This puts trans and LGBTQ young people further at risk. It’s saying their health-care needs aren’t real.”

America First Legal is also airing ads on Spanish-language radio stations KMXA, KXPK and KJMN in the Denver metro area, based on political ad filings with the Federal Communications Commission.

The group is airing radio ads in Arizona, Texas and Michigan as well.

As a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, America First Legal isn’t supposed to take part in political activity that supports or opposes specific candidates. Biden isn’t presently a candidate for office, and the messages in the mailer reviewed by The Sun don’t suggest recipients should vote for or against a candidate or party, so the group is likely within the law.

“This may have been lawyered to the point of ‘how aggressively can we mislead and still be short of electioneering,’” Carroll said. “It doesn’t pass the straight-face test.”

The Spanish-language mailers and radio ads are the latest attempt by conservatives and Republicans to make transgender people an issue in the Colorado 2022 elections.

Another dark-money nonprofit linked to Miller, Citizens for Sanity, spent $29,000 to air anti-transgender cable TV ads in Colorado’s 7th Congressional District in August. The ads featured the slogan “stop the woke left’s war on girls’ sports” and also aired in New Mexico, Texas and Arizona.

And two former Olympians from Colorado formed Nine PAC, a federal group aligned with Republicans that opposes allowing trans women to participate in sports. That group donated $2,900 each to Republican congressional candidates Kirkmeyer in the 8th District, Erik Aadland in the 7th District and Steve Monahan in the 6th District.

“There’s been so much anti-trans hate that’s been happening,” said Nadine Bridges, executive director of One Colorado, an LGBTQ advocacy group. “It’s another way for them to attack vulnerable communities for political gain.”

The post Group led by former Trump adviser targets Colorado Latino voters with anti-transgender ads appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

By Alison Berg, Rocky Mountain PBS (via AP Storyshare)

Photo credit: Alexander Grey via Unsplash

DENVER — Sev Armstrong felt lost when he received a positive pregnancy test and desperately needed help.

The post Not just a women’s issue: transgender men speak out about abortion and health care experiences appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

The Alana Faith Chen Foundation, Born Perfect, Q Christian Fellowship and Out Boulder County host a program about the dangers of conversion therapy and a vigil to honor the life of Alana Faith Chen.

Boulder County, Colorado, April 22, 2022

On Sunday, April 8, 2022 at 3PM The Alana Faith Chen Foundation, Born Perfect, Q Christian Fellowship, and Out Boulder County will host a program on the life threatening dangers of conversion therapy for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) people at Out Boulder County’s Equality Center of the Rocky Mountains (3340 Mitchell Lane, Boulder, CO 80301). National experts on the dangers of conversion therapy will speak to attendees about their own experiences and what action can be taken. The program will be followed by a peaceful vigil honoring the memory of Alana Faith Chen. The vigil will be held outside of the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center (1520 Euclid Ave. Boulder, CO 80302).

Press Releases are provided to Yellow Scene. In an effort to keep our community informed, we publish some press releases in whole.

The dangers of conversion therapy for LGBTQ people, particularly LGBTQ youth, is well established. In 2019 a limited ban on conversion therapy in Colorado took effect. The ban only applies to youth under the age of 18 and does not include pastoral counseling. This leaves LGBTQ people vulnerable to pastoral counseling that can be deadly as it was for Alana Faith Chen.

“Conversion therapy does not change who LGBTQ people are or who they love. It tries to teach LGBTQ people to be ashamed of those things. It is a deadly practice, and especially deadly for LGBTQ youth,” said Mardi Moore, Executive Director of Out Boulder County. “This idea for this program came from Joyce Calvo, Alana Faith Chen’s mother. Joyce asked Out Boulder County to help her protect other people from experiencing what her daughter did.”

The panel will be facilitated by Nicole Garcia, Faith Leader and Out Boulder County Board member and will feature Joyce Calvo, Jessica Ritter, Mathew Shurka, and Christopher Dowling. Bios of each speaker are included below.

Joyce Calvo is a mother who works to share her daughter Alana’s story and help others suffering from conversion therapy.

Jessica Ritter is the Texas Ambassador for Born Perfect and a conversion therapy survivor. After three years of conversion therapy, Jessica came out to her friends and family for a second time.

Mathew Shurka is a conversion therapy survivor and Co-Founder of Born Perfect, a campaign that has become a global movement to end conversion therapy. Mathew leads the campaign alongside a team of lawyers and conversion therapy survivors committed to protecting LGBTQ+ people through legislation, litigation, media and public education.

Christopher Dowling was a peer of Alana Chen, as a devoted Catholic who wanted to be a priest, and endured a decade of conversion therapy in order to do so. He dropped out of seminary in 2014 and came out to friends and family four years later.

The post Conversion Therapy Continues to be a Life Threatening Practice for LGBTQ People in Colorado appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Editor’s Note: Press Releases are provided to Yellow Scene. In an effort to keep our community informed, we publish some press releases in whole. 

Out Boulder Country and Local Transgender Leaders to Commemorate Transgender Day of Remembrance

BOULDER, CO – On Saturday, November 20, 2021, Out Boulder County, their Transgender Steering and Events Committee, and members of the Boulder County community will commemorate Transgender Day of Remembrance. Transgender Day of Remembrance is an annual observance on November 20 that honors the memory of transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.

Regarding the importance of Transgender Day of Remembrance, Elliot Lane, Chair of Out Boulder County’s Transgender Steering and Events Committee, said, “Transgender Day of Remembrance is one of those terrible, important days where we give ourselves permission to mourn our fallen siblings.” They went on to say, “This day is a chance for us to grieve when we normally allow ourselves so little time to reflect on the fragility of life and the dangers of being ourselves.”

The community will gather at the Boulder County Commissioners Building (1325 Pearl Street, Boulder) at 6:30PM on Saturday, November 20, for a ceremony that  will include performances by Stephanie Lujan, musician, and Silen Willington (spoken word poet). The following leaders in the local transgender community will also address attendees: LeeLee James, Ruby Lopez, and Bryn Long. At the conclusion of the ceremony attendees will do a silent candlelit walk to the Out Boulder County office backyard (1443 Spruce Street, Boulder) where the names of those we have lost will be recognized.

“Being able to gather together to remember our trans siblings who have been lost in the past year is something that I really value. Too often those that are lost in our community are disrespected in death – obituaries written by family may misgender or use a prior name. Transgender Day of Remembrance is a chance for them to be remembered as they were, their true names heard and respected,” said Niko Stone, Vice-chair of the Transgender Steering and Events Committee.

Out Boulder County offers robust social support services and programming for the transgender community and their allies. This includes social support groups, social gatherings, and pro-transgender advocacy efforts.

###

Resources for Journalists

The GLAAD Transgender Day of Remembrance Resource Kit for Journalists can be found here: https://www.glaad.org/publications/tdorkit

Information on Out Boulder County’s Transgender Programming and Services can be found here: https://www.outboulder.org/trans

About Out Boulder County

Working independently and in collaboration, we facilitate connection, advocacy, education, research and programs to ensure LGBTQ+ people and communities thrive in Boulder County and beyond. www.outboulder.org

The post Out Boulder Country and Local Transgender Leaders to Commemorate Transgender Day of Remembrance | Press Release appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

[Editor’s note: Members of the Colorado State House and Senate voted to suspend activities in the current legislative session due to public health concerns. The session is tentatively schedule to resume Monday, March 30th. While our legistlators aren’t  meeting at the statehouse, work continues in district offices and communities statewide.]

State Representative Brianna Titone is a breath of fresh air in Colorado’s political community. Titone took the Colorado government by surprise as the state’s first transgender legislator, defeating her opponent with an unbelievably narrow 50.4% of the vote to win her election with 24,957 votes out of 49,475, a margin of 439 (and they say your votes don’t really matter).

Along with shattering Colorado statehouse’s trans-glass ceiling, Titone is only one of four transgender officials nationwide; woefully inadequate representation for a very large and underrepresented community. While tirelessly working on bills that focus on Colorado residents, it is clear that Brianna Titone has her sights set on improving Colorado for future generations. We sat down and got to know the real Brianna Titone. She opened up about her history, her work, and the identity box people want to confine her to.

Baby Brianna riding George, ca. 1980

Origins

Titone spent her childhood in Hudson Valley, New York. She grew up in what she describes as a loving and attentive family; one that prioritized educating their children on the value of finance along with the value of human relationships. For college, she attended the University of New York at New Paltz, where she earned her BA in Geology, followed by studies at Stony Brook University to earn an MS in Geochemistry. From there Titone turned her sights to Western Michigan University for a Hydrogeology summer program, which led to work in Environmental Counseling.

Eventually she found herself set on moving to Colorado. Clearly Titone’s first passion wasn’t politics, but the earth. She turned to politics – another arena of stony concerns – after her move to colorful Colorado.

A brief history: in 2016 Titone was elected as a delegate at the County Assembly for then presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, giving us a view into her political leanings. She then joined the LGBTQ+ Caucus for Jefferson County in February of 2017, and was appointed Secretary/Treasurer later that year.

In November 2018 Titone was elected to serve as State Representative to Colorado’s 27th House District. The importance of that moment cannot be understated, but let’s be very clear: Brianna Titone is so much more than just a trans person. She is a daughter, a wife, and a politician. We don’t call other elected officials “straight/cis representatives”; there’s a clear issue with confining Titone to a single identity box when her work – and her – are so much more than that. 

Pushback

“Hello my name is Brianna Titone and I am a transgender person, now let’s get down to business because that is what I am here for.” 

“My identity is important to a lot of people,” Titone tells us. “I always make it a point to talk to people about it in order to inspire the next generation. If you feel like you are different and you are feeling your future will be difficult because of who you are, don’t worry about it. People like me are working to pave the way for you to be accepted and allow you to get the work you want to get done [sic].” Titone no longer feels the need to explain her identity to the individual’s stuck on the subject; actions speak loudly and her actions for the people speak for themselves. 

Colorado’s Jefferson County Republican party has set their focus on Titone’s identity, along with her liberal politics, rather than on her progress over the last year. In 2019, the Jefferson County Republican party attacked Titone’s menstrual hygiene bill on social media. Titone explained, “They attacked my menstrual hygiene bill. They are upset that I won and that I took away one of their seats. Just like anyone, if you want to win something back, you try to fight for it. They did not read the article about the bill. They started stating that the government is trying to force this bill onto everyone and that the government is going to supply everyone and give away all this free stuff,” a clear misreading – however willfully – of the proposed legislation. “Everyone began to get in an uproar about something that is not even true. So I had to come along and post on their social media post stating, ‘I am the one running the bill, let me tell you what it does, because obviously they didn’t read it.’” 

Titone had to explain even the most simplistic of points to those determined not to understand. Talk about identity politics: “It is not about me being trans. It is about me being a Democrat. Perception bias is a huge problem in politics right now… I believe in a lot of the same things that Republicans believe in. I look at the facts and data, I vote on the concept of the bill, and make sure the things we are doing are what is right for the people that we represent.”

In a more recent issue, just this past January, Denver Post licensed columnist Dan Caldara was fired for his rejection of appropriate pronoun use and his “politically incorrect” [read: unwillingness to show respect] opinions on trans rights; that is, he was fired for refusing a directive from a superior. He was dutifully corrected for his antiquated, bigoted, and scientifically illiterate pronoun antagonisms. This can’t be understated. The columnist publicly insisted, “there are only two sexes.” 

Caldara refused to use appropriate pronouns for Titone even after being told to. “When people lack empathy they cannot see that their words and actions are hurting others,” Titone lamented, after learning of the dismissal. Caldara posted an insensitive statement on Facebook to shore up his position: “To force us to use inaccurate pronouns, to force us to teach our children that there are more than two genders, to call what is clearly a man in a robe, well, not a man in a robe, violates our rights to speak.” Legally speaking there isn’t a right “to speak”; you have a constitutionally protected right to speech, safeguarding you from government interference or censorship. In no way are you free of consequence at work or in life for speech that is false, breaks company policy, or is clearly hateful. 

Speaking of hate: January 15, 2020 marked a grim day for the trans youth of Colorado. Colorado introduced the House Bill 20-1114 that is set to restrict multiple forms of medical treatment physicians are able to administer to transgender youth statewide. The LGBT+ rights organization, One Colorado, warned Colorado of the dangers of interfering with transgender youths’ medical care. Trans adolescents are five times more likely to consider suicide than their peers. Trans adolescents that have access to hormone and gender reassignment medical care have 52% less of a chance of completing suicide. Executive Director of One Colorado, Daniel Ramos, pleads with Colorado’s legislators:, the “Medical care of transgender people should be determined by health professionals, not politicians.” 

Through the pushback, Rep. Titone has pushed forward. Colorado state representatives are elected to two year terms. The second year of her term began this past January 8th when the session was called to order. In her first year’s time Titone has successfully passed multiple bills, specifically with a focus on improving all Colorado resident’s daily lives. Titone has protected Colorado renters’ interests with her Rental Application Bill, which is another effort to protect tenant rights, and also covers several areas of interest to renters. Titone also successfully passed the Tax Credit Allocation Bill, which increased the tax credit for affordable housing up until December of 2024. In fact, let’s take a deeper look at some of her more pressing – and impressive – legislative work.

Titone to the Future: Bills in Progress

Titone is working to answer the needs of her district and, in doing so, is serving all of Colorado. With eighteen bills proposed, seven of which she was the prime sponsor and eleven co-sponsored in her first year, her second year is shaping up to be another stretch of incredible achievement and great work for the community. Her second year is set to focus on protection and wellbeing for the residents in her district. Let’s take a look at what she’s working on for 2020. 

Student Menstrual Products Bill

Students at Arvada West HS at the Capitol for a National Period Day rally on Oct. 19, 2019. (Photo provided by Julia Trujillo)

.Titone has been hard at work to improve the safety and quality of life for the students in Colorado schools. She has taken the time to sit down with Colorado students Julia Trujillo and Jocelyn Gotfred to join their fight to make menstrual hygiene products available to all students in public schools. 

“When it comes to the Menstrual Hygiene Product bill, it was a perfect opportunity to allow the students to show their leadership skills and show them how the process works,” she tells us. “It was also a great way to help kids in need around the state.” Rep. Titone communicates with the students via email and monthly meetings to spitball ideas and to discuss the bill’s progress.

A Colorado high school senior, Jocelyn Gotfred explained, “I honestly couldn’t imagine running this bill with any other representative. When I first heard we were sitting down with a state representative I was honestly a little nervous. Immediately this fear went away when we met with her for the first time. Brianna made it clear from the beginning that this is our bill, and she is just running it. This has made the experience so impactful on all of us, knowing that we truly are the ones designing this bill.” 

Discussing the importance of the bill, and recognizing what students have been dealing with, historically, without access to these products, Gotfred says, “When we started this project back in January of last year (2019) I had no idea how far we would have come. After we undertook this project at our own school, I think all of us started to realize that this is a fight that no high school girls should have to put up with… That’s when the bill became all the more important to this whole project. If our bill passes,” a promising prospect in our democratic party controlled state legislature where Titone has many allies, “we would be able to not only get free and accessible products to girls all over the state, but also, in doing so, I believe we would be putting a huge dent into period stigma in high schools. The fact that you spend four years in a place that doesn’t even provide for your basic health needs is outrageous, and of course that only furthers the idea that a period is something to feel shameful about.” 

Julia Trujillo adds that, “Our club has put a tremendous amount of work into getting accessible menstrual products in our own school restrooms. From convincing our administration to fundraising to going through countless logistical constraints, the process has taken a lot of work. Through this undertaking, we realized no other students should have to fight this hard for access to a basic necessity. We wanted Colorado students, especially [the less privileged], to have the access to period products that we believe is essential to being comfortable, safe, and dignified in the learning environment. Working alongside Brianna Titone has been so incredible. She has been so down-to-earth and truly passionate about doing what is best for us and all the people she represents and we’re so grateful for her support for our dream.”

Titone explained that she is attempting to work with the hygiene product manufacturers directly to create a cost effective process. The remaining details are set to be worked out this upcoming year. 

Mental Health & Educational Resources Bill

Titone also launched a mental health and suicide prevention bill with a focus on providing mental health resources Coloradans. “We started to do these large stakeholder meetings to hear from the people about what is going on with them personally, what we are missing, and how we can do better,” she explains. “The problem is no one is taking the initiative to spread the word about what resources we have available.” That’s where her bill comes in.

The goal of the Mental Health Educational Resources bill is to have mental health services readily available to all qualifying residents. In addition to providing the mental health courses, the bill is set to ensure each resident is aware of the benefits that are available, county to county. The national suicide rate is cureently sitting at about 25 percent. Titone feels that if people have access to appropriate information and classes on coping skills to manage their mental health, that progress will directly lowering our state’s suicide rate. 

Natural Organic Reduction Bill

State Senator’s Rodriguez and Titone joined forces at a press conference this past December 2019 to announce their Natural Organic Reduction bill. What is that? Well, until recently, Colorado residents have had two options after death: burial or cremation. Pretty standard stuff, but with land being scarce and cremation being energy intensive, in addition to changes in opinion about how we deal with the dead, other options have been developed and are available around the world. Dealing with dead bodies, it turns out, is regulated by the state. 

The Natural Organic Reduction bill provides an affordable third option for Coloradans. The process involves placing the deceased into an accelerated decomposition vessel that can easily be returned to loved ones. “The process contains wood chips, straw, and alfalfa. It takes 30 days for it to break down into a dirt-like state. It is an accelerated process. It is the same exact thing that would happen if you were to die in the forest and were never found. It would take longer due to the fact that it is out in the open. We want to give people the option to do it because it’s better for the environment. The process takes one eighth of the energy used for cremation. There is a 76% cremation rate in the US. Most people do it because it is a lot cheaper than burial. The natural reduction will be a lot more affordable. Most people think cremation isn’t bad for the environment. You have to burn gas to get the fire up and it’s a lot of energy.” 

Titone says that she would prefer the natural reduction option for herself as well as her loved ones. Considering the remains are turned into a form of soil, she says, “If I were to do it I would want to become an orchid; they are beautiful and delicate plants. Orchids grow on trees. I like the idea of becoming a tree; all my flowers would be out of harm’s way.”

Right to Repair Bill

Have you ever broken your phone, gotten a virus on your computer, or had mechanical issues with essential equipment? There is a consumer protection bill in the works just for you. “Manufacturers don’t make devices fixable for the public. They don’t want you to fix it, they want you to throw it out, and then get a new one. It also affects how easily the item is recyclable. A Lot of resources go into making phones,” Titone reminds us. The cellphone you may be reading this article on is made up of multiple minerals such as gold, tin, lithium, and silver that are mined all over the world. “There are over 200 minerals that are mined world wide just to make our phones. We are going through all these resources and harming the environment in a big way. The manufacturers are putting profits over the harm of the environment and over the rights to their consumers. We need to do better.” 

The right to repair bill isn’t just for cell phones, but for all electronics and even major mechanical equipment. “Another issue is farming equipment,” Titone points out. “John Deere farming tractors, in particular. You cannot replace a part with an electrical component and restart your tractor until you call in for a code from the manufacturer. You then need to wait for the code or you need to wait for their employee to come and get your tractor started. No one has time for that; these people have things to do. Some farmers have turned to the dark web to get hacked software from places like the Ukraine just to get their tractors to work again. They are getting exposed to all sorts of hackers and viruses. It’s pretty ridiculous!”

As a State Representative, Titone is flooded with the community’s questions and concerns on a daily basis, and it is up to her to determine how she can best serve the district. “I take all requests seriously. I do research to find out what the impact of the issue is, how it is going to help, and how much it is going to cost. I welcome people to come talk to me, to tell me whether or not they like what I do, because that is how I become a better representative. It’s when I hear from people, that is what helps me solidify what people in my district really think.”

Final Thoughts

Rep. Brianna Titone has served just over one of two years in office for House District 27 and, we reminded her, re-election is just around the corner. She smiled at the subject and laid out her game plan: “We are going to keep knocking on doors. We hope to be the number one house district in door knocking this year. Last election I believe we came in third. I knocked on 8,700 doors personally,” she points out. “My team knocked on close to 50,000 doors total. We want to talk to more people. This year I have earned a track record. I have some accomplishments I can talk about. I can talk about what I want to do in the future. I want to ask the people what they want me to work on. We want to reach out to more conservative people, to see if they could [sic] see the work that I’ve done, maybe they’ll give me a shot and vote for me.” 

“This job as an elected representative is as difficult as you want to make it,” she says, firmly ensconced in her small office on the third floor of the state capitol, across the hall from Rep. Singer’s office. It’s his last year in office for House District 11, given term limits, and Titone has expectations of being here doing the people’s work just as long as Singer was. 

“I make it difficult because I want to do the most amount of work that I can with the time that I have. The problem is I can never make everyone happy. That is the nature of politics,” Titone says. “Everyone has their own opinion. I don’t want people to think that what they see on Fox News is what is happening on a state level. The state level gets stuff done. The state level is where the real work happens. When the federal government fails, we do it here. Get to know us,” she suggests. “We are real people.” 

Far beyond identity boxes and expectations, Representative Titone was the prime sponsor of 7 bills and sponsored eleven more bills in just her first year. With a second year in office to go before the election in November, working on efforts that affect all Coloradans – across identity and ideology – and with a heart firmly planted in seeing good things happen all across the state, we fully expect the people of her district to step up, once again, to support Brianna Titone. Her re-election means she can continue her work. Our work. The people’s work. 

To connect with Representative Titone you can visit her website, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. 

All images courtesy of Rep. Titone, used with permission.

The post Rep. Brianna Titone: Building Colorado’s Future Today appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

This spring, opportunities to enjoy dance are abundant. Performances from BOCO’s many local dance companies are popping up like our very own superbloom. One to watch is Cindy Brandle Dance Company’s A World on Fire, premiering April 19 – 20 at The Dairy Arts Center. This work takes on “social privilege, racial discrimination, the #MeToo movement, LGBTQ marginalization, and the constantly evolving antics of the current administration. Utilizing fierce, compassionate and athletic movement, CBDC’s choreography is inspired by the writings of local poets to create an evening of compassionate, compelling dance and film.”

Sound heady? Brandle says, “This show is deep, a little dark, but also hopeful. I aim for people to be touched, and find entertainment within the conceptual work.” Most of us are familiar with the gymnastic and virtuoso dance we see on television with such shows as So You Think You Can Dance. While impressive and thrilling to watch, that intellectual connection that Brandle offers is so often missing from the experience. Not so much reaching for the stars as reaching for their audience, CBDC wants you to think and feel their work. Brandle finds dance to be a “richer and more satisfying experience when the work has substance and depth.”

Yet beautiful movement is also important to the company esthetic. “We are working hard for the dancers to present beautiful movement, executed in an advanced technical performance.” Discussing her movement theory, Brandle says, “the energy comes from the inside out, so everything you’re doing is connected to your chi, and it’s connected to your center sacral connections, so you are really utilizing what is happening inside of your body to inform what is happening outside of your body.”

Such internal motivation offers the audience a recognizable experience of dance. We recognize movement which comes from the dancer’s somatic experience because we also have bodies that house these felt experiences. The movement touches our own inner landscape, and we can be more viscerally connected to what we see. So, while perhaps you may be impressed by a dancer’s skill, you can also recognize the feeling of the movement within yourself.  

Brandle is a choreographer who wants to go deeper. Discussing her love of dance, she says, “modern dance in particular brings a whole intellectual experience, because it will offer the audience a chance to interpret it as they see it, which I think is amazing. Sometimes people will come to me and talk to me about what they’ve seen, and it will be slightly different from my intentions, and that’s ok. I love that people are utilizing a thought process while they are watching. They are not just being entertained. There is something to digest and something to have a moment to contemplate. Abstract art makes you give pause and really think about what you saw and how you interpret it.”  

I had the chance to peek at a final rehearsal while the dancers were doing a run through of the completed work. I saw strong dancers with long lines, moving fiercely and succinctly through Brandle’s choreography of large movement, punctuated by precise gesture. The full company of nine women on the stage, moving together, is powerful, the way a community can be powerful when unified by an ideal or purpose. When the dancers break into smaller groups, supporting, throwing and lifting one another, there is a sense of human interaction to the movement. Solo dancers convey vulnerability, but also a sense of self-sufficient resolve.

Some of the dancing is performed against a backdrop of original poetry layered over music. These poems give the work it’s socio-political content, discussing a variety of issues that are currently in the public discourse. There is a poem written by a transgendered woman, another by a member of the LGBTQ community, who is also a woman of color, about what it is like to be in brown skin, another speaks of the #MeToo movement, a man discusses race from the perspective of a person of color, and his wife speaks of gun control.

Brandle hopes the content of the work will “open a dialogue for a deeper appreciation and understanding of the intense division in the world when addressing racial discrimination, LGBTQ marginalization, gender inequality, and the #MeTOO movement.”

I missed the opportunity to see the stage technologies of film and lighting that will add more layers of content and visual interest to the performance. Multimedia performance such as this has been growing in popularity, offering a variety of facets for audiences to connect to the work.    

So, why give dance a chance? As a dancer and choreographer for over 34 years, Brandle obviously has a great love of modern dance, although she laughs at the irony of choosing a career in such an obscure art form that gives little monetary reward. “I love the nonverbal communication of dance and how our bodies can create so much emotion. I think it inspires people. We are telling a story. We are communicating with our bodies. Seeing a live performance can be a rewarding experience to see live breathing people on a stage. I believe in my company and I think we are totally worth checking out. And I think there are some very talented people in the Front Range dance community.”

We all live in bodies that move and express ideas and emotions, even if we are not directly aware or deliberate about our expression. Watching this more intellectually driven dance can touch that awareness in each of us, making us remember our shared humanity. Remembering how we are all connected, despite our differences, is something we sorely need these days. A World on Fire offers an experience of connection, to ourselves, to issues that we are all dealing with in our communities, in relating to one another. It’s dance that we can relate to. We can see beautiful movement, and think and feel while we watch. Definitely worth checking out.

You can purchase your tickets here.

The post Preview | Cindy Brandle Dance Company: A World on Fire at Dairy Arts Center April 19 – 20 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Transgender issues are at the forefront of America’s collective mind. Shows like Becoming Us on ABC Family, and I am Cait on E!, and Netflix’s original series Orange is the New Black and Sense 8, are bringing these stories and issues into homes that may have never been exposed to a trans person. While some are concerned about being too light-hearted, the shows are aimed at cisgender (non transgender) heterosexual people, and their entertainment. But even the entertainment is riddled with issues that trans people face.T

It’s not only on TV that the nation is taking note of trans issues. When Olympic gold medalist and icon Bruce Jenner transitioned into Caitlyn, he broke barriers and pushed this issue into the light.

The nation is noticing, and it’s having an impact at the military level.
On July 13, Defense Secretary Ash Carter made the announcement that over the next six months, top military officials will hammer out details of a new policy to allow active-duty troops to transition from one gender to another. This raised a whole slew of questions that remain unanswered.

“The Defense Department’s current regulations regarding transgender service members are outdated and are causing uncertainty that distracts commanders from our core missions,” Carter said in his statement. He continued with, “moreover, we have transgender soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines – real, patriotic Americans – who I know are being hurt by an outdated, confusing, inconsistent approach that’s contrary to our value of service and individual merit.”

But what does this mean? The statement raised a whole slew of questions that remain unanswered. On the social side, it comes with relief. No one will have to hide a part of their life in a duffle bag with three padlocks. But that is only one factor going into this six-month period where officials will have to make decisions on healthcare, combat jobs, and protection.

For example, will a soldier who was born female but now lives as a man be permitted to hold one of more than 200,000 armor, infantry, artillery and special operations positions that still prohibit women?

What will the Military Health System accommodate for trans people? Will it cover their hormones needed to transition, top and bottom surgery, or facial reconstructive surgery? Will there be protections put in place regarding harassment of these individuals?

These questions aren’t only on the weight of the individuals who are rewriting the policy, but on the shoulders of current transgender troops and advocates. For Brianna Matthews, a trans veteran and advocate, who credits her career success to her time in the Air Force, it’s an issue that everyone needs to pay close attention to.

“It’s going to be a very important six months, and even longer, for the military to really assess what needs to be done, and done right,” Matthews said. “It’s monumental, but if we are going to applaud them on the decision we need to make sure they are heading in the right direction.”

The post Military focuses on transgender service equality appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

I won’t pretend to be completely objective about the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. I’ve been in the military for four years, which gives me regular access to gay and homophobic soldiers.

So in the midst of fresh DADT briefs prepping us all for the repeal, as rights were reviewed, lines were drawn and questions answered, something seemed…off. Then the injustice came clear: The repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell does not come with a policy of nondiscrimination, unlike those policies incorporating women and ethnic minorities. Lesbian, gay and bisexual service members and their family members will still experience limited rights, benefits and assistance due to the federal Defense of Marriage Act and Title 10 of the U.S. Code.

The government and military repealed a nearly defunct policy; sexual orientation is no longer a basis for investigation into service members’ personal lives, nor is it a basis for separation from the military. It’s a big, but underwhelming deal, said David McKean, legal director for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

“For those people who are serving, (the repeal of) Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is an incredible step forward,” he said. “It’s an incredible stride toward full military equality and toward LGBT equality in this country, but it’s not everything. It’s not even everything in the military.

“There are going to be a whole host of benefits that DOMA and Title 10 prevent from being conferred to people who would otherwise be qualified spouses just on the basis of sexual orientation.”

It’s bullet five in Title 10 USC Section 101: “‘spouse’ means husband or wife, as the case may be.” It’s Defense of Marriage Act Section 7: “‘spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife.”

It—the definition of spouse under DOMA and Title 10—means same-sex spouses of active duty service members:

1. Will not be allowed a legal say in directing the disposition of remains if their spouse is killed on active duty.

2. Will be notified after “qualifying” next of kin in the event of death or hospitalization of their spouse.

3. Will be severely limited in their ability to travel with their spouse when that spouse is ordered to relocate, or to travel to their spouse in the event of a hospitalizing injury.

4. Will not receive the basic housing allowance provided to the spouses of service members on active duty.

5. Will not receive TriCare, the military’s healthcare provided to “qualified” dependents including spouses, or other healthcare services such as grief counseling.

6. Will not be allowed access to their spouse’s retirement benefits after the death of their spouse.

7. Will not have access to the commissary, post/base exchange and other similar on-post or base services.

8. Will not receive any of the above benefits for their children unless those children are legal dependents of the active-duty service member.

Same-sex marriage is recognized in six states and in Washington, D.C. Roughly 40 other states have constitutional provisions or laws that restrict marriage to one man and one woman. With a new legislature on its way in, Rep. Jared Polis said he hopes not just civil unions, but same-sex marriage will soon become a reality in Colorado.

“Colorado had a very close vote on civil unions last legislative session,” said Rep. Jared Polis. “It came within one vote of passing.”

Federally, following DADT’s repeal, he said he’d like to see the Respect for Marriage Act replace DOMA. RFMA would recognize and allow marriages between same-sex couples, he said.

“(Under RFMA) married couples would have the full rights and support the military provides to opposite-sex couples,” Polis said. “…With the military, there will be a new education opportunity, that hasn’t happened yet. There’ll be very sympathetic cases that, once Americans see, (they’ll ask:) How can you not give grief counseling to the spouse of somebody who lost their life? I think that will kind of wake people up to the need to recognize those unions.”

It’s a battle of moralities surrounding marriage that fuels the fight outside fo the military.

Inside of the military, however, protests are largely sexual, not moral: “Do I have to/I don’t want to share a room or shower with gay service members” comes up during most briefings, discussions and occasionally during room assignments.

So much of military service—physical tests, room assignments, clothing and hair regulations, even friendships—revolves around gender and sex that service members new and old find the open acknowledgement of homosexuality inappropriate. Do you house a lesbian with men? Would she be safe? Shouldn’t she be? Which is more important, anatomy or sexuality? Where do you put a bisexual?

The military has attempted to dodge such questions by making no additional provisions to care for homosexual service members following harassment or discrimination. To paraphrase a brief I received: The military decided sexuality is no longer its business, period.

If open homosexual or bisexual service begets discrimination or harassment, service members’ avenues of reproach are limited to the chain of command or inspector general, McKean said. Unlike religious and ethnic minorities, women and blacks, LGB service members may not seek justice through the military’s equal opportunity office.

McKean said SLDN and the LGBT community now look to the president to issue an executive order establishing a policy of non-discrimination through the Military Equal Opportunity office.

Although the chain of command may take legal action against ill-behaved service members, if a chain of command were the source of the problem, the inspector general’s role to act on its findings is not clear, especially in cases involving discrimination or harassment of LGB service members, McKean said.

“For gay and lesbian service members to have the full range of options with respect to addressing discrimination and harassment when it arises, they really need access to MEO,” he said.

But discrimination isn’t likely to come from service members, McKean, Polis and service members said. They’ve been briefed, know how to behave and most just don’t care. This isn’t an integration, McKean said, LGB service members are integrated, they’ve been serving. Polis compared it to atheists serving in a largely Christian military—they’re not persecuted, they’re just there, part of the masses. The organization is still the same (Christian, white, male, heterosexual or otherwise) and service members in varying degrees of homo- or heterosexuality, feminity, color and ethnicity might only have issued a collective sigh of relief that this battle, albeit not the fight, is over.

Today the government gave us this:

“…The military will not, from Sept. 20 forward, view (openly gay service) as so detrimental to unit cohesion, good order and discipline that the mere fact that people in the unit know it requires that service member to be discharged for the good of the unit,” McKean said.

But as the country “defends” marriage, it attacks so much more.

The post Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is Done, Discrimination Isn’t appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Peachy Keen

There are a few things Colorado does well; microbrews, jamgrass and pot consumption chief among them. But if you’re into agriculture—or eating—you know Olathe sweet corn and Palisades peaches are the two finest examples of their respective foods. The Lafayette Peach Festival focuses on the latter. More than 30,000 pounds of Western Slope peaches are trucked in for the event, which blends them into a creamy froth of live music, a gazillion takes on cobblers and pies and other foods and vendors, including plenty of artisans and antique dealers. Aug. 20, 9am, City of Lafayette, Public Road in Old Town, Lafayette, 303.549.1907

Take Pride

Considering the ridiculousness of the anti-gay camp, there’s no reason to miss a chance to stand up for the rights of this unfairly marginalized chunk of America. The Out Boulder Pridefest makes it easy for everyone to fly their rainbow flags, with a fun, three-day bash of music and events geared at promoting civil rights for our gay friends and family. Best part: headliner Frenchie Davis! Go see her and tell her how flattering it is that she stole the YS entertainment editor’s moniker! Aug. 28, 11am, Boulder County Farmer’s Market, 1750 13th St., Boulder

Reaping the Harvest

What do Paul Newman, Angela Lansbury, Dick Van Dyke and the Arvada Harvest Festival have in common? They were born in 1925. That’s right, one of Colorado’s oldest traditions turns 86 this year and is easily as youthful as it was in its 20s. Launching with a parade of the best marching bands in the state, the Harvest Fest morphs into a carnival atmosphere, punctuated by vendors, live music and vegetable judging contests. There isn’t a better way to cap a summer. Sept. 9–11, Arvada Historical Society, 7307 Grandview Ave., arvadaharvestfestivalparade.com

Early Bird Gets the Worm

Most bands’ press packs tout how they “defy pigeonholing or classification.” Once in a while, a band actually does that: Denver-based Paper Bird is that band. Some might call them a grass band, but Paper Bird is more; they’re an acoustic roots septet steeped in Americana, sprinkled with equal parts blues, grass and traditional jazz, and served with a side of pop-savvy hook writing. Basically, they’re really good. Sept. 8, Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St., Boulder, 303.786.7030

French’s Five

Sure we’re all psyched to have a day off of work, but here are five things you probably didn’t know about Labor Day.

1) Fruits of our Labor
Labor Day became a national holiday in 1894 under Pres. Grover Cleveland.

2) Labor Pains
To participate in Labor Day events and parades, workers had to forfeit a day’s wages
until it was made
a national holiday.

3) Local Labor
Colorado was one of the first five states to recognize the holiday.

4) Labor of Many
The other four states were Oregon, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.

5) Labor of Love
The U.S. isn’t the only country to celebrate Labor Day.

The post Editor’s Picks August 2011 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.