Raising the Bar

The Smart Issue

The days of pocket-protector-wearing über nerds being shoved into lockers are over. If the high-tech revolution has taught us anything, it’s that smart is cool, and the smarter you are, the more likely you are to rule the world. That’s more than obvious at area schools, where kids have abandoned textbooks in favor of iPads and iPods and chalkboards in favor of Smart Boards; where fourth...

Smart Schools

TOOLS Both public and private schools are investing in specific tools to make kids ready for the real world. It’s all about exploring modern technology to keep kids on the cutting edge while ensuring they understand the basics...

Raising the Bar

After almost 10 years, it’s finally time to fix “No Child Left Behind,” the main federal education policy. In the coming months, we have a historic opportunity to overhaul our federal education law by building on the progress made and addressing its serious flaws. I strongly believe that education is an issue on which we can and must rise above ideology and politics. No one can argue—from...

Smart Moms

Moms are a fierce bunch. And nothing stands in the way of a mom with great idea. For the Smart Issue, we tracked down a couple of local moms-turned-entrepreneurs who talked about their inspirations and emerging products. It’s moms helping moms and encouraging independence in kids—and there is nothing smarter than that...

Smart Shopping

I was raised to believe in the power of a bargain. The women of my family have a sixth sense for knowing when and where that 25-percent-off sign will magically transform into a 50-percent-off sign, and we never pay full retail if we can help it. My mother is the undisputed queen of the department store coupon; my sister once bought a formal prom dress for $15. And I? I am blessed with the...

A Conversation Peace

Outside, a thunderstorm is looming, clouds are growing wild and wooly over the Front Range, and lightening flickers in the distance. Inside a gently worn historic-home-turned-peacenik-refuge on Longmont’s Terry Street, Deb Witzel’s energy is also growing electric. The executive director of Teaching Peace, a local nonprofit whose motto is “waging peace with restorative community justice,”...

Peeps: Dave Johnson

Update: This article was originally published in August 2010. As of 3/13/2022, twelve spook-filled years later, Dave is retiring and the Ghost Mobile is for sale! See the flyer at the bottom of the interview. Dave Johnson steps inside from the 80-degree sunshine wearing the full mountain man getup: raccoon cap with tail, leather jacket with fringe, boots made from the fur of a bear, which...

So You Think You Can Entertain Us

Can you imagine if everyone had a video camera in their house that piped images directly to broadcast television and people could do whatever they wanted and put it out there for anyone to see at any given moment? Welcome to the Internet...

Not Yet a Cinderella Story

Beer enthusiasts are a cheap bunch. At least that’s the general impression and a big part of why the annual Great American Beer Festival can’t lock down a consistent weekend for its massive event year after year...

Challenge: Beets

At Black Pepper Pho, the focus is very much on the traditional. “The spring rolls don’t even come with peanut sauce because it’s not traditional,” owner Huong Dang said. “We use tamarind sauce.” But they were game when we told them their secret ingredient for the challenge would be beets, which are not a huge component in Vietnamese food...

Say Cheese

To say that I like cheese would be akin to saying that Twilight is a popular franchise; it would be correct, but entirely missing the scope of the thing. I’ve often thought of becoming a vegetarian and could probably make the transition relatively painlessly, but I had to give up on Mark Bittman’s vegan-til-six diet after only a day or two because I couldn’t stand to be without cheese...

Going Round

Maybe it’s a sign of our growing interest in locally sourced, handmade fare or simply a result of our growing culinary sophistication, but there’s an amazing artisanal pizzeria boom arising in Boulder and the North Metro area...

Shh!

There’s something about a secret that just makes everything more exciting. Surprise parties, secret rendezvous and private dinners all take on a special, surreal quality above and beyond their well-publicized counterparts...

Smart But Wrong

No one likes to be wrong, but the YS editorial staff absolutely abhors it. It’s a serious problem. It’s to the point of abnormality, usually involving super nerdy topics like verbs and AP style. Recently, as an example, associate editor Lacy “Ace” Boggs and I got into a knock-down-drag-out fight debating the usage of “Coloradan” versus “Coloradoan.” There were raised voices...

Boulder County’s Promised Land

Leadership is not about rallying support and taking action for a cause or issue because it’s popular or easy. Leadership is about identifying a goal that is right and good and, despite it being unpopular or seemingly impossible to achieve, pursuing it...